Romancing the Holiday (22 page)

A couple food tables were full, but Brody had spied one in the corner, so he grabbed her hand and, despite her dragging her heels the whole way, tugged her along. She feared for her life as she took a seat in a rickety chair.

“Come on,” he said. “It’s not that bad.”

She wasn’t exactly a prima donna as far as the places she hung out, but Ed’s was as low on the dive bar food chain as she’d ever gotten.

A waitress hustled over. She was older, in her fifties maybe, with faded-out blond hair that she’d over-teased, over-bleached and gathered up in a haphazard ponytail. And she didn’t look happy to see them, because she didn’t smile as she grabbed a pencil from her hair and pulled the pad out of her apron. “What can I get you to drink?”

Brody ordered the specialty beer. Tori looked at him.

“Try it. It’s great.”

Tori nodded. “Okay, I’ll have one of those. And can we see a menu?”

The waitress, whose nametag said “Pat”, snickered. “Honey, we have cheeseburgers, or cheeseburgers without cheese on them. If you’re feeling adventurous you can have a hot dog. That comes with or without chili and the works. I’ll be back with your drinks and you can let me know what you want.”

Tori shifted her gaze to Brody. “Limited menu.”

“People come here for the beer and the burgers. The hot dogs kind of suck.”

“Thanks for the warning. I guess I’ll have a burger, then.”

“Good call.”

When Pat came back with the beer, Brody said, “We’ll both have the cheeseburgers.”

“Smart idea. Everything on them?”

Brody looked at her. Tori said, “Sure. Why not?”

Pat finally shocked her by patting her hand and grinning. “You’re gonna love these burgers, honey. And once you eat them, you’re gonna come back again and again. Enjoy your beer.”

After Pat hustled away, Tori looked at Brody. “Oh, my God. She seemed almost human there.”

He laughed. “Pat has tons of attitude. She and Ed have owned this place since they were in their twenties. He brews the beer himself, along with his sons now. Taste it.”

She took a drink of the beer. It was mellow, with a honey flavor. “Oh, it’s good.”

“Told you. They’re a small operation, but this place is never empty. I stop by for lunch a lot when I’m driving through town on a job.”

“For the beer?” she asked with a smirk.

“For the burgers, smartass. Though after a shitty day, I can pound down a few beers.”

She preferred margaritas with Calliope after a bad day. She wondered who Brody unloaded on when he had problems. His brothers? Or was the familial bond too close, the fact that they all worked together too much to share troubles. Who did he tell his problems to?

“So when you have a bad day at work and you want to let off some steam and have a few drinks, do you grab your brothers and go out for beers to talk it out?”

He looked horrified. “Hell, no. It’s bad enough I grew up with them, and now I work with them. Half the time it’s them I’m pissed off at. The last thing I’d want to do is unload my problems on them.”

She swirled her finger over the top of the glass. “So...who do you talk to?”

He shrugged. “Nobody.”

“Surely you have friends to talk to.”

“I have friends, yeah. But we aren’t like girls, Tori. We don’t have to have...chat sessions or whatever you women call them where we discuss every problem we have.”

“You hold it all inside.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. You don’t talk to your brothers or your friends, and you being a man and all are obviously not going to talk to your parents when you have a problem.”

He let out a laugh at that one.

“Okay, so that means you keep all your problems bottled up inside and don’t talk to anyone about them, right?”

He finished off his beer and set the mug to the side of the table so Pat could refill it for him. “I don’t have a lot of problems. I’m generally a pretty content guy.”

“Please. Everyone has problems. Even if it’s just a bad day at work, a job doesn’t go right. Someone pisses you off—like your brothers. You have to let off steam. How do you do that?”

“I have ways of letting off steam.”

He gave her a look that melted her to the chair. “Well, yes, there is that. But I mean talking.”

“Oh, I like talking. Verbalizing is good.”

This was not helping to cool her off.

Fortunately, their food arrived and Brody dragged his very direct gaze away from her to offer his trademark grin to Pat. After that, she dug into her cheeseburger and tried to shift her thoughts away from one very sexy man to the incredibly delicious burger. She ate every bite, had another beer to wash it down and wasn’t even embarrassed about picking the last crumb off her plate with her fingers.

“You were right. This is the best cheeseburger I’ve ever had.”

Brody crumpled his paper napkin and laid it on his empty plate. “Told you it was awesome. I wouldn’t let you down, Tori.”

