Copyright 2017 Lexy Timms

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Driving Home for Christmas

Billionaire Holiday Romance Series # 1

Copyright 2017 by Lexy Timms

 

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Driving Home for Christmas

Book 1

The Valentine Getaway

Book 2

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Colin Murphy Is the CEO of Murphy Inc and is a workaholic. Christmas, or any holiday in face, doesn't mean much to him. When his business trip travel plans get interrupted by a freak snowstorm, he’s forced to find a way home by other means.

 

Abigail Thompson can’t wait for this year to be over. After losing her job, her boyfriend and apartment, she’s ready to go home for a much-needed break and to regroup. But when her plane is grounded because of a snow storm, she has to find another way. She makes her way to the car rentals only to find the last car has just been given to a tall dark sexy man. Definitely not Santa, his name is Colin Murphy. When Colin finds out they’re head in the same direction, he offers her a lift. It’s nearly Christmas afterall.

 

What should be an easy 8-hour drive turns into 2 days of mishaps and mayhem.

 

She knows every Christmas song off by heart, even though she can’t carry a turn. She’s happy, he’s a real Christmas Grinch. Will this unplanned fiasco be the start of something magical?

 

Billionaire Holiday Romance Series

Driving Home for Christmas

The Valentine Getaway

 

A Holiday Romance series because every holiday is special…

Contents

 

 

Colin

 

“Hello, folks. This is your captain speaking. I’ve just gotten word of a massive snowstorm brewing right in our path.”

I groaned, shutting my laptop and began packing up my things. I knew this drill, and I knew what was going to happen. All electronics needed to be put away, all chairs needed to be upright, and all trays needed to be in the correct position.

Which was distressing, because I’d just ordered my hot towel and a fine glass of wine.

“This snowstorm is grounding all flights to their nearest airports,” the captain said. “As it stands now, Wichita, Kansas is our current destination.”

Of course, this would happen. Of all the days for this to occur, it had to happen just before the biggest business meeting of the year. I’d been hard at work, trying to get some last-minute pieces put together for the presentation that would alter the course of my company’s future, and it was about to be obliterated by some snowflakes.

“When you disembark the plane, please head to the counter to rearrange your flight schedule. I apologize for this inconvenience, but safety comes first. Please move your seats into the upright position, fold up your trays, and buckle your seatbelts.”

Wichita, Kansas. Was this pilot kidding? That was easily a ten-hour drive from my final destination, and that was without the snow. My entire body tightened as the plane started descending, and suddenly, I forgot about the glass of wine and the hot towel.

Flying first class got you some benefits, but apparently, arriving at your final destination wasn’t one of them.

I was preparing a presentation for my Minneapolis firm regarding an expansion project I wanted to fulfill. Murphy Inc. was on the brink of successfully merging both the Chinese market and the U.S. market. For the longest time, the two markets operated separately from one another, without ever realizing their full potential as a mass conglomerate market for consumer products. Part of the issue was the stringent business policies of the Chinese culture, but part of it was simply because everyone saw them as competition. The Chinese market had been growing substantially over the past five years, yet no one was tapping into their potential.

Until I did.

I created a start-up in my garage that enabled the two markets to come together and target the same audience. I was able to reach over the table and introduce ideas to the Eastern world that had never been seen before. Simple things like wine competitions and outdoor concert venues were unheard of in Chinese culture until just a few years ago. This began a mass exodus of people all over the world descending into the Chinese marketplace in an attempt to snag a bit of the profits they could drum up.

But it wasn’t until I created my online platform that the two marketplaces could reach out to one another for help.

At first, it was a simple website to ask for help. I coerced business magnates to post videos and blogs with their advice for budding entrepreneurs, and I found that those entrepreneurs were wanting to ask questions. I opened the online forum for discussions between the two worlds and quickly found that most of the young entrepreneurs were attempting to establish themselves throughout China, Japan, and Taiwan.

Now, five years later, I had created a multibillion-dollar business by simply giving people a way to access information they needed from those who had been successful before them. Young entrepreneurs would come to my website and post their ideas, find potential investors, and even begin planning meetings on how they could blossom in the Chinese marketplace. Then, young entrepreneurs who wanted to establish China’s culture in the U.S. marketplace could reach back and do the same. It was a phenomenal plan that took off from my garage, and now, I was in the process of convincing the whole of my Minneapolis firm to join me in an expansion.

An expansion into the European marketplace.

But now, all of that was jeopardized. Now, I was pushing up against my deadline. Now, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the meeting I had set up, much less to the charity ball that was supposed to occur afterward. I could feel my jaw growing taut with anger as we descended into Wichita, Kansas, and I knew what I had to do when I disembarked.

I had to give my right-hand man a call, just in case I didn’t make it on time.

I wasn’t about to reschedule my flight. I’d been down that path before. It would take them hours to reschedule it, and then they wouldn’t be able to put me on a flight until the storm had subsided. Nope. I wasn’t putting myself through that hell again. I was going to head straight for the car rental kiosk and drive the next ten hours into Minneapolis.

Then, I could get a hotel, prepare for this meeting, and expand into another marketplace that would surely need our help with the political moves they had just made.

I had to make it to this event. My CFO could carry the meeting if necessary, but the charity ball had been my fucking idea. If I didn’t show up for it, it would be detrimental to my company’s image. Everything I’d worked tirelessly for would go up in flames, and all because of some stupid, first-class plane flight that couldn’t even get me home.

When the plane finally landed, I unbuckled my seatbelt and gathered all my things. I was more than ready to get off this plane. If I grabbed myself a strong cup of coffee somewhere, I was sure I could drive out from underneath this storm before it trapped me here.

And the last thing I needed was to be trapped in Kansas.

I made my way toward the exit when a rush of air passed me by. I was hit in the face by a flutter of brown hair before the woman in question stumbled. She crashed into a flight attendant, almost knocking her over. The clumsy woman muttered a pathetic apology before she tore out of the runway exit.

I rolled my eyes. Just because someone was in a hurry didn’t mean they could throw decorum out the window.

The great thing about traveling was that I get used to living off very little. I didn’t have to worry about gathering up excess luggage at the baggage claim. All I needed was to head to the car rental kiosk. I got my CFO on the phone and told him about my predicament, letting him know I would send him my last-minute notes when I could hook up to the internet. I reassured him I would make it to the charity ball no matter what, but I didn’t want him to assume I would make it to the meeting.

This meeting was too important for the future of my company to base its success on assumptions.

I hung up my phone and got in line at the rental kiosk. There was a familiar woman standing in front of me, talking quite loudly with the man at the desk. She kept asking him question after question, interrupting him before he could answer.

Apparently, manners were not this woman’s forte.

“I can help whoever’s next,” the other attendant at the kiosk announced.

“Ah, yes,” I said. “I will need a car.”

“Any particular kind?” she asked.

“As nice as they come,” I said. “I’ll be traveling all the way to Minneapolis.”

While I dug out my license, however, the woman’s voice beside me continued to increase in volume.

“Please, I just need the cheapest car you have,” she said.

“Ma’am, this card’s been declined. Do you have another?”

“Do you have proof of insurance?” the woman asked me.

“Ah, yes, I do,” I said. “Just give me a second.”

“This is some crazy weather we’re about to get,” the attendant said to me. “Very unlike Kansas.”

“I wouldn’t know,” I said. “This is my first time in this state.”

“Oh, are you staying for a spell?” she asked.

Was she kidding? I was renting a car and headed to Minneapolis. I wasn’t up for small talk, and I wasn’t prepared to hear this woman’s life story while she rang me up for a car. All I wanted was to get on the road, get to a place that had reliable internet access, and get my CFO what he needed for the meeting.

Why was that such a hard task?”

“Ma’am, this card’s been declined, too,” the male attendant said to the rude woman.

“Are you kidding me?!” she asked.

I looked over at the frazzled woman with the head of brown hair and shook my head. Maybe if she stopped spending all her money on those expensive hair treatments and that beautiful coat she had on, she’d be able to afford her own emergencies. It was people like that who made my skin crawl. People who recklessly spent their money and wasted their time and then complained about not having things when they needed them the most.

“Well, Mr. Murphy, you are in luck,” the woman at the desk said. “I thought I recognized you, by the way.”

She winked at me, and it took all I had not to groan in her face.

“And why am I in luck?” I asked.

“Because there is one luxury car left,” she said. “Well, one car left completely after our last customer. It’s a 2017 Porsche Cayenne. Fully loaded with heated seats to get you through this chilly weather. Does that sound acceptable?”

“Sounds just fine,” I said. “I’ll need it for a week.”

“Let me just enter all this information into the computer and—”

“What do you mean there aren’t any cars left?!” the woman beside me yelled.

I whipped my gaze over at her, and her face was now planted into the man’s desk. She looked like she was two ticks away from crying, and it was all I could do not to speak up and say something to her. Did she not realize the bother she was being? The absolute least she could do was own up to her monetary mistakes that got her here and take her hysterics somewhere else where no one would be bothered.

If she wasn’t going to willingly maintain decorum, she didn’t have to subject the rest of us to her antics.

“I’m very sorry, ma’am,” the man said as he handed her back her card.

I felt sorry for him, in all honesty. He looked beyond uncomfortable. There was a grown woman practically melting into his desk, like her world had just ended, and there was nothing he could do about it. I listened as the woman typed up my information into her computer. Then, I signed a few signatures before she handed me the keys.

And just as they hit the palm of my hand, the woman at my side burst into tears.

“Please, there’s gotta be something,” the woman said.

“There’s nothing,” the man said. “Not even in our luxury car department.”

“So, I’m just stuck here?!” she asked.

“Where are you headed, sweetheart?” my clerk asked.

I picked up my things and started to head away from the desk. I needed to get out of this situation and away from that hysterical woman. She was grating on my nerves, with her tears and her cards and her hair that whipped around in everyone’s face. My nose was still burning from where she whacked me with it earlier, and all I wanted was for my ass to hit those heated seats before I settled into the ten-hour drive ahead of me.

But her answer stopped me in my tracks.

“Burnsville, Minnesota,” she said.

I looked over at the woman behind the desk, and she shot me a smile. Oh, no. I knew what she was thinking. All that idiotic Christmas cheer was filling her cheeks. I hated this time of year. I hated how people were guilted into doing nice things for complete strangers for the sake of a holiday. If someone wanted to do something nice for someone else, they had eleven other months in the year to flex their charitable limbs as well.

“Well, with it being Christmas and all, maybe there’s someone here that wouldn’t mind sharing his vehicle,” the woman said.

I wanted to burn a hole between her eyes for the position she was putting me in.

I could feel the woman’s eyes on me. Those big, brown doe eyes that matched her dark brown hair. The man behind the counter was looking at me, his lips curled up into a little hairpin grin. I could tell he recognized me by the way his eyes began to sparkle, and I realized I’d been cornered.

If I refused to help this woman, it would be yet another thing that reflected badly on my company.

Holy hell, I hated the holidays.

“Hi,” the woman said, sniffling. “I’m Abby.”

“Colin Murphy,” I said.

“Are you going in the direction of Minnesota, by any chance?”

Her voice was light and breathy, and I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not. It sounded innocent, but I had no idea if it was a ruse she was trying to put on. The last thing I needed was to be dragging someone along with me who couldn’t even financially keep themselves afloat. What was I supposed to do? Feed her and change her diaper as well?

“I am,” I said, sighing.

“Would it be possible for me to catch a ride with you?” she asked.

Everything inside of me screamed “No.” The kiosk clerks’ eyes were on me, and the woman was staring with her massive brown eyes, and all I wanted to do was turn around and get in my car. All of this talking and doing nice things for completely incompetent strangers was delaying my ability to get ahead of the storm, and if I didn’t leave soon, I would be caught in it.

But if I told this woman no, my Grinch-like nature would be front page news, and the meeting wouldn’t mean a damn thing.

No one wanted to do business with someone who hated people on the holidays, and that was exactly how the media would spin it.

“Where in Minnesota are you headed?” I asked.

“Burnsville,” the woman said. “But you can drop me off anywhere. Even if I could just get to the border of the state, I could catch a taxi or something.”

Burnsville. Of course, she’d be heading to a town that was practically on the way to Minneapolis. It would be nothing for me to drop her off in the area to which she was going, but that meant I had to put up with her attitude and her presence for the next ten hours.

Was that something I could do? Did I even have a choice at this point?

“Please?” she asked. “I won’t be a bother. I promise.”

I knew that was a lie, but I could see the faces of the clerks changing. The man was already on his phone and typing out something, and alarm bells started going off in my head.

I had to salvage the situation before it got any worse.

“I’ll give you a ride,” I said, faking a smile. “Burnsville is on the way to Minneapolis. So it’ll be fine.”

“Oh, my gosh. Are you serious? Thank you!”

She ran at me and threw her arms around me, holding me close. I stiffened. I didn’t do physical contact. Nope, nope, nope. I stood there and tried to back away from her, clutching the car keys as well as my carry-on bag. With my laptop slung across my body and my coat wrapped around my body, I smiled at the two clerks while the woman gathered her things.

She kept dropping her stuff while she walked behind me, and all I could do was groan.

She was loud, she was clumsy, and she was a hugger.

This was going to be a long trip.

 

Abby

 

I could not believe this man actually said yes. I was beyond relieved he was going to let me ride with him to Minnesota. Life had been throwing me curveball after curveball for the last few months, and I was almost ready to melt into a puddle on the floor. I gathered up my things and tried to keep up with him, but his long stride put him farther and farther ahead of me.

His shoulders were stiff, and his jaw was tense. His hand was white-knuckling the bag he was carrying. He was uptight, to say the least, and way too serious for his own good. I followed him as quickly as I could while he led us to the car, and I couldn’t help but giggle as he opened the trunk.

The car itself was luxurious, but the way he simply slid his stuff into the trunk was telling of the way he lived his life. Everything had a place and every action had a purpose. I came around behind him and slung my things in, toppling one of his bags over before I reached to close the trunk.

“Maybe we could try being a bit easier with things,” he said.

His voice was dark. Smooth, but dark. He had jet black hair, and blue eyes that sang a different tune from the rest of his body. They sparkled, even in the dimness of the snowstorm threatening to swallow us whole, and I watched him scoot my things off to the side before he propped his bag back up.

“Would you like a prop to make sure your things don’t slide around?” I asked, grinning.

He scoffed and shook his head.

“Well, Colin. Would you like me to drive? I happen to be an excellent driver in the snow.”

He turned his gaze toward me, and I could tell he wasn’t amused. He reached up with his long arm and shut the trunk before wrapping around to the driver’s side of the car. I shook my head at him and grinned, taking in how rigid he was in his everyday life.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” I said.

I bounced around to the other side of the car and got on in. He was cranking things up and fiddling with buttons, like this was the car he’d been driving all his life. I pulled off my bright yellow scarf and unbuttoned my orange coat. By the time we were pulling out of the airport parking lot, my ass was heating up.

“Oh, these are those fancy seats,” I said. “Keeps my bum all toasty warm.”

“Yes,” he said. “Toasty warm.”

We rode for the first few minutes in silence. Even though the seat was hot underneath my legs, his cold demeanor shivered me to my bones. His face was stoic while he stared out of the windshield of the car, and I started wondering about the man. Who he was. What he did for a living. What happened to him in another lifetime to make him feel like he had to walk with a stick up his ass. Maybe he was one of those people you had to get to know. Someone with layers to peel back before that smile I knew was hiding underneath that glare came to life.

But before I could start up a conversation, we were pulling into a gas station.

“The car tank should be full,” I said as I leaned over. “Want me to call the rental company?”

I looked up at him, and his gaze was already hard on my face. I quickly sat up in my seat, watching as he slid out of the car. I guessed he wasn’t much of a talker, which meant we probably wouldn’t get to know each other very well. But that wasn’t my fault. He was the one not playing nice.

He left me sitting in the car without asking me if I wanted anything, and I shook my head. What kind of rude man would offer me a ride and then not give a damn about anything else? Was he trying to save face for the people working at the car kiosk? What did those people mean to him? I sat back and sighed, allowing my eyes to close while the warmth of the seat gave me pause to take off my coat.

I needed to relax. I needed to unwind. I needed to see the good in things.

The past few months had been rough, and I was ready to get away from it all. People who I thought loved me were nothing more than assholes. I lost my roommate and the only friend I’d ever made over the years. The career I worked hard for was lying in shreds on the floor, and now?

Now, I was useless.

