Blame It on the Mistletoe (8 page)

She rolled her eyes. It was no surprise. Alex was hot. Very hot. Even with a face covered in scruff and what appeared to be bed head, he was still appealing. She wondered what he was dressed up for. His tall frame was clothed in khakis and a fitted button-up that left no doubt he was layered with muscle. Even under the civilized clothing there was something about him. Something that made a woman sit up and pay attention. Whatever that magical thing was, it made it impossible for Brooke to look away while he circled her shop like a predator.

This time when he caught her watching him he gave her a wicked smile. Her breath caught and her body went warm. She abruptly turned away and asked the closest woman if she needed any help. Luckily she had some questions about the classes, which Brooke was happy to answer, and for a few moments she almost forgot Alex was in the store. Almost. After wrapping up the ladies’ purchases and encouraging them to grab a snack at the bakery down the street, she was left alone with him again.

“What the hell does a person buy a rusty old bucket for?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “You know what? I’m not answering that question. If you don’t get it, you’re in the wrong store.”

“I want to get it, though. So tell me.”

“Look under the tree.”

He turned. Several old containers, including some rusty buckets, held various items. They looked pretty, rustic, fun. “If you have an eye for things, you can make anything look good. People like taking utilitarian objects, especially ones that are old and have an interesting patina, and incorporating them in their home. Sometimes they don’t know how to do it, so my displays help them visualize it.”

“Patina, huh? Is that a fancy word for rust?”

She glared at him.

“Okay, okay. I get it, it makes sense. And I have to admit, it’s comfortable in here. Homey. It smells good, and the old things look nice.”

“I like old things. New and shiny is okay I guess, but just because something is old or damaged doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful or loved.”

He stared at her through hooded lids for so long she felt like squirming. Or looking away. Instead she spoke. “Are you here for a reason?”

Alex just continued to stare. “Go out with me tomorrow night. Dinner. We’ll leave Preston, go into the city.”

“Do you really think I’m going to give you another chance?” She ignored the pounding in her chest and the voice in her head that was saying
yes, yes, yes
. To keep her shaky hands busy, she picked a few ornaments out of one of the rusty buckets and began to hang them on the tree. He needed to take the hint: she was a very busy girl.

He didn’t. Instead he followed her lead and grabbed a few ornaments of his own before carefully hooking one onto a high branch.

“Stop helping me. I’m very annoyed with you.”

“What if I say please?” He was now holding an ornament she’d made. It was similar to her jewelry in that there was some old fabric held between glass, and soldered around the edges. This particular design featured a tiny print of mistletoe on a red gingham background. Red and green beads and a charm hung from a jump ring soldered onto the bottom. It was very cute if she did say so herself. He fingered the hand-stamped metal charm. It said “kiss me.”

He grinned. “Did you make this?”

Suddenly she felt a little ridiculous. “Yes, I did.”

“Nice. You really should have it hanging in a doorway or something. Isn’t that what mistletoe is for?”

“Do you have a point?”

“Will you go out with a paying customer?”

She scoffed. “No.”

“I wanna buy this.”

“No way. You’re not buying that. You’re not buying anything.” She snatched the ornament out of his hand and hung it carefully on a tree branch. “Stop patronizing me and go.”

Brooke turned and walked around the counter. She needed a physical barrier between them. Her heart was pounding and she felt lightheaded. She really wanted to go out with Alex, but she was terrified.

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Brooke. I’m only in town until Saturday. It can just be two friends. Dinner. No big deal. Your brother would kill me if it was more than that. In fact he’ll probably kill me no matter what.”

She jerked her head around. “What does that mean?”

Alex looked panicked, like he regretted his words. “Nothing … just … I assume he’s still really protective of his little sister, right?”

She didn’t answer right away. Had Ryan spoken to him? Surely not. He wouldn’t do that, would he? “I’m twenty-eight. I don’t need Ryan’s permission or his help.”

“No, you don’t. That’s obvious.” Alex glanced around the shop. “Can I pick you up at six tomorrow?” They stared at each other for a second.

