Falling By Firelight (Christmas Romance) Read online

  Elena bared her teeth. “OK you—

  “Here.” The sparring partners looked to Kate, who held out one of the boxes. “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

  The man glanced down at the box, then back up to meet her gaze. Even without the venom, his eyes burned through her. Slowly, he reached out and took the container. “Thanks.”

  When he didn’t break eye contact, Kate began to squirm under his stare. She did her best to keep the jittering below the surface, but she knew on some level that her face must be giving away her inner revolt. The alcohol certainly wasn’t doing her any favors. “Do you, um, have allergies?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “OK, great.” She smiled weakly. “Well, sorry.”

  He raised one shoulder in a half-assed shrug. “OK.”

  “Great then. Have a great night.” Kate painted on an eerily wide smile and arced around the man, powering down the sidewalk. Elena was hot on her heels. By the time Kate slowed her pace, in a far too late effort to appear normal, aloof even, Elena almost blew past her. “Here?” Kate asked, gesturing to the next illuminated house.

  “Oh sure!” Elena chirped. Kate turned down the ornate cobblestone drive. As soon as they were safely behind the towering hedge, Elena grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back. “What the hell was that?” she whispered, her words like daggers.

  Kate shrunk in her grasp, leaning away, toward the waiting house. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “What happened to you back there? You went totally dead. And then, like, creepy cheery puppet? I mean, what?” Elena shook her head, awash in the absurdity of the encounter.

  Kate’s face fell. “Oh god, really? That’s what…oh god.” As she grimaced, Elena’s bamboozled expression became one of glee.

  “Oh my god.”

  At her hushed, electrified tone, Kate’s guard shot back up. “What?”

  “You went totally weak in the knees for that dickhead, didn’t you?” When Kate’s jaw dropped, a merciless smile plastered across her friend’s face. “Didn’t you!” The sheer emphatic joy that emanated through her words was arresting. Kate squeezed her eyes shut, not feeling up to facing it at the moment.

  “Not really.”

  “Oh, you liar!” Elena’s voice was a titillated hiss. “You totally have the hots for asshole neighbor!”

  “No!” Feeling too tipsy to be in this position, Kate shook her head sharply and quickly. Kept it on a swivel. “I do not have the hots for him, I was shocked. By the moment. And had to catch my breath. So I’m sorry that I was, whatever you said. Didn’t talk.” She turned on her heel and made her way up to the front door of the home. It was a deep maroon color. Warm. It might have been inviting, comfortable, if she hadn’t had Elena flanking her, oozing girlish energy.

  They delivered the parcel to the sweet older woman inside. Kate resisted the urge to impose, to try to get the woman to take them in. As long as someone else was around, Elena would never stoop to give her a hard time. But alone…

  As the door closed, Kate smiled warmly until the click. Then she took off running. It took Elena a few moments to realize what had happened, so Kate’s head start was strong. The women, still tingling from so many glasses and the eventful encounter before, flew down the street. Elena was whisper-screaming something from behind her, but she couldn’t make it out. Kate had her eye on the prize: getting home. Where even if she wasn’t safe from Elena’s winnowing, she’d be secure in her privacy. There’d be no risk of running into anyone else. No more neighbors.

  Neither of them runners, the women were panting heavily by the time they made it to Kate’s stoop. Elena only caught her in the extra time it took to unlock the door. Even as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, breath heaving in the crisp air, she said nothing. Only when they were safely inside, enveloped in the heat of her home, did Elena turn on her.

  “So,” she began, heading straight for the wine, “that was maybe a little bit of an overreaction. Hmmm?”

  Kate sighed, leaning against the door and planting a hand in the middle of her forehead. “Maybe,” she muttered. She watched Elena refill their glasses, not even bothering to peel off her wool peacoat. Just watching. “Was it really bad?”

  “Bad?”

  “Embarrassing?”

  Elena thrust her tongue into her cheek, a feeble attempt to contain her amusement. “Why? Cause you like him?”

  “What? No.” This time Kate shook her head surely. Truly. “I don’t even know him. And frankly, he doesn’t seem great.”

