by Elle Thorpe
“Did any of those friends bring you the beach, though?”
She pretended to ponder that for a moment, then winked. “You make a good point. Saturday is all yours.”
5
Isabel
Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, but it was still cold enough for my breath to frost in the frigid air, so I waited for Johnny on the window seat of the B & B. I could admit, from the warm house, the snow was kind of pretty. Until you had to do anything in it. Then it just plain sucked. And I wasn’t sure I’d ever be truly warm again.
Unless Johnny took me back to his beach. I still couldn’t believe he’d dumped a load of sand in his living room just for me. I barely knew the man, and here he was making bigger gestures in the space of one week than Lachlan had made in the space of our entire three-year relationship.
I wrinkled my nose and pushed all thoughts of Lachlan away. He didn’t deserve an inch of space in my brain. Not after what he’d done last year.
Johnny’s truck pulled up outside, so I called a quick goodbye to Eric at his desk and hurried down the path. Johnny stopped when he caught sight of me, and I basked in the way his eyes travelled over my body before landing back on my face.
“Like what you see?” I couldn’t help razzing him. It was too fun.
“When you’re around? Always.”
“Not much to see with thirty layers of clothing on.”
“Just means I’m imagining all the ways to get them off you.”
I elbowed him before he opened the truck door for me. “Flirt.”
“You started it.”
I bit down on my lip to keep from smiling as he rounded the hood and hopped in. He rubbed his hands together briskly while I fought not to look over at him again. But damn, I wanted to. And he was right. I had started the flirting. Because it was fun. And why shouldn’t I? It’s not like anyone was waiting for me back home. A little fun never hurt anyone.
That didn’t mean I’d make it too easy for him, though. Half the fun was in the chase.
“So where are we going today?” I asked, peering through the window at the white landscape. Anything to distract me from the sinfully good-looking man beside me.
“I want to right another of your Christmas wrongs.”
I gave him a curious look. “You really don’t have to keep doing this, you know.”
“I know. But it’s fun. And I love Christmas. It bums me out that you don’t like it. I’m determined to change your mind.”
“Losing battle there, my friend. I’m just never going to be a Christmas person.”
“Come on. I only have what? Three weeks left of December to show you how great it is? What’s the harm in trying? And if I can’t get you to love Christmas between now and then I’ll…”
“You’ll what?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t think this through. If I can’t make you love Christmas by December 24, you pick a prize. If I do make you love it, you owe me a prize.”
I raised an eyebrow. “This sounds like the plot of a Hallmark movie.”
We rolled past a series of storefronts, all decked out with disgusting Christmas cheer, and he glanced over at me, grinning. “I’d make a great leading man, don’t you think? Good-looking, small-town hero—”
I cut him off with peals of laughter.
He scowled. “It’s not going to matter anyway, because I’m going to win. Then the prize pick will be mine. I’ll start making my list now.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Challenge on then?”
“Your funeral, buddy. You’ve got no chance.”
Johnny pulled the car to a stop and lifted the parking brake. “We’re here.”
I peered out the window at the squat, square brick building we were parked in front of. “You’re taking me on a date to an animal rescue? I’m allergic!”
His jaw dropped open. “What? You are?”
I grinned. “Nope.”
I jumped out of the car, laughing at his confused expression, and he followed, meeting me on the sidewalk.
“You’re a brat.”
“I know. You’ll get used to it.” I skipped ahead of him as he walked to the door of the shelter.
“I can’t believe I momentarily fell for that, considering I already knew you had a cat once. Which is why we’re here actually. We need to choose your new kitten.”
I coughed. “My what now?”
“We’re making up for the year Toto the stupidly named cat died.”
“Hey! I was five when I named him that!”
Johnny chuckled. “My point still stands. But I thought it was time to get you a new furry friend.” He frowned. “I’m gonna call veto if you try to call it Toto the Second though.”
