by Jody Holford
When she was within touching distance, she stopped, held his gaze. Don’t do this. Don’t. But she had to; she needed to know. With another small step, the front of her body brushed his. He inhaled sharply and closed his eyes, breathing through his nose. Kate’s heart smiled. “You’re a liar,” she whispered.
He opened his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“Friends don’t lie to friends,” she said. The bottles clinked together. Neither of them moved.
“Kate.”
“Tell me again,” she said, feeling stronger, surer. Braver.
His eyes darted to her lips. “Tell you what?”
Did Elliot Peters’ voice just squeak? Power and desire surged through Kate and she felt like…like herself again. Not lost in a city that really never slept. She felt like she had when she’d been in charge of rebuilding the rec center in Angel’s Lake a couple years ago: certain that only good could come from her actions.
“Tell me you only have feelings for me as a friend,” she said. Her fingers itched to touch him. With a deep sigh, Elliot leaned down, put the beers on the small side table.
When he stood straight again, he tunneled his hands into her hair, his eyes locked onto hers. She pressed her hands to his chest, unable to look away as his mouth came toward hers. Right before their lips touched, he sighed again, filling her with the sweetness of his breath.
“I lied.”
And then it didn’t matter because his mouth was on hers, tasting, testing, and teasing. His fingers tightened in her hair as one hand snaked down, pressing against the small of her back, and bringing her so close that she became part of him. It was like being absorbed, surrounded, by warmth and tenderness. And a passion so strong it had claws. Her hands moved restlessly, up around his neck then back down to the hem of his T-shirt. She found skin and her stomach tumbled, like when she’d spun around too many times as a young girl. She didn’t want the spinning to stop.
Elliot boosted her up, and Kate wrapped her legs around his waist, moaned when his lips and the gentle scruff of a few days’ growth scraped along her neck. When tremors coursed through her body, over her skin, sanity knocked lightly. Lifting her head, she looked down at him and cupped his jaw in her hands.
She had to ask; she couldn’t be someone else’s mistake. “Do we want to talk about this?” Elliot turned, with her clutching him, and walked toward his bedroom. “We’ll talk after.”
He shut the door with his foot, holding her with one strong arm like a vice as he turned the lock. Padding toward the bed, Kate thought that if looks could burn, she’d go up in flames.
With more gentleness than she expected, he lowered her to the bed, his eyes doing more to consume her than his roaming hands. When he reached for the buttons, his fingers grazing her breasts, she stopped him. His eyes went to hers again.
“Just tell me you won’t think it’s a mistake,” she whispered.
Elliot’s eyes flashed with surprise and his hands came up to cradle her jaw. He leaned down and brushed his nose along the bridge of hers, kissing her cheek.
“Kate. You could never be a mistake. You’re perfection,” he said, holding her gaze.
She knew, because she’d come to know him, that he was waiting for her go ahead, for her to be sure. So she could see the truth. So she could feel it. And believe it.
She placed her hands on his and slid them back to where he’d had them. Elliot grinned but before her lips could curve into a full smile in return, he’d erased the distance between them.
Elliot’s fingers traced up and down her side, along her bare skin. His warm breath was in her hair, on her neck, and she was snuggled against him, certain she’d never felt so at home. It was like driving around in circles, continuously looking for a better parking spot. Finally, one opens up and confirms the waiting, the extra effort, was completely worth it. Kate felt like that now—like this was where she was meant to be. There was no other spot in which she’d fit so perfectly. And it scared the hell out of her because her life was a precariously balanced, over-stacked tower of blocks: any quick movements and it could come tumbling down.
“What are you thinking?” he whispered.
“I was wondering how I missed this. Wondering if it’s been here the whole time, simmering between us, and I’ve just been oblivious.”
Elliot turned her so she was looking up at him. His fingers went to her face and traced along her hairline down to her jawbone. “I think, to some extent, it’s always been here, but neither of us were in a position to act on it,” he said.
