Stacey Joy Netzel Boxed Set (13 page)

Dave frowned, looking a little surprised.
“Did she say something?”

“Not directly.”

“That’s a long time to hold a grudge. You
sure you want to even go there?”

I watched Summer across the room. Lines
creased her forehead as she texted on her phone in what looked to
be a heated discussion.

“Yeah. I want to go there.” I needed to go
there.

“Good luck with that.”

Dave shook his head, I gave him a shrug.
Sticking my hands in my pockets, I moseyed across the floor toward
Summer. She was so engrossed in her phone, I walked right up behind
her and propped my chin on her shoulder.

“Why the frown face?”

She jumped and fumbled her phone. My quick
reflexes nabbed it before it hit the floor. As I handed it back, I
couldn’t help but flip it over in my hand and glance at the lit
screen.

Stay away from Josh Nelsen!

I did my best to keep any
reaction from my expression.
That’s what
you get for looking, dumbass.
Then I
realized Jenna was warning her away from me. Meaning Summer had
been arguing for the opposite? I felt a smile tug at my mouth as
Summer took the phone, her gaze searching mine before she gave a
slight smile back.

“Jenna and Doug snuck home for…well, I’m
sure you can guess…but I never got a chance to tell them I no
longer have a car tonight.”

Yes, I could guess what—

The rest of her words registered and my
smile slipped away. “Ah. You have no ride home.”

She avoided my gaze, but I
knew we were both thinking the same thing.
No ride home
. Talk about déjà
vu.

“Not only that,” she continued with a
grimace, “but I’m supposed to stay there tonight. Now I feel like
I’m intruding.”

Before I could reply, her phone dinged a new
message. She glanced down, but asked me, “Is the Silver Falls Motel
still operating these days?”

My turn to make a face. “Better to pretend
it’s not.”

“Darn it,” she muttered.

And there it was, my second chance, staring
me right in the face. I took a deep breath and prepared to face the
music. “Considering I more than owe you one, I’m happy to offer a
ride back to my place and the use of one of my guest rooms.”

Not quite the apology I’d planned, but
possibly better. And she didn’t say no right away. In fact, I swear
I saw her gaze drop to my mouth. Made me think of kissing her.

Seconds ticked by.

Ding
.

We both looked down at her phone. She
frowned and started texting like mad. I shifted, unsure what to
say. Ask again? Don’t push?

All of a sudden she flipped the phone shut
and gave me a quick smile. “That would be great. Thanks.”

Her phone dinged. She ignored it.

The implied apology was turning out so much
better than I’d expected. Slipping my hands back into my pockets, I
hunched my shoulders, looked around the bar and asked, “How long do
you want to stay?”

She shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

Her phone chimed yet again. Before Jenna
could say something else to change Summer’s mind, I said,
“Actually, I’m a little tired. I was up early and—”

“Me, too,” she interrupted. “And after the
flight, and the drive up from Milwaukee in the snow…”

“And the ditch,” I added.

“Exactly. I’m definitely looking forward to
your bed.”

I raised my eyebrows. Had she just said what
I thought I heard? Or was my imagination projecting my
thoughts?

She laughed. “I mean, your
guest bed—not
your
bed.”

Okay, so I wasn’t going crazy. I smiled as
her cheeks flushed bright red. A glimpse of Summer from high
school, with a nice, modern twist.

I stepped back with a jerk of my head toward
the bar. “Wanna say goodbye to anyone?”

She shook her head. “I’ll see them tomorrow
afternoon for bowling.”

Without really thinking about it, I rested
my hand on the small of her back as we walked toward the door. Her
body heat transferred through the material of her dress to my
fingers. I quickly removed my hand, flexing my fingers as I
collected our coats. When I rejoined her at the door, she sighed
and slid her phone into her purse. The look on her face made me
wonder if Jenna had succeeded in changing her mind.

“Everything okay?”

Her quick nod and smile erased my
hesitation. I held her coat so she could slide her arms into the
sleeves, and then I rested my hands on her shoulders. In one
breath, I was hit by the sudden urge to put my arms around her and
pull her back against me…just a moment to hold her close, feel the
heat of her body against mine.

