Reluctantly, she stepped back before she did something foolish. “Thanks. I needed that.”
“Come on. You can wash your face back here.” He led her to a generous-sized, toasty-warm unisex bathroom.
“Fancy,” she said, nodding at two baskets set on the wide vanity. One held an assortment of toiletries—lotions, deodorant, hairspray—and the second basket rolled hand towels. Mackenzie grimaced when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Rivulets of black trailed down her cheeks.
Jared picked up a rolled towel and, with a flick of his wrist, snapped it open. He wet it with hot water, then handed it to Mackenzie. She pressed the towel over her eyes, letting the heat seep into her skin.
“I thought you were taking vacation.” He pulled off a skull cap, tucking it into his pocket, and ran his fingers through his raven-black hair. “If you’re here because of work, I don’t think you understand the concept of vacations.” He leaned against the wall.
“I know how vacation works.” Mackenzie pumped a dollop of soap onto the cloth, then wiped away smeared mascara. “I caved in.” Again.
She knew she’d created most of her own problems when it came to work. When she’d been hired at the prominent design firm, she’d been eager and had looked for ways to make herself indispensable to the team. Mackenzie became known for her problem-solving abilities. Her co-workers jokingly called her the “Negotiator” for her ability to mediate internal problems and for helping customers find that happy place between their expectations and reality. She’d been over-the-moon ecstatic when she was promoted to Lead Designer. She loved her job but resented how much she’d allowed it to encroach on her personal life.
“I distinctly remember you saying three days ago that you weren’t going to let your boss steal your personal time anymore. Something about being inspired by your mom’s new motto?”
Carpe diem. Her mother’s newfound determination to fully live her life and stop putting things off had inspired Mackenzie. It was far easier to talk about changing your life than actually making the changes. She huffed out a breath. “Look how well that’s working out for her. Broke her wrist on her first skiing lesson and now I’m hosting Christmas.”
He chuckled, and the sound sent a delicious shiver through Mackenzie. “Why can’t you just have it at your mom’s?”
“Her condo is tiny. I don’t know how on earth she thought we’d all fit there in the first place.” She dropped the soiled towel into a wicker basket beside the vanity, then inspected herself in the mirror.
“Allison and Hillary’s, then?” he asked.
“No.” Mackenzie opened her clutch and dug around in it. “Mom and Aunt Judy are allergic to cats. Allison has three.” She found the slender tube of mascara under her keys. “I said I’d host this year and I will.” She leaned close to the mirror and applied a fresh coat to her lashes. “That’s why I took this next week off. Allison promised she’d pitch in and help.”
Jared pushed off the wall. Crossing his arms over his broad chest, he stood behind her. “What do you have left to do?”
“Tree, decorations, lights, presents.” A cold, hard ball of dread wedged in the pit of her stomach thinking about all the work ahead of her.
“You haven’t gotten presents yet?”
“Of course, I have.” Affronted, Mackenzie glared into the mirror at him. “They just aren’t wrapped yet.”
“Do you have a tree at least?”
She had her little Charlie Brown tree out and the ornaments her grandmother had crocheted for her over the years. For thirty-seven years she’d spent Christmas at her parents’ and had never felt the need to go all out decorating her place.
“No. Remember when I said tree, decorations…”
Jared whistled low and long.
“Allison promised to help.” Dropping the mascara tube back into her clutch, she turned around to face him. “I imagine you need to get back to work.”
“Are you going to the St. Rita’s Shelter fundraiser tonight?”
The random question surprised her. Since her sister sat on the board, she’d received several invites to the charity gala. Mackenzie had considered going, just to see how far the decorating committee had taken the “12 Days of Christmas” theme, but the event had sold out quickly thanks to the “10 Lords-a-leaping” bachelor auction. She’d asked her sister-in-law to place bids on a few silent auction items that had caught her eye.
“No. I’m watching my nephews. They want to bake sugar cookies tonight.” And she’d promised them they could watch “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
“Damn. I thought you were going. Did Allison tell you they had a bachelor back out?”
“No.”
