Holiday Spice

by Samantha Chase

  Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, and he was certain she was going to let him have it—Darcy seemed like the kind of woman who wouldn’t hold anything back. But in the blink of an eye, her expression changed and went completely neutral.

  “Would it be all right if I did a load of laundry?”

  That was pretty much the very last thing he expected her to say. “Laundry?”

  She nodded. “Uh-huh. Laundry. I have stuff I need to wash, and if it’s all right with you, I thought I’d do it now.”

  “Now,” he repeated.

  She nodded again. “If you don’t mind.”

  To say he was confused was an understatement. She hadn’t accepted his apology, and she hadn’t told him what he’d done wrong, and until she did one or the other, there was no way he was going to let this go. He couldn’t. If there was one thing that irritated Ben more than anything, it was people who weren’t honest. And right now, he wanted her.

  No! Not her. Her honesty.

  Dammit.

  He wanted her honesty!

  “As a matter of fact, I do mind,” he said mildly and walked to the couch and sat back down. He knew the instant his smug expression got to her, because she stomped across the room after him.

  “You mind? Seriously? It’s laundry! And I’m not asking you to do it for me. Hell, if you have some stuff you need washed, I’ll do it for you. And dry it. And fold it!”

  Tempting offer. He hated doing laundry.

  “I just did a load last night. But thanks.”

  Fascinating. Again, it was the only word that came to mind when he watched her battling with whatever was going on inside her head. So many emotions played across her face as she towered over him and tried to look intimidating. He had no doubt she had honed this skill on her brothers, but he wasn’t buying into it.

  And he certainly wasn’t intimidated easily. If anything, he could probably teach Darcy a thing or two about the art of doing it properly.

  Slowly, he rose to his feet and watched as she refused to move except to let her head fall back so she could hold his gaze.

  So maybe he was a little impressed.

  “I want to know what your issue is with me,” he said, his voice low and deep.

  He had to give her credit; she didn’t react. Hell, she barely blinked.

  “You can deny it all you want, but I’m not a moron, Darcy. You were fine with me when you first showed up here, but by the end of that night, you had a definite attitude, and I want to know why.”

  Still nothing.

  “I’m not opposed to calling Savannah and asking her. I’m sure she’ll tell me.”

  And there it was. The chink in the armor. Her shoulders slouched a bit, and her expression fell.

  It was both rewarding and made him feel bad. Why couldn’t she just talk to him?

  “Fine,” she finally said. “I have a problem with you.”

  “Care to tell me what it is?”

  “I’d rather not.”

  He sighed as his head fell back. The woman was killing him. When he straightened and met her gaze, he said, “Look, you’re stuck here—in my home, might I add—for the next several days. Wouldn’t it be better for both of us if we cleared the air now? I mean, why not get it out in the open?”

  She seemed to consider that for a moment before answering. “Look, can’t we just say we don’t…I don’t know…gel? Or get one another? And then move on? I mean, it’s crazy to expect everyone to like each other and get along or be instant friends. That’s not realistic.”

  Now it was his turn to study her for a long moment before speaking. “I see what you’re saying, but here’s the thing. I think you and I did gel. And there have been several times where we got one another. You seem to be picking and choosing when you like me and when you don’t. Maybe that’s your thing.”

  “Hey!”

  He didn’t let her go on. “But I’m here to tell you that I think it’s bullshit. It’s a childish way to behave, and I’m not going to stand for it.”

  Her eyes went wide again. “You’re not going to stand for it? Who the hell are you?”

  “I’m the guy who saved your ass today and opened his home to you rather than letting you sit and stew in a crowded airport for days. And besides that? My house, my rules.” He crossed his arms over his chest and waited to see how she’d respond to that.

  The obvious reaction was going to be outrage. Possibly name calling. Ben was prepared. Hell, he even welcomed it. The sooner she got out what was pissing her off, the sooner he could relax and focus on the things he needed to—like the book and the backlog of work waiting for him in the workshop.

  “I’d tell you what I think of your rules, but you’re a smart guy, Ben. I’m sure you can figure it out.” And with that, Darcy turned and walked down the stairs to get her satchel.

  Um, what just happened? he wondered. How was it possible that she somehow managed to get the last word without answering him? Again?

  He could follow her, but that would be so obvious, she was probably expecting it. So he quickly thought outside the box.

  And went up to the guest room to wait for her.

  He didn’t have to wait long. Five minutes later, Darcy came strolling in, looking at her phone. It was obvious she didn’t see him reclining against the pillows on her bed at first, but when she did, she screamed.

  “What the hell?” she cried, her hand fluttering to her chest.

  “We weren’t done talking,” he said, tucking his hands behind his head and grinning. “So I figured I’d wait for you.”

  Hanging her head, she sighed. “Are you always this stubborn?”

  “Yup. Just ask Savannah. When we first met—”

  “You know what?” she quickly interrupted. “I believe you.” Tossing her phone on the corner of the bed, Darcy moved around the room plugging in chargers and getting her devices hooked up. It didn’t take long, and soon she was back to staring at Ben.

