‘Oh my God, please tell me you’re not putting more decorations around this place? Or the upstairs rooms.’ She shuddered at the thought of her room being ‘Christmassed’ out.
His laughter rumbled across the room. A warmth began to form in her belly and spread out, heating areas she’d sworn had been frozen up from Grandma Mary-Lou’s habit of emasculating every man who’d tried to date her after college. Not that there were many in Packenridge, most usually kept away from her. Not to mention after what she went through during her senior year of high school. Just because Connor was being nice didn’t mean anything. Remember, once burned twice as shy.
She so didn’t need this inconvenient attraction to Connor Shetland. It was too much of a risk. The sooner she got out of this place the safer she’d be.
‘Diana? Did you hear me? Do you want to come?’
The sound of Connor’s voice practically in her ear jolted her back to the present. ‘Pardon?’
Again he laughed, this time she didn’t let it overpower her sense of hearing and focused on a spot over his shoulder while he spoke to her. ‘You didn’t hear a word I said, did you? Is this a normal habit for you?’
Indignation rose up inside of her at the suggestion she was ‘flaky’. She was the least flaky person on the planet. Although around him, she couldn’t deny he caused her to lose her equilibrium. ‘No, it’s not and I’m still…’ She tried to clutch onto a reason for her supposed flakiness.
‘Jetlagged?’
‘Yes.’ She practically shouted the word, even though it wasn’t anywhere near the truth. ‘It’s a long flight to Australia from the United States.’
‘Right.’ How he managed to inject a wealth of scepticism in five little letters she had no idea, but he did.
‘You were saying?’ She pointed to the box on the table.
‘I’m packing up some decorations to take to the local doctor’s surgery. They’re not open today, but Cindy has agreed to meet me there. I wanted to know if you’d like to come with me and meet her. She’s nice and friendly. I think you’ll like her.’
An irrational spark of jealousy pierced her belly, deflating the bubble of desire his laughter had caused. Who was this Cindy? Was she his girlfriend? Is that why she was opening the practice especially for him?
Why did it even matter?
‘Well I know you’re not staying and are chomping on the bit to get out of here, but I thought you might like to meet her. Doesn’t matter, you can stay here.’
Connor turned away and picked up the box in preparation of walking out the door. ‘Wait? What?’
He paused and looked over his shoulder. ‘You said to me Why did it even matter. I took that as a message that you didn’t want to come with me.’
God, she’d spoken that out loud. She was going right back to living up to the vague impression Connor had of her. Grandma Mary-Lou would be chortling loudly at this. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck in the pub by herself. Maybe she could call the car rental place from the doctor’s surgery? Offer to leave a couple of quarters to pay for the call.
Before she could do any of that she needed to fix this mess her irrational shot of jealousy had dropped herself into. ‘Sorry, Connor, I didn’t mean that at all. I admit, I’m all out of sorts, nothing seems to be working out like I hoped. If the invitation still stands, I’d like to come with you.’
His eyes narrowed, as though trying to confirm she really did mean the words or if she was just playing nice. In the end he shrugged and hefted the box a little higher. ‘Okay, let’s go.’
She blew out a breath, minor crisis diverted. Pulling herself up to stand a little straighter she followed Connor out of the pub and into the bright morning light. ‘Damn,’ she muttered.
‘What?’
‘It’s bright out, can I run upstairs and grab my sunglasses?’ She noted that he was sporting a pair and she had no idea where he’d conjured them up from.
‘Sure.’
‘Thanks.’
Within two minutes she was back, and Connor was standing where she’d left him, the box on the ground beside him and his phone in his hand.
A dart of anger arrowed through her. ‘Hey, I didn’t think you had a cell phone. Why didn’t you give it to me yesterday when you stopped to help me? I told you I needed to make a call?’
He glanced up from his device and looked at her. She wished she could see what he was thinking but his eyes were hidden behind his glasses. ‘There was no point mentioning I had a mobile yesterday. There’s no reception out where you were stranded. By the time we got into town, where there was reception, you were annoyed with me.’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Besides I knew there was a landline inside and you could make your call that way.’
