I grin at the idea my mother would intimidate anyone. She’s generally easygoing and sweet.
“Good for her.”
“Are you going to be okay, Mom?”
My nose stings as I try hard to answer in a straight voice.
“You bet I am, sweetie. I’ll be fine. You guys have fun and I call dibs on having you guys for Christmas next year.”
“Deal, Momma. Love you.”
“Love you too. So much.”
I’m still sitting there, my head back and my eyes closed, well after ending the call, when a knock on my window startles me.
“Hey.”
Gray smiles down at me when I open the door and get out.
“Hi.”
“I thought maybe you couldn’t decide whether to come in or not, so I thought I’d help you out with that.”
“Oh?”
He wraps an arm around the small of my back and lowers his mouth to mine. This kiss, although still sweet and reserved, has his tongue sliding along the seam of my lips, politely asking entry. When I open for him I get a hint of hunger, but nothing like the voracious appetite of our earlier kisses. Not even my nails digging into his biceps or my pleading moan can shake his careful control.
I almost growl when he lifts his head, leaving me frustrated. His eyes are dancing and a smile pulls at the corner of his mouth, as he grabs my hand and starts walking to the bar. He knows exactly what he does to me. Bastard.
The long bar is on the left when you walk in, on the right a handful of tables and chairs, and toward the back I see two pool tables. There are maybe ten or so people inside, some of them I recognize, including Bunker behind the bar.
“Hey, Robin. What can I get ya, darlin’?”
“White wine, please. Thanks, Bunk.”
Gray pulls out a stool for me and when I sit down I hear him whisper by my ear.
“Bunk? You know him?”
I bite off a smile as I turn to face him.
“I do.” I point at the pair of seniors racking balls on the pool table. “I also know Enzo and John, as well as a few of the others.” I put a hand on the arm he has braced on the bar and scan the deep creases of his face, softening my voice. “I know I’m new to you, but I’ve lived here almost as long as you’ve been away, Gray. I work at the town diner, and everyone’s been in there at some point in time these past years.”
The anger drains from his eyes and he hangs his head. I give his arm a squeeze.
“Fucked up already, didn’t I?”
I shake my head and am about to say no when Bunker is back with my wine.
“Thanks.”
At the sound of my voice, Gray straightens up and drapes his arm around my shoulder. Bunker looks from me to Gray, a smirk on his face.
“Ease up. Brought the woman wine, boss. Not like I propositioned her.” With a wink for me, he turns to a patron waiting to place an order at the other end of the bar. I look up at Gray.
“To answer your question: no, you haven’t fucked up. Yet,” I tease him. “I actually think I’m flattered you’re a little territorial, but if every time another man even comes in my vicinity you feel compelled to mark me like a vigilant dog does a fire hydrant, I’m afraid the shine will come off real fast.”
The corner of his mouth twitches and I see humor bleeding into his eyes.
“Did you just call yourself a fire hydrant?”
I take a sip of my wine and shrug.
“Only if you consider yourself a vigilant dog.”
Gray
I chuckle and pull out a stool before I make an even bigger idiot of myself.
“Fair enough.”
Leaning over the bar, I grab the bottle of water I left there.
“So what had you sitting outside in the parking lot? Were you having second thoughts?”
She shakes her head before glancing at me, a little smile playing on her lips.
“Paige called just as I pulled up. She’s leaving for Florida tomorrow. I thought they were flying, but she says they’re driving.”
“They? She going with friends?”
“Boyfriend. They’re spending Christmas with his parents.”
It’s not hard to recognize Robin at the very least has mixed feelings around that. It’s also becoming clear why she was happy to roam around the Christmas market with me, but didn’t want to buy anything.
“What are you going to do? For Christmas? Celebrating with your mother?”
She throws me a pained smile and shrugs her shoulders.
“Actually, Mom left yesterday for Costa Rica with her…boyfriend.” Sounds like it cost her to say that, but she quickly plasters a bright smile on her face. “Which is actually quite perfect since Kim always ends up working Christmas, and now she can spend it with her family for a change.”
“The diner’s open on Christmas?”
“Yeah. She started doing that five years ago for some of our regulars who’d otherwise be alone for the holidays. Jason comes in to cook with his wife, and Kim usually serves with a part-timer. We don’t open until noon, though, and close the kitchen at eight.”
“I’m sorry if I rubbed it in, taking you to that market the other day. I didn’t know.”
“Of course not, and you didn’t. I enjoyed it. A lot,” she adds putting her hand back on my arm.
I like it when she touches me. Maybe a little too much, given the current state of my jeans, which once again feel a little too tight. As much as I’ve told myself and promised her we’d go slow, my body is still not quite on board with that idea.
“Also,” she says, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’m sure you already have plans, but if not, feel free to pop in.”
“I don’t have plans,” I find myself admitting.
She looks at me like she expects me to run off again, but I don’t plan to. Don’t get me wrong, I hate she clearly misses her family being around
