Christmas in Good Hope (A Good Hope Novel Book 1) (11 page)

Beck laughed.

Ami finished off her cookie. “What did Jeremy say about Eliza?”

“She came alone, but he promised he’d make sure someone drove her home.”

“I’m glad.”

Ami sounded sincere, but Beck knew there was no love lost between her and the executive director of the Cherries.

“Are you?”

“Absolutely.” Ami punctuated her answer with a nod. “Eliza and I might have our differences, but I’d never want her to hurt herself or anyone else because of a careless decision.”

The emotion reverberating in her voice surprised him. He wondered if she knew someone who’d been hurt by a drunk driver. Concern gripped his gut. Beck opened his mouth to ask when Jeremy announced the band was starting off the evening dance set with tunes from the sixties.

A melody filtered into the room from a large parlor at the back of the house. Ami’s lips curved upward.

“You like this song?” Beck asked, unable to tear his gaze away from those full, red lips that only moments before had been pressed against his cheek.

“‘My Girl’ by the Temptations was a favorite of my parents’.” Ami moved slowly back and forth, her eyes half-closed, as if lost in the memory. “They used to hold each other and sway to the tune in our kitchen.”

“Dance with me.” Beck knew he was playing with fire. Merely standing this close and breathing in the sweet scent of vanilla and sugar had his body remembering just how good it had felt to hold her, to kiss her.

Yes, he realized, dancing with her was a disaster waiting to happen.

Beck held out his hand.

C
hapter
E
leven

Standing this close to Beck and breathing in the spicy scent of his cologne had Ami’s insides jittering. The knowledge she’d soon be in his arms again, just like when they’d kissed, had her steps quickening with anticipation.

As she strolled beside him under the colonnade separating the two large living areas, Ami caught Beck staring.

A slow smile spread across his face. When his gaze dropped and lingered on the V of her dress, the desire in his dark eyes had her stumbling.

His hands grasped her shoulders, steadying her. “Whoa. Careful now.”

“Thank you.” Ami shot him a quick smile. “I’m not usually so clumsy.”

“Well, I’m not usually demanding, so I guess we’re even.”

Ami looked startled. “Demanding?”

“I didn’t
ask
you to dance.” Beck’s gaze remained intense. “I commanded.”

“If it makes you feel better, I command you to dance with me. Now we’re even.”

His warm laughter wrapped around Ami like a soft, comfortable sweater. She wanted to dance with Beck, wanted to
be
with him. Though she’d played it cool earlier in the week when he’d asked her if she was coming to the party—not wanting him to think she expected him to escort her—she’d secretly hoped to see him here.

As they approached the crowded makeshift dance floor, Ami realized just how many people she knew were in attendance. Eliza, stunning as usual in a simple black sheath, was hanging on Jeremy, who didn’t appear to mind. The sparkly bracelets on the arm she’d looped around his neck glittered in the light.

Looking festive in a red sweaterdress with an oversize cowl neck, Katie Ruth Crewes danced with Clay Chapin. Most of the other couples, attired in their Sunday best, fell into her parents’ age group.

Steve and Sarah Bloom should still be dancing.

Ami could visualize it now: the pearls her father had given his wife for their twenty-fifth anniversary looped around her mother’s neck . . .

A sharp stab of pain, strong enough to draw blood, lanced Ami’s heart.

But it faded quickly when Beck pulled her to him and executed an intricate spin that left her breathless.

“You’ve got some nice moves, Mr. Cross,” she told him when she caught her breath. “Who taught you to dance?”

“Would it surprise you if I said I taught myself?”

“Not really.” She threaded her fingers through his soft hair and her heart did a little flip-flop. “You seem like the kind of man who could do anything you set your mind to doing.”

“What a nice compliment.” His sexy southern drawl sent a hot riff of sensation up her spine.

“You smell terrific,” she said, slightly flustered.

“Two compliments from a beautiful woman,” he murmured, his eyes twinkling with humor. “I’d say this evening is off to a stellar start.”

As they danced to the familiar melody, his palm splayed against her back. Ami felt the heat all the way through the silky fabric of her dress. When Beck began to slide his hand up and down her spine in slow, sensual strokes, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like if there was bare skin beneath his fingers and—

“What shall we talk about?” Beck’s breath was warm against her ear. “Politics? Religion? Whether or not a merchant should be blackmailed into opening his home to the tour?”

At the last suggestion, she couldn’t help but chuckle. The laughter died in her throat at the sight of the dark-haired woman in the clingy black dress.

“What’s the problem?” Beck brushed a strand of hair back from her face with the tip of his finger, his gaze completely focused on her.

“Anita Fishback.” Ami pushed the words past lips that felt frozen.

“There’s so many people here,” he said in a reassuring tone. “We won’t have to interact with her.”

“I’m afraid ignoring her isn’t possible.”

His gaze searching her face, Beck held her out at arm’s length.

Ami answered the question in his eyes. “She’s dancing with my dad.”

Beck spun them around so quickly it made Ami’s head spin. The move had him now facing the couple instead of her. Though Ami wanted to protest, she quickly realized not seeing Anita cossetted in her father’s arms was making it easier for her to steady herself.

“I take it this comes as a surprise.”

“Great deduction, Sherlock,” Ami muttered, then was instantly contrite. “I’m sorry. It’s not fair to take this out on you. To answer your question, no, I didn’t realize my dad would be her date.”

“Or that you’d see them dancing to your parents’ favorite song.” Though Beck spoke casually, his eyes remained dark.

“Icing on the cake. A maraschino cherry atop the sundae.” Ami gave a humorless laugh but found talking with Beck to be a calming experience.

“Tell me more about Anita. Help me understand why you feel she’s wrong for your father.”

