by Joy Avery
“Festive is one word for it. Just promise me my house is not going to look anything like this,” Sienna said, a serious expression on her face that made Jake chuckle.
He scrutinized the restaurant teeming with jolly diners. Multi-colored lights dangled from the ceiling. Large flashing bulbs attached to the counter flashed every few seconds. Red and green specks projected against the wall moved in alternating patterns. Snowflakes and humongous Merry Christmas decals clung to a window. The Christmas music playing in the background was probably the tamest aspect in the room.
“What? You don’t like this ambience?” he said.
“Jake Hollidae, if my house even comes close to resembling this…eccentric choice of decor, I will sue you for assault.”
He burst into laughter.
“It’s not funny,” Sienna said, biting back her own amusement. “Maybe I should have asked for a sample of your work before I agreed to let you outfit my home, my sanctuary, in lights. I’m a little nervous now.”
Jake fished his cell phone from his pocket, logged onto his social media page, then passed the device to Sienna. “This should put your mind at ease.”
She scrolled through image after image of his past projects. “Wow. Your company did all of these?”
He nodded.
“Your work is amazing.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh my God,” she said as she watched the video of one of the most recent projects he’d completed.
Several hundred lights in a multitude of colors all synchronized to music. It was, by far, one of his favorite jobs.
“This is amazing.” She eyed him. “Okay, I’m feeling a bit more confident now.”
“You have nothing to worry about.”
“I believe you.”
When she passed the phone back to him, their fingers grazed. Something sensational and raw traveled up his arm. They both froze, neither able nor willing to break away from the energy their touch produced.
Absently, Jake glided his thumb across her soft skin, sending an even stronger current surging through him.
Sienna smiled bashfully, then eased her hand away. “I should like your page,” she said, retrieving her cell phone.
Jake inhaled a slow deep breath in an effort to reboot his malfunctioning system.
“Look at that.” Sienna tilted her screen so that he could see it. “A Jake Hollidae popped up as a friend suggestion. Hmm. You think I should friend him?”
“I wouldn’t. He looks kind of shady to me.”
Sienna rested a hand on the side of her neck, tilted her head and studied the screen. “Nah, he’s harmless.”
“Really? How can you tell?”
Her gaze rose to meet his. “Your eyes.”
“And what do you see in my eyes?”
“Right now, kindness. Earlier, compassion. A great deal of it. You’re good with people. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone connect with the VIPs the way you did.”
Jake’s eyes lowered to his coffee cup and fixed on the tendrils of stream escaping from the cup. His thoughts carried him back to his childhood, a time filled with both joy and pain. “I’ve been where they are,” he said.
“What does that mean?” Sienna asked.
Jake rarely talked about his past. Not because he was, in any way, ashamed of the struggles—they’d helped to mold him into the man he was today—but because there were very few people he trusted enough to share so much of himself with. For some reason, Sienna felt like a safe place.
“I was raised by a single mother who worked two, sometimes three, jobs. Still, at times it wasn’t enough.”
Jake paused a moment, remembering the countless times his mother had come home drop-dead tired, yet had somehow managed to always make time for him: help with homework, inquiries about his day, or to just be silly with him. A lump of emotion lodged in his throat, and he swallowed hard to force it down.
“You were homeless?” Sienna asked, her words delicate.
“No, we were never homeless. Mom always kept a roof over our heads, but sometimes, food was scarce. On occasion, we ate meals at shelters just like Doorway to Hope.” He paused a moment. “There was one time of the year our table always overflowed with food.”
“Christmas,” Sienna said, her expression happy.
“Christmas,” Jake said, confirming her guess. “It truly was—and is—the most wonderful time of the year for me. It’s when I always saw my mother at her happiest. The best gift I could ever receive.”
“Christmas reminds you of your mother?”
He nodded. “Every strand of lights I string up, every house I give a little more Christmas cheer is homage to my mother. That’s why I do this, to honor the woman who sacrificed so much to honor me.”
Sienna blinked rapidly several times. “You’re going to make me cry.”
“I didn’t mean to make you sad.”
“These aren’t sad tears. Yes, there’s sadness in the story, but also a lot of beauty and happiness. Thank you for sharing it with me. I’m honored to be a part of the tribute to your mother and to have you working on my lights. Thank you for renewing some of my Christmas cheer.”
“Just some?”
Sienna pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “That much.”
“Well, it looks and sounds as though I have some more work to do,” he said.
He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to it.
Chapter Six
Sienna bolted forward in the bed, snatching up the telephone receiver. “Hello? Hello?” A buzz tone played on the opposite end. A second later, she realized it hadn’t been the telephone she’d heard; it had been the doorbell.
“What time is it?” she mumbled, squinting at the clock on her nightstand. Who was ringing her doorbell at seven o’clock on a Saturday morning?
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she sat there a moment to get herself together. Her eyelids felt as if she had weights taped to them. After working into the wee hours of the morning, she hadn’t climbed into bed until around three that morning. Of course, whoever was ringing her bell at this god-awful time couldn’t know she’d only gotten four hours of sleep.
