by D'Ann Lindun
“Pretty much. It’s a small town and I’ve lived here all my life.”
“How many of them are ex-girlfriends?’ Her tone was teasing, but her heart tightened at the thought of him with another woman.
“None.”
She stopped and twirled her toward him. “You’re telling me you don’t have a single ex in this town?”
“That’s what I’m saying,” he said. “R.J. dated everyone and their sister. There wasn’t anyone left over for me.”
“Oh, please.” Noelle rolled her eyes and turned away. “It’s none of my business anyway.”
Nick grabbed her hand and spun her toward him. “I want to tell you.”
She slipped a little on a slick spot and she grabbed his forearms for support. He held her steady, then backed her against the wall of a brick building. She ignored the way her stomach tightened as she looked into his intense gaze. “So, spill.”
“I wasn’t kidding about R.J.,” he said. “I love my brother, but he’s a man-whore. Before Amity came along, he was a serial dater, never staying with one woman for more than a day or two.” He glanced away, then back. “I’m the exact opposite. Until now, the only woman I ever wanted was Maura Whittaker.”
Her eyes widened. She swallowed. “Until now?”
“Yeah.” He pressed closer until their bodies touched from head-to-toe. He was solid as rock. His chest, abdomen and legs all screamed man.
She licked her lips. Her lower body vibrated with desire. “What happened with Maura?”
“Nothing.” His tone turned brittle. “I wanted her; she wanted my friend Adam Pelletier.”
“Why didn't you move on? You’re a good-looking man. Surely, other girls liked you.” She’d never met anyone like him. Most men she knew were like his brother, only too eager to jump to the next woman at the first sign of trouble.
“I didn’t notice because Maura was the only one for me. We went out a few times.” He shook his head. “Just enough to keep me hoping.”
“What’s wrong with this girl? Is she crazy?” Noelle’s stomach churned. She wished she hadn’t asked about his love life. It hurt to hear him profess undying love for another woman. Why, she had no idea. A relationship with him was the last thing she wanted. So, really, it was none of her business.
“Maura was just as obsessed with Adam as I was with her.” He laughed, the sound like cracking ice. “Ironic, isn’t it?”
“Did they ever get together?”
“Nope. Adam’s been in love with Eden since the seventh grade, and they’re about to have a baby. Maura went to Nashville and she’s making it big out there. My buddy Luke saw her in Vegas and she was hot and heavy with some musician.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
His blue eyes darkened. “I’m not.”
“Why?”
“Because I couldn’t do this.” He bent his head and covered her lips with his.
Surprise froze her for a moment, but she opened her mouth to let his tongue slide inside. Her hands, still holding his forearms, tightened as their tongues met, tested, withdrew. He moved close, until her back mashed against the wall. They were lost in one another when a snowball exploded against the side of their faces.
Startled, they jerked apart.
A grinning teenage boy grinned. “Get a room!”
Nick bent and scooped up a handful of snow. “I’m going to get you, boy.” He let a snowball fly and it landed in the middle of the fleeing kid’s back.
The teen stopped and whirled around. “This is war.”
“Bring it,” Nick shouted as he dipped into the snow for more ammo. “Get behind me,” he told Noelle as two more boys joined their buddy. The kids sent a machinegun volley of snowballs their direction.
She crouched behind Nick as snowballs rained down on and around them. In an attempt to help, she made snowballs and fed them to Nick. He gave as good as he got, sending an icy shower toward the teens. Finally, the kids ran off, laughing.
“I win!” Nick turned to her. “You okay?”
She brushed snow from her coat. “Great. That was fun.”
“Yeah.” He removed his glasses and wiped them with a bandana he pulled from his pocket. “Not as much fun as I was having before it started, though.”
Her cheeks heated. “We’re fair targets, putting ourselves on display like that.”
His eyes twinkled. “Want to do it again?”