“I have a class. How about seven.” She took a deep breath, worry and elation warring in the pit of her stomach. “But if you are so much as thirty seconds late, I will never forgive you. I also plan to order the most expensive thing on the menu.”

He grinned. “Deal.”

Without another word Alex left, passing three nearly slack-jawed women in the doorway. They giggled after the door closed behind them, whispering and glancing out the window. Brooke put a hand over her mouth to cover her stupid grin. She was going out with that hottie. Tomorrow. She shook her head and greeted the ladies before something on the corner of the big wooden counter caught her eye. It was a twenty dollar bill.
What the hell?

She rushed over to the tree to look for the ornament Alex had touched and admired earlier. She sucked in a breath. The mistletoe ornament was gone.

“Okay, now you can use the smaller pliers to squeeze the jump ring closed. Careful not to do it too hard because it might bend or break.” Brooke held up her demo ornament for the sixteen women to see. They had been a surprisingly skilled group, and she was grateful because she was more than a little distracted. Everyone was oohing and ahhing over their neighbor’s piece of tree art.

“Okay, does anybody need help finishing up?”

One woman raised her hand, and Brooke rushed over as the front door to the shop opened. She was technically closed, but she didn’t lock the door because it would violate fire code with customers still in the building.

“Good lord, who is that?” Brooke heard one of the women whisper. From the tone of her voice, Brooke instantly knew who had entered the shop.

“Holy shit, is that Alex Coleman? He’s grown up nicely,” another voice whispered. “Not really a surprise since he was always adorable.”

Brooke stood up and locked eyes with the very sexy man she’d grown up with. She’d just seen him not twenty-four hours ago, but his gorgeousness was still shocking. He’d shaved, but not all the way, so there was just a hint of stubble. But enough was gone that the lines of his face were more visible. He wore dark jeans that managed to hang on his hip in just the right way, a dark belt, and a white button-up shirt under his coat. She shut her mouth and made her way toward him. He smirked, obviously noticing her discomfort.

“You’re a little early, aren’t you?” she whispered.

“Yes, but I couldn’t take even the slightest chance that you’d never forgive me, could I? Plus I was sort of curious about this class.” He picked up a loose hair and tucked it behind her ear. She froze.

“Stop it.” She swatted his hand away, ignoring his smile. “It’s six twenty. I still have to get ready.”

His gaze ran down her body, taking in her jeans, T-shirt and work apron. It was the sturdy construction type of apron you picked up from a hardware store, handy for holding all of her tools while she taught or worked.

“This is kind of hot, Brooke.” He grabbed a corner of her apron.

“Oh my god, will you
stop
.” She turned around just in time to see sixteen sets of eyes immediately turn and try to appear busy. “Go sit down and be quiet until I’m finished.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She then realized her mistake. He went and sat in an empty chair in the corner of the class area, so now she had to wrap things up with him as part of her audience. How embarrassing.

“Okay, ladies, is everybody happy with their piece?” She was pleased with the enthusiastic response. She needed to get her thoughts together, but her mouth had suddenly gone dry. “Well, make sure you get a little bag here to put it in, and we have about ten minutes if anyone would like to purchase any supplies to make some of these at home. It’s super easy and would make great gifts for Christmas. Okay, well, thank you. I’ll just be … around … if you have … uh … any questions.”

Brooke blew out a breath and made her way to the restroom. She needed a quick minute, and she was pretty sure she had glue on her face. Yep, there it was right on her cheek. Her hair was a riot pulled up on her head in a messy ponytail and she had barely put any makeup on today. Why was he so early? She picked the now-dried glue off her cheek, washed her hands, and made her way back out front.

She wasn’t surprised to find a couple of ladies speaking with Alex. She was, however, annoyed when she realized one of them was the newly divorced Eve Wells, who, if she recalled, was one of young Alex’s many paramours. Ugh! Eve’s boobs were squeezed into her sweater so tightly, it looked like one might pop. And it just might, because Brooke was pretty sure Eve wasn’t sporting the same breasts she’d had in high school.

Funny how Brooke had enjoyed Eve’s quick grin and easy jokes during the soldering class, but now the sound of her laugh made her skin crawl. Surely Alex wasn’t truly flirting with her while he was inside Brooke’s shop—to pick her up for a date no less? He may be a player, but that would just be really low.