It felt true. She’d been attracted to him from the beginning, but there was school, the rec center, and then New York. Now she was home. Was the time right? Was there ever a right time?
“Are we in that position now?”
Elliot laughed, his breath fanning her ear and his body leaning into hers. “I think we’re in a great position now.” His palm flattened on her stomach and trailed up. She would have laughed but his mouth found hers again.
Pulling back only far enough to speak, he whispered, “Now we’re here. You’re in my bed. And it feels like it’s exactly where you belong. With me and the girls. I thought it was the wrong time—you just getting home, me with the girls. I told you I wasn’t attracted to you because I wanted you here so badly. I thought I could just…push this down. But now, now I don’t know what to do with everything I’m feeling.”
He was, quite possibly, the sweetest man she’d ever met. Her heart was pulsating, beaming from his words. Kate put her arms around his neck, drawing him down so she could bury her face just under his ear, so she could hug him and hold him tight. His arms wrapped around her and they stayed like that, perfectly surrounded by each other. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so free.
“This is where I want to be,” she whispered into the quiet.
Chapter Eleven
Kate snuck back to her own bed around four in the morning. Even after she’d curled under the covers, sleep hadn’t been easy. Not with the sexy play-by-play of the hours before looping in her mind. By the time she got up at seven, Elliot had gone to work. He’d left a note by the coffee maker: Ready to go, just press start. Thought you might be tired ;)
She was exhausted, she thought, listening to the coffee drip with a silly smile on her lips, a delicious and delightful kind of tired. Beth padded into the kitchen carrying the rag doll she and her sister shared. How ridiculous was it to buy only one gift for two girls and make them share it? Kate was almost finished sewing the second one. She’d make sure it got done today.
“Good morning,” Kate said.
Beth shuffled right to her and buried her head in Kate’s stomach, working her way further into Kate’s heart at the same time. She put her arms around the little girl and kissed her head.
“Want pancakes?” Beth nodded against Kate’s pajamas.
Grace came in looking much more awake than her twin. “I want pancakes,” she said, joining the hug.
So they made pancakes. Together. Kate tried not to think too much about how perfect it was to make breakfast with the girls in Elliot’s kitchen. She hadn’t even known she could want something like this—whatever it was—because she’d been chasing a different dream. If she got her Christmas wish, both dreams would be hers. But first, she had some work to do.
When the girls finished dressing, she grabbed their coats and boots. “Put em’ on, ladies. We’ve got errands to run,” Kate said.
“Where we going?” Grace asked.
She’d finally pressed send on her application for a loan. “There’s a store I want to rent so I can sell pretty dresses. We’re going to go check it out.”
Beth groaned. “I don’t want to.”
Kate stopped. It couldn’t all be holiday songs and cheer, she supposed. “We won’t be that long, sweetie.”
Beth pulled on her boots while she complained. “But Tara gets to go to the Christmas party at the rec center. How come we can’t go?”
Kate looked at Gra
ce while she tied her own boots. “Who’s Tara?”
Pulling her jacket on, Grace frowned. “Beth’s best friend other than me.”
“What time is this so-called party?” Kate helped Beth zip her jacket when it got stuck.
“I don’t know but it’s going to be really fun. Can we go?”
Kate grabbed her jacket and pulled it on, then looked up the number of the rec center’s front desk. A very musical voice answered, nearly singing, “How can I help you?”
“Hi. I’m just curious, do you have a children’s Christmas party happening today?” Kate looked at the girls who watched her, eyes wide. Listening to the woman tell her about the festivities, she exaggerated her own responses to make the girls smile. “You do? And what time is it at? Can anyone attend? Right. Thank you. Merry Christmas to you, too.”
When she put her phone in her purse, she pretended to go about zipping up her jacket, ignoring the girl’s stares. Finally they laughed, filling the kitchen with their own brand of music.
“Kate!” they chorused.
Kate looked up in mock surprise. “Yes? Oh. Did you want to know about the Christmas party?”