She bent and grabbed a handful of snow, forming a quick, odd shaped snowball. “Find some kids. I’ll back you up.”
He took the frozen lump from her hand. “I think we scared them all off with our well executed battle plan.”
“A kiss will have to wait until we find another boy who throws more snowballs,” she teased.
He swiveled his head around. “A kid. Any kid. Find me a kid.”
She burst out in laughter. “You’re a goofball.”
They linked fingers and walked along the sidewalk. Such simple fun, but she couldn’t remember having such a good time in ages. Nick was easy to be with. How many grownups would have taken time to have a snowball fight with a bunch of teens? Someone who was a kid at heart themselves.
She stole a glance at him. He was no kid. Nick was a very sexy man, and a to-die-for kisser.
If this Maura person hadn’t taught him how to kiss that well, who had?
He said there hadn’t been anyone else…
As some things began to add up for Noelle—what Starla meant, and what Amity had started to tell her this morning—she stumbled to a stop and looked into his eyes. “You’re a virgin.”
CHAPTER SIX
Nick frowned, then nodded. He wasn’t ashamed of his virginity, but he didn’t feel the need to shout it out on Main Street, either. “Yeah.”
Noelle’s eyes widened. Her mouth opened and formed an O. “Wow. Okay.”
She looked at him as though he had two heads. Or worse, only one. The one below his belt worked fine, he just preferred not to share it with every girl in the county. He turned away. “Forget it.”
Noelle grabbed his sleeve. “Not so fast.” When their eyes met, he saw admiration, not scorn. “That’s cool.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Something heavy in his chest lightened. “It’s not a religious thing. I just—”
“Wanted Maura.”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“I’m not her,” Noelle said. “And just so you know, I’m not a virgin.”
“Good to know.” He was falling for this girl. Maybe he trust his heart with her. “You’re nothing like Maura.”
“Maybe I am. I’m not a small-town kind of girl.” Her words cut like shards of ice. She waved a hand in a circle. “My neighborhood is bigger than this town.”
“I get it.” He turned away. “But you can have fun while you’re here, right?”
“As long as that’s all you have in mind, sure.”
He faced her. “Understood. Now that you know all there is to know about my non-existent love life, would you like to have some lunch?”
“Love some.” They took a few steps before she tugged him to a halt. “Would a woman not being an innocent be a deal breaker for you?”
“No. I don’t care.” He paused. “Unless maybe she’d been with the entire Denver Bronco football team. That might be a little hard to follow.”
She laughed, head thrown back. When she finally stopped, she wiped her eyes and said, “Nothing like that for me. Just a couple of boyfriends.”
“That, I can handle.” Nick wondered why it mattered. She’d made it clear they had no future past his brother’s wedding. Maybe a fling wouldn’t be all bad. Maybe he could sleep with her and not lose his heart.
They walked along the street passing a bank, a few shops and the general store. At the end of the block he guided her into a small café—The Wagon Wheel. A brunette waitress waved, and the scents of coffee, hamburgers, fries and fresh pine from a tree in the corner washed over them.
> As it was little early for the lunch crowd, they had their pick of seats. He waved back at the waitress as he led Noelle to a booth in the back corner. He hung both their coats on a peg, then waited until she sat before taking the seat across from her.
She looked around at the brands burned into the walls. He imagined she’d never been in a place like this before, and probably wouldn’t ever show her face in one again.
Jill, the waitress, approached with a smile, carrying menus. “Merry Christmas. What can I get you to drink?”
“Merry Christmas, Jill.” He looked at Noelle. “What sounds good?”
“Hot chocolate, I think.”
“Black coffee for me,” Nick said.
“Coming right up.” Jill hurried off.
A Christmas song played on the jukebox in the corner filling the sudden, heavy silence. Nick toyed with a spoon as Noelle looked at the menu. Had his confession thrown a wrench in their fledgling relationship? Most people didn’t start off with that sort of thing, he supposed. Not that it mattered much. She’d be gone in a few days.