I watched out the window while the clouds began to cover up what was left of the dying sun. Winter didn’t look good on a state like Kansas, and I was ready to be home. Winter and powdery snow looked glorious on my childhood home. I loved waking up to the smell of fresh powder sitting on my outside windowsill. I adored running around in it, spinning around until I fell down and soaked my clothes with it. My favorite memories of home were snowball fights with my mother while Dad made his famous, homemade hot chocolate, complete with multicolored marshmallows melting on top.

The door ripping open pulled me from my thoughts, and the smell of coffee wafted up my nostrils. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a hot cup of coffee right now. But because of the life decision I’d made and the idiots I’d trusted, I had no money to my name. Not even enough to afford gas station coffee.

“Ready?” he asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” I said, sighing.

He shifted gears and pulled out onto the road, and soon, the tension filled the car again. I looked over at him, studying the way he drove. He even drove as rigidly as he looked. His hands were at ten and two on the steering wheel, white-knuckling it while he drove exactly the speed limit. His black hair was parted perfectly to the side and swooped away from his forehead, enhancing the harshness of his gaze, despite the boyish charm of his bright, blue eyes.

I bet if I could make him smile, they would glisten with Christmas joy.

“So, who’s waiting for you on the other end of this trip?” I asked.

He flickered his gaze over toward me but didn’t say a word.

“My parents are waiting for me,” I said. “They’re excited. I always come home to spend Christmas with them.”

And still, there was nothing.

“Who do you spend Christmas with?” I asked.

“I don’t,” he said.

“You don’t what?”

“Spend Christmas,” he said.

“You don’t spend Christmas with anyone?” I asked.

“No. I don’t celebrate it.”

“You… you don’t celebrate Christmas?” I asked, giggling. “Are you serious?”

His face remained stoic, and his lips didn’t budge.

“Who in the world doesn’t celebrate Christmas?” I asked.

“More than half the people in the world,” he said. “And me.”

“Ah, so you do have a bit of humor in you?”

“No, you asked a question, and I answered it,” he said.

“Of course,” I said, nodding. “Well, Burnsville’s where I grew up. My parents have lived there all their lives. Went to high school together and married the moment they graduated.”

I looked over at him to give him time to offer up anything about his life, but all he did was stare out the window.

“I’m actually coming from California, though,” I said. “San Diego. You?”

I heard him sigh, and then, he finally relented. He finally offered up something about himself.

“Same,” he said.

It wasn’t much, but it was something.

“What were you doing in San Diego?” I asked.

“Business.”

“What kind of business are you in?”

I watched his brow furrow deeply, like I’d just stepped on the tail of his favorite kitty or something. He refused to answer the question, and I sighed, allowing my gaze to drift out the window for a bit.

“Would you mind if I called my parents?” I asked. “You know, to update them on my travel plans?”

“Sure,” he said.

“Great. Thanks.”

I held out my hand for his cellphone, and he looked at me like I was an idiot. He quickly turned his sights back onto the road while I wiggled my fingers, but when he didn’t relent, I had to start talking again.

“Look, I know talking’s not your thing and all, but if you keep making me explain everything, I’m not gonna shut up,” I said.

“Why are you holding your hand out?” he asked.

“My phone died on the plane,” I said. “I need to borrow yours.”

He groaned before he clenched his jaw, but he finally dug his phone out and dropped it into my hand.

“Wow, is this a fully-loaded phone, too?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said plainly. “Because I use it for business purposes, too.”

I looked down at his phone in my hand, and I got an idea. If he wasn’t going to tell me much about him, then I could just Google him. Hell, you could Google anyone nowadays in order to figure out a little bit about them, and this Colin Murphy guy was practically forcing my hand!

So, I punched in his name to see what came up.

“Whoa,” I said.

“Hmm?” he asked.

“You’re really something, aren’t you?” I asked.

He looked over at me with that same furrowed brow, and I turned his phone around to him. There were numerous pictures of him, along with his business information, and he looked at me as if my head had popped off. I smiled and went back to scrolling through things, reading out headlines to him while he drove.

“‘Internet mogul stitches together markets.’ ‘Young entrepreneur to rewire the stock market.’ ‘Colin Murphy, the Jeff Bezos of international marketing.’”

“You can stop now,” he said.

“I don’t know, some of these are pretty cheeky. Oh, here’s a good one: ‘Steamy sexy Colin Murphy steps out in casualwear.’ Sounds like someone’s got a crush on your loafers.”

His grip on the steering wheel got tighter and tighter, and all I could do was giggle.

“You seem pretty well off,” I said.

“Uh huh.”

“What exactly do you do?” I asked. “Do you own a company or something?”

“Yep.”

“What does your company do?”

“Stuff,” he said.

“Stuff. Sounds lucrative, this ‘stuff.’ Here, it says your net worth is… Yikes. That’s a lot of zeros.”

I looked over at him while we were driving, and for just a split second, I thought I could see the faintest shadow of a grin cross his cheeks.

And I was right. His eyes did sparkle when it happened.

“Well, you’re doing well for being so young,” I said. “You’re what, my age? Twenty-six?”

“You’re twenty-six?” he asked.

“It’s never polite to ask a woman her age. Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?”

Instantly, I saw his face grow cold again. His knuckles reattached to the steering wheel like he was driving for his life, and I felt the car slow back down into the speed limit it should’ve been at for the highway we were driving on.

“I need to pay attention,” he said.

“That’s fine. I need to call my parents anyway.”

“Like you said you would.”

“Yep, and don’t go stalking me now that you have my home phone number,” I said, grinning.

I punched in my mother’s phone number and held the phone to my ear while Colin went back to concentrating on the road. I listened to the phone ring, and when she picked up on the other end, I could already feel myself getting giddy. I couldn’t wait to wrap my arms around my mother. I couldn’t wait to bury my face into the crook of my father’s neck. All I had left of my life was in the bags I managed to stow away on the plane ride, and I hadn’t yet broken the news to my parents.

The news that I was coming home to stay for a while.

“Hello?” my mother answered.

“Mom, hey!” I said, smiling. “It’s me.”

“Oh, sweetheart! How are you? Oh my gosh, has your plane landed already?”

“No, the plane actually had to land a bit early. That’s what I wanted to tell you. There’s a snowstorm that forced the plane to land in Kansas.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re in Kansas?” my mother asked.

“I am. I’m in a rental car now, driving toward you guys, but I won’t be there for another nine or so hours.”

“Drive careful, sweetie. And, keep us posted, Abs. We can wait to see you for Christmas!”

I felt a knot brewing in my throat, and I had to swallow hard in order to speak normally to my mother.

“I can’t wait to see you guys, too,” I said.

 

Colin

 

I honestly didn’t think that woman would ever get off the phone with her mother. They kept laughing and talking about Christmas traditions. Something about homemade hot chocolate and putting colors in it or something. I was trying my hardest to concentrate on the road, but her voice was grating on my ears. It was high-pitched and squealing, and her laughter was boisterous. She snorted when she got going, and it only added to the annoyance she caused me. By the time she hung up the phone, I was ready to pull this car over and pay for a cab to take her the rest of the way.

“Thanks,” she said as she handed my phone back to me.

I took it from her and put it away. My eyes looked up at the sky as I drove. The clouds continued to gather and darken, promising a storm of epic proportions. I was driving as fast as I could down the highway, but the last thing I needed was a speeding ticket. This woman’s antics had held me up at the airport longer than I needed to be, and now, I wasn’t sure if I was going to beat the storm at all.

Of course, she would continue to be a pain in my ass.

She’d talked to her mother for at least fifteen minutes. Hell, I never even talked to my mother that long. With every exit I passed by, I wondered if I could drop her off. Just pull into a gas station, leave her, and call a cab to come pick her up. Her feet were propped up on the dashboard, and she was fiddling with the radio station. I saw an approaching exit, and I pulled into the farthest right-hand lane.

But then a Christmas song came on, and she started singing.

It was the most awful rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” I’d ever heard, but it reminded me of the time of year it was. To me, it was the busiest time of the year. The time I really threw myself into work and prepared for the coming year. It was a time for me to make important calls and set important meetings and wrap up all the paperwork necessary for the coming tax season.

But for people like Abby, it was a time of celebration and vacations. A time of smiles and relief.

So, I got back over into the fast lane and kept cruising on up the highway.

People might call me a Grinch. The might call me Scrooge or anti-Christmas or whatever other types of names they could come up with for people who didn’t celebrate the holidays. I might get weird looks from people when I told them I didn’t celebrate, and I might have to deal with their rants about their own Christmas traditions, but that didn’t make me a heartless person.

I wasn’t cruel. I just didn’t celebrate Christmas.

The Christmas music kept droning on and on, and she seemed to know the words to every song that came on. Of course, she would. Why wouldn’t she at this point? It was just another way to grate on my nerves. My hands were gripping the steering wheel so hard they were aching, but what was I going to do? I wasn’t going to leave her stranded in the middle of nowhere, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to risk opening my mouth and prompt her to continue asking me questions.

So, I tolerated her horrendous singing while I raced up the highway.

Each and every song that came on was louder than the last. “Silent Night” and “Jingle Bells” filled my car, and I could feel my body aching with the need for silence. I continued sipping my coffee and tried to take my mind off things, but the moment I heard a familiar song strike itself up on the radio, I turned it off.

I was not about to listen to that woman try to belt out the diva tunes of “O Holy Night.”

“Hey, what was that for?” she asked.

“Silence,” I said.

“Come on,” she said. “Just because you don’t celebrate Christmas doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“You can put it on hold for nine hours.”

“You’re a Grinch,” she said, pouting.

I laughed. It’s not like she was the first person to ever call me that, but she was the first person to do it in the voice of a toddler. It was like she was trying to get me to change my mind. Like jutting out that bottom lip of hers and furrowing her brow would somehow sway me.

But she had another thing coming, because if she thought I hated the holidays, she was really going to go batty when I told her I didn’t like children.

“Well, since you won’t let me listen to music, I guess we just have to talk,” she said.

“Or we could ride in silence,” I said.

“Not a chance,” she said. “So, what’s this fun business of yours?”

I tried to stay silent on the matter, but I could feel her growing need to press.

“Do you run a store?” she asked.

“No.”

“A website?” she asked.

“Of sorts.”

“Oh, what does this mysterious website do?”

I clenched my jaw and bit my tongue. She was like a pesky three-year old with an incessant amount of questions. If I simply ignored her, I knew she’d shut up and go away.

At least, I think three-year-olds were the ones with incessant questions. Maybe it was four-year-olds.

“Does it sell stuff?” she asked.

“Sort of.”

“Does it sell high-end stuff?” she asked.

“No.”

“Does it sell people?” she asked.

“Are you serious?”

“I’ve got the next—oh, wow, we’re really flying—seven hours to piss you off.”

And there it was. Her entertainment for this trip. Pissing me the fuck off.

“I run Murphy Incorporated,” I said.

But the blank look on her face told me she had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. I had to admit, it was kind of nice.

For a woman who wouldn’t keep her mouth shut.

“It’s a website that allowed entrepreneurs and business owners to reach out to people in other marketplaces. It allows for the negotiating, trading, and settling of investments. It also has a forum for new entrepreneurs to ask questions and for seasoned business people in that field to answer. It also houses a docu-series where affluent people in the business world give lectures and record them so others can learn.”

“So, like, people from one country can go on this site and hook up with someone from the U.S.?” she asked.

“It’s not a dating site. No one’s hooking up. Legitimate business relationships and transactions are happening. I’ve made the idea of the business dinner electronic.”

“What’s a business dinner?” she asked.

“It’s where two individuals who have personal interests in a common business venture sit down, eat, talk, and eventually invest in one another,” I said.

“Oh, so, that’s just all online now?” she asked.

“Yes, but that’s not the only facet of the business. What it did was it opened up the marketplace for investors from the States to interact with investors and entrepreneurs who needed investors in places like the China and Taiwan.”

“So, people from here are investing in the Chinese marketplace or whatever?” she asked.

“Exactly.”

“Sounds simple enough,” she said.

“Of course, you would think that.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“It sounds simple because it was easy for you to wrap your head around, but it’s not,” I said. “It requires a great deal of electronic infrastructure, translators, people working all over the world at all hours of the day to make sure this site stays running, secure, live, and legitimate. It takes a great deal of manpower to earn the world’s trust in what I’m doing.”

“Okay, maybe it’s not so simple,” she said.

“Thank you.”

“For what? I wasn’t paying you a compliment.”

“When you tell me something is complicated, but you revel in the fact that I could do it anyway, it’s a great compliment.”

“Reveling?” she asked. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”

“The sparkle in your eye says so, yes.”

I turned my gaze to look at her, and I couldn’t help but grin at the shock on her face. Another thing that made me a powerful businessman was my ability to read people. She was easy. She wore her emotions on the sleeves of her bright coat. But I was used to reading sharks in a tank that were swirling around blood. If I wasn’t good at reading people, I would’ve been swept under with the current years ago.

“Whatever,” she said.

And when she sat back and silenced her questions, I took the victory and kept on driving.

But the victory was short-lived, which shouldn’t have surprised me a bit.

“My mom always hosts Christmas,” she said.

“That sounds nice.”

“And my father makes his homemade hot chocolate with multicolored marshmallows on top,” she said.

“Uh huh.”

“And Mom fills the house will all these treats. Chocolate-dipped coconut balls and white chocolate-dipped peanut butter Ritz crackers. Peppermint bark and German chocolate cake. She makes everything from scratch, and I can never get enough of it.”

“Sounds nice,” I said.

“And Dad puts this cinnamon broomstick in every room of the house, so it always smells like Christmas, and Mom leaves the Christmas tree on all night and sips apple cider beside it after we’re done watching our traditional Christmas movie at night. We watch one every night from the start of December, all the way to Christmas night.”

“Sounds nice,” I said.

“You already said that.”

“Doesn’t mean the sentiment’s changed.”

I felt her gaze on me as her voice silenced, and I allowed myself to soak in the moment. I knew pretty soon, she’d find something else to drone on about, so I took it while I could get it. And I had to admit, her Christmas traditions did sound nice.

Since she had people to spend time with and all.

“Do you have anyone to spend Christmas with?” she asked.

But all I could answer her with was a groan. Would this woman ever stop talking?

Abby

 

I was honestly just trying to figure this guy out. Never in my life had I met anyone so impartial to the idea of Christmas. Or the holiday season, in general. I bet if I asked him what he did for Thanksgiving, he’d tell me he ordered a pizza while planning his next business meeting. The man was as rigid as they came, and I was beginning to wonder if he simply hated everything that was supposed to bring someone the tiniest bit of joy.

And that groan he gave me when I asked him that question. What in the world was up with that?

“Well, do you?” I asked.

“Do I what?”

“Have anyone to celebrate Christmas with?” I asked.

And still, I got no answer out of him.

It was like he didn’t care. He acted like the idea of the holidays meant nothing to him. There was no joy in his eyes and no excitement to go see family. Did the man even have a family? Maybe I could steal his phone and Google it again.

“Do you not want to spend time with your family?” I asked.

“No.”

“Do you even have family?”

“Yes,” he said.

“So, you have family, but you don’t want to spend time with them?” I asked.

“Believe it or not, not everyone comes from a loving, supportive family.”

I turned my entire body to look at him, and I could tell I was making him uncomfortable. At the beginning of this ride, I would’ve found it a point of pride, but now, I knew I was sinking into personal territory, and I just couldn’t let go of it. This was my chance to get to know him. To really figure out how this man ticked.

After all, I only had seven more hours with him before he would drop me off and be gone forever.

“So, drop the family thing,” I said. “Got it. You don’t have a girlfriend to spend the holidays with?”

“Nope.”

“No one to decorate the Christmas tree with?” I asked.

“No.”

“No one to cuddle while the two of you sip hot chocolate or apple cider?” I asked.

“The mere fact that I don’t have a girlfriend should answer the remaining questions rattling around in your empty head,” he said.

“Yikes. You don’t have to be cruel about it.”

I heard him sigh as I turned around and faced the highway. Yeah, he really was a Grinch. Of course, I’d be stuck riding with someone who didn’t give a shit about my favorite time of year. I was stuck in a car for seven more hours with a man who wanted nothing but silence, and what in the world was I supposed to do? Twiddle my thumbs and sit here like a bump on a log?

“You should consider getting a girlfriend,” I said.

“Why?”

“Because despite the fact that you’re a jerk, I think you’d be good at spoiling her.”

“And what is your argument base for that?” he asked.

“My argument base?”

“Yes, what is your proof that I’d be good at spoiling a woman?” he asked.

“Wow, you really are a peach. Okay. My proof is this: cold men like you are always softies on the inside.”

“Your proof is a stereotype,” he said.

