Winter Heat

by Kennedy Fox

  “I’m fine, just tired.” I taste the lie, but I don’t say anything. Obviously, she doesn’t want to speak in front of Vicky, and Vicky looks to her then to me, before she offers us more popcorn.

  “If you two weren’t sisters, you know I would have worries about how close you two are.” Rylee dips her hand into the bowl and takes some popcorn. We ignore her comment because while growing up we got the same thing, and Vicky knows us too well. Other than Rylee, she’s the one person who I trust completely.

  My phone dings again from the kitchen counter, and butterflies take flight in my stomach. It’s hard for me not to get up and retrieve it, but I don’t. Because I have a feeling Rylee will fall apart, and she is someone I never want to see cry.

  Ever.

  She is one of the strongest people I know—the smartest. And my biggest cheerleader in this thing called life.

  “Let’s go to bed.” I stand after watching a movie, offering Rylee my hand. Vicky is alternating between snoring and breathing heavily on the couch, but once I flick the television off, she makes a move to stand and heads off to bed.

  Shutting the door to my room, Rylee climbs into my bed and curls herself into a ball.

  Getting changed into my nightie, I climb in and throw the blanket over us and scoot up behind her, cuddling her from behind.

  “Tell me,” I urge.

  “I don’t love him. I don’t want to marry him,” she says, and I hear it clearly in her voice. The finality. The decision.

  “So, leave,” I say.

  She shakes her head. “It’s not as easy as that. Our families—”

  “Ry, stop. You don’t have to do anything that they want you to do. You are already the perfect child. This is one thing. It will pass. They will get over it.”

  “Mum’s already planning the damn wedding,” she says in a defeated voice.

  “Tell her to stop,” I say.

  Rylee isn’t one to hold back, but she also doesn’t like to disappoint either. She fights those demons all by herself. I’m used to being the disappointment, so it doesn’t bother me that much, but I get it’s harder for her.

  “You don’t love him anymore?” I ask after a few moments of silence.

  She takes a while to answer me. “I never loved him. It was just a good match,” she says in a voice that breaks my heart.

  I never knew that. I assumed with how long she has been with him that she did love him. I never really thought to ask, I simply assumed.

  Rylee’s phone starts ringing, but she makes no move to get it.

  “Tell me more about your date. Do you get butterflies?” she asks.

  “Yes, oh my God, yes. I don’t even know him that well yet. But he makes my whole body tingle. I’m excited for what is to come,” I tell her as she snuggles into me.

  “I’m excited to meet him. If he makes you this happy, I know I will automatically like him.”

  And she will, she will love him based on the fact he makes me happy.

  “You deserve to be happy too, Rylee. You know that, right?”

  “My expectations are different than yours, I have more pressure.”

  “I know, but you need to remember this is your life and not theirs. No matter how much you want to make them happy.”

  She nods but doesn’t reply.

  “Want to hear more about my date?” I ask her in the dark, the only light coming from the moon through the small gap in the curtains.

  “Yes,” she says.

  And I do.

  I keep talking until I know she’s asleep.

  I take her from the beginning to where I first met him right up to when he dropped me off tonight.

  It makes me excited for what’s to come.

  Chapter Six

  Rylee is gone when I wake. I expected as much, though. She is usually an early riser. But next to me is my phone, which I left out on the kitchen counter, with a text from her that said she will see me tomorrow.

  Opening up the text from Noah, I smile.

  Lunch today?

  He sent it early this morning. I, of course, was sleeping. I love to sleep.

  Yes. I have work today but can take a break for you ;-)

  He replies back asking what time, and I tell him I will be there. Vicky is in the kitchen with Danny behind her, whispering something into her ear as she looks up at me. She smirks, already dressed for work, as I reach her. She hands me a coffee, which is funny, considering ours tastes like utter shit compared to the ones we make at work, and we obviously get free coffee at work.

  “When did you sneak in?” I ask Danny, cupping the coffee mug between my fingers.

  He smiles into Vicky’s neck. “Late last night,” he says with confidence.

  I don’t even bother trying to work out their relationship anymore. Danny isn’t always a dick, he obviously has great taste in women, considering he is always chasing Vicky. But they just don’t know what they want, so what they have works for now, and I am okay with that as long as Vicky is too.

  “Okay, well, I hope you’re here to take us to work because we don’t want to walk today.” I smile at him.

  Vicky nods her head, taking a bite of toast as I grab my bag while walking out the door.

  I hear them giggle and know he’s trying to stop her from going to work today and spend the day with him instead, but she does that way too much, and she needs to work.

  “Vicky,” I yell, already out the door.

  “Coming,” she yells back.

  “Damn right, you will be.” I gag a little, but she can’t see me and then shake my head.

  To say I am smitten would be an understatement. Blush, butterflies, and bright-eyed are my three B’s when I look at him. I like that. I like those feelings a lot.

  He sits across from me as we wait for our food to arrive from the local bar, not too far from where I work. Noah waited for me outside, and when he said hello, the butterflies set flight.