Ami had never been one for gossip. She had better things to do with her time. The truth was, she pretty much liked everyone. And they usually liked her. But Anita had always been a predator. While Ami wanted to believe the woman had changed, her gut told her otherwise.

“Several months ago, my great-aunt Lil passed away.” Ami absently slid her fingers into the hair at the back of Beck’s neck. “Once her estate in Minneapolis is settled, my father will inherit a tidy sum. I find it interesting that shortly after the rumor of my father’s newfound ‘wealth’ began circulating, Anita started showing interest in a widowed schoolteacher.”

“It could be a coincidence.”

Ami shot Beck a dour glance. “Yes, and Santa is real.”

“Isn’t he?” Beck grinned.

“Be serious.” She swatted him on the arm even as her lips lifted in a smile. “It’s not simply men she likes, but men with money.”

“There are lots of women like that out there.” Beck exhaled a breath. “My brother Anders dated one a few years ago.”

“You have a brother?” Ami wasn’t sure what surprised her most, that he had a brother or that he’d volunteered the information without her asking.

“I have two, actually.” He smiled at her surprise. “Elliott is my twin. Anders is eight years younger.”

The fondness in his voice when he mentioned the two men told her that whatever had caused him to move to Good Hope didn’t involve any trouble between him and his brothers.

“You’re a twin.” She tried to wrap her mind around a second Beck. “Identical?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ever find it weird to have another person always around who looked so much like you?”

“Not really.”

“Fin is a year younger than I am. People who don’t know think we’re twins.”

“I don’t believe it.” Beck shook his head slowly. “There simply can’t be another woman on this planet as beautiful as you.”

While Ami couldn’t stop the rush of pleasure at the over-the-top compliment, everyone knew her personality paled in comparison to her vibrant sister’s. “Wait until you see Fin. She’ll blow you away. She has that effect on everyone.”

“Where is she at now?”

“Living life fast and furious in LA.” Ami’s voice filled with pride. “She’s an advertising exec. Smart. Funny. Everyone adores Fin.”

“They’re leaving the dance floor.”

Ami blinked. For a few seconds she’d forgotten all about her father and the piranha.

“Do you want to go over and say hello?”

“I don’t want to drag you into the middle of my family drama.” Ami took a deep, steadying breath. “You do business with Anita and—”

“I do business with Blooms Bake Shop, not Crumb and Cake.”

“Right now, yes, but she could come up with a sweet deal tomorrow and steal you away.”

“The woman could offer me a lifetime of free desserts and I’d still turn her down.”

“That wouldn’t make good business sense,” she chided.

“Money isn’t everything.” His husky voice became a caress. “I’m on
your
side, Ami, not hers. That’s not going to change.”

“Thank you.” She gazed at him through lowered lashes. “Then I believe it’s time to speak with my father and ‘I-Need-a-Man.’”

A startled look crossed Beck’s face. “‘I-Need-a-Man?’”

“Fin’s nickname for Anita.”

Beck threw back his head and laughed.

Beck reached out for Ami’s hand as they crossed the second living room, but she gently refused the gesture. Still, he was glad she’d allowed him to come with her for moral support.

Steve and Anita stood in front of the tree with their backs to them. Whatever story Anita was telling was making Ami’s father laugh.

Ami squared her shoulders and fixed a surprisingly natural-looking smile on her lips. Beck was impressed. If he didn’t know her true feelings, he’d have bought the act.

“Dad,” Ami called out in a cheery voice when they were several feet away.

Steve whirled. He looked wary, Beck thought, but hope leaped into his eyes at the sight of his daughter. It appeared their recent disagreement had been as hard on him as it had been on her.

“Ami. Beck,” Steve said in an overly hearty tone as his gaze hungrily searched Ami’s face. “We didn’t expect to see you here.”

We.

By the barely perceptible widening of Ami’s eyes, Beck knew the word had registered and didn’t sit well, nor did the fact that Steve’s palm rested familiarly against Anita’s back.

Going on instinct, Beck grasped Ami’s hand and gave it a squeeze. This time she didn’t pull away.

“I don’t know why you’re surprised.” Ami’s voice remained as pleasant as her smile. “Jeremy invited all the merchants to his open house.”

Her father flushed. “I simply meant that when I mentioned the event to you last week, you said you didn’t think you’d be attending.”

Beck wondered if Steve had accepted Anita’s invitation thinking his daughter wouldn’t be here. From the thoughtful look in Ami’s eyes, the same notion had crossed her mind.

“Your father came as my plus one.” Anita’s sharp-eyed gaze shifted to Beck and lingered on their joined hands. “Are you two here together?”

Beck let Ami answer.

“I came with Katie Ruth.” Ami shifted her attention to the tree. “It’s lovely, isn’t it?”

They spent five excruciating minutes discussing the tree, the party, and the Twelve Nights festivities before Ami brought up Anita’s granddaughter.

“Dakota looks pretty this evening.”

Beck chimed in. “Apparently her counselor at school recommended a couple of students to work the open house.”

“Dakota is here?” Steve shifted his gaze to Anita. “Cassie’s oldest?”

“She was taking coats at the door,” Ami told her father.

“A young man took ours when we arrived.” Steve turned to Anita. “We’ll have to say hello before we leave. I had Dakota in my English literature class last year. She’s a lovely girl and very bright.”

“Yes.” Anita flashed a smile that seemed overly bright. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen her. Cassie knows I don’t approve of her lifestyle and has made it very clear she doesn’t want me in her—or her children’s—life.”

“Give it time.” Steve’s arm slipped around the woman’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You and Cassie will find common ground.”

His gaze shifted to his daughter. “Because when all is said and done, family sticks together.”