Jill interrupted his musings when she brought their drinks. “Do you know what you’d like to eat?”
“A grilled cheese and tomato soup,” Noelle said.
“Smothered turkey sandwich,” Nick told her.
“Coming right up.” She pushed a pen behind her ear. “R.J. about ready to settle down and get married?” She shook her head. “Hard to believe.”
“I know. Crazy, but he and Amity are perfect together.” He motioned to his companion. “Jill, this is Noelle, Amity’s best friend. She’s in town for the wedding.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jill said.
“You, too.”
“You and Bill are coming to the big event, aren’t you?” Nick asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. I want to see the untamable R.J. Hadley willingly slip his neck into a loop.” Jill turned away. “I better get this order turned in.”
After she left, Noelle said, “I can’t believe so many people are giving up their plans to come to this wedding. I mean, it’s on Christmas Eve, for Pete’s sake.”
He shrugged. “A lot of people attend church that night, so it’s just an extension of that, I guess. Those who want to leave early will do so.” He lifted his cup to his mouth and sipped. “What do you normally do on Christmas Eve?”
She drank from her own mug, then set it down, wrapping both hands around it. “Spend it with Am, doing our last-minute gift wrapping for our families.” The sadness in her eyes pinched his heart.
“I bet you can still come up here and do that with her if you want.”
“That’s what Amity said.” She stared into her cup. “But I’d be such a third wheel.”
“That makes two of us.” He glanced out the window, then back. “It’s always been my dad, R.J. and me. Now, it’s just me and Dad. We manage. It’s no big deal.”
“My dad’s in the Caribbean with his new family.” She lifted her cup. “My half-brothers are with their father. And my mom is skiing in Aspen with her latest boyfriend.”
Nick reached across the table and took her hand. “Well, this year we’ll be so busy we’ll be wishing for some solitude by the time it’s all over. And who knows what next year will bring?”
Noelle brightened. “True.”
Jill brought their meal and they ate in silence as Christmas carols poured out of the old jukebox. They passed on dessert and Nick paid the bill.
They walked outside, and Noelle slipped her arm through his. “What now?”
“I promised you a sleigh ride,” he said. “Why not now?”
“That sounds like fun,” she agreed readily.
“Let’s go.”
~*~
Nick drove her into the country, turning down a long lane. A small, neatly painted house and barn sat in a snow-covered valley. A light snowfall lent a soft, romantic feeling to the scene.
After he parked, Nick gestured toward the house. “My dad’s not home right now. I’ll introduce you another time.”
The pungent scents of horses, hay and leather greeted Noelle’s nose as they entered the barn housing Nick’s horses. The big animals stuck their heads out of their stalls, snuffing softly.
Nick disappeared into a room at the end of the aisle, reappearing carrying headgear. He chose two of the horses and led them to the center of the alley.
Noelle stood well out of the way as he tossed heavy, shiny harnesses across their broad backs. When one of them snorted and tossed its head, she flew into an empty stall. Although Nick handled them with ease, these enormous creatures could smash her like a bug.
He looked up from fastening a buckle and laughed when he saw her cowering. “What are you doing in there?”
“Is it okay to come out?” Noelle asked from her refuge.
“It’s safe. Come on out.”
“They’re huge,” she said. “They’ll step on me.”
He chuckled. “Not Jingle and Bell. They’re gentle as kittens. Come out and meet them.”
She slipped out of her safe room, taking Nick’s hand. He led her to the red horse on the left and placed her hand on the beast’s neck. “Meet Jingle.”
Even through her gloves, Noelle could feel warmth coming from the horse. “That’s a good girl.”
“The other is Bell.”
“Cute names for something so big.”
“But, gentle. Let’s hook up to the sleigh.” He moved them behind the team and lifted a heavy pair of reins. With a click, he said, “Get up.”
