Winter Heat

by Kennedy Fox

  Maybe all that lack of sex was what had me so tied up in knots over Noah. This was probably the closest thing I’d had to a date in years, even though he had no idea and that was crazy thinking.

  He chuckled. “I stopped at the grocery store when I passed through town. Got a pizza to go, some beer, and even wine. I even planned ahead and got bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. I grabbed some eggs too, although I have no idea what I’ll do with them.”

  I grinned back at him, and maybe I was seriously out of practice, but I could’ve sworn for just a second I saw a flare go off in his eyes. Maybe that, or maybe I was losing my mind. Sexy was not the word that came to mind when men knew anything about my life.

  “I can whip up some omelets. Even plain egg omelets are good if you have a few spices knocking around the kitchen.”

  “I got cheese and coffee and cream too. I thought ahead,” he added, giving me a quick wink.

  My belly did another spin.

  “To reiterate, you’re not imposing. This is a giant house.” He gestured expansively with his hand around the large living room. The ceilings were tall in this old house, so every room felt spacious, even the old servant’s rooms on the uppermost floor.

  This house had once been owned by some crazy-wealthy family a few centuries ago. They had paid staff and everything back in the day. I remember thinking it was exciting when I was a kid spending the night here, and Thea and I would go upstairs and stay in the old servants’ bedrooms. They were also perfectly sizable rooms. It’s just that the slanted ceilings of the upper floor didn’t create as much airy space as the rest of the house.

  “If you’re sure. If you change your mind in the morning when you’re feeling saner and it’s not snowing and windy, just let me know,” I finally said.

  Noah held my gaze for a long beat, and my stomach went back to its gymnastics routine while my pulse ran races. “I’m not changing my mind, Sasha. So, back to you. Your daughter’s on a ski trip, and it’s your first vacation without her. Seriously?”

  I arched my brows and pursed my lips. “Yes, Noah. I’m a single mother. I love it, and I wouldn’t change it, but it doesn’t give me much time to myself, much less the funds for many vacations.”

  He nodded slowly. “I wasn’t here when it all went down, but if I recall, Thea told me your parents kicked you out. Did they really?”

  I nodded. “They sure did. It’s okay. I stumbled a few times, but I landed on my feet. Family isn’t always great.”

  “You don’t have to tell me. You know what happened with my family.”

  While I recalled Noah’s mother had been lovely—always being warm and kind—it was no secret in town that their father had been a wealthy asshole. Their mother had passed away, and their father was in jail. He’d wanted to make more money and did so by breaking the law.

  I winced slightly. “I do. I’m sorry about your mother.” As soon as I said that, I realized the last time I’d seen him was probably was at his mother’s funeral.

  He inclined his head. “So your parents kicked you out, and then what?” he asked quickly, making it clear he didn’t want to dwell on his mother. I didn’t blame him, because I imagined he missed her. I knew Thea did.

  “I got knocked up, got kicked out, and believe it or not, I ended up in this program for young teenage mothers. The night my parents kicked me out, I actually came to spend the night with Thea. You were off in college. Your mom called somebody in Boston, somebody she knew. The next day, she gave me a ride down there. She told me I could’ve stayed with Thea, but your father wouldn’t allow it.”

  Noah interjected, “Of course not. Fucking asshole.”

  My eyes widened, and he caught my look and shrugged. “I’m all about being direct about what happened. My dad was and is an asshole. It’s okay. I miss my mom, and we were blessed to have her. I didn’t get a full winning hand when it came to family, but I got two out of three.”

  “Two out of three?” I prompted, not understanding what he meant.

  “An awesome mom and siblings I love.”

  “Oh,” I said softly. “I guess I got none out of three.”

  I didn’t even feel bitter about it. Because despite money being tight, and the desert of my love life, I had a pretty good life, and I loved my daughter dearly.

  Noah leaned over and lifted his bottle of beer. Once again, I watched the flex of his throat when he swallowed and wondered what his skin tasted like. He set the now-empty beer bottle down, giving me a considering look. “All right, three out of four then. I wasn’t counting right.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I got an awesome mom, my great siblings, and life’s all right for me, even with a little stress. So you got two out of four.”

  “How do you figure?” I pressed.

  “Because you’re awesome. You’re Thea’s best friend, and she says you’re a true sister since she didn’t get one. You got thrown a curveball in high school, but it sounds like you’re doing all right, and you have a kid who I’m guessing you love.” At my nod, he flashed a quick grin. “I never knew my mom helped you. What did she do?”

  “I don’t know how your mom knew her, but she knew a woman who was a fundraiser for some program in Boston. Your mom took me to Boston, and that woman got me set up with this program. They had housing, and I got to finish high school and do job training too. By the time I left, I had two years of college credits. Then I got a scholarship as a part of a work-study program.”

  “In all that time, you knew you wanted to keep the baby?”

  That was the first stutter in his questioning. I sensed his hesitance.

