Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
I examined myself in the mirror and sighed. I really needed to get my hair cut. Maybe add some highlights. Or layers.
Blech. I didn’t have time to worry about it. And knowing me, I’d never actually do it anyway. I was lucky if I got my hair cut once a year.
Seeing Wyatt, and how polished he always was, was making me doubt my appearance. I needed a swift kick in the ass to remind myself that it didn’t matter. If he didn’t want to hang out with me because of my hair, he could kiss my ass.
I tied my non-highlighted, non-layered locks up into a ponytail so my hair didn’t end up knotted from my coat.
I smoothed a hand over my cami, wondering if I was insane for wearing it.
I loved the bright red color with my dark jeans.
The gray, one-button wrap cardigan I was going to add would temper the red a bit, but it wouldn’t hide it.
“Ugh.” I was dressing up for Wyatt. Which meant I liked him. “Dammit.”
I turned to my closet to look for something else to throw on when I heard the doorbell. Vicki was out with Hunter, so I had no choice but to deal with the outfit I already had on and let Wyatt in.
I put my sweater on as I walked through the living room, pausing to take a deep breath before I opened the door.
Wyatt looked up and grinned at me. His eyes scanned my body slowly, warming me up in spite of the cold outside.
“Hey,” he said, stepping inside and kissing me quickly. “That’s a great color on you.”
“Thank you. I’m starting to wonder if you own anything that isn’t black.”
He grinned. “Want to know a secret?”
I nodded.
“I’m color-blind. I wear a lot of gray and black because then I know everything I’m wearing matches.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised and impressed with his ingenuity.
“Yep. I don’t tell many people, but no one’s ever called me on my lack of color in my wardrobe before.”
“Sorry,” I said with a wrinkle of my nose. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t. We’re good.”
“How did you know I was wearing red?”
“I didn’t. I just said it was a good color on you. I wasn’t sure what color it was though.”
“Wow. The doctor in me is fascinated by this.”
He grinned. “You can grill me over dinner.”
“Deal,” I said, grabbing my coat. Wyatt helped me into it, then checked out my ass while I put my boots on. When I caught him, he just shrugged. And grinned.
After way too much pasta and meatballs at Luciano’s, Wyatt wanted to go ice skating in Buffalo.
“Do you do anything indoors?”
He laughed. “I do. But not during this time of year. Isn’t it fun to get out and enjoy the cold weather?”
I shook my head. “No! It’s freaking cold!”
He laughed again. “We’ll be skating. It won’t be that cold.”
“And you said this is outside?”
“Yep. It’s great. Near the water. It’s a great place. I go every year, at least a couple times.”
“When is it going to be my turn?” I whined.
“Any time you want. You tell me when you want to plan something and I’ll be there.”
I thought about it for a minute. Wyatt’s activities were a lot more fun than mine. Usually I worked myself into exhaustion then crashed when I got home. If I wasn’t tired enough, I’d watch TV until I couldn’t stay awake any longer.
Anything to avoid thinking about Christmas.
Wyatt couldn’t find a parking space anywhere close to the ice rink.
We ended up on the side of the road nearby, with all the other people who were just getting there.
Wyatt bumped against my side as we walked to the entrance.
He paid for us to get in and rented us skates.
When we were laced up, Wyatt led me to the rink.
“You have skated before, right?” he asked as we stepped onto the ice.
“It’s been a while, but yeah.”
Wyatt skated ahead of me like he was a pro, leaving me to wonder if there was anything he wasn’t amazing at.
He turned and saw me gripping the wall like it was the only thing between standing and being on my ass on the ice, because it was.
With a shake of his head, Wyatt came back and reached for my hands.
“Come on.”
“You go ahead. It’ll take me a minute to get my bearing. It’s like riding a bike.”
“I’ll skate with you.”
I slowly eased away from the wall, walking on the ice instead of actually skating. A kid flew past me, startling me into almost falling.
“You okay?” Wyatt asked, sliding his arm around my waist.
I nodded. “Yeah. It’s more than a little embarrassing when someone thirty years younger than me is that much better of a skater.”
“It’s not that bad. The kid was probably only about twenty-seven years younger than you.”
I scoffed, glaring at him and trying not to laugh. Wyatt grinned broadly, waiting until I burst out laughing.
“Alright, smart ass. You’re probably right. But you don’t need to rub it in.”
Wyatt laughed with me, keeping his arm around my waist. We skated together, well, I shuffled, around the rink, dodging couples like us and moving out of the way of speed skaters. Wyatt kept me laughing, telling stories about growing up.
“You really liked being the oldest, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “Definitely. I wouldn’t have been able to torture my brother and sister as much if they were older than me.”
“Did they ever give it back to you?”
“Nope. Even now, when we get together every week, it’s like they’re waiting for me to play some trick on them.”
“Every week?” I blurted.
Wyatt nodded. “Absolutely. I love my family. My parents still live in the house I grew up in and we all go over there Sunday afternoon. Of course, this time of year we’re watching football. Or arguing about football, really.”
He laughed to himself, thinking about his family.
I didn’t know anyone who was that close to their family.
God knew I wasn’t. As soon as I was old enough to leave, I was gone.
Vicki following me wasn’t really the plan, but I loved my sister.
Even if she was a constant reminder that she was the favorite daughter.
“Are you going to visit your parents for Christmas?” Wyatt asked, bringing me back.
I shook my head. “No. I don’t usually.”
“Really? You can’t be working on Christmas, are you?”
