Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
T he days before Christmas passed in a blur. The last two days of freedom before the new shipment of trees arrived were spent with Rhys. He came to the camper every day to pick her up, and they’d go for a drive or grab lunch or just go back to the hotel suite to watch the classic Christmas movies he insisted she needed to see in order to recapture the Christmas spirit she’d claimed to lack.
She’d had more fun and laughed more since meeting her handsome new friend than she had in ages, but with every hour that passed in seclusion with him, the doubt that niggled at her about him being embarrassed of her grew. And grew some more.
She allowed herself to enjoy her time with him. Gave herself over to the tantalizing kisses and the breathless sighs he drew from her before she forced herself to stop the madness, believing it would avoid the heartbreak she saw looming in the days ahead.
She knew it wouldn’t stop that tug of pain, but keeping herself from taking that last step was critical in her mind. A last-ditch effort to avoid worse pain should she succumb.
Now it was her last evening of freedom. Buck would arrive with a load of trees tomorrow, and her time with Rhys would end as abruptly as it began. But maybe it would help break the addiction that was Rhys Lachlan and clear her muddied brain from wanting more than she could expect to have.
She liked herself. She was a smart, capable woman. She loved and was loved by friends and family. She was confident in her talents and abilities as a human being. But she knew her level in the scheme of life, and whatever this was with Rhys wouldn’t last. It wasn’t real .
She’d allowed herself a few days to revel in the excitement and headiness of Rhys, but when it came down to it?
She wanted a fireplace. She wanted that warm, safe, hot pleasure that could be stoked high or banked, but would never, ever burn out.
It was what her parents had, and it was what she craved in her very soul. She couldn’t count the times her parents had embarrassed her with their PDAs. But anyone with eyes and ears knew without any doubt they loved, and they loved deeply. Even after all their years together, the fireplace still burned.
This thing with Rhys was a firework. It was hot and heady and beautiful in all its blazing, sparkly glory, but it would explode and fizzle and be gone in the blink of an eye. Burned out and forgotten as the next firework flared to life for him.
They’d planned to spend the final day together, but Rhys had business he had to handle that couldn’t wait, so she’d spent the morning working on her children’s story and making notes for the pages she’d need to design.
When she’d nearly given up on seeing him, he’d texted that he was finished and on his way. No doubt for another evening shielded from everyone like a secret.
She blinked, realizing she just stood there staring down at her clothes strewn across the camper bed and wasn’t making progress on finding a “last date” outfit. She grabbed a deep emerald sweater and paired it with jeans before adding booties and decided it worked.
Since it was windy outside, she pulled her hair into a sleek pony and hurried through makeup, focusing on her eyes and lips. No matter what, though, she couldn’t shake the thought that of all the time they’d spent together, they’d never really gone out in public. A business dinner hidden from view of the restaurant guests after the photo session didn’t count.
She’d just finished when a knock sounded on the camper door and sent her pulse racing. She put her feet in motion, pulling the little divider closed so whoever it was couldn’t see her pitiful selection of clothes scattered across the bed.
She unlocked the door and pushed it open to see Rhys standing on the other side.
“Sweet Sara,” he said in that husky tone, his gaze sweeping over her and heating her blood to boiling in an instant. “May I come in?”
She eyed his jeans and black button-down shirt beneath a sleek black leather coat, relaxing a bit at her clothing choice for the evening, and stepped back. “Um—there’s not a lot of room in here.”
He filled the tiny space and pulled the door closed behind him. The overhead light cast shadows over his dark hair and handsome face, and she watched as his gaze took in the kitchenette, dinette table and bench, and the bathroom. Her parents left colorful string lights up year-round, but there was little clutter otherwise.
Still, it was the perfect example of her life versus his. Another reminder of just how very different they were. The thought made her heart wither a little more. “Not quite the penthouse, huh?”
His gaze shifted from place to place, and she watched and waited, wondering at his thoughts when he remained quiet. After another moment, she began to squirm.
“You don’t have a Christmas tree even though you sell them?”
The question pulled a nervous huff from her, and she tucked her fingers into her rear pant pockets to keep from wringing them like a rag. “My mom usually does, but—I haven’t bothered with it.”
“I thought the last few days had helped you find some of that missing holiday spirit,” he murmured, his gaze locking on hers.
The heat she spied in his eyes left her belly fluttering even as her heart shriveled up that final inch. She’d forgotten about Rhys’s determination to bolster her flagging holiday spirit. He’d considered it a challenge, and if she’d learned nothing else about him, he took on challenges with his mind set to win them.
She’d made it all too easy, lapping up every ounce of his attention like Cinderella sweeping up all those ashes.
“We should fix your tree situation.”
“The new load will be here tomorrow. I’ll have more trees than you can shake a candy cane at.” She pointed to the table. “I’ll snag one and put it there. It’s fine.”
“Good. Until then, you can put this on the table. But no opening it until Christmas.”
He stuck a hand in the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a beautifully wrapped package.
“You bought me a present?”
“Just a little something that reminded me of you.”
She sank her teeth into her plump lower lip and hesitantly took the gift he still held out for her. “Thank you, but you shouldn’t have. I know you’re… I know you’re trying to boost my holiday spirit, but I don’t expect gifts.”
His expression warmed and softened, and the sight of it left her breathing shallow.
“Sweet Sara, let’s go have fun, yeah?”
It seemed important to him and because it was her last day before chaos descended and her time with him disappeared like that burst of crackling firework, she nodded. “Yeah.”