The way he said it made her cock her head to the side, as if he’d meant something else entirely, and wasn’t talking about burgers anymore.

Probably her imagination. “You’re right. It was a great meal. Good beer and good burgers. Thank you.”

“I actually brought you here to talk to you.”

She laughed. “We have been talking.”

“I meant I brought you here to talk about something else.”

“About what?”

“Us.”

Uh-oh. “What about us?”

The words had spilled out before she could correct herself, correct him and tell him there was no “us.”

“Why did you stop that kiss the other night? What are you so afraid of?”

She looked around, but televisions were blaring, people were playing pool and engaged in their own conversations. There were no people around them listening in. Still, she leaned forward. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

He leaned in, too, and grasped her hands. “I do. And it’s time you stop running from it. From what the two of us could have.”

Her eyes widened and she tried to tug her hands away, but he held firm. “Brody, I don’t want to do this.”

“I think you do, Tori, but something’s scaring you off. Talk to me. Tell me what’s bothering you. Is it something I’ve done in the past? Some way I’m not measuring up? I think you and I could have something, if you’ll just give me a chance.”

Oh, God. Smartass Brody she could handle. Funny, jokester Brody she could deal with. Teasing Brody she knew well. But earnest, honest Brody wanting to have a heartfelt conversation with her about having a relationship? She’d never known this side of him and she couldn’t handle it.

He was handing her everything she wanted, everything she’d always dreamed of. All she had to do was meet him half way.

But she didn’t trust it, didn’t trust herself.

She didn’t trust him.

Because she had so much to lose.

Everything to lose.

She finally freed her hands and pushed back. “I need some air. I’m sorry.”

She grabbed her purse and made a beeline for the front door.

Chapter Six

That went well.

Nothing like opening yourself up to a woman and seeing a look of horror on her face, followed by a world-record dash for the door.

Brody had never thought of himself as repulsive. Women were always attracted to him. He had a pretty healthy ego, but seeing Tori run for her life when he offered to have a relationship with her had given his self-esteem a severe hit tonight.

Something was up, and he wasn’t about to give up on her. He needed to figure out what the hell was going on.

He signaled Pat, paid the bill and left a generous tip, then made his way out the door. Tori was leaning against his truck, arms folded in front of her like a protective shield. When she saw him approach, she lifted her head and cast him a miserable gaze.

Okay, so maybe out in the parking lot of Ed’s wasn’t the place to have a talk about this. He unlocked the truck, helped her inside and got in. They made the drive back to Deer Lake in silence. Tori huddled on her side, looking out the side window, as far away from him as she could get.

Great. How was he supposed to handle this one? He was no expert on women, except in the bedroom. He was really damn good at pleasing them there. At seduction he was a pro, and he could read sexual signals like a master. But emotion and conversation about feelings and all that shit? Not his area.

But there was no way in hell he was dropping her off at her car and leaving things the way they were. This past year had been hell, and he wasn’t about to make things worse by letting her run on him again.

So instead of taking her back to work to fetch her car, he went with instinct and drove her to his place, where she wouldn’t be able to run.

When he pulled into the driveway of his house, she finally straightened.

“What are we doing here?”

Instead of answering her, he came around to her side of the truck and opened the door. “Come on, Tori. We’re going to talk.”

She cast him a wary look.

“It’s time. And there are things that have to be said. You can’t run from it forever.”

He held out his hand. If she refused to come in, he wouldn’t force her. He wasn’t that kind of guy.

The call was hers to make.

With a shaky sigh, she slid her hands in his and he helped her down from the truck. He slid his key in the lock and opened the door, hoping like hell he hadn’t left his place a mess.

He switched on the light, relieved as he remembered his cleaning lady had been in today. Thank God.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in your house before,” she said, her voice low, almost a whisper as she took in his living room.

He turned to her. “I don’t entertain much here.”

She shot him a look. “Yeah. I’ll bet you don’t.”

“Okay. I meant parties and that kind of thing. It’s just where I crash.”

She walked around, then turned to him. “It’s a nice place, Brody. Lots of room. You should throw a party or two here.”

He dragged his fingers through his hair. “I got a great deal on it, and hated living in an apartment. I like open space.”

He took in the expansive living room, with its two couches that faced each other and the chair flanking them, all the furniture kind of cozy with the stone fireplace and all. He’d loved the place when the Realtor had shown it to him. It had seemed so...big, especially after living in that cramped apartment. Plus, with four bedrooms, he knew he could make it home for a long time.