He scrubbed a hand over his beard. “She finagled me into filling the spot. I know a couple of the guys. They’ve done charity auctions before. Boy, do they have some stories.” He rocked back on his heels, shaking his head. “One guy has his female friends bid on him. Says it takes the pressure off, you know?”
Unsure where he was going with this, she nodded.
“He said going out on the charity date with a buddy is way easier.” He gave her an “aw shucks” grin. “I thought I’d get you to ‘win’ me.”
Buddy? She stifled a groan. Any residual hope she’d harbored for moving out of the “friends only” category wilted like flower petals after a hard frost.
“Sorry, can’t help you. I’ll be corralling sugar-hyped boys.” Mackenzie rarely said no to her nephews. She claimed aunt’s prerogative when either of their mothers protested. Tonight, she thought they might also make a pan of brownies. Then she could drown herself in chocolate.
“Can’t your mom watch them?”
Mackenzie held up her arm, wriggling it back and forth. “Not with a broken wrist and pain meds, she can’t.”
Someone knocked on the door. “Jared? You in there?” a man called.
“Be out in a sec.”
“Thanks for helping me clean up.” Mackenzie edged around him. “You’ll have to tell me all about the auction next time we go for coffee.” She opened the door, wincing against the inrush of cold. “After you.”
Jared paused, brows furrowed, to stare at her.
Her growing list of to-do items tugged at her like an impatient child. She’d fulfilled her obligation to Bryce and was more than ready to leave. She made a sweeping gesture with her hand, and repeated, “After you.”
With a shake of his head, he walked out, turning left while Mackenzie went right.
“What do you mean, you can’t stay?” Mackenzie nearly lost her grip on her coffee cup.
“Matthew, will you please put your foot in this boot?” Allison tried to wedge a snow boot onto her four-year-old’s foot.
Dark blond hair with pale freckled skin and blue eyes, Allison took after their mother’s side of the family. Mackenzie’s light caramel-brown hair, olive complexion, and brown eyes matched their father’s. Despite the difference in coloring, they had the same button nose, wide mouth, and dimples—which they both complained about.
“Mackenzie, I told you the boys were in the church’s Christmas play this afternoon and they have dress rehearsal at ten. Ben, where’s your coat?”
“You did not tell me anything about a play or rehearsal. How am I going to get a tree home with my Prius?”
“I knew you only wanted me for my SUV.”
“Allison. You promised you’d help.”
“I helped make Christmas cookies,” Matthew said.
“Yes, you did.” And Mackenzie had gobs of frosting and sprinkles all over the kitchen to prove it.
“Will you leave our fort up so Grandma can see it, Aunt Mackenzie?” Ben asked.
They’d used the living room furniture, her dining room chairs, and every flat sheet she had in the house to construct their fort. Then, because they had to sleep in it, the boys had piled sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows on the floor. Mackenzie had woken up with a stiff back and a sore hip. Thirty minutes of yoga practice and ibuprofen helped lim
ber her up.
“No, honey. I’m putting the Christmas tree up in here.”
Ben’s and Matthew’s vehement protests drowned out her additional “that your mother was supposed to help me with.”
Drew walked into the living room holding Ben’s parka. “I don’t want to be in the play. I can stay and help Aunt Mackenzie decorate the tree.” He threw the coat at Ben.
“Don’t throw things at your brother. You’re a wise man. You’re going.” Allison helped Matthew zip up his coat. “Drew, where’s the overnight bag?”
“It’s right here.” Mackenzie nudged the bag with her toe. “Allison—”
“Don’t worry. I’ve arranged everything. You’ll have help.”
“When?” She thunked her coffee cup down on an end table. “Christmas Eve?”
“Always so dramatic.” Allison checked her watch, then cast a glance at Mackenzie standing there in her fuzzy yellow bathrobe. “You should get dressed. Boys, we have to be out of here in five minutes. Thank Aunt Mackenzie. And, Ben, put on that coat.”
Mackenzie accepted sticky kisses from Ben and Matthew, who had both eaten sugar cookies for breakfast. Drew hugged her.
