Red Hot Christmas (4 page)

When he walked by the large windows to Patty's, he noticed the woman's head turn and her eyes followed him to the side stairs that lead up to the apartment. He smiled and waved as he walked by. No doubt she'd be calling his gran to confirm that he had made it there with the whole pan intact.

He stood on the small landing and was about to knock when the door flew open. If he hadn't ducked in time, he would have gotten a large spider in the face.

“Oh!” Amber squealed and almost fell flat on her face. He reached out, and making sure not to drop the tray of brownies, steadied her by grabbing her waist. “My goodness. I almost threw that thing in your face.”

He chuckled. “I know, I was there.” He looked down at the small dust pan she held in her hand. It was squashed between them. The brownie pan was off to the side, sitting on his hip.

“Do you always throw spiders at guests who bring you gifts?”

“I didn't see you.” She looked up into his eyes, not moving.

“Well, that's because you need to look out your door before you toss helpless bugs to their deaths.”

“Helpless? That thing was not helpless. Besides, can't they make little parachutes and fly? I think I read that someplace.” Her eyebrows squashed together and her bottom lip pouted out in concentration. “Or shoot webs and swing off them like Spiderman?”

He chuckled and shook his head. She smiled up at him. They stood there for a minute like that, until his stomach growled, reminding him why he was there.

“My gran made you some of her brownies to welcome you to town.”

“Oh! How wonderful.” She didn't move. He smiled even more.

“Can I come in? I haven't eaten anything, and well, I was hoping to mooch some of these off you.”

She laughed, “Sure.” She pulled out of his arm easily and walked back in the door, setting the dust pan down by a broom and mop. He noticed furniture and boxes were piled around the room in neat stacks.

“The moving guys made it okay?”

“Mmmhmm.” Her back was to him as she pulled a few paper plates from her cupboards, which were already neatly and completely stocked. Yup, he’d pegged it, she was a tidy one. Probably had everything organized by color in her closet and drawers. The image, of course, made him think of what kind of silky things would be in those drawers. He tilted his head and looked at her backside, imagining.

She was wearing tight little gray legging things. He wasn't sure the name or what women called them, just that they were tight and that he always enjoyed seeing women wear them. Her brown shirt was too long to spot a panty line, but he imagined she wore silk. Tidy women usually like everything nice and ... tidy. She probably had a matching bra and panty set. He liked it when a woman's fun clothes matched. Especially if they were red and lacy...

“Hello?” Her voice broke into his thoughts and he realized she was standing right in front of him holding out a large brownie on the plate.

“Oh.” He cleared his throat and took the plate. “Sorry, I was up late and this is my breakfast.” He motioned to the brownies.

She looked shocked. “It's almost two o'clock in the afternoon. And you can't have brownies for breakfast.”

He took a big bite and smiled, then licked his lips, and said. “I just did.”

Her nose crinkled and she had a look like she'd smelled something sour. He almost laughed. “Besides, my gran told me I could if it was okay with you.” He took another bite and closed his eyes with the rich goodness.

A
mber watched Luke with amusement. “How come all grown men act like children around brownies?” She took her plate and fork and took a bite. They were very delicious brownies and were still warm and gooey inside.

“You can't eat my gran's brownies with a fork.” He walked over to her, picked up the brownie with his fingers, and took another bite. Then he looked at her and waited. Not wanting to offend him, she picked the brownie up and bit into it. He was right, somehow it tasted better.

“So, how did it go yesterday at the restaurant?” He smiled and she felt a little flutter in her stomach that had nothing to do with the chocolate goodness.

“How did you know I stopped by the Golden Oar?” She took another bite, then walked over to grab a few napkins from the napkin holder on her new countertop.

“It just goes to figure. You're a neat and tidy person. I could tell right away. I figured the concern and dedication you have towards your job would pull you down there.”

She nodded, “Why do you think I'm a neat and tidy person?”