Make that three, because she’d spent an hour overthinking a picture she’d seen on Jake’s timeline of him standing cozily close to a leggy, model-type inside a living room that could have been plucked from the pages of a luxury home magazine.
The picture had been hash-tagged with Thanksgiving and matchmaker by someone named Rowe Winthrop, III. Of course, she’d visited the third’s page. A fairly handsome, local civil rights attorney and, apparently, one of Jake’s close friends because the man had tagged Jake in several posts.
Why was she even giving the image any of her time or energy? It wasn’t like she was interested in Jake that way. They were just acquaintances. Actually, more like client and person her sister hired. Just two people who’d shared a kitchen, coffee and several hours of great conversation.
The doorbell chimed again, and she growled. I’ll kill ’em. She was going to strangle whoever had the misfortune of standing on the opposite side of her door. Combing her fingers through her hair, she dragged herself out of bed and took what felt like a two-mile-walk through the house to the front door.
Sienna peered through the peephole. Jake? She knew he’d be here today, but not this early. She opened the door just as he turned to leave. “Hey.” Her voice sounded tired and croaky.
“Good morning,” he said, his tone chipper and energized.
Ugh. Morning people sucked. “Come here.” Once Jake was within arm’s length, she playfully wrapped her hands around his neck and mimicked choking him.
He played along. “If you kill me, you’ll have to give me mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, because I never leave a job incomplete.”
The idea of latching her lips to his was far too tempting, so she pulled away and allowed him to live. “Would you care for coffee?”
“You know what, I would love
coffee.”
He followed her into the kitchen.
“Did I wake you?” he asked.
She prepped her Keurig machine. “What gave it away, my hideous appearance?”
“You look great, as usual,” Jake said.
Sienna smiled to herself. “Are you sure you’re okay to do the lights? You know, with your poor eyesight and all.”
He laughed. “You hungry? I picked up breakfast and thought it would be rude not to bring you something. Since I was unsure what you liked, I got a variety.” He set the brown paper bag he’d entered with on the table and started removing items. “I’ve got biscuits: sausage, egg and cheese; country ham, egg and cheese; bacon, egg and cheese. Hash browns. Homestyle fries. And just in case you don’t like any of that, I also have blueberry muffins and honeybuns.”
Sienna gaped at all the offerings. “Wow. You really do provide exceptional customer service.” She opted for the country ham, egg and cheese biscuit. “I think I can work with this.”
“Does this mean I’m forgiven for waking you up?”
“That depends.”
“On?”
“How my Christmas lights turn out. And speaking of that, are you working alone?”
“No.” Jake glanced at his watch. “One of my guys should be here in about an hour.”
Had he come early just to have breakfast with her?
“I always like to arrive early to set up,” he said.
Well, that answered that question.
Their conversation now was as easy as it had been at the Pancake Palace two days ago. When he mentioned something about the dinner he’d attended on Thanksgiving at his best friend Rowe’s parents’ house, it reminded her of the picture she’d seen. While it was none of her business and shouldn’t—and definitely didn’t—matter one iota to her, she was curious about the leggy model-type he’d been photographed with.
Had they actually been set-up by Rowe? Were they dating? If so, were they serious? Since it was a family dinner, was she any relation to Rowe? So many questions, and he’d given her the perfect lead-in to ask a few.
“I saw a picture of you,” she said.
“Picture?”
She would have assumed he was playing dumb had it not been for the genuine look of confusion on his face. Retrieving her cell phone from the counter, where it sat charging, she scrolled to the image and passed him the device.
“Ahh,” he said.
“She’s pretty.”
“You think?”
Apparently, he thought so, too, because his eyes never left the screen. “You don’t?” she asked.
“I’ve seen prettier.” His gaze rose to meet hers. “Much prettier.” He passed the phone back to her.
“Rowe did good. You two make a lovely couple.” She nonchalantly sipped her coffee.
A faint smile lifted one side of his mouth. The expression was so damn sexy, she had to look away. The sound of his cell phone chiming drew her attention back to him. He eyed her another second or two before breaking their connection to pull the phone from his pocket.
“My guy is here,” he said, standing.
For the first time, she realized he no longer wore his wedding band. Obviously, he’d had a connection with Miss Legs.
“I better get to work. Promise me you won’t peek. Let it be a surprise.”
“Pinky swear,” she said.
The fact he’d avoided discussing Miss Legs meant something, right? She shook the question from her head. It didn’t matter. Either way, she was happy for him, her, the both of them. “Thanks for breakfast. I’ll pack up the leftovers. If you need anything, let me know. I’ll be in my craft room. Down the hall on the right. I’ll leave the front door unlocked.”
Jake nodded, then headed toward the door. Snapping his fingers, he stopped and turned to face her. “She’s not my type.”
Again, he flashed one of those dizzying smiles that was quickly becoming her kryptonite, then he was gone, leaving a trace of delicious temptation behind.
