Page 36 of Welcome Home for Christmas
Troy coughed again. From the corner of his eye he saw the ladies take a seat on the other side of the small dining area. The same waitress serving Troy and his mother walked over to Allison and Julie and gave them menus.
“I’ve never dated a redhead before.”
“No, but you like them. You loved your babysitter, Kayla. And that high school English teacher of yours. I know why you made A’s that year.”
Troy shook his head. “Maybe I just liked Shakespeare.”
His mom raised a brow and glanced over at the women. “You can go say hi. I don’t mind. In fact, I insist. It’d be rude not to.”
Troy frowned. “Rude? She’s just a friend, Mom.” He cleared his throat.Damn.
“You clear your throat when you’re fibbing, Troy Robert Matthews.”
Yeah, he’d never gotten away with anything thanks to that tell. “If I say hi, will you drop the subject and enjoy the rest of our visit?”
“Gladly.” His mother lifted her chin as if to say that the decision had been made.
“Fine.” He slid out of the booth and walked over to where Allison and Julie were seated. “Ladies. I would recommend the beef. It’s pretty good here.”
They smiled at him.
“Hi, Troy,” Julie said. “Is that your mom?”
“Yeah. She practically forced me to come over. Said I’d be rude if I didn’t. And I’m not a rude guy.” He looked at Allison. She was dressed in a green sweater. With her strawberry tones, she was the image of Christmas in a way markedly different from his mother. His mother looked like Mrs. Claus, and Allison looked like Christmas sex. He remembered how she’d looked naked in her bed last night, asking him to have sex with her, practically begging him. How she’d looked when she’d climaxed.
His throat was suddenly dry.
She was thinking of last night, too. He could tell by the way she was staring at him, half mortified, he guessed, and half ready to jump his bones.
“Hey,” he said, addressing her this time.
“Hey.”
There was an electric current running between them. It charged his body and, if they weren’t in a public place, he’d have had to touch her. And touching her would lead to more, things they’d both agreed they didn’t want from each other.
“I’ll see you Saturday night,” he told Allison, needing to create distance between them before his pants got so tight that everyone in the restaurant would know what he was thinking, including his mother. He started to turn around.
Allison held up a finger. “Wait. I actually need to ask you another favor.” She rolled her lips together. “It’s tiny, though. Not a big deal. I’ll just call you about it tomorrow.”
A promise to hear from her tomorrow made him willing to say yes to whatever the favor might be. What was up with him? “Sure. Talk to you then. Bye, Julie.” He turned and headed back to his mom, who’d been nosily watching like he knew she would.
—
“What was that?” Julie asked, eyes widening as she looked at Allison.
“What?” Allison lifted her shoulders.
“You know what. That electricity that was snapping between you two.” She fanned herself. “That was scorching.”
Allison waved a hand even as her skin burned. Was she that transparent? “You’re crazy.”
Julie shook her head. “Nope. You are so busted crushing on Mr. Hot Marine.”
The waitress returned and placed their orders in front of them.
Allison pulled her plate closer to her. “I might have a tiny crush on him.” She shook her head. “Nothing my mother won’t extinguish when he escorts me to my family’s party this weekend.”
Julie chewed and swallowed. “Right. She’s pretty critical of who you date. Like that guy you dated a while back,” Julie said, taking another bite of her food.