He laughed, “Lady, look around. The moving company was here less than two hours ago, I'd wager, and already this place is neater then most lived-in homes.”

She did look around. To her this was a mess. Boxes lined the walkway, some still packed with items she hadn't had time to put away yet. Her furniture was temporary placed, since she'd have to wait until all the boxes were gone before making the final decision on where she wanted them placed. She hadn't even begun to unpack in her bedroom or office yet.

“I started in here.”

He chuckled. “Don't look offended. It was meant to be a compliment. Take me for example. I'm a neat freak with the exterior of a slob. No matter what I do, I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. But, everything I have is well cared for, meticulously so.”

“Like your bike?”

He thought about it. “Yes, I suppose so. But it took me five minutes to find my keys before I could leave the house.”

She laughed, then pointed to her key bowl. “That's why I have one of those. I once looked for my keys for almost two hours, only to find them in the freezer.”

He smiled and finished up his brownie. “Well,” he said, looking around, “what can I do to help you unpack?”

She stopped, the next bite of her brownie in mid-air, as she looked at him. He began rolling up the sleeves on his dress shirt.

“I don't need any help.” She set her brownie down.

“Listen, if you kick me out of here too soon, those women downstairs will call my gran. And you don't want to know the yelling I'll get for not helping a lady move in when I've been asked to bring a tray of brownies over here. We were a package deal, brownies and physical labor.”

She looked around for something mundane that he could do. “Um, I suppose you can break down the boxes and put them out in the closet on the back porch area.”

“Good.” He rubbed his hands together and slid a small pocket knife from his back pocket.

“Did you dress up so you could come down here and help me unpack?”

“Yup, gran's idea. She'll use any excuse to get me out of jeans and a t-shirt.” He turned and got to work breaking down the empty boxes.

Amber watched his back and wondered what it would take for her to get him out of all of his clothes. She stood there for a minute remembering what he looked like without his shirt on. Then she remembered he'd said he'd been up all night. Probably playing video games like Chris had. Her mind sharpened, and she realized that he was a grown man living with his grandmother. He'd probably been kicked out of his parents’ place. He'd also been racing a BMX bike that was too small for him down the middle of Main Street. Turning, she mentally crossed him out of her mind. There was no way she was willing to try another man-child relationship, not at this point in her life. Walking into her bedroom, she got to work emptying the boxes and organizing her closet.

The next few days were filled with more unpacking and exploring the small town of Pride. Not that there was much to explore, but they did have a nice library and a couple shops along Main.

She enjoyed walking along the piers, watching the boats come and go. She’d talked to more people in the last two days than she had the entire time she'd lived in downtown Portland. People stopped her as she walked and asked her questions, talking about the town and everything and everyone in it.

It seemed to her that everyone mentioned Luke during their conversations, almost like the whole town was trying to set her up with him. Was he that big of a loser that he needed the whole town to help him get a date? She didn't think so; he’d made a good first impression on her. But after the seventh person brought up his name, she began wondering and decided the best course of action was no action. She was here to stay. It wasn't as if she had to make any decisions. He hadn't even asked her out. So, armed with the new plan of just being friends until he proved his worth, she smiled and was courteous to everyone who spoke to her.

Several people stopped by and delivered food. Most of the well-wishers stayed and chatted about the town and the people in it. She heard all about how the restaurant had been renovated, and about how the Jordan siblings had lost their father and Iian had lost his hearing, something she had read on the internet in an old news article. People couldn't stop talking about Lacey's husband, Aaron. He was the doctor in town since his grandfather's retirement a few years back.

She stopped by the restaurant often and had even taken a notepad once to write down some things she wanted to find out. She still hadn't met Lacey. It seemed every time Amber was there, Lacey had just left at Iian's request.