Noelle stayed out of the way while Nick backed the team to a brightly painted sleigh and hooked various straps to it. When done, he turned to her. “Ready?”
She nodded and moved to the sleigh.
Nick helped her in, then joined her. His solid leg and thigh bumped hers. He covered their laps with a red and green quilt and lifted the reins again. “Get up, girls.”
The sleigh started with a jolt, then glided over the snow with ease. Nick guided the horses toward the road in front of his house and clicked at them to trot. Bells on the harness began to jingle merrily.
Never in Noelle’s wildest dreams would have she expected to enjoy something so simple, but she was having a wonderful time. “Do you sell all your horses? Will this pair go to a new home?”
“No.” He smiled. “These two will never leave here. Neither will our broodmares, the stallion and a filly we pick each year.”
“Why a filly?”
He glanced at her. “To breed.”
Heat swamped her face. “Oh. Of course.”
“We are in the business of raising horses. They don’t get here by Immaculate Conception.” His soft laughter sent a heat wave zinging through her. She swatted his leg under the blanket and he grabbed her hand, holding it on his muscled thigh.
God, he was sexy.
She had trouble wrapping her head around the fact that he hadn’t been with a woman. The females in this town had to be blind, stupid, or both. The singer, Maura, must be insane for passing up a man like him.
Was she, though?
The woman obviously knew she wanted more than life in a small town. Why couldn’t Nick have gone with her? Without asking, Noelle knew the answer. He wouldn’t be some star’s lackey.
She glanced at him. He looked like a cowboy poster boy with his white Stetson, bright red coat and leather gloves. He wouldn’t be happy in Nashville. Or Denver.
And, me?
Could I be happy here?
She glanced around at the silent landscape, the only sound the melody of the harness bells. The horses’ breath, twin plumes in the cold air. If she didn’t know better, Noelle would think she and Nick were the only two humans on the planet.
She needed people. Lots of them.
Not only did she love big city life, but her very existence depended on large amounts of people. A party planner couldn’t make a living on one or two events a year.
“Want to drive the team?” Nick jolted her out
of her thoughts.
“Me?” She shook her head. “I don’t know how.”
He let go of her hand and placed his on top of the quilt. “Let me show you. Give me your hands.”
She took them out from under the quilt and he put the heavy leather straps in her palms. Instinctively, she grasped them like a lifeline. “Oh, lord. Help me.”
Nick put his larger hands over hers. “Light touch. They can almost feel your thoughts through the lines.” When she loosened her grip he nodded. “Good.”
“Now what?”
“Just relax and let them do their job.” She heard the smile in his voice.
“Easy for you to say, cowboy. I’ve never done this before,” she muttered.
“Just let the mares guide you,” he said. “They know what to do.”
“Girls usually do.” She loosened her grip and let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding when the horses didn’t run away, or tip over the sleigh.
“So I’ve been told.”
She didn’t think he meant handling horses, but she was too busy concentrating to come up with a snappy retort.
“That’s it. Relax.” He released her and placed his palms on his thighs.
When nothing horrible happened, the tension in her shoulders began to loosen a little. She had even begun to enjoy herself a bit when he said, “Pull up and let them blow.”
“Excuse me?” She shot him an incredulous glance.
“It means let them catch their breath.”
“Oh. Why didn’t you say so?”
“I just did.”
She hauled back on the reins and the mares came to an immediate halt. Their sides heaved and a cloud of fog blew from their nostrils.
“Easier next time,” Nick said. “Remember, gentle touch.”
“Sorry. I forgot.” She relaxed her hands.
They sat in silence. The snow had increased to half-dollar sized flakes, and it was no longer melting when it landed, instead sticking like goose down feathers. Noelle closed her eyes and tipped her head back, letting the whisper-soft flakes land on her nose and cheeks. “Feels like angel kisses.”
“I want some angel kisses,” Nick’s husky voice sounded close to her ear.