  “There’s a simple solution to all of this,” he reminded her.

  Whatever it was, she really didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe that’s why it was bothering him so much, because it was obviously a big thing for her, and for the life of him, he didn’t remember doing anything that would cause this strong of a reaction.

  Finally, she straightened and looked him in the eye. “Fine. Just remember, you asked.”

  Ben instantly sat up and swung his legs off the bed.

  “For starters, I am very good at what I do.”

  He looked at her as if she was crazy. He didn’t remember critiquing her—out loud—about her work skills.

  “Before I even had the chance to get started, you implied that I couldn’t possibly be qualified for this since I’m not Savannah.”

  “That is not what I said, Darcy. You asked me—”

  “And I think your crush on Savannah is completely inappropriate.”

  He instantly jumped to his feet. “Excuse me?”

  “She’s a married woman. A happily married woman with a child, and your feelings for her are wrong!” she shouted.

  And then she began to pace.

  “And on top of that, they’re inappropriate.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Seriously?” she asked sarcastically as she stopped and stared at him. “You’re going to stand here and deny that you have feelings for her?”

  “Of course I have feelings for her! Savannah and I are friends, Darcy. Good friends. If you read anything more into that, then that’s on you, not me.”

  “Spoken like someone who’s trying not to look guilty,” she said snarkily.

  “You know what? You’re crazy! Genuinely crazy!” Ben said as he moved away from her. “I don’t know where you got any of this, but you’re wrong. And honestly, when did I ever say I had
a crush on her?” He paused but not long enough for her to reply. “And you want to know what else? It doesn’t matter. We’re friends. That’s it. Nothing more.”

  “Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever.”

  Raking his hand through his hair in frustration, he put plenty of distance between them, because he was on the verge of strangling her. “Why don’t you tell me what was so inappropriate?” he prompted, using air quotes for emphasis.

  “It was everything,” she said without hesitation. “The way you talk about her… It’s just so damn obvious!”

  “Really?” he deadpanned. “It’s obvious? For who? Because you’re the only one who thinks that.”

  Rolling her eyes, she immediately returned to pacing. “Look, I already knew you were going to deny it, but please stop. Savannah is a married woman and you just…you just need to back off.”

  “You’re infuriating, you know that? You think you have all the answers to everything, and God forbid—” He gasped mockingly. “You’re wrong.” The bored look on her face told him that he wasn’t getting anywhere with her, and knowing that continuing to protest would add fuel to her fire, Ben decided he would go another way. “Have you already talked to Savannah about this?”

  The look of surprise on her face told him she was ready for more denials. Good. He enjoyed keeping her on her toes, even if it was over a completely ridiculous topic.

  “Uh, no. I had planned to, but then the whole weather thing happened, and I haven’t had the opportunity.”

  He nodded. “And your brother?”

  Another eye roll. “Why would I do that?” She huffed with irritation. “Look, can we just do this book thing and then you can…I don’t know…go away?”

  What happened next couldn’t be helped.

  Hell, Ben wasn’t even sure he would have if he could.

  He laughed.

  Like an honest-to-goodness hearty laugh.

  The look of pure indignation on Darcy’s face just made him laugh even harder. Did she have any idea how insane all of this was? How ludicrous?

  “What’s so funny?” she demanded, and that just made Ben laugh even harder. “Stop it! This is serious!”

  Again, he just kept laughing.

  Couldn’t seem to stop.

  His entire body hurt from it.

  “Dammit, Ben! Stop!” Darcy stomped her foot, as if that was going to intimidate him enough to calm down. Then she started walking toward him. She wasn’t tall by any stretch of the imagination. He’d put her at five foot four tops. And when she looked up at him—and he was six foot—she should have been the one intimidated.

  But she wasn’t.

  He was all set for her to start yelling at him again, and this time, he did try to stop laughing. It was almost down to a chuckle when she shoved him. Hard.

  “Hey!” he yelled, and then it struck him as funny again.

  “You want to keep laughing? Well, you can laugh someplace else. I’m done.”

  Another shove.

  Actually, she was pretty damn strong for being so small.

  “And if you think for one minute I’m going to let someone like you—or anyone—break up my brother’s marriage, you’ve got another think coming,” she was muttering behind him.

  And that’s when it stopped being funny.

  Although she did manage to get one more shove in before he could turn around and say anything.

  “You know what?” he snapped. “That’s enough.”

  She didn’t look the least bit fazed.

  “It doesn’t matter what I say, you’re not going to listen, and you’re certainly not going to believe me. Obviously, there’s nothing I can do about it, and honestly, there isn’t anything I want to do about it. You think you know something? Fine. Go call Savannah and talk to her, and when you realize you were wrong, you can apologize. But for now, we are going to have to agree to disagree.”

  “No, we’re—”

  “Yes, we are,” he interrupted. “I’m not going to keep having this argument with you for the next couple of days. I refuse. So if you want to keep it up, then you can do it alone, because I’ve got nothing left to say on the subject.”