“Yes,” Beth said. Grace nodded.
“It starts at one o’clock, which means,” Kate said, checking her watch, “we have enough time to go check out the shop, stop by and visit my mom, who makes the best cookies ever, and still get to the party in time.”
Both girls walked to the car smiling and laughing. Kate wondered how Gina could let go of these moments. But as sad as it was, Kate felt selfishly grateful she was getting to share in them, to be part of their lives. And Elliot’s.
Kate collapsed onto a plastic chair next to Lucy. Beth and Grace ditched their coats, rubbed noses, and made oddly loud cooing noises at Emma, then dashed off to the cookie decorating station. Unbelievable. How did they still have energy? Kate had thought checking out the store space, stopping by the bank, and running a few errands would be simple. But nothing was simple when Grace forgot her doll, Beth was thirsty, or they both had to pee—at different times.
Lucy let Emma toddle around with the other kids, even though she was younger than most of the children playing in the open gym. Stations were set up around the festive space: cookies, coloring, gingerbread making, and ornament decorating.
Lucy looked Kate up and down. “You okay?”
Kate glanced sideways. “Uh, I think so. I can’t believe how tired I am from running around this morning.” She fanned her face with the flyer she’d been given at the door. Her hair was falling out of its ponytail, and she’d spilled coffee down the front of her sweater. Lucy, however, looked radiant. Her dark hair glistened and her cheeks were still bright from the cold outside. Emma gave her mom a board book.
“Read,” Emma said.
Kate smiled. Grace and Beth were giggling wildly over their cookies. “I’ll read to you,” she said.
She held her hand out for the book and Emma turned and stared at her a moment as if judging her suitability for the task. Then she slapped the book into Kate’s palm and wiggled her way onto her lap. Kate’s heart clutched impossibly hard as she inhaled the fresh scent of baby shampoo.
“Nothing is ever simple with kids,” Lucy said, glancing over at Beth and Grace. “But it’s worth it.”
Kate read a story about the different sounds animals make and Emma asked her to do it “again.” After the third “again,” Lucy pulled her daughter over to her lap.
“Let’s go color Santa pictures,” Lucy said.
Kate checked her watch and was about to go see how the girls were doing when her phone vibrated. Glancing up and seeing the twins had moved onto the coloring station themselves, Kate grabbed her phone.
Elliot: I seem to be unusually tired but can’t stop smiling.
Kate grinned as a sweet heaviness settled in her chest.
Kate: I know the feeling. We’re at a Christmas party at the rec center.
Elliot: Since you’re technically my babysitter, how am I supposed to get a date with you?
Kate laughed and checked on the girls again before she typed back.
Kate: I’m open to an afterhours date. At your house.
Elliot: Sounds perfect. Give the girls a kiss for me.
Kate: I will.
Elliot: I’ll take care of your kiss myself.
Kate wondered if it was too much to text back “swoon.” But that was definitely how she felt.
Lucy walked over, Emma fidgeting in her arms. “What’s that look?”
Kate blinked and stuck her phone in her back pocket. “What look?”
Lucy grabbed Emma’s coat and started wrestling her into it. Emma kept shouting “crayon,” which sounded more like ”crown.” “The oh-isn’t-he-dreamy-I-want-some-more-look,” Lucy said.
Kate’s face warmed and she looked toward the twins. Lucy stood up with Emma back in her arms.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought it would be like with you living with Officer Sexy Surfer,” her sister said.
“Shh.” Kate looked around but the kids were all engaged. Plenty of rec center employees were helping them and only a handful of parents had stuck around. They were chatting over in a corner. No one had heard, but still, her face was on fire.
“Is it a secret?”
“No, but it doesn’t need to be a public announcement either.” She hadn’t thought that far ahead and wondered whether Elliot wanted people to know.
Lucy shook her head but amusement tipped up the corners of her mouth. Emma started squirming to get out of her mom’s hold. “I have to go. She needs a nap. Be good. Or safe. One of those. I don’t know if you can do both at the same time,” Lucy said.
