by Amy Andrews
Viv blinked. “Oh…sure.”
Viv didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it hadn’t been that and she was stunned for a beat or two during which Robbie jumped in and said, “I’ll get that for you. Is plain okay or would you like one of the flavored ones? I’d suggest the licorice one if you picked up a taste for ouzo in Greece.”
“Oh yes, that sounds divine, thank you.” Clem smiled at Robbie before returning her attention to Viv. “I’d also like very much to apologize on behalf of all of Marietta for the way you’ve been treated in my absence.”
Reuben has said that his ex was a librarian and Viv could well imagine it now as she raised her voice with no apparent effort but sounded very much like a teacher scolding her class. The chastising was clearly meant for everyone in the shop despite Clementine not addressing anyone directly.
“It’s been appalling.” Clem embellished the word with utter disgust. “I can assure you Marietta is normally a very friendly little town and I can only say sorry again for their misguided sense of outrage that led to such behavior. I wish you and Reuben well for the future and I look forward to becoming a regular Delish customer.”
Viv didn’t think now was the time to mention she and Reuben were just a temporary thing so she inclined her head and said, “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Clem nodded. “Good. Now…” She turned back to Robbie and grabbed the steaming beverage, inhaling the aniseed fragrance. “Oh wow, that smells amazing.” Then she handed over her money and took a ballot paper Viv had mocked up.
“Put it in the box over there near the candles,” Robbie said, tipping her head to the side to indicate the direction. “There are pens over there, too.”
“Thanks.”
As if frozen in some kind of bizarre ballet, nobody in the entire shop moved or resumed their business as they watched Clem vote and deposit it through the slot. She raised her cup in salute, said, “See you tomorrow,” then headed to the door and left the shop.
It took another few seconds for activity to resume. A few seconds when a pin dropping on the floor of Delish would have clanged as loud as a pipe dropping on concrete.
Recovering first, Robbie said, “Okay now, who’s next?”
Viv could almost have kissed her as she, too, kicked into action, smiling at the woman Clem had called Mrs. Lucas. “Now, as we were saying…”
*
Things improved quite drastically after that. People stopped Viv in the street for a chat. They dropped off pies and casseroles at Delish and at the cottage. She was invited to local events and parties. She was asked by several people if she was going home for Thanksgiving and when she told them she wasn’t, they offered her a seat at their tables, which was sweet and lovely and, Viv had to say, genuine.
Clem accusing everyone of bad manners toward a newcomer had caused both collective guilt and affront and everyone, it seemed, was going out of their way to make amends—to be nice. To prove that Marietta actually really was the friendliest little town in the whole of damn Montana.
Carol Bingley even brought around her homemade pumpkin pie.
Most importantly, people were also buying chocolate! Not just Reuben. Or tourists. It seemed people were realizing, as she and Sage had from the beginning, that Marietta was big enough for two chocolate shops catering for two different markets. Which meant they were able to put another staff member on. Mackenzie started the day before Thanksgiving, which was just as well because the store was crazy busy with people wanting to buy gifts of both the edible and non-edible variety.
It was a baptism of fire for the poor newbie. The store was crowded all day—the snow falling outside had helped with that—and Viv could barely keep up with the hot chocolate stirrers. The Pop Rocks ones were so popular, Viv was worried they were going to run out before the end of the day especially with people ordering extra stirrers to take home for later.
By the time they shut up shop on Thanksgiving eve, Viv was very happy at how much the business had grown in what was just shy of a month, especially given that dismal first week. Things had turned around quickly—thanks to Clementine—and Viv breathed easy for the first time as she counted the takings for the day. Sure, today wasn’t a usual day, she knew that, but the trend was good and for the first time since they opened she knew they’d be able to pay both Robbie’s and Mackenzie’s wages from the profits!
The Marietta Delish store was going to make it. She’d had her doubts but, today, she knew it in her bones. And she couldn’t wait to get home and tell Reuben all about it.
Home…Viv shook her head—not home, the cottage. She’d never thought of any of the places Delish had rented for her as home but somehow, she did think about this one that way. Maybe it was the fact it was a cottage, not an apartment like she’d been accustomed to in her city gigs. Maybe it was the Bramble Lane address that just sounded so damn homey.
Or maybe it was the fact a hunky dude waited there for her with a glass of wine and a foot massage that was absolutely, positively going to become something else entirely. For someone who had shunned connections, she sure was sinking into this one pretty quick.
But then that was the beauty of being with someone who was only in Marietta temporarily, too—no expectations on either side.
Viv sighed as she locked up and stepped out into the freezing air of early evening, hunching into the thick wool of her scarf. The wind coming straight off Copper Mountain made the air feel as if it was made from tiny shards of ice and, although it was supposed to be fine tomorrow, it had snowed the last few days. But, even with the breath freezing in her lungs, the welcome of twinkle lights strung across the street cheered her and the glow from decorated store fronts up and down Main Street set up a similar glow deep inside Viv’s chest.
