Until December

by Reynolds, Aurora Rose

  His eyes drop from mine as he says, “Sorry.”

  “You don’t gotta be sorry.” I wrap my hand around the back of his neck and wait for him to look at me, and when he does, I continue gently, “This is just one more lesson you’ll learn in life, kid. A man never pretends he knows everything, and even if he happens to know something someone else doesn’t, he never acts smug about it. Instead, he appreciates the fact he’s able to help them learn something new.” When he nods, I tighten my fingers affectionately then let him go and look between both my boys. “I don’t like getting dressed up or going to these events any more than either of you do, but this is what family does. We show up when someone we love is celebrating, or even when they just need a shoulder to cry on.”

  “You’re right,” Mitchell says, and I see Max nod out the corner of my eye.

  “Now let’s go inside and help your aunts celebrate, with hopefully really great food. And if the food sucks, let’s pretend like we enjoy it while looking forward to the pizza we’ll pick up on the way home,” I tell them, getting two smiles before I open my door and get out.

  I meet the boys near the trunk and we go inside. Once we tell the hostess who we’re meeting, she begins to usher us toward a private room in the back. Halfway across the crowded restaurant, I almost come to a complete stop when I recognize December, looking as beautiful as always, sitting at a table with a man I don’t recognize, along with her cousin Sage and his wife Kim.

  “Dad,” Mitchell calls, obviously sensing my distraction, but I can’t seem to pull my eyes off December when she starts to laugh along with the man sitting way too fucking close to her.

  “Dad, are you okay?” Max grabs my hand and attention, and I attempt to ignore the knife that suddenly seems to be jammed into my gut as I look at him.

  “I’m good.” I force my feet to move while giving both my kids reassuring looks.

  I can’t say I ever saw December before her cousin’s wedding, but I swear she’s everywhere I am now, haunting me like a bad dream. Fuck. I should have taken the shot she gave me with one look after our talk, when she’d been obviously open to us getting to know each other without the other bullshit in the way. I should have fucking put my stupid inhibitions aside and asked her if she wanted to get together for dinner or a drink.

  Fuck. I’m an idiot, and now she’s out with another guy, her cousin, and his wife, obviously enjoying herself enough to laugh freely.

  When we finally enter the private room, the boys and I greet my sisters with hugs then settle into our seats at the table. The fancy salad that is served to us first tastes like shit, but I force myself to eat, wanting my boys to follow my lead. When the main course comes out—steak, fancy mashed potatoes, and asparagus—I don’t enjoy a single bite, even though it looks delicious. My mind is on the woman in the other room, and the jealousy that is still twisting my insides.

  Halfway through the main course, with people chatting around me and the boys entertained by their aunts, I tell them quietly that I’ll be back then get up from the table. I leave the room and head toward the bar to get a beer but stop midway when I spot December heading toward the bathrooms at the back of the restaurant. I glance at the table she was at earlier and note that Sage, his wife, and the man who December was sitting next to are all still eating, so I change direction and follow her.

  Not sure what the fuck it is I’m doing, I try to talk myself into leaving her be as she’s in the bathroom, but the image of her laughing with the man has consumed my thoughts. And the idea of her going home with him has filled me with jealousy. When she comes out of the restroom with her head down, I don’t even think about what I’m doing. Honestly, I don’t even know if I have control over myself at this point. I block her path, and as she looks up, her eyes meet mine and widen. I bore down on her with my stare then grab hold of her hips and start walking her backward toward the end of the hall where it’s dark.

  “Gareth,” she whispers, and I drop my head forward to look her in the eye. Fuck, she’s tiny, so fucking short and so damn innocent-looking, even wearing the somewhat revealing, black, clingy-as-fuck dress she has on. “What are you doing?” Her voice is breathless.

  “Who are you here with?” Fuck. Why the fuck did I ask her that question? I don’t want to know who that fucking guy is or if she’s dating someone, and really I have no fucking right to ask her that question when she isn’t even mine.

  “What?” Her hands move to my chest to hold me back as I press her more firmly against the wall. “Sage?”

  “Not Sage,” I growl, and her eyes widen.

  “My cousin.”

  “I know Sage is your cousin.” I dip my face closer to hers, smelling the sweet, sultry scent of her perfume. “The other guy, who the fuck is he to you?”

  “Talon.”

  The way she says his name sets my teeth on edge. “Are you seeing him now?”

  “No.” Her face twist. “He’s Sage’s brother and my cousin.” My jaw clenches tight. Why the fuck didn’t I think about that guy being her cousin? Shit, I should have fucking known, should have remembered the Mayson family is huge. “Can you let me go now?” she asks.

  “No,” I say without thinking.

  Her mouth opens and shuts before she asks, “No?”

  “Um, Dad?” At the sound of Mitchell’s voice, I swing my head around and find my son standing close but not too close, with his eyes bouncing between December and me.

  “Dad?” December whispers, sounding surprised.

  I let her go and take a step back while I turn to face Mitch, whose eyes are on her, and he looks confused. Not confused because he just found his old man holding a woman against a wall, but like he’s confused as to why I’m holding December against a wall.

