Chapter 19
Knox
As we make the rounds, Everly leans into me, and I feel like I’ve won the lottery. Died and gone to heaven. Something along those lines.
At first, she clutches my hand as if she’s afraid I’ll run—or maybe, as if my presence gives her strength. She is smart, capable, and exudes strength in every other setting, but I’m happy to be here for her if my presence lends courage or shores her up.
Little by little, her grip eases as we’re greeted by her boss and she’s introduced to new face after new face. For the most part, her new coworkers are friendly and welcoming. More than once, I catch some of the men checking her out, which makes me pull her closer. Hopefully I’m not overstepping.
Eventually, we’re seated at a round table set for eight on the edge of a parquet dance floor. Christmas tunes make merry through the speakers, but no one is using the wooden square for its intended purpose. Will they after dinner? I’m not known for being light on my feet.
The ballroom is brought to life with the sparkle of crystal chandeliers. Along the perimeter of the room, red uplighting has been added, presumably for the Christmassy occasion.
The table we’re led to fills with faces we’ve already met. Everly visibly relaxes as the meal rolls on.
After dessert, the instrumental Christmas music changes to dancier tunes, and the floor begins to fill. I lay my hand on Everly’s. “Would you like to dance?” For her, I’ll rise to the occasion.
She glances from me to the increasingly crowded dance floor, teeth working her bright lip. I’ve seen more display of uncertainty tonight than in all the time I’ve known her. She’s an introvert operating incognito, something I hadn’t realized until now. Out of her element, a new side of her shows.
“Would it disappoint you too much if I said no?”
I squeeze her hand. “It wouldn’t disappoint me at all.”
Okay, that borders on untrue, because I had already begun to anticipate swaying to the music while holding her against me.
She shifts sideways, tipping her shoulder into mine. “Honestly, I’m not much of a dancer, but even if I were, these shoes are torturing my feet, even seated.”
“Aw, I’m sorry, Ev.”
Discreetly, she nudges her elbow into me in that way I can’t get enough of. Any time she touches me is magic.
“You should be sorry. We women wear these atrocities to get the attention of you men.”
I barely contain a laugh and speak in a low tone, although the only couple remaining at our table isn’t paying us a lick of attention. “I assure you, Everly, you had my attention long before the shoes—but I greatly appreciate the effort on my behalf.” I flash a lazy, flirt-laden wink.
She blushes, slaps my hand, and tells me not to get a big head.
Laughing, I lace our fingers together.
A minute later, a bubbly, thirty-something redhead comes over and introduces herself as the admin assistant who’s been handling all of Everly’s hiring paperwork. She says she’s glad to put a face to the name. The three of us make small talk for several minutes.
A solid hour past dinner, the strain of socializing shows behind Everly’s eyes, which plead hopefully. “Do you think I’ve stayed long enough?”
I rise above the wallop of attraction that washes over me every time she looks at me and stifle a smile. She’s flowed with grace through introductions and small talk. Now, she’s done.
I stand, push my chair in, and hold out my hand. The festive holiday music tends to drown out words, so I place my lips close to her ear. “Let’s get out of here, sweetheart.”
Electricity buzzes about us. I wasn’t going for sultry, but borderline suggestive is how the prompt came out.
If the suggestion is a kiss by midnight, I’m guilty as charged.
We make a stop by the restrooms in preparation for the hour drive home. She emerges a few minutes later reading on her phone. “Mom says the frozen stuff they’ve been calling for has started early. She says there’s been light sleet at the house for about half an hour.”
“Uh-oh.”
Everly shrugs as I help her on with her wrap. I remove her soft hair from where it gets caught in the collar. “So far, everything’s been melting on the roads, but we better hurry.”
Despite sore feet, this time she rejects my offer to wait while I get the car. She insists on leaving the festivities before she’s forced to speak to another soul. I smile to myself. Yeah, socializing is exhausting for some of us.
The posh hotel is in a mixed use development with condos, retail, and several corporate headquarters.
I take Everly’s hand and fast walk along sidewalks winding through a parklike area where the trees glisten and glimmer with professionally wrapped lights.
We pass a sleigh pulled by reindeer created from white lights glistening on the crunchy winter grass. Cold mist swats our faces.
“Brrr.” Everly, limping ever so slightly, picks up the pace and tugs me along.
“Not a cold-weather girl?”.
“Nope. Not a summer girl, either, at least not around here. Way too hot.”
“Is there no pleasing you, woman?”
Her laughter rings out like Christmas cheer, starkly contrasting with the prim and proper version of socializing I witnessed over the past hours. She pulls harder. “Stop slowpoking. My frostbite is getting frostbite.”
