Scrooge and the Single Girl Read online

  Stranger things had happened.

  Okay, okay. She could see the writing on the steamy window. Will Bravo was not going to suddenly realize she was the woman for him. He’d already found the woman for him. And she had died. He hadn’t really gotten over her, and he wasn’t looking for anyone to take her place.

  And that was fine. Jilly wasn’t looking for anything permanent either. Necessarily.

  Jilly sighed. “What was the question?”

  He had leaned in closer. He was looking at her mouth again. “I really want to kiss you.”

  She was looking at his mouth, too. Such a fine and tempting mouth it was. “I can’t believe you said that.”

  “It would be a mistake, huh?”

  “Probably.” Her voice came out sounding so husky. She was thinking, Probably, but do I care?

  And the answer? Less and less as each second ticked by.

  “We could call it my Christmas present.” He was whispering now. No need to speak louder. His mouth was just inches from hers, his breath warm on her lips, smelling of apples and chocolate and coffee.

  “You want a kiss from me for Christmas?”

  “I do. I want it a lot.”

  “And we are trying to build you some positive Christmas memories, now aren’t we?”

  “It’s in a good cause.”

  “Oh, yes. I think so.”

  He lifted a hand and oh-so-tenderly smoothed her hair, following the line of it along the side of her face and under, until his palm lay curved, warm and encompassing, against the back of her neck. He pulled her toward him, that crucial last inch or so.

  And at last, she felt his lips touch hers.

  Chapter Eleven

  It wasn’t like her dream. He didn’t burn her lips off.

  He melted them.

  Jilly sighed in pure pleasure, parting her lips slightly, just enough to tempt him to slip his tongue inside. He did.

  Oh, yes. Oh, yes, yes, yes…

  She slid her tongue along the bottom of his. He moaned. She liked that. She moaned right back and reached up a hand, clasping that hard, muscled shoulder of his, then caressing her way up, over the soft wool of that charcoal-gray sweater until she could slip her fingers into the silky hair at his nape.

  He moaned again. And he guided her down against the skinny little pillows at the head of the sofa bed. He kissed her mouth for a long time and she kissed him right back, their tongues sparring and sliding, occasionally pausing to share a smile, mouth-to-mouth, and then delving in again.

  Oh, it was lovely.

  When he finally opened those deep-blue eyes and looked down at her, she found herself thinking how really great it was to be alive. You never knew what might happen. Someone mean and awful could decide to make a little effort to be a decent human being and then, before you knew it, you might find yourself discovering he was the best kisser you’d ever met.

  “Merry Christmas, Will.”

  “Merry Christmas, Jilly. Thank you for my present.”

  “My pleasure.” And it had been. Her pleasure in the extreme.

  “I’d like to do a lot more than kiss you.”

  “I kind of picked that up. But you’re conflicted, right? I mean, my best friends, your brothers, all that. Not to mention your mother.”

  He gave her a crooked smile. “See what you’re doing to me? For a minute there, I actually forgot all about her and the trouble she can make.”

  She reached up and ran a finger along the fine, manly line of his nose. It was so nice. To touch him. To have him looking at her the way he’d been looking at her for most of the day. With admiration. With kindling desire. She was sorely tempted to explore this situation further, to get into it in delicious detail.

  And anyway, why keep denying it? They were past the denial stage. He wanted her. She wanted him. Oh, yes. She did. She really, really wanted him.

  But then again, she was like that. When Jilly really wanted something, good sense flew right out the window. It shamed her to admit it now, but she had really wanted Benny Simmerson. And look where that had gotten her.

  “I hate to be the voice of reason,” she whispered. “It’s so totally not me.”

  He looked gorgeously rueful. “You think we’d better sleep on it, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. I do. I think we’d better sleep on it alone.”

  Jilly had just climbed between the cool sheets of the bed upstairs when her phone started ringing. The bleating sound took her totally off-guard. After all, it hadn’t rung for over two days now.

