Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
HADLEY
The door to Dirty Dick’s slams closed behind me, shutting out the frigid December air. I stomp toward the bar, earning looks from the handful of people scattered about the place. They seem like regulars of this fine establishment, given the fact they’re closing it down on a random Monday night.
Dropping onto a stool, I unwind my scarf and toss it beside me, followed by my coat.
“Doors are closing in five!” Brooks shouts from somewhere in the back. “You missed last call.”
I groan. “Of fucking course I did.”
Brooks appears then, pushing the sleeves of his flannel up to expose his forearms, and that action alone has me staring. I wipe at the corner of my mouth, a little afraid I might be drooling. Clearly, this dry spell I’m in has been rotting my brain.
When he spots me, his brows furrow. “Hadley?”
“The one and only.”
I haven’t seen him since he insisted on playing nurse when I was sick the other day, but I have been on the receiving end of his texts. It’s been surprisingly easy to keep a conversation with him, making up for lost time.
Brooks braces a hand on the bar, leaning close to me. I notice he does that a lot, and it makes me wonder if it’s because of me or if it’s become a habit from chatting up strangers while he makes their drinks.
“What are you doing here?” he asks. “Not that I’m unhappy to see you.” He grins. “But I figured you wouldn’t be back after the first time.”
Grimacing, I take one of those square napkins off the bar and start tearing the corners off. “I wasn’t planning on it. But today was a rough day, lots to do, and I just couldn’t take being at the resort anymore.” I shrug. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
In a town the size of Sugar Peak, there is no place to go.
And aside from that, my revelation from before our kiss a couple weeks ago keeps ringing true. Even more so after the past few days. It’s been a long eight years without Brooks in my life, but now that he’s back, now that we’re both here in this town, I don’t want to push him away.
I already tried that, and it sucks .
When I look up from my pile of napkin confetti, I catch him studying me intently. I feel unnerved under his gaze, like I did that first night.
When he takes his eyes off me, I let go of the breath I was holding. But my relief is short-lived. Brooks reaches beneath the bar and produces two shot glasses. He sets them on the counter and then turns, reaching for a bottle from the shelves of liquor. I groan when he turns back around.
My eyes raise to his. “Really?” I ask. “Fireball?”
“Come on, Hads.” He gives the bottle a little shake. “For old times’ sake.”
I lick my lips as I shift uneasily on my stool. “What happened to last call?”
Brooks looks over my shoulder, and I do the same. The regular crowd has apparently already seen themselves out.
“Everyone knows we’re closed.” He uncaps the bottle and pours out the shots. “It’ll be our little secret. ”
When he slides one of the shots toward me, I catch it. The challenge is clear in his gaze. I don’t run from it.
The liquor slides down my throat with ease, but the burn makes my eyes water. I push the empty glass back to him with a shake of my head. Though now that my insides are full of warmth from the Fireball, I suppose I should thank him for the liquid courage.
While Brooks is busy closing down the bar, I pull up my latest texts with my sister. When I told her about him taking care of me when I was sick, she nearly swooned herself to death. Now she won’t stop going on about fate and destiny.
Sister Sam
It’s like a present! It is the holidays after all.
You think the universe decided to give me my ex for Christmas?
Sister Sam
I think that whatever it is, you shouldn’t waste it.
Of the two of us, I’ve always been the most logical. While my sister follows her gut, I tend to find some reason to distrust my instincts, and then I spend a great deal of time thinking everything over in excruciating detail.
Maybe the universe is telling you something. Something about you and Brooks .
And maybe… Maybe I don’t want to think so much anymore.
I grab the bottle of Fireball still sitting on the bar and pour myself another shot. This one goes down even easier, and the alcohol sets my pulse abuzz.
Before my brain can catch up to itself and stop me, I pull the mistletoe from my pocket and slap it on top of the bar like some kind of offering. I’m not sure why I kept it that day I pulled it from the doorway at the resort, but it has been taunting me ever since .
“Kiss me, Brooks.”
He turns to me then, his eyes wide, mildly taken aback. He runs a hand through his hair. “Not that the request is unwelcome, but…where is this coming from? Last time we kissed, you freaked out.”
That is a good fucking question. One I don’t immediately have the answer to.
“Would you believe me if I said I was listening to a sign from the universe?”
He laughs, full and deep. “No. But that is definitely something Sam would say.”
I groan, letting my head drop into my hands. Embarrassment stains my cheeks, turning them red. “Fucking sisters.”
He laughs again. “She getting in your head?”
“Yes!” I lift my gaze to him, picking up that stupid mistletoe and tossing it down the bar. “And this isn’t helping.”
He leans over the bar again, closer this time. “What does Sam think the universe is saying?”
I sigh. “That because we’re both in Sugar Peak at the same time, it’s trying to tell us something .”
“Alright,” he says. “Forget the universe for a second. What do you think?”
“I think…” I bite my lower lip. “I think I don’t know what I think.”
My mind has been at war with my body and my heart since I first saw Brooks in this very bar. I’ve been all over the place, pulling myself away from him, only to push myself closer. It’s frustrating, to say the least. If I were him, I wouldn’t be so forgiving of me.
“What would help you figure it out?” he asks. Because of course he does. He’s always been able to help me sort through my complicated thoughts.
I meet his eyes. “Maybe if I could…test the theory.”
He smiles. It isn’t even cocky or anything. Just encouraging, like he really wants to help me out. “And how would you like to test this theory?”
I take a deep breath. “I need you to kiss me again.”
“You’re sure?”
I nod. “Yes. Please, if you wouldn’t mind.”
Without a word, he rounds the bar, and I turn to watch him. He comes to stand in front of my stool, arms bracketing me on either side as he steps between my parted thighs. My breath hitches.
“It would be my pleasure.”
One of his hands comes up to my cheek, his thumb brushing my bottom lip. My mouth parts involuntarily, and the self-satisfied expression on Brooks’s face tells me he was hoping that would happen.
He leans down, and I angle my face toward his. We’re so unbelievably close, breaths intertwining. Anticipation thrums in my veins.
Then he pulls back.
“This position seems familiar. Your boss isn’t going to interrupt us this time, is he?” he asks, a teasing gleam in his eye.
I shake my head. “I sure hope not.”
Because I’m not sure I’d have the good sense to pull away from Brooks tonight. My brain is taking a back seat for once, and my body is in full control. That herd of butterflies comes back full-force.
When our lips meet, my body sags in unconscious relief. My arms drape over Brooks’s shoulders, and I pull him impossibly closer. A rightness settles over me, like having my body pressed against his is exactly where I belong.
When his tongue sweeps out against my lips, I open for him without hesitation. He has that affect on me. All my critical thinking skills cease to exist as I get lost in this man—in the way his mouth feels on mine.
As we pull apart, I try to catch my breath, but it’s hard when he’s still holding me close .
“What’s the verdict?” he asks, meeting my gaze. “Is the universe right?”
There’s a voice in the back of my head telling me this is wrong, we’ll only end up hurt, but the rest of my body is chanting Brooks, Brooks, Brooks in a deafening roar.
I smile somewhat shyly. “It might be on to something.”
His eyes search mine. “I might be pushing my luck here,” he says, “but what are the chances you’d come upstairs with me?”
He looks heart-stoppingly gorgeous right now. I would be a fool to pass up this opportunity, especially given the dull ache between my thighs. Because I want Brooks. I always have.
“I’d say they’re pretty good.”
Yet another understatement where Brooks Dawson is concerned.