I rolled my eyes. “Toto the Second is an awesome name, but have you forgotten that I leave in a few weeks? I’m not exactly in the market for a pet.”
He gave an overexaggerated sigh. “You really know how to kill a moment with facts, don’t you? Are you going to bring up that you’re leaving every day we spend together?”
I shrugged.
He looked exasperated. “We need a new barn cat. To catch mice. So it’s your cat but it can come live with me. We can have joint custody. I’ve already got paperwork drawn up. I get Christmases though. Since you hate them.”
I just stared at him. “God, you’re cute.”
“I am?” His exasperation turned hopeful.
“Ridiculously so. Is this what all you country boys do? Win the ladies over with kittens?”
He took a step closer, leaning in so his tall frame crowded me against the door. My heart beat a little faster.
“Am I winning you over, Isabel?” His voice was deeper, gruffer than I’d heard it yet.
Words died, and my tongue suddenly felt tangled. But he just grinned, strolling by, like his presence had no effect on me. My breathing stuttered. I wasn’t sure whether I was relieved or disappointed.
On the other side of the door, we found ourselves in a reception area. It was bright and airy and didn’t smell of animal like I’d expected it to. It could have been the reception area of a doctor’s surgery, if not for the distant sound of barking. But Johnny groaned quietly under his breath. I glanced up at him curiously, but he wasn’t looking at me.
“Johnny West! Long time no see! And you’ve brought a new friend!” a booming voice called across the room.
I watched in fascination as Johnny’s mouth transformed into the fakest, most phony-looking smile I’d ever seen. Wow. Boy really needed to keep his day job, because acting wasn’t his strong suit. His entire body went stiff, and I followed him over to the reception desk.
The guy behind the desk was young and handsome, fair and blue-eyed, a complete contrast to Johnny’s dark features. He came out from behind the desk when we approached, eyeing me, which wasn’t unusual. I’d had this reaction a lot since I’d gotten here. Everyone was curious about the newcomer.
Johnny was still acting like a plastic shop mannequin, so I stepped forward and held out a hand. “I’m Isabel.”
The guy took my hand and shook it, holding it for a moment longer than he needed to. His gaze turned from curious to interested. “Charlie.” Charlie’s gaze dropped from my eyes to my boobs and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. When Johnny’s gaze swept my body, it made me hot inside. When this guy did it, it just felt skeevy.
Beside me, Johnny made a choked noise. “You okay?” I asked. “Do you want some water?”
Charlie laughed. “He’s fine. He’s just having a fit because he doesn’t like me.”
That seemed to snap Johnny out of his trance. He recovered the use of his voice. “Yeah, well, Charlie. You don’t make it easy, do you?”
Charlie rolled his eyes and turned back to me. “High school rivalry never dies with this one. Football team stuff, you know?”
I didn’t really know, because we didn’t do high school football in Australia. Not like they did here. Though I’d seen enough of it i
n American teen movies to get the gist of how it went. I wouldn’t have picked Johnny for a football player, though. Despite his athletic physique, he didn’t fit the jock stereotype. “You played football?”
He opened his mouth to reply, but Charlie cut him off. “I wouldn’t say he played. He sat on the bench and watched me play. He was second string.”
I narrowed my eyes. The guy was a bit of dickhead. Obviously throwing shade at Johnny in front of me just to make himself look good. Two could play at that game. I took a step closer to Johnny and wrapped an arm around his waist. His surprise almost made me laugh, but I gave him a “play along” look, and he got the idea. He put an arm around my shoulder, tucking me into his side. Smug satisfaction rolled off him when Charlie frowned. And then there was a pause before he dropped a kiss on my head.
Cheeky. I elbowed him subtly, and he grinned.
Well, I’d walked right into that one.
Charlie eyed us. “What can I help you two with anyway?”
“We’d like to adopt a kitten, please,” Johnny said.