  “Hey, Mitch,” December says softly, and I tip my head down toward her, wondering how she knows my boy. “Your dad and I were just—”

  “How do you know Ms. Mayson?” Mitch asks me before December can finish speaking, and I wonder how the hell he knows her. And then I remember her telling me she’s a teacher, but I thought for sure she said she taught kindergarten or first grade.

  “We’re friends,” she tells him, coming to stand at my side.

  “You are?” He looks to me for confirmation.

  “We are,” I agree, then ask, “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, Aunt Selma said I had to come ask you if Max and I can have another Coke, since we already had one.”

  “Are you two going to be bouncing off the walls all night?”

  “Probably.” He smiles and I sigh, which makes him grin. “Tell your aunt I said it’s cool.”

  “Cool,” he says, and then he looks at December. “See you Wednesday, Ms. Mayson.”

  “See you Wednesday,” she returns with a smile in her voice, and I wait until he disappears around the corner then look down at her and raise a brow. “What?”

  “Wednesday?”

  “Wednesdays, I take my class to the high school for a mentoring program. It’s kinda like Big Brothers Big Sisters, but during school hours. My kids love it.”

  “Mitch is a mentor?”

  “Yeah, he and a few other kids from his grade.”

  “How long has he been doing that?”

  “Since the school year started,” she says, and I look toward the end of the hall, wondering why he never mentioned it to me. Then I wonder if he has but I don’t remember because I didn’t really pay attention when he brought it up.

  Fuck, I need to pay more attention to my boys. Especially Mitchell, seeing how I was about his age when I started getting really interested in girls. Shit.

  With a short shake of my head, I look at December. “You should get back to your family.”

  “What?” she breathes.

  “You should get back to your family before they start to worry,” I say then start to walk away, my mind filling with unhappy thoughts about my boys growing up and exactly what that could mean for our futures. Futures I pray are centered a
round sports and colleges, not picking out cribs and trying to find money to pay for diapers.

  “Hold on.” She steps in front of me with her head shaking and her blonde hair flying over her shoulders as her palms come up to rest against my chest to push me back. “What just happened back there?” She waves one hand toward the wall she was up against not even five minutes ago.

  “Nothing happened.”

  Her eyes narrow. “Did you just say nothing happened?”

  “Go back to your family, December.”

  “You’re unbelievable,” she hisses loudly, shoving my shoulder.

  I look to where her hand is still resting against my chest then to her eyes, and order, “Calm down.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down.” Her hair flies again as she jerks her head from left to right. “You... you... jerk.” She points at me. “I didn’t corner you outside the bathroom, force you down the hall, or trap you against a wall, demanding to know who you’re out with.”

  “I gotta get back to my boys,” I say, fighting the urge to touch her, to kiss her, do something, anything to quench the need growing inside me that has everything to do with the insane pull I feel toward her.

  “You are really something else.” She lifts up on her tiptoes, bringing her gorgeous mouth closer to mine. “You said you didn’t have time for games. Obviously, that was a lie, because you seem like you’re a pro at playing with my fricking emotions.” She falls to her flat feet then shoves both her hands against my chest with more force than before, making me take a step back. “Now that I know exactly the kind of jerk you are, I’m going back to have dinner with my family, and seriously, I hope I never see you again.”

  “Ember.” I grab hold of her before she can walk away, and her eyes narrow on my fingers wrapped around her wrist.

  “Do not call me that.”

  “There are things about me, things about my life that you don’t know.”

  “Yeah.” She shoves the fingers of her free hand into my chest, and snaps, “You know what? There are things about my life that you don’t know either, because we don’t fricking know each other. Now let me go.” She tugs to get free.

  I keep my hold tight and counter her pull, forcing her a step closer to me. A move that makes her eyes flare and pupils dilate. “I have two boys.”

  “Yeah, I know that. Remember my cousin lives across the street from you? She told me about them. I just didn’t know that you were you or that Mitch was one of your sons.”

  Why the fuck didn’t I think of that? I should have known Harmony would have told her about me, Mitchell, and Max. Shit. “I also have an ex.”

  “Yeah, that kinda goes with the territory of having kids. I’m not a flipping idiot, jerk,” she seethes, tugging her hand and trying to break free.

  “Don’t be ugly.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” she counters, still struggling with the hold I have on her.

  “Jesus, I had no fucking idea you were this big of a pain in the ass.”

  “Newsflash, buddy: we don’t know each other.”

  I scan her face, taking in the pink of her cheeks, her eyes flashing with anger, and her lips that are full, even pressed tightly together, and I fight the urge to go hard. “Why the fuck do I want to kiss you right now?” I ask out loud, and her expression gets tight.

  “Do it, Gareth, and I swear to God I will bite your face off,” she says, sounding breathless and furious.

  Looking into her gorgeous eyes full of rage mixed with sparks of desire, I’m torn between laughing and roaring my frustration. I don’t think I’ve ever been turned on and pissed at the same time, but I’m definitely turned on and pissed right now. I drop my eyes to her mouth and watch her tongue slip out to wet her bottom lip, right before she whispers, “Gareth, don’t.”