“You want to see the rest?”

For the first time, she smiled. “I’d love to.”

He showed her the kitchen, and she gasped. “This is amazing. Do you cook in here?”

“I can do breakfast and I cook on the outside grill.”

She laughed. “That’s it? This kitchen is going to waste.” She ran her fingers over the granite countertop and started making some noises about state-of-the-art appliances. He knew a woman would like this kitchen, though he hadn’t thought about it when he’d bought the place. He’d just wanted big and spacious in everything, because where he’d lived before had been so damn claustrophobic.

Same thing with the bedrooms. All of them were big. One of them was set up as his office, the other two were vacant, and the master was enormous, something else he liked because he’d bought a king-sized bed.

He flipped the light on in there and Tori’s eyes widened. “Wow. How many people sleep in that thing?”

He slid his hand along the nape of her neck and whispered in her ear, “Just me. I like a lot of room. I had a double bed in my old apartment and it sucked. My feet hung off the end and I couldn’t sleep. So when I bought this place I found the biggest damn bed I could and bought it.”

He heard the rumble of her laugh, which made his dick twitch.

“I understand that,” she said. “My apartment is tiny.”

She walked into his bathroom and she made a murmur of approval. “I love the tub, especially the window over it.” She turned to him. “It needs some flowers or something. You can tell a guy lives here.”

His stomach tightened as he thought about Tori being here, and all the feminine touches she’d bring. Like flowers in the bathroom window. “Yeah. Or something.”

They finished downstairs. She turned to face him, her features much less tense than they’d been when she’d walked in. “It’s a spectacular home, Brody.”

“Thanks. Would you like something to drink?”

Tori swallowed. The tour of Brody’s house had delayed the talk he insisted on having with her, the one she’d avoided by embarrassing herself and running like hell out of the restaurant.

“Sure. A drink sounds great.”

They made their way back into the kitchen, where he opened that incredible refrigerator. She hated to admit to being jealous of his appliances, but she was.

“I have beer...uh, beer, and water. Oh, and soda.”

Needing the bolster of courage, she said, “I’ll have a beer, thanks.”

He popped the tops off the bottles and handed her one. She took a couple long swallows, then followed him into the living room, taking a seat on one of the ultra-comfortable sofas. She liked the big double windows in the living room, could already picture a giant Christmas tree there, covered with lights and ornaments.

“Do you cut a real tree to put in that window?”

He followed her gaze. “Huh?”

“For Christmas. You have such high ceilings, and that window is perfect for your Christmas tree.”

“Oh. No, I don’t put a tree up.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

“Who’s going to see it, Tori? It’s just me here.”

“So?”

“Do you put a tree up in your apartment?”

“Yes. It’s only a foot tall since I don’t have any room, but of course. It’s Christmas. You have to have a tree.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Scrooge.”

He laughed.

“Seriously, Brody, you need a tree. This place is begging for a tree. It would look beautiful there.”

“And again, no one would see it.”

An idea formed in her head. “Your house is so big. We should have the company Christmas party here.”

He gave her a blank look, then shook his head. “No.”

“Why not? There’s plenty of room here. I haven’t booked the venue yet. That was on my schedule for next week.” She shifted, looking around the room. “The kitchen is enormous, you have that game room off the garage with the pool table and arcade games. People would love it. I’ve often thought we should make our parties a little less stuffy and a lot more fun.”

“Not a good idea. At all. I don’t want all those people here.”

“Why not?”

“Because...”

She waited for his good reason why not. It didn’t come.

“See? It’s a great opportunity for you and your brothers to start inviting your clients into your homes. It makes your relationships with them more personal. Wyatt has a perfect home for it, too. There’s plenty of room there, too. And with Ethan and Riley building that big new house, he can take a turn, too, though I think you and Wyatt should go first, since they’re going to be busy the next couple years with the new baby.”

He leaned back on the sofa. “Just planning our lives away, aren’t you?”

She lifted her chin. “No. I’m planning the company Christmas party. You and your brothers make the final decision on that. If you absolutely hate the idea, just shoot it down.”

“I didn’t say I hated the idea. I need to think about it. We’ll discuss it at the meeting on Monday. And I don’t want to talk about work.” He swept his knuckles across her cheek. “I want to talk about that Olympic dash you did out of the restaurant.”

She looked down, studying her jeans. She was hoping he wouldn’t bring that up, but how could he not? “Yeah. About that. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t pick the right place to have that conversation. It was my fault.”

