Zambonis and Mistletoe - A Holiday Romance (The Renegades Series Book 4)

by Melody Heck Gatto

  “Can’t help it.”

  Once inside, Rylee made a pot of coffee while Nick made himself comfortable at the kitchen table. “Creamer?” she asked, as she carried both mugs to the table.

  “No thanks, I take mine black.”

  “Blah,” she stuck out her tongue over dramatically. She dumped about a fourth of the creamer carton into hers before taking a long sip. “So where were we?”

  “I’m really not that interesting, you know.”

  “Sure you are. You could be living in Greece in some castle but you are here in Pittsburgh!” Her hands flailed around wildly as she spoke.

  He frowned. “I never said I lived in a castle.”

  “Well, did you?” Her eyes narrowed and a smile pushed its way along her mouth.

  Nick didn’t like to tell people about his upbringing; it always made him feel like they saw him differently. He just wanted to be the guy who managed the Renegades, no more than that. But her questions weren’t snide or condescending, they were genuine, and before he could stop himself he was giving her all the answers she wanted.

  “Yes.”

  “Ha! I knew it. So, go on. Tell me about your castle in Greece.” She worked hard at keeping a poker face but she was cracking.

  “I’m not telling you about my castle—I mean my home in Greece.” Dammit, now she has me saying it!

  “Fine.”

  “I went to college not so far from Pittsburgh. My roommate and I would go to all of the college sports events and I really took an interest in hockey. I’ve never played myself. Growing up we concentrated on horseback riding and archery, so hockey was a unique change. Eventually it was in my blood. I started to follow national teams and studied the whole business side of it. That was something that I could be part of after I earned my degree. My father, of course, expected me to come home once I graduated, but I had already been offered a position with an AHL team as their Vice President of Operations.”

  “Wow, you were something special, huh?” She sipped at her hot coffee.

  Nick shook his head. “I worked my way up the ladder with teams until the Renegades hired me on as General Manager. This is what I always wanted out of life. It is my dream job.”

  “That’s really great. So what does your family think about your life in the States? Do you travel home often?”

  “They always hold out hope that I’ll return home, but I can’t see that happening. They are all set in their ways and have no desire to come here, which is fine. I have a feeling my house wouldn’t compare to anything they live in there.

  “Do they all live in castles?” The playful tone to her voice made him laugh.

  He shook his head. “They don’t live in castles.”

  “Okay, okay. So no castles.”

  “No castles.”

  “You all are close?”

  “My family? Sure. I talk to my mom almost every day, briefly. We have a big gathering during the summer at my parent’s home. I know it doesn’t sound like we’re that close, but really, we are. My siblings have families and they keep busy. I have a team to take care of, and I keep busy.”

  “You don’t go home for the holidays?”

  He shook his head, “No. With the team schedule it’s too hard. I need to be available at all times.”

  A frown fell across her face. “You’re kind of like me.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “On my own.”

  “You’re not all on your own. You have Paige and Tyler and your Gram.”

  She shrugged. “Yeah.”

  But he knew what she meant.

  “Who will you spend Christmas with?” She asked abruptly.

  He did his best to flash her a devilish smile, because he knew who he wanted to spend Christmas with. He just had some work to do first. “I think it’s time for me to go.” He could sense she wasn’t ready for what he was feeling, but his heart burned for her. She was smart, funny, sarcastic, and gorgeous. He had to take things slow with her to not scare her off, but slow was becoming difficult.

  “Okay.” She followed him to the door. His body closed in on hers.

  “Rylee, I had a nice time tonight. Did you?” Nick’s eyes watched hers intently. Her fruity scent invaded his thoughts and took over his brain.

  He waited for her answer. Instead she just stood there and watched him. Her mouth slightly parted as if she was going to speak, but she just stared. She was so close he wanted to kiss her.

  “Rylee?” He said with a nervous laugh.

  “I’m sorry, I faded away there for a minute.”

  “It’s okay. Did you at least enjoy our date?”