“Stereotypes are borne from a truth,” I said. “They might be blown out of proportion in movies and books, but tropes exist for a reason. Stereotypes bleed an inherent truth about the box someone has put themselves into. Not because they willingly put themselves in a box, but because of how the mind hardwires itself when someone first begins their journey to that box. Cold, stern, stoic men like yourself aren’t that way because you choose to be. You’re that way because you have to be. But cold, stern, and stoic doesn’t allow your body to indulge in the chemical reactions and the hormones your body releases on a daily basis. You’ve become very good at keeping control because your life probably waged out of control for a long time.”

I watched him slowly pan his gaze over toward me. I could tell he was taking in every single word I was saying, and I couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride.

He wasn’t the only one with hidden talents up his sleeves.

“Men like you aren’t cold because they are naturally cold,” I said. “You’re cold and mean and unforgiving because you have the last little bit of softness that you’re trying so hard to protect. You want to wait and see who’ll dig through all those walls to get to it, and in your mind, whoever’s willing to break through all those walls deserves it. But that’s not true. You wanna know why?”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because wrecking balls exist,” I said.

At first, I wanted to make the best of this weird and crummy situation. I wanted to see if I could open him up and get him to talk with me a little bit. I wanted to see if maybe I could make a new friend before I was dropped off in my hometown, forced to find my own way again after experiencing betrayal after betrayal.

But he was an immovable object.

What he didn’t realize was that I was also an unstoppable force.

I could tell I had shocked him, but to what extent, I wasn’t sure. He turned his eyes back to the road, and we continued along, but the tension in the car grew thick. I actually rolled the window down in order to get some fresh air, despite the fact that it was so frigid. And when I’d had my fill of it, I rolled the window back up.

“So you have family,” I said.

“That I won’t talk about,” he said.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s a free country, and that’s my choice,” he said.

Why didn’t he want to talk about his family? How bad could it be, right? Even though he was closed off, he was also well put together. His family couldn’t be absolute shitheads, right? He was stern and closed off, but he was also intelligent and very successful. That said something about his mother, at the very least.

Maybe he was adopted, and that was why he didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe his adopted parents were monsters. Maybe he was going on this wild excursion to find his birth parents and was just covering it up with work. Maybe his family was long-lost royalty, and they were reaching out to him after years of oppression and ruling some far-off country with their conservative laws and backward ways.

He looked like he could be royalty. He was handsome enough to be.

Despite his crappy demeanor, his jawline was strong. His chin was prominent, and his bright blue eyes looked like they were singing. His lips were full, but not overblown, with just the perfect amount of rosy pink color to them. His skin was pale, but not unhealthy, and even underneath his coat, I could tell he boasted a muscular figure. His legs were long, and his arms were lanky, but the way his dark hair swept off to the side seemed to offset his rigid body with the slightest boyish demeanor.

If he wasn’t such a stick in the mud, I’d probably try to hit on him.

Suddenly, the car jolted. It thumped and hobbled, and Colin immediately pulled over onto the side of the road. The car came to a stop while the foreign sound continued to thump, and I felt a rush a fear course through my veins.

Were we stranded? Did we need help? Was he going to kill me and leave me on the side of the road?

“Do we have a flat tire?” I asked.

“Maybe. I won’t know until I check.”

He got out of the car and disappeared from view, and for a split second, I thought about running. Maybe he wasn’t adopted royalty at all. Maybe he was the child of a serial killer that was taken from his parents by CPS. Maybe his father was an axe murderer, and his mother was an accomplice, and this would be the trigger that flipped his psychotic switch.

“It’s flat,” I heard him say.

“Do you know how to change a flat?” I asked.

“Of course, I do.”

I slid out of the car and made my way to where he was. The tire was flat, but not blown out. We’d been driving on it long enough to dent and bend the rim of the wheel. Colin opened the trunk of the car and started pushing things off to the side, placing them in their perfect little imaginary chalk outlines before he started looking for the spare tire.

Then, as if the situation couldn’t get any worse, the clouds opened up and began dumping snow on us.

It was snowing so hard, I could hardly see the road off in the distance while Colin changed the tire. He struggled with the lug nuts to get them off. They had probably tightened from the cold weather we were driving in. He grunted and groaned. I offered to help, but all he did was shrug me off when I bent down to try and take the tire iron from him.

“I’ve. Got. It,” he said pointedly.

I shook my head and climbed back into the car. If he didn’t want help, then there was no reason for me to freeze my ass off, too. I felt the car jolt and bob before the car settled to the ground, and thirty minutes later, this rigid, angry man climbed back into the driver’s seat.

I didn’t think the frown on his face could sink any lower until that very moment.

“Everything good?” I asked.

He said nothing and pulled back out onto the road.

Now, I knew what it felt like to be him. I’d tried everything I could think of to get to know him, but all he wanted to do was shove me away. This was literally a car ride for him and nothing else, so I finally conceded defeat and propped my legs back up onto the dashboard.

If he wanted this car ride to be silent and miserable, then it could be silent and miserable.

 

Colin

 

The weather was getting worse. As I continued to drive down the highway after changing that damn tire, I could see the snow finally piling up on the highway. I was having to slow my traveling pace down until we were only traveling about half the speed limit down the road. I was trying to see through the snow battering the windshield while my eyes scanned for a break in the sky. A bit of sunlight. A patch of blue. Anything to signal to me that this storm was about to let up.

And then there was Abby, hanging her head out the window, trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.

This woman was relentless. She was a fully-grown adult, hanging her body out the window. It was like she was a full-grown mastiff that didn’t understand that she wasn’t a lap dog. I didn’t understand it.

I didn’t understand her, and I had no passion to.

“Abby?” I asked.

Either she couldn’t hear me or didn’t want to answer me.

“Abby?”

She giggled out the window while the snowflakes got stuck in her hair, and I knew exactly how to get her attention. I turned on my windshield wipers and sent a flurry of snow in her general direction.

“Hey!”

She started sputtering and shaking as her body hit the seat, and I couldn’t help but grin. It served her right for being nothing but a mooch who used the Christmas spirit as a way to extort a ride home from me. She was brushing off her hair and her face while I rolled the window up. Then, I conveniently locked it, so she couldn’t get it back down.

“Oh, so you’re just gonna lock me in?” she asked. “How mature.”

“Says the woman hanging her head out the window like a dog,” I said. “Look up the weather on your phone.”

“It’s dead.”

“Then look it up on my phone,” I said.

I took it out and tossed it back to her. She had to be good for something. She had to have some sort of skill rattling around up there in that brain of hers. I listened while she typed around on my phone, but she wasn’t typing fast enough. The snow was getting worse and worse, and by the time she actually had something for me, I was already pulling off onto an exit.

“The latest weather report says—”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I can’t see driving on the road any longer. We’ll have to pull over and wait until the snow stops.”

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Somewhere in Iowa.”

“You don’t know what town?”

“You were the one hanging out the window a second ago,” I said. “You didn’t catch any of the signs?”

“I got it, Colin. You’re a scrooge with money, and no one to spend it on, and you’re pissed because you never get laid and have no family who loves you.”

I had to physically bite down on my tongue in order to keep from firing back an insult at her.

We passed a sign that said, “Town of Lamoni” while I searched for a hotel for us to stay in. If I had to venture a guess by the amount of time we’d been driving, we were about halfway to Minneapolis. But because it was such a small town and there seemed to be absolutely nothing around, the only place I could find was the rundown motel whose vacancy sign wasn’t even lit up.

Even though the entire parking lot was desolate.

“Are they even open?” Abby asked.

“Let’s hope so,” I said, sighing. “Because it’s all we’ve got. Can you sit here?”

“Are you asking me if I’m capable of it?”

“Yes, Miss Lap Dog.”

“You’re fucking insufferable, you know that?” she asked.

“And she curses. Good to know.”

I got out of the car before she could say anything else and walked into the pathetic excuse for a front desk area. This was nowhere near the type of place I would pick to stay at for myself, but the snow was coming down harder than ever, and I knew I couldn’t drive any farther. We had no options, we were out in the middle of nowhere, and we were at least an hour outside of the next major city, according to the last mileage sign I could remember seeing on the highway.

“Need a room?” the woman asked.

“Two, if you’ve got them,” I said.

“We’ve only got one,” she said.

“But the parking doesn’t have anyone in it,” I said.

“Just because people don’t have cars doesn’t mean people don’t stay here,” she said.

“So, you’ve only got one room. Does it at least have two beds?”

“Nope,” she said. “But it’s got a king-sized bed in it. You good with that?”

“No,” I said. “I’m not good with that. Are there any other places in town I could check out?”

“Nope.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to be good with it.”

If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. Not only was I stuck with a woman who acted like a toddler, but now, I had to share a room with her. She was beautiful, which was obvious to anyone who had an eye to spare her way, but that didn’t make up for the asinine attitude she carried with her. She was all smiles and Christmas songs and hanging her idiot ass out the window to catch snowflakes. She was insane.

And now, I had to share a fucking bed with her. I could only hope that this motel room had another piece of furniture in it besides this bed. I highly doubted it. The front desk barely had a few chairs for people to sit in and wait, which was only a foreshadowing of the room to come.

“Room 113,” she said. “It’s down at the tip of the ‘L.’”

“The tip of the ‘L,’” I said. “Great.”

Even in just that small amount of time, the roads were beginning to freeze up. I got back into the car and felt the car beginning to slide. I took the car out of park and simply let it coast to the end of the motel. I parked in the very last space and cut off the engine while the snow started coming down in buckets, and that was when it hit me.

What in the world were we going to eat?

I got out of the car, and she followed on my heels. I quickly opened the trunk and pulled my stuff out, leaving her to get her things while I strode to the door. I used the keycard to get into the room. I had to shove my hip into the door to get in, and when I stumbled into the room, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

The room was small, to say the least. There was a rickety dresser that had a boxed television sitting on top of it, and the king-sized bed was dipping a bit in the middle. There was no extra furniture whatsoever, not even a bedside table to set our stuff on, and the bathroom was less than ideal. The sink just hovered over the carpet while two doors sat off on either side. I set my stuff down to go explore the doors, no longer caring about the fact that it was all in Abby’s way.

I opened both the doors to find a leaking shower and a very small toilet, and all I could do was groan.

I heard the television come on while Abby started sifting through the channels. Despite the ancient television set, the picture was actually pretty clear. I took out my phone and connected to the internet with the password on the keycard, and to my shock, it was surprisingly fast.

“At least they invested in something,” I said.

“What was that?”

I ignored Abby’s question while I pulled up a weather report. It was supposed to snow for the next few hours, but it looked like it should be clear by tonight. Finally, the first piece of good news I’d gotten in the last twenty-four hours. It didn’t seem like I was going to actually have to spend the night with this woman.

“We can get back on the road in a few hours it seems,” I said.

“So, we’re not staying overnight?” she asked.

“No, not a chance,” I said. “We’re just here until the snow slows down.”

“I’m hungry,” she said. “Want something?”

“Where in the world are you going to get food?” I asked.

“There were vending machines at the corner junction down there,” she said. “Where it splits off into this little ‘L’ shape. Didn’t you see it?”

“No, I didn’t. And no, I’m not hungry.”

“Fine. Suit yourself.”

She left the room, and for the first time, I felt like I could breathe. I shrugged my coat off and sat on the edge of the bed, hearing it creak as the mattress depressed underneath me. My phone was already ringing off the hook with people trying to locate where I was, so I composed a massive text message to everyone trying to get in touch with me. The television was droning in the background with some ridiculous show, so I got up to shut it off.

Finally, a little bit a peace.

“Well, the vending machine’s crap,” Abby said.

I groaned inwardly as my eyes fluttered shut.

“The sodas are already frozen, and there’s nothing but chips and crackers in the other machine. But I got us a few things, just in case you wanted to nibble. Once the cans unfreeze, it’ll give us some caffeine as well.”

She dumped her findings onto the bed with a massive smile on her face. How in the world this woman could find some sort of happiness to cling to in this scenario was beyond me. She looked up at me, searching my eyes for some sort of reaction. It was like she wanted me to pat her on the back for what she’d found or something.

Her big brown eyes mesmerized me for a second before I shook my head and turned toward the mirror above the sink.

“It’s funny how this motel makes you feel so uncomfortable,” she said. “I guess because they don’t have hot towels to give you to help you relax.”

I could hear the giggle in her voice.

“And I bet, since the bedsheets aren’t silk, you probably think they’re infested with bed bugs or something,” she said.

I clocked her reflection in the mirror, and the smirk on her face both elated and annoyed the piss out of me.

“And don’t forget about the lack of room service,” she said. “Heaven forbid you have to live off snacks like the rest of us poor people do sometimes.”

I shrugged off her comments before I turned on the faucet. The water was barely running out of it, and it was ice cold to boot. I splashed some in my face nonetheless, in an attempt to try and wash the dirt I could already feel collecting on my skin. If she wanted to make fun of me, that was fine. Maybe it was her way of pulling me down to her level. Or maybe it was her way of trying to cope with a situation she found just as awkward as I did.

Either way, I tried not to play into her game.

“You called your boyfriend yet?” I asked.

“What?” she asked.

“You called your mom,” I said. “I’m assuming you will again soon. But have you called your boyfriend to let him know you’re traveling with another man?”

“I’m surprised you’d even care about something like that.”

“That’s the thing about us rigid men,” I said. “We still have feelings.”

I watched her face fall with my comment, and I sighed while my hands planted onto the slimy bathroom counter.

I really needed to get out of this place.

“No boyfriend,” she said.

“I find that hard to believe,” I said.

“Oh, I’m sure you do.”

“Abby, despite the fact that you get on my nerves and act like a child, you’re a beautiful woman. We’re just two different people. I’m not better than you, and you’re not better than me. So yes, it is shocking that a woman like yourself who can seem to find something to smile about in any scenario is single.”

I risked my health by grabbing the towel folded up in the corner and wiping my face down with it. I expected Abby to start spouting off all this stuff or find a way to loop this into something about Christmas, but she was surprisingly silent. I dropped the towel onto the counter and turned around, only to find her eyes downcast and staring at her thumbs. She was picking at them, a nervous tick many people had when they were put on the spot.

I realized her other fingers were pretty picked at as well, which told me it was something she’d always struggled with.

“I broke up with him,” she said.

“What happened?”

“We just weren’t compatible,” she said.

“Was he a rigid stick in the mud?” I asked.

Her eyes whipped over to me, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Part of my job as a businessman is to know how people perceive me. I conduct some of my best business deals when I can get an accurate read on people.”

“Oh, so now you want to open up,” she said, snickering. “Is this to try and get me to open up?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” I asked. “For me to open up. Or did you only want me to open up when there wasn’t the threat of talking about yourself?”

I walked over to her, and I could see her jaw was clenching. It was interesting, turning the tables on a woman like Abby. I could tell she was getting uncomfortable, but now, I started to understand a little bit of why she had been prodding me in the car. The more I heard come from her lips and the more I studied her, the more I was intrigued as to why she was feeling the way she was, and why she acted the way she did.

Then, a chilling thought ran through my mind.

“Did he hurt you?” I asked.

Her eyes slowly panned over to me before she turned her entire face my way. It would explain the irrational behavior. The way she was so panicked to have a car and get out of Kansas. If she had been in an abusive relationship of some sort and was trying to seize the moment, then the fear and anguish I saw at the rental car kiosk could’ve been her fear of being caught by him.

“Not in the way you’re thinking,” she said.

I released the breath I was holding, but her answer left more questions for me to ask. Why did she insist on always acting like a child? What in the world was she smiling about sometimes? Why did she feel the need to fill every single piece of silence with her voice?

Why was she still picking at her thumbs?

“What happened?” I asked.

She snickered and shook her head, but she still refused to answer. My mind was whirling while she ran her hand through her hair. I noticed how silky soft it was. How her fingers just grazed through her hair like they were on ice. Even in the dim, yellow lighting of the hotel room, her hair seemed to glisten, the way her big brown eyes did whenever she turned them toward me.

Like she was doing now.

“It was recent, wasn’t it?” I asked.

“What?”

“The breakup. It was recent. That’s why you’re going home, and he’s not with you. Because you didn’t want to spend the holidays alone. You wanted to spend them with your family.”

“I always spend them with my family,” she said.

“Yes, but they always come to you,” I said.

“How could you possibly—”

“So, I was right.”

“What?”

“In my assumption,” I said. “I was right.”