She tipped her gaze to his. It was nice of him to take the blame, when she knew it fell squarely on her. “No. It wasn’t. You were trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. It was all me. Trust me, I know this.”

He let out a soft laugh. His touch was gentle as he swept a stray hair behind her ear. “Tori, there’s nothing wrong with you.”

If only he knew. It was best he didn’t. She liked things the way they were, but as they sat here, she knew—one way or the other—things were going to change, starting tonight.

But which way? She could either talk to him, tell him everything, or she could choose another way. She could stop fighting what she’d wanted all along.

She shifted, leaned into him and laid her hand on what was a spectacularly solid thigh. His face registered surprise for a fraction of a second, but then he pulled her closer, his hand coming around to cup her neck.

“You sure?”

“Yes. I’m tired of fighting it.”

He traced her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, making her shudder, her senses alive with need for him.

“It shouldn’t be a fight, Tori.”

She took a deep breath. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

Fortunately, Brody was a man of action. He kissed her, and everything inside her went instantly hot. And damp. It was just like the Christmas party last year, just like that night in her apartment. Brain cells began to burst, she lost all sense of time and place, and she focused only on the way his lips took command of hers, the way his tongue wound around hers. He wrapped an arm around her and dragged her onto his lap, the feel of all that solid muscle underneath her shocking her.

And when he began to move his hand over her ribcage, her heart stuttered, then raced. He paused, no doubt waiting for her to push him away and make a run for the front door. But she covered his hand with hers and brought it over her breast. He molded his hand there, teased her by brushing his thumb over her, making her nipple harden and tingle, promising what she could have if she surrendered.

She’d surrendered the minute she walked through his front door. She didn’t have the energy to fight this anymore. Not when it was what she’d wanted for so many years.

With a low growl, he brought her closer to him, cradling her against his chest as he deepened the kiss. He was everything she wanted, knew she shouldn’t have, and tonight, she just didn’t care anymore.

And when he made a swift move and slid her underneath him, his big body covering hers, she wrapped her legs around his thighs, aching at the intimate contact. He rocked against her and she wanted to weep. It felt so good, and she needed release desperately. She’d denied herself for so long—stupidly, foolishly holding on to the notion that if she kept herself from having what she wanted, time would stand still and nothing would change.

But the world did change. She’d changed, and tomorrow, so would her life, which she wasn’t going to worry about tonight, because the only thing she was going to concentrate on tonight was having Brody.

He lifted, giving her the opportunity to finally be close enough to look her fill of him, to touch him in all the ways she’d denied herself for so long. She laid her hands on his thighs, swept them inward, biting her lip as she zeroed in on one very sizeable erection.

Her gaze swept to his and he cocked one of his famous grins at her, then laid his hands on either side of her head and bent to give her a smoldering kiss that rocketed her senses. He lifted her shirt, his hands big and warm on her belly as he snaked them upward.

“Too many clothes,” he said, raising her shirt over her head. For some ridiculous reason, she blushed, likely because she’d allowed very few guys to see the goods. She was damn picky about who she slept with, and of course there was the ridiculous torch she’d carried for Brody all these years.

But him looking at her? Yeah, she’d fantasized about this moment. She had a rockin’ body and she knew it. She worked out so she could eat whatever she wanted. She was curvy in all the right places and she loved her curves. Obviously, Brody liked what he saw, because his eyes darkened and he traced a finger around the swell of her breast, dipping his fingertip inside the cup of her bra.

She suddenly found it hard to breathe as his touch sent wild sensation rocketing throughout her nerve endings.

“God, you’re beautiful, Tori.”

He bent, kissed the swell of her breast, and she was afraid her heart would burst. She breathed heavily and she knew he could hear her but there was honestly nothing she could do to stop the dizzying heights the touch of his lips to her breasts took her to.

He dropped down beside her and she was ever so grateful for this oversized couch, because Brody wasn’t a small guy. She heard his boots drop to the floor—he must have toed them off, so she kicked off her shoes, and suddenly their feet were entwined. That made her smile, because there was something both playful and yet so intimate about it.

He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to get to the good stuff, another thing that surprised her. He lazily drew circles over the swell of her breasts with his fingertips, while he played with her feet. He still had all his clothes on and she still wore her bra and jeans. Somehow, she had expected this explosion, with clothes flying everywhere, the two of them falling to bed and having a quickie. Yet here they were, lying on his sofa side by side while he mapped her breasts.