It wasn't until the night before she was supposed to start working that she finally met Lacey Stevens. Amber had walked into the grocery store to get some more eggs for her morning omelet when a very small, but very pregnant woman walked in pushing a cart with a little dark-haired girl in the seat. The whole store seemed to hush when the woman entered. The shoppers went around making their purchases without all the chatter Amber had witnessed several times before.

Amber decided to step forward and say something, but Lacey had already spotted her and had headed in her direction.

“Amber?” Amber noticed that the little girl Lacey was pushing squealed happily when they approached.

Amber nodded her head. “You must be Lacey Stevens.”

“Yes, and this little one is my daughter,
Lillian.” The little girl waved her hands and said, “I'm three,” over and over again. “Yes, Lilly is three,” Lacey said laughing.

“I've been wondering when I'd run into you. It seems every time I stop by the restaurant, you've just left.”

“Yes, well, you can thank my brother and husband for that. They keep ganging up on me. I've heard wonderful things about you. I'm sorry I wasn't able to interview you and greet you myself. My brother decided to take the reins on all this since I've got a little one who likes to interrupt phone conversations.”

“That's alright. Iian and some of the staff have shown me around. I'm feeling pretty confident about my first day tomorrow.”

“Good, if there is anything—”

“I'm two,” Lilly broke in holding up five chubby fingers. They both laughed.

It had been almost a week since he'd seen
Amber around. It wasn't that he was ignoring her or trying to avoid her, it was that he had a big project going that demanded all his time and attention. The first night he was free, he got dressed up and took his favorite girl out for a fancy restaurant dinner.

“Gran, do you want a booth or a table?” he asked, walking next to his grandmother, holding onto her arm.

“Oh, let's see.” She glanced around. “A table would be nice. Maybe one over there.” She pointed to the section overlooking the water, right by the fireplace.

The hostess walked them to a cleared table and they sat down as his eyes scanned the dining area. Finally, after they ordered, he saw Amber come out of the back doors with a large tray in hand. She helped another waitress hand out the dinner plates for a large group. He noticed her movements were smooth, and her smile was always in place. She looked totally at ease doing the job. Once the table was served, she walked over to the hostess and talked with several people who had just come in. It took her almost five minutes to finally see and acknowledge him.

When she did, she walked over to their table, smile still in place.

“This must be your grandmother. I haven't gotten a chance to thank you personally for the wonderful brownies.” She
shook his gran's frail hand.

“Oh, well, aren't you a sweetie.” He watched his grandmother smile at him across the table. He wanted to roll his eyes at her, but he knew better. She had that sparkle in her eye that told him she was up to her matchmaking ways. His gran was part of the town group that had setup so many other young couples in town. At least they liked to think they’d had a hand in pairing them up. There was no way he was going to fall for her tricks. He knew them all.

“How's work going?” He smiled and decided a quick change of subject was in order.

“Well,” she said, looking around, “I can't wait for this training period to be over. I know it's standard to allow me to get familiar with everything, but what I really want to do is get my hands dirty and start making some improvements.” She smiled. “But you don't want to hear about my boring job. Oh, look, here's your food now. You two enjoy your meal. It was nice meeting you Mrs.
Crawford.”

With that she walked off smoothly as their food arrived. He smiled at her backside as he watched her hips sway.

“The last time someone looked at me like that... Well, let's just say it was a very long time ago. Now, get your eyes off that pretty girl and on your food and eat up.” His gran smiled across the table at him. He thought he saw a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Reaching across the table, he squeezed her hand lightly as he smiled at her. “What are you talking about? Men still look at you like that.”

She laughed and swatted his hand, then they started enjoying their dinner.

When he arrived home later, there was a slew of messages on his opened chat session. It seemed the new deadline for his current project was in two days. Now, instead of taking his time, he'd have to pull an all-nighter and cram for the next two days to get it all done. He loved his job and working for himself, but at times he wondered why he did it. Then he would sit down and start to create his worlds, and he would remember why he did what he did. Not only was he good at it, he really enjoyed it.