Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
brIAN
“ Y ’all ready for tomorrow?” Huey asks through the phone speaker, while I fix myself a cup of coffee later the following week. It’s the morning before the maze, and I’m confident Millie and I will both be running on copious amounts of caffeine today getting everything set up.
“Yeah, I think so. Millie’s done a great job getting everything organized, so I think it’ll be a fun event. You planning to come?” I question before taking a long sip of my drink.
“I’ll be there with bells on,” he says, and I laugh because I wouldn’t be surprised if he meant it literally. “I meant to ask you yesterday, have you heard anything else about the insurance adjuster for the inn?”
“No. I’ve called, and John said they’re still trying to get caught up from all the damages the snow caused last week. When Bridget talked to him, he said apparently we weren’t the only people this happened to, and combined with all the vehicle accidents and the holidays, they’ll be backed up for a couple weeks.”
“Huh, well at least it was just the one room. I’m sure they’ll get you sorted out. Anyway, I’ve gotta go check on the cows so I’ll see you two tonight.”
“See you then,” I say, ending the call, and trying not to think about the woman who’s consumed all of my thoughts recently.
Millie’s been living in my house for eight days, and each day I’m convinced there’s no way I can go another minute without her. We've settled into a routine, and it's driving me wild how badly I want her. We ride to work together, spend the day working on the upcoming events late into the night, ride back home, and go to bed just to do it all over again the next day.
Neither of us has brought up the almost kiss from last week, and I’ve tried telling myself that it’s for the best. But every time her face lights up in excitement about an idea or I catch a whiff of her perfume, I can’t control the desire that runs through me. Before the moment in the dark, I’d thought she was beautiful, but after the other night, she’s consuming me.
As I wait for Millie to come out of her room after her run, I give myself my daily pep talk.
Get it together. She’s not interested, and if you run her off because you’re acting like a horny teenager, you’ll never forgive yourself. You’ve never needed a woman before, and there’s no reason to start now.
But when she walks out of my guest room in a festive red sweater and jeans that accentuate her curves, it feels like all my resolve goes right out of the window.
“Good morning,” she says, giving me a small smile.
“Good morning. You ready for tomorrow? Your first official Springside Christmas event,” I say, trying to distract myself from the way her red lipstick makes me want to claim her mouth.
“Yeah, I am. I can’t believe it’s already here. I keep worrying I’ll forget something, but I’ve checked my to-do list at least a hundred times. Hopefully we’re good to go,” she replies.
“I’m sure it’ll be perfect. The kids will love the activities you added in for them, and the decorations look incredible. I can’t believe how much you’ve gotten done in the last week,” I admit honestly. And while I’m trying to distract myself from how badly I’m craving her, I really have been blown away by how hard she’s worked.
When I offered her the job, I didn't really know what to expect, but after seeing her in action this week, I’ve started to feel like she’s probably vastly overqualified for the job at our little inn. Over the last week, she’s ordered snow globe bouncy houses, created a mistletoe themed ornament station, and repurposed some old decorations from the storage room to make a huge photo wall, in addition to all the other tasks we discussed during our first meeting.
“Thank you,” she says, taking the travel mug of coffee I’m holding out for her. “Now to just hang the last of the lights at Deer Valley and make sure everything’s ready to go at the tree farm for tomorrow. I’m ready when you are.”
“Sounds good,” I say, grabbing my computer bag and throwing it over my shoulder. “Do you want to start at the inn or the maze?”
“Let’s hit the inn first. I want to add some more of those pink ornaments and those stems I found online to the tree before we hang the lights,” she says, and I nod making the drive to the inn.
“I’m grabbing our lattes and then I’ll be ready to go over the final list with Bridget. Be right back,” she says as soon as we step through the entrance, as we both wave hello to the usual group of locals that have taken to spending time in our lobby over the last week.
I just nod, hoping she doesn’t notice my grimace. These God forsaken cinnamon drinks are the bane of my existence, I think to myself, as she bounces around the corner to the small café.