Diana hated that what he said was pretty much how things had gone down. She hated that he was right. And she hated that he looked so delectable, that she wanted to see what it would be like to be held by his strong arms. The same arms that were now hefting the box of decorations up.
‘You ready to go now?’ he asked, and she caught a flash of an eyebrow as it rose above his sunglasses line.
‘Yes.’
God, it was tiring being so petty and angry. How had Grandma Mary-Lou gone through her whole life like this? Generally speaking she was a cheerful person, it had annoyed the people in town who had tried so hard to bring her down with their snide comments about her parentage.
Plus, she did enjoy life. She wanted adventure and well, she guessed she was having an adventure now. She needed to embrace it, even if it wasn’t as smooth as she wanted it to be.
As they walked down the main street of Ghost Gum Springs, Diana took the time to look around. They walked past a café, and the aroma of freshly baked goods wafted out, teasing her senses. Underlying it was the scent of brewed coffee and her mouth started watering. Her day wasn’t complete without a strong cup of joe. On the other side of the main street was a grocery store and post office.
As she suspected, this place was like every small town in America, yet there was a different feel here compared to home. Here the town almost appeared welcoming. As though it was opening its arms and bringing her into its fold. Which was absolutely stupid and maybe she was still suffering from sunstroke after her spell in the hot Australian sun. Or the jetlag she’d lied about having.
‘Here we are,’ Connor said as they stopped out the front of a large white building. It had a peaked roof with red tiles. The words Dr John Bateman, GP was stencilled on the door.
There had been no doctor’s surgery in Packenridge. If anyone was sick they had to travel an hour and a half to a bigger town to get treated. Most people became adept at dealing with minor injuries and only making the long journey if it was really serious.
Diana glanced around. Ghost Gum Springs didn’t look much bigger than the place she’d grown up in, how did they have a doctor? How busy was the guy too? ‘This Dr Bateman must have a pretty good life.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Connor as he shifted the box to one arm, his muscles bunching beneath his shirt.
‘Well this town isn’t huge, how many people would he see on a regular basis? I’m just surprised the town has its own doctor.’
‘From what I’ve heard, John’s been here for years. There’s a decent sized hospital about an hour away and I think he does clinics at outlying towns on a regular basis.’
‘Packenridge could’ve benefited from a system like this,’ she muttered as the door opened and a pretty woman who Diana recognised from the bar the previous evening opened the door.
‘Hey Connor, come in, John is excited to see what you’ve brought us. He popped the tree in the corner already for you.’ She stepped back to allow Connor to walk inside. Diana wasn’t sure what to do. Connor hadn’t introduced them, and she wasn’t one to foist herself onto people if she wasn’t welcome. She needn’t have worried as an arm filled her line of vision. ‘Hi, I’m Cindy Green, I saw you last night at the pub, but didn’t get a chance to meet yo
u.’
She took the offered hand and shook it. ‘Hey, I’m Diana Jenkins. It’s nice to meet you too.’
‘Oh, you’re from the States, which part?’
‘A small town in Montana. Nowhere special.’ It was impossible to keep the cynicism out of her voice.
‘Okay then, let’s get these decorations unpacked,’ Connor said, and Diana sent him a silent thanks. Answering questions about her home wasn’t high on her agenda of things to do while on vacation.
‘Are you sure you want to let Connor loose on your waiting room?’ asked Diana. ‘You have seen the bar, haven’t you?’
‘I have, and I love it. It looks perfect. I didn’t get a chance to decorate last year as I had just moved here. John doesn’t do much decorating either. Just the bare minimum,’ Cindy commented as she peered into the box Connor was opening.
‘You mean Santa’s little helper wasn’t here last year to spread holiday cheer?’ Holy shit, did she sound as cynical as she thought she did? Yep, if the look Cindy was sending in her direction was anything to go by. She really needed to get herself under control. Cindy didn’t deserve her attitude.