I resisted. I didn’t want her to think that
was the only reason I’d asked her to stay at my place. Sure, as a
guy, the thought was there in the back of my mind—maybe hers, too,
it seemed—but I truly wanted to do something to make up for what
I’d done in the past.

Besides, we lived states apart. Over a
thousand miles. It’s not like there was any future for us other
than the next reunion in five or ten years. Best to keep things as
friends, since I was pretty confident tonight had re-established
that connection.

I held open the door and tried to stand
aside, but she pushed me through first. I thought she was being
independent, until snow hit my face and I realized she was walking
in my boot prints to avoid the couple more inches of snow that’d
fallen since the plow had cleared the parking lot.

“This snow is ridiculous,”
she complained when we reached the truck. “Didn’t Wisconsin get the
memo that it’s
May
?”

“Apparently not.” I held open the passenger
side door and stood aside to help her up. “Sorry. I should’ve
picked you up at the door.”

“It’s okay, I’m fine.”

A gust of wind rocked the open door.
Summer’s foot slipped on the running board, throwing her off
balance. I caught her as she fell back against my chest, and I
heard a hint of embarrassment in her laughter.

“I’ll have another drink, please.”

My own chuckle came out husky, because I
really liked having her in my arms. “All that soda really went to
your head didn’t it? Lightweight.”

A gentle push boosted her up into the
passenger seat and before I gave into the temptation to let my hand
linger on the firm curve of her butt, I handed over the keys for
her to start the truck in exchange for the ice scraper to clear the
windows. Back in the truck, I noticed her huddled in her jacket and
reached to turn on the heat full blast. She gave me a grateful
smile and shifted her bare toes directly under the blower.

I took a quick detour to the auto shop for
her suitcase in the rental car, and then we headed back to my
house.

“Tonight was fun,” she said. “Sounds like a
number of people stayed in the area. Do you all get together a
lot?”

“I see Jenna once in awhile, and a couple
others, but mostly keep in touch with Dave and Randy. Everyone’s
busy with their own lives. You know, jobs, marriage, kids.”

I couldn’t help a small catch in my voice
with the word kids, but thankfully Summer didn’t seem to
notice.

“Yeah, sounds about right,” she agreed. “Do
you keep up with anyone on Facebook?”

I shook my head. “Couldn’t get the hang of
social media. Never knew what to say because no one cares if I’m
having chicken or fish for dinner, so I quit even trying. Besides,
who can keep up with Heather?”

“I know how you feel. Plus, I won’t do that
stuff on my phone, and since I’m on the computer all day for my
job, I’d rather spend my free time outside.”

“And what does Summer Clark like to do
outside?”

“Garden, hike, swim. My dog, Jenga, loves
the water, so we go to the beach a lot.”

Queue mental picture of
Summer in a bikini.
Oh,
yeah
.

Shift focus. “Lucky dog,” I said. “What kind
do you have?”

“She’s a mutt from the pound. The vet’s not
even sure what’s all in her.”

Just like that, a lump formed in my throat
as memories of my dog greeting me at the door flooded back. “Those
are the best dogs.”

She glanced over. “Speaking from
experience?”

“I had to put mine down last fall.”

“I’m sorry, Josh.”

“It’s okay, Deek was older. He loved hiking
and the water, too.”

“Where do you hike around here?” she asked.
“I never did much outside stuff when we lived in Wisconsin.”

The emotions triggered by talking about Deek
were so unexpected, I was grateful for the change of subject.
“There are some trails up by Dave’s Falls in Amberg.”

I told her about a few more places in the
Crivitz and Wausaukee areas, and by that time we were back at my
house. It was almost eleven, but I didn’t want the evening to
end—even thought I’d told her I was tired. Her company reenergized
me as much as the fresh air on the drive home.

I carried her bag inside and helped her out
of her coat. She leaned against the kitchen counter and bent to
remove those couple of straps that somehow made up a pair of shoes.
Don’t get me wrong, they were sexy as all hell, but I’d bet her
toes were still frozen.

Taking advantage of the moment, I asked,
“Would you like some coffee or hot chocolate to warm up, or would
you rather just go to bed?”

