Hell’s Christmas Bells.
“Well, hello there, Emma. Long time no see.”
“Will? Oh, hello.”
He stepped toward them. “Funny, I didn’t know you were coming here tonight. You never mentioned it this afternoon.”
I didn’t know I was coming either. To a party, that is. She bit her lip, and then said, “It was that thing I was talking about.”
He nodded and lifted his coffee cup to his mouth and sipped. “Yeah, me too. And this is all very interesting.” She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. His head tipped toward the living room. “See you later.”
Then he left.
Emma watched him leave, balled up whatever confusion that was spiraling around beneath her breastbone into a neat and tidy package, and slowly looked to Annie. “This was your idea,” she said to her.
Annie shrugged. “What idea?”
“Will. Are you trying to fix me up with Will?”
Shaking her head, Annie responded, “Heck, Emma, why would I do that? I figure if you and Will were ever gonna get together, you would have done it by now. You’ve both been ogling each other for weeks. How long have you known him? Six years or more.”
“I don’t ogle him.”
“Well he ogles you.”
“No way.”
“Way.” Annie paused. “You saw him this afternoon?”
Nodding, Emma confessed as she blew out a breath, “Yes. We had lunch. Over in Dalton Springs.”
Annie smiled big. “Good.”
“No. Not good. Well maybe. I don’t know!” Emma waved her hands and circled around, pacing. “But why is he here?”
Again, Emma shrugged. “I don’t know the answer to that, Emma. Why don’t you ask Suzie?”
Suzie?
It was then her brain settled on the matchmaking idea she and Suzie had talked about this morning.
Ah, shit. No.
And as she contemplated that, she determined she had to talk to Suzie pronto and get this thing straightened out. Will Craig was not the man she needed to be matched with. He didn’t fit her criteria, not at all.
And the second thing she needed to do was to tell him right straight flat out that this wasn’t her idea and that she was definitely not interested in a relationship with him.
She turned toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Annie asked, crowding close behind her.
Emma glanced over her shoulder, caught her friend’s gaze and held it for a sec, then said, “To undo stuff.”
Then she pushed back into Suzie’s living room before Annie could stop her.
****
The temperature outside was probably in the twenties but in Suzie’s living room, Will was sweating like a pig in a trailer outside a BBQ smokehouse. Reaching for his collar, he pulled it away from his damp neck, wondering why he’d worn a sweater. He didn’t wear clothes like this normally. He was pretty much into button-downed collars and trousers at school and t-shirts and jeans if he was out and about in town. And the sweater? Not his favorite choice.
But he’d been told to dress a little differently from the norm. That he might get noticed that way. Well, hell… This wasn’t him, and he was damned uncomfortable. He wanted to rip the sweater off right now.
But of course, he didn’t.
He moved away from the fireplace, let his gaze settle and linger over the room and the people in it for a moment. Next he eyed the front door. Everyone was pretty much engaged in conversation or eating appetizers, so he decided to go for it. Five minutes on the porch, breathing in the crisp, night air, would do wonders to chill the sweat on his brow and around his neck.
Not to mention cool off his libido.
Damn. One look at her. One glance his way from those sexy green eyes. One soft hush of her voice…and he was hard as a rock.
He had to get out of here. Moving with stealth, he headed for the door, turned the knob, and was out on the porch before anyone could ask where he was going.
Once there he let out a huge sigh of relief, closed his eyes, leaned against a porch pillar, and tried to get his mind on anything but what to do about Emma.
He stayed that way for several minutes, soaking in the calm, the party chatter in the background. A thin sheen of snow had fallen within the forty-five minutes he’d been here, and he looked up into the clouds, wondering if more was on the way. He’d not listened to the weather all day, and sometimes, in this neck of the woods, the weather could change on a dime.
No matter. He wouldn’t hang around here too much longer. In fact, perhaps he should go in, make a round, say his good-byes, and be off for home. But wait—that meant he had to face Suzie, and he wasn’t sure he could do that. And he had to face Emma, and that was out too.
He’d made an ass of himself with his abrupt departure in the kitchen. What would she be thinking about him right now? He was definitely out of dating practice.
But this wasn’t a date. This was a set-up and obviously one that Emma wasn’t prepared for either, so maybe all of this awkwardness could be dismissed.
And then again, maybe he should just leave now, without saying anything to anyone. He could always call back and tell Suzie he’d taken ill, decided to head on home, thank her for the party and the nice idea about Emma, but well…
Shit. What was he doing? Avoidance. He’d never acted this way before. He didn’t sneak around, and he didn’t lie. At least now that he was grown up. Forget those times as a kid. But he was about to lie his way out of leaving this party.
Was he that desperate to leave? And why, when lately it was all he could do to keep Emma Jo Baker off his mind, did he want to scramble away when she was put smack out before him, in a socially acceptable situation, for the offering?
“Because of the rules,” he said quietly. Better just to get on home. Plead forgiveness later.
Pushing away from the pillar, he took one hard step down from the porch. The next couple of steps were easier. Sleet hit his face as he moved into the wind and down the sidewalk.