  “Sort of, but it wasn’t easy to decide.” I rubbed my fingers along the edge of the fuzzy knitted throw draped over my lap. “The program supported us with whatever we wanted to do. It wasn’t like one of those homes where they try to make you have the baby. They set me up with a counselor and sent me to educational seminars on parenting, adoption, and even abortion. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I was already four months along when I got there. I actually thought I was going to give her up for adoption.” I wrinkled my nose, twisting my lips a little sadly. “Even though I wanted to keep her, I thought that was best because I didn’t have a lot of money. But when I had Quinn and held her, I just couldn’t do it. I felt really bad about it. Fortunately, the way they had the adoption program set up, you weren’t supposed to meet the prospective parents until after you had the baby. About two months later, one of the other girls in the program did go through with an adoption, so the same family adopted her baby. It was weird feeling bad about that, and I was so relieved it worked out for them.”

  Noah stared at me intently and then nodded. “Damn. You are one strong woman. I don’t know how you did it.”

  “With a lot of help. It all started because your mom made a phone call and knew somebody. Life is funny like that.”

  “Our mom was adopted. She donated money to stuff like that all the time.”

  “She was? She didn’t tell me that.”

  “She was pretty private about it. She loved her parents, but it was a thing for her, making sure mothers had the support they needed. She found her bio mom later, and it turns out, her mom was young and totally overwhelmed. It worked out differently for you. So, yeah, two out of four.”

  I rolled my eyes. “No need to count. I am doing okay. Quinn’s an amazing daughter, and I love her to pieces. Honestly, it played out the way it was going to play out. My parents were never that supportive. They lost their shit when I got pregnant.”

  “What about now?”

  “They both died. My mom and I sort of reconciled. Dad had liver cancer, not a shocker, because he was a functioning alcoholic his whole life. My mom reached out to me. I went to see him, and it was okay. I wanted Quinn to meet my mom, so that was good. She passed only two years ago after she had a stroke. That was it.”

  “Did they leave anything for you?”

  I shook my head. “My parents did
okay, but my dad blew through their retirement money. He got sick before they were old enough to be on Medicare and didn’t have health insurance. My mom used what little money they had left to pay off his medical bills, and then she was gone. Thank goodness they couldn’t chase me for anything they owed, because Lord knows what they owed.”

  “Wow. You’ve just been making it work all by yourself,” Noah said softly. “I’d love to meet your daughter sometime.”

  “Well, if you don’t get sick of me this week, we can get lunch or something in Boston.” It was strange to realize we’d both been living in the same city and hadn’t seen each other in all these years.

  “I’m not going to get sick of you. This house is big enough to hide from each other. Should we meet for coffee in the kitchen tomorrow morning?”

  I laughed. “Of course.”

  “Let me go check to make sure that bedroom’s warm enough.”

  A few minutes later, I was standing in the bedroom, the one and only room with a bed in the house, and it suddenly felt small despite the fact it was a large, spacious bedroom. Noah had one hand curled on the doorframe above as he looked at me. “Are you good for the night?”

  His stance was relaxed, but his shirt had ridden up slightly with his arm lifted, revealing a strip of skin above his jeans. That, and one side of the well-defined V that disappeared behind his waistband.

  When he arched a brow in question at my silence, I managed to nod, trying to get a breath in, but my lungs were doing a poor job. “All set,” I squeaked.

  With a quick smile, he left, closing the door behind him. I listened to his footsteps retreat down the hallway as I sank my hips on the bed and wondered how to wrestle my body under control. This week was going to be long if this was how I reacted to Noah every time I got close to him.

  Chapter 4

  Noah

  A drop of maple syrup glistening at the corner of Sasha’s mouth caught my eyes. My body tightened, and fiery electricity sizzled through my veins. Matters were promptly made worse when her pink tongue darted out to catch that drop of maple syrup.

  She finished chewing and set down her fork. “That was yummy.”

  Sherry Levesque stopped by our table, smiling fondly at us. She and her husband owned Bay Bistro, the café where we’d stopped for breakfast. “I am so glad you both came in this morning.” Her gaze lingered on Sasha. “It’s lovely to see you back in town, dear. How long will you be here?”

  Sasha’s smile was friendly but careful. It wasn’t that I hadn’t known her story, but the implications of how it must’ve been for her had hit me hard last night. I sensed she wasn’t sure what anyone in Haven’s Bay thought of her. Being well-versed in dealing with drama as a part of a family that had its own share of scandal in this small town, I felt intensely protective. That feeling tangling up in my raw lust for her was a confusing mix, to say the least.

  “At least for the week. After that, I need to be back at work in Boston,” Sasha replied.

  Sherry nodded. “Of course. How is your daughter?”

  “She’s great, thanks for asking.”

  Sherry’s attention was drawn away when another customer gestured for her. Glancing back, she cast us another warm smile. “You let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

  After Sherry hurried off, Sasha lifted her coffee and took a swallow. This morning, she was dressed unassumingly again. She wore a pair of fleece leggings with an open blouse over a fitted tank top. She’d shed her bulky down jacket once we got inside.

  After making a quick pot of coffee out at the house, we’d decided to come out for breakfast when I discovered the limited options for pots and pans in the kitchen. When my father lost almost everything, the only thing my eldest brother had been able to keep for our family was the old family home. That said, somewhere along the way, just about everything in it had been auctioned off.

