Chapter 13 #2
“Uh, yeah. Um, I don’t know. I—uh… Easton.”
The corners of his mouth tilted up, a gorgeous smile on his lips. And that’s when I became aware of the fact that he was still holding on to me.
His hands sat comfortably on my hips, like they belonged there.
“You should get better shoes,” he rumbled. “Those little ballerina flats are only good for the summer months here.”
“My-my shoes?” I asked, getting lost in the cinnamon of his eyes. They were somewhere between brown and amber. Almost like a toffee or a caramel.
He licked his lips, then hid his smile, trying not to show his amusement.
“You’re not from around here. Even if I didn’t already know that, your shoes are a dead giveaway. As is the tiny cardigan you’re always trying to pretend is a winter coat.” His eyes clouded over for half a second. “Why haven’t you bought better gear for yourself yet?”
“Uh… I’m going to. I’m wearing a wool underlayer. It keeps me warm.”
The clouds left his eyes. “Really? Well, you should get yourself a proper coat, and some better shoes. I saw you walking to work the other day. You can’t walk in this weather wearing shoes like that. You’ll get frostbite.”
“I know. I need to make it to a shoe store in Fernwood. But my car’s broken down right now. That’s why I’ve been walking to the office lately.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“T-transmission,” I stammered out. I realized I couldn’t think straight with his hands on me. I was going into some kind of swoon at the feel of his hands on my waist.
“I’m—I’m Violet,” I blurted out nonsensically. Then I blushed to my roots.
“Violet.” The way he said my name made it sound like a tasty, exotic dish that he was ready to sample. “I know who you are, Violet. We work together. Don’t you remember me? We were talking just this afternoon. And we went all the way out to the Bear Creek Lodge together.”
“I know who you are, Easton. I just got a little tongue-tied for a second there. I don’t know why I told you my name. T-that was weird,” I stammered out.
Easton assessed me for a moment, then nodded. “It’s nice to see you outside of work. So tell me what a woman like you is doing choosing the right cock warmer for Christmas? Is it for a boyfriend back home?”
My eyes almost popped out of my skull. “A what?—I’m not…” Then I descended into a fit of giggles.
“Well, you are standing right in front of the display,” he said with a giant grin on his face. “It makes a person wonder.”
The unfortunate thing about this was that now all I could think about was Easton’s cock. Would he need a jumbo-sized warmer? The man was big and tall. I didn’t know if it was true that big men had big dicks, but I kind of wanted to test the theory out.
I giggled again. “I was looking at one of the other displays. But I will admit that this craziness in their shop window was the reason I stopped in the first place.”
Easton grinned. “One of my buddies makes these with his wife. It’s some kind of an inside joke for them. And all the knitting women went crazy over it and demanded they start selling them. Cock warmers are pretty popular on Red Oak Mountain these days. They started a trend.”
Pushing past all the shyness in me, I squeaked out, “Which one would you want for Christmas?”
Then I realized what I’d just said and stammered, “That wasn’t appropriate. Your wife would be upset. Or your girlfriend. Forget I said that, please?”
Easton shook his head. “Nope on both counts. No wife. No girlfriend. Just me and my dogs. I’ve got a pack of them. Do you like dogs?”
The way he asked that made it seem like it was critically important to him. But the only thing that was important to me was finding out that Easton was single. “Really? Because you’re not on the list.”
He looked at me with curiosity brimming in his eyes. “I might have heard something about a list. What list am I not on, Violet?”
“T-the list at work. It’s silly, Anyway, uh, I was trying to figure out… Oh, just forget I said anything.” I wasn’t going to tell him he wasn’t on the singles office list that Peter had made for me.
“You’re going to keep me in suspense,” he drawled with a twinkle in his eye.
I nodded shyly while I tried to focus on the fact that he was single.
All the Christmas cheer flooded back into my life. And not only was he single, he was giving me his undivided attention.
Stammering, I said, “I-I guess so. But you’re evading; you never answered my question.”
“What question? About the cock warmers?”
My cheeks flushed pink, but I said, “Yeah. Which one would you wear?” Asking that question was the closest I’d gotten to flirting before in my life.
Easton rolled right along with it, relaxing right in front of me as he chuckled. “All right. This is serious business we’re talking about. Which one’s the biggest?”
My mouth dropped open. “I didn’t know you’re so conceited. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked the question!”
Easton studied the window display. “A man’s cock warmer needs to be personalized. So I’d go with the holiday design right there, and I’d have them add the personalization of Big Beast.”
I blushed wildly.
“Was that too much?” he grunted out. “I tend to be a joker once I get to know people. I hope you’re not offended.”
“No, I’m not offended. So you like the Christmas one?”
It was bright red and oversized, with green holly leaves festooning it.
“Yup. It’s the only one that will do.”
“So, a man like you actually gets into Christmas?” I asked while I tried to get over the fact that sexy Easton was talking to me.
“Are you kidding? I love Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday. My grandpa and I—”
Easton stopped talking suddenly, his eyes clouding. Then he took a deep breath. “Sorry. We lost him earlier this year, and it’s been a difficult transition for me. It’s the first Christmas without him, and it feels…”
That’s when I realized this big, sexy mountain man was on the verge of tears.
But he cleared his throat and blinked a few times, and the moment passed.
Without meaning to, I reached out and took his hand. “Losing someone you care about can be hard.”
“Yeah. Yup. It is.” He shook his head as if to clear it.
“But there’s a time and a place. My gramps would be pissed at me if he knew I was wasting a perfectly good holiday market moaning about him.
Have you made it to the peppermint bark booth yet?
Stephanie and Cory make the best peppermint bark in the country. ”
“Mm, do they? I hear good things about their turtle doves, too.”
“Turtle doves, huh?”
But if I was hoping to elicit a reaction from him, his face gave nothing away.
Easton wasn’t my Secret Santa. He was just the man I’d been crushing on hard from a distance.
“After that, any chance you want to go ice-skating?” he asked.
“We’ve got an awesome rink on the edge of town.
It’s just a pond, nothing fancy. But we like it here.
Or we could go to the roller rink in Fernwood.
I remember you were singing that song about roller skating.
Ice skating’s similar, just a little colder. ”
I had no idea why Easton would want to spend the evening with me. But my answer was a resounding YES.
I’d say yes to this man every night.
“That sounds lovely,” I told him, feeling shy all over again. It’s not like he’d asked me on a date-date. This was more of a hang-out-date.
But the look on his face almost said it was a date-date.
“You’ll need to wear something warmer because the pond gets chilly. Here.”
He took off his winter coat and tucked it over my shoulders, the scent of pine and wood smoke mingling pleasantly in the air. “You never did say if you like dogs or not.”
I tugged his coat closer around me, breathing deep. “I love dogs. But they need to get along with my cat Snowball.”
“Snowball, huh? That’s a good name for a cat. Is it white?”
“He is. And he’s perpetually spoiled. I installed a cat ramp along my wall that leads to three different basking stations so he can follow the trail of the sun as it goes across the sky.”
“Sounds like a lucky cat. I’d like to meet him someday.”
“You want to meet my cat?” It was practically a marriage proposal!
“Yes, ma’am. And I’ll introduce you to my dogs, too. I’ve got Droolius Ceasar, Sir Barks A Lot, and Pesto.”
His fingers coiled around mine, and suddenly my entire world was complete.