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“How would you know if I’m a good woman? This is the first time we’ve met.”
“In person, yes, but I’ve talked to you a handful of times and people have energy, Shore. Good, bad, or indifferent, most can’t hide who they truly are from people like me who see through all the fluff. You’re good. A little unfocused but you have good energy. You think I would have let you out there with Wilde if I felt you didn’t have good energy. I would have given you a refund and recommended the first free bed you could have secured for the week.”
Oh…
“I appreciate you didn’t do that with me.”
“I’m sure you do.” She smiled smugly. “Like I said before, looks like the two of you are getting along just fine.”
“We’re…well…” I frowned, shoved another forkful of cake in my mouth, and looked anywhere but at her. The kitchen, just like the rest of the house, resembled a Christmas explosion. There was garland lining the top of the multitude of cabinets and various red and green candles in frosted glass holders on the counters. The containers I assumed held flour and sugar were porcelain snowmen and there were small wreaths secured to both sides of the refrigerator doors. The house also smelled like peppermint and pine.
Everything about the B&B was a blended melody of Christmas cheer.
“Well what, dear?” When my eyes landed on Melvina again, she returned a smile. It was a curious and telling smile, like she could read my mind. I prayed she couldn’t since my thoughts about Wilde were far from innocent and not what I wanted to share with her or even admit to myself.
“Mmhm, that’s what I thought. You like him and he likes you.”
“He likes me?”
He was attracted for sure but I wouldn’t go beyond the physical. I was, however, curious on how she’d determined Wilde also had a thing for me.
“He does, otherwise you wouldn’t have lasted ten minutes out there with him. Wilde loves me because I’m family and more than that love, he respects me. But he will also toe that line when it comes to his peace. If he truly didn’t want you out there with him, he would haverespectfullytold me to find another option. I expected a call after he got to you at the train station asking where he could dump you but it never came. You’re a pretty little thing so I suspect that has something to do with his decision but like I said before, there are a lot of pretty women who are willing to hand over their time to Wilde. He’s very particular about who he accepts invitations from and rarely ever does that happen. He also let you work the ranch and thatranchis his baby. If he gave you access to more than a guided tour then Wilde is fond of you, Shore. Question is, what are you two gonna do about it?”
“I… Well… I’m not sure what to say to that.”
She smiled sweetly and patted my hand. “Don’t say anything, at least not to me but think about telling him just how interested you are. You never know what might come of it. Now finish up and I’ll take you to meet the baby you owe a thank you to. If he hadn’t made his grand entrance then you never would have met the man you might marry.”
She winked and I was once again choking on her gingerbread cake. This time she assisted, thumping me hard on the back until I was settled or at least my body was but my mind? Well, that was another story.
* * *
What was supposedto be a quick stop at the B&B turned into an all-day visit. It was just after eight and we were still here but I didn’t mind. The day had been fun. After Wilde finished with the barn doors, Melvina insisted we join in some of the activities for the evening. It just so happened, all the activities were couples-based which meant Wilde and I were paired and competing against other couples.
He and I were both competitive so we worked well together. Although we didn’t win everything, we dominated. The games paused for dinner which was prepared by the resident chef. Some kind of venison stew for the meat eaters and a vegetarian option for the non-carnivores. I couldn’t stomach eating Bambi after Melvina went through an entire spiel about what venison was, so I stuck with the vegetarian version.
Once our bellies were full we decorated sugar cookies and cupcakes and now our last activity for the evening was building a snowman which seemed easy enough until Melvina threw in a bit of a plot twist. Each couple had to work together, literally, while joined under an ugly Christmas sweater that was three sizes too big to accommodate both players. The snowman had to be constructed using one of my arms and one of Wilde’s.
I had been close to him all evening but not this close. The only way to make this work was me sitting in his lap while we were snuggled together beneath the sweater. With his left arm through the sleeve and his right hooked around my waist, my right arm was laced through the other sleeve with my left draped over the one he held me with.
The position was intimate and stressful. I felt him beneath me, hard as steel, which had my nipples pulled tight and my thighs locked, wondering if he’d somehow left the tree farm with that damn ax shoved up his pant leg because there was no way that was all him. The entire time we sat this way, I had to mentally remind myself not to move or my thoughts would drift to very inappropriate visuals of Wilde and I doing the Hokey Pokey, when I needed to be focused on building a snowman.
“Okay here are the rules,” Melvina began from across the table. We were down to only four couples. A young guy and his girlfriend from Miami., Josh and Nova. A slightly older couple, Nolan and Deborah, who were visiting their first set of grandkids. They were staying at the B&B because their daughter and son-in-law lived in a one bedroom apartment over a hardware store in town to save money so they could buy a house in the upcoming year. The third couple was Melvina and her husband Lou and the fourth was Wilde and me. “You have ten minutes to get the thing assembled. After we’re done, we’ll let the others vote.”
“The others? They’re shitfaced,” Lou said, pointing to the living room where several other guests—some of whom had been doing the activities earlier in the evening but tapped out due to an overindulgence of spiked eggnog—were sitting.
“We’ll find one or two who are sober enough to judge,” she tossed over her shoulder. “Winner gets a free weekend here, during the off season of course.”
“What if we win, sweetness?”
“Then we decline and next in line gets the weekend. But we’re not gonna win. We never win, Lou. You don’t know what the hell you’re doing,” she fussed with a smile and Lou laughed, kissing her cheek.
“I know what I’m doing, just fine. I’m more interested in you than that damn snowman.” He motioned to the table where several styrofoam balls and other craft materials were positioned in front of him.
“Behave, Lou.” She blushed then lifted the timer. “Okay, let’s get started. You guys ready?”
Her eyes roamed the table and when everyone nodded, she began the timer.
“Are we winning this, Boston?” Wilde asked with his lips near my ear. The warmth of his sugary breath fanned over my skin, heating me.