Before I could reel myself in, Abby flung her body toward mine. Our lips collided in a shocking endeavor, and I threw my hands up over my head. Her palms were cupping my cheeks while her lips were massaging mine, and for just a moment, I got a taste of the warmth her body could provide. Her tongue swiped against my lips before she pulled away, and I felt the warmth of her trickle down my neck and warm my shoulders.

She pulled away before I had the sense to settle my arms around her body, and all I could do was stare at her.

“Shut up,” she said breathlessly.

 

Abby

 

Okay, I got it. I finally understood why he felt the way he did about the questions I kept throwing his way. I’d stay out of his business if he just stayed out of mine. There was no way in this world I was going to rehash the last six months of my life during the Christmas holidays, much less with a stranger.

But I couldn’t deny the tension pulsing between the two of us.

His lips were tinted red, and his cheeks were flushed. I watched this rigid man in front of me slowly become fluid, like a fish floating around in its own personal water source. His shoulders relaxed, and his eyes settled. His stern brow finally unfurrowed, and the sparkle in his wondrous blue eyes soared to life. I found myself wanting to kiss those lips again. To feel his strong chest pressed against mine. The sharpness of his cheekbones was still imprinted into the palms of my hands, and as I sat there studying him, I watched his face slowly come closer.

I wanted to figure out what was underneath that expensive suit of his. I wanted to unfurl his tie from his neck and use it to pull him closer to me. I wanted to run my tongue along the divots of the muscles he kept hidden underneath his clothes. As our lips connected with one another’s again, I felt my back quickly sinking to the bed.

His tongue might’ve shot daggers of ice, but the warmth it flooded my system with could’ve melted this snowstorm out of our way.

If there was one way to kill time on a road trip, this was it. While his hands slid my clothes off, peeling back my physical layers while my body revealed itself to him, I couldn’t help but giggle. This was the perfect Christmas distraction I needed at this moment in my life. A beautiful man with beautiful muscles and bright sparkling eyes to take a chunk out from between my legs. His lips cascaded down my neck while I poured into my panties, and a wave of happiness shrouded my body.

This was something I deserved. A little fun and something to make me feel good. No commitment, no future plans, no trust necessary. Just two people seeking warmth and shelter from a storm that threatened to devour us whole.

Even if it was just for a short period of time.

Once we were clad in nothing but our skin, I could see the whole of him. His rippling abs and his chiseled chest. The strength of his back underneath my fingernails was astounding. The black of his pupils swallowed his beautiful blue eyes, and his gaze dripped with lust while his lips found my pert nipples. I moaned and whimpered, arching my back into him while I ran my fingertips through his luscious hair.

My legs were trembling while his strong hands fled down my body. His fingers slipped between my legs. He nibbled on my hips and drew groans from my body. The bed creaked underneath every movement he made. His dexterous fingers circled my clit, swelling it to a size I didn’t realize it could before he rushed up my body. Our lips collided in a flurry of passion while the snow continued to flutter against the windows, but even with the cold surrounding us, I could already feel my back beginning to sweat.

The desire between the two of us was undeniable.

He paused. “Please tell me you’re—”

“Yes,” I said breathlessly. “I’m on the shot.”

I felt his cock leaking against my leg while he positioned himself at my entrance. He slowly slid in, his girth making me gasp while my pussy folds parted for him. His lips swallowed my groans while he filled me to the brim, and just when I thought he was going to bottom out, he kept going. I shook underneath his body while my fingertips gripped into his back, and by the time he finally pressed fully into my body, I was shivering with delight.

I felt him grin into my skin before he slowly began to move.

With each thrust he made, the headboard knocked up against the wall. The springs of the bed creaked, and the entire thing wobbled. Our panting intermingled with one another’s while sweat started to appear on his brow. The entire time, he didn’t once let go of my gaze.

Never in my life had I had sex with a man who actually wanted to look at me, and I felt wholly exposed and fully covered at the same time.

His blue eyes sparkled with lust while his hips rolled into mine. I locked my legs around him and drew him deeper, pulling from him a groan that shivered my spine. I rushed my hands up his back and kissed his shoulder, hearing him sigh into me as he planted his face into the crook of my neck. The strength of his muscles and the way he rolled his hips into mine felt natural. Like he’d been building up to this moment, and it was time for him to shine.

All we could hear were our pants and our groans while he picked up the pace.

Soon, he was pounding into me, fucking me into the dusty mattress of the motel. His hands pressed beside my head while his lips captured mine, and I could feel my climax growing. I unlocked my legs and dug my heels into the mattress, raising my hips to meet his while my hands rounded over the globe of his beautiful ass. It was strong, taut with muscle, and clenching with every thrust he made just for my pleasure.

It was enough to tip me over the edge, and I felt my pussy squeezing him for dear life.

“Shit. Shit. Yes. Oh fuck.”

My breathless chants pulled a grin upon his cheeks, while my eyes rolled into the back of my head. My tits stood at painful peaks as he drew one between his teeth, shoving his cock deep into me while it clenched around him. I could feel my juices dripping down the crack of my ass, soaking the disgusting bed underneath us before he flipped us over.

I was panting into his neck while my legs straddled him. His hands massaged my hips while I tried to stop my head from swirling.

I pressed my hands into his chest and slowly leaned up. I could feel his thickness filling me from every angle. His eyes had darkened completely while they roamed my flushed body, and little by little, I began to rock in his lap. His hands guided me, coaching me on how to please him while he throbbed deeply inside my body.

Never in my life had I felt this way with a man before. The climax he just pulled from my body had left me light-headed. Judging by the way he stroked my skin with his hands and the way he expertly rolled his hips into mine, there was no way in hell this man was ever single for long periods at a time. I started bouncing on top of him, feeling his hands grip into my skin.

Goosebumps rushed down every appendage of my body.

Soon, the headboard was knocking against the wall again. I bounced on his lap and swirled my hips, pulling breathless words from between his lips I couldn’t make out. I threw my head back in ecstasy, relishing in the way his hips rose to meet mine. It was like he couldn't keep still, no matter how hard he tried. Like he had to be as deep within my body as I would allow him.

But he didn’t have to worry. I’d let him be as deep as he wanted, as long as he kept making me feel this way.

My hands landed back onto his chest, and my hair fell around our faces. It created this wall around us, blocking out the entire world while we gazed into one another’s eyes. I could feel my arousal spilling onto his pelvis with each thrust into my body, but all I could focus on was the beauty of his face.

How chiseled his features were and how focused he was on my pleasure.

I leaned forward and grabbed onto the rocking headboard while I rolled my hips. My swollen clit was raking against his tightly-wound curls, and I could feel myself unraveling again. The entire bed was crashing against the wall, shaking it to a point where I thought the entire room would come crashing down around us. Colin’s breathless words turned into grunts of satisfaction, and the moment I felt him swelling against my walls, I allowed myself to unravel again.

I slammed down onto his lap one last time while I threw my head back, my walls throbbing around Colin while he bit down onto his bottom lip.

“Holy fuck,” he said as he slammed into me one last time.

I watched as he came unraveled underneath me. His jaw unhinged, and his eyes screwed shut. I fell to his body while something crashed around us. My head pressed into the crook of his neck. I could feel his icy body shaking, our sweat intermingling with each other’s while his cock spilled into me. I was still vibrating around him, quaking against his skin while he marked me for the night.

And then he did something tender I never would have expected from a man like him. He began running his fingers through my hair while he pressed a kiss to the side of my head.

I stayed on his lap, feeling his thickness dwindling as he slowly slid out of me. He didn’t make a move to get up, and I didn’t make a move to get off. But the moment someone started knocking on the wall, I could tell we were in trouble.

“Cool it, guys,” a man shouted. “You broke our damn picture.”

I couldn’t help but giggle into his neck as I heard him sigh.

My giggles grew to laughter as I sat back up on his body. I moved my hair from my face and covered my mouth, trying my best to get myself under control. I looked down at Colin, with his flushed face and his shining forehead, and he rolled his eyes.

“Fucking cheap motel,” he said, murmuring.

“Hey, at least you made a fun little memory,” I said through my giggles. “One you can tell your buddies about after that meeting of yours.”

I slid off his body and wiggled my way underneath the covers just as his words hit my ears.

“I don’t do that.”

“Do what?” I asked.

“Kiss and tell.”

“You did a bit more than kiss,” I said.

“I don’t fuck and tell, either,” he said.

I studied him in that moment. The way his muscular body was spread out for anyone to take in. I saw his pelvis glistening with the evidence of our passion while the healthy flush from his body began to fade. He was slowly fading back into that rigid form he’d quickly become famous for in my eyes, but it was his words that were ringing heavily in my ear.

He was respectful. He might’ve been a Grinch and a stick in the mud and a workaholic, but he was respectful.

Which was honestly not something I’d expected from him.

 

Colin

 

I laid there, listening to her laugh while I tried to catch my breath. It had been a long time since I’d allowed my carnal desires to sweep me off my feet like that. For all the talking she did in the car, she was pretty silent in bed. But the way her body molded to me and the way her walls massaged my girth were more than I could stand.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck standing on end just thinking about it.

I needed to take a shower. I needed to take the time to calm down from what just happened. I needed to get her scent off me, and I needed to wash away the dust this mattress kicked up into the room. So, I got up, headed toward the bathroom, and turned on the light.

I cut the shower nozzle on all the way toward hot and waited for the room to steam. Saunas always cleared my head, but in this dank motel, this was the closest thing I had to it. I stood by the shower while Abby tried to get her giggling under control, her fingers fiddling with the wrapping on some crackers while I cringed. How in the world was she going to be able to stomach that food?

It was probably stale.

After five minutes of the water running, it still wasn’t hot. It didn’t even get warm. But at that point, I didn’t care. I could feel my skin crawling with her scent, and I could feel the dust that had settled into my hair. All I wanted to do was get washed down and clean before the two of us got on the road again.

Before I allowed my bodily desires to run away with my rational mind again.

The water of the shower was ice cold. It was like the water heater wasn’t even working. I shivered in the pathetic water pressure while using the motel’s crappy soap to wash with, trying to work the film off my skin that had developed. There was nothing about this room that was anywhere near appealing, and I was glad we were getting out of it soon.

The icy water beat down onto my back while I quickly washed my hair. Then, I turned it off before I hopped out. I grabbed for the first towel I could find and wrapped it around me, then headed straight for the phone. In all this weather, with all this snow coming down, the least the front desk could do was make sure these rooms had hot water.

But the only news was terrible news the moment I picked up the phone.

“Front desk.”

“Yes, this is room 113,” I said. “There seems to be an issue with our hot water.”

“Yes, sir. The heater blew, and we’re currently working on it.”

Great. Just what we all needed. A busted water heater while the snow poured down outside.

“Is there any time projection as to when the issue will be rectified?” I asked.

“No, sir. I have no idea when it’ll be fixed. We’ll call all the rooms once we’ve got it.”

Without another word, I hung up the phone. I couldn’t stay in this place another minute. This motel didn’t have a decent bed, decent carpet, decent towels, or decent walls. They didn’t give a damn about service, nor did it seem like they did renovations to the place in the last… well… ever. I’d stayed in hostels during my younger days nicer than this place, and all I wanted was to get out.

“Let’s get dressed,” I said.

“Why?” Abby asked.

“Because we’re going to head out.”

I watched her turn her head to look outside while I gathered my suit off the floor. I could only imagine the dust and grime my clothing was now littered with since they’d been on the floor. I heard the television turn on behind me while Abby sat at the edge of the bed, her body wrapped in the musty sheets of the bed.

Her eyes were trained onto the screen while a weather report droned on in the background, and the punches just kept on coming.

“Good afternoon, everyone. My name’s Roy Barker, and this is a weather emergency announcement. There is a winter storm warning blanketing the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Those located in the center of the storm will see as much as a foot and a half of snow before the night is out, but even those on the outskirts of the storm should be careful. Snowfall in these areas will get up to eight inches.”

I turned around and looked at the screen. I searched for the red dot that signaled where we currently were, and I sighed when I finally located it.

We were in the middle of this damn storm.

“I know you wanna get out of here,” Abby said. “But I don’t really think it’s safe.”

I wanted to combat her, but I knew she was right. We weren’t just in the center of the storm, we were on the outskirts of the center. That meant if we started driving now, we’d still have to drive for another hour before we got out just from underneath the center of this damn thing.

“Of course, it’s not,” I said, mumbling.

“Well, we can make the best of it,” she said.

“And how do you propose we do that?” I asked.

“I mean, it’s already entertaining watching you roughing it.”

“And what do you suppose we do about food?” I asked.

“Want me to go get some more crackers from the vending machine?” she asked.

“I’m serious, Abby,” I said. “We’ll be here until at least morning, as much as I hate to admit it. We’re going to need something besides stale crackers.”

“They’re not too stale…”

I slowly panned my gaze over to her while she stifled her own little giggle. How in the world could she be this optimistic? How in the world could she find a silver lining in this debacle? I didn’t understand where she was getting her happiness. I didn’t understand what silver lining she was looking at. She was cheery all the time, always found a way to laugh at something, and didn’t seem to have a care in the world.

Must be nice, not having anything to worry about. Even though I didn’t understand the very strange woman I was traveling with or what my pull was toward her, I did know one thing for sure.

I wasn’t going to make it to this meeting on time.

With a towel still wrapped around me, I ventured over to my bags. I pulled out my laptop and quickly connected to the internet. I wanted to make good use of it while it was still up because I wasn’t putting anything past this circumstance any longer. I quickly finished the notes for the presentation I was working on earlier. Then, I sent it off to the man I’d have to volley this meeting over to.

I gave him a call on my phone.

“Colin!” he said. “Thank fuck. Are you okay?”

“No, Mac. I’m not. Listen, I just sent you the rest of the PowerPoint with the added notes. It’s going to be you handling that meeting.”

“What happened to the flight?” Mac asked. “Where are you?”

“I’m in a very small town in Iowa that has dingy motels and very incompetent people doing their jobs. I’m snowed in until the morning, and even if we leave early and take it slow, I’m still not going to get there until the charity event.”

“Wait a second. Who the hell is ‘we’?”

I sighed as I looked over at Abby. She was already switching the channel to a television show that had her smiling. I turned my back toward her and looked out the window, watching the sheets of snow coat the rental car I’d gotten back at the airport.

“It’s such a long story, and I don’t have time,” I said. “Do you have the presentation?”

“Yes,” he said. “It’s in my inbox. You’ll be there for the charity event to give your speech though, right?”

“Yes. I will be there for that. Tell everyone that I’m sorry I’ll be missing the meeting. Just be honest. My flight got grounded due to snow, I tried to get out as fast as I could, and I just didn’t make it out on time.”

“Does this have anything to do with the ‘we’ portion of your statement?”

“Trust me,” I said. “It’s not as entertaining as it seems.”

“Whatever you say,” he said, chuckling. “Anything I should know before this meeting?”

“Yeah. It’s the biggest one in the company’s history. Don’t blow it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Keep in touch, and I’ll see you at the charity event.”

“Let me know how the meeting goes,” I said.

I got off the phone and pinched the bridge of my nose. This situation couldn’t possibly get any worse. I was half-naked with a woman whom I’d just had sex with, and now, she was wrapped up in a dusty old sheet, laughing at television that was now growing fuzzy. It was like every connection we had to the outside world was fading because of this damn storm, and I felt my jaw clenching while Abby giggled behind me. Her optimism was getting on my nerves, and I was suddenly, painfully aware of the fact that we’d have to sleep together again tonight on that bed.

I turned toward her, and she caught my stare. Then I watched as a sly grin crossed her face.

“We could always go for round two if the T.V. goes out,” she said.

I rolled my eyes at her while she threw her head back in laughter, but what pissed me off the most was my body.

It heated at her words, and I could already feel my pelvis burning for another round.

 

Abby

 

Making Colin squirm was going to be fun. If he was going to go back to being insufferable, then I was at least going to get a little joy out of it. I tugged the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around me like a massive toga, then went off in search of my phone. I dug through my bags until I found the ancient piece of technology, then plugged it into the wall. Colin was doing something on his own phone, with his chiseled body sitting in its perfect posture. I had the best glimpse of the muscles in his back, and immediately, I felt the heat rising up my legs.

He was immovable and way too serious for his own good, but he knew how to use his body.

I sat by my phone until I could turn it on. Then, I scrolled through my contacts. I wanted to call my mom so I could let her know what was going on. With my phone being dead, there was a good chance she was already trying to call me. My mother was the kind of woman who kept track of everything. Names with gifts so she could write thank you cards. Numbers and addresses so she never had to fool with an address book. She could memorize any recipe simply by looking at it, and she knew everyone’s schedule in the house by heart. The woman was a freak of nature in that aspect, and I had no idea why I had to inherit my father’s absentmindedness, but I knew the moment I told her where I was traveling, her eyes would be glued to the weather reports.