‘No, Connor’s only been here just over a month. Is that right?’
‘Yeah, I arrived here toward the end of November.’
That surprised her. The way the locals had given him a hard time in the pub the previous evening, she’d thought he’d been here for a few years.
‘Hey Cindy, do you think Diana can use your phone? She wants to phone the rental place in Sydney to see if they can come and get her. Her car broke down on the side of the road about half an hour out of town.’
‘Oh wow, that’s not good. For sure you can use the phone, follow me,’ the other woman beckoned. ‘I’ll get you sorted with an outside line. Don’t go too crazy in here Connor.’
He winked at the pretty doctor’s assistant. ‘Can’t make any promises.’
Diana’s feet appeared glued to the ground, her reluctance to move away surprising. She wanted to get away from the small town, didn’t she?
Yes. An emphatic yes.
Then why was she so reluctant to follow Cindy and make that call?
Giving herself a mental shake she got her shit together and followed Cindy. She wanted out of here and she wanted out now.
Maybe.
***
Connor whistled to himself as he draped tinsel over the reception counter. He could hear the soft murmur of voices and then Cindy’s laugh. The practice nurse was very pretty, but she didn’t make his blood zing whenever he saw her, unlike what happened when Diana got within three feet of him.
However, it didn’t matter what sort of feelings he imagined Diana’s presence conjured up, she was arranging to get as far away from this town as possible right now. No matter how tempting it was to dig beneath the surface and try and find the real Diana hidden beneath the prickles.
Cindy walked out as he was standing back to judge his tinsel handiwork. ‘Wow, how did you get the tinsel to hang in perfect semi-circles? If I tried to do that, one side would be longer than the other.’
‘It’s a secret. One I can’t share with you.’
Cindy rolled her eyes and shook her head. ‘Right, didn’t realise you and Santa were such good buddies.’
‘Don’t you know, it’s Mrs Claus that controls all the decorations.’
Cindy giggled. ‘You really are a hopeless Christmas addict. Please tell me you don’t go crazy on Valentine’s Day.’
‘Nope. Christmas is the only time I bother with decorations. When you’re with the right woman every day is Valentine’s Day.’
‘Not only a Christmas elf, but a hopeless romantic too. I never would’ve guessed.’
Connor turned to find Diana standing in the doorway. ‘There’s a lot you don’t know about me.’
As Diana held his gaze, everything in his peripheral vision faded. Tension sizzled through the air, like the moment before lightning flashed through the sky. ‘I’m beginning to see that,’ she murmured.
‘Hmm, well, uh. I think I’ll leave you to it. I need to, uh, check out the storeroom.’ Cindy rushed off before Connor could stop her.
Diana broke the silence that had cropped up between them. ‘Well that was awkward.’
Connor cleared his throat and grabbed a box of ornaments.
What the hell was that?
How could he lose himself in a pair of eyes like he’d done when he and Diana looked at each other? It had never happened to him before.
It’s Christmas, you deserve a little holiday cheer.
He slammed the brakes on that voice. As tempting as the idea was, Diana was probably leaving today. He grasped onto that like a lifeline. ‘Did you get through to the rental place?’
‘Yeah.’ How she managed to inject a wealth of dejection in one word was beyond him.
‘I take it, it’s not good news.’
‘No. They can’t get anybody out to me until the day after Boxing Day. Whatever day that is. Plus, they wanted to know where the car is and my stuck in the middle of nowhere wasn’t helpful.’ She shrugged her shoulders. ‘So, it looks like I’m stuck here.’
Connor put down the box and walked over to where she stood. He put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Boxing Day is the day after Christmas so the day after that is the 27th. It’s only a few days. And your car is here, I arranged for a tow truck from White Hope to go pick it up. It was delivered to the pub last night. I’m surprised you didn’t see it when you walked out this morning. You looked right at it.’
At the mention of her car, her demeanour changed, brightened up as if she’d been given the best Christmas gift ever. ‘It is? That’s great, maybe it’s going to be okay to drive now. I should go check it out.’
