Chapter 3 #2
I bundle up in my hat and black down coat for the short walk to our office on Main Street. We’re in a converted apartment above Something’s Brewing Café. I left enough time to get a latte. It’s nice to get out of the house and focus on work.
I take one step onto our porch, spy Cal Davis across the street, shoveling snow for some reason, and do an about-face, practically leaping back inside. I shut the door and lean against it, my heart in my throat. Okay, deep breath.
Let’s look at this logically. Cal’s shoveling snow from the front sidewalk of the Serenity Inn. He’s either a really bad lawyer needing a side gig, or he’s helping out while living at the inn right across the street from me. Why couldn’t he stay at that nice out-of-town hotel?
I freely admit our hookup was a mistake and completely initiated by me. Lesson learned. Don’t jump into bed with a guy with soulful eyes. It’ll twist you around until you don’t know what’s fun and what’s real.
Harper walks into our front room with her laptop and settles on the cushy red velvet sofa. She mostly works at home as a graphic designer. “Why are you leaning against the door? Don’t you have a meeting?”
I set my satchel down and peek out the front window. Yup. Still there. “Cal’s shoveling snow at the inn. Right out front.”
She joins me at the window. “He’s probably just helping out. Mason shoveled this morning, but we got more snow since he left for work.”
“Okay, new plan. I’ll drive to work.”
Her brows lift. “Seriously?”
I’m being ridiculous. My office is half a block away on Main Street. I don’t care. I need a safe perimeter away from Cal.
She gives me an exasperated look. “You’re going to have to deal with him at some point now that he works in town. I heard his apartment won’t be ready until March first.” News travels fast in a small town.
“Right, okay. It’s not like he’s staying across the street for me. Maybe he wanted to get started at work right away in light of his breakup, and this has nothing to do with me. He probably wants to organize his new office. Right? That’s what I would do.”
Harper gives me side-eye. “Right.” She goes back to her laptop.
“And May must be happy to have a paying guest. It’s tough when you’re starting a new business.” May’s a single mom brave enough to start the inn to follow her dream. Well, she was a single mom. Soon to be married to Mason.
“Exactly. I’m sure Cal’s forgotten all about you. Mackenzie who?”
I glare at her, but she’s too busy on her laptop to notice. It’s only been three days since Cal and I, err, connected. I turn back to the front window to keep an eye on May’s first paying guest. “Of course I’m happy for May.”
As if Cal senses my staring, he turns, catches my eye, and waves. Mortified at being caught staring, I lift a palm and step back from the window.
My heart races. I can’t leave the house now. It looks like I was spying on him.
I turn to Harper, distraught. “He waved.”
She gasps in mock horror. “How intimate.”
I worry my lower lip. Am I going to have to pretend I didn’t see this man in his naked glory every time I leave the house?
I yank my hat off and turn to Harper. She looks so serene as she works it makes me more agitated. “The out-of-town hotel was nice, too. I don’t know why he wanted to move hotels.”
“I bet May’s giving him a good long-term rate. Of course, if he wants the lowest rate, we could use a roommate.” She grins. “We could make him shovel snow, take out the trash, and kill bugs for us.”
My back gets up. “We don’t need a man around for those crappy chores. I can do crappy chores as well as any man.”
“Great. They’re all yours.”
I shut my mouth with a snap. I walked into that one.
I check the time. I’m starting to sweat in my winter coat. I need to go.
I shift casually over to the sofa, being careful not to be seen through the front window. “Is he still there?”
She doesn’t look up. “You said it meant nothing.”
“Not nothing. I just planned on moving on.”
“Then say hi to our new neighbor and go to work. He’ll see you’re moving on just fine.”
I jam my hat back on. “Maybe I will.”
“Good. ’Cause I sure don’t want to listen to you bitch about your casual fling for the next two weeks. The man has to live somewhere.”
Cal
After shoveling the front walk, I put some rock salt down to keep the ice away.
Being from Minnesota, dealing with snow and ice is second nature for me.
I’m finishing up when my eye catches on Mackenzie marching straight for me.
She doesn’t look happy. Were the flowers too much?
I just wanted to give her a gift like she gave me by turning my day around.
And if she’s open to it, I wouldn’t mind another night like that.
I meet her halfway. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she says tensely, looking anywhere but at me. “I live right there.” She stabs a finger in the direction of her house.
“I know. I looked you up for the flowers. Did you like them?”
She waves that away and finally meets my eyes with a hard look.
Damn if I’m not drawn in again. Angry, happy, in the throes of pleasure, doesn’t matter.
She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.
Her light gray knit hat frames her face—the color is high in her cheeks, her sky blue eyes bright, her lips pink.
Her long dark hair is just as soft as it looks.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she snaps.
“Like what?”
“Like, you know.”
I feign innocence. “I don’t know.”
She presses her lips in a flat line. “Cal, let me be very clear. No more contact between us beyond a friendly wave from a distance. Call it the law of the one-night stand.”
I suppress a laugh. “The law of the one-night stand, huh? I must’ve missed that class in law school.”
She crosses her arms. “Obviously.”
I shift closer, lowering my voice. “I had a good time that night. I—”
“Do you remember what we talked about before our hotel time? Because I sure do. I’m not looking for anything serious in this phase of my life, and you just got out of a live-in relationship for not being able to commit, which is fine.
Great, actually. That’s why I moved forward with you, but I’m getting the distinct feeling—”
“Hey, relax. It was fun.”
She pulls fuzzy white gloves from her pockets, and one falls on the ground. I pick it up and offer it to her. She ignores me, pulling on the other one. “Exactly. It was fun. Past tense. Glad we understand each other.”
I take her hand and carefully slide the glove on. She stares at my hand. Once the glove’s on, I hold her smaller hand in mine and dip my head to catch her eye. “If we both agree this isn’t serious, what’s the harm of a repeat?”
She slides her hand from mine and looks at me suspiciously. “Like a friends-with-benefits situation?”
I lean down, my lips a breath away from hers. “Without the friends part.”
Her breath hitches in anticipation. I can’t disappoint her. I kiss her, tender and then deeper. She kisses me back with complete abandon, her arms wrapping around my neck. That kind of lusty abandon is rare. I fucking love it.
She pulls away abruptly, seeming embarrassed. “I have a work meeting.”
“Stop by tonight.”
“Maybe.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know.”
I snag her by the waist of her coat, drawing her close for one last, lingering kiss. “Think about it.”
Her expression is wary with a hint of longing and, underneath all that, vulnerable. Does she know how her emotions show on her face? She’d be terrible at poker. I watch as she walks away, the cute pompon on her hat bouncing in time to her rapid steps.
I hope longing wins out because I can’t forget the night we had together. Maybe I’ll suggest strip poker. Ha.