And just as I suspected, before I could press the call button, she was ringing in.

“Hey, Mom,” I said.

“Finally,” she said. “Abigail Thompson, where in the world have you been?”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m fine. That’s why I was calling you.”

“Where are you?” she asked.

“A small town in Iowa. I’m about halfway home now. But we’ve gotten caught in the middle of this massive snowstorm. How are you guys up there?”

“It’s coming down pretty hard, although it’s let up a bit in the past hour,” she said. “We’ve got about four inches now, but we’re expecting four or five more before tomorrow morning.”

“The area I’m in is expecting an entire foot and a half before it’s over,” I said.

“But you’re in a hotel, right?” she asked. “You’re not stranded somewhere?”

“It depends on your definition of stranded,” I said as I grinned over at Colin. “But no, I’m not on the side of the road or anything.”

“Good. You guys got hot water?”

“Not by the sound of it, but the hotel staff’s working on it.”

“What about food?” she asked.

“Still to be determined. I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”

“You always do, Abby. You’ve always been the strong one of the family.”

I sighed and closed my eyes at her words. My mother always thought the best of me, but right now, I didn’t feel strong. I was allowing myself to lose control and indulge a little bit of my wild side in order to forget the fact that I wasn’t strong. I was ignorant and naive and an idiot. And with some of the things Colin was saying to me, I was beginning to think he was right. I was beginning to think that maybe I was a bit too much. That maybe I was a lot to handle and that I could get a bit annoying. He hadn’t called me annoying yet, but I could see it in his eyes from time to time.

Like when he made that comment to his friend on the phone about me.

He didn’t think I was listening to him, but I was. I heard the tone of voice he addressed that little statement in. “That’s another story for another day,” or whatever he’d said. People didn’t think I paid attention, but I did. People didn’t think I’d call them out on things, but I did. Eventually. I always wanted to see the good in people. I always wanted to draw out the best in them. I always wanted to believe that if I gave them my all and invested my heart and soul into them, that the work would pay off.

That was what my father taught me growing up. If I invested my time and effort, I would always reap a reward.

For the first time in my life, I was now sitting in a place where that lesson wasn’t true. Where that childhood lesson I’d built my entire life on was no longer valid. It was shaking the very concrete I’d built my entire life on, and I felt myself flailing for help.

Only I couldn’t actually open my mouth and say the word.

“So, how’s your traveling buddy?” she asked.

“He’s not an axe murderer, so that’s good,” I said.

Colin shot me a perplexing look, and I grinned.

“Is he handsome?”

“Eh, he holds his own,” I said.

I could physically see Colin’s ears perk up at the conversation.

“Are the two of you getting along?” my mother asked.

“Depends on your definition of that, too.”

This time, he turned his body fully toward me, and I got a beautiful glimpse of his chest. It was broad, strong, prominent, but not overstated. His abs trickled down the front of his body before they tapered into these beautiful little pointers I’d traced with my hands just a little while ago.

I felt my breasts rising to life again, and I had to take deep breaths to keep myself under control.

“Well, just keep yourself safe,” my mother said. “But if the two of you hit it off, he’s more than welcome for Christmas.”

“Wait, what?” I asked.

I hadn’t told my mother about my breakup yet. I was waiting to sit down face-to-face and talk with her.

“Oh, sweetheart. I can hear it in your voice. I don’t know what’s happened, but I do know you’re hurting.”

I felt tears rising to my eyes, and I had to blink them away before Colin saw. The last thing I needed him to see was weakness. The last thing I needed him to see was something else to latch on to so he could bombard me with more questions.

“We’ll talk about it later,” I said.

Colin’s eyes were holding mine intensely, with his brow furrowed and his gaze stern. I could see the questions churning at the tip of his lips, and suddenly, I didn’t want to get off the phone with my mom. I knew the moment I did, there would be a flurry sent my way, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for them.

“Well, honey, keep us updated, okay? And keep that phone of yours charged. You’ve always been so bad about that.”

“I will, Mom. Tell Daddy I love him.”

“I will. We love you, too. We can’t wait to see you.”

“I can’t wait to see you guys, either,” I said.

I hung up the phone and tossed it to the side as my gaze peeled from Colin’s. I got up and tightened the bed sheet around me, trying to cover my exposed body. I felt a moment of self-consciousness roll over me. Like part of me was embarrassed at my prior actions. I knew I deserved to have a bit of fun after everything I’d endured up until this point, but a part of me couldn’t help but chastise myself.

I’d slept with a man I hardly knew anything about. A man that, up until the point I kissed him, was pissing me off more than anything else.

What kind of person did that make me?

“You look stressed,” I said. “Everything okay?”

“Just work,” he said.

“What happened?”

“I’ll miss a meeting, and if we can’t clear out of here quickly enough in the morning, I’ll miss a very important charity event as well,” he said.

“What’s so bad about that?”

“Besides the fact that it was my idea, and I’m supposed to give a speech?” he asked. “It’ll look bad on the company.”

“Well, I’m sure people would understand,” I said. “You can’t really control the weather. How were you supposed to know you’d get stuck in a snowstorm?”

“I did know. It’s why I tried to get out of the airport quickly the moment we landed. But I got held up.”

He threw a glance in my direction, and I felt my frustration with him quickly rising.

“It could always be worse,” I said. “We could be stuck here without power, or that flat tire could’ve rendered us immobile on the side of the highway. At least, we’ve still got running water and internet.”

“How in the world can you be so optimistic?”

His question confused me a bit as he threw an exasperated sigh my way.

“I mean, you’re just so happy,” he said. “All the time. How in the world could you possibly be like this all the time?”

“You say it like it’s a bad thing,” I said.

It was official. I felt exposed. Like a raw and throbbing nerve that had been sliced open and shown to the outside world in one fell swoop. I drew my sheet tighter around my body while I started quickly regretting my prior actions. I couldn’t believe I’d granted some rich little Grinch the permission to cloak my body with his.

What in the world was happening to me?

“Look, if I wasn’t, then anything bad that happened would swallow me whole,” I said. “And since that doesn't sound like a very appealing way to live my life, I choose to be optimistic.”

“Like what?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“What’s trying to swallow you whole?”

He turned around and looked at me with those bright blue eyes. His brow wasn’t furrowed, and his shoulders weren’t pulled taut. His voice didn’t have any sort of an edge to it, and his eyes didn’t seem to be prying. It was a stark contrast to the stressed man who was just talking about work, and the swift change startled me.

Was he trying to convince me that he actually cared about my life circumstances?

Because I found that very hard to believe.

I kept silent, simply staring at him while he waited for an answer. I wasn’t telling him anything like that. Sure, he’d opened up to me a bit about his business. Who wouldn’t, with the money he had? All the stuff that mattered, he kept close to his chest. All the stuff that hurt, he kept locked away. I wasn’t about to be the first person to let that floodgate open, so he was just going to have to deal with my silence.

At any rate, I had a long conversation waiting for me once I got to my parents. One that would include tears, anger, and yelling. One that would require explanation and groveling and eventually, elicit pitiful looks from my parents. I didn’t want to be cooped up with some strange man in a towel while he gave me those same pitiful looks.

Like I was a lost, pathetic little dog.

It still hurt, and eventually, I would address that hurt with someone I loved and cared for and still trusted.

Not a stranger who decided to give me a ride home because someone else’s Christmas spirit forced him to say yes.

“Fine,” he said, shrugging.

“Fine,” I said.

“Which side of the bed would you like?” he asked.

I glanced at the bed that dipped solidly in the middle. It honestly didn’t matter which side I picked. Eventually, the two of us would roll into one another and be touching before we woke up the next morning.

I shivered at the idea while I simultaneously chastised myself for it.

“This side’s fine,” I said.

“Good,” he said. “I always sleep better when I’m closer to the door anyway.”

“Why?” I asked.

It was then I watched his posture straighten again. With one simple word, the man who was trying to be sympathetic to my plight had gone on the defensive. I snickered and shook my head while I sat on the edge of the bed, my mind swirling while the fuzzy television droned on in the background.

Maybe we were finding a bit of common ground after all.

 

Colin

 

I didn’t understand this woman at all. For the entire car ride, she hounded me with questions about my life. Who I was. What I did for a living. Where I came from. Why I didn’t celebrate Christmas. It was like she had a premade list of questions she had ready to fire off the moment we hopped into the car, and yet, she couldn’t answer a single one of mine. And they weren’t hard questions. Why I didn’t celebrate the holidays was a tough question. Why she broke up with her boyfriend wasn’t.

She wouldn’t answer anything, just like I didn’t.

I guessed we had a bit more in common than I’d originally thought.

I sat on the edge of the bed and started wondering about her life. What she had been through. What her mother might be like. I tried to paint this picture of her world. Anything that could explain why she was the way she was. Why was she capable of physically opening herself up but not mentally or emotionally able to do the same thing? It was easy to show happiness around someone. It was the easiest emotion to mimic. But showing the tough stuff? Showing the tears and the vulnerability and the anger?

That was the hard stuff.

I started wondering about her hometown and what it might’ve been like when she was growing up. Maybe she grew up in one of those small Minnesota towns that still did horse-drawn carriage rides around the downtown area. Maybe she grew up in one of those towns where opening their very first bar required a town board meeting where everyone met to take a vote. She seemed to have that small-town feel about her. With the wind in her hair and her big doe eyes, wide and hungry for the world around her.

As she sighed behind me, I started wondering what had chewed her up and spit her back out.

It was always the small tells that no one knew they had. The heavy sighs and the mindless ticks. Like the picking of her thumbs and the way she didn’t realize she chewed on her lower lip. Those were nervous ticks that developed in childhood years, but in adulthood, they were only exacerbated by stress. I wondered what had happened to her that caused her ticks to flare back up. I wondered who had wronged her or hurt her. Small towns girls, in my limited knowledge of them, were always over-trusting of people. They would talk about themselves in a heartbeat, not because they were selfish, but because they truly felt people were genuine in their desire to open up.

Just like they were.

But she wasn’t. She was just as closed off as I was, and that meant someone along the line had done something to convince her that she shouldn’t trust the people around her.

It made my heart hurt a bit for her.

“I’m hungry,” she said.

“I’m getting that way a bit, too.”

“Wanna throw on some clothes and go hunt down our dinner?” she asked.

“I think either way, we should get dressed.”

That giggle of hers fell from her lips, and it washed over my ears like silk. It had this innocent ring to it, and it reminded me of this inner strength she seemed to possess. It was like she refused to let the world knock the last of her innocence from her body, and I had to commend her on that ideal. Her giggle and how effortless it was seemed to be her last reminder that she still had something to cling onto. It was like it symbolized her last effort to stay positive, even in situations like this.

It seemed that the less she talked, the more I came to understand her.

I pulled on my suit, and we set out in search of the vending machines. The first one Abby found was frozen up, and it looked to have dents in it from where people had apparently tried to make it work. She sighed, wrapping her arms around her chest. Then, we continued walking around the small motel complex. After about ten minutes of searching while the snow flurried around us, we found another machine right up at the front.

I watched Abby dig around in her pocket for some change before I stopped her.

“I’ve got it,” I said.

I pulled out a few dollars and started ringing up some items. I got us a couple more bags of chips and a thing of cookies. There were two more honeybuns left, as well as an oatmeal cookie. We got five dollars’ worth of snacks before I heard the vending machine slowing down with the cold, so I turned my sights onto the soda machine.

I was holding my last two dollars in my hand as I turned to Abby.

“What would you like to drink?” I asked.

“Water’s fine,” she said.

I stuck both of the dollars into the vending machine and pressed the water button twice. The machine roared to life, shook a little bit, then whirred itself back down. Furrowing my brow, I checked the dispenser before I pressed the water button again.

But when I did, the entire machine shut down.

The damn thing ate my last two dollar bills without giving us an ounce of water.

I couldn’t believe it. I simply couldn’t process all of it. The busted water heater. The rickety bed. The chance encounter with a woman I couldn’t stand and still wanted to get to know. The incompetent front desk and this damn weather that was keeping me from the most important meeting of my life.

And now, we didn’t even have decent water to drink.

I heard Abby’s giggle start up, and I couldn’t help but feel a tickle in the back of my throat. Her giggle grew to a laugh, and before I knew it, I was joining her. A smile spread across my cheeks while her head lobbed back, and my stomach jumped as I simply shook my head in shock.

We laughed until we couldn’t laugh anymore, and then it was Abby’s words that pierced through the blustering air.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh,” she said.

“There are rumors surrounding that sound. Most people don’t even know it exists.”

“Oh, and he’s got jokes!” she exclaimed. “I’m impressed.”

“You should be. I don’t bust out the big guns for just anyone.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t have to blow the dust off your vocal chords before you tried that,” she said.

“Don’t worry. I’ve had plenty of time internally groaning to warm them up for this moment.”

She looked up at me with her big brown eyes, and I could see the reflection of snow falling in her gaze. It was hard to think that the woman whose face seemed so innocent had endured such pain. Pain she couldn't talk about. Pain that trapped her in a tightened cocoon of solitude. Pain that ripped away the only thing she really seemed to enjoy.

Conversing with other people.

“We should get back before we freeze,” I said.

“Good idea.”

It took all I had to rip my gaze from her so we could start back for the room. We would just have to suck it up and drink the water from the tap. I grimaced at the thought. Abby carried all the snacks in her arms, and as I opened the door of our hotel room, I could see the television no longer had a signal.

“So much for background noise,” Abby said.

I went and turned the television off, and she dumped the snacks onto the bed. We sat there in silence, opening the junk food and filling our stomachs for the night. I hoped and prayed the weather would settle down so we could at least find a decent coffee place in the morning. Coffee could get me through anything if I had enough of it to shove into my system.

We ate silently while we sat next to one another, and I wondered about her again. Was this how curious she’d been in the car? I didn’t know if it was because of the sex we didn’t want to acknowledge or if it was because of a dichotomy in her personality I’d detected, but I suddenly wanted to know everything about her. What made her tick? What happened between her and her boyfriend? What she was talking about on the phone with her mother?

I suddenly wanted to know it all.

“You looking forward to getting home?” I asked.

“Yeah, I miss my parents,” she said.

“Are they looking forward to you being home?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah. They’re worried, too. But I kept trying to reassure my mom I was okay.”

“Have you told them yet?” I asked.

“Told them what?”

“About your boyfriend?” I asked.

She fell silent at my question, and I took another bite of my honeybun.

“Or do you just not talk to your parents about that kind of thing?” I asked.

And still, all she did was stay silent while she chewed her food.

“What do you do for a living?” I asked.

Her eyes glanced over at me, but the silence on her end still filled the room.

“Oh, come on,” I said. “I answered that question, at least.”

“After I Googled it, yes,” she said.

“Should I Google you then?”

“I’m not important enough to pop up on Google.”

It was the way she said it that shed a little more light onto her current circumstances. She didn’t feel important. Did her ex make her feel that way? Did her job make her feel that way? Was she unfulfilled in her career choice? Or maybe she’d lost her job?

“Everyone’s got something that pops up on Google,” I said.

“Then try your best.”

“Look, you’ve been asking me non-stop personal questions about myself ever since we got into the car at the airport this morning.”

“And you haven’t answered any of them,” she said.

“Because I don’t have to,” I said.

“Well, ditto.”

“Ditto?” I asked.

“Yep. It means—”

“I know what it means,” I said.

“Then don’t act like an idiot. It doesn’t fit in with your whole ‘rigid and intelligent’ persona you give off.”

“Rigid and intelligent?” I asked.

“Like that. Don’t do that. Makes you sound dumb.”

This woman really was a piece of work. She grabbed her bag of chips and started for the bathroom. I watched her throw open the door to the toilet and close it, barricading herself away from the situation. Was she serious? She was going to eat her snacks on the toilet instead of just sitting next to me? Was she that upset and insecure about the questions I was throwing at her?

“Abby?” I asked.

“Pooping!”

“No, you’re not,” I said. “Come back out here.”

“No, thanks. I’ll come out when I’m ready.”

“You’re being childish,” I said.

“And you’re being an idiot.”

“I’m not—”

I choked back my words and drew in a deep breath through my nose. She was as volatile as a teenager, and had the vocabulary to boot. I swallowed down the last of my honeybun before I peeled my jacket off my shoulders, discarding it on my side of the room. If we were going to be here through the night, then I was at least going to be comfortable. I took off my suit and folded it up, then grabbed one of the extra trash bags and placed it carefully into the bag.

