Sweet Montana Christmas (2 page)

“Could it be in short-term parking? We're almost at the end of the lot.”

“I wouldn't leave it there. I was gone for almost two weeks.” But she'd been running late for her outbound flight.
Crap.
If she'd done that, there was going to be a really big bill.

“And you're sure you left it here? I mean, you didn't have a boyfriend drop you off or something.”

Hah. If he knew her boyfriend, he'd know Reed would never inconvenience himself like that. What had his excuse been? Oh, yeah, drinking with his buddies.

“Quite sure my boyfriend didn't drop me off.”

His lips drooped a little, although she wasn't sure why.

And why was she staring so intently at his lips? She had a boyfriend, even if she was thinking about dumping him.

Lima beans. Ick.

“Well, let's take a look, just in case.”

“Okay.”

Maybe someone stole my car. That would be good. Insurance would cover it. Then I could get something else. Something with more zip. More class.

Something that didn't scream aging hippies.

They'd hit the second row when she spotted it. “That's it.”

Zach cleared his throat.

He had better not be smug. He was already too full of himself.

“Let's see if it starts,” he said.

A note was on the driver's seat.

Short and definitely not sweet. She was so over him.

“Someone borrowed it. That's why it's here.” Somehow it was important that Zach knew she wasn't a total ditz.

“Give your car keys out to everyone?” Zach hauled her luggage from the back of the patrol car and lugged it to her car.

“No. Just one person.” One soon-to-be-dead person.

“Someone who couldn't bother to let you know where he'd left the car?”

“Yeah.”

He shook his head, but whether he couldn't believe what Reed had done or that she had lent her keys to someone like him wasn't clear.

The headache that had been simmering since she'd gotten off the plane gripped her temples.

She couldn't do anything about the asshole cop, but it was definitely time to dump Reed. This car fiasco was one of a long line of incidents where he'd shown his total disregard for her feelings.

 “See if it starts,” Zach said, command in his voice.

The engine started smoothly. Her University of Montana classmates had instilled in her a habit of car maintenance the first winter she'd moved to the state.

So there.

She fished a business card from her purse and got out of the car, hoping her face reflected the triumph of a woman starting a car all by her little self in the Montana winter.

“Thanks for your help, officer. I owe you. My chocolate shop is opening in February”—at least she hoped it was—“Stop by, and I'll give you a sample.”

“Nice. My mother used to make chocolate.”

An odd tone in his voice made her look up at him. Several expressions crossed his face, like the rapidness of clouds chasing each other around the valley. She stared into his eyes, trying to decipher what the frowns and smiles meant.

“I shouldn't do this,” he said, “but it appears I'm going to.”

The realization of what he was going to do hit seconds before his lips landed on hers.

Oh ... yes. But no.

Zach liked ... what were they called? Those mushy beans. He was all wrong. His kiss was driving Sue Anne's ability to think right out of her head.

She should tell him to stop. He was a cop. Or kind of like one. He should know better. Especially in Missoula. “She needed to get … somewhere ... His kiss was driving her ability to think right out of her head.

Home. That's where she needed to go.” She should stop.

But there was no way she wanted to pull back from this.

Zach's lips were firm without being aggressive. His kiss was sweet because of its unexpected nature and dramatically different from any she'd ever received.

Several seconds passed before she disconnected.

“Uh,” she started. She had no follow-up.

“I'm sorry. That was totally unprofessional. I don't know what I was thinking. You aren't going to report me, are you?” The earnestness of his expression almost made him human.

“Report you for the best kiss I've had in years?” She giggled. “Not hardly.”

“Really? The best kiss? You've been hanging out with the wrong man.”

“You don't have to tell me that.” She gestured toward the car. “I think he's already proved that tonight.” She giggled again.

Giggling? Really?

Not good. She had a plan. A plan that didn't involve any kind of relationship for at least a year. She hadn't really been serious about Reed, so letting him go was going to be easy.

She needed to focus. The little store west of Higgins was the first step in making Sweets Montana a household name. There was no time for a man.

But that kiss...

She pressed the card into Zach's hand. “Stop by in February, and I'll be sure to give you more kisses—the candy kind.” She took a better look at the man standing in front of her.

He did fill out a uniform nicely.

She needed to get out of here.

Focus, Devereaux, focus.

“I have to wait all the way until February?” A smile threatened his lips, but it didn't quite make his eyes.

“That's when we'll officially open.”

“I'll be sure to be there. Be safe now.” He touched her cheek with his index finger, then slid into the patrol car and cruised away.

After staring after him for a minute, she started toward the exit, her emotions caught between euphoria and terror.

Why the hell had he kissed her? It was a great kiss, far better than she'd ever had with Reed.

But other than a need to dump her ex, what did it mean? The man was a total stranger. She didn't go around kissing people she didn't know.

What if she got to know him better? Could she get another kiss then?

Her headache increased its pounding.

Get a grip, Devereaux.

Time to push all complications with the male gender out of her life. There was time for that later. Forget the strange airport guy. Dump her boyfriend's ass.
After
she got the key to her car back.
And
the one to her apartment. What had she been thinking when she gave them to him?

She pulled onto the highway, the shortest route between the airport and the University District where she shared an apartment with her pug, Sugar, and her friends.

Luck was with her. A parking place was open only a block from the old brick building that contained their apartment. Shivering in the deepening chill, she hauled her wheeled suitcase and one of the shopping bags from the trunk and started down the snowy pathway. The rest could wait until she moved into her new place. Around her, Christmas lights and wreaths still decorated the houses. Missoulians were reluctant to let the holidays give way to the icy grip of three solid months of serious winter.