She went to rush past him, but he took hold of her hand as she walked past. ‘What?’
Speaking was a lost art form as Connor concentrated on the warmth radiating up his arm from the simple contact between his fingers and Diana’s bare arm. ‘You’re not going anywhere.’
His words came out harsher than he intended, and she pulled away from him. ‘Really? I don’t think you get a say in what I can and can’t do?’
‘Sorry,’ he rubbed a hand through his hair. ‘That came out harsher than I intended. Robbo, the tow truck driver, is also a mechanic. He said a stone had pierced the radiator. The only way that car is getting to Sydney is on the back of a truck.’
The fight drained out of her and he pulled her into his arms, hugging her to his chest. ‘I’m sorry. Ghost Gum Springs isn’t that bad.’ He brushed a kiss across the top of her head. Her body softened against his and his dick twitched at the way she wiggled her hips against him.
‘This was supposed to be a fun vacation. Now it’s a disaster.’
Connor pulled back and the action had Diana looking up at him. ‘It’s not a disaster. It’s a different adventure.’
Her lips pursed, and he bit back a groan. He smoothed a hand across her cheek and then lowered his head. His lips lightly swept across hers. The touch quick, but sweet. Connor began to pull away, but Diana followed until their lips connected again. This time for a longer touch and taste. He tightened his hold and widened his stance to brace the both of them. Her mouth opened beneath his and he slipped his tongue inside. Desire for more simmered to life through his blood.
It was insane, this instant attraction he had for Diana. Sure, he’d been drawn to other women in the past. He’d seen the pretty face and fabulous body and wanted to get to know them. Only it was always on a superficial level. He’d had long term relationships, had even thought about asking one or two to move in with him. Those relationships had moved slow, and never with the strength of need as what was flowing through him now with Diana. A woman he’d known for less than twenty-four hours.
Sensibilities returned, and he broke the kiss, stepping away from her. Her ragged breathing reached his ears and he knew if he looked at her, he wouldn’t be able to resist taking her in his arms again.
‘Yeah, I think I’ll walk back to the pub.’
‘I can walk you back and then return here to finish up.’
Diana rolled her eyes and he smiled, there’s his sassy girl. No, she’s not your girl, she’s a guest.
But you’d like her to be more than just a guest.
Since when did he have arguments in his mind?
‘I don’t think I’ll get lost, it’s just down the street.’
He reached into his pocket and tossed a set of keys at her. She caught them in one hand. ‘You’ll need those to get in. Just leave them on the bar, everyone knows the pub doesn’t open until midday on a Saturday. You’re the only guest staying at the moment, so you won’t be disturbed.’
‘Thanks.’
He watched her walk out the door, memorising the way her hips swayed slowly left to right. He was still gazing at the closed door when Cindy walked out.
‘Well I kind of expected the tree to be finished, but it looks like you haven’t done much since I left you.’
‘Right, yeah, sorry. I’ll be out of your way in a flash.’
Cindy laughed. ‘I just bet you will.’
Connor ignored the unspoken meaning of her words. Had she seen Diana and him kissing? Jesus, did it matter? He didn’t answer to her. He didn’t answer to anyone but himself.
What he should do was ignore the voice in his head telling him he wanted Diana and listen to the voice that said she wasn’t his to have. Only problem was, he badly wanted to listen to the devilish voice that promised more pleasure to come.
Chapter 6
Once again, Connor’s eyes darted to the door leading from the hall to the pub to see if Diana was going to walk through it. It remained firmly shut. He hadn’t seen her since she left Dr Bateman’s office. The keys lying on the wooden bar indicated that she’d made her way back safely to the hotel.
When he returned from decorating the doctor’s surgery, he’d been busy organising the lunch and dinner menu with the pub’s cook, Chook. Connor didn’t know what his real name was, but in the country if someone says their name’s Chook, that’s what you call them.
Christmas In Ghost Gum Springs Page 4
