Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
The Clairmont house had never looked so festive. As Northfield’s most popular mayor, Theo’s Christmas Eve party was always the highlight of the season, but since marrying Amber, the festivities had gone up several hundred notches under her guidance.
The huge old Victorian was lit up from the roofline to the ground, garlands draped every surface, and the tree in the front parlor window was even bigger than Rush’s.
Knowing her sister’s tendency for being over-the-top, Lily had gone all out for the night, too—hair curled, lips glossed, and a silky cranberry-red dress that Evie swore made her look like a Christmas ornament come to life.
The neckline dipped low enough to feel daring but not embarrassed by her aunts, and the skirt had a long slit on one side to show off a little thigh.
Evie, unfortunately, hadn’t made it. Dr. Pierce had asked her to spend the evening helping him “prepare” for a conference he was presenting at next week.
From the outfit Evie had chosen, Lily had a feeling she had other plans.
Her twin didn’t break out the silk blouse and pencil skirt combo just to alphabetize research articles.
So Lily was on her own tonight, determined to shake off the melancholy of the last week and enjoy the night, surrounded by family and more than a hundred of Northfield’s residents.
So she smiled. She mingled. She took the wine Theo offered and even let that cute Deputy Ben Tanner make a joke about saving him a dance. At least, she thought he was joking.
Everyone was in high spirits—Annette and the aunts, including Cap, looking dashing in his fire chief uniform, the firefighters and their wives, a scattering of deputies and their families. Lily chatted and laughed, aided by a little alcohol, yes, but she was enjoying herself.
A week since the pageant, longer since Candlelight Night, and Lily hadn’t seen Rush once.
A week of silence, but not by accident. She’d made sure of it.
She kept herself busy: wrapping presents with Allie for her nieces and nephews, baking cookies with Evie—being careful to steer clear of the sheriff’s office across the street, even walking the long way around the block when she needed to.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him.
She wanted to—Lord, did she. She’d wanted real and raw and something that felt alive, and that was exactly what he’d given her.
A handful of weeks she could tuck away, a secret stash of heat and memories to pull out years from now when she wanted to remember what it felt like to be consumed.
Rush didn’t owe her anything more. He’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in forever, or even talking, just what they could steal together in the bedroom. Or the couch. Or her studio.
She missed that too.
But tonight, at Theo and Amber’s Christmas Eve party, she was determined to smile, to drink good wine, flirt if she felt like it, and lean on her family. She had her flaws, but self-destruction wasn’t one of them.
Then the tingle started—that telltale prickle she always felt right before she saw him. The roar of the party dulled to a buzz, and she went still.
And then she saw him.
His uniform was gone tonight. He wore a dark suit jacket open over a white button-down.
Even out of uniform, Rush’s presence held the same gravity.
He didn’t bother with polite sheriff smiles tonight—he moved like a man on a mission, searching the room with his eyes.
People stepped aside without realizing they’d done it, carving him a path straight to her.
Ben said something at her side, but she didn’t catch it. Rush was walking through the room, right toward her.
“Excuse me,” he rumbled when he reached her, his hand cupping her bare elbow. The heat of it made her shiver.
“Looking for someone?” Ben taunted with an easy grin, but Rush didn’t even glance his way.
He simply steered her away from the crush of people, into a quieter room off the living room.
Her pulse hammered so loudly she wondered if he could hear it. She swallowed, trying to summon her cool. “Didn’t expect to see you here, Sheriff.”
His eyes dragged over her, from the cranberry silk skimming her curves to the gloss on her lips before locking on her eyes. “Yeah,” he said gruffly. “Figured that out.”
“I’ve been busy,” she said, only half lying.
“Busy avoiding me.” He didn’t soften the accusation, but his thumb skimmed the tender skin of her inner arm, almost as if he had to touch her. “You think I haven’t noticed?”
Lily lifted her chin. His eyes were silver-gray and clear with purpose. “Have you?”
“Drove me out of my fucking mind all week.”
The words landed hot in her belly. She wanted to be cautious, to protect the rather small part of her heart left that he hadn’t already touched, but that wasn’t her nature. “Well, I’m here now,” she said softly, smiling up at him.
“I can’t stay away from you.” He brushed his fingers against her cheek. “Every damn day I walk into work and have to force myself not to walk across the street. But every damn day, it feels like I can’t breathe without you.”