Ignoring them, Brooke went up front to ring in the purchases. She was thrilled with the way this evening’s class had gone. At forty bucks a student she was already pleased, but it also appeared that nearly everyone was making some sort of additional purchase. She prayed that this kind of business continued through December. She really felt like if she could get the word out, the rest would be history.

She finished with another customer and then felt a warm wall lean up against her back. Her first instinct was to tense, but then his gentle hand landed on her hip beneath her apron.

“It’s just me,” He whispered into her ear. “Mind if I wait upstairs? I have to get away from your customers. They’re scaring me.”

She couldn’t help the smile that bloomed, and she was tempted to relax into him. Instead she turned her head to the side and whispered. “Okay, I’ll be up soon.”

His fingers squeezed her, and then he walked away toward the back, not stopping to speak to anyone. The entire transaction felt way too intimate and public. And the whole
I’ll be up soon
was just so … coupleish. What was she
thinking
? She got back to work. Thanking people as they left, it was finally Eve’s turn to check out. Brooke took her soldering iron, flux, and glass slides. “I’m glad you’re going to try this some more at home, Eve. You did a really great job. Please feel free to come in if you need some help.”

“I’ll do that. I want to give necklaces for Christmas gifts. My mom would love a charm made with a picture of the grandbabies.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea.” Brooke was happy that this was not going to get awkward. She handed Eve her bag and slid her credit card receipt across the wooden counter for her to sign.

“So, are you and Alex Coleman … seeing each other?” Eve asked. And with that it did in fact get awkward.

“Um, no. We are actually going to dinner tonight, but that’s all.”

“Oh. I see. I was just surprised is all. You guys didn’t seem like a likely pair.”

Brooke gave her a closed-mouth smile, took her credit card slip, and thanked her once again. “A likely pair?” Whatever the heck that meant, it was sure to be an insult to one or both of them any way you cut it.

Once everyone had left the store, she flipped the lock and turned off the main lights, leaving just the glow of the Christmas tree.

She would clean up the mess in the morning. Right now she was trying to remember what kind of embarrassment she’d left strewn about upstairs. She took the stairs swiftly, only to find Alex sitting on the couch stroking a very happy Diva’s head. The apartment took up the whole second level, although she was currently utilizing only a fraction of it. There were two bedrooms, a living room, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. It was quite lovely, with high-beamed ceilings and rustic charm. Dated, but serviceable. The only thing she’d brought with her was bedding, personal items, and a small TV.

Alex looked up at her and grinned. “I think I found another date.
This
lady loves me.”

“Don’t get too cocky, she’s not very particular.”

Alex laughed quietly, obviously trying not to disturb her royal highness. “You wound me.”

“Ha, I doubt it. Can you give me twenty minutes?”

“We’ll see,” he said as he gave Diva long slow strokes from head to tail. Her happy purrs got louder. “If she suggests Chinese, I’ll fold like a lawn chair.”

“I guess I’ll take my chances,” Brooke said. But she didn’t move, just stood there watching this hunky man pet her little cat. He was so gentle, she’d bet anything that before she’d come upstairs they’d been carrying on a conversation. She smiled on her way to the bathroom, pulled up her hair, and jumped in the shower to clean off before pulling on her favorite sweater dress, tights, and leather boots. A few quick curls to her hair and some makeup, and she felt good. At the last minute she put on a little more eyeliner and lipstick, something she never did, but this night felt like it required a slightly sexier look, and she went with it.

She’d taken more like thirty minutes, and when she came back out into the main room Alex was looking out the window down Main Street. The little town decorated for Christmas each year by putting up illuminated holly leaves on every lamppost down Main Street. Individual stores also decorated on their own. Overall it created a beautiful picture, like the photo on a Christmas card.

“Do you ever miss it here?” she asked from the center of the room.

“No.”

“Not even a little? Preston was always so fun at Christmas. I remember countless times coming into this very building and sitting on Santa’s lap in the waiting room of the office. I still wonder who played him.”