PERFECT (9 page)

A steamy shower
scene played out in her mind as she unlocked the front door and then jumped,
dropping her package. Tom stood in the foyer waiting and from the amused
twinkle in his blue eyes she knew something humorous was on his mind.

“What are you
doing here?” She removed her gloves and tucked them into coat pocket before
unbuttoning and shrugging out of it.

“I decided to take
the night off since I have a guest and she knows no one else in town. But, I
saw you already made a friend.”

She stuffed her
coat on the peg rack next to Tom’s oversized parka and rubbed the chill from
her arms. “Were you spying on me?”

“Nuh. I heard the
horn blare and looked out my living window. Imagine what I saw.” His grin
broke. “Oh, right. You don’t have to imagine. You were there. In Dylan’s truck.
In a lip lock.”

“Oh shut up.”
Darcy unzipped her boots and stepped out of them. Heat flared in her cheeks as
she brushed by him and headed down the hallway. Tom was right on her heels. Her
behavior was too fat a catfish to let go and not throw into the deep fryer.

“Where are you
going?” His voice boomed in the confines of the hall.

“I’m frozen. I
need a cup of tea,” she replied over her shoulder. “You want one?”

“You didn’t look…”

Just inside the
state-of-art country kitchen, she spun around on her stocking heel and stuck a
finger in Tom’s face. “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t go there.
Target practice was part of my kindergarten curriculum.” She aimed her finger
south of his belt.

“Can I say I told
you so?”

Tom was fighting
another grin.

“No.” She mentally
stamped her foot.

“Okay.” He stepped
beside her, leaned down and whispered. “But I did.”

If she didn’t love
the big brute so much, she’d strangle him with her scarf. Instead she wound her
scarf around her own neck.

Tom had headed
right to the stove and retrieved the tea kettle and Darcy scooted onto one of
the four bar stools situated around the kitchen’s island. “I’ll admit Dylan is
a very handsome guy.”

“And good company
too.” He smiled over his shoulder as water swished into the kettle from the
tap.

“Yes. Yes.” She
raised her hands in the air. “He’s great company. I had fun.”

The striker
clicked and the gas stove flared to life.

“Imagine that.
Darcy Witherspoon had fun outside of a kitchen.” Tom drew two heavy mugs from a
cupboard and then spooned tea into a tea ball. “I’m glad you had a good time
and I’m glad you met Dylan on your own. I had no idea I how was going to get
the two of you together. I guess fate is alive and doing its job.”

“Do you really
believe in fate?”

“I believe some
things happen for a reason. Good things.”

Tom stood silent,
looking out the window.

“What is going on
with you? You’re wearing the sappiest look I’ve ever seen,” Darcy said.

“I’ve been seeing
someone,” Tom replied. “In fact, it’s pretty serious.”

“You never said a
word.” Darcy scooted forward to the edge of her seat, curling her toes over the
stool’s bottom rung. She knew the delight she felt in her eyes didn’t hold a
candle to the fervor in Tom’s. “Who is this woman who has captured your heart?”
she asked in the most romantic Elizabethan tone she could muster with a
southern accent.

“Her name is
Allison Moyer.”

“The librarian?”

Tom’s eyes
widened. “You’ve met her today?”

“No. Dylan
mentioned her name when I asked if he ever had a showing for his work. He said
Allison displayed a few in the library.” She propped her elbows on the counter
and settled her chin on her them. “So tell me all about her. How did you meet?
What is she like? I want to know everything. How serious is this relationship?”

“Very serious.
That’s one of the reasons I wanted you come visit over the holiday— besides
getting you away from your troubles and wanting you to meet Dylan, of course.”
He poured her tea and slid the steaming brew across the granite countertop. “I
want to ask Allison to marry me on Christmas Day.

Darcy trapped her
hands around the cup. “Oh my, that’s serious. Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been
surer about anything in my whole life. Will you go shopping with me tonight and
help me decide on a ring? You have such great taste.”