All dressed up for the impending Christmas, Marietta was utterly charming—despite the cold. There was something otherworldly about the town at the moment as if the recent snow and the spirit of the season had transported it back in time. Viv swore if she shut her eyes she could see and hear and smell the rush and bustle of bygone times. Kids having snowball fights in the streets, the slushing sounds as carriage wheels cut through melting ice, the aroma of wood smoke and roasting chestnuts and the spicy accents of mulled wine.
Dashing men in top hats throwing coats over icy puddles for women in long dresses.
Viv laughed to herself at her fanciful thoughts. She’d never found it hard to move on when it was time to go to the next store but she had a feeling Marietta was going to be different. Maybe it was the trials the store had faced, maybe it was turning failure around into success, maybe it was the people who were finally showing their kind hearts.
Maybe it was going home—going to the cottage—to Reuben.
Whatever it was, she didn’t think she’d be walking away so easy this time. She supposed that should scare the bejesus out of her but, perversely, it didn’t. Of course she was bound to get swept away in the charm of this picturesque small town in the wilds of Montana. She was used to cities that were big and impersonal, where there was noise twenty-four seven and buildings wherever a person looked and traffic.
So. Much. Traffic.
Marietta was quiet and sleepy, nestled in the foothills of a mountain that currently looked like a three-tier wedding cake all magnificent and bridal in her powdery veil of snow, a train of white flowing all the way down to Miracle Lake.
How could Viv not get caught up in the grandeur of the scenery and the allure of a simpler time?
Sure, she was going to miss it. But she knew from experience that she’d be way too busy setting up the next store to dwell on any sense of loss. And, in the meantime, she was going to enjoy her time in Marietta.
And with Reuben.
*
Reuben woke at five thirty the next morning, his body spooned around the warm, naked curves he already couldn’t get enough of, Vivian’s blond hair tickling his nostrils. The room was dark, the promised sun not yet up, no fingers of light poking throug
h the blinds in Viv’s bedroom.
But he was definitely up.
She stirred slightly and he kissed her nape as he rubbed his erection against the cleft of her ass. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
Snuggling back into him, a sleepy smile in her voice, she said, “I know what you’re thankful for.”
“Oh I think you’re going to be thankful for it, too.”
She laughed. “That’s a very brave statement.”
Reuben frowned as his lips nuzzled the side of her neck. “Brave?”
“Interrupting my first opportunity for a sleep-in for over a month?” And then she yawned and stretched lazily against him, her back arching, her butt cheeks grinding—he suspected on purpose—so good into his cock that Reuben’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head.
“Sorry.” He grimaced as she settled back into him again.
Resigned to not pursuing the need raging through his system, Reuben mentally flicked off the lights that were super-charging his system, extinguishing each and every one. He dropped a kiss on the spot where the slope of her neck met the start of her shoulder—God he loved that spot—before easing back a little. He was determined to let her sleep, which meant removing himself from temptation.
Sometimes, despite his best intentions and the higher, more evolved reasoning of his brain, his dick—whose intentions were not best and whose evolution was even less so—went rogue on him. And he wasn’t giving that bad boy any rope.
Because he would, for damn sure, hang himself with it.
There were some things he could get ready for their surprise morning outing, which was the reason he was awake at half past stupid hour on a day they both could have slept—or stayed in bed anyway giving thanks—until they had to be at his parents’ for lunch.
But before he could move too far away, her hand shot out and grabbed this thigh.
“Where are you going?”
“It’s okay,” he murmured, kissing that spot again, “you sleep. I’ve got a few things I want to take care of.”
Her hand gripped his thigh tighter. “But…” She squirmed her ass cheeks suggestively along the length of his cock. And just like that every light on the switchboard of Reuben’s libido surged to life again. “I’m awake now. And looking for something to be thankful for. You should totally take advantage of that.”
More than happy to take advantage, he nuzzled her neck and muttered, “Yes, ma’am,” as he groped behind him for a condom.
*
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going or not?”
Reuben shook his head, grinning at Vivian’s blindfolded profile. It was one of those blackout masks that they handed out on long-haul flights but with that and her red beanie pulled down to cover everything but her face and her thick red scarf pulled up to cover the lower half of her jaw, she not only sounded muffled but she looked like she was going on some kind of heist.
“I told you, it’s a surprise,” he said as he pointed his pickup north, leaving the outskirts of Marietta behind as the early morning sky lit with the soft peach and rose gold of the first rays of sunshine. It seemed the National Weather Service’s promise of a sunny day for Thanksgiving was being delivered on in spades.
“I don’t like surprises.”
Reuben chuckled. He’d have never guessed. From observing her this past month, he knew Vivian was a businesswoman through and through and that was the way she approached life. Everything was planned. Pros and cons were weighed and there was always a contingency ready to go. He only had to look at how she’d turned Delish around by adapting to the local Marietta conditions.
“Trust me, you’ll like this one. It’s not far, I promise.”
She humphed a little but didn’t complain any more, just settled into the seat and, crossing her arms, turned to look out the window, which was kinda funny given that she couldn’t see anything. Reuben smiled. He couldn’t wait to see her face when she took off her blindfold.
