by Kadie Scott
Irritation surged. “What? He had no right—” She spluttered, arms flailing.
Eric tugged at her elbow to stop her. “He was right. I adore Taylor.” Delight lit his eyes. “I still love you, Ash,” he hastened to add. “I always will. But what I feel for you is more like…”
Tension oozed out of Ashley’s muscles and she gave a soft smile. “How a brother loves a sister?”
“Exactly!”
“Me too.” She and Eric shared a smile filled with both understanding and a certain amount of release.
“Promise me one thing?” Eric asked.
“What?”
“Don’t settle. Like you did with me.”
Ashley blinked. “What do you mean?”
He put a hand over hers on the glass case top. “You were comfortable with me, but not madly in love. Best of friends. You deserve someone who adores you like I do with Taylor. Just as important, you should find someone you adore in return. Now I’ve found it, I want the same for you.” He checked her expression. “Do you get what I’m saying?”
“I think I do,” she said slowly.
“And if Jennings is that man—”
She scrunched up her face, glancing in the man’s direction again. At least he didn’t appear to be catching their conversation. Thankfully, the booths were brimming over with shoppers making a lot of noise.
“He’s not,” she hastened to assure Eric.
Sure, she’d been thinking crazy thoughts about faking interest in Jennings. But that was desperation to save some face and even try to make her sister’s wedding as worry-free as possible. No way could she pull it off.
Is that all it is? A small voice niggled at her. One she shushed.
Disbelief tinged Eric’s grin. “Whatever you say, Ash. Friends?”
“How about brother and sister-in-law?”
He yanked her into him for a bear hug. “That’s even better,” her murmured.
She hesitated a heartbeat before hugging him back. Sinking into a bittersweet sensation. Their years together were longer than many marriages these days. Hard to walk away from so much history, especially when all her future held was a job away from her family. Even so, Ashley’s heart felt almost whole again. Like a puzzle that someone added a big chunk to. She wasn’t complete yet, still missing a few pieces, but at least she could see the picture now.
As she stepped away, a warm hand landed at the small of her back. “How’s it going?” Jennings rumbled from behind her, his voice all gravel and rust, peering over her shoulder at the jewelry case.
Another awkward silence descended as she and Eric exchanged a look, both seeming to debate what to say.
“Can I get anything out for a closer look?” One of the shopkeepers approached.
Ashley latched on to the opportunity to break the tension clotting the air like humidity before a thunderstorm. After a quick glance to make sure Taylor wasn’t anywhere close, she took a quick peek. “He’d like to see these four.” She indicated the diamonds she thought Taylor might like best.
Then she shuffled Jennings away, leaving Eric on his own to make the final selection. “Tay, check out these candles,” she called. More distraction.
Taylor ambled over to the booth Ashley was now standing in, seeming to not notice her fiancé in the jewelry booth. She picked up a candle and sniffed. “Sooooooo. What did Eric want?” she asked casually.
Ashley picked one labeled “White Gardenia,” equally casual and not making eye contact. “You didn’t hear?”
“No.”
Ashley affected her best snooty face. “It’s a surprise. I’m not going to spoil it.”
With a shrug, Taylor picked up a different candle, this one to do with evening primroses. “He’s going to buy me a wedding present, isn’t he?”
No use quibbling. Taylor had been the helper enough times when Ashley’d been dating Eric to recognize the signs. “Yup.”
Jennings leaned against the booth pole, blatantly listening. “You tell each other about surprises?” Jennings asked now, glancing between them.
Ashley tipped up her chin. “I did no such thing. She guessed.”
At the same time, Taylor snorted. “Not hard to guess. This is Eric we’re talking about and we have Christmas and a wedding.”
“Heaven save us poor men from conniving women.” He shook his head slowly, as if thinking about all those poor men.
Taylor grinned. “I’m going to look at the next booth down. Meet you there,” she said loudly. Then wandered off.