  “Do you enjoy Christmas?” I ask, but a look of immense pain slides across his face, his brows scrunch and his eyes darken.

  Our food arrives, and I thank the waiter.

  “I did, once,” he finally manages to reply.

  I look down at my chicken and salad then back to him. “Care to elaborate?” I question.

  He cuts into his steak, his hands gripping the knife hard. “Not particularly. I would hate to ruin a nice lunch with you over something like that.”

  “Okay.” I look down because there isn’t much more to say, and I don’t want to push him on the subject. There seem to be boundaries, and I hope it’s just a wall he has up until he feels more comfortable with me. I’m not sure if I could handle someone not being honest with me.

  “You look beautiful today. Did I tell you that already?” he asks, sitting back and looking at me.

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to share with you, it’s just that I can’t right now.”

  I nod, smiling at his honest answer. At least he’s trying and giving me words of confirmation.

  “You like Christmas?” he asks.

  “I love Christmas, it’s my favorite time of the year.” I smile. “The parties, the presents, the food, the company. What’s not to love?” I realize what I’ve said at the end, and my smile drops, but when I look up at him, he’s smiling as he watches me talk. “You didn’t kiss me last night,” I say, changing the subject.

  He leans in. “Did you want me to kiss you?”

  “Yes,” I say breathlessly. I’m not even going to lie.

  “Well, you will just have to wait.”

  “So, you don’t plan on kissing me today, either?” I pucker my lips.

  “I guess we’ll see.”

  My phone dings, and I realize it’s time to head back to work.

  I stand. “Thank you so much for lunch.” He paid when we ordered.

  “It’s the least I can do, considering the company I get to stare at.” I look back at him as we walk out.

 
; “If I give a little wiggle, will I get a kiss?” I ask with a wink.

  “That depends…”

  I wiggle my butt, he stops directly behind me and laughs. Then he grips my waist, turns me around to face him, and he places his hands on my cheeks. At first, I think he’s going to kiss me, but he leans in and kisses my cheek, dropping his thumb to my lips.

  “That ass deserves more than that kiss, but that’s all I can give right now,” he says as his thumb trails over my lips before he pulls away.

  I could steal a kiss.

  I have a feeling he wouldn’t say no if I did.

  “When will I see you again?” I ask, eager to work my way up to his lips on my lips.

  “I’ll call,” he says.

  As we arrive back at work, Vicky’s inside, watching us through the window. He offers her a wave before he walks off, heading to his car.

  I watch him leave, hoping the wait won’t too long.

  Chapter Seven

  I don’t see him for the rest of that week, but he sends me a message every morning saying, ‘hello beautiful.’ The butterflies take flight even from two simple words.

  I’m a goner.

  I have my mother’s first Christmas party coming up next week. I was going to invite Noah to this one, but now I’m unsure. She wanted me to bring a date. Usually, I wouldn’t, but for some reason, I would love to show him off. Even if it could be a drastic mistake.

  I invited him out tonight, though. Rylee has a dinner she didn’t want to attend by herself, and I asked if I could bring a date. She smiled and agreed because she’s been eager to meet him.

  “You should have let me pick you up,” Noah says, walking up to me as I get out of the car. He leans in and kisses my cheek before pulling away. Letting his eyes search me, I twirl on the spot so he can see every inch of me in this dress. It’s burgundy and strapless, and it flows out to the floor. It hugs perfectly to all my curves. “But then again, I’m glad you didn’t. We may not have made it here,” he says, leaning in again. This time, his hands circle around my waist, and his face comes down near my neck as he breathes me in.

  I’m weak, so weak for him.

  “My sister is inside waiting to meet you,” I say as he pulls back. He slides my hand in his, and we entwine our fingers as we walk into the room. It’s a business charity for our father’s company, and even though I may have chosen not to take on any role in his business affairs, I still come to these things in support of Rylee.

  I spot her straight away. Her hair is down and in long, lush locks. She’s wearing a long green dress with a slit up her right leg. Anderson is standing next to her, his hand on her hip as she shakes the hands of a few people in front of her.

  “Your sister is here, right?” Noah asks as I grab a glass of champagne that’s being handed out. He takes one too and holds it as I sip mine.

  “Yes, she’s right over there.” I nod to where she is. I watch as he turns to her, but unless she’s turned to face us, I’m not sure he can tell which one she is. “Want to meet her?”

  “You two are close?” he asks.

  “Very much so,” I reply, sliding my arm through his elbow and walking over to her. Anderson sees me first and smiles, his eyes fall to Noah and then his eyes go wide.

  “Rhi, you brought a date?” Anderson says with surprise.

  Rylee turns around, a smile on her pretty face as she looks at me. “Father is here. Sorry, I didn’t know until a minute ago, otherwise I would have warned you.”

  “Fuck.” Of course, he’s here. He never comes to these things anymore, leaving them to Rylee, yet he shows up to this one. I turn to look at Noah and see him watching Rylee with his eyes wide in surprise

  Noah leans in closer to my ear. “You are identical twins?” he asks, more to me, but I know she hears him.