She’d been far too busy this past month to do any sightseeing and that was a tragedy, as far as he was concerned. Miracle Lake was an absolute jewel and it was only fifteen minutes out of town and Reuben was excited that he was the one who got to introduce her to this hidden little gem.
Who knew, maybe she wouldn’t see what he saw? She was, after all, a city slicker and even Clem, who’d grown up here, hadn’t been a fan. Especially at this hour of the day. Clem would have refused point-blank to go anywhere with him while it was still dark and below freezing outside.
But Vivian hadn’t minded. That could have been because he’d suggested it after he’d made her come for the second time within ten minutes this morning but, in his experience, that usually made a woman—and a dude for that matter—less inclined to leave bed not more. And Vivian had definitely been up for an early morning expedition.
If she wasn’t a fan? Well…that would be disappointing. He’d never shared this with a woman before—not this kind of early morning jaunt anyway—and that felt important.
Like it meant something.
Flicking a glance at her profile again as he turned onto the forestry road that led to the lake, he asked, “What are you thinking about?”
She turned her head to face him. “Meeting your parents.”
Reuben laughed. “I hope you’re not worried about it? They’re looking forward to it.”
Chewing on her bottom lip for a beat or two, she said, “Meeting parents isn’t exactly what I do. I’m worried about their…expectations.”
“With us?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Don’t worry,” he teased. “Mom’s not picking out china patterns or anything.”
Hell, she hadn’t even asked to meet Vivian yet or taken it upon herself to call in at Delish and introduce herself. Which, come to think of it, was not normal behavior for his mother.
Maybe, after getting her hopes raised with Clem, she’d learned to back off?
“So what have you told her?” Obviously warmed up enough now, Vivian loosened her scarf a little, pulling it down from her face. “About me? About us?”
“That I like you. That we’re…friends.” He hadn’t actually said that but it was hard to classify what they were doing without being crass about it.
Lovers? Friends with benefits? Fuck buddies?
He figured they’d part as friends when all this was over but what exactly were they doing now? It felt way more than friends who had sex. It was way more than what he and Clem had been doing for three years and he knew that after only one month.
It was intense. It felt…deeper. And man, was he pleased she was wearing a blindfold as that realization hit.
“Friends?” Her eyebrows rose above the blindfold, which was kinda funny but the conversation had turned too serious to laugh. “Who sleep together.”
“Well…the whole town knows that,” he teased trying to lighten the mood because he wasn’t going to spoil whatever it was they had going on right now by worrying about how to define their relationship and any feelings he might be having. Why borrow trouble? There was a frozen lake to skate on and a beautiful woman to share it with and on this morning in particular he was very thankful for his good fortune.
“It’s okay really, Vivian. They know it’s temporary. That I’m going back to Bozeman at the end of January.”
But the truth was, Bozeman wasn’t that far away…he and Clem had, after all, had a three-year long-term relationship with him living in Bozeman and her in Marietta. So maybe they didn’t have to call it off after he left? Maybe they could keep things going for the duration of her stay…
“Good. As long as everyone’s on the same page.” She nodded emphatically. “So, tell me about them. Your parents. I want them to like me so I need to know everything.”
The fact that Vivian wanted his parents to like her was heartening—not that Reuben thought, for a moment, they wouldn’t. People liked Vivian. She was friendly and chatty and that knack of complimenting people over the tiniest little detail, whi
ch made them feel a little bit special. He only had to look at how town opinion had turned around. Sure, Clem might have shamed them into taking the first step, but Vivian’s charm and grace, and her refusal to hold a grudge against those who had been less than kind, had won her many fans in Marietta.
“Okay, well…Mom works at St. James Church, in the office. And my dad is a sonographer at the hospital. They were both born and bred in Marietta and were high school sweethearts.”
“And you said you’re an only child?”
“Yes. They had trouble conceiving. In fact, they’d given up after several rounds of IVF and then Mom fell pregnant with me when she was thirty-four.”
“They must have been over the moon.”
“They were. I was their—” He grinned as he injected some breathy awe into his voice and clutched at his chest. “Their miracle child.”
He couldn’t see her roll her eyes but he could hear it in her voice as she said, “And spoiled you rotten I bet.”
Reuben laughed. “They didn’t, no. But I had a heap of aunts and uncles and grannies and adopted grannies and older cousins who did and lucky you, they’re all going to be there today.”
She turned toward him. “What? All of them?”
“Pretty much.”
“Because of me?”
“No.” Reuben chuckled. “Because it’s Thanksgiving. You’re just the cherry on top.”
She chewed at her bottom lip. “Right, well, there’s only one thing for it, then. I’m going to have to bribe them with chocolate.”
Reuben burst out laughing. “You won’t need to—trust me, they’ll like you just as much as I do.” Hell, with her gift for engaging with people, they’d love her.
“Sure.” She tapped her lips with her index finger. “But chocolate never hurts.”
Well…he couldn’t argue with that. “You may have a point,” he said as he spotted the sign to his usual parking place up ahead and eased back on the accelerator.
Immediately the engine throttled down, Viv turned toward the window despite not being able to see out of it. “Are we there?”