  She grabbed it off the night table.

  “Merry Christmas, darlin’ girl.” Caitlin’s voice was husky and low and way too sexy for a woman who would be a grandma any day now. “We ought to put in a land line up there. I tried to call yesterday. And twice earlier today. I couldn’t get through.”

  “No kidding. I guess you tried Will’s phone, too?”

  “He doesn’t much like to hear from me this time of year. He doesn’t much like to hear from anybody. But I guess you’ve figured that out by now.”

  “Well, Caitlin. I can’t say about the phones. I’d imagine the storm knocked them out.”

  There was a tiny pause, then Caitlin asked sweetly, “Jilly honey, you mad at me?”

  “Now, why would I be mad at you?”

  “Oh, come on. You’re mad. You are. But look at it this way, I never lied to you, now did I?”

  “Yes, you did.”

  “You didn’t ask. I didn’t tell. That’s not a lie.”

  “Have you ever considered running for public office?”

  “With my past? Are you crazy?”

  “Caitlin, I’d really like to know, was Celia in on this with you?”

  “She was not. You know Celia. Not a tricky bone in her whole body. It was just one of those things.”

  “Just one of what things?”

  “Things that happen. Things where everything works out all by itself. You needed a house in the mountains and you called Celia. She thought of my ma’s house and said you ought to call me about it.”

  “And when I did call you, you lied.”

  “Sweetie. Face it. If I’d told you he was up there, would you be there now?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Well, okay then. What else is there to say?”

  “A lot. You’ve got to start reining yourself in a little, Caitlin, you’ve got to stop treating people as if they’re pawns in some big chess game you’re playing.”

  “Havin’ a good time?”

  “Well, I wasn’t at first.”

  “But you are now, right?”

  “Caitlin, I know that whatever I say to you is likely to come back to haunt me at a later date. So I think I’ll just keep my mouth shut.”

  “Now, Jilly. Is that any way to be?”

  “Are you at Jane’s?”

  “I got back to the Highgrade about twenty minutes ago. My newest daughter-in-law can cook. What a meal. I won’t have to eat for a week, at least. Why?”

  “Maybe I’d like to say Merry Christmas to my friends. Maybe I’m concerned that they’ve been worried about me. For all they know I’ve been stuck alone in an old house way up in the mountains in a blizzard, with the phones on the blink. Maybe they’d like to hear that I’m all right.”

  “Well, yeah, they were a little worried. But they put their heads together and figured out pretty quick that you weren’t alone up there. And then, over dinner tonight, they got on me until I confessed that I sent you to Ma’s house without mentioning that Will was going to be there, too.”

  Missy jumped up on the end of the bed. She was looking only slightly sulky to be locked away from Will for another whole night.

  “Jilly, you still there?”

  “Barely.”

  “I thought for a minute you’d hung up on me.”

  “I have to admit, I’m tempted. So you told my friends how you tricked me.”

  “Tricked you? I never used that word.”

  “
I’d better call them.”

  “Whatever you think.”

  “Maybe you ought to call Will.”

  “And have him shout at me on Christmas? I’ll pass.”

  Jilly thought of the kiss they’d shared not too long before and smiled to herself. If Caitlin did call him, she might be surprised at how well he was taking being snowed in with the woman he had claimed to despise. Not that Jilly would even hint at such a thing. It would only encourage Caitlin to keep on with her meddling.

  Caitlin was still talking. “In years to come, you’ll thank me. And look at it this way, all I did was give you an opportunity. And then along comes that big storm. Now, nobody could call that my fault. So in the end, what you two do with bein’ stuck there together is completely up to you.”

  “You played me, Caitlin. You know that you did. All that stuff about how primitive it was going to be, on my own here in this isolated house, all the tips on how to start the stove, how to work the generator in case the power went out.”

  Caitlin laughed that husky, pure-sex laugh of hers. “Had you goin’ there, didn’t I?”