  Collectively, we were gradually refurbishing the house. None of us lived here, though, so it was happening in fits and starts.

  Bay Bistro was a favorite local café that served brunch, lunch, and dinner. Emile and Sherry Levesque, an old Haven’s Bay family, owned it as well as several other businesses in town, including the main grocery store and another restaurant.

  “Has your daughter ever been to Haven’s Bay?” I asked.

  Sasha nodded. “A few times. Though she never even stayed in the house where I grew up. My parents sold it.”

  I held her gaze for a beat before commenting, “I hate thinking about how everything went for you.”

  “There’s no need. Like I told you last night, I landed on my feet. We’re doing fine, better than fine. Quinn’s a straight A high school student. She has friends, and hopefully, she’ll be off to college in a few years. I can’t even believe that’s almost here.”

  “I bet not. I don’t even have a baby yet. I certainly can’t imagine having a child about to go off to college in a few years.”

  Sasha rolled her eyes, her lips twisting. “Yeah, most people anywhere close to my age can’t imagine it. It’s great for dating,” she said, sarcasm lacing her tone.

  I cocked my head to the side. “What do you mean?”

  “Trying to date as a single parent is hard enough, but it tends to raise eyebrows when people realize I’m thirty, and I have a fourteen-year-old daughter.”

  “What the hell is wrong with that?”

  She lifted a hand, letting it fall to the table. “I don’t know. I’ve given up on dating. It’s not like I have much time, as it is.”

  “You didn’t mention what you do for work,” I commented. It was crazy Sasha hadn’t been snapped up by some man intelligent enough to realize she was not only smart and strong but also fucking beautiful and sexy as hell.

  “I’m a paralegal, and I lucked out because I love my job. I had an internship at a smaller but very well-established law firm in Boston. The woman who I interned for offered me a job, and I’ve been there ever since. The pay is good, and I love her. I work my ass off, but that’s fine. I’ve never minded hard work.”

  “It’s a pretty sweet deal having a good boss and doing a job you enjoy when it comes to work.”

  “Exactly.”

  At that moment, a couple passed by our table, the woman glanced our way and then did a double take when she saw Sasha. Sasha glanced up, her eyes turning steely, and her lips pressing in a line.

  After the couple moved out of earshot, I asked, “Who is that?” I vaguely recognized them, but I couldn’t quite place them.

  “Friends of my father’s. She used to be his secretary. I was never a fan. Even though it’s old news that I got pregnant in high school, it’s strange to be back here. When I left, I felt like everybody thought I was a whore.”

  “Fuck them all,” I said flatly. “That’s ridiculous. Not to mention, what did everybody think of the father?”

  Sasha’s gaze hardened. “That he wasn’t responsible. It was Jonathon Smith, and his parents were horrified. It was my own mistake. He’s never had anything to do with her or paid one penny of child support. His sister is the only one in that family I’ve had contact with. She reached out after college. She’s not close to her parents, and she’s the one who took Quinn on the ski trip. She lives in Western Mass and stops by whenever she’s in Boston. Years later, after calling me a whore to my face when I was fifteen, Jonathon’s mother reached out and wanted to meet Quinn, but she didn’t want me to be there. I refused.”

  “I don’t blame you,” I said firmly, that sense of protectiveness sharpening inside me. “She doesn’t need to meet people who treated you that way and weren’t there for you in any way.”

  “I actually asked Quinn what she wanted,” Sasha said, grimacing slightly. “Because if it was something she wanted, I would’ve let her meet her. She didn’t. Maybe that’ll change, and I’ll have to figure out what to do. She’s old enough now that all I can do is try to support what she wants and hope no one hurts her.”

  Later that afternoon, af
ter Sasha and I had gone our separate ways, I returned to the house. I’d headed to a town nearby to buy a few more pots and pans for the kitchen. As I rolled to a stop in the circular driveway, I glanced over to see Sasha in the middle of shoveling the front porch and stairs.

  My family’s old colonial-style home was tall and rectangular and situated on a bluff looking out over the ocean in the distance. The front of the home had a porch that ran the length of the house. Other than a small arching overhang above the door, it was otherwise uncovered, including the stairs.

  I climbed out of the car, calling over, “You don’t have to shovel.”

  Sasha glanced up, casting me a quick smile. “It’s the least I can do. I don’t mind shoveling.”

  Reaching the bottom step, she quickly shoveled off the last bit of snow and then walked toward my car. “Do you need help?”

  She stopped in front of me, and I glanced down. Her down jacket was unzipped, revealing a denim button-down shirt over her tank top. Her breasts rose and fell with every breath she took. My hands itched to touch her. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail with loose tendrils framing her face. Without thinking, I lifted a hand and brushed a few wayward locks out of the way, tucking them behind her ear. The pull to dip my head and kiss her was so strong that it took an act of sheer will not to do it.

  Her eyes held mine under the bright winter sun. I thought I saw an answering flare of desire in her gaze. “What did you get?”

  It took me a moment to gather my focus. “Some more stuff for the kitchen. I actually contemplated getting some furniture, but then I decided I didn’t want to take on that project today. I also got us more groceries.”