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She shot him a look. If he was trying to tease her, she wasn’t in the mood. “Everyone thinks I’m boring. Always have.”
Because that’s what you’ve always been.
“Why would they think that?”
She sighed and weighed whether it was worth it to say anything or not. It’s not as if they really knew each other, after all. Of course, maybe that made him the perfect person to say something to. “Thing is,” she began before she could stop herself. “That’s kind of always been my thing.”
“Your thing?”
“Boring. Predictable.” She shrugged. “When I was in high school, my friends used to call me Mom because I always had things lined up and figured out. Like a walking day planner. It was…still kind of is…the way I am.”
“Always?”
She nodded. “Well, not always, but it feels that way.” She laughed at herself and shook her head. “At any rate, I’m over it. It’s time to shake things up. No more boring.”
Amber expected Cole to laugh along with her, but instead he just shook his head slowly and lifted his beer to his lips.
“Seriously, Amber,” Cole said after a minute. “I mean, maybe you’re not the most adventurous, crazy, no-holds-barred woman I’ve ever met, but you’re certainly not boring. Obviously I didn’t know you when you were younger, but would a boring woman agree to stay in a house with her best friend’s brother who she barely knows and help him with some renovations?”
She couldn’t disagree with that. A predictable woman wouldneverdo that. “No, I guess not.” She looked down into her drink. “I mean, it’s not that—wait.” Her head jerked up as she realized what he was doing. “What? I didn’t agree to help with any renovations.”
“You didn’t?” He grinned and took a wing from the basket. “I could have sworn you did.”
When Cole winked at her, it took all the willpower she had not to melt into a puddle right there under the table. Was it possible thathewas flirting withher?
No.There was no way.
She took a moment to compose herself, and then another as she tried to clear her beer-clouded brain enough to formulate a thought.If Cole was really flirting with her, then maybe…no…it was still a bad idea.It was still a no. There was definitely reason number two to deal with. Even if, for some miraculous reason, a guy like him was remotely interested in a woman like her, he was still Josie’s brother. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a little fun flirting for a few days. Totally innocent.
And maybe it would be good practice for the newfunversion of Amber. She had the rest of her life to be boring and predictable. A few days of flirting would definitely not hurt. Maybe it was the beer, or maybe it was the fact that she was fresh out of a loveless, and super boring, relationship. Or, more likely, it was a combination of everything. Either way, Amber had nothing more to lose. So she tilted her head and smiled at him. “Maybe I will help with some of the renos.” She waited a beat and added, “That is, if you helpmewith something.”
She knew she was playing with fire, but she couldn’t stop herself. More than that, she didn’t want to, especially when she saw the way his eyes lit up and his nostrils flared with her words. She wasn’t the only one having a reaction.
“Oh yeah?” He reached across the table and took her hand. It took everything in her not to self-combust on the spot. “And what’s that?”
“I’ll help you with the renos…if you take me to the festival.” His face fell and his eyes clouded with confusion. Amber tried not to laugh as she pulled her hand away and pointed to the poster that hung behind him.
“The First Frost Festival?” He read the poster and turned back to her. “You want me to take you to some small-town festival?”
She nodded and couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face. “I do.”
He turned around and read some more. “Sleigh rides, an ice castle, and a…” He looked at her. “Frosty Frolic? What exactly is that?”
Amber shrugged. “I don’t really know. But it could be fun. Either way, you don’t have to take me to everything. Just a few things.”
A sly grin crossed his face. “And do I get to pick which things I take you to?”
She leaned forward and looked him straight in the eye. “I guess that depends on what you pick.”
ChapterFour
The smellof coffee worked its way into Amber’s consciousness and her eyelids fluttered open. It took her a moment to remember where she was.
Josie’s house.
Josie’s bed.
Josie’sbrother.