The honesty in his voice melted through her, even as her heart thudded so hard it hurt. “Then stop trying,” she whispered.
He leaned closer and rested his forehead on hers. “You look beautiful,” he said roughly.
“Thank you. So do you. Look handsome, I mean,” she added with the start of a flush because the way he was looking at her—like he wanted to devour her—made heat slide low and slow in her veins.
Up close, she could see the shadows under his eyes, the faint strain of tiredness, but he was still Rush. All hard lines and quiet strength, coiled tight with the kind of pent-up energy that made her pulse trip. Just being near him lit her up in places she’d been trying to ignore all week.
“I’m glad you came,” she murmured.
“Only to see you.” His voice dropped, low enough that it teased over her skin and left goose bumps in its wake. “I hate these things.”
The faint curve of his mouth wasn’t much, but it was solely for her. It was enough to make her feel like liquid honey was in her veins. Her lips curved too.
Then his eyes flicked to her mouth.
Everything inside her went still. His eyes darkened, turning darker, like he was remembering how good they were together.
“Aunt Lily, who’s that man?”
Lily blinked, snapping back to reality.
Savvie stood at her side, staring up at them curiously. Her blond curls, once tamed neatly into a braid, had come loose and were tangled wildly around her face. She wore her purple princess dress with a straggly piece of lace trailing after her, and her tiara was crooked.
“I’m Savvie,” she announced, popping two fingers out of her mouth.
Rush took a subtle step back and held out a hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, Savvie. I’m Rush Callahan.”
They eyed each other for a long minute, seeming to size each other up.
Then Savvie grabbed Rush’s hand and held on.
“I’m gonna need that back,” Rush said solemnly.
She tilted her head the same way Bash had weeks earlier. “Are you Aunt Lily’s boyfriend?”
Heat flared across Lily’s cheeks. “Savvie…” What’s with kids asking that question?
Rush’s eyes locked with Lily’s. “Yes, ma’am,” he said firmly. “I am.”
Oh my.
“You like her.”
“Yes, I do. A lot.”
Before Lily could form a reply, Savvie pointed upward, smiling slyly. “You’re under the mistletoe.”
Rush followed her finger, and sure enough, a ball of fresh mistletoe hung above them. “Looks like it.”
The flash of amusement in his expression didn’t soften the intent in his eyes. He bent down, put a hand on her waist, and brushed his mouth slowly against hers. He squeezed her waist gently before letting her go.
When he drew back, Lily was still reeling from the feel of him. Her chest cinched tight.
“What’s in your hair, Savvie?” Lily asked to break the tension.
Savvie pulled a sticky curl over her hair and looked at it distastefully. “Peanut butter,” she said, sticking her bottom lip out. “Mama washed it out, but I was saving it.”
Lily stifled a laugh. Oh, Savvie.
“Peanut butter’s better on a sandwich than in your hair,” Lily murmured, catching sight of Rush’s smile.
Savvie huffed, unimpressed, and tugged Rush’s hand. “Wanna play Barbies?” she asked. “You can be Ken,” she added generously, tugging Rush toward Theo’s expensive ottoman, where a Barbie house currently sat.
And just like that, the sheriff of Northfield planted himself on the rug with a plastic Ken doll in his big hand and impressed them both with his Ken voice.
His sisters had taught him well.
Lily stood rooted to the spot, watching them. He wasn’t hers. She couldn’t fix him. But she couldn’t seem to stop the hope blooming almost painfully in her chest because there, sitting on the rug next to her niece, he was exactly what she wanted.
Annette appeared by her side and followed her gaze. “Well,” she said, “would you look at that?”
A rustle in the doorway—the aunts had arrived. Giulia, Sophia, and Rosa, all looking festive, and all holding wineglasses, eyes fixed on Rush.
“So,” Giulia said thoughtfully, “explain something to us. When you left the church that day with Sheriff Callahan, you said he dropped you off at the Pine Cone Lodge to wait out the storm.”
Oh, hell. She knew that little detail would come up again.
“Well, it wasn’t exactly like that,” Lily mumbled.
“I knew it.” Aunt Sophia snorted. “No woman climbs into the truck of a man who looks like that and gets out at a motel alone.”