I didn’t want to put this thing in there with the rest of my clothes.

I pulled out some warm pajama pants and a t-shirt. At least the heat in the room was still working, so I cranked it up in order to combat the frigid temperatures we were bound to experience tonight. I searched around for another set of sheets, hoping there was something I could use as a barrier between my body and this musty-scented fitted sheet.

But when I found nothing, I simply resolved to taking deep breaths while I slid underneath the covers.

Abby still hadn’t emerged from the toilet, and I was at a point where I didn’t care. If she was that offended by me pointing out the hypocrisy of what she was doing, then she could be offended behind that wall. My stomach was rumbling with hunger, but I didn’t have the desire to eat, so I tossed my chips and crackers over onto my suitcase.

I noticed it was taking the heating unit a while to heat up, and I sighed while I stared at the ceiling.

Of course, we wouldn’t have any heat. What else could I have expected from a day like this?

Abby

 

I finished my snacks while sitting on the toilet. My hands shook as I lifted a chip to my mouth. I could’ve sworn this hotel was getting colder, but I honestly wasn’t sure anymore. Who in the world did that man think he was? He didn’t know anything about me. He thought he could use his business, voodoo, mind-reader trick or whatever to figure me out, and he didn’t have the first clue as to what was going on with me. And he wasn’t going to guilt-trip me into talking about myself, either. I asked him all those questions because he was so stern. So serious. I just wanted him to crack one little smile because it was Christmas, and I’d never in my life encountered someone so damn serious over the best holiday of the year.

But now that he didn’t want to talk, I’d gotten off that horse. And it was time he got off his.

I finished my snacks and licked my fingers. I went to move off the toilet and felt the crust of our prior encounter cracking on the insides of my thighs. I crinkled my nose while I moved, my hand opening the door as I stepped out into the hotel room. I needed a shower, and I needed to wash my hair, so I stepped right across to the other door and slipped in.

I shed my clothes and kicked them to the side. I hopped into the shower and turned on the water, humming when the lukewarm water hit my body. I stepped underneath the stream and got my hair wet, ready to soap it up after washing down my body. But then, the lukewarm grew colder, and soon, it felt like icicles were raining down onto my back.

I jumped out of the shower while my hair dripped down my back. I stood there and waited for the water to heat up, but it got colder and colder. It got so cold that it physically hurt my fingers to touch it, so I grabbed the only other towel I could find and went running out of the room.

I heard Colin shoot up from the bed while I shivered next to the television set.

“Abby, are you all right?” he asked.

My teeth were chattering so hard, however, that I couldn’t even answer him.

“Abby.”

I slowly turned toward him, and I could see he had flipped the blanket up off the bed.

“Come get in bed,” he said. “You’re freezing. You’ll get sick like that.”

My eyes rose to his before I ran and dove for the bed. All I had was a towel wrapped around me while my hair dripped onto the bed, but I didn’t care. I hunkered down into the blanket while I tried to take deep breaths, but my jaw was already aching, and my abdomen was already starting to cramp.

“So cold…”

Suddenly, I felt an arm drape around me. I looked over at the man lying next to me, with his gray t-shirt and his flannel pajama bottoms, with his arms outstretched to guide me in. I knew I needed to keep my distance from him. I knew I needed to keep a level head. But his body looked so warm, and I already couldn’t feel my toes.

It would just was just be until I got warm. Then I’d put on my pajamas, and we’d both fall asleep.

I scooted into his arms, and he draped his long, muscular appendages around my body. I moaned into his chest, an involuntary reaction to the warmth he provided. I scooted my leg in between his while I breathed down his warmth, sucking every last bit of it from him until he began to shiver as well.

I didn’t understand what drew me to him. I had no idea why I felt so comfortable with him physically. Even though my mind was telling me to back away, my body was perfectly comfortable caving into him. It frightened me, to be honest. I wasn’t going to be with this man past tomorrow evening, and the last thing I needed was to be getting attached. Whether he was a rebound, a little bit of fun, or just a random hookup that wouldn’t mean anything in a few days, it would grow into more than it needed to be if I got attached.

But my gosh, did his chest feel good against mine.

I closed my eyes and sighed, just as another whirring sound occurred. It reminded me of the sound the vending machine had made earlier, except we weren’t anywhere near a vending machine. I heard Colin grumble as I peeled my eyes opened, and that was when I realized what had him so upset.

The power had gone out.

“What in the world?” Colin asked.

I sighed.

A resounding knock came at our motel door, and Colin pulled away from me. I instantly went back to shivering, longing for his warmth as he opened the door. I had no idea what was going on now, but I was finding it harder and harder to keep a smile on my face. This innocent road trip was turning into one of the most frustrating and confusing things I’d ever been a part of, and the longer it extended, the more I just wanted to be home.

“Yes?” Colin asked.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Front desk, ma’am,” the woman said at the door. “We’re making rounds to let people know that the backup generator isn’t kicking in yet. We’ve got someone looking at it, so it should be up and working in a few minutes.”

“Like that water heater issue?” Colin asked.

If I wasn’t shivering so much, I would’ve actually laughed at his statement. A little because it was funny, but mostly because he was right.

“We’re working on that as fast as we can, but we think the main water heating source has a faulty part,” she said. “That requires someone to travel, which is taking a while in this weather.”

“I take it the heat’s a separate problem?” he asked.

“What?”

“The heat. It wasn’t working before the power went out.”

“Really?” the woman asked.

Colin actually groaned, and I rolled over onto my back to try and move away from the wet spot my hair had created.

“Do you guys at least have extra blankets we could have?” Colin asked. “Since there’s no hot water and no heater to run?”

“I’ll see what we’ve got,” the woman said.

“Thanks.”

He shut the door hard, and the only thing I could hope was that the woman had already been walking away. I could tell by the way he was huffing and grumbling that he was pretty pissed. I’m sure they were doing the best they could, despite this freak storm that had built up over us, and even through my chattering teeth, I tried to deliver some sort of hope.

“I’m sure they’ll have it back on soon,” I said.

“Of course, you’d think that,” he said.

“What does that mean?”

“Your optimism is showing again,” he said.

“I thought you liked the shape of my optimism.”

I tried to grin at him, but I was pretty sure it came out like a lopsided grimace of pain. He immediately got back into bed with me, peeling his shirt off before he gathered me back up into his arms. At first, I was reluctant. I knew if I felt his soft skin against mine that I’d melt into him and never want to come back up. His body was magnetized in a way I’d never experienced with another man. With his clothes on, I could write him off as a cold, icy Grinch who wanted to ruin the holidays for everyone around him.

But with his clothes off and his body burning the way it did, I could only see him as a virile, passionate man who had no outlet whatsoever for his carnal desires.

“Deep breaths, Abby. Concentrate on my body heat.”

Oh, I was concentrating on much more than that.

“I’d rather live my life happy and optimistic than upset and mad at things I can’t control,” I said.

“We don’t have to talk about that right now,” he said

“I know it blows your mind,” I said as my jaw started to relax. “But that’s the choice I make. All my life, it’s always been a choice. And it’s a choice for you, too.”

“I’m sure it is,” he said.

“Emotions are just chemical reactions,” I said. “But it’s how we respond to those chemical reactions that dictate our positivity or our negativity.”

I felt his gaze hard on the top of my head before I craned my neck to find his eyes.

I looked up into his sea blue eyes and found myself swept away by the beauty of them. If I really wanted this man to open up to me—if I really wanted to get to know him—then I had a feeling I was going to have to get the ball rolling. In a way, he was right. Even though I had to Google it, he did eventually open up to me about what he did for a living. He tried to explain it to me in a way I could understand, and it was the most I’d ever learned about him.

So, if I wanted more from him, I’d have to open up to him.

I started gathering my thoughts about what I could start with while our eyes swam around in one another’s. I could start with my job. I could tell him about my job as a celebrity publicist. How I probably would’ve covered him at some point if this meeting of his did whatever it was he wanted it to do. I could tell him about all the articles I wrote and all the candid interviews I got to do. That would surely spike his interest. I bet there was a celebrity he liked who I’d probably interviewed during my short time in my dream career.

But before I could take a breath and start in on the spiel I was preparing, he rolled me over onto my back.

“I’m, uh, feeling less cold,” I said.

“But you’re still shaking,” he said.

“Is this another way to get me warm?” I asked.

“Actually, no. I figured since body heat wasn’t working, I could try distraction.”

“Distraction?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I searched his eyes for any sign of what he meant. His lips hit my neck, and I felt a surge of electricity rush up my legs. His warm, wet lips sucked patches along my skin, grazing down my bosom before his tongue wrapped around my frigid nipples. I moaned at the way he flicked them, breathing life back into my skin as he pulled the blanket up over our bodies. His hands slowly peeled the towel away from my body while he kissed down my stomach, and soon, I understood exactly what he meant by distraction.

I raised my head up from the pillow and watched him dip between my legs, his eyes shining with a devious glint before he inched my legs over his shoulders.

Then, I felt his tongue descend onto my skin.

 

Colin

 

I was enamored by the way she smelled. Never in my life had I been so drawn to the feel of a woman beneath my fingertips before, but Abby was something else. She grated on my nerves, and she acted like an outright child, but my pelvis yearned for her. My fingertips ached to press into the soft meat of her thighs. Her skin was cold to the touch, and I feared she was going to get sick if she didn’t find a way to warm up. The temperature outside was dropping as quickly as the snow fell from the sky, but the only thing on my mind was the way she tasted on my tongue.

The blankets were covering me, and her legs were squeezing my cheeks.

My hands were no longer hanging onto cold, clammy skin. Instead, the heat of her body was beating against me, drawing beads of sweat from my skin that began to trickle down my brow.

Her arousal melted on the tip of my tongue, and I hummed in satisfaction against her body.

“Oh, Colin.”

It was so soft. Like a prayer, or a whisper of wind in the trees. I fluttered my eyes back up to her as I pressed deeper, suddenly wanting nothing more than to hear my name again. I released her thighs and slid my hands up her body, making my way toward her bouncing breasts. The harder she bucked, the more they jumped, and all I wanted to do was take those beautiful handfuls into my palm and squeeze them until she burst.

Her back was arching, and her hips were rolling. Her arousal was coating my lips, and my fingers were tweaking her beautiful nipples. She looked like an angel with her hair fluttering around her face. She tasted like my favorite drink after a long day at work. I was drawn to the way she tasted, to the way she smelled, and to the way she moved.

I had no clue as to why.

“Colin. Colin. Yes. Please. Colin, please.”

I groaned at the sound of my name, and I pressed my tongue deeper into her body. She was so close, and I could feel it. Her legs were growing taut, and her bosom was arching deeper into my hands. Her hips were rolling harder and faster while she chased the release she longed for desperately. Gone were the shivers and the complaints of the fact that it was cold, and in their place was a lewd and salacious moment that poured sweat down my face and flushed her body with a beautiful glow.

In a flash, her hands tightened in my hair. She pulled me so deep, I could barely breathe, but I wanted to keep hanging on. , grasping her hips and pulling her even closer. For the first time I could remember, I swallowed a woman’s taste down instead of merely tolerating it, and the way her body shook with pleasure tugged a grin across my cheeks.

Her body collapsed to the bed with a thud, and I peppered her thighs with kisses before I emerged from the covers.

She was panting for air and shining with sweat. I brought the covers up around us quickly, hoping to trap the heat we’d created around our bodies. I laid down next to her and pulled her into my arms, feeling how much she was quaking as I wrapped my arms around her. Her forehead was pressed against my chest, and her hands were clinging to the fabric of my shirt. I ran my fingers through her hair, trying to help her settle the trembling of her body.

It was possible I could’ve fallen asleep just like that with her.

“Dashing through the snow,” she said.

My chest started vibrating with something just as my eyes fluttered shut.

“In a one horse open sleigh,” she said.

Furrowing my brow, I craned my neck down to look at Abby. I could feel her nuzzling deeper into my chest as her leg snaked in between mine, but I couldn’t quite make out the words she was saying.

Until she pulled back and smiled at me.

“Over the fields we go, laughing all the way,” she sang.

I stared at her blankly while she continued to sing. The sparkle in her eyes was evident, and she was no longer heaving for air. The quaking of her body had diminished, even though that red tint was still flushing her skin. I could see how happy she was, with her body wrapped around mine and her cheeks filled with warmth.

But she was a terrible singer, and I wouldn’t be able to stand it the rest of the night.

“Please stop,” I said.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because you’re a terrible singer.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t sing if I want to,” she said. “What if I feel good?”

“I would hope you do,” I said, grinning.

She snickered and shook her head, but the singing ceased. We laid there in silence while the cold slowly set back into our bones, and after a few minutes, she was huddling closer and closer into me. Her hands snaked up my shirt, pressing into the small of my back while I tried to hold back my moans. The electricity her touch shot through my body was unmistakable, and I had no idea why I was reacting this way.

“Why do you hate the holidays so much?”

At first, I didn’t think I’d heard her right.

“Why do I hate them?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

I flicked my eyes down to the top of her head while she laid there, naked in my arms. How the hell was I supposed to answer that question? I didn’t hate them. I just didn’t celebrate them often. There wasn’t time, with work and meetings and things like that. And then there was the hassle of picking out a Christmas tree and then vacuuming up the pine needles that fell from its branches. Then you had to buy people gifts to show them you cared, and everyone was always so damn picky about what they wanted. Then you had to get them a gift receipt, just in case the gift you got them wasn’t quite what they wanted. Then there were the incessant amount of parties and people stressing over the food for their parties. Then you had to spend time with family and listen to them drone on about how they think they understood your business before they ask you questions like “why are you still single?” and “why don’t you ever take vacation?”.

Okay, so the holidays weren’t my forte. Why was that such a big deal?

“Is it just because you don’t have anyone to celebrate them with, or did something happen?” Abby asked.

I sighed and held her close against my body, but I still wasn’t sure I was ready to answer that question.

“If you answer mine, I’ll answer one of yours,” she said.

Now that caught my attention.

“Okay, fine,” I said.

“Why are you not headed home for the holidays?” she asked.

“Because going home reminds me of my childhood,” I said.

I felt her wiggle away from my grasp before she scooted up my body. Soon, her head was planted on a pillow next to mine while she wrapped herself up in blankets. The chill in the air was beginning to settle again, and I knew if I was getting cold, then she had to be cold. I wondered if she was going to venture out and put any pajamas on, but there was a part of me that wanted her naked. I wanted to hold her skin underneath my fingertips all night.

“What happened when you were a child?” she asked.

“First, you have to answer one of mine,” I said.

“Yes, that was the agreement. Shoot.”

“Why don’t you have a boyfriend?” I asked.

“Because he cheated on me.”

“Abby, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “How were you supposed to know?”

She rolled onto her back, and I could tell her memories were sweeping her away. The playful glow in her eyes and the excitement at the conversation quickly dwindled while she shivered on the other side of the bed. Her mind was bombarding her with memories while tears rose to her eyes, but she didn’t move to wipe them away. I wondered if she was even aware of them, or if she was in enough of her right mind to realize she was on the verge of crying.

I wanted to ask her what happened. I wanted to talk with her about her relationship. I hadn’t been serious with enough women to have ever been put in that kind of situation, but I could see how hurt she was by it. Who did he cheat with? Did he give her any reason as to why he did it? Was there some massive fight that ended with her having to move or leave her job or flee home?

There was even a part of me that wanted to know his name, though I choked that part down while I continued to study her.

Her hands drew the covers close to her body while she began to shiver again. The tears subsided as she closed her eyes and sighed. Automatically, I reached out for her. I expected her to buck against me. To get upset or to push me away. But instead of fighting with me, she merely rolled back into me, allowing my arm to drape over her while my legs found hers again.

I decided it was best to simply drop the conversation right now and pick it up at a later time.

We laid there, huddled together in silence, for what seemed like ages. The blustery wind was howling past the window, and the room was steadily getting colder. I pulled Abby as close to me as I could get her before I finally heard her breathing even out, and I smiled before I placed the lightest of kisses on the top of her head.

Then, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep the best I could that night.

 

Abby

 

I woke up with my body aching. With every movement I made, it was like I was trying to climb out of a vice grip. I peeled myself away from Colin’s grip and stretched, listening to every joint in my body crack. I stretched my legs and arched my back. A massive yawn unhinged my jaw while Colin slept soundly next to me. I looked over at him and squinted my eyes, taking in the way he looked so relaxed. He was always so tense and brooding. It seemed that the only place he ever really got peace was when he was sleeping.

Then, it hit me. I was squinting.