Charlie tapped his pen on the desk, the noise as irritating as his personality seemed to be. “Who would have picked you to be the kitten rescuing type? Not me. But I’ll show—”
The rescue’s phone rang shrilly, and Charlie glanced at it in annoyance.
“Don’t worry, we can show ourselves. Through there, yes?” I used my sweetest voice, already leading Johnny down the only corridor off the room. Charlie nodded distractedly as he picked up the phone. I hoped the call took a long time.
Johnny and I followed the barks and meowing until we found another door marked Cat Sanctuary. When I pushed it open, a room full of cat cages lined the walls, and the mewling noises increased.
“Ohhhhh.” There were more cats in that little room than I’d ever seen in my life. Some full grown, some kittens. All various breeds with individual markings, some with names written on tags hanging from the bars. My heart swelled, already wishing I could take them all home. I spotted a cage full of kittens and headed in that direction, the tiny animals too cute to be ignored.
“Oh my God, Johnny. Look at that one.” I lifted the latch and pulled a gray fluff ball from the cage. I held the sleepy kitten to my chest and it immediately burrowed into the warmth of my woolen sweater. My heart smashed into a million pieces when purring vibrated through its body, and I turned around to show Johnny.
He was scowling in the doorway.
I recoiled. “Yikes, who stole your candy?”
Johnny pushed off the doorframe and wandered inside. “Sorry. Charlie gets under my skin. I really hate that guy.”
I crossed the space between us, bringing the little gray kitten with me. Linking my fingers through his, I squeezed. “I can see why. He’s kind of a douche.”
Johnny stared down at our interlinked fingers. “You’re holding my hand.”
I held up our linked fingers. “Oh, look at that. So I am.”
“Charlie’s not watching anymore.”
“I know.”
The most beautiful smile spread across Johnny’s face, making my stomach flip. I inched closer. “Why do you hate him so much? Is it just the football thing?”
He shook his head. “No. We’ve been competitive all our lives. Sports. Girls. Grades. Anything we could compete over, we did.”
“Who got the girl?”
The tiniest of smiles lifted his mouth. “He did. Head cheerleader. Though in hindsight, she was a nightmare, so I dodged a bullet. But he wasn’t lying about me playing second string and having to watch him take the glory every Friday night.”
“That hurt, huh?”
He shrugged. “It was years ago. And anyway. He might have gotten the girl, and the football glory. But he still hasn’t beaten my Christmas light display.”
I stifled a laugh, but not well, and it came out a half snort.
Johnny nudged me, his eyes twinkling. “You could at least pretend I’m cool, you know?”
“I’m sorry! I am. You’re super cool. Swear it.” I untangled my fingers from his and made the Scout’s honor salute.
His lip quirked. “You’re so believable when you lie, Isabel. Truly. I’m really feeling it.”
I bit my lip to try to control myself. “You take this light competition pretty seriously then?”
“Yes, ma’am. You laugh now, city girl. But you just wait and see. It’s a big deal. The whole town comes out. There’s food and a band and a barn dance. Then there’s a big convoy of cars and trucks following along while the lights are judged. You’re going to love it.”
I wasn’t so sure of that. The idea of a barn dance practically had me doubling over with amusement. I had no idea such things existed in real life. I guess I deserved the city girl jab. And yet the idea of spending more time with Johnny on something that got him excited…yeah, very appealing.
“Do you need any help?” I asked slowly. “With the lights, I mean. I’m kind of good with displays.”
Johnny’s grin widened. “You’d help? You, the head grinch of Grinchtown, want to help me with my Christmas light display.”
I slapped his bicep and tried not to notice how solid it was, even through his jacket. “I’m not a grinch!”
“Could have fooled me.”
I shoved one hand on my hip. “Fine,” I declared, all sass and attitude. “I’ll just go offer my design services to Charlie then, shall I? Maybe he could use my help.” I spun on my heel, pretending to be insulted, and made for the door.
Strong fingers wrapped around my wrist before I even took a step. He pulled me back, and I landed against his chest. I smirked up at him.