Behind him, the party chatter suddenly got louder, he turned, registered a sinking feeling in his gut, and caught her pert silhouette in the open doorway.
Emma.
“Will Craig, where in hell do you think you are going?”
Busted.
****
Oh, freakin’ crap. He’s getting away before I can right this wrong.
“Will!” Emma called out again. “Wait!”
Without a thought, she headed down the porch steps, her gaze fixed on the man who had just whipped back to look at her. In her right hand, she held a really cool piece of spicy cinnamon candy—homemade by Suzie—that she’d snatched from a plate right inside the door. As she descended the steps, she popped the hard candy into her mouth, momentarily distracted by her quest. Good, the candy was awesome! She sucked the crisp night air in over her teeth.
Nice.
Will caught her eye. She hated to admit it, but he was nice too.
He looked…different…this evening, standing there in the moonlight with little crystal flecks of snow on his shoulders, looking back at her. In fact she probably paid too much attention to how he looked to her because as her left boot hit the bottom step, she felt her knee give away, her body pitch forward, her right elbow go out, and from then on, it was rather an ugly scene, she figured, from the outside looking in.
“Oh, God…”
She groaned and lay in a heap on the cold sidewalk and lit into a coughing fit. Candy. She gagged and rolled the hard sugar piece in her mouth and tucked it into her cheek. Last thing she needed was to die from asphyxiation on Suzie’s front steps.
Within half a second, Will was at her side, calling her name, feeling all her bones. Had she smacked her head too? Yes. She’d plonked the porch railing on the way down, and the pain in her forehead didn’t feel so good. Darn it….
She thought she heard Will mumble a slew of curses—one that she’d never ever heard him say before—as he picke
d her up, carried her up the porch steps, barreled through the door, and into Suzie’s house.
“Really, Will…this isn’t…” she slurred.
“Just be quiet, Emma. For once, just be quiet.”
It was all a blur. Her body was whisked through the room, and as the couples started exclaiming things like, “what the heck?” and “oh darn, is she all right?” she just let Will take over and say things like, “yes, yes” and “took a little spill on the ice” and “I think so.” To which she heard Suzie remark, “take her to my bedroom, just off the kitchen.” That was when Emma groaned for real, again, because not only did her elbow and head hurt like hell, but some other feeling deep in her gut told her she was in trouble.
Some sort of trouble. She just didn’t know what yet.
They rushed through the kitchen, the oak door swinging, passed through the small breezeway sunroom—she’d always liked that room of Suzie’s—and then into their private bedroom quarters where Will placed her on a gigantic, king-sized bed. The door shut behind them.
She expected the throng of couples to crowd in after, but she was wrong.
They were alone.
Will sat next to her and brushed an unruly shock of hair out of her face. “Damn, that was a nasty spill. Let me look at you.”
His fingertips softly grazed over her forehead and temple, and involuntarily, Emma closed her eyes. For a moment, there was silence.
Too much silence.
Slowly she fluttered her eyelids open to see Will leaning over her, his right hand still stroking the fine baby hairs away from her temple, and gazing down at her with concern and…and…and….
“You had me worried there for a moment,” he whispered.
“I think I’m okay,” she replied, her voice a little breathy.
“How is your head?”
She winced. “It hurts a little.”
“What else hurts?”
She was trying to figure that out. “My elbow. This one.”
With care, she raised her right arm, and he leaned the opposite direction, bracing himself with his arm at her side, to examine it.
“Ow,” she said. He had grasped right at the crazy bone. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
“Tender?”
“A little.”
“Should we take you to the emergency room?”
She shook her head and wished she hadn’t. That hurt a little. “No. No, I’m fine.” She tried to sit up. He positioned himself so that she couldn’t.
“Emma, lay back and catch your breath. Give yourself a minute.”
Well I would, she thought, except that you are leaning over me way too close, looking into my face, and for some strange reason that makes me all squirmy.
So she closed her eyes again for a second, inhaled, exhaled, and opened them again.
Will still watched her.
“Will…”
He placed a finger on her lips. A tingle shot through her chest.
“Emma, I’m going to tell you something, just so I can give you fair warning. This is a little awkward, maybe, and I hope you don’t hit me or something, but I am going to kiss you. Kiss you hard. Right here. And right now.”
She swallowed. “Oh?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
His lips descended. Emma lay there and let him playfully toy with her lips while her heartstrings went zippidy-doo-da haywire in her chest. He leaned in and Emma lifted her hands to his face and cradled that twenty-four o’clock shadow in her hands while he deepened the kiss. After a moment, he pulled back with an exhale and stared into her eyes.
And she just looked back up at him. Wow. Will Craig just kissed her?
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
“I’m not sure.”
His brows knit. “What do you need?”
She sighed. “I think I need...”
He positioned himself a little closer to her face. “What Emma,” he whispered. “What do you need?”
“One more kiss?”
Chapter Six
From the moment he put his hands on her and cave-manned his way through the house with her in his arms, and up until this very moment, Will hadn’t really engaged his pre-Doctorate degree brain or considered any serious consequences of his actions.
And he wasn’t considering any of that now.