Ashley grinned after her sister, then turned to face Jennings who regarded her with a look she couldn’t quite pin down. “What?”
“You seem fine with helping your ex-boyfriend pick a wedding present for your sister.”
Ashley shrugged, replacing her candle. “I am.”
He cocked his head. “Okay. But if you were just helping, then why were you hanging all over him.”
Here was the Jennings she’d been dealing with for years. “I was not hanging.” She huffed. Some part of her wanted Jennings to believe that—this time at least—his suspicions were groundless. “I was helping,” she mumbled, glancing away. “And we were just…clearing the air.”
When Jennings didn’t say anything, she looked up to find him watching her closely with an expression she needed a map to interpret. “If you were so okay with things, why haven’t you been home sooner?” he asked. “You didn’t even come to their engagement party.”
“Actually, I did,” Ashley strolled away.
He walked with her. “I was there. You were not.”
“I got bronchitis after I got here. I spent the party up in my room.” Miserably sick.
He frowned his disbelief. “But you were still worried about seeing Eric today?”
She gave a twitching shrug. “It’s not that so much as…” How on earth could she put this in a way that Jennings would get? “I don’t want others to talk about it.”
He scrubbed a hand around the back of his neck. “You always did have more pride than God gave a peacock.”
“Gee, thanks.” Still, relief eased through her because she knew Jennings. He believed her. At least a little bit.
He reached out and tugged on a lock of her hair in a way that had her holding her breath for a second. “You know what they say about pride and falls.”
Of course, he couldn’t just let it go. She pulled hair out of his grasp with a frown. “You know what they say about—”
Jennings placed a finger against her lips. “I’m going to stop you now, before you say something you might regret…”
Ashley’s breath caught in her throat as she stared into eyes that drew her in like gravity. His skin smelled like soap and man, warm against her lips.
Shaken by the fact that she could be responding to him in such a way, given where she was, and with whom, Ashley slowly drew back.
“Actually,” Jennings said quietly in a voice gone lazy and deep. “If you’re so worried about gossip…” His gaze dropped to her lips.
Ashley swallowed. “It was a hug between friends. That’s all.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t be hugging him so…enthusiastically.” Before she could argue with that statement, or tell him it was none of his business, he continued. “And maybe we should really put on a show for the gossips. Just to throw them off the scent.”
“What does that mean—”
Faster than a cowboy could lasso a steer, Jennings tugged her into his arms and dipped her, then laid a big kiss on her. Before she could do more than mumble against his lips—or something really stupid like melt into him—he swung her back upright and released her, with a smile wider than the Texas sky. “That should do it.”
Ashley stood there with her mouth open as he strutted over to a group of men standing not far off, friends of his by the look of their greetings. A sneaky glance around showed shoppers grinning almost as big as Jennings. Trying to shrug off what just happened and not feed the onlookers’ curiosity even mo
re, she wandered to the next booth.
Taylor raised her eyebrows, lips stretched wide.
“What?” Ashley demanded.
Taylor didn’t stop grinning. “I didn’t say anything.”
“It didn’t mean anything.” Despite those words, she cast a furtive glance at the man who’d just scrambled Ashley up like breakfast eggs. She couldn’t see most of his face, but his lips were drawn up in a smile as he talked, and something fluttered inside her.
Nope. No flutters. No awareness. Any more drama and I’ll be forced to call this holiday a soap opera. She made herself turn her back on the view, pretending to take an interest in a unique display of Christmas ornaments. The sooner all of this was over, and she could go back to her apartment and her job, the better.
Taylor wandered to the next booth, and two seconds later Eric showed up. “Got it.” He held up the small bag. “Thanks for the help. Um…I have one more favor to ask. This is a big one.”
Holy smokes. What else? Ashley pivoted to face him and tried not to sigh. “Oh?”
Eric glanced furtively around, but no one stood near. “I’ve bought us a house.”
“What!?” She couldn’t help the screech.