“I’d be happy to.”
Happiness swelled inside of Darcy and she dashed around the counter to hug her
friend. Tom had traveled all over the world. He studied in Italy, France and
Germany during his early twenties. Now, at thirty, he found someone to love,
here in this small village, on top of this huge mountain. Maybe fate did exist.

The next morning,
while standing in the guest bathroom located at the front of the house, Darcy
heard Dylan’s truck entering Tom’s driveway. Her heart leaped and she quickly
applied another coat of lip gross and fluffed her hair to make her waves seem
fuller. Then she raced through the bedroom, grabbing the new sage-colored
parka, lavender scarf and gloves she’d bought last night while shopping with
Tom, and snatched up her new boots.

She tip-toed down
the stairs as not to wake Tom. Upon returning home from their shopping spree,
he’d learned there was an equipment problem at the Grist Mill and had to check
on things. She’d heard him come in around two a.m. The walls of the house were
thin, so she had lain in bed and listened to the shower running before falling
back to sleep around two-thirty. He would wake soon, but she didn’t want her
first date with Dylan to start off with Tom grinning over them.

Well, it really
wasn’t a date, she mused while slipping into her boots. She was just going to
help out a friend of a friend.

She opened the
front door.

Dylan’s knuckles
were poised to knock.

“Good morning.”
The sight of him sent her heart thumping madly against her rib cage and a smile
bloomed on her lips.

“Hi.” His gaze
drifted down to her feet and then snapped up to meet her eyes. “Nice boots.”

She maneuvered her
right foot with her toe to the floor, showing off the oversized faux bearskin
boots that were guaranteed by the manufacturer and the sales clerk to keep her
toes warm even in sub-zero temperatures. “Thanks. Tom and I went shopping last
night somewhere off the mountain. I have no clue where. East or west. All I
know is we drove downhill on this winding road for nearly thirty minutes.” Why
she was being so chatty was beyond her, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
Dylan just stood there, smiling at her and looking too delicious for this early
morning hour. She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I’m glad Tom went with
me and I didn’t drive myself. Coming back, the road we took was really dark.
There aren’t a whole lot of road signs on this mountain either, except for
moose crossings emblems and directional arrows to the ski lodge. Have you ever
seen a moose? Of course you have. You live in Black Moose. You had to. I’d love
to see one. Oh, I bought a new coat too.” She unfolded and held up the
down-feathered coat up for him to see.

“That will
certainly keep you warmer than your leather coat.”

Amber flecks
brightened his rich mocha eyes and caught the morning light, reflecting her
happiness back at her. Her fingers curled into the soft material as she fought
the desire to throw her arms around the mountain man’s neck and kiss him
good—like he’d kissed her yesterday.

“You better put it
on,” he said, breaking her thoughts. “It’s cold out here.” He pushed his gloved
hands into his coat pockets.

Until that very
second, she hadn’t felt the low temperature. Heat flared to her cheeks. “I’m
sorry,” she said and hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “Did you want to come
in? Tom’s still sleeping. I think he had a problem at the restaurant. He didn’t
return until really late.”

“No.” He raised a
hand, waving her off. “I don’t want to wake him. Are you ready?”

“Sure. Just let me
grab my purse and note pad.” She turned, whipping into her coat, and flung her
scarf around her neck. Two seconds later, she stepped outside into the frigid
morning air and allowed Dylan to pull the door closed behind her.

“Note pad?” He
looked down at quizzically.

She draped her
purse strap over her shoulder and stuffed the notebook into it. She wouldn’t
tell him she spent at least an hour viewing the Home Channel online for holiday
decorating ideas. “Yeah, I jotted down some thoughts on how we might use the
things you bought yesterday. Of course, whether they’ll work will depend on
your brother and sister-in-law’s house. Are you sure they’re not going to mind
me helping you?”

“No. I think
they’ll be grateful.”

