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"Probably not." Cherry's shivering so hard her earrings are swaying, but she lifts her chin higher, determination in every line of her body. I'm impressed by her honesty and her fearlessness.
Alice looks equally determined. "Game on, I guess. You're going to lose."
Cherry works her small hand out of the sleeve of my jacket, which is voluminous on her, and offers her hand to Alice. "Game on."
Alice stares at Cherry's hand for several seconds then steps away. "Sorry, I'm not shaking your hand. You were nice to me in the bathroom, but going after another woman's boyfriend is wrong."
Cherry retracts her hand. "Fair enough."
Alice smiles sadly and turns to me. Her expression morphs into one I'm all too familiar with. "I'm not joking around, Xavier. Stay the hell out of my life, or I'm telling Mom and you will be sorry."
After a decade in the military and a few years teaching high school, our mother got a job in Yuletide as a school principal when I was ten. No one messes with our mother. Not even me. "She said he was her cheating fiancé, Al. What was I supposed to do?"
Her nostrils flare like she's wishing she could blow fire. "How about talking to me and letting me handle my own life for a change?"
She marches past, ramming one of her pointy elbows into my gut as she goes. I can feel it even through her ridiculous puffy coat.
"I was protecting you," I say.
She flips me the bird as she stomps to her car.
"Stay out of my life, Cherry." James waves a finger in her face. "I'm sorry I ended things between us so harshly, but I don't want you or your drama anywhere near me and Alice."
I step between them because I don't trust him not to use physical force to make his point, and Cherry seems to have no sense of self-preservation. She grips my arms, probably trying not to fall off the sidewalk into a snowbank again.
"And you," James snarls. "I get you can't stand to see your sister happy with a man, but I'm not going anywhere. Stay away from me and stay out of our relationship."
He slams back into the bar.
Cherry shoves at my back and I turn to face her. Shockingly, her eyes are narrowed. Why the hell is she mad at me?
"Why didn't you tell me she's your sister?" She spits the words at me like they're bullets.
And suddenly, I'm angry too. My sister is furious with me, her boyfriend is justified in telling me to stay away, and it's all because of this tiny woman. "Like you told me he's yourex-fiancé? You dragged me into this whole mess with a lie."
She deflates, her anger replaced by a look of pure misery that makes me want to apologize for yelling. I fight the urge. This woman is nothing but trouble.
"I still think of him as my fiancé because heshouldstill be mine. He dumped me because of something my mother did and if he'd just give me a chance to explain, I know we can work things out."
"Did you ever think a man who dumps you over a misunderstanding and talks to you the way he just did isn't the right guy for you?"
She smiles like I don't know what I'm talking about. "He's justifiably angry after you dragged him out of the bar to yell at him. That wasn't the plan."
I grit my teeth. There's no reasoning with her. "Can I have my jacket back? It's a rental."
She glances down at the jacket like she's forgotten she's wearing it. She starts to pull it off, but I stop her because her teeth are chattering. "Let's grab your coat from inside. You don't need to be half-naked in this cold even for a moment."
I follow her back into the bar and she retrieves a ridiculous coat that she definitely chose for fashion rather than warmth. It doesn't even have a hood.
I take my tux jacket back, grab my coat, and drink in the sight of her for what I'm sure will be the last time. She's tiny, but she's not delicate. She's all hard, sharp edges and energy that seems to thrum beneath the surface of her smooth skin. I can only imagine how fierce and demanding she'd be in bed.
And I need to stop that train of thought before I invite myself back to her place.
"You got boots?" I ask.
She looks away. "I'm staying at a rental right down the block. It's not far to walk."
"Walk?" I stare. "Are you trying to freeze to death?"