“Shhhh…” Eric gave a desperate look around, his shoulders lowering as no one seemed to be paying them any attention. He stepped closer, whispering at her. “We can’t go on living at your parents’. We need to start a life together.”
Words she’d longed to hear not all that long ago, but in relation to her, not Taylor. She should call Eric on being an insensitive ass. Jennings would tell her to. She opened her mouth to do just that, then closed it again because she also could tell it wasn’t on purpose. Like with the jewelry, Eric was a little bit lost.
And if we’re ever going to reach a state of normal, it starts with me not seeing anything odd in Eric asking his fiancée’s sister for advice.
“Wow.” That’s all that came out of her mouth. That about summed it all up.
“She’s had her eye on the Lindiham place forever. So…” Eric shrugged.
“You bought it?” Ashley blinked as she absorbed his info. Then released a pent-up breath. “I take back every thought I’ve ever had about you being a poor gift giver.”
Eric grunted. “Gee, thanks.”
Then she scowled. “You just let me talk you into diamonds…” She waved an arm at the booth.
Now Eric grinned. “I wouldn’t have looked at jewelry if I couldn’t handle the cost.”
Ashley huffed. “Remind me to get you back for that one.”
He chuckled. “Anyway, the house is a secret wedding present.”
A small slither of jealousy wormed its way into her heart. Not for Eric. This was about a yearning for a man to love her like that. She slid a glance in Jennings’s direction to find him watching. Again. She jerked her gaze back to Eric. “She’ll be thrilled. But you said you needed a favor?”
He nodded. “Will you come look it over sometime this week and tell me if anything I’ve bought to furnish it wouldn’t work for Taylor?”
Ashley frowned and stepped back. No way. “I’m sorry. But too soon doesn’t begin to cover you asking me to do that.”
He paused, blinked, then glanced away, and Ashley realized she’d never said no to him in quite that way before. A sense of minor victory filled her. For a second, she almost wished Jennings had heard that. “Why not ask Mom?”
“She doesn’t have Taylor’s style.”
“True.”
Eric grimaced. “You know her better than anyone. I know it’s terrible to ask, but you were so cool about the jewelry, I just thought…” He trailed off. At least he acknowledged her feelings a little bit. “Please, Ashley? Just a quick peek around?”
Angel and devil on her shoulders each had a lot to say about this—both in Jennings Hill’s voice, strangely. None of it helpful. “Fine,” she agreed begrudgingly.
The relief on his face was almost comical. “Thank you!”
“You’ll owe me.” Sainthood is guaranteed in the bag.
“Yes, I will.”
Jennings suddenly appeared beside her, again placing his hand at the small of her back in that way that was starting to be less annoying and more having the effect of making her feel…claimed. A shiver slid down her spine. A nice shiver.
Quit it! She instructed herself before she could lean into the touch.
“Don’t you have to get going?” he asked.
Taylor popped up beside him and glanced at her phone. “It’s about that time.”
Ashley checked her watch. “Oh, rats. Yes, I do.” She paused to study Jennings. “Wait, how did you know?” she demanded.
“The auction?” Eric asked.
“Laugh and you’ll be sporting a black eye at your wedding,” she threatened.
“Don’t push your luck,” Jennings advised. “There’s a reason I had a black eye at prom our senior year.”
“You didn’t,” Taylor gasped.
“I didn’t,” Ashley assured her twin. She gave Jennings’s arm a shove. “Don’t tell people that. They’ll believe you.”
He winked at Taylor, and suddenly Ashley was fourteen again, and he was her best friend, and…
Stop thinking anything like that.
Together—Ashley, her ex, her sister who was marrying her ex, and the man who’d teased her about her ex for years—they set off across the courthouse lawn to the Christmas Date Auction.
Chapter Six
What on earth am I still doing here?
The question had been tumbling around in Jennings mind since Eric had shown up.
After finishing up on the fences with Autry and Will, Jennings had showered and dressed in his best jeans and white button down under a thick leather jacket to ward off the winter chill.