“Unless it’s the honeymoon suite,” Amber said, rounding the corner, rubbing her belly with a wicked grin.
The aunts cackled, but Lily mentally shrugged. She was an adult woman, and it had all turned out for the best.
“So what did happen, Lily?” Annette asked.
Fine, she’d come clean. Lying, even a small white lie, wasn’t in her nature anyway. She’d been shocked her family had believed her at all. “It wasn’t a motel. We spent the weekend at his cabin in Autumn Ridge and then reconnected back at home.”
Heat rushed to Lily’s cheeks as the room erupted in talk. Rush caught her gaze, and Lily smiled shyly.
Then Aunt Sophia gasped, her eyes going to Lily’s flat stomach. “I knew it! Lily, you’re pregnant?”
“What—?” Lily choked. “No—”
But like her whole life, everyone talked and fussed over her.
Rush looked up at her then, and she knew he’d heard by his wolfish grin. The aunts zeroed in on it, of course.
“I had a feeling he was the one,” Aunt Rosa said, serenely sipping her wine.
Allie and Amber both gasped, staring at her red-silk-covered stomach. “You didn’t tell us?”
“I’m not pregnant!” Lily protested, but Aunt Giulia was already beaming as she swept the wineglass out of Lily’s hand.
“Lily, darling, why didn’t you just say so? A bun in the oven explains everything.”
“Lillian,” Annette said quietly, “is this true?”
Before she could answer, Sophia dinged a fork against her glass. “A toast! To the happy couple—and their little blessing on the way!”
A glass shattered, and everyone’s heads whipped around to find Tucker swaying near the bar cart, a broken glass at his feet, and red wine dripping down his knuckles. His eyes were bloodshot and furious and locked on Lily.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he slurred. “You’re pregnant?” His gaze shot toward Rush on the floor next to Savvie. “Christ, Lil. Playing house already?”
Rush’s eyes went gray and flat, and he rose to his feet instantly, setting the toy down carefully on the ottoman before standing to his full height.
The sheriff of Northfield once again.
“You need to leave, Tucker,” Lily said quickly. “You’ve had too much to drink.”
Tucker’s lip curled as he looked back and forth between them. “How long has this been going on?”
“Excuse me?” Lily’s mouth dropped. The nerve shocked her.
“My mother was right about you,” he spat. “Was this going on the whole time? While we were engaged? While my mother was planning our damn wedding?”
Amber’s heels clicked forward, her eyes glacial. “You’re not on the guest list, Tucker. Leave. Now. Before you make an even bigger fool of yourself.”
“You bitch,” he said, turning back to Lily. Bitterness twisted his mouth. “You made me look like a fool.”
Before she could react, Rush stepped between them. “That’s enough,” he said sharply.
The room went dead silent.
“So what? You’re her bodyguard now? Be careful, Lil. Everyone knows his track record with saving women.”
The room went dead silent.
Rage and heartbreak tore through Lily’s chest, making it hard to catch her breath. How dare he. How dare Tucker take Rush’s rawest, deepest wound and fling it at him like it was a weapon.
Rush didn’t physically react. If anything, his face went even stonier.
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she wiped them away, impatient with herself. “Don’t you say another word,” she said fiercely. “Don’t you dare.”
Her voice cracked, but it didn’t matter—she put every bit of her disgust into it, and it hit Tucker right where she wanted it to as shame flickered for the briefest moment on his face.
“You’re done here,” Rush said calmly enough, but the muscle was ticking in his jaw again, and Lily saw the lethal fury in his eyes. “Leave. Now. Or I’ll help you.”
Tucker sneered, “You don’t get to tell me—”
Rush cut him off. “Good choice.”
Rush moved too fast for Tucker to see him coming until Rush’s hand clamped around his wrist and the broken glass was gone. With his other hand, Rush pressed a firm palm to Tucker’s shoulders and steered him backward, making it look easy.
Theo, Davis, and Ben appeared, looking ready to drag Tucker out themselves if Rush hadn’t already handled it. The crowd parted silently as Rush guided him toward the front door without breaking stride. He opened it, and they disappeared.
Amber was the first to reach her. She pulled her into a hug around the curve of her belly. “He’s the worst. I’m so sorry you had to deal with that, honey.”
Allie hugged her from the other side. “You okay?”
Then the aunts descended, and all hell broke loose.