Brenda Novak by The Heart of Christmas

Author:The Heart of Christmas [Christmas, The Heart of]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-10-27T23:00:00+00:00

16

“Are you really going to have us build gingerbread houses at the party?” Eve asked Cheyenne as they sat at Cheyenne’s dining table, stamping and pasting. Dylan was at the auto body shop he owned with his four younger brothers, so they had the place to themselves. “That’ll be a lot of prep time.”

“But the party’s only two days before Christmas and what could be more Christmassy?” She tucked a stray wisp of hair behind one ear. “Maybe we can have a contest with a prize for the most creative.”

“What kind of prize?”

“A stocking full of nuts, fruit and candy, or a box of chocolates—or an ugly Christmas sweater as a badge of honor that could be worn at every future Christmas party. What do you think would be best?”

“Whatever you decide will be great.”

Cheyenne leaned forward. “Hey. Did you even hear the part about the ugly Christmas sweater?”

Eve glanced up. “What ugly sweater?”

“Caught you.” Cheyenne chuckled. “You’re so preoccupied. Are you okay?”

She sounded like Ted. “I’m fine. Why?”

“You’re just not yourself lately. What’s going on?” She lowered her voice for emphasis. “Are you thinking about Brent by any chance?”

As a matter of fact, she had been. She couldn’t forget the way he’d walked up to her this morning and casually kissed her—with Ted watching. He’d looked so fresh-out-of-bed-sexy in nothing but those blue jeans it had made her heart race. And, whether she wanted to admit it or not, she liked the possessiveness of that move, liked that he was bold enough to stand up and show interest in front of her friends.

She just hoped it wouldn’t cause Ted to get their entire group riled up in a protective frenzy. She didn’t want him telling all of them that business about Brent being a bodyguard in the Bay Area and not a landscaper in Bakersfield. There was definitely something going on with Brent. She couldn’t question that. But she wasn’t going to press him for answers. She’d already made up her mind to surf the wave she was riding all the way into shore—shore being the moment Brent left Whiskey Creek for good. Yes, she’d crash in the foamy surf. But he wouldn’t be around to see it, and it wasn’t the crash that mattered. It was having the guts to stay on the board.

Eve looked over at the clock. “I’m surprised that we’ve been doing this for an hour and you’ve only mentioned him now.”

“I figured you’d talk about him when you were ready. I was trying to give you time to work up to it.”

“Thanks. But there’s not much to say.”

“You’re still seeing him, though?”

Seeing him? Certainly not in the traditional sense. She “saw” him at night. But they hadn’t been on a single date—unless she counted the breakfast they’d shared yesterday morning in Jackson.

Eve added the invitation she’d just finished to the stack beside her. “Ted didn’t call you the minute he left my house this morning?”

Cheyenne looked confused. “Ted went to your house? What did he want?”

“He’s writing about Little Mary’s murder.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.