  “I did, very much. Thank you. That took a lot of planning and I really appreciated it.”

  “I’m glad. As long as you liked it, everything was well worth it. Okay, then, goodnight.” He leaned close, obviously giving her the impression that he was going to kiss her because her breath caught and she stiffened a bit. Instead, his lips brushed against her cheek ever so gently, but still enough to leave him wanting more.

  Brushing his knuckle along her jaw, he grinned. “Goodnight Rylee. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Left staring and still, she waved with a smile and never spoke as he got into his SUV and disappeared down the street.

  CHAPTER 11

  Her beaming smile and beautiful eyes hit him right in the heart as she opened the door.

  “Good afternoon, sunshine.”

  “Good afternoon, Nick.” Her face muscles twitched like she was trying to mute her amazing smile, but it wasn’t working. The wind blustered around him, hitting his wool coat, but all he could feel was the warmth from her smile.

  Even in a hooded sweatshirt and yoga pants she looked amazing, right down to her pink Chuck Taylors.

  She shook her jacket on and slid her hands into black gloves. Closing the door and locking it, she turned and almost knocked into him. Her blue eyes locked with his, her breath hot against his face; damn she was beautiful.

  Quietly she asked, “Ready?”

  Spending the afternoon driving across town to the doctor’s office was not what he had planned, especially since that’s where he just came from. The office by his house was the only one with appointments this week, and corporate was very specific about when she needed checked by their doctors. It was all ridiculous, and if it were up to him he’d pay for whatever she needed, but when it came to lawyers and accountants it wasn’t that simple. There were rules.

  After helping her into his SUV he slid into the driver’s seat. Rylee turned on the radio and Christmas music poured out of the speakers.

  “Don’t you ever tire of this music?” He didn’t intend it to sound snotty or rude; it was just a question, since the songs got repetitive after a few hours.

  “No. Why, do you?” she asked, obviously just to be polite since she made no move to change the station.

  “No, it’s fine.” He never understood how someone could listen to the same songs over and over. But she was happy, and if he got to see that smile on her face that was all that mattered to him.

  As they entered the highway, she screwed her face up and sighed. “I feel bad you’re driving me all the way out here. I should’ve had Paige take me.”

  “Please don’t worry about that; this is fine. I like driving you.”

  “No, it was wrong of me to ask you to. The office is right by your house, isn’t it? That’s so much extra driving.” She wrung her hands.

  “It isn’t far from where I live, yes, but I really don’t mind.” Taking his eyes off the road for a moment he glanced at her face. She was serious, no smile hiding under all that worry. It was ridiculous for her to be so torn up over this. “I offered. So please wipe that grim look off your face and smile. I like your smile.”

  “But—”

  “Not another word, Rylee. Plus, isn’t it a little late to worry about this?” He grinned in the most devilish way he could. Patting her knee lightly, a smile crept across her face as well. �
�It’ll be fun to make an afternoon out of it.”

  “I guess.” The sparkle returned to her eyes. “How about dinner after my appointment?”

  “Dinner sounds good. There’s a great new Japanese place that just opened up by the mall we could try. Or Italian?”

  “I was thinking maybe we could get some take-out and go back to your place? After all, I’ve never seen where you live.” It was more of a statement than a question.

  “My place?” This was the first time she’d shown interest.

  “Yes. Unless there’s some reason you don’t want me to see it?” She batted her eyes, as a small pout pushed at her perfect lips.

  “Of course not.” His place was so boring; why would she want to see that?

  “You never talk about your place. Are you sure you’re not hiding something? A wife? Maybe a kid?” Her voice got higher with each question as she hid a laugh.

  “What?” His eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his head. Was she kidding? Why would she say something like that?

  “I’m joking, of course. Or maybe you’re a general manager by day and a super hero by night? DeLorean in the garage? Top secret time machine in the basement?”

  “None of the above.” Shaking his head he asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

  She giggled. “I had two cups of coffee this morning.”

