Chapter 1 #2
A luscious red that was all natural and matched those light blue eyes of hers.
It fell in waves around her shoulders, and I tried to look away before she caught me staring.
But from the way her lightly painted mouth curved into a smile, I wasn’t going to be getting out of this without having to speak and lie to myself.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled my gaze away, grateful for the interruption.
“Hey, it’s my mom, I’m going to go take this outside so I can answer the video call.”
“No problem, I’m going to go steal one of those mini tarts.”
“I don’t know if it’s stealing if it’s on the buffet.”
“Oh no, I’m going to go steal it off of my sister’s plate,” he said with a laugh, and I just shook my head and watched the adult man go annoy his adult sister.
I moved to the back deck, down the stairs, and away from the crowd. I had missed the call because it had taken me so long to get through everyone that I knew, and I quickly hit the return call.
“There’s my boy,” Mom said as she grinned into the phone, Dad right beside her.
“Well, hi there. Sorry I didn’t answer right away, I’m at the Montgomery party.”
“They take such good care of you.”
“They do. But don’t worry, I’m ready to come to the other loud house with too many siblings that I love.”
“I’m not sure how to take that, son,” my dad said with a grin. “But you’re doing well? Is your truck going to be okay for the drive? I know there’s a storm heading out.”
“The storms not hitting until at least two in the morning, and I will be well tucked into my childhood bed by then.”
“It’s sweet you think that we have that for you since you’re thirty-nine, my darling. We made that into a gym that we don’t use long ago.”
I rolled my eyes because she wasn’t lying. “But yes, the truck’s all ready to go and I’m packed. I’m going to like the drive. The trees are gorgeous until it’s suddenly flat land.”
“That’s Wyoming for you,” she teased.
We spoke for a few moments before I finally couldn’t take the cold anymore, since I wasn’t wearing a jacket, and said my goodbyes.
Shivering, and with my hands in my pockets, I went up the deck stairs and through the glass doors and nearly ran into Posy.
“Oh, Cullen, there you are. I thought I saw you earlier. Are you okay?”
I had reached out to steady both of us, and now my hands were on her elbows, and I swallowed hard, looking down at the woman who was just my friend.
“Yeah, I was just talking to Mom and Dad.”
“Oh, you’re visiting them soon, right?”
“Tomorrow,” I said and quickly lowered my hands because I realized I was still touching her. “It’s good to see you here.”
Her lips tilted. “You mean out of my house? Don’t worry, I plan on having a good time and then making the drive to my parents’ house tomorrow. Leaving the house two days in a row. How about that.”
“You know, that deserves a reward. Maybe a piece of cheese.”
“You’ve already been assimilated into the group I see.”
“Are you going to be okay driving alone tomorrow? How long of a drive do you have? You know there’s a storm coming, right?”
She shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. “You sound just like my dad. But no, I’ll be at my house long before the storm hits.”
I frowned and remembered where she had said her parents lived. “You’re right. It’s just beyond my parents’ place, so you should make it as long as you head out early.”
“Thanks for the permission. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I know how to drive up there. I wish there was an easier way to fly, but in the end, you’re just circling the area and it takes longer.”
“Exactly,” I said, sliding my hands into my pockets.
“Oh look, we snagged another,” a voice said.
“And they’re not related,” a deeper voice called out.
I frowned as everyone stared at us before a creeping sensation slid up my neck.
I looked down at Posy, who at first went pale before her cheeks pinkened, and I couldn’t help but look up.
“You really put mistletoe at a family party?” I asked, with a sigh.
“That was Riley, blame her!” a woman called out, and I just shook my head and looked down at Posy.
“I’ll create a distraction if you want to run for it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just kiss me, already. I believe they’re already starting to chant.”
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
I sighed, annoyed, and yet, maybe not. This was just a fun thing to do.
We could still remain friends afterwards, and it wouldn’t be weird.
So when I lowered my face to hers, and she went up to her tiptoes, I tried to look as if this were a natural thing.
As if we’d done it a thousand times. Her lips brushed against mine softly, and I wanted to lean forward and ask for more.
But then she was two steps away, eyes wide, as everybody moved forward, giving me hugs or tapping me on the back, laughing it off as if I hadn’t just kissed the woman that I called friend, and the woman who I wanted more than anything.
But I was thirty-nine years old. It wasn’t as if kissing a woman was new to me.
But this wasn’t like one of those movies where mistletoe grew out of the ceiling and suddenly light burst around you and that kiss turned into something more. A deep and abiding connection that changed the game.
Instead, she had kissed the side of my mouth, mostly my big beard, and then stepped away as if I had shocked her.
And now I couldn’t find her in the crowd.
That was for the best. I would say goodbye to her on my way out, if I could find her, and we would remain friends.
Because Posy needed friends. And as I watched all of the people in my life fall in love and start families, the one thing that I desperately wanted to do, I figured it was time to maybe take a step back and figure out exactly how to survive in a world where everybody was moving along, I wasn’t.
I stayed at the party for another couple of hours, only having one beer and switching to sparkling water soon after, and honestly had a great time.
I grabbed my jacket from the coat room and shivered my way down to my truck, grateful that this property was on so much land that they had enough space for all of the vehicles.
The Montgomerys did not play when it came to drinking and driving, so there were already rideshares and a rented bus to get people about.
I saluted to Crew and Aria as they made their way out, and was two cars away from my truck when I saw a familiar beat-up sedan.
The engine whirled for a moment, then choked, whirled again, and choked once more. And then nothing.
I moved forward, cursing under my breath as I tapped the window.
Posy’s scream would’ve fit in any horror movie, and I winced.
“You okay?” I asked through the window.
She gestured for me to move back as she opened the door and stomped her feet when she got out.
“Sorry for screaming. It’s dark, and well, you could have been an ax murderer.”
“I promise I left my ax at home.” I pause. “Or maybe in the back of the truck. I don’t really remember. I would ask if your car’s okay, but we both heard what was going on.”
She sighed. “I don’t know cars, but it sounds like something is wrong.
I know that there’s got to be a mechanic in that house, because there’re so many people and it just makes sense statistically, but I’m cold, and now I have no idea how I’m going to get to my parents’ house. I just had this car looked at.”
I looked down at the sedan, at its worn tires, and shook my head. “I thought you were getting a new car, Posy.”
“I was. And then I needed a new water heater. And part of a new roof when the tornadoes that Colorado said they never get came in. So insurance gave me the runaround. I was planning on buying a car in the new year, that way I could get last year’s model and save some money, but that doesn’t really help me right now because I’m cold, and now I’m going to have to cancel going to my parents’. ”
“I can help with the cold thing, and fuck, I can help with the parent thing.”
Her brows rose. “What?”
“Get in my truck, I’ll drive you home. And then, I’ll drive you to your parents. We’re going the same way, and I’m not going to have you sit alone in your house for the holidays because of your damn car. We will get it fixed.”
“Cullen, you don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t. But I want to. We’re friends, Posy. It’s what we do. Let me help you.”
“It’s out of your way.”
“Not that far. And I don’t mind. But I think my toes are about to freeze, and probably other parts of me, so let’s get in the truck.”
She burst out laughing, even though she kept shaking her head.
“It’s too much.”
“It’s not. Let’s grab anything you need out of your car, and we’ll deal with it tomorrow. It’s going to be okay, Posy. I promise.”
She gave me a look that said she didn’t quite believe me, but when I held up my hand and she took it, I thought that maybe, just maybe, I hadn’t quite been lying.
I just had to make sure I didn’t fall for the woman who was slowly becoming my best friend. Easy.