  “Did anyone ever tell you that you are absolutely shameless?”

  Caitlin sighed. “Well, sure. All the time.”

  “I have to go. I need to call my friends and let them know I’m all right.”

  “Jilly?”

  “What now?”

  “If you run into my ma’s ghost, you be sure to tell her hi for me.”

  Jilly could hear the laughter in Caitlin’s voice, but a cold shiver skittered up her spine anyway. “Very funny. Good night.” She hung up before Caitlin could say another word and immediately dialed Jane.

  Her friend answered on the second ring. “Jilly. Thank God you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine. It’s been…an adventure. The phones have been out.”

  “I know. I called and called.”

  “Well, they’re working now. I didn’t even realize they were back on until I got a call from Caitlin and—”

  Jane cut her off. “Hold on, okay?” She spoke to someone on her end. Jilly recognized the other voice. Jane came back on the line, “Now, where were we?”

  “Is that Celia?”

  “It is. She and Aaron are staying the night. She wants to talk to you.”

  “You sound so serious. Honestly, I’m perfectly safe.”

  “We’re just so relieved to hear from you—and you’d better call your mother. She’s about to send out a posse.”

  “I will, I will.”

  “You said Caitlin called you….”

  “That’s right, a few minutes ago.”

  “We had it out with her at dinner tonight. We told her she had to stop manipulating people. You know how I adore her, but sometimes I think she needs a good spanking. Ceil’s mortified, since she was the one who suggested you call Caitlin in the first place. She’s sure you’re going to think—”

  “Put her on.”

  “I will. Jilly?”

  “What?”

  “You’re sure you’re all right?”

  “Oh, Janey. You know me. Nothing gets me down for long.”

  “And Will?”

  “He’s fine, too.”

  “You’re getting along?”

  “Yes. I’ll tell you all about it later. Maybe.”

  Jane laughed. “Miss you. Wish you were here.”

  “Merry Christmas.”

  Celia came on the line apologizing. “Jilly, I swear to you. I didn’t know that Will would be up there. I assumed he’d be here, with the family, for Christmas. Turns out Janey knew, but I didn’t get the story from her until after you’d left Sacramento.”

  “How did Jane know?”

  “When she asked Cade to invite Will for Christmas dinner, Cade told her why there was no way Will would come, about he goes up to Mavis’s old house every year now, since Nora died—and wait a minute. Do you even know about what happened to Nora? Am I making any sense at all?”

  “You’re making perfect sense. I do know about Nora. Will told me. And I don’t blame you for a thing, so get that thought out of your mind.”

  “Oh, good. I’m so relieved.”

  “How are you? How’s the baby?”

  “Oh, pu-lease. You saw me two weeks ago. The words elephantine and enormous should come to mind.”

  “You look great.”

  “Right. Jilly, I am so sorry about all this.”

  “Don’t be. Truthfully, everything’s worked out fine. Will and I are getting along great. We’ve…made the most of an uncomfortable situation.”

  “But he wanted to be alone and so did you.” Jilly heard Jane’s voice in the background. Then Celia said, “Jane wants to know where you’ll go when the roads are cleared. She says you should come here, stay with her and Cade for a few days.”

  Jilly hadn’t a clue right then what she would do when the roads were passable. Originally, she’d intended to stay at the old house until the second of January. And then, when she found Will here, she’d wanted to get out as soon as she possibly could.

  But now?

  She thought of his kiss again, felt her midsection melting. At this point, it was anybody’s guess what would happen once she was free to go elsewhere. She had no appointments scheduled for another whole week. And her columns were no problem. She turned them in via e-mail, anyway.

  “Tell Jane I’ll give her a call.”

  “I will. And Jilly?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas to you, Ceil. Get your rest. Take your vitamins.”

  Jilly’s sisters were in Reno with their families, at her mother’s for the night. She called them all there. After she’d reassured them she was fine, she listened to a chorus of thank-yous for the gifts she’d sent.