  “Pretty cool, right? But throw those fantasies out because your girl here isn’t interested in any of that. I’ve tried.” Anderson looks at me. “Right, Rhi?”

  “I don’t share,” Noah says as his hand comes to my waist and he pulls me closer to him.

  “Yes, sorry, I thought I mentioned I had a twin,” I whisper back to him.

  “Rhi likes to tell people she has a twin, but not that we’re identical. She has done it since we were kids. I’m Rylee, by the way. Rhi’s other half.” Rylee offers Noah her hand, and he takes it, shaking gently yet firmly.

  “Rhi’s other half?” Noah questions.

  “Oh, yes, no separating the two,” Anderson says with an eye roll before he walks off, leaving us standing there.

  “It’s good that you are so close,” Noah says with more confidence now. “I’m an only child but would have loved to have had a brother or sister.”

  “We also have a brother, who is obviously not identical,” I say with a smirk. “He’s younger,” I clarify.

  “Rylee, I have a client asking about you,” my father interrupts and turns to face me. “Biscuit, I wasn’t aware you would be here tonight.” My father leans in and kisses my cheek before he looks directly at Noah next to me. “Hi, I’m William, and you are?”

  “Dad, this is Noah. Noah, this is my father, William.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Noah says, offering his hand.

  “Hey, I know you from somewhere.”

  “I believe you look after a few of my clients,” Noah says to my father.

  “You’re that lawyer everyone is talking about. You are making quite a ruckus, that’s for sure. But, hey, if you believe he’s innocent…”

  I know Father is talking about August.

  It’s been all over the news and newspapers.

  Free August.

  “He is innocent, sir,” Noah says.

  My father looks to where Noah’s other hand is around my waist.

  “So, do you plan to bring Noah to Christmas lunch?”

  I feel Noah tense next to me.

  “Dad, why don’t you take me to this client,” Rylee says, saving me from answering. My father nods then offers us a wave before he walks off.

  “I’m so sorry about that,” I say to Noah, turning so I am facing him. He looks down at me.

  “I didn’t expect to meet your family so soon, but never apologize.”

  I look up at him and lift my hand to brush away some of his dark hair from his face.

  “Third date and no kiss, I’m still waiting.”

  “It will be worth it. Now, how about we get out of here fairly soon?”

  I nod at his words, just as anxious to be away from here as he is, especially considering Father is here. Looking around, we head to the bar and chat. He tells me how crazy his week has been and apologizes for not being able to see me sooner. Just as I touch my third drink, my sister comes over, and she’s alone.

  “Noah, I want to apologize for Anderson’s comment earlier. Sometimes his brain doesn’t register with his mouth.”

  “No need to apologize,” he says as I stand. He stands as well, coming close to my side.

  “And I guess the next time I’ll see you will be next week?” Rylee finishes. “At our friends and family Christmas party? We apologize in advance for our mother.” I smile at Rylee’s words. Sometimes I get so used to her speaking for me that it becomes natural.

  “Can’t wait,” Noah says, to which I look to him, surprised.

  “You don’t have to come. I don’t want you to feel like you have to.”

  “If you are there, I will gladly be there.”

  “Okay, I’m off to break up with Anderson,” Rylee says, winking at me. “Well, actually, maybe after Christmas.” She chuckles before she walks away, giving us a last wave.

  “So, that’s my sister,” I say, leaning into him.

  Our fronts are almost touching. Almost. He smells so good, and I bet he tastes even better.

  “She’s very protective of you.”

  “You think?”

  “Yes. She talks for you, it’s as if you are one.”

  “Well, we kind of are,”
I reply, smiling. This time, I touch him, my hands on his waist as I lean into him. When I look up, he’s watching me.

  “You aren’t. You are completely different, and I can tell that just from the short time speaking to her.”

  “She’s way more confident,” I say.

  He reaches up and touches my face, his other hand slides along my waist until it reaches my lower back. Shivers break out all over my body at his simple touch.

  “I have a feeling you are very confident in so many other different ways than her.”

  I want to touch those lips to mine.

  To feel them.

  But he kisses my cheek instead.

  “We should go.”

  “Yes, my place?” I ask, having no shame at all.

  “No, I have an early day tomorrow.” I can feel my face start to drop at his words. “But you are more than welcome to come back to mine…” He pauses. “No pressure, of course.”

  “Pressure accepted. Take me.” I giggle.

  He smirks and shakes his head.

  Chapter Eight

  Well, he’s rich.

  That’s the first thing I think when I walk inside his house. He lives outside the city, in a beautiful old Queenslander, which has obviously had some amazing work done to it. The old frame, which has been painted in natural colors, completely makes you think old-style. But once you walk inside, it’s completely decked out with everything modern.

  Surround sound all through the house, which I know because soft music is playing when we enter. There’s also a high-end security system. A kitchen that’s made of stone and is probably worth more than the house. And high ceilings throughout.

  I come from money, so I know money when I see it.

  I may not live as my family does, but I grew up with it. And I do what I can, as evidenced by the apartment I live in. But I work and make my own money. Other than the apartment, I take nothing else from my family even though they offer.