Although she tried to control the clunking of her suitcase wheels, the thunk echoed through the stairway as she climbed to the second floor, each thud increasing the throbbing in her head. Excited barking let her know Sugar was waiting for her.

The other tenants in the building would probably cheer her departure.

As soon as she opened the door, her pug jumped up and down, like a toy on a spring.

“Shh, Sugar, it's okay. Mommy's home.” She closed the door behind her and picked up the squirming animal, which immediately set about cleaning Sue Anne's face.

Pure loving in an eighteen-pound package. Sugar would be more than enough for the next six months.

“I'm glad you're here,” Julie, one of her roommates, said, coming into the living room from the small galley kitchen in the rear. The petite woman held two glasses of white wine in her hands. “That dog has been driving me nuts. Good trip?”

“Yes. I'm glad to get out of Seattle's constant rain, but it's good to see my grandmother.” She slipped off her coat and hung it on one of the brass coat hooks before grabbing a couple aspirin from a bottle she kept in her purse and downing them with wine. “The others still in California?”

“They'll be home Sunday.”

“Good, just in time to help me move.” The crisp chardonnay stimulated her taste buds, reminding her of the touch of Zach's lips on hers. What had possessed him to kiss her? And for her to respond?

No matter. They'd never see each other again. Just a fleeting moment between strangers.

“You look like you've already left,” Julie said as she settled back into the second-hand couch. “I've got sauce on for spaghetti. Figured you wouldn't want to go out for dinner after a long trip.”

“Thank you. That was sweet of you.” Maybe food would help the headache go away. Or maybe it was tension. “You're right. I don't want to go out, and I'm saving every penny I have for the business.”

“No regrets?”

“I sign the papers on Monday.” Sue Anne glanced at Julie. “How about you? You still up for my crazy business idea?” She was counting on her friend's sweet shop experience to make the opening smoother.

“Of course I am. We're going to make Sweets Montana a big success!” They high-fived each other.

The warmth from the wine and shared enthusiasm thawed the chill that had settled into her bones once she'd left the airport.

“Say, did you know Reed borrowed my car?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah.” Julie's cheeks pinkened.

Odd.
The pounding that had started to subside took a turn for the worse.

“Why did he call
you
? I had my cell phone. He knows the number.”

“Um. I ran into him at the Kettlehouse.” Julie's gaze shifted away.

“What were you doing at the Kettlehouse? I thought you didn't like beer.”

“I normally don't, but someone suggested I try theirs. It wasn't bad. I had a fun time.” Defensiveness underlay her voice.

“Someone?” Sue Anne asked.

“Well, Reed, actually. He mentioned it when he was here Tuesday asking when you'd be home.”

Sugar jumped on the couch and snuggled next to Sue Anne, as if the dog sensed her unease with the conversation. Why was Julie being so evasive, like she had something to hide? Why had Reed been there on Tuesday? She looked at her friend expectantly.

“He stopped by to drop off some brochure samples he said you'd asked him to make up.” Julie's gaze finally returned to hers.

A flash of concern increased her pulse. She'd told Reed she wasn't ready for brochures yet. Another example of his disregard of her feelings. But what was he doing with Julie?

Her distrust of her soon-to-be-ex boyfriend grew another notch.

“What did he say about my car?”

“He said he had the key and you wouldn't mind if he borrowed it. He told me he'd leave it in the same spot,” Julie replied.

“He didn't even leave it in the same lot!” She stood and strode to the kitchen to refill her wine glass. The man had to go.

“He made me look like a fool.” Sue Anne leaned against the kitchen doorjamb. “I had to get one of the security guys to help me find the car.” She'd think about the touch of Zach's lips on hers later.

When she was in bed.

Alone.

She forced her attention back to Julie.

“I'm sorry. If I'd thought he'd do that, I would have told you,” Julie said.

“
He
should have told me.”

“Uh-huh. Really, Sue Anne, I'm sorry.” Julie drooped like a stringless puppet.

Crap.
She didn't want to hurt her friend. Reed was an excellent manipulator. He'd gotten what he wanted from Julie, just like he had with Sue Anne.

Why had she put up with him so long?

Inertia. She had a bad habit of ignoring things she didn't want to face. But that was a habit she was going to break first thing in the morning.

“Don't worry about it,” she said. “Everything's fine. Really. Besides, that sauce smells fabulous. Let's eat.”

Julie smiled up at her, and the ache in Sue Anne's shoulders subsided. With everything she owned riding on her business, she needed everything okay between her and her best friend.

• • •

The temperature had dipped to the teens the night before, leaving a lasting bite to the air, but Sue Anne's body tingled with the heat of anticipation as she stood in front of the one-story structure, the key heavy in her hand. She'd signed the pile of financial papers with restless anticipation, eager to get on with the future.

She climbed onto the wooden porch. It would need staining come springtime, but it would be a darling place for a pair of wrought-iron tables and chairs. Maybe she could coax wisteria to climb the posts that held the overhang.

Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the door to the storefront, walked inside, flicked on the light, and peered into the corners.

Nothing scurried away from the brightness.

Good.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she scanned the room. The previous owners had left the glass-fronted display cases, and there were sets of shelves along both walls. Behind the cases, a counter provided space for wrapping goods and making change.

She'd need to get wireless in here, both for credit card transactions and for customers. Wi-Fi made them linger for another cup of hot chocolate or a selection of fudge to take home.

Her insides shivered with excitement. It was really hers.

Well, hers and the bank's. Her late father's trust fund had provided the down payment, but she'd taken out a loan to leave something for the inevitable costs of setting up a business.

She ran a finger across the top of one of the display cases.

First expense: Pay the cleaning crew she'd hired.