As she slid down the front of him, he released his arms from around her waist and cupped her face. Kissing her just a little bit longer, savoring the taste and touch of the woman he was madly in love with. It had hit him this morning when he woke up without her. He’d felt bereft as if something integral to his very existence had vanished and all he could think about was getting it back. When he’d seen her walk into Perryman’s today, it was as if the universe understood his plight and was giving him a hand.
When the kiss ended, his ears were ringing and it took him a moment to register her words.
“You are my hero!” she cried. “Do you have any idea how hard I have tried to get her to talk to me? Just talk to me?”
“Oh.” He made a cringe face. “I can’t imagine Genevieve was very receptive.”
“Her assistant,” Savy said. “You know Genevieve Spencer?”
“She sets up the lessons,” he said. “Nice girl, Genevieve.”
“Nice?” Savy asked. “I’ve tried to go around her, through her, over her. It’s like trying to bypass Cerberus.”
“She’s not a three-headed dog,” he said. “I promise.”
“A dragon, then.”
“That, either.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Savy said. She sat back down on the bench and he sat beside her. She looked at him in panic. “Wait. I’m assuming you’re going to help me. Are you going to help me? Please help me.”
“Of course,” he said. As if he could deny this woman anything. “In fact, I have a lesson scheduled with Destiny on Thursday. Want to come with me?”
“Yes!” she shouted. He flinched. “Sorry. Was that too eager?”
“A bit,” he said. “Listen, she might still say no. She and I are friends but she’s been a recluse for a very long time.”
“Over ten years,” Savy said. “Do you know why?”
“I’ve never asked.” Quino shook his head. He knew that Destiny was an author so he’d just assumed that it was a part of her creative process, to shut out the world. Now he wondered if it was something more.
They sat silently for a while, pondering the best way to approach Destiny.
“I hesitate to say this,” Quino said. “But it might be best if she thinks you’re my . . . special lady friend.”
“You mean your girlfriend?” Savy asked.
“In a manner of speaking.” He watched her face to see what she thought of this.
“Any reason why?” she asked.
“Well, it explains your presence at the lesson without making it look like I brought you there to ambush her,” he said. “Genevieve is not an ogre, really, but she is very protective of Destiny, and if she thinks you’re there for any other reason than to watch your man give riding lessons, I’m pretty sure she’ll have us both hauled off the premises without hesitation.”
“All right,” Savy said. “I’ll be your GINO.”
“Huh?” he asked. “That doesn’t sound like something I am even remotely interested in having.”
She laughed. The sunlight highlighted the gold in her reddish curls and her light-green eyes turned up in the corners with her smile. “GINO. ‘Girlfriend in name only.’”
So, he’d been right. He had no interest in that acronym whatsoever. But he did have an interest in her. Winning over Savy was a marathon, not a sprint, and getting her to Destiny was one more step closer to the finish line, or so he hoped.
They strategized over coffee and bagels at the Perk Up and agreed that Savy would meet him at his house since he had to load up his horse and Destiny’s favorite ride, a pretty bay named Cocoa. When Savy hugged him good-bye, Quino forced himself not to hold on too tight or too long but let her slide out of his arms with a spring in her step that he felt very pleased to have put there even if it was due to a happenstance.
He then went back to Perryman’s to finish the shopping he’d been doing when he caught sight of Savy. At the fine-jewelry counter, he’d found a pendant for Desi. It was a delicate gold elephant, a baby elephant, that he knew she would love. True to her word, she’d sent him some pictures and a short video of her working with the elephants.
To him, the animals looked enormous, like they could drop and roll on his sister and she’d be crushed to death and he wouldn’t be there to help her or save her. He’d had to put his head down between his knees and breathe through his first viewing of the images.