Instead of climbing back into bed, Sienna took a shower, then headed into her craft room to continue work on the dozens of Christmas card orders she had. When she turned on the radio, Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” played. As she settled in to begin work, she found herself moving to the music.
She spent the next several hours cutting lengths of red and green ribbon, heat pressing sheets of silver and gold foil, die cutting an assortment of Christmas-themed shapes. Ever so often, she found herself smiling for no reason at all. Admittedly, Christmas was starting to grow on her. She wanted to deny that Jake was the cause, but she couldn’t. He’d played a teeny role.
Pausing in the middle of tying a double-satin ribbon bow, she recalled their conversation at the Pancake Palace. How could she not respect Christmas a little more after the story he’d shared with her?
Next, she thought about his words in the kitchen. She’s not my type. What was? She’d wanted to ask but figured that would have been…awkward. Nevertheless, his confession filled her with something. But what?
Doesn’t matter, she told herself. Whatever it was was trivial.
Something banged outside her window, jarring her from her thoughts. Rushing to the window, she stopped before peering out. Jake had made her promise she wouldn’t peek, but what if someone were hurt?
Why was she faltering? She could look out her window if she wanted. It wasn’t like he would put her over his knee and spank her for defying him. Actually, being over his knee wouldn’t be such a bad thing. It was downright tempting.
A quick glance through the slats revealed more than she expected. A sliver of smooth, brown skin—along with a line of fine black hairs and an impressive crotch bulge—were in her face. An instant tingle blossomed between her legs and traveled all through her body.
Frozen in place, the only thing that would move when Jake descended the ladder were her eyes as they frantically followed the disappearing swell. Unconsciously, she came up on her tiptoes as if doing so would bring the object of her prying eyes back into view.
The tension she placed on the blind slats caused one to snap, snatching her back to reality. When she and Jake locked eyes, the scorching heat of their connection startled her. In hindsight, she shouldn’t have looked out the window.
Did he know she’d been undressing him with her eyes? He probably did. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. “I, um, heard a thud. I thought someone had lost a limb,” she yelled through the closed window. Ugh. What a stupid thing to say.
“Don’t jinx us,” he yelled back.
She offered a shaky smile. “Sorry.”
A beat of silence played between them.
“I should let you get back to work,” she said, attempting to mend the broken vinyl pieces.
He gave her a lopsided grin, then moved away. Yep, he knew.
After several more hours of cutting, gluing, folding, sealing, Sienna needed a break. Solomon Burke’s “Presents for Christmas” came on. Something warm swirled in her chest. This had been her grandmother’s favorite song. Feeling an urge, she stood, increased the volume and started to dance around the room. She didn’t stop until the song was over.
On a twirl, she caught sight of Jake propped against the door jamb, watching her. Startled by his presence, she squealed and lost her footing. Had it not been for his cat-like reflexes, she would have hit the floor. Instead, she slammed into his solidness.
Wrapped in his strong arms reminded her just how much she missed being held, touched, kissed, caressed, sexed. Unconsciously, her fingers glided over his cloth-clad chest, appreciating the firmness and warmth beneath her fingertips. Realizing what was happening, she balled her hands into fists to curtail the desperate need to run them all over his body.
“You’ve got moves,” Jake said.
Tilting her head upward, her stomach quivered at the intense way Jake stared at her. “So do you.”
His arms tightened around her, nestling her even closer to him. Their energies
combined, cocooning them in a ball of red-hot heat. It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. Her heart drummed in her chest. Flames of desire ferociously licked at her core. In this moment, it was undeniable how desperately she wanted Jake.
If the dark and daunting glint in his eyes was any indication, he wanted her, too. And when his head inched forward, her skin prickled with anticipation.
While Jake wouldn’t call himself a perfectionist, he was an astute planner, who liked to know exactly where he was headed before getting there. That wasn’t true when it came to the woman in his arms. He knew they were headed somewhere, but where was a mystery to him.
One minute, the idea of getting to know Sienna filled him with an excitement he hadn’t felt in a long while. The next… he was reciting the reasons why keeping things professional between them was for the best, reminding himself to stay on the right side of the proverbial strictly-business line he’d drawn in the imaginary sand.
Yet, he often found himself continually towing said line, getting closer and closer to catapulting over it. Like now, when his desire to kiss Sienna was greater than his need to take his next breath. So why was he hesitating? Would kissing her be so bad? Unfortunately, the doorbell rang, determining his next move for him.
Sienna pulled away from him with urgency, as if she’d decided that what nearly happened between them had been a mistake. She hugged her arms around her body. The move drew his eyes to her breasts and her taut nipples, pushing against the fabric of her shirt. It ravished his body all over again.
“That’s probably Holt letting me know he’s leaving.”
“You’re finished?” she asked.
“Almost. There’s one more component left before the job will be complete. It requires your input and for you to take a ride with me.” His words seemed to spook her a bit.
“Take a ride with you?”