Her calm oasis of a living room, with its pale slate-blue walls, heather-gray furniture, and twilight-blue accents, had a hollow quality to it after they’d left. Mackenzie gathered up the sheets off the dining room chairs and carried them to the laundry room. Yes, she could get everything ready without help, but having Allison’s SUV to haul the tree would have been so convenient. Plus, she’d been looking forward to spending time with her sister. With their schedules, they rarely did anything with just the two of them.
She padded down the hall to her bedroom and changed into comfortable old jeans and a thick cable-knit sweater. She’d finished securing her shoulder-length hair into a ponytail when the doorbell rang.
Mackenzie frowned. Who would be stopping by on a Sunday morning? Please don’t let it be Mom. Her mother’s version of help included a healthy dose of advice on ways Mackenzie could improve her life. Most of it irritatingly true. She clipped her bangs back with bobby pins before heading to the front door.
Through the tall living room windows, she saw a white delivery van parked in her driveway. Falling snow made it difficult to make out its logo. She wasn’t expecting a delivery. Nervously, she wondered if her mother had ordered something, and if so, what? The doorbell rang again. Mackenzie unlocked the door and opened it.
Jared stood on her front porch, looking like the best kind of trouble in his black leather jacket and thigh-hugging jeans.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice sounded faintly accusing to her ears.
“I’m here to help.” Snow dusted his hair and the shoulders of his jacket. He rocked back on his boot heels. “Are you going to let me in? It’s cold out here.”
“Yes, sorry.” Flustered, she pushed open the storm door and stepped back to let him—and a blast of arctic air—in. She pushed the door shut the moment he was inside.
“So.” He shrugged out of his jacket and hooked it onto the coat rack. “What’s the plan?” His eyebrows winged up as he took in the disarrayed living room.
“Plan?”
“Allison didn’t tell you?” He pulled off his boots and set them beside her wool-lined boots.
“Tell me what? Wait.” With a sigh, Mackenzie perched on the arm of a wingback chair. “She did say something about arranging help but didn’t share any details.”
“I’m your surprise Christmas present.”
Christmas present? Her heart rate kicked up. Sure she’d heard wrong, she asked, “Excuse me?”
“Hillary and Allison won high bid last night. Instead of a date, you’ve got me for the day.” Grinning broadly, Jared spread his arms wide. “I’m your Guy Friday.”
She appreciated the generous gift from her sister and sister-in-law, and though they shouldn’t, the words “Instead of a date” and his apparent delight, punched Mackenzie in the gut.
“Oh. That’s… great.”
His grin faded into a puzzled frown. “You don’t look like it’s great.”
“No. Really.” She stood up, rubbing her palms against her jeans. “It is.” God, she hated the word “buddies.”
“Buddies?”
Confused, she stared at him. “What?”
“You said buddies.”
Mackenzie couldn’t believe she’d said it out loud. “It’s a thoughtful gift. I can use the help getting ready. I bet you’re relieved Hillary and Allison bid so you didn’t wind up with someone who…” Floundering for words, she gestured helplessly with her hands.
“Mackenzie—”
He stood near enough that if she reached out, she could touch him. Yet the distance felt like a chasm.
Her mother’s voice whispered through her mind. Why do you keep putting your life on hold? If you keep waiting for everything to settle down, keep waiting for just the right moment, you’ll wind up with a heart full of regrets.
Mackenzie already had regrets. She wished she could roll back time. It felt like a lifetime ago that she’d backed away from the precipice with Jared. She closed her eyes, remembering the feel of his arms around her yesterday. Felt again the brief flicker of hope she’d experienced. She wanted to know what his kisses were like. Wanted to be held in his arms, not as a friend, but as a lover.
“I don’t want to be buddies.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “When you held me yesterday, I hoped for so much more. Oh my God, the sparks between us last year. I didn’t imagine that, did I? I replay it over in my mind and wish I hadn’t hesitated. That I’d been brave and—” Mackenzie looked up. Jared’s dark eyes had widened to the point of being comical. She tried to place the emotion she saw there. Alarm? Panic?