The moment the words were out, a picture of
my large bed flashed in my mind. With Summer’s dark hair spread out
across my pillow. She straightened, her shoes dangling from two
fingers. The color in her cheeks suggested her thoughts paralleled
mine and sent blood pumping through my veins. Common sense reminded
my ego that blood rushed to a person’s head when they were bent
over.

“Hot chocolate sounds good, but I’d like to
change into something more comfortable first.”

Common sense had no effect
on my pulse or my libido. Especially when more fantasy pictures
flipped through my mind as I pictured her in items to fit
my
definition of more
comfortable.

I managed a casual, “Sure.”

She followed me across the kitchen and
living room to the guest bedroom. I didn’t hear her bare feet on
the carpet. Didn’t need to. I felt her presence with every step she
took. I flipped on the light as I crossed to the bed to set her bag
on the comforter. She came to stand next to me, but the moment I
looked down into those green-flecked hazel eyes, I beat a hasty
retreat back to the hall or resisting pure temptation would be
impossible.

“Bathroom’s across the hall here—holler if
you need anything.”

“Thanks.”

I took a moment after clicking the door
shut. Couple deep breaths with my hands clenched at my sides. In
the heat of the moment, when I was close to her, distance didn’t
matter. Reminding myself she lived in Florida and would be gone in
two days didn’t lessen my desire to kiss her—and a hell of a lot
more.

I returned to the kitchen and busied myself
getting stuff out for our nightcap. Milk, chocolate syrup, pan,
wooden spoon, mugs. My mother had always made real hot chocolate,
and I’d found out the powdered stuff wasn’t worth the sacrifice in
taste. Sweet and creamy and smooth as silk. Kinda like
Summer’s—

No. Don’t go
there
.

I forced myself to look at Zach’s pictures,
front and center on the stainless steel fridge. I recognized the
stick figures on the first one as me and him—his dad had blond
hair, and this guy had a black Afro twice the size of his head.
That’d be me. I grinned as I moved back to the stove, picturing his
little tongue poking from the side of his mouth as he concentrated
on keeping the crayons on the paper.

A few minutes later, from the corner of my
eye I saw Summer cross the living room. Stirring the milk and
chocolate in the pan so it wouldn’t scorch, I swiveled and swept my
gaze over her baggy gray sweatshirt and those long legs covered in
black exercise pants. Disappointment turned me back to the stove.
So much for my fantasy of more comfortable.

But I got it. She wasn’t interested in
impressing me. That was good actually—saved me from making an ass
of myself. Because without a doubt, I was headed in that
direction.

Summer climbed up onto one of the stools by
my island counter. “Who’d have thought I’d need wool socks for this
trip?”

I leaned one hip against the stove and
looked over in time to see her shoulders shake from an involuntary
shiver. “Want a pair of mine?”

“Would you mind?”

“Of course not. I’ll get them as soon as
this is done.”

Next thing I knew, she was at my side, her
fingers brushing mine as she took the spoon from my hand.

Awareness tingled across my skin, yet I
couldn’t help but laugh. “Or I could get them now.”

“Thanks.”

Close up, I saw she’d washed her face. Baggy
clothes and no makeup—definitely got the message. Until I caught a
whiff of minty freshness and realized she’d brushed her teeth.
Wouldn’t she have waited until after we had the hot chocolate?

Before I went crazy over-analyzing and
reading into every stupid little thing, I went to get the socks. We
met in the living room on my way back, and she carried a steaming
mug in each hand. I tossed the socks onto the couch and continued
into the kitchen for the bag of mini-marshmallows in my pantry.

She was pulling on the second sock when I
plopped down on the couch and held up the bag. “Can’t forget
these.”

“Definitely not.”

I smiled at the sight of her small feet
engulfed in my big, black wool socks. She grinned back and wiggled
her toes.

“Sexy, hey?”

I let my gaze wander over her clean face and
the messy ponytail she’d pulled her hair into. Funny, but now that
I thought about it, if going all natural was intended to turn me
off, it’d failed. If anything, Summer exposed and vulnerable
looking was more appealing than ever. What would she say to
that?