Page 49 of Welcome Home for Christmas
Chapter 12
The air was cool as Troy stood shoulder to shoulder with Allison at the pier. Yes, this was definitely romantic. He had to give himself points because he’d never considered himself a romantic guy. If he had only two days, though, he wanted to do his best by Allison. She’d indicated that she hadn’t had the best dating experiences in the past. Even though theirs was a temporary relationship, she deserved a little something special. Troy wanted to show her that there was somebody out there who could treat her well.
A little bit of jealousy signaled in the back of his mind.Slow down, Troy,he told himself.Don’t start getting real feelings for the pretty redhead.
Too late.
“It’s beautiful out here.” Allison hugged her arms around her body.
He glanced over and, yeah, his view was beautiful, too. Gorgeous actually, and he doubted she even knew it. There was a blanket of stars accentuating the twilight-colored sky. The boats on the water were all lit up in festive colors, and music filled the air along with the busy chattering of adults and excited squeals of children gathered around for the occasion. Christmas in Seaside was spectacular. Almost as jolly as Christmas in Paradise Point.
A little homesickness rode up inside him. He’d always loved the holidays in Paradise Point. His family usually took great care to make sure all their businesses celebrated properly, over and above what everybody else was doing. Troy’s father had been the biggest fan of Christmas there had ever been. In fact, his father had often dressed up as Santa Claus and allowed many of the Paradise Point children to climb aboard his lap and offer up their deepest desires freely. Funny how Troy was going to find himself in the same position this weekend, thanks to Allison.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the railing along the view of the water. “Strange how our paths never crossed until now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I grew up only thirty minutes from here. You and I could have run into each other on any given day over the years.”
“Thatisfunny,” she agreed.
The wind off the water blew her hair around her face. Some part of him wished that he had run into her sooner. Maybe they would have dated for real. There had been a time in his life when he’d been interested in finding a nice girl to settle down with. That had been just wishful thinking on his part, however. He’d met a lot of nice girls that he’d considered spending more time with, including Jess. But he was restless, always restless. And he’d broken too many hearts over the years. He didn’t want to break Allison’s, too.
She pointed at one of the boats on the water. There, on the front of the boat, stood someone dressed up as the Grinch who stole Christmas. She covered her mouth with one hand as she laughed out loud.
He chuckled along with her.
“That costume would suit you better than the one we have prepared for you on Saturday.”
“You’d find me irresistible in any costume I wore,” he promised.
“You’re very sure of yourself, aren’t you, Mr. Matthews?”
“Oh, I am. I’m willing to bet that you’re having a damn near impossible time resisting me right now,” he said, winking at her. He was enjoying himself as he flirted. Angling his body toward hers, he lowered his voice, “I’m having a hard time keeping my hands off you as well, you should know. I know how hard it is for you not toreactto my touch,” he teased. “But we’re in public right now, so you gotta try, Ms. Carmichael.”
She swatted his shoulder.
“You know it’s true. I’m your aphrodisiac.”
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t deny it. For some reason he had the special sauce that turned her on. “The flotilla is almost done,” he said. “I was thinking about taking you out for coffee, but I could take you home instead.” He waggled his eyebrows and this time she landed a playful punch to his stomach. He caught her hand before she pulled away and held it, looking deep into her eyes. “I’m only partially teasing,” he said, watching her neck muscles tighten as she swallowed.
“I have coffee at my house,” she said, which was pretty much an invitation for him to come over. And if he came over, the last thing on his mind would be caffeine.
He released her hand, but held her gaze. “A cup of coffee would really hit the spot.”
It wasonfrom the moment Allison locked her front door behind her. Troy pulled her into his arms and didn’t plan on letting go anytime soon.
She moaned against his lips as he kissed her, first softly and then slipping his tongue into her mouth. She tasted so damn good, like every fantasy he’d ever had rolled up into one delicious treat.
“I was beginning to worry this wouldn’t happen tonight,” she whispered breathlessly against his cheek as his hands moved down her sides, lingering at the curve of her waist.
“Oh, it’s happening,” he said. He was so hard right now that if he didn’t unbutton his jeans soon, he was going to blow a hole in them.
As if reading his mind, Allison’s fingers trailed along his waistband, pausing at the button. She undid it, then pulled the zipper down.
“Can’t even wait until we get to the bedroom, huh?” he said, gently leading her in that direction.
“Mmm.”