  Elena snorted. “Fair.”

  “You know me,” Kate shrugged, finally easing the jacket off her shoulders, “I just don’t like the whole awkward, social, cringey, yuck. You know?”

  “I don’t think anyone likes that.” Elena carried the newly full glasses to the coffee table and Kate quickly joined her. Each drank for a moment, settling into the wash of comforting sensations. The worn couch, the warm and scented air, the decadence of the first sip. It all helped. Somewhat. But it didn’t alleviate the knot of tension in Kate’s stomach. It was something like dread, but more current. A discomfort of the here and now. “But I do see what you mean,” Elena said, breaking her train of thought. “You aren’t an extrovert, so it’s not like you want to do the social butterfly thing. Me? I’m used to having at least three interactions that awkward a day. More even, when I’m working at the hospital. Getting shoved into that stuff must be extra ick.”

  “Exactly how I feel.” Kate gave her friend a weak grin, pushing a long dark strand of hair back behind her ear. “At the end of the day, it’s fine. But, like, what was his problem?”

  Elena chuckled. “No idea. But as a nurse I can confirm that there is absolutely a sizable stick lodged up his ass. Just really,” she gestured, pushing her open palm to the ceiling as Kate giggled, “up there.”

  “Yeah. Well,” she shrugged, “I’d rather not have a problem with one of my neighbors, so hopefully it’s fine.”

  “Of course it’s fine.” Elena bent at the waist and unzipped her leather boots. She threw them off to the side, one then the other, and propped her feet up on the coffee table. Taking her wine back, a dreamy look passed over her face. “He was gorgeous though. Good god.”

  Recalling his face, his harsh gaze, his intimidating build, Kate’s skin prickled. “You really think so?” she asked in a measured voice.

  Elena gave her a no-nonsense look. “Are you kidding me with this?”

  Kate blushed, the rosy wash standing out stark on her pale cheeks. “OK. Yes. He was. Very…attractive.”

  A grand guffaw escaped Elena’s berry lips. “I’m sorry, very,” she held a lofty pause, batting her eyelashes in mock innocence, “attractive?” Her laughter pealed through the room. In spite of herself, Kate laughed her own close-mouthed, regretful laugh.

  “Leave me be, Elena.” She leaned back into the couch, stacking her feet on the table too. “I’ve had a long day and a lot of wine and you made me go be social.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Elena batted her list away with a tired hand. “You meant it. And he’s a full-blown hunk. Like, if you get the chance, I totally support you hitting that.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “Oh right. And it doesn’t matter that he’s a jerk if I’m just ‘hitting that,’ I suppose?”

  “Nope.” Elena took another sip and smiled. She leaned her head to the side, nestling it against Kate’s. “It might even make the sex better.”

  Both chuckled, their shoulders shaking against each other. “You’re welcome to test that theory, on the off chance that David doesn’t work out. But since I haven’t slept with anyone in a good three years, I don’t think it’s especially likely that I’m gonna open the gates for the neighborhood asshole.”

  “True,” conceded Elena. “But still. Never say never.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “BUT THEY SAY there might be a blizzard, Kate! Not a nice little snowstorm. A blizzard!”

  “Yes, mom, I heard you.” Kate smi
led at the screen over her steaming mug of coffee. Living across the country from her family, she’d quickly become accustomed to these early morning calls. Her mother liked to talk early, and 10AM in Connecticut was 7AM in the Seattle suburb that Kate now called home. It was a deep, deep suburb, each house with a rustic, cabin-like feel, but still technically a suburb. Luckily she was adaptable, never struggling much to get her sleep schedule to match the demands of her life.

  “I just worry,” her mother’s pixelated image shook her head, fretting, “I don’t like you having to fly out for holidays.”

  “What else would I do, mom? Drive?”

  Her mother cracked a smile, splitting her bubblegum pink lipstick to showcase arrestingly white teeth. “It would feel safer if you drove,” she replied.

  “But it’s not safer! It’s actually more dangerous. Far more dangerous.”