“I want you, Isabel.” His eyes darkened.
The smirk slipped from my face. “You mean you want my help?”
“That too.”
His fingers tightened on my wrist, tugging me closer, his face barely an inch from mine. My heart pounded as his gaze dipped to my mouth. My lips tingled, anticipating what his kiss would be like. Would it be fast and hot? Slow and sweet and sensual? I had no idea. But I was determined to find out. His arm snaked around my back, pressing me into him—
“Meow!” The strangled yelp broke my daze.
I jumped back, bringing the squirming kitten up to face height. She looked thoroughly pissed off. “Oh, little kitten! I’m so sorry! Johnny’s rock-hard pecs nearly squashed you! You poor thing.” Johnny burst into laughter and I couldn’t help but do the same. I checked the kitten quickly, her big murky-colored eyes staring up at me in indignation.
But my gaze couldn’t be kept from Johnny for long. It kept straying to his lips and I wondered if it would be too bold to just put the damn kitten down and resume our earlier stance. Because for a second there, the whole world had stopped when I’d imagined his kiss. So much so I’d forgotten all about Toto the Second. Poor kitty.
“You two pick one yet?” Charlie asked, sticking his head into the room.
I held Toto the Second up and nodded.
“Yeah, I picked one,” Johnny said quietly from behind me. I glanced back over my shoulder, but he wasn’t looking at the kitten.
He was looking at me.
6
Johnny
Back in my truck, Isabel settled on the passenger side seat and petted the kitten on her lap. For a moment, I got lost in taking in the details. Her cute nose and the way it turned up slightly at the end. The dusting of freckles across the bridge. The way she tucked her long dark hair behind her ear, and the faint smile that curved her lips as she stroked Toto the Second’s fur.
“If you’re going to make a joke about me stroking my pussy…” Isabel didn’t look up, but I could hear the laughter in her voice, and it just made me want to lean in and kiss her all the more. Damn pussy. It had totally stolen my thunder back there. I’d been inches from landing my lips on hers, but now the moment was gone.
I couldn’t wait for another. Because kissing her was all I’d been able to think about since I’d met her.
I p
ut the truck in gear and pulled out on the road, concentrating on navigating the crossroads that led back into the center of town, while Isabel tried to wrangle the kitten.
“Toto the Second might need to be renamed Fidget. Or perhaps Wriggly,” she muttered. The kitten climbed her like a scratching pole, batting at her hair and squirming to be let go. “What are we going to do with her while we get lunch?”
“Shit. Good point.”
“We can’t leave her in the car, she’ll freeze.”
“Of course not.”
“Does the restaurant allow animals?”
The little kitten was mewling its head off, and Isabel resorted to putting it down at her feet, which it seemed to like better. It quieted, but chased a take-out coffee lid around the floor like a tornado. The restaurant I’d booked for lunch was the fanciest we had here in Two Creek Plains. “Maybe we should take her home first. I can push our reservation back an hour.”
“I’ll do it, you drive. My boots may not last the day if Toto is left at my feet much longer.” The kitten had taken to using her suede boots to try her claws out on.
“Deal.”
Isabel picked up her phone and I told her the name of the restaurant. She moved our reservation easily—it’s not like we even really needed one. Restaurants rarely got full around here, except in the height of tourist season. And I headed for home.
After a few minutes of quiet, where the kitten dominated Isabel’s focus and mine was trained on the snow that had started to fall, Isabel twisted in her seat. “You okay? You’ve gone quiet.”
“Just concentrating on the roads.”
She squinted through the windshield, then back at me. “Nope. Try again. It’s barely snowing. I could drive in this with little difficulty. This is nothing for a local.”
She was right. I bit my lip.
“Kitten regret?”
I glanced at her sharply. “No! We really do need another barn cat.”
“So if this wasn’t a ploy to get me all mushy, what’s up? Why do you suddenly look like a virgin on her wedding night?”
