Page 11 of The Mistletoe Trap
“Three days ago, but we didn’t want to worry you,” Ed said. “So we’re actually staying with my mom right now, along with my brother and his wife and kids, so it’s a full house. There’s no way we want you to be at a hotel for the holidays, so we talked to Rashad and Darlene, and they offered to let you stay here with them.”
Gavin and Julie exchanged a glance, and he’d bet she was thinking the same thing he was. Was this a setup? Why would they introduce her to Kory, then? Peggy hadn’t stopped pestering him and Julie about setting up a time until they agreed to go out to dinner tomorrow night. And it’s not like they’d burst a pipe and destroy their house all so they could force them to stay under the same roof.
The phone in his pocket vibrated, and when Gavin saw his offensive coach’s name on the display, he excused himself to answer. With Julie staying with him and his parents, at least that’d make it easier to find time to hang out.
Which also made it slightly easier not to be so irritated about her date tomorrow night.
Chapter Four
Julie slipped into the satin and lace nightie she’d bought during her enthrall-not-appall shopping spree.
The office the Frosts had made up for her and her kitty didn’t have any mirrors, and now she cursed herself for not trying on the skimpy outfit in the store’s dressing room. She pulled the elastic out of her hair, freeing it of the barely there ponytail and scratched at her scalp to soothe it. There was something so satisfying about the moment the elastic was out of the hair and the bra was off the boobs.
“What do you think?” she asked, spinning to face the chair in which Kylo Ren was snoozing away. He cracked open one eye, trilled, and returned his chin to his paws for round two of his perpetual nap.
Since the vague noise hadn’t been very helpful, Julie bent and studied her reflection in the glass panel covering the fireplace. Thanks to the warmth from its flames, she wasn’t even cold in the negligible sleepwear. Dang, was it short—a cool draft wafted across her backside, so bending over equaled mooning. While she’d realized it was on the shorter side as she’d held it over her street clothes, she hadn’t noticed the slit in the thigh, and without anything else underneath it…
At least it makes mefeelsexy. Even if the idea of wearing it in front of a guy I barely met is semi-horrifying.She fluffed her bangs and the rest of her locks and added a lip pout before vetoing it—how on earth did that work so well on Gavin? Was it because he assumed she was having a stroke?
Don’t go there. You can pull off being sexy. Somehow.
With a possible target acquired due to Mom’s meddling, Julie might actually have a chance at completing the Great Fling Experiment. Her hypothesis was that if it went well and she could improve her skills between the sheets, she could repair her battered self-esteem and have a better future relationship. The beauty of a fling was that it didn’t involve a whole lot of diving deep and sharing of emotions. With any luck, she’d unpack her baggage herself after she regained her confidence. That way, she’d be ready for a fresh start with a potential relationship guy.
A light rapping at the door made her jump. “Jules, it’s me,” Gavin said. “I’m coming in…”
As she dove for her usual pajama bottoms, she slammed her knee into the office chair. Kylo gave an offended meow as the chair wobbled and spun, but there wasn’t time to apologize or hold her aching shin. The elastic waistband on her cat-print flannel pants barely hit her hips before the door swung open.
“We never got a chance to chat, and—” Gavin blinked at her.
What did that mean?
That she looked as absurd as she felt?
Glancing down to double-check nothing was exposed didn’t help much, given that her high beams were on. She crossed her arms at pit height, like that old-schoolSuperstarchick fromSNL, and awkwardness crowded the air.
“That’s an interesting combo,” Gavin said, and she could do without the perplexed expression and hint of concern that suggested she was some clueless nerd who needed fashion tips.
Even if that conclusion wasn’t totally unfounded.
“My legs were cold, so I mixed and matched.”
His dark eyebrows ticked together, and then he shrugged, quietly closed the door, and stepped farther into the room. He sat on the futon that’d been made up with sheets and blankets, and she sat next to him.
“Your pants make me want ice cream.” He jerked his chin toward the colorful cones floating around other treats and Pusheen the cat, who was notorious for wanting to eat, sleep, and eat.
Julie picked a few stray cat hairs off the fuzzy purple fabric. “Funny enough, I often eat ice cream in them, and I think the chunks of kitty fur add a super authentic feel.”
Gavin placed his index finger and raised thumb on his chin in the classic thinker position. “Yes, yes, I see. Very authentic. That’s how I choose my jammies, too. After all, what’s more authentic than stripping down to my skivvies?”
She giggled and did her best not to fret over why he was only talking about the pants portion of her PJs. Not that she’d know how to react if he mentioned the nightie. Too many thoughts and emotions swirled under the surface, crashing into each other and ratcheting her anxiety to the next level.
Gavin lay back, the lower half of his legs dangling off the futon, and she mimicked the motion. Although she swung her feet—sitting still had never been part of her skillset. Normally, she’d fill the quiet with random “fun facts,” but that’d get in the way of whatever he’d come in here to say. With Gavin, the less she pried, the more information he’d freely give.
After a second or two of silence, he began talking. His injury was a Type I shoulder separation, which meant it was only a partial tear of AC ligaments with no injury to the CC ligaments.
With that news hanging in the air, Julie breathed a sigh of relief. As far as shoulder separations went, it was the least intensive and the quickest recovery.
As he continued on with what his coaches and teammates had said, Julie rolled onto her side so she could study his face. That way, as he transitioned to discussing his hopes and concerns, she could see the thoughts and feelings underlying what he didn’t say aloud.