The time change made calling difficult, but when he couldn’t take it anymore, he called her, waking her up. She sounded groggy but happy and exhausted. She had fallen asleep while describing one of her charges, a young bull elephant named Maktao. She said he was quite the handful, trying to steal the milk bottles, which, judging by the pictures she’d sent, were the size of water cooler bottles. He could hear how happy she was. It was the only thing that kept him from boarding the first plane out of North Carolina and jetting to Kenya as fast as he could.
Quino paid for the gift, and the woman behind the counter wrapped the velvet box the pendant was in with pretty silver paper with a bright-blue bow. Quino pocketed the gift, wondering when he would even see Desi for the holiday—she hadn’t said how long her internship lasted—and if not, how could he get the present to her in Africa in time?
His heart sank a bit at the thought of not having his sister with him. It would be the first Christmas they hadn’t spent together. He didn’t know how to process that, and he wondered if maybe he had locked in on Savy as the one because she was a delightful redheaded distraction. No, he knew that wasn’t it. He’d fallen hard for Red the first time he saw her when she’d freshly arrived in town and was so full of sass and attitude that he had boasted to Ryder that he’d marry her by Christmas. What an idiot.
Sensing he was full of himself, Savy hadn’t given him the time of day. Good thing, too. If he’d known then how it would be between them when he finally did get her in his arms, he’d have trailed after her like a lovesick puppy. He wasn’t sure how he was managing enough restraint not to do so now. It was going to take forever for Thursday to get here.
He wondered how the day would go, bringing her to meet Destiny. Should he call Genevieve and give her a heads-up or let it play out as it would? He liked Destiny. Oh, she was a character, of that there was no question, but she had a big heart and afternoons spent with her were always entertaining. He decided to stay out of it. He didn’t want to pressure his friend to do his girlfriend, rather GINO, a favor. And he didn’t want to take charge of something Savy needed to do for herself. He could set up the meeting but he had a feeling if Savy’s idea was going to fly, she would only be happy if it came from her. She was trying to prove herself and he wasn’t going to mess that up for her.
Quino stepped back outside. The temperature had dropped and he glanced up at the sky. He’d really thought they’d have gotten some snow the night before. The air had held the promise of cold damp flakes dusting the evergreen trees and the dry lawns and leaf-bare trees in a coat of white, but so far nothing. He tried not to be disappointed, as he really loved the first snow of the season. But then he remembered that he wanted this season to go by as slowly as possible, because if Savy got her way, and he had no reason to think she wouldn’t, then she’d get Destiny to do her book signing at the shop and then she’d be gone for good.
* * *
* * *
THE morning of the visit to Windemere, Savannah had a complete and total meltdown. Having been raised by a socialite mother, she usually knew exactly what to wear and how to dress. Today, all of those miserable lessons in deportment had completely abandoned her.
She’d put on jeans, traded them for slacks, then tried a skirt with tights, and, finally, went for a knit dress. Nothing felt right. She didn’t know what to wear to throw herself on the mercy of the grande dame of romance novels. She was completely freaking out. She grabbed up all the choices in her arms and hurried out of
her apartment, through the bookstore, heading to her car.
Maisy was with Sawyer Copeland, Ryder’s brother, who was standing on a ladder, fixing the overhead light fixture in the main part of the bookstore.
Savy slowed down with her armful of clothes just enough to ask, “Is everything all right?”
Maisy smiled up at her. “Yes, Sawyer’s just doing some handyman work for us.”
Savy glanced up. The broad-shouldered, dark-haired man, wearing a formfitting T-shirt with his jeans riding low on his hips, was straight-up poster-worthy.
“Hi, Sawyer,” she said.
“Hi, Savy.” He smiled down at her. It was the sort of smile that made a woman catch her breath. Savy would have fanned her face but her arms were full.
“Where are you going?” Maisy asked.
“Errand,” Savy said. “I’ll be back later.”
The ladder rocked and Maisy quickly grabbed it as if her petite self could keep it from toppling. Sawyer grinned down at her. “Nice, but if I fall, stand clear. I don’t want to explain to my brother how I flattened the love of his life.”