Each day is the same, and every time I’ve opened my mouth to tell her to stop, I catch a glimpse of the smile on her face as she hands me the disgusting concoction. Needless to say, I’m suffering through a few miserable sips each day until I can throw it away without her noticing.
After Millie bounds back into the office with our coffees, she and Bridget review the last few details for the day. Then she sets to work shoving an obscene amount of ornaments into the tree while I respond to emails signing off on the upcoming performance reviews for the city’s horticulture department. Several hours pass while we work in silence, and I try to keep my gaze from wandering from my computer screen to where she’s humming and decorating the lobby.
I’ve rechecked my to-do list and both my inn and the city emails respectively at least ten times. Not because I don’t want to spend time with Millie, but because I know if I can’t keep myself from watching her too closely, I’ll never get anything done. Finally, after wasting another thirty minutes flipping between tabs on my computer screen, I stand and make my way over to her.
“You ready to head over to the maze?” I ask, once again shocked by how incredible she’s managed to make everything look. This morning, the lobby looked festive enough, but this afternoon it looks like it’s ready for a feature in Southern Living. The tree sparkles with the extra stems and ornaments she tucked into the branches, and she’s added greenery and boxwood wreaths above the fireplace and at the front desk. “It looks incredible.”
“Thanks,” she says, and I chuckle at the glitter clinging to her face and clothes. “I swear, I’ll be finding glitter in my clothes for the next three months.”
I laugh as we make our exit and ride in comfortable silence over to the Coopers’ Christmas Tree Farm, which Millie has also transformed into a complete winter wonderland with fake snow.
Yesterday afternoon, she’d coordinated a group of volunteers to set up most of the larger decorations while I attended the monthly city council meeting. I hated to leave her with it for a few hours, but considering the fact that I’ve neglected almost all of my mayoral duties since she arrived in town, I begrudgingly listened while the councilmen argued about the color for the new benches we agreed to place in city park.
But thanks to Millie’s hard work and the help of her volunteers, all that’s left today is to string the lights through the trees at the entrance and exit, since the Coopers offered to take care of the inside. They had a way of lighting the way of different paths with certain colors to make sure no one got lost, and I was thankful we didn’t have to worry about that headache.
By the time we get everything unloaded, the sun is starting to set, and the air is getting cooler. Millie checks her phone and lets out a groan.
“What’s wrong?” I ask while lining up the extension cords we’ll need to cover the line of trees on either side.
“I just got texts from five different volunteers saying stuff came up, and they can’t make it tonight. We’re never gonna get this done,” she proclaims, looking at the forty something trees stretching in front of us that we’re supposed to be covering in lights.
“Did they say what came up?” I ask, knowing it’s pretty out of character for the group to cancel this short of notice.
“Uhh, kind of a mix of reasons. Apparently there’s a stomach bug going around and Caroline said she needed to help Theo get Petunia back in the pen after she made an escape… Who the hell is Petunia? Their dog?” she responds, and I can’t help but burst into laughter.
“Theo moved into town earlier this year to replace Huey as the fire chief, and he bought a bunch of farmland to get some animals. Huey set him up with one of the local farmers who was looking to sell some of their livestock, but Mr. Willy convinced him to take his temperamental donkey named Petunia. Let’s just say she really lives up to the whole ass title,” I explain, and Millie dissolves into a fit of giggles.
“I swear, this town…” she says as she tries to regain her composure.
“Tell me about it. Anyway, let me see if I can call in some reinforcements,” I say, picking up my phone and trying a few of our usual volunteers, only to get their voicemails. I send out a few texts too, but no one responds right away. “All righty then, that was a failure, but we can do this. Grab a few strands and we’ll get started. Maybe a couple more will show up later.”
Millie nods and walks over to the truck to grab several boxes of the lights we bought last week in Saddle Ridge while I unload the ladder.