  Her mother threw her hands toward the ceiling, thick bangles clattering as she did. “I feel what I feel! If you’d rather not talk about it, let’s not talk about it.”

  “Good. Let’s not then.” Kate took a sip of her coffee, letting the creamy sweetness envelop her. I need to make sure I stock up on gingerbread-flavored creamer before December ends. I need this year-round.

  “How’s the store?” her mother prompted.

  “Good. The holidays are always good. I mean, if they aren’t?” Her face twisted into an exaggerated grimace. “Then you’re really in trouble.”

  “Well that’s very nice then! Very exciting!” The older woman’s emphatic tone made her smile.

  “I think so. How’s dad?”

  Kate’s mother rolled her bright green eyes in a dramatic arc. Those eyes were just about the only physical resemblance that Kate and her mother had. In part that was because her mom preferred a more affected, done up look. Even in Kate’s earliest memories, her mother’s hair had been bleached blonde and larger than life. “Do not get me started on your father. I swear, on my life, he’s getting into one of those decoration battles with Carl from next door. Really Kate, it’s like one of those movies!”

  “Hmmmm. Mom?”

  “What?”

  “Are you sure you aren’t exaggerating the tiniest bit?”

  She scoffed, shaking her head. “Of course I’m not. Have you met your father? He’s so stubborn it’s exhausting! He gets an idea in his head,” she held up a horizontal finger, “and he’ll just pick,” she jabbed the finger forward, repeating the gesture, “and pick and pick and fixate and lose all grip on reality!”

  “He doesn’t lose all grip on reality,” Kate cut in, her voice flat. Her mother only shrugged.

  “Fine. But he certainly loses the concept that none of it matters. That it’s actually just small and stupid. He gets so wrapped up that no matter how you try to whack him out of it, he still thinks it’s the most important thing in the world.” She sighed, resting a hand on her heart. Her arms must get so tired, Kate thought. The amount she uses her hands to talk, it’s basically an athletic event. “Anyway,” her mother nodded, releasing the point, “he’s doing well. And he’s damn lucky that I love him so much.”

  Kate smiled into the steam rising from her thick ceramic mug. “He’s a lucky guy.”

  “You’re telling me.” Her smile widened, just for a moment, before her mother switched gears. “So sweetie, have you been seeing anyone?”

  Kate gritted her back teeth, keeping the semblance of a loose smile. “Not really.”

  “What does that mean?” The woman narrowed her eyes, leaning closer to the camera so that her coiffed updo filled the screen. “Does that mean you’re seeing someone, but it’s just starting out and it’s casual? Or that you’re mostly going on first dates? Or—“

  “It means I’m seeing no one,” Kate barked. Immediately she regretted it. The tone had been instinctual, clearly, but at her mother’s look of shock, she knew she’d screwed up. Big time. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Kate, sweetie, I wasn’t trying to upset you.”

  “Oh, no, I know.” She raised an open palm toward the screen, screaming at herself internally. “I know.” Why? Why couldn’t you just lie? Hmm? Is it that hard to say, yes, mom, actually I am seeing someone! It’s just very new, so I don’t want to jinx it by spreading around his name or whatever the fucking shit that would keep me out of—

  “Kathryn.” Oh no. “I don’t think you can blame us for worrying. It has been quite a while, and we want you to be happy.”

  The ache pooled in her stomach, rooting her uncomfortably in place. Nevertheless, Kate smiled. “I am happy mom. There is no reason to worry, OK?”

  “Alright dear.” The woman’s eyes betrayed no hint of belief, of relief, of backing down. “We’ll talk about it some other time then, hmm?”

  “I’ll be there in a week, so I’m sure we can talk about it then. I’ve gotta go for now, though.” She put on her best regretful face. “Busy day ahead. The holidays, you know.”

  Just a smidge of the twinkle left her mother’s eye. “I’ll let you go then. But make sure you’re taking care of yourself this week. Get enough sleep. Don’t forget to eat!”

  “I won’t. Love you.”

  “And we love you, sweetie. Buh-bye.”