Rubbing my eyes, I rolled onto my back and looked around the room. The light beside the bed was on and so was the one over the sink. I threw the covers off me and slid out of bed, quickly getting dressed before I peeled the curtains back from the window.

And just as I had suspected, the snow had finally stopped falling.

The hotel phone rang out loudly in the room as I tried to contain my squeals. I knew the power would come back on soon enough. I went over to the heater and practically sat on it, sighing at the fact that warm air was pouring out of it. The chill my body had held onto for the majority of the night slowly fled from my body, and in its place sat a relaxing heat that settled the rest of the aches in my body. I was overjoyed at the fact that we had heat. I was elated at the fact that the power was back on.

But mostly, I was excited about the prospect of hot water.

Colin groaned and rolled over in bed, casting his arm over his eyes while he tried to get back to sleep. He was mindlessly stretching his legs while his body lay rolled up in the blankets. I watched the revelation dawn on him suddenly. His arm fell from his face, and he tried to open his eyes, but all he could do was squint.

The look on his face when he sat up in bed was priceless.

“Hello?” I asked as I picked up the phone.

“Front desk. We wanted to make sure you guys had power.”

“Yes, we do,” I said. “And warm air, too. Does that mean the hot water heater is fixed?”

“It does. Just wanted to make sure your room was up and functioning again. If you need anything, let us know.”

The call cut off, and I squealed as I set down the phone. Colin had rolled over toward me with his eyes trained on my form, but there seemed to be a slightly disappointed look in his eyes. I caught his stare for just a second before he continued rubbing the exhaustion from his face, and every single part of me wanted to get in that shower and run the hot water out of business.

I wanted to take the shower I’d set out to take yesterday. I wanted to soap up my body and stand there while the bubbles popped against my skin. I wanted my skin to burn and turn red with anger at how hot the water was, and then, I wanted to steam up the entire hotel room when I got out. I hummed at the idea of being clean while the heater continued to warm up the air around us, and as I closed my eyes and reveled in the warmth around me, I suddenly felt tired again.

The warm air on my back felt so good, and it was relaxing me back to sleep even as I stood there.

“What time is it?”

Colin’s voice was heavy with sleep, accentuating the low undertones of his voice. I felt a slight shiver scale down my back while the hairs on my neck stood on end. Even with my body as exhausted as it was, it was still willing to come to life for him. Even as he laid there with his clothes on and that blanket covering his lower body, my body screamed out for him. There was something about him. That much was for sure. I just couldn’t identify what. He was stern and focused. He worked way too much and didn’t seem to enjoy anything about life. He hated the one part of the year I adored the most, and he was always looking for the bad in every single situation.

But there was a reason my body was innately drawn to him, and I wanted to figure out why. I wanted to figure it out before he dropped me off at home, and I never saw him again.

I reluctantly pulled myself from the heater and walked over toward my phone. I was ecstatic to see that it was fully charged, but then, I started giggling. My eyes took in what time it actually was, and my giggle soon grew to laughter. He was going to be so pissed when I told him the time, especially since I was wide awake and ready for a very long, very hot shower.

“What?” he asked. “What time is it?”

“Oh, man, you’re gonna hate this,” I said.

“Abby. What time is it?”

“You’re gonna wish I was still singing once I tell you,” I said.

“Abby, this isn’t funny.”

“Oh, yes it is.”

“Tell me what the damn time is,” he said, sighing.

“It’s three in the morning,” I said, laughing.

Groaning, he rolled over in bed and pulled the covers over his head. I put my hand over my mouth, trying to stifle the laughter pouring from my body. Any relaxing stretching he’d tried to do to wake himself up was promptly replaced by the tense man I’d come to know him to be. I heard him grumbling underneath the covers while he tried to shield himself from the lights, and it only served to fuel my laughter. We were practically opposites, and it was becoming comical to me. I was always seeing the good in a situation, and he was always seeing the bad in a situation. The entire thing tickled me to my core, and by the time I could get my laughter under control, I had to blot at the tears threatening to run down my cheeks.

“Would you be interested to know that it’s no longer snowing, either?” I asked.

I watched him toss the covers off his body before he sat up and looked at me. The dazed look on his face forced me to bite down onto my lip. The man was absolutely exhausted. There was no way we were getting on the road right now. But I knew he’d be upset with me if I didn’t inform him that the one thing he’d been waiting for had finally happened.

“See for yourself,” I said.

Slinging his feet over the side of the bed, he got up and padded over to the window. He was still having trouble keeping his eyes open, and his body was teetering with exhaustion. He looked like a kid who was wanting to stay up and usher Santa into the house. Even while he stood at the window, I could see him swaying, and I knew in that very moment we weren’t going anywhere.

It was dark outside, but I could see that little glimmer of hope rising in his face. I knew the moment I told him, he’d want to get back onto the road, but someone had to break it to him. Either I was driving, or we were going back to sleep.

“Finally, we can get going,” he said.

Then, a massive yawn peeled from between his lips.

“Uh huh,” I said as I walked over to shut off the lights. “And who’s driving?”

“I am. I’m an excellent… night… driver…”

Another yawn stunted his statement, and all I could do was shake my head. I crawled back into bed and stuffed myself underneath the covers. I could feel the excitement of the revelations already draining from my body, and as my head hit the pillow, I prepared myself for another argument.

But instead, I felt the bed dip beside me before Colin climbed back in.

“Wow,” I said. “No argument or anything. I must’ve done something good in a prior life.”

“Just a couple more hours,” he said. “Then, we hit the road.”

“Sounds good, captain.”

That was the last thing I remembered before my eyes fluttered open again. The sun was pouring through the window that was no longer covered, and it hurt my eyes to try and open them. I could feel Colin’s arms wrapped around my body, and my back was pressed flush into his chest. Even though the sun was hurting my eyes, I didn’t want to get up. His hand had found its way underneath my shirt, and it was splayed across my stomach, rising and falling with the breaths I was taking.

His touch set me on fire.

His breath was pulsing against my neck while he slept soundly behind me. Tonight, I’d be home and with my parents. Tonight, I’d be rehashing the past six months of my life while I cried into a cup of my father’s homemade hot chocolate. Tonight, I’d fall asleep alone instead of with a man wrapped around my skin.

I had to admit that sleeping next to Colin made me feel more secure.

But the truth of the matter was that this was temporary. It always had been. I’d relegated myself to having a bit of fun before I had to face reality again. Before I had to start over and rebuild with nothing but the clothes on my back and the few other things I could stuff into my suitcases. The holidays this year would be a wonderful distraction, and then the next year would be all about trying to find my place. Figuring out my next career move and wondering where in the world I was going to live for the rest of my life.

I didn’t have anyone other than my parents to lean on.

Maybe that was why it felt so good to feel Colin pressed into my back.

Suddenly, I felt him shift. He drew in a deep breath against my skin before his grip tightened against my stomach. It took all I had not to whimper out into the room because I could already feel my breasts swelling at the simple presence of him. His breath was hot against my neck while his body arched into mine, and I could hear his back popping while he stretched himself awake.

“What time is it?” he asked groggily.

I didn’t want to get up and get my phone, so I simply told him my best guess.

“Around nine in the morning,” I said.

“Slept longer than I thought,” he said.

“Nothing wrong with that. We were tired.”

“I should get up and change,” he said.

“Sounds like a plan.”

But even though he set that plan forth, he didn’t make a move to leave the bed.

“This what you’re gonna travel in?” he asked.

His fingertips started dancing along the hem of my pants, and I could feel my toes already curling at the anticipation of his touch.

“Um, that was the plan, yes,” I said.

“So, you’re ready to leave for the day?”

But before I could answer, I felt his hips press into my ass.

His erection was standing tall and strong, and my body shivered at the thought of it. I pressed my hips back into him, and he groaned into my neck, his grip tightening around me before he drew my scent through his nose. I felt him skirt the shell of my ear, sending goosebumps flooding down my neck and arms. His fingertips were drawing lazy pictures around my belly button, and soon, the task of the day slowly faded into the background.

“I guess I should be asking you if you’re ready,” I said.

“Depends on what you want me to be ready for.”

I could feel his thickness jumping against my skin, and I knew in that very moment I would cave to him.

“I’m ready to leave if you are,” I said breathlessly.

Then, I turned around in his arms and caught the devious stare dripping from his eyes.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

My lip was quivering while his hand came up and tucked my hair behind my ear. He allowed his knuckle to trace the bone of my cheek, leading all the way to my lips before I pressed a kiss into his skin. My eyes hooked onto his and never left while his body heated against mine, and soon, I felt his hand sliding behind my neck. He cradled my head and scooted closer, closing the distance between my lips and his.

Then, without another word, our lips met, and our tongues began to dance.

Colin

 

I had no idea what in the world had come over me. This woman was no less annoying and no less exhausting. And yet, I couldn’t get enough of her. Abby’s body cradled me in ways I’d never felt before. The depths of her body were so tight around my girth, and I was addicted to the feeling. The few times I’d indulged in the pleasure of a woman during after-work hours had been nothing but a needed release. We would do enough of what was required in order to get what we needed, and then the two of us would part ways. It was more of a business transaction than anything, and I preferred it that way. No muss. No fuss. No needless conversation or emotional attachments to sift through.

But with Abby, it was different.

With Abby, there was more than just the bare minimum.

It was how her hips moved and how her throat groaned. It was how her lips swelled underneath the pressure of mine and how her heat kept radiating against my body. It was how her beautiful pussy kept giving me more and more with every stroke I took inside of her.

It was like all I had to do was ask in order for it to be given.

She was giving me a part of her without requiring anything in return, or so it felt like. Our tongues lapped together as my hand cradled her head, and instantly, her body was pressing into mine. I could feel her soft chest pressing into the strength of me. I could feel her fingertips wrapping in the fabric of my shirt. I could feel her leg pressing itself between mine, grinding against my pulsing thickness as my throat swallowed her whimpers.

But before I could roll her over onto her back, she rolled me onto mine.

Her hands crept up my shirt before I pulled it over my head. Her lips descended onto my neck, and I shivered at the way her teeth raked over my pulse point. Her hands traveled down my torso as her legs straddled me, her hair spilling into my face as she poured her attention over my body. There wasn’t a ripple her fingertips didn’t run over, and there wasn’t a place she left unkissed. I was shaking underneath her as she continued to slide down, and the moment she grasped the hem of my pajama pants, I knew what was coming.

And I shivered with delight at the thought.

I lifted my hips so she could slide my pants down my body as my thickness laid off to the side. It twitched for her, begging for her lips to be around it while I stared down at her. I could see her eyes twinkling with mischief and salacious thoughts as her hand wrapped around me. But the moment her lips hit the tip of my cock, I could feel myself leaking against her skin.

She smirked before she slid me inside of her warm, wet mouth, and I wound my hands into the sheets to try and keep control of my movements.

Her pace was slow and torturous, like she was trying to get me to beg. My heels dug into the mattress as my pelvis grew taut, and already, I could feel my body climbing that escalator. I slowly moved my hands from the bed to her hair, wrapping my fingers up in the soft tresses of her beautiful mane. She let out a hum around my thickness that rattled my ribcage, and soon, I lost myself in the warmth of her presence.

I began to buck my hips upward, feeling my girth curve down the slickness of her throat. Her hands pressed into my thighs, parting my legs as she took all of me. The electricity that ran through my body set the ends of my hair on fire. I felt my skin beginning to flush as her cheeks hollowed out around me. If I let her continue the way she was going, I wouldn’t have a chance to be where I truly wanted to be. I wouldn’t have a chance to watch the pleasure roll over her face as I slammed into her body time and time again.

And that was exactly what I wanted.

I tugged on her hair and slowly pulled her from my pelvis. My soaking wet girth flopped back down onto my skin, but soon, her lips rushed back up to mine. I peeled off her clothes as my lips devoured hers, my hands caressing the whole of her body as her clothes fell off the sides of the bed. Her skin was so warm against mine. A stark contrast from what it had been like last night. I found myself smiling into her skin as her body undulated into mine, trying to get closer to my lips as I pressed kisses all the way down her spine.

I raised up onto my knees and held her hips in the air. She was shaking with anticipation, and her thighs were already glistening with want. The way I slid into her was effortless while I dug my fingertips into her thick hips, and soon, she was bucking back into me as her hands planted into the headboard of the bed.

Over and over again, I coated myself with her. She squeezed me in ways I’d never been squeezed before, and all I wanted to do was stay inside of her. Abby pulled sensations from my body I’d never experienced before. Shivers and prickles and a gut-churning fire I had yet to experience in my life. The only other time I felt this alive was when I was working. Making progress toward dreams and goals I’d had as a young, twenty-something-year-old boy who wanted to make a name for himself.

I never thought I could find that same warmth and passion within the body of another person until Abby allowed me a chance to explore her body.

I heard her panting while she scrambled to keep her knees planted on the bed. I could feel her body giving out as the pleasure shivered her entire core. I dropped us both down and rolled us onto our sides, keeping myself seated within her as my hand wrapped around and massaged her breasts. Her nipples grew for me, straining to painful peaks as her head craned back to find my lips.

My hand rushed down her body and tugged her leg back behind my body, slowly sliding in and out of her as our lips danced against one another’s.

Soon, the two of us were panting. Sweat was gathering on my brow as her tongue danced along my lips. I could feel myself throbbing against her walls as she grew slick and wet with her arousal. The desire was palpable between the two of us, and I didn’t want it to end.

“Colin,” she said breathlessly. “You feel so good.”

I dipped my face into the crook of her neck as I finally picked up my pace.

She moaned and cried out into the room as I slammed into her from behind. Her beautiful ass jiggled for me perfectly with each thrust I made. Her body clamped down around me while her body arched away from me. The pleasure was taking over her entire body, and I could see the goosebumps rushing up and down her skin.

“So tight,” I said, grunting. “So warm.”

I felt Abby’s hand reach back and run through my hair. She pulled me closer and closer, her body vibrating against mine as my own toes began to curl. I was so close. So close to releasing myself inside of her and feeling joined with her yet again. We rocked and writhed against one another as the sun streamed through the open window, her arousal pouring onto the bed as my lips nipped and sucked at her skin.

Then finally, I felt her body quaking against mine.

“Colin. Yes. I’m—”

I held onto her tightly before I buried myself into her one last time. My entire body clenched as my teeth dug into the meat of her shoulder. She panted and moaned as her legs clenched and released. I held onto her beautiful breasts as I spilled deep within her body.

I was trembling. Falling. Wading through this dark abyss of pleasure as my body filled hers. The way she moaned my name and the way her fingernails scraped against my scalp were intoxicating. She robbed me of the very breath I was panting for as we stayed connected, our bodies finally settling down from their climaxes as I stayed seated between her legs.

I didn’t want her to pull away. I didn’t want to get back on the road just yet.

For a little while, the two of us simply laid there. I pulled the covers up over our naked bodies, and we watched the bright sun stream in through the window. I could feel her body finally settling down as the flush of her skin slowly began to recede, and I felt myself regaining control of my body just before I slid from between her legs.

We both groaned at the movement before I felt a large waterfall of wetness drench the front of my leg.

“Sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be sorry for something like that.”

I held her in my arms as her back expanded with her breaths. Her breaths were even and settled, reminiscent of the way she felt against me when she was sleeping last night. The room was a comfortable temperature, and the bathroom light was humming from its flowing electricity. In that moment, I no longer cared about the dingy motel room. I didn’t care about all the things that had happened yesterday, and I no longer cared about the fact that my stomach was growling incessantly with a need for food.

I didn’t want anything spoiling the moment we’d created.

“We should get going,” she said. “You’ve still got your meeting.”

“I won’t make it at this point,” I said. “I’ve already sent the stuff to Mac. I’ll still make the charity event, though.”

“Who’s Mac?” she asked.

She turned around in my arms and faced me, and I lost myself in the innocent beauty of her big eyes.

I started wondering again about the life she’d led. Her ex must’ve been an absolute idiot to have left her. The number one reason people cheated in relationships was because they felt sexually unfulfilled by their partner, and I knew that was bullshit. Abby pulled from me desires and filled sexual needs I didn’t even realize I was craving. She rocketed my body with electricity and set my bones flaming with her fire. Her scent was addicting, and her touch was intoxicating, and holy hell, the mouth she possessed was amazing.

There was no way in hell that man had been sexually unfulfilled by the woman currently staring at me.

“Mac’s my right-hand man. The first employee I ever brought on with my company. He was with me when I was still working out of a garage with nothing but a laptop and some ideas sketched out on sheets of paper.”

“So, you do have a friend?” she asked, grinning.