I nodded. “I pick up the on-call shift for one of the practices I partner with. They help me out when I need an extra set of hands, so I take the Christmas shifts so they can be with their families.”
“When’s the last time you went home?”
I shrugged. “I can’t really remember,” I lied. He didn’t really want to know about my rocky past with my parents. We were having fun, not getting involved.
“What does your family do for Christmas?” I asked, hoping it would get him talking again.
He grinned, and I knew it worked.
“We always get together on Christmas Eve. My dad has three sisters so we go to one of my aunt’s houses so we can see the extended family. The kids get presents and the adults trade bottles of alcohol.”
“How many of you are there?”
He laughed. “A ton. I have seven first cousins. Everyone except me is married, which makes it a little frustrating to dodge questions about when I’m going to settle down. There’s eleven kids, I think? No thirteen now. Two more of my cousins had kids this year.”
“Wow, big family.”
“Yeah. It gets crazy when we all get together. But it’s awesome. You should come.”
I stopped, facing him on the ice. “Won’t that mess with your whole ‘I’m single and I love it’ thing?”
Wyatt laughed and shook his head. “We’re friends. And if you’re in town, you shouldn’t spend Christmas alone.”
“I’m not. Olivia invited us over to her house.”
“This is Christmas Eve. When are you going to Olivia’s?”
“Um, Christmas Day.”
“Then you should come with me.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Family things really aren’t for me.”
“Oh. Sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed.”
He turned to keep skating, leaving me to feel like garbage for brushing him off. “Wyatt, wait.”
He smiled. “It’s fine, Peyton. I’m not trying to change things between us. I just wanted to spend more time with you. One of the things I love about this time of year is getting together with my crazy family. I thought it might be fun, especially since you won’t be with yours.”
Well, shit. When he said it like that, it didn’t sound that bad.
“How about I think about it,” I suggested.
His face brightened. “I’ll take it.”
“So, um, how much longer did you want to skate?” I asked.
He smiled. “What, skating isn’t your thing?”
“Not really.”
“No skating. No sledding. No shopping. No family. What do you actually like to do?”
I shot him a look that gave him a damn good idea of what I liked to do. His jaw dropped and he nearly fell on the ice. He caught himself and gave me a grin.
“Damn. You can’t look at me like that.”
I shrugged. “Why not?”
“Because I might get the wrong idea.”
“About what?” I asked innocently.
Wyatt chuckled. “You’re a complicated woman, Dr. Peyton.”
“I think I’ve heard that somewhere before.”
He laughed and led me off the ice. We took off our skates and returned them.
He slipped an arm around my waist on our walk to the car, our steps falling into sync as we walked.
When we got to the darkened part of the street where we parked, Wyatt didn’t open my door like I expected.
He pressed my back to the door and covered me with his body.
“You’re making me a little crazy, Peyton,” he murmured, nibbling on my throat.
“The feeling’s mutual,” I confessed.
“Well, I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who’s crossing our original boundaries.”
I nodded. “Jumping over them, I think.”
“Want to help me set up my Christmas tree?” he whispered, nuzzling my ear.
I pulled back to look at him. “Is that a line?”
He threw his head back and laughed loudly. I chuckled with him, loving the way he laughed with his whole body. Like when he laughed, every part of him was having fun.
I wondered if he would laugh during sex. One of those playful, silly guys who never took anything too seriously.
“It wasn’t supposed to be a line, but I guess that should depend on your answer.”
He stared at me, his eyes blazing with desire. I knew I had the same look on my face. I wanted him. I wanted to spend time with him. And I didn’t care if we really were setting up his Christmas tree, or if that was what he called his cock. I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to be with him.
“I’d love to help you set up your Christmas tree,” I said, my voice low and sexy, I hoped.
Wyatt crushed his mouth to mine, his tongue diving between my lips. I answered with arms around his neck and a tug to get him closer. He stepped toward me, the side of his SUV preventing me from moving back. I loved the feel of him against me. Protecting me. Touching me. Devouring me.
His tongue glided over mine, a tantalizingly sweet move for a man who had me pinned to the side of his vehicle. His hands were low on my hips, holding me against him. As he kissed me, I felt him lengthening between us. Knowing how much he was enjoying our kiss spurred me on.
I thrust my tongue against his and tugged on his hair. He growled into my mouth, then tangled his tongue with mine. We made out like teenagers hiding in their parents’ basement until we were breathless and desperate for more.
He pulled back, raining kisses down my neck to the collar of my sweater. “I’m starting to think it may have been a line after all.”
I laughed, loving that I could make him as lost as he made me. “I said yes, Wyatt.”
He pulled back and grinned. “You did. I better get you back to my place before you change your mind.”
“Not gonna happen, Mr. Mayor.”
“You have no idea how happy that makes me, Dr. Peyton.”
I shifted my hips against him. He groaned. “I have a little bit of an idea how happy you are.”
“Dangerous. You’re dangerous.”
He kissed me again quickly, stealing my breath, then opened the door for me to get in. The twenty minute drive back to Winterville was painful as Wyatt rubbed my thigh the entire drive. By the time we got to his place, I was sure I’d left a wet spot on the seat of his car.
Wyatt led me into a secured building then opened the door to his condo with a sheepish grin. “It really isn’t much.”
“You’re like me, Wyatt. All you do is sleep here. I’d think you were crazy if you had a spectacular place that you were never around to enjoy.”
He nodded. “That’s how I’ve always felt, too.”
Wyatt went through flipping on lights. I followed him to the living room and my good mood plummeted.