  Kate whacked the mousepad and the video feed disconnected. The moment it did, she went slack. A soft groan escaped her throat. Why will no one leave me alone about the dating thing lately? Is something in the water? She stood, shaking her head, and went to refill her mug. Do I seem especially desperate? Or sad? Because I’m not. She took a sip from the newly filled cup, the heat of it surprising her. Why is there no easy way to make them give it a rest? Yes, I’ll date eventually. But honestly, I don’t really miss it all that much.

  A sudden rush in her chest. As the coffee nearly scalded the tip of her tongue, Kate remembered her run-in with the neighbor. The way that his gaze made her stick in place. Made her squirm. She glanced at the window. You don’t even know which house is his. Hell, you don’t even know his name! There’s absolutely no way…

  Even as she thought it, she floated over to stand by the sill. As nonchalantly as she could, Kate scanned the cul-de-sac through the pane of glass. In the daylight, it was decidedly less cheery. It was a nice block and all, but what light-of-day sights could hold a candle to the forrest of twinkling lights that came to life at night? Though her neighbors did put a lot of effort into their decor. Or into paying someone else to decorate for them. Wreaths, reindeer silhouettes, and one giant inflatable Santa in a snow globe flitted past as she took in the landscape.

  Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he appeared.

  Well, not quite appeared. More like reached her line of sight. Nevertheless, a jolt shot through her chest, catching the breath in the back of her throat. She leaned forward slowly, carefully, in case her movement might attract his gaze. He was just getting out of his car, something that looked dangerously close to a minivan. Wait, is that a minivan? Is he seriously driving a minivan? The man’s deep red flannel peeked out from the bottom of his down jacket. It hung down over his faded, weathered jeans, stopping just high enough for her to make out the incredible definition of his ass. Kate flushed. Her pulse picked up a few ticks. How can jeans be that loose and masculine and still show how—

  Kate’s train of thought ground to a halt as the man walked to the back door of the van, pulled it open, and helped a small girl out from the back seat. Her jaw hung loose as she watched the child bound out of the car. She was so tiny, she didn’t even reach the man’s hip. Her hair was a beautiful mess of blonde ringlets, her own parka a hot pink shade that matched the bubbly energy that she radiated even across the long expanse of pavement.

  The girl took the man’s hand and looked up at him. A look that Kate could identify right away. He’s a dad. So I guess he’s probably married. Something in her twinged. Something small enough that it wasn’t too hard to ignore. That’s good, she thought. We could use a young family. Finally have someone to trick-or-treat on the block
.

  Then the man turned and looked directly at Kate. Their eyes met, attracting each other like magnets. The moment they locked, a brick dropped into Kate’s stomach. Her knees buckled under her and with crashing efficiency, she fell down to the floor. Panting, she wiped at the coffee that had sloshed over her thighs, trying to center herself.

  That was probably a little much. She winced, picturing the reaction he must have just had. Probably not a great call, Kate. It’s not like you were doing anything wrong. Or weird. She let out a long, exasperated breath. No matter how much she reasoned it, the knot in her chest was growing tighter. And she knew that her dramatic exit had definitely made the whole thing worse. Shaking her head, she leaned back against the solidity of the wall. The window sill jutted into the back of her scalp, but she didn’t flinch. Just rooted. It’s fine. You’re fine.

  She started to rise, but caught herself. Cringing at how ridiculous she was being, Kate crawled along the ground until she was safely in the hall and out of the window’s periphery. Then she stood. She took a swallow from her diminished cup of coffee, a good bit of which was still on the dining room floor.

  He’s just one of those people. One of those people who always somehow catches you at your worst moment. Your worst moments just come out around him. So it’s probably best to avoid him, so this doesn’t start to feel like one long nightmare. She chuckled. What a perfect compliment to a FaceTime with my mother. Just perfect.

  Kate started up the steps, ready for a shower to wash away the encounter, and the stain on her thigh. For a glimmer of a second, she started to question why he elicited such a strong reaction from her. To wonder if there was something beneath the awkward. The ick. But in her morning haze, she had no problem brushing the thought away. After all, it didn’t matter. He was a stranger. And he was married. And she was staring down a 12 hour shift at the store.