“I was thinking we could start here and work our way down. The Coopers showed me how they usually run the extension cords too, so I’ll go plug the first one in,” Millie suggests, leaving me to start unwrapping the first box of lights.
Once she returns, we grab the ladder, and she pauses for a moment, looking for the best system of draping the trees. “I think if you’ll unroll them, I can stand up here and place them. With your height, you can hand me the ones from the back and hopefully we can be done in a couple hours.”
“Sounds good,” I respond, realizing that setting up over one hundred boxes of lights isn't the biggest challenge of the evening. We’ll be brushing against each other over and over in the dark while I try to keep my hands to myself. Awesome .
After two hours, we’ve managed to make it through half the trees, but we’re both freezing, hungry, and ready to go home.
“I’ve gotta say, I thought winters in Alabama were supposed to be warm,” she says, and I notice her hands have started shaking. “I swear it’s dropped at least twenty degrees since we started.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right. We can’t stay out in this cold all night. We’re not exactly dressed for the elements,” I remark, gesturing to our thin sweaters and jeans. “Let’s finish the back of this one, and then I’ll get someone out here to help me tomorrow while you’re setting up at the inn.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, the crinkle of concern in her brow making me want to reach out and smooth it.
Instead, I nod and say, “Of course. Now let’s get this knocked out. I’m starving,” while grabbing another strand of lights and holding it out for her.
She leans to grab it, but as soon as I hand it off, it slips through her fingers, and she reaches for it on instinct. The moment seems like it happens in slow motion as I watch the ladder topple, and Millie falls toward the cold ground. Before I can give myself time to think, I’m grabbing for any part of her that I can reach and pulling her toward me. All I can think about is keeping her from hitting the ground.
“I’ve got ya,” I say as I try to catch her, but in reality, I just manage to break her fall. We tumble down, and she lands on my chest as I wrap my arms around her. Thankfully she was only a few feet off the ground, but the fall is enough to knock the wind out of both of us. We lie there with her on top of me for a moment, both of us breathing hard.
“Oh my gosh, thank you,” she says, as a gust of wind blows a piece of hair into her face.
I reach up and push it back, holding my hand behind her head. It would be so easy to press her mouth to mine in this scenario. Her lips are still red from the lipstick she applied this morning, and I can already imagine how good they would feel all over me. Her legs are straddling me, and I try to ignore the fact that her center is inches away from my hardening cock.
To my surprise, she shifts toward me, and I wonder if she’s trying to pull herself off me. Instead, she leans in a bit, neither of us taking our eyes off each other until she’s hovering right in over me. My breath catches as she pauses, and I realize she’s waiting for me to stop her.
Ha ha, yeah, right. All I can think about is exploring her body, after all the times over the last week I’ve thought about her. My arm around her back pulls her closer, and I thread my fingers through her hair leading her lips to mine.
She lets out a breathy moan as she shifts against me realizing how hard I am for her, and suddenly we’re pouncing at each other. Our mouths clash, and I groan at the relief of finally feeling her lips against mine. She tastes like the sugar cookies we snacked on earlier at the inn, and her kiss is needy as if she’s wanted this as badly as I have.
Unable to help myself, I wrap my hand around the front of her throat.
As soon as she feels my hand press against her neck, she lets out a moan. Damn, I didn’t expect that reaction but fuck if it doesn’t drive me wild.
Damn, this girl couldn’t be more perfect.
I feel her grind against me as my hand slips under her sweater and I trace my hands up her back, kissing her hard. After a moment, I pull back, starting to kiss down her neck, desperate to feel every part of her.
“Brian? Millie? Y’all still out here?” I hear just as I register the sound of footsteps coming our way.
Immediately, Millie and I break apart and scramble up, just as Will Johnson steps around the tree we were hidden behind.
“Shit man, are y’all okay?” he asks, gesturing to the ladder that’s still on the ground. “I saw your text for help and came by to see if you still needed anything.”
