Spring River Valley: The Winter Collection (Boxed Set) (11 page)

Grant leaned on the frame of the car as she rolled the window down the rest of the way. “You don’t have to apologize for being a ninny. I happen to love ninnies.”

She squinted at him. “Are you saying I’m a ninny or that you love me?”

He flung open her car door and pulled her to her feet so he could wrap her in his arms. “Yes.”

“Good, so do I.” She snuggled into his arms, though through all the layers of coat between them he could barely feel her. It didn’t matter.
He had her, and he wasn’t going to let her go. He kissed her chilly lips until they warmed under his, and when he pulled back, all he saw was sunshine.

“It’s supposed to be a terrible storm,” she said, eyeing the barely visible road. “Why don’t we take one car and go back to my place?”

“I would love to, but Elaine is still at TF, and I want to see she gets home safely. How about…we spend the night in the bridal suite?”

She met his gaze
, and this time, despite all the fluffy down and wool between them, he felt her shiver. “Ooh, could we?”

“I know the manager. He won’t say a word.”

While the snow continued to pile up outside, Grant led Harper up the curving marble staircase to the bridal suite.

They’d made sure Elaine got home safely to her family and locked up TF, then made a scrumptious dinner of leftover hors d’oeuvres and piping hot cappuccino. Afterward they’d danced in the ballroom, all by themselves, to music only they could hear, and now, as darkness fell outside and the last storm of January raged, they headed upstairs to make use of the pink velvet couch.

“Oh, I never got to tell you the other reason I was coming over here,” Harper said as they waltzed over the threshold into the ornately decorated room.

Grant turned on the electric fireplace, bathing the room in a flickering amber glow. “You mean you had an ulterior motive, besides wanting to seduce me again?”

“Yes, actually I did.” She lowered herself to the couch
, and he sat next to her and pulled her into his arms. “They’re in my car. I was going to leave them here even if I didn’t get to see you.”

“What is?”

She met his gaze. In the faux firelight his eyes had dilated with desire. Harper wanted to dive into those blue depths and never surface, but she needed to tell him she still felt responsible for any business TF lost because of Mrs. Moriarty and Mrs. Dawson. “I had a thousand flyers made up advertising Taverna Fiora. My boss said I could put some up in our building, and I looked into getting a town permit to pass them out in the shopping district—when it’s a little less snowy, of course. I figured that might help drum up some business.”

Grant stared at her, his mouth slightly open.

“Say something.”

“I can’t. I’m speechless. You didn’t have to do that. I’m sure it wasn’t cheap.”

“I used the money I made from the Auxiliary Club centerpieces. I figured that was fitting. If Mrs. Moriarty wants her friends not to come here, then maybe some of her money should go toward getting other people to book TF.”

Grant shook his head. “You’re amazing.”

“You should see me calculate interest.” She laughed, but Grant took her face in his hands and stared into her eyes.

“Really. You’re amazing. I thought it the first moment I saw you
, and I never doubted it for a second after that. I want you to know something. I brought you up here to make love to you tonight, but I know you were worried about this being some kind of rebound relationship that would fall apart when you got over what Brad did to you.”

“No, I
—”

“It doesn’t matter. If you’re the least bit worried about whether or not this is real, or whether or not we can make it work, that’s okay. I’m willing to give you all the time you need. We can go as slow
—” He paused to kiss her quickly on the lips. “Or as fast as you want, but whatever the pace, I want you to know I’m going to stick around for as long as it takes. I’m not going to run out on you.”

Harper’s throat constricted
, and she had to look away in order to get her next words out. “You can’t promise you’ll never leave me, but you can promise me one thing.”

He lifted her chin so she had to look at him. “Anything.”

“Just promise if you think something is wrong, or if you’re not happy, you’ll just tell me, to my face, not by phone from the airport.” She tried to make her voice light, but this wasn’t a joke. That was the part with Brad that had really hurt the most, that when he doubted their relationship and his commitment to it, he’d run away instead of letting them deal with it together. She couldn’t go through that again.

Grant kissed her lightly. “That I can definitely promise.”

His next kiss was more demanding, and their conversation ended in a mutual sigh as he stretched her out on the cushions of the couch and settled his body over hers.

“
Face-to-face,” he said as his hands roamed her body, heating her from within and making her forget it was the middle of winter. “That’s how it’ll always be between us.”

Harper smiled through a moan of pleasure and raised a brow. “
Well, I can think of a few occasions where we might not want to be face-to-face.” She wrapped her legs around him and kissed him with all the pent-up passion she had in her body. “How about I show you a few?”

THE END

“I just want you to know, I’ve never done this before.” Audrey Desmond met the steady gaze of her lunch companion and tried to hide her nervousness with a lighthearted laugh. “I wouldn’t be doing this at all except I’m…desperate. Not desperate, that sounds lame. I mean, just desperate to meet someone who isn’t a creep.”

Cassandra Hall sipped her coffee and smiled. “I totally get it. I’ve had my share of…less than memorable first dates too. It’s hard to meet people, and those dating sites on the Internet are—”

“A craps shoot. I tried that, and it was a disaster. In fact, every date I went on last year, and the two I’ve been on this year, were unmitigated disasters. I don’t want to sound like a whiner, but really, I’m starting to think there’s something wrong with me. My friend Harper says I’m too picky, but when a guy wants to show you his scar where he had a ballpoint pen removed from his duodenum, you have to ask yourself—”

“Duodenum?”

“Small intestine. I’m sorry I even brought that up. See? It’s me. Maybe working at the hospital has turned me into a weirdo magnet. When men find out I’m a nurse, they seem to want to show me things I’d rather not see without a doctor and an IV sedative on hand. Can you help me?”