I draw alongside, intending to bundle her up in a side hug because it seems I can’t get enough, but as I do, she gasps and her knees buckle, making my embrace utterly essential. “You okay?”
“My ankle.” Her fingernails gouge my suitcoat.
I look down. The weaponlike spike of her left heel is adios, gobbled into the black hole of a metal drain grate. “Wow. That shoe is done for.”
“Well…phooey. I love these things.” She puffs a tight-lipped breath that floats a white cloud into the air.
“Sucker for pain, are you?”
“You wouldn’t understand. But…speaking of pain…”
I’m selfish enough to enjoy temporary status as Everly’s lone defense against gravity. “How bad does it hurt? Scale of one to ten?”
She eases her grip and waves the question away. “Maybe a seven? Eight if we keep talking about it. I’m fine. Let’s go.” But her first step devolves into a hop. “Oh, brother.”
I sweep my gaze around the empty plaza. We’re in kind of a no-man’s land. Even if I left her and went for the car, there would still be plenty of walking involved.
“I’m fine, Knox. Just, um, let me hold on to you.”
I snuggle her closer, even as I tip my head to the sky, groaning. “Ugh, do I have to?”
She laughs, a melody that swiftly devolves into a hiss.
“Aw, man, that bad?”
Teeth clenched, she nods sharply.
“I can carry you.”
Our gazes collide. “I’ll be okay.”
That would make exactly one of us. Bad of me as it is to be thinking of kissing her while she’s hurting, I don’t believe I’ll be okay until our lips have met.
She makes it a few more step-hops before stopping against a railing. “I just need to rest a second.”
A fresh shot of north wind scoops her hair up, whipping wayward strands across her cheeks, pale but with a pinky tone heightened by the cold.
That’s it. I step in front of her. “Arms around my neck.”
“Knox…”
She squeals as I sweep her off her feet. Lifting Everly is akin to pumping baby weights at the gym.
“Knox!” Her squawk sails straight into my ear canal. “I said I can walk. Are you hard of hearing?”
“Might be after that screech.”
“Nothing more than you deserve for not following orders.”
“Orders, eh?”
She thumps a fist—quite ineffectually—at my chest.
Her breath warms the skin above my collar. “You’re slowing me down, lady. Doing it your way will land us both in the ER with frostbite.”
“Knox.”
I halt, making our noses nearly touch. “Pretty please, may I carry you to the car, your highness?” I’ll put her down if she insists.
But she releases a drama-filled sigh, looping her arms around my neck and…ahhh…resting her head to my chest. “Fine. Have it your way.”
With every step, her purse flaps against my back. When we reach the car, I aim for the passenger side.
“Hey, what are you doing? I can drive!”
A pattern is developing. I act, Everly protests, I make and win my case.
But there are steps to follow. I set her carefully onto her feet and let reality do the talking. “You sure about that?” Her driving foot is the injured party.
Wobbling, she sucks in a sharp mouthful of air that does make me feel a tad guilty. “You play dirty, Knox Herd.”
“Nope. Just to win, Everly Anne.” I tweak the tip of her nose. “Now. What do you say?”
She glares.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
She lets me stabilize her as she slides into the passenger seat. She takes the belt from me and bats at my hand. “It’s only my foot. I think I can still manage to put on a seatbelt.”
I grin all the way around the car. The hum of Jingle Bells rumbles my lips while I adjust the seat and mirrors.
As at the motel, the engine hesitates a second before rolling over. “You really need to get that looked at.”
All I get for my helpful suggestion is a mumbly grunt, and by the time we’re merging with freeway traffic, Everly’s arms are pinned in an unduly tight x across her chest.
“Does your ankle hurt really bad? We can stop for something.”
One long finger beats her arm. “This is just awful.”
I signal to move over a lane, aiming for the next exit.
She grabs my arm. “I don’t need medicine. I can handle the pain.” She huffs. “What I can’t deal with is the humiliation.”
We fly past the green exit sign. “Humiliation?”
“Maybe in some stupid romcom the bimbo twists her ankle and needs the guy to sweep her into his arms.” She snorts. “Ridiculously clichéd, and not a real-life scenario.”
I choke on a laugh. Oh, the irony.
She wags her finger. “All I can say is you better know this is not fake and not me flirting.”
Should I clue her in that we men don’t exactly have a problem with being the object of flirtation? “Aw, now you’re just ruining the fun, Ev.” My aim is for a roguish smile. “Carrying you is top-ten.”
She presses her back to the door. “Top-ten what?”