Thanks to a distracting brunette, he’d missed breakfast this morning and had rushed lunch so they could finish work on time. Consequently, it came as no surprise that his stomach rumbled at the mouth-watering scents of barbeque and kettle corn filling the air. He ignored the hunger pangs and kept walking.
Between Eric hugging her, and Ashley and Eric’s whispered conversation, Jennings was no longer in the festive mood. Although that kiss he’d laid on her had helped cheer him up. Her shock had been this side of adorable, and the sweet taste of her still lingered on his tongue.
Which was asking for trouble with a side of stupid sauce.
Damn. He should just go home. Why he’d bothered to come in the first place, he still didn’t know. What was he doing here? Making a fool of himself over Ashley yet again, that was what.
“Oops.” Ashley grimaced as they got closer to the stage. “Mom’s glaring. I better hurry.”
She hustled away. With a wave, Eric and Taylor left him to head to where the girls’ dad stood on the other side of the stage.
Jennings kept going at a slower pace, angling to stand toward the back of the gathering crowd.
A makeshift stage sat on the courthouse lawn. Instead of the live band or other entertainment usually going during the festival, Linda Hughes, Ashley and Taylor’s mother, currently held the mic, laying out the rules for the Christmas Date Auction. An annual tradition for the past thirty years, Jennings had never bothered to participate before. Dates were one of the things he wasn’t exactly short on, especially once all his brothers were off the market.
Jennings looked around. Taylor and Eric stood together off to the side of the stage, his arm wrapped around her waist as she leaned into him. Couldn’t they at least tone it down around Ashley? That kind of behavior would be like a red flag to a bull if it were him. Then again, Ashley’d always been that way—going out of her way for people she loved, forgiving those little hurts that would linger for anyone else. Yet another reason her shutting him out with such ease had stung so bad.
Where was Ashley anyway? Bet she’s thrilled.
He’d meant to ask earlier, but Eric had hijacked the moment. Jennings caught sight of her behind the stage and stil
led. Despite his continued misgivings about sticking around, he couldn’t help but grin at her expression—resigned horror. The center of attention was not where Ashley Hughes enjoyed being. Taylor had been the outgoing, captain-of-the-cheerleader-squad twin. Ashley had been the quieter, more studious twin.
Like he had while she’d been looking at the various booths, Jennings allowed his gaze to travel over her.
Stare-worthy in a figure-hugging dress of red and black stripes with long sleeves, a wispy skirt, and black boots that gave her a bit of edge, his body perked up despite himself. When he’d approached her earlier, he’d had to hold back from nuzzling into her hair.
Lame. Lame. Lame.
Her newly acquired Dallas polish was showing today. Jennings suspected Autry had been right. Based on several other men’s stares, she’d have a lot of bids. He wouldn’t bid, of course. The only reason he’d come was out of curiosity.
At least that was what he told himself.
Ashley turned her head, her gaze colliding with his, and her eyes widened, then narrowed, probably at finding him still there. In answer, he held up a hand in a friendly wave.
“Go away,” she mouthed.
He chuckled. “Nope,” he mouthed back.
She wrinkled her nose, which only made him chuckle more.
“I guess you couldn’t keep away,” a male voice sounded close by.
Jennings crossed his arms as Will appeared beside him. “What are you doing here?” He glanced behind his brother. “Did you bring Reed?”
“No.” Imitating Jennings’s stance, Will surveyed the scene. “Ashley Hughes always was your kryptonite.”
Jennings glanced at his brother, prepared to deny it, but why bother? Will wasn’t entirely wrong. Jennings’s childhood friendship with Ashley had been on the verge of turning more serious in high school, at least for him. He’d been gathering the courage to try to change their relationship to something more when Eric had asked her out. Timing was a bitch. “Maybe when we were younger.”
Will stepped in front of him, suddenly serious. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t feel something. Why have you been standing on the sidelines all this time?”