  A rumble of frustration slides up my throat, vibrating my chest, right before I drop my head. And without another word, she lifts up to meet me halfway, our mouths lock, our tongues tangle, and her soft body presses against mine. I wrap one arm around her waist and tangle my fingers into her unbelievably soft hair, keeping her close while I devour her mouth and soak up her taste.

  “Oh shit,” I hear, and December does too, judging by the way her body goes rigid against mine and her fingers against my chest dig in. I jerk my head back and lock eyes with Kim, Sage’s wife, over the top of her head. “I’m... I’m just going to the bathroom,” Kim stutters before she opens the door to the restroom quickly and disappears behind it.

  “Oh, God,” December whispers, jerking away before I have a chance to get ahold of her. Then she takes a step back out of reach, holding her hands up between us. “I don’t….” She shakes her head with her eyes looking wild. “I’m sorry. I…” Her tongue once more touches her bottom lip. “I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry,” she says, right before she turns on her heel and takes off. I watch her go with my gut tight. The only thing that brings me relief is knowing without a doubt that this is the last time I’ll ever let her walk away without a fight.

  Five

  December

  “WHAT THE HELL?” I groan as the doorbell rings for the third time in a row. “Seriously,” I shout, stumbling through my mostly dark living room, pretty sure I’m still drunk, really sure I haven’t even been asleep for more than an hour. “I’m here,” I call when the bell goes off again. “You can stop pressing the stupid button.” I fumble with the locks then swing the door open and stare in disbelief at Gareth. “This is not happening.”

  “Do you sleep in that every night?” he asks, referring to my blue Supergirl nightgown that has a red cape attached at the shoulders, and my eyes narrow on his.

  “How did you find me?” I bite out while I grab a jacket off one of the hooks near the door and put it on as he walks past me into my living room.

  “The same way you got my number—your cousin hooked me up.”

  “Sage gave you my address?” I ask, not believing him for one second.

  “He did.” He shrugs. “Or I should say Kim talked him into giving it to me after I told them what happened earlier at the restaurant and explained I wanted to talk to you in person and apologize.”

  “Great,” I mutter, because that I do believe. Women always think crap like that is romantic, and I’m sure Kim was swooning all over the damn place when she heard it from a guy who looks like Gareth. “Where are your kids?” I ask, stopping in the middle of my living room and watching him as he walks around, looking at the photos and things I have on the walls and shelves.

  “I tried to call you, and I sent you a few texts,” he says, ignoring my question. I know he tried to call and sent me a few texts. I read each one at least a dozen times while I drank a bottle of wine all alone, trying to forget the kiss he gave me and remind myself why he’s bad news.

  “Where are your boys?” I ask again, glancing at the clock. It’s not exactly late; it’s only a little after eleven, but I’m not sure two kids should be home alone at this time of night.

  “They both decided to go home with my sisters after dinner,” he says, studying a photo of my sisters and me. My mom took the picture without us knowing last summer, when we were all at the lake. It’s one of my favorite photos of my sisters and me. We’re all standing in a row with our arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders, laughing at something. I don’t remember what we were laughing at, but I do remember feeling happy and thankful, and I get that same feeling every time I look at it.

  “Did you want something?” I ask, fighting back a shiver as his attention moves to my bookshelf and his fingers skim down the spine of one of my books.

  “You read a lot.” His eyes meet mine. “Do you read anything besides romance?”

  “I read a lot of different genres. My favorite books usually have a little romance mixed into the stories, but I read a lot of mysteries and I love paranormal. The series I’m reading right now is actually fantasy, and it’s amazing. It’s about a girl who’s grown up as a servant, and she doesn’t
know she carries royal blood that has magic in it…” My words taper off when I notice he’s smiling.

  “And what happens with her?” he asks, and I can’t tell if he’s really curious or just messing with me. Either way, I need to get this done and get him out of here. I don’t like that he seems to have some kind of power over me, even after experiencing his dismissal a couple of times.

  “Can you just tell me why you’re here?”

  “You know why I’m here.”

  Yeah, I do. Unfortunately, the chemistry we have is something I’ve only read about in books and he’d have to be a dunce not to recognize it for what it was. That said, I don’t want to play the game he seems to be interested in playing. “In that case, you can go.” I wave my hand toward the door. “Because like you once said, I don’t have time for games or high school bull manure, so we have nothing to talk about and you have no reason to be here.”

  “Bull manure?”

  My cheeks warm with embarrassment. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, and it’s adorable that you can’t say the word shit.”

  “I’m glad you think so. Now please go,” I say once more, wondering how many times I’m going to have to ask him to leave before he actually does.

  “I think you know I’m not going anywhere.” He takes a seat on my sofa making himself comfortable with his long legs spread wide and his arms engulfing the back of it, making my couch that’s much too large for my apartment look minuscule.

  I stare at him in disbelief, wondering exactly how unhappy my neighbors will be if I start screaming at the top of my lungs.

  “We need to talk.”

  “We don’t need to talk,” I deny, shaking my head, feeling like an idiot standing in my own damn house wearing a jacket over my nightgown with him sitting a few feet away like he has the right to be here. “You need to leave.”

  “I’ve been single a long fucking time.”