While he had the chance, he was taking it. And as he leaned into Emma again, his chest flattening against hers, his lips capturing those red, slightly trembling and luscious lips of hers, he wasn’t thinking about anything but pleasure.
Pure, unadulterated, pleasure.
She tasted like cinnamon.
Like sugar.
Like…candy.
Oh, yes….
At first, he touched his lips to her sticky ones in a tentative and tender way, but before the kiss was through, he had inclined further, repositioning himself somewhat at her side, cradled her head in his hands, and deepened that kiss. His tongue swept inside—
Emma jerked away. “Um. Wait,” she mumbled.
Reaching up, she pulled a round, red candy out of her mouth and shrugged. “Sorry.”
“No problem.” She had the candy between her fingers, and on a whim he grasped her hand and sucked it right off her fingertips, taking it into his mouth. “Yum…” he growled.
Caution to the wind. Yes, for once in his life.
Emma’s round-eyed gaze never left his. “Wha— Will Craig, you are a little naughty.”
She tilted her head up, and Will didn’t need anything more to let him know that she was open to this subject of kissing. And maybe more. Plunging straight ahead, he took her lips again, mingling and suckling and taking what he wanted to be his.
Sweet, mother….
A moan curled up from deep in his throat and he passed it off to her through his open lips. Hers responded, and he raked the tip of his tongue over her smooth teeth. It was she, then, who echoed his moan right back and arched up to meet his tongue, thrust for thrust.
Hot. Friggin’. Damn.
With a gasp, she broke away. Her hands worked their way to his shoulders and she pushed a little. Will jerked back.
They stayed frozen there for a moment, eyes wide, peering into one another’s face.
“Oh my God,” said Emma, clasping a hand over her mouth. “Oh. My. God.”
“What?”
“I think this is….”
“What?”
“Not good.”
Will refused to panic. “Emma? What are you saying?”
She pushed back a little more and sat up, leaning against the headboard. “Bad idea, Will.”
“Bad idea?” Hell.
She lay both of her palms flat on his chest. “Oh, Will. Oh, crap. We have to talk.”
“Emma, let me start, I…”
“Will, I’ll confess, I did hire Suzie for a matchmaking job.” Suddenly she appeared very alert and coherent. “…but I did not ask her to go after you, to hook me up with you, I mean… Oh, God! What you must think of me!” She slid out from under him and stood next to the bed, wringing her hands and glancing about.
“What?” He sat still, confused, looking up at her. “Emma, sit down. That bump on your head may be causing you to be agitated. Come sit.” He sure as hell hoped this was not about to be his worst nightmare come true.
“It can’t be you,” she told him. She still stood there, her eyes wide. “It can’t. It. Just. Can’t.”
“I…I…”
“I didn’t hire her to fix me up with you. You have to believe that. Will, I’ve never, ever once been interested in you. Not once! You have to believe me. I did not plan this. I didn’t even know there was a party here tonight and now…now….” She stared at him, almost wild-eyed now. “And now, you had to go and kiss me, and while it was nice, and I really enjoyed it—you are a great kisser—I just…just…just don’t know….”
“Emma, please, calm down. Let’s just talk.”
She shook her head and then paus
ed, staring at him and studying his face, as if she were rapidly thinking, playing all of this around in that silly head of hers. “Now it’s all screwed up,” she blurted. “What you must think of me! I can never be in your presence again. Oh, shit. I am going to have to quit my job. I am so embarrassed! Oh hell’s Christmas bells…”
And with that, she was gone.
Will sat in the quiet room for too many long ticks of the bedside alarm clock and contemplated his next move. Whirlwind Emma had just exploded into his life and sailed out on a whim and with no promise of return. Confused and a little empty inside, he pondered his next steps—both immediate and with this woman who was suddenly occupying his every thought.
He should leave too. He couldn’t sit here in Suzie and Brad’s bedroom for the remainder of the night. Exiting through the front door meant forced conversations with all of the people out there, and probably facing Emma again. Exiting via the kitchen door meant he was a coward.
In the end, he said to hell with it and snuck out the back door.
He went home, where he should have stayed all along, and tried to push Emma out of his head.
****
Sunday came and went, quick as a whistle. Emma barely got out of bed. She slept late, stayed in her jammies all day, and read books. Mysteries. Not romance. Reading seemed to be the only activity she could engage in to keep her brain busy, and not get immediately embarrassed by her actions of the previous night.
On Monday morning, she faced the inevitable. She had to go to school, had to get the decorations up in the gym, and had to get the booths, tables and chairs arranged around the perimeter. She needed help, sure, and a lot of people had signed up—but she had to lead the charge and damn if she did not feel like leading anything.
Not one bit.
Embarrassed still, her biggest worry was coming face-to-face with Will. This whole Will mess was something she’d rather not think about at the moment. Not to mention the Suzie factor; soon as she had a chance, she needed to have a heart-to-heart with her too.
But today was not that day.
She had one strategy today—to stay out of the front part of the school where Will had parked himself in his office, and hope to hell that if he came into the gym, Annie would snag him and keep him busy so she would not have to speak with him at all.
One More Kiss: Sweet Hart Inn (A Harbor Falls Romance Book 14) Page 4