  “Just two?” She was giddier then he’d seen her, but it was amusing so he didn’t care.

  “Yep… Oooh wait, I know! I bet you’re hiding a unicorn in the basement. I really think you should show me your unicorn.” As fast as she said it her face turned bright red, and her eyes grew wide. “Uh, I didn’t mean it like that.”

  Nick couldn’t help himself as a laugh escaped his lips. “I would bet that you didn’t.” Rylee has never made any sexual jokes before, and he hadn’t expected her to start now. “Obviously.” But damn if he didn’t really want to show her his ‘unicorn’.

  He wanted to change the subject so she would stop feeling uncomfortable. “I just don’t think my place is anything special. We’d probably have more fun if we dined out. If you don’t want Japanese there are plenty of other places to choose from.”

  “Is it a castle?”

  “Excuse me?” Was she still on this? This girl…

  “A castle. Like your castle in Greece.”

  Is she purposely pushing my buttons? That smile on her face tells me yes. Why does she find it so amusing to say I have a castle? “I don’t have a castle in Greece, and no, my house is not a castle.”

  Rylee shrugged. “Just asking.”

  Nick was relieved when they pulled into the parking lot. He knew she would keep pushing to see his house; he just didn’t know why. It was nothing special. He lived alone and didn’t have time for company. Surely she would be disappointed once she saw it.

  ***

  The hospital waiting room was empty, except for him. He leafed through every magazine they had, but his mind remained on her. He’d been to her place plenty of times, so obviously she wanted to see his home. But that was just it. Her house was a home; his was just a place he slept. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Rylee returning to the waiting area. “Everything go okay?”

  She nodded. “Yep. It’s healing nicely. Right on schedule, but I could’ve told them that.”

  “Glad to hear that.” She was walking better and he’d been sure that was the report she would get. He looped his arm through hers. “Where are we off to now? Change your mind about dinner? Maybe check out that Italian place? Or go back to your place?”

  “Nick, I’m hungry, and it seems silly to drive all the way back to my place just to eat. Let’s grab some Italian and take it back to your place. With you being so secretive about it, I’m more curious than ever.” She winked at him and flashed a sly smile.

  Damn this girl. His heart thudded in his chest every time she smiled at him. He found himself answering before he could stop the words. “Okay.” Wait, why did I agree to that?

  “So, Italian?” she asked, pulling out her phone. “We can order on this app and pick it up to-go. I think I’m going to go with Chicken Cacciatore with Cheese Manicotti. Any idea what you would want?”

  “I think I’ll go with the Stuffed Chicken Marsala. And get an order of Breadsticks and one of Crispy Risotto Bites also.”

  “Hungry?” She muffled a laugh as she typed into her phone. “Okay, it says it’ll be ready in twenty minutes. So, are you all decorated for Christmas?”

  “Where?”

  “Your house.”

  “Oh, no. I didn’t decorate, er… well… I don’t decorate.” He cringed as the words left his mouth. He was telling Miss Christmas that he didn’t decorate.

  Right on cue a gasp escaped her lips. You’d think he’d just told a child that he didn’t believe in Santa Claus with the look that crossed her face. “You don’t decorate? Ever? But why?”

  Shaking his head, he had a feeling he wasn’t going to get out of this one. “Because I don’t want to.” But her heavy gaze landed on him and he knew that answer wasn’t enough for her. “I just wouldn’t consider my place ‘homey’.” There was never anyone there to enjoy decorations, so why bother?

  “Well, it will be once we get a few decorations in there.”

  “I’m not decorating, Rylee.” Is she suggesting what I think she is?

  “There’s a drug store across the street from the restaurant, let’s stop there first.”

  “For what?” This can’t be good.

  “Decorations, silly!” She typed more into her phone, probably online shopping.

  He needed to get out of this. His home was no place for decorations; he barely spent time in any of the rooms except his office, bedroom and TV room. “No, no, we don’t need to buy decorations. Really, Rylee.”