At his words, Maisy’s face went scarlet and Sawyer laughed before he returned his attention to the light fixture.
Jeri was working the front desk and was watching him work with the same appreciation as Savy.
“If we could just position that ladder in the front window, under a spotlight and visible from the street, we’d have more customers than books,” Savy said.
“Mercy, I hear that,” Jeri said. She fanned herself with a paperback. “It’s warm in here, isn’t it?”
Savannah laughed and banged out the door calling, “Back later.”
She tossed her clothes into her car and sped over to Quino’s. When she arrived, she found him just finishing hooking up the horse trailer to a large pickup truck. He straightened up as she hopped out of her car, grabbed all of her clothes, and came rushing at him.
She recognized Luke Masters, whom she’d met when he led her and Maisy on a trail ride through the Smoky Mountains. He glanced from her to Quino and back as if expecting a scene. Well, there was going to be one, just not like he expected.
“Hi, Luke,” she said.
“Ma’am.” He tipped his hat at her. Okay, Southern men could charm a girl stupid with a gesture as simple as a hat tip. Of that, there was no question.
Quino eyed the clothes in her arms. “Running away, Red?”
“No, I’m having a fashion crisis,” she said. She shook the clothes at him. “You have to help me.”
“Boss, I had no idea you were a fashionista,” Luke said. He pushed the cowboy hat back on his head and with amused interest studied Quino.
Quino gave him a superior look and said, “Don’t be jealous just because I have fabulous taste and you don’t.”
“Yeah, that’s the first thing that comes to mind when I look at you. Your couture collection.” Luke looked Quino up and down in his jeans and ridiculous Christmas sweater, this one with an enormous embroidered Santa riding a unicorn on it.
Quino laughed and Savy stomped her foot in exasperation. “I’m sorry, is my crisis intruding on you two insulting each other? Should I come back later?”
“No, no,” Quino said. “Here, let’s go up to the house and you can tell me what’s wrong.”
He gave a Luke a wide-eyed look that Savy chose to ignore. Instead, she bundled her clothes close to her chest and trudged ahead of him. He slid around her to open the door and she charged into the living room, where they’d slept a few nights before. She tried not to think about it, even as the memory of his arms around her came back to her in a rush. She dumped her clothes on the couch and turned to face him.
With her arms stretched wide, she said, “I have no idea what to wear today.”
Quino took his hat off and tossed it onto a nearby chair. “That’s the crisis?”
“Yes!” she cried. “This is quite possibly the single most important meeting of my life. I have to have the perfect outfit to meet Destiny.”
“You do remember it’s a riding lesson, right?” he asked.
“Yes, but I figured I need to present myself in the best possible light,” she said. She snatched up a dress. “Too much?”
Quino stared at the dress and then her.
“It is, isn’t it?” she asked. She dropped the dress and held up a skirt and tights. “Okay, how about this?”
“We’re going to be outside,” he said. “You want to dress warm.”
“Warm?” she asked. She looked at the pile. She was wearing jeans and a purple sweater and she had a coat. But these weren’t power clothes like the ones she’d wear in a boardroom in New York. “I can’t impress her with warm.”
Quino reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked her in the eyes and said, “You’re freaking out, Red.”
“I know, and you’re not helping.”
“Come here,” he said. He opened his arms and Savy shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. She was not going to be placated with a hug. He looked at her from beneath his lashes, a dimple winking in his cheek, and said, “Aw, come on. Let’s hug it out.”
She stared at him. He looked at her with infinite patience. It shouldn’t have moved her, but it did. She uncrossed her arms. She dragged her feet until she was standing in front of him and then he hugged her.
He felt solid against her, and as his hand swept up and down her back and he rested his cheek against her hair, she felt her tension ease. She lifted her arms and hugged him around the middle. The scent that was uniquely his, bergamot and cedar, enveloped her and she felt all of her anxiety melt away.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said. “You’re not going there as a bookstore publicist. You’re going as my special lady friend. Destiny is a romance writer. The thought that I’ve brought someone special to meet her will win her over more than anything else.”