Crap.
“I know. I know. Sorry,” she said, verbally backpedaling. “We’re friends. We’re… buddies.” Drowning in mortification and unsure how to dig herself out of the mess she’d made, she fell silent. Stomach churning, Mackenzie pressed her fingertips against her eyelids.
Jared took hold of her hands and pulled them away from her face. Mackenzie kept her eyes cast down. What had she been thinking? Maybe she could blame it all on holiday stress and he’d ignore her outburst.
His roughened fingers brushed over her cheek. “Mackenzie. Look at me.”
“Can I have a do-over?” Hesitantly, she glanced up at him. A lopsided grin greeted her.
Jared cupped her face with his cool hands. “You weren’t imagining anything.” He leaned close; his warm breath fanned over her lips. He hesitated a whisper away from kissing her. His heated gaze asking for permission. She looped her arms around his neck, pressed her lips to his, and Jared responded.
He slid his fingers through her hair, angling her face just so. The top notes of vanilla from his cologne teased her nose. The kiss was temptation incarnate. Soft, full lips against hers, the there-and-gone-again scrape of his whiskers, the advance and retreat of tongues as they explored each other. Mackenzie pressed into him, erasing the slight distance between their bodies. Electric current darted through her as her breasts crushed against his chest. Breathless, she broke the connection long enough to indulge herself by gliding her fingertips down his soul patch. The rumble of his deep chuckle vibrated through her. She claimed his mouth in another heat-spiked kiss.
From the kitchen, “The Imperial March” ringtone from “The Empire Strikes Back” started playing.
“Ignore that.” Mackenzie nipped his lower lip.
“Why is your boss calling you on a Sunday?” With a scowl marring his handsome face, Jared turned his head and glared in the kitchen’s direction.
“Doesn’t matter.” She went up on her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth, regaining his attention. Now that he’d ignited the flame within her, she wanted more. She placed her palm on his chest, her fingers curling into his Henley shirt. “Want to make out on the couch?”
“Is that a trick question?”
Mackenzi
e laughed. “No.”
“You can’t say that was a buddy kiss.”
“Not in the least.”
“You are the most infuriating woman.”
“Me?” She arched a brow, giving him a questioning look.
“I’ve been dropping hints forever, trying to spark up your interest in me. Then Allison tells me about the fundraiser and I get this stupid idea that if I could get you to bid on me and we went out on a date, you’d fall for me.”
“Good plan.”
“Until you blew my plan to ashes. I’ve always wanted to date an older woman.”
“I’m only a year older than you and it isn’t smart to call a woman who’s thirty-seven old.”
“Dually noted.” Jared kissed her, muffling her laughter.
“All That Jazz” rang from the kitchen. Mackenzie dropped her head against his chest and heaved a sigh. “I’d love to ignore that one but she won’t give up until I answer.”
“Tell your mom hi for me.” He hugged her tight before releasing her.
Mackenzie hightailed it into the kitchen. She swiped up her phone. “Hello, Mom.”
Instead of hello, her mother asked, “Have you bought the pork loin for Christmas dinner yet?”
“No, I haven’t bought the loin yet. Who else do you want to invite?” She walked back into the living room to find Jared sitting on a dining room chair with his elbows braced on his thighs.
“Aunt Rachel and Uncle Matt. The grandkids have the flu, so they aren’t going down to Florida. Can I invite them to join us?”
Mackenzie suspected her mom had already invited them. “Sure.”
“You really should go grocery shopping, Mackenzie.”
“It’s on my list.”
“Aunt Rachel said she would bake her famous turtle cheesecake for us.”
Suspicion confirmed. “Yum! That would be wonderful.” Mackenzie made a mental note to pick up a few more bottles of wine.
“Is there anything else you’d like her to bring?”
“No. The cheesecake is plenty.”
“All right. I’ll give her a call. Love you, bye.” She hung up before Mackenzie could respond.
“How many are you having for Christmas?” Jared asked.
Christmas Wishes: A Christmas Romance Anthology Page 19