Feeling a little
more at ease, Darcy relaxed her shoulders.

The sun glistened
off the snow. She dug her sunglasses out from her purse and slipped them on.

When Dylan placed
his hand on the small of her back as she rounded the front bumper of the SUV, a
slow burn jumped to life in her core. Their gloved hands met reaching for the
door handle. “Sorry.” She glanced over her shoulder at him, and meeting his
gaze, felt a flurry in her stomach.

“Here, let me get
it for you.” His leaned forward, bringing his body heat closer. Lust washed
through her and caused her to shiver.

“Cold. I’ll crank
the heater up,” he said, closing the door.

“This is nuts,”
Darcy mumbled under breath as she watched Dylan cross in front of the truck.
She shouldn’t feel this attracted to the guy. Doing something about it would be
a huge mistake.

Once they were
settled into the truck, he started the engine and backed out onto the lane.
Shifting it into gear, he flashed an uneasy smile in her direction and she
wondered if he was having second thoughts about spending the day together,
alone. A few moments later, some hundred yards away beyond the Grist Mill, he
braked and the truck rolled to a stop.

The truck engine’s
purr played background to the soft rock song coming from the radio.

She glanced around
the seat and out the back window at the road behind them. There wasn’t car in
sight but from what she’d seen while staying at Tom’s the road was traveled.
“Don’t you think we should get off the road?” she asked, even though snow was
plowed high alongside of them, leaving only a couple feet of shoulder. “We’re
like ducks in a washtub sitting here.”

Dylan gripped the
steering wheel and stared straight ahead.

There was
definitely something on his mind and she beginning to feel a little
uncomfortable. “Is something wrong?”

“They’ll go around
us.” He slammed the gearshift into park and turned to her. The part of his brow
that his bangs didn’t cover was pulled tight. “I need to say something that has
been working on me all night. Kissing you yesterday... I shouldn’t have done
that.”

There was no doubt
in her mind the kiss had been unbelievable awesome, but what if Dylan didn’t
agree? Maybe the attraction he felt for her had faded with the kiss. She hadn’t
had much practice lately. What if he was having second thoughts about spending
the day with her because he was no longer feeling it? He did just open the door
and wait for her to climb inside instead of seizing the moment and kiss her
again. She whipped off her sunglasses. “Didn’t you like kissing me?”

“Oh, yeah.” His
gaze lowered to her lips and his fingers curled on his lap, letting her know he
was holding his desires in check. His eyes snapped up. “And that’s the problem.
I really like you.”

She smiled,
feeling happiness skipping along her nerves. “I like you too.”

“I know. And that
adds to the problem.”

Her own brow
knitted together. “Dylan, I’m getting confused here. You don’t want me to like
you?”

“No. Yes. I mean
there is some powerful pull between us. I think you feel it and I know damn
well I feel it. The problem is…” He disconnected his seat belt and shifted on
his seat to face her. “I’m not a one-night kind of a guy. Sounds corny, I know,
but I’m not. Maybe a few years ago I was, but not now. In a year, I’ll turn
thirty. Lately, I’ve been thinking about my future. I’d really like to settle
down with someone, like Tom has with Allison.”

“Whoa.” She held
up gloved hand holding her sunglasses. “I’m not looking to settle down with
anyone right now. Especially on top of this frozen peak. I’d go bonkers living
here. This parka is nice, but I’d rather toss on a sweater. Besides, I have my
business. I’ve worked too hard too—”

He grabbed her
free hand, stopping her rant. “I’m not asking you to marry me.”

Her eyes widened.
“You’re not?”

“No.”

It was silly she’d
thought he was asking her to marry him, after all, they’d known the other
existed barely thirty-six hours. But she’d heard of love stories where two
people met and in under twenty-four hours were married. And they lived long,
happy lives together. She leaned back against the seat and her coat’s material
swooshed as she gathered her arms over her chest. “Then what is going on?”