  Once she said goodbye to her family, she checked her e-mail. Incredible, the amount of mail that could pile up with just two days of down time. A lot of it was junk mail, links to her favorite on-line shopping sites where after-Christmas sales were already in progress. She grinned to herself. She ought to buy something—just so she could tell Will that she’d been to the after-Christmas sales and she hadn’t had to jump over a single dying man to do it.

  She went to sleep around eleven. If she dreamed of a certain man’s exquisite kisses, that was her business. But in the morning, when she woke, she had no memory of any visits from Mavis.

  Jilly raised her mug of instant cappuccino high. “Happy birthday, Will.”

  He grinned at her, a shy grin that tugged at her heartstrings, reminding her of the boy he must have been once, the boy whose birthday was too often forgotten. “You remembered.”

  They shared a long look. Jilly felt warm all over. Will had already been outside and come in to report he’d seen no sign of the snowplow. On the radio, all the talk centered on what had happened during the recent storms. “The worst in two decades,” one announcer kept declaring. There were tales of people trapped in their cars, people stranded, digging snow caves, somehow surviving in spite of the terrible cold. And now it was over, not even the experts could say for sure how long it was going to take the Tahoe area to dig out from under.

  Jilly figured they’d be stuck here at least till tomorrow. Possibly till Friday.

  The thought sent her pulse pounding. Another day, at least, alone with Will, another day where she didn’t have to make an actual choice to be here. Right now, the only decision before them was how intimate they would be while they remained snowbound in this house together.

  “My phone’s working,” she told him. “I got a call last night.”

  He knew instantly. “Caitlin.”

  “I told her she ought to call you—but don’t worry. She said she wasn’t up to listening to you shout at her on Christmas.”

  There was a pause. It was a lovely one—but then, lately, all the pauses were lovely ones. They sipped from their mugs and they looked at each other and the morning sun shone through the window, bringing ou
t the gold lights in his brown hair.

  Finally, Will said softly, “I wouldn’t have shouted at her.”

  “I know. But I didn’t tell her that.”

  “Good thinking. If she knew how much I’m enjoying your company, I’d never hear the end of it.”

  “Your secret is safe with me.”

  “I didn’t say it was a secret. I just said I’m not in the mood to discuss it with Caitlin.”

  Was that good news? Oh, she didn’t know. She didn’t care. She was feeling just a tiny bit addled, a little goofy, a tad confused. And very, very excited.

  “After I talked to Caitlin, I called Jane. We wished each other a merry Christmas. I talked to Celia, too. She and Aaron were staying there for the night.”

  She waited for him to respond to that, thinking maybe he’d remark on how everyone would razz them now, about being snowed in here together for days and days. But he didn’t say anything. He just looked at her, a slight smile curving his mouth. As if he liked looking at her, as if he liked it very, very much. As if he’d like to look at her with all of her clothes off.

  As if he planned to do just that, very soon.

  She set down her mug. “You should have a birthday cake. I’m pretty sure I can fake it with the ingredients on hand.”

  Now he was looking at her mouth. He seemed to really like that—to look at her mouth. He certainly did it enough.

  He said, tenderly, “We’ve already got desserts running out our ears.”

  That warm, melting feeling was spreading—out from her stomach, down low in her belly, along her legs, up through her chest and down her arms. “Admit it,” she said. “You’d like a cake.”

  “Well. Maybe a small one….”

  “With a candle in it.”

  “Jilly, you think of everything.”

  “I try.”

  Right then, she was thinking that there was absolutely no way they would make it through the next night in separate beds, and she was wondering if she would live to regret what she was thinking.

  Then again, maybe she was just thinking too much.

  After they cleaned up the breakfast, Will said he wanted to put in a little effort at digging out the driveway. “There’s no telling when the plow will get around to us. Might as well get a start on it.”