“But what if she doesn’t believe we’re a couple?” she said into his sweater front. “What if she thinks I’m just some flighty girl you picked up?”
Quino stepped back and studied her. “Well, there is one way we could convince her.”
He looked her over, his gaze lingering on her sweater, and Savy started to shake her head. “No, I know what you’re thinking and that is a hard no.”
“You don’t know what I’m thinking,” he said.
“Oh, yes, I do,” she said. “You think you’re going to get me to wear one of your horrible Christmas sweaters because only a woman in love would wear something that hideous by choice.”
He laughed. “Just wait. Desi has as many sweaters as I do. You’re about the same size.”
“No, I won’t do it,” she said. “You can’t make me.”
It was too late. He was already climbing the stairs two at a time. He was back in moments and Savy cringed at the amount of sparkle in his arms.
“What?” he asked. “Stop looking at me like I’m trying to get you to wear a live snake.”
She took the sweater he handed her. It had big sparkly ornaments all over it. She shook her head. He handed her another one. It had a big fruitcake on it. She shook her head even more vigorously. He sighed and handed her the last one. It had an embroidered gingerbread man twirling a candy cane on it.
“I’m in hell,” she said.
Quino laughed. “I’m telling you this will work. She’ll absolutely be taken with you if you wear a sweater like mine.”
“Well, I’d have to be madly in love with you to wear this,” she said. There was an awkward silence between them. And she quickly added, “You know, if we weren’t setting this whole thing up just to get me to meet her.”
He was grinning at her as if he thought there was more meaning behind her words than there was. She tried to ignore him. Flustered, she went to pull her boring purple sweater over her head but st
opped. His eyes went wide as he realized she was about to change in front of him. She made a gesture for him to turn around.
“Just because you’ve played with them before doesn’t mean you get to ogle,” she said.
“Right, sorry, right, and I’m turning around . . . now.”
He looked flustered and Savy smiled, feeling a surge of feminine power. That would help when she put this hideous sweater on. She yanked it over her head and arms, pulled her long red hair free of the collar, and tugged down on the hem. It fit well but when she looked down and saw the gingerbread man grinning up at her, she almost lost her nerve. There could never be any photographic evidence of this ever.
“Decent yet?” Quino asked.
“I think that’s a matter of opinion,” she said. “I feel like an abomination.”
He turned around and took in the sight of her. “Aw, I think you look cute.”
“Cute?” she asked. “Kill me now.”
“Cute is perfect,” he said. “It’s nonthreatening.”
“It’s puppies and kittens and cinnamon rolls,” she said. “I am not a cinnamon roll.”
“But I like cinnamon rolls,” he said.
“You also like eggnog and Christmas sweaters, so your taste is questionable at best.”
He grinned. “I also like redheads, so I have that going for me.”
She grunted, refusing to debate him on this.
He took her hand and said, “Come on, if we don’t leave now, we’ll be late. You don’t keep Destiny Swann waiting.”
And just like that Savy was racked with nerves. Quino must have sensed it because he put his hands on her shoulders and gave them a quick squeeze.
“Don’t worry. Just be you. You’re beautiful and funny and charming and Destiny will adore you. Trust me. It’ll go just fine.”
Savy looked up at him. Their faces were just inches apart and the desire to kiss him hit her low and deep, but she didn’t want to be the sort of woman who played with a man’s emotions in an effort to make herself feel better.
She swiftly stepped away from him. She tucked her hair behind her ears in a nervous gesture she’d had since she was a kid. It was a habit that drove her mother crazy and her mother used to slap Savy’s hands when she did it and hiss at her to leave her hair alone. Her mother was a blonde. Her sisters were blondes. No one knew where Savy’s red curls came from but it was quite clear that no one approved. Savy dropped her hands to her sides.
The Christmas Keeper Page 18