“I think I can. Tell me exactly what you’re looking for in a guy, deep down. The real thing, not just tall, dark, and handsome.”

Audrey frowned. “So tall, dark, and handsome is off the table?”

Cassie laughed. “I’ll consider those a given. But beyond that. Describe your perfect man.”

At this point, Audrey really wasn’t sure what she wanted in a man, but she could quote chapter and verse on what she didn’t want. She thought for a moment, contemplating the rich swirl of cream she poured into her own coffee. At the moment, she knew one perfect couple. Her best friend Harper Shaw had been left only steps away from the altar barely a month ago, and in the interim had found Grant Addison, the smart, hunky, romantic, gorgeous business manager of the catering hall where Harper’s wedding reception was to have been held. Audrey was thrilled that her friend had traded her wishy-washy ex-fiancé for a man like Grant. Unfortunately, as much as Audrey might have hoped, Grant didn’t have any brothers.

After careful consideration, she met Cassie’s expectant gaze. “I want a man with character, someone who’ll stand up for himself
and for me, someone who knows who he is and what he wants and doesn’t let anything get in his way. I’m not a candy-and-flowers kind of girl, but I definitely need a man who can handle a serious relationship. He doesn’t have to be sentimental, but he has to be solid and dependable and…is that too much? Because at this point I’ll settle for someone who’s never been admitted to the psych ward.”

Cassie tucked a strand of long blond hair behind one year and made a few notes on a small pad of paper she’d brought with her. She looked up, squinting her blue eye—the other was brown—as though sizing Audrey up. “You strike me as a no-nonsense type. You want someone who’s straightforward so you don’t have to wonder where you stand with him. Am I right?”

Audrey examined her coffee spoon. “I usually get in trouble for being too straightforward. I say what I think…maybe a little too often.”

“So you want a guy who can handle the truth and isn’t going to crumble if you have a complaint about something he says or does.”

“Do they make guys like that?”

“Trust me. I know a few.”

“How many can I have?”

Cassie smirked. “Sorry, I don’t do ménages. If you want more than one guy, you’ll have to find the second one on your own.”

“I’ll take one. One would be plenty. Thanks.”

“Okay. Give me a week
, and I’ll call you. How’s your schedule at the hospital? Are weekends good for you?”

“Perfect.” Audrey gave Cassie her schedule and her phone number, and they finished off lunch talking about Cassie’s cupcake business. They parted in the parking lot of the diner, each heading to her own snow-covered car.

Before she pulled out of her parking space, Audrey fished her cell phone out of her purse and dialed Harper’s number. Her friend had given her Cassandra’s number and urged her to get help from the town’s self-appointed matchmaker, a suggestion Audrey had considered a joke until last week when she realized six months had passed since she’d even cared if a guy called her for a second date. She was tired of starting at square one, and after seeing how happy Harper was with Grant, Audrey decided it was time for her to find someone to fill the void in her own life.

When Harper answered, Audrey lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone. “The deed is done.”

“What? Oh, you called Cassandra? That’s great.”

“I hope she can find me a prince charming, because I’m afraid you might have gotten the last one.”

“Don’t worry. I hear she’s responsible for half a dozen marriages. She’s good.”

Audrey sighed. “Well, I may be the exception to the rule. Let’s see what she comes up with for me.”

“Who. You mean
who
she comes up with.”

“What if I’m unmatchable?”

“You’re not.”

“I could ruin her reputation.”

“You won’t.”

“I’m kryptonite when it comes to dating.”

“You’re not.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll call you later.” Audrey and Harper hung up, and Audrey contemplated her hazel eyes in the rearview mirror. “Watch out, Superman. You haven’t met Audrey Desmond yet.”

* * * *

“Damn…I mean darn it, sorry. Hold that pose, I’ll be right back.” Max Shannon set down his camera and ducked out of the portrait room of his small studio. The young mother and her twin infants he was trying to photograph didn’t seem to mind the interruption, but he was at his wits’ end today. Crying babies, unruly toddlers, and two German shepherds wearing Styrofoam hearts with plastic cupid arrows had turned his day into reason number one why he regretted opening a photography studio.

If he didn’t have bills to pay that selling magazine photos and art shots just didn’t cover, he’d have dumped the business and gone completely freelance. Instead he spent his days answering phone calls and making appointments for people to bring in their children, their pets, and sometimes inanimate objects dressed in costumes. He grabbed the studio phone on the fourth ring and took a split second to suppress his annoyance. “Shannon Studios, Max Shannon.”

“Max, I’m desperate.”

He straightened, concerned by the worry he heard in the familiar voice. “Cass? What’s wrong?” His usually cheerful cousin never called him in the middle of a work day.

“I’m in a bit of a bind. Are you busy tonight?”

Instinctively, Max glanced at his watch. The sound of fussy babies reached him from the portrait room. “I have one client to finish up, then I’m free. What’s the matter?”

“I need a man.”

“You’re my first cousin, I think there are laws about that in the State of New York.”

“First of all…ewwww. And second of all, it’s not illegal in New York, and third…
ewwww
. Not for me, jerk. I set up a blind date for someone tonight, and the guy just called me. His appendix burst or is about to burst, and he can’t make it. The girl is a nurse, but I don’t think she wants to perform emergency surgery on her date between the appetizer and the main course. How would you like to fill in for him?”

“Can I tell her my name is Bond? James Bond?”

Cassie made a disparaging noise. “You can use your real name. Look, I would not normally do this, I feel terrible about it, but this girl has had a horrible year with men, and she really needs a night out with someone nice and normal, and unfortunately you’re the best I could come up with on short notice.”