Will’s the football coach for Springside, and while we’ve always gotten along, I’d really like to punch him for interrupting the moment Millie and I were just having. I glance over at her but can’t seem to catch her eye before turning back to Will. “Uhh, oh yeah. We’re good. Millie here just tried to take a tumble, but I caught her. Thank you for coming over. We were just about to call it a night, but if you want to help out, I bet we could get another couple of these trees done.”
“Oh, well, glad you caught her. Hey, Millie, I’m Will. I’ve heard a lot about you over the last week, but it’s nice to meet you in person,” he says, sticking out his hand for her to shake.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you as well,” she says, giving him a smile.
“Sorry, I would have been here sooner, but I didn’t hear my phone until just a few minutes ago. I’m down to help y’all get a few of these knocked out. Put me to work,” Will says, rubbing his hands together.
“Why don’t you take over the ladder duty,” Millie says, bending down and opening another strand of lights. “I’ve had enough heights for today.”
“No problem,” he says, bending down and righting the fallen ladder.
“Thanks, um, I hate to ask but you don’t happen to have any extra jackets in your truck, do you? I’m freezing, and Brian and I both forgot ours,” Millie asks.
“Actually, I do. I parked right beside Brian. I think there are some blankets in there too. Go grab whatever you want,” he offers, reaching in his pocket and tossing the keys in her direction.
As she walks away, Will and I work quietly for a moment before he smirks in my direction. “So, you wanna talk about it?”
“Talk about what?” I ask, waiting to see what he means.
“Man, come on. You’ve got dirt and shit all over your back, and there’s bright red lipstick on your face. What the hell did I just walk up on?” Will asks, shooting me a knowing smirk.
Shit. Busted.
“Uhh, yeah.” I groan, rubbing my hand over my face. “I don’t know. That woman is driving me crazy. I’m trying to stay away because of the whole workplace thing, but God, I want her so bad.”
Will nods looking like he’s thinking about something else, before he just nods. “I get it man, I swear I do. But I don’t think you’re gonna know for sure until you go for it. Isn’t y’all’s whole arrangement only guaranteed through Christmas anyway?”
Shit, I can’t believe I haven’t thought about that. Millie settled so easily into my life, and we’ve been so consumed with all things Christmas, that I haven’t given it much thought that she might be planning to leave before the Christmas lights even come down.
He must read my expression, because Will just nods. “That’s what I thought. I mean obviously don’t pressure her if she’s not into it, but it looks to me like you don’t have anything to lose. Judging by the look on your face, you’re gonna regret it if she drives away in two weeks, and you can’t say you did everything to keep her.”
Realizing he’s right, I nod and open my mouth to say something else just as Millie returns.
“All right, y’all ready to get back to work?” she asks, and I tell myself to ignore the pang of jealousy I feel at seeing her wrapped in Will’s oversized jacket.
We work for another hour while Millie and Will chat about her time in Springside. Finally, after we wrap the tenth tree, he says that he needs to head out. We’ve made great progress, and I feel confident I can finish the rest.
“Thanks for your help, Will. It was so nice meeting you. And thanks for letting me borrow this,” Millie says, shrugging the jacket off and handing it back to him before looking toward me. “I’m gonna go unplug those cords since we’re done for the night. I’ll meet you back at the truck.”
And with that she’s gone, leaving Will and I standing in the trees, looking down at the big container filled with boxes of lights. “I’ll help you get everything loaded up though,” he says, leaning down and picking up the ladder while I grab the other supplies.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it,” I say, trying my best to sound sincere.
We make quick work of getting everything put away, and I wave at Will as he drives away, cranking the truck so it’ll be warm.
While I wait on Millie to return, I shift anxiously. That was the most amazing kiss I’ve ever had in my life. I thought that if I tasted her, maybe the desire I was feeling would go away, but instead, I think it just made it worse. Will’s words echo in my brain about not letting Millie go, and I decide he’s right. I don’t want to look back and wish that I’d gone after what I wanted if she decides to leave after the gala.
Now I’m just left to hope she feels the same way.