Kate only grinned. “Pretty sure I can handle both.”
She gave Emma a kiss and waved as Lucy left. She let the girls do their thing, sticking to the sidelines, and watching them enjoy each of the activities. Perhaps they could do some of their own baking the next day.
In just a few days, Elliot and his daughters had woven Kate into their lives, making her a part of something she’d never experienced in quite this way. Her mind was wandering back to the night before, so when a hand touched her shoulder, she jumped.
One of the program coordinators stood at Kate’s side, her eyes suspiciously wet. Kate knew her from high school, but they hadn’t hung out in the same circle.
“Hey, Cole. You okay?”
She nodded, which was at odds with the tightness around her mouth and eyes. “Yes. Sort of. Listen, it’s crazy that I’m even asking you this. I’d be embarrassed or worried about offending you if I had any time for that, but I don’t.”
Kate half-grinned. “Sounds ominous.”
Hands wringing themselves into a frenzy, Cole spoke quickly. “We’ve been working on a Christmas play for a while now. It’s supposed to happen Christmas Eve. But our seamstress—she’s also the librarian—maybe you’ve met her? Anyway, she broke her hand last week and we’ve been frantically trying to find someone else to finish what she’s started.” She took a deep breath in and when she exhaled, the rest of her words came with it. “And design and sew the Sugar Plum Fairy costume.”
Kate felt her eyes widen. She could do some costumes; it was hardly a big deal, yet the woman looked pale, like if she squeezed her hands together any harder, she was going to cut off circulation. Kate reached out and put her hands on both of Cole’s.
One of Cole’s tears leaked and she pulled a hand away to brush at it. Her blond hair hung to her shoulders, and Kate thought the style suited her face. “You’re a big-shot New York designer. I can’t believe I’m asking you this. I’m sorry. I know you probably—”
Kate cut her off with a hand in the air. “Stop. Please. I’m hardly a big shot. Least of all in New York. I love that you’re putting on a Christmas play here and I’d be happy to help.”
Before Cole could express the gratitude that was written all over her face, Beth tugged on Kate’s sleeve. “I want to be in a Christmas play,” she said.
“Can we, Kate?” Beth asked.
Kate winced and looked at Cole, who kneeled down and looked at the girls. “We definitely need more fairies for the dream sequence. Would you like to do that?”
Both girls jumped up and down, but only Beth answered. “We’re perfect fairies. Can we, Kate?”
Kate looked at them, then back at the much-happier woman. “We have to check with your dad.” Turning to Cole, she asked, “Is that okay? I’ll talk to Elliot tonight, and if you want to drop off the costumes that have been started, I should be able to get through them fairly quick,” Kate said. She paused. “How many costumes are we talking?”
“There are six dresses that still need the final stitching, a nutcracker costume that has been cut out but not stitched, and the sugar plum fairy,” Cole said. She stood but glanced down at Beth and Grace who were dancing around, hand in hand. “And two back-up fairy costumes.”
Kate nodded. “Okay. It’s eight days until Christmas. I can sleep after, right?”
Cole’s face fell, and Kate rushed forward, giving the woman a friendly hug. “I’m joking. It’s fine. Drop the costumes off tonight. Give me your phone number, and I’ll text you the address.”
Now she smiled, all traces of tears gone. “Come on, Kate. You think there are any single women in this town that don’t know where Officer Peters lives or that it hasn’t spread through town, with some envy I might add, that you’re living there now?”
Kate laughed. Right, of course they knew where he lived. This was Angel’s Lake. It wasn’t that big, and Elliot definitely stood out. In more ways than one. He was well known for pitching in around the community, even dropping in to the rec center frequently to play games of pic- up ball with some of the teens. He was more than looks—he was kind and sweet. Funny and sexy. Kate’s belly danced as she remembered the night before. No time for that. But there’ll be time later.