  “Why not?” She whipped her head to look at him.

  “I don’t need any.”

  “You at least need a tree.”

  The stern look in her eye told him there was no arguing this. He didn’t want to fight; he just wanted to enjoy her company. “A tree? Fine, just a tree.” Not wanting her to get any crazy ideas, he added, “A small tree, like a two foot one.”

  Parking the SUV he was barely able to catch up with her as she jumped out and rushed into the store. “Hey, you move pretty quickly for a gal with a bum ankle.”

  “Ha, ha.” She mocked him with a smile as she grabbed a cart. “We need to find you a tree.”

  “Rylee, you haven’t even seen my house yet.”

  “Nick, every house needs a tree.” She grew silent as the words she spoke registered.

  He knew what was happening. She had told him how her family had always had the best tree growing up and how her Gram hadn’t wanted one since her Pap passed. Watching Rylee, her eyes still sparkled but a tear threatened to fall. He wanted that gleam to stay. “A tree. Okay, sure.” He led her over to the holiday section. There weren’t many trees to choose from, luckily. “Which one?” He pointed to all three options:, a seven-foot, no way I’m getting that one, four-foot, not too bad, and a two-foot one, even better.

  Rylee picked up the two-foot one, which thankfully came pre-lit with little decorations.

  “That one will be perfect for my study.” Happy with the compromise, he put the small box into the cart and turned towards the checkout.

  “Wait, are you done?” Rylee stopped him.

  “Yeah, I thought so.” Her smile told him otherwise. “Why… what did you have in mind?”

  Her voice softened and her face got red. “You know what? Never mind. Like you said, I’ve never even seen your place, so I don’t know what you need.” She grabbed the cart and pushed it towards the cashier.

  “Giving up that easily?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “No. Well, kind of.” She shrugged.

  He tilted her chin up towards him. “Rylee, don’t ever give up on me, okay?” Her watery eyes glistened and she nodded. He didn’t decorate because he had no one
to decorate for. Maybe that could change. “Let’s get this for now. I’m sure I have some things in storage you can look through if you want.”

  “Ok,” she whispered.

  They checked out and picked up their food before driving to his house. She was going to be disappointed; his house was nothing special. It was large, that’s for sure, but just because a house is big doesn’t make it a home. The drive was silent, and he wasn’t sure if she was too busy listening to the Christmas music or wondering if this visit to his house was her best idea.

  Turning into his housing plan, he could see her look around. The houses weren’t small here by any means. Almost everyone was decorated in lights and twinkled as they drove by.

  “Which one is yours?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  “I’m down that way.” He pointed to the right. “Mine is a townhouse; these are houses.”

  “Houses? More like mansions,” she said in awe. She was so cute when she did that look as if she was seeing something for the first time.

  “Here we are.” Nick pulled the SUV into his driveway. He was the only one on his street without any lights or decorations in the yard. He did have a wreath on his door.

  “This is a townhouse?” Her jaw dropped.

  Could she get any cuter? “C’mon.” Nick jumped out of the vehicle and hurried over to help her out of her side. He grabbed the tree box out of the backseat before wrapping his free arm around her waist and walking her up to the front door.

  “No decorations?” she asked as she looked from his lawn to the other yards. The white and colored lights made the street come to life with a magical sparkle. His wreath was just a wreath.

  The door opened into the large entry way. She gasped as her attention was drawn to the windows that went all the way up to the rafters. “Whoa, how do you keep that black curtain so clean?” She pointed up to the window about the height of the second floor, with a black window treatment on it. “There’s not one speck of dust or cobwebs on that.”

  He shrugged. He’d never given that too much thought. Honestly, it’d been weeks since he’d even looked at it. “I have a cleaning lady. She takes care of all that.”

  “Well, bless her heart, you wouldn’t catch me up there dusting! This entryway is spotless. No shoes sitting around, no dirt on the floor, nothing. Are you sure you actually live here?” She looked around before adding, “This is like no town house I’ve ever seen.”