  “Because you know I’m right,” she said smugly, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Agree to disagree,” he said just as smugly, mimicking her pose.

  He could practically see the steam coming from her ears.

  “I…you…”

  “The way I see it,” he began reasonably, “you can stay up here and pout for the rest of the night. No big deal to me. But it’s still early. We could go downstairs and watch some TV and relax and put all of this behind us. That’s what I’m voting for. And you did mention wanting to bake.” He gave her a lopsided grin in hopes of lightening the mood. “You can make as big of a mess as you want, and I’ll do the cleanup.”

  For a minute, he thought he had her. Her entire body seemed to relax, and there weren’t daggers shooting out of her eyes anymore.

  She took a step toward him, and it was just enough that he took a step back. And before he knew it, he was out in the hallway, and she was in the guest room and…

  The door was slammed in his face.

  * * *

  It had been a long time since a door slam had felt this satisfying, Darcy thought. But she didn’t allow herself the luxury of relishing the victory. Instead, she marched over and grabbed her phone as she plopped on the bed. Doing a quick scroll through her contacts, she stopped and hit Send.

  “Hello?”

  “Three days! I have been waiting to talk to you for three days! Didn’t you get my text?”

  Anna Shaughnessy yawned loudly before answering. “Yes, I got your text, and I’m sorry I didn’t call. Kaitlyn has the flu, and Quinn is freaking out about getting it, and I think I’m teetering on it. It’s a whole…fluey thing.”

  “Ew.”

  “Tell me about it,” Anna said wearily. “Let’s just say I didn’t know such a small person could vomit that much.”

  “I could have gone my entire life without that image in my head.”

  “Sorry. So what’s going on? What are you freaking out about?”

  Darcy told her everything, and by the time she was done, she was breathless. Falling on the bed, she sighed. “And can you believe he had the nerve to stand here and deny it? To my face? I mean, why? Why would he do that?”

  “Um, maybe because he’s telling the truth?”

  That had Darcy sitting straight up again. “What? How can you even say that? Weren’t you paying attention to what I told you? He was practically gushing as he talked about her!”

  Anna was quiet for a minute. “Question—do you have any friends who are guys? And who are just friends?”

  “Of course I do. What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Do you laugh with them?”

  “Sure. I mean, sometimes we joke around and get silly and—”

  “And when you talk about them or describe them to people, do you maybe, you know, compliment them? Say only good things? Or perhaps gush?”

  Uh-oh. Um… “I do. But this was different. I’m telling you—”

  “Darcy, I believe what you’re telling me. And I think maybe you just took it all a little out of context. They’re friends and you’re her sister-in-law, so he was maybe just praising her because the two of you are related.”

  “Maybe…” Oh. No.

  “Did you even talk to Savannah, or did you just pounce on Ben?”

  “I kind of hinted at it, but she was pretty oblivious.”

  “Then why are you obsessing about this? Is Ben a pain to work with?”

  “Yes!”

  “Really? How?”

  “He refuses to listen to my suggestions, he argues with me a lot, and…and I can tell he was annoyed with the whole thi
ng!”

  Anna sighed. “Didn’t Savannah warn you of this? That he wasn’t easy to work with? I mean, even I remember her saying that about him a time or two.”

  “Okay, fine. Yes. She warned me, but—”

  “Has he been rude to you in any other way?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. And it sounds like you cleared the air with him tonight.”

  “Sort of.”

  “If you haven’t, then you need to. He opened his home to you, and he came and helped you out so you weren’t stranded at the airport.”

  “I would have survived.”

  Anna chuckled. “Let me ask you something. Where are you right now?”

  “Um, at Ben’s.”

  “No, more specifically, where are you right now in Ben’s house?”

  “In the guest room.”

  “And where are you sitting?”

  “On the bed.”

  “Did you take a shower yet?”

  “No.” It didn’t take a genius to see where she was going with this. “Okay, fine. This is a million times better than being stuck at the airport. I won’t be sleeping on the floor, I can shower, and I have privacy. I get it.”

  “Have you even thanked him?”

  “Believe it or not, I did.” Or at least she thought she did.

  “Darcy…”

  “I think in one of our conversations I did. But there’s been a lot of things on my mind.”

  “Where is Ben right now?”

  “Downstairs. But it doesn’t matter where he is. I’m going to stay up here tonight and maybe—”

  “Start fresh in the morning?”

  Sighing, Darcy said, “Yes.”

  “Good girl.”

  “But what do I do, Anna?”

  Anna sighed. “You know you may have to face the fact that you’re wrong here, don’t you? There’s a good chance his comments were innocent, and you read more into it than there is. And then what are you going to do? Are you going to apologize to Ben? To Savannah?”

  Maybe.

  Or not.

  “I don’t know,” she replied honestly.

  “Sleep on it. And keep away from Ben for tonight. I think that’s best. A good night’s sleep will put everything into perspective. Personally, I…” Anna paused and then cursed. “Darce? I have to go. Kaitlyn’s throwing up and Quinn just ran by me with her.”