“When did you get the impression I didn’t have friends?” I asked.

“When I found out you were a workaholic that didn’t like the holidays. Who in the world wants to be around someone like that?”

I could see the playfulness in her eyes, but she did have a point. Her words cut a bit deeper than she’d probably intended, but not in a bad way. One of the only reasons why we were in the scenario we were in right now was because we’d practically been forced together.

It wasn’t like she would’ve voluntarily been with someone like me.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I only meant that as a playful joke.”

“Again, don’t apologize. Though we should start packing up and get going. I might be able to get by skipping the meeting, but this charity event’s important.”

I could hear myself talking while Abby’s face slowly fell. I could hear the growing coldness of my voice. I could feel that icy demeanor coming back over me. For the first time in my life, it was like I was looking at myself from a third-party point of view. It was like I was floating in a corner and listening to myself as if I was another person.

“I really didn’t mean to offend you,” she said.

“You didn’t.”

But my tone was flat, and my brow was furrowing again. It was almost like they were automatic reactions to her comment, and I was somehow helpless to stop them.

Why had it bothered me so much? Shit like that never did before. I was well aware of what people thought of me. The man with no family. The ice man coming to do business. The Grinch who never attempted to steal Christmas but always tried to make sure he spoiled it for everyone else. I spent more time in my office from October to January than I did at any other stretch of time over the course of the year. My actions practically shouted the fact that I hated this time of year.

But I could see how my reaction was affecting Abby, and it was as if I was helpless to stop it.

“I’ve got about a four-hour drive before I have you home,” I said. “If you want to get me your home address, I’ll just drop you off right there at your doorstep.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I’ll just meet my parents somewhere for food. I’ll figure it out while we’re in the car.”

“It’s no trouble. I said I’d take you home.”

She didn’t answer. All I was met with was silence.

 

Abby

 

He grew cold the moment the words flew from my mouth. I was trying to crack a joke. Take a stab at his personality and see if he could find the humor in it with us being so relaxed. We were supposed to be having a bit of fun and relaxing during this insane ride home, but the moment my statement was done, I watched him shut down. His eyes stopped sparkling, and his brow furrowed. His body tensed, and his shoulders rolled back.

And that was before he ventured out of bed.

I tried apologizing, but he wasn’t having it. His words told me it was fine, but his body language suggested otherwise. I’d gotten really good at reading my ex’s body language during the last couple months of our relationship.

I knew when someone was trying to pull away.

I slipped out of the bed and pulled my clothes back onto my body. At another time, I would’ve taken a shower, but I didn’t want to upset Colin any more than I already had. I walked quickly to the bathroom so I could clean myself up, splashing water in my face and wiping down the insides of my legs. My hair was tousled—frizzy from the romp in the sheets we’d just had—as the sunlight streamed through the windows.

It should’ve been one of those times where I had a smile on my face, but I felt the darkness of my prior life steadily creeping forward.

I slid into my coat and stuffed the rest of my stuff in my suitcase. As I was throwing it in the back of the car, Colin was already seated in the driver’s seat, waiting for me to finish. Part of me wanted to offer to drive so he could have a break, but part of me knew he’d want to be in control anyway.

Rigid, stern, and in control.

He backed out of the parking space and headed for the front desk. He slid out of the running car while my seat warmed underneath my body, and I simply watched as he turned in the keycard. He swiped his card for the night we’d spent together, and I suddenly felt an onset of guilt. Had this been turned around in the other direction, I wouldn’t have been able to take care of him like this. He’d have to buy me breakfast if I was going to eat, and he’d have to pay for the tire we had to fix if he didn’t want to drive on the spare all the way to Minnesota.

I was a leech, and the thought made me sick.

I’d prided myself on always being independent. I knew where my money was going, and I knew why it was going there. I built up a savings account I’d eventually turn into a retirement fund, and I was well on my way to purchasing my own home. I had my entire life planned out with my ex. A life that included marriage and children and successful careers. Holding hands in the doctor’s office and cooking massive Thanksgiving meals we could all eat around a massive table.

All of it had been ripped from me the moment the truth came to light.

Now, I had nothing. I had no apartment, I had no friends. I had no home and I had no money. I had no job and the career I had worked toward had effectively gone down in a massive pile of flames, brought on by the Human Resources department.

My stomach rumbled with hunger, but the only thing I had the energy to do was lean my forehead against the cold glass of the rental car. The rental car I couldn’t even help him pay for.

“We’ll need to get a new tire on the car before we get on the road,” he said as he got back in. “We should have the car checked out anyway. Things got rough there yesterday.”

“Okay,” I said.

“We can’t push this donut tire anymore,” he said. “I’m honestly surprised it drove as well as it did.”

“Me too,” I said.

“Abby?”

I turned and looked at Colin. I studied his strong jawline and his perfect head of thick hair. I took in his bright blue eyes that somehow matched the snow-draped landscape we’d found ourselves trapped in. I traced the nape of his neck with my eyes and studied the breadth of his shoulders. How strong they were as he rolled me around in bed and pulled me close to his chest last night to sleep.

It never felt this way with my ex. It wasn’t as empty with Colin.

“It sounds like a good idea,” I said. “We should also get some food.”

“I’ll get us something while we’re waiting,” he said.

The car started forward, and we traveled on into the small town. We traveled a couple of miles up the road before we saw a sign for a tire shop, and I was surprised it was even open. There was a couple of feet of snow on the surrounding ground and at least four-foot high snow drifts on the side of the road from where the snow plow had come barreling through. I felt the car pull into the shop before Colin hopped out, talking to a man as I sat there and watched.

Colin came over and opened my door before I unhooked my seatbelt. A strange man got into the car beside me, ready to take the car back to get looked over. Colin offered me his hand, but I didn’t take it, opting to slide out on my own and make my way for the inside of the shop. I knew I was being distant. I knew I was being closed off. I knew I was reflecting the very mood Colin had tossed me earlier, but for some reason, it just felt like I couldn’t breathe. I bared my body for this man I couldn’t get enough of, and then I opened my idiotic mouth and pushed him away with a stupid joke.

It was always my personality that got me into trouble. Always.

I sat down, but I didn’t see Colin come in after me. I hunkered down into the chair and closed my eyes, willing the hunger in my stomach to dissipate. I had a negative account balance that couldn’t be toggled with until I could pay the bank back, and I still had four more hours to go before I could get to my parents.

Before I could get to a fresh start.

I heard the shop door open, and I lifted my heavy head. I saw Colin walk in with what looked like bags in his hands, and I could smell the food coming from a mile away. He sat down beside me and handed me a massive cup of coffee, then plopped a bag down into my lap as his eyes stayed attached to my face.

“Eat,” he said.

“What is this?” I asked. “How much did you spend?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just eat. You’re tired because you haven’t eaten.”

I brought the coffee to my lips and hummed in satisfaction. I felt tears rising to my eyes at just the taste of it. It tasted like home. Like the cups of coffee I used to share with my mother before I left for college, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready for the adult life. It tasted like the nights I spent with my father drinking bullshit decaf coffee and watching late night television since Mom couldn’t ever stay up that late.

It tasted like home, and suddenly, I wanted to be there more than ever.

I felt the bag moving in my lap before I opened my eyes. I choked my tears down while my hands stayed wrapped around the hot cup of coffee. I saw Colin’s hand hovering in my vision, holding a breakfast wrap he’d unraveled for me.

I looked over at him, and his eyes were studying me intently.

He was reading me again, and I wasn’t sure what he thought of me at this point.

“I’m not going to ask again,” he said.

I took the wrap from his hand and brought it to my lips. The moment my teeth bit down into it, my salivary glands kicked into overdrive. I took big chunks out of the wrap as he sat beside me and ate, our bodies replenishing their energy stores after all the things we’d been through over the past twenty-four hours.

I reached down into the bag and pulled out another wrap and ate it without a second thought. My stomach was full, and my hunger was satiated. The coffee danced along my lips as I took pull after pull. I was humming and moaning and sighing with relief.

I felt a little more human again, and I was suddenly embarrassed as to how I’d been treating Colin.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Not a problem. I also got us some things for the road. A couple of snacks and another drink for each of us. Do you like soda or juice?”

“Juice,” I said, grinning.

“Why does that not surprise me?”

The look on his face was cold, but the glimmer in his eye was playful. He took out the cold bottle of apple juice and handed it to me, and I quickly stuck it in my purse. He handed me a bag of trail mix and a granola bar before he handed me a bag of gummy bears, and I squealed at the sight of them before I shoved everything down into my purse.

“You didn’t have to get all of that for me,” I said.

He grinned and sit back in his chair.

It took the mechanics an hour and a half to do everything they needed with the car, and I could tell Colin was getting anxious. He was squirming around in his seat, and his hands were clamping down a little too hard on one another. He was checking his watch, mentally recalculating the time he’d be arriving wherever it was he needed to be.

We both breathed a sigh of relief when his name was called.

We got back onto the road, and it was well past one in the afternoon. With us having to still traverse with slush on the road, it would easily tack on another half an hour to the trip. I wouldn’t be getting into town until almost five, which meant Colin wouldn’t get anywhere until well past five thirty.

Hopefully, he’d still make it to his stuff on time.

I pulled out my phone and called up my mom. I knew she’d want to know that we were back on the road. We talked for a bit while Colin got us back on the highway, but once we started gaining speed, I cut the call short. I didn’t want to do or say anything that would distract Colin, especially since I didn’t know what he was currently thinking.

But he surprised me when I hung up the phone call by initiating conversation.

“What would your perfect Christmas be like?” he asked.

Panning my gaze over to him, I scrunched up my nose at his question.

“You want to know how I’d like to spend Christmas?” I asked.

“No, I want to know what your perfect Christmas would be like.”

I studied him, watching as he drove our rental car down the highway. I wasn’t sure why in the world he was interested. He was the most confusing man I’d ever met in my life. He was a self-professed hater of the holidays and basically anything that made anyone laugh or smile, and he wanted to know what my picture-perfect Christmas was like.

Well, if he wanted to know, then I would tell him.

“If I tell you, then you have to tell me yours,” I said.

I watched him stiffen for just a second before he nodded his head curtly.

“My perfect Christmas would incorporate my family. Mom. Dad. My husband. Our kids, if we had any. We’d start by going tree shopping as a family on November thirtieth.”

“Seems pretty specific,” Colin said.

“Hush and listen.”

I watched a grin spread across his face before I continued.

“We’d decorate the tree on December first and decorate the house on December second. We’d all watch a Christmas movie every night leading up to actual Christmas Day. I’d have a Christmas dress I’d wear for each day, too.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I’d buy Christmas dresses. Ones that looked like candy canes and ones that had all those gaudy designs on them. But I’d buy twenty-four of them to wear on all the days leading up to Christmas.”

“What would you wear Christmas Day?” he asked.

“My pajamas,” I said, sighing. “We’d all be in our pajamas all day. We’d open up presents that morning before enjoying coffee, hot chocolate, and cinnamon rolls. We’d watch the Christmas parade before lunch time. Then we’d go out and play in the snow until it was time for Christmas dinner. Then, we’d stuff ourselves full as a family, cuddle up on the couch while a fire crackled in the background, and we’d all watch one last Christmas movie together.”

“And your family would be here for all of that?” he asked.

“Not my parents. They’d maybe come in the middle of the month and stay through Christmas. But that would be my perfect Christmas holiday.”

“Sounds… colorful,” he said.

“Your turn. Your picture-perfect Christmas.”

“Did I agree to that?” he asked.

“You nodded your head,” I said, grinning. “Now go.”

We traveled down the highway for a little while before I heard him draw in a deep breath.

“It would be my mother and me,” he said.

“No wife or kids?” I asked.

I watched him shrug, and there was a part of me that wondered if he ever saw that life for himself. He was filled with passion and desire. That much, I’d learned on my own. Pent up inside his icy, stale form was a man brimming with want and emotion. It flowed from him effortlessly as his hands ran along the curves of my body. I knew there was more he wanted to give. A man who had that kind of passion in bed also had that kind of passion in other areas of his life.

I started wondering if maybe Colin had somewhat given up on himself.

“At the very least—”

“No,” I interrupted. “We’re talking perfect Christmas. Not the bare minimum you would accept.”

I watched him clench his jaw, but I didn’t care. I was holding him to this. I was holding him to the idea that he had to dream about the holidays. Just once. Just long enough to wrap his mind around the joy he could experience if he just opened up his world to it.

Opened up his life to it.

“It would be my mother and me, along with my family.”

“Who’s in your family?” I asked.

“My wife and our kids. All of our kids.”

“So, you want lots of kids?” I asked, grinning.

“Maybe in another life I did.”

I turned my entire body toward him and leaned my head against the seat before he continued.

“It would be all of us, and we’d be gathered around the Christmas tree. A tall, massive, real tree, with twinkling white lights that could switch over to red at the toggle of a button. There’d be a fire going, and the kids would be running around, excited about the season and the falling snow. My mother would be working hard in the kitchen while my wife tried to get her to come sit her ass down and stop cooking long enough to enjoy things. But in the end, my wife would lose and eventually cave and help her in the kitchen just to get her out quicker.”

“Sounds like a wonderful woman,” I said.

“They both would be,” he said. “I wouldn’t care about what we did at the beginning of the month. I don’t care when we get the tree or how we decorate or where we go for the holidays. The only thing I’d want is them there with my wife crooked underneath my arm. I wouldn’t let her be one of those mothers who killed herself over the holidays, slaving away in the kitchen so it was perfect for everyone else. I’d hire a damn chef and decorator if that’s what it took for her to enjoy the holidays. But I’d want her smiling and making memories.”

I watched his very life gleam in his eyes. He was losing himself in the memory and this wish he had somehow convinced himself couldn’t happen. I smiled at him while he relaxed into his seat, and I wondered if he realized he was actually doing it.

I wondered if he realized he was finally opening up.

“I’d want to fill the tree with presents for everyone,” he said. “Gifts I never received as a child. Televisions and video games and jewelry. Trips to Holland to see the tulip fields in the summer and trips to the Sydney Opera House to view their new premier soprano. I’d get them anything just to see their eyes sparkle with joy.”

I felt tears rising to my eyes while he continued to talk.

“What about your father?” I asked.

“What?”

“You keep mentioning your mother, but not your father. Why?”

I watched his hands tighten against the steering wheel again, and I prepared myself for what was coming. I prepared myself for the wall I’d triggered, the drawbridge that would be rolled up from the moat. I prepared myself for the distance that was about to settle between the two of us, even before his lips parted to speak.

“You asked for my perfect Christmas,” he said. “So, there it is.”

And just like that, we were back to silence.

 

Colin

 

The traffic was moving so damn slowly. It took me thirty minutes just to find the damn highway, and then once we got onto the highway, everyone was only going forty-five miles an hour. It felt like we were crawling, and at this rate, I wouldn’t even drop Abby off in her hometown until close to seven o’clock. I was supposed to give my speech at eight, and I still needed to get to my own damn home and change into my tuxedo.

This was going to have to pick up if we were going to make any decent time.

For now, I was riding behind the damn snow plows on the highway. It was us and them, venturing out into the sunshine and cold while everything sat at a frigid twenty degrees. The seat warmer was keeping me comfortable for now, but I was getting agitated with how slow these plows were going.

And the roads were still rough, despite the sunshine.

I was over this journey to get home. All I wanted to do was get there, get changed, make my speech, and then go home and stoke up a fire. I had a great deal of work ahead of me if this meeting went well, and I knew if I placed it into Mac’s hands, that was exactly what would happen. Mac was a shark when it came to meetings, and there were moments where even I found him to be a bit intimidating. He had this stare where if he squinted just right, it looked like black had taken over his eyes. It could shiver an entire room and coat their folders in frost, and I grinned with the memory as I thought about how helpless that board room would soon feel.

I’d sent my shark into a tank with a school of goldfish.

“What?” Abby asked.

“Nothing. Just work stuff.”

“Ah, I should’ve known,” she said. “Your favorite subject that you never talk about.”

“I told you a great deal about my work.”

“Grinch.”

“How does that make me a Grinch?” I asked.

“Because you aren’t supposed to think about work over the holidays.”

“I’m supposed to think about my cheating-ass father?” I said.

I heard Abby gasp before she whipped her gaze over to mine.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I said.

“Colin. What did you say?”

“Just drop it.”

“Your father had an affair?” she asked.

“I said drop it, Abby.”

I clenched my jaw and tried to calm the anger rising up my throat. She knew exactly the right buttons to press. She just had to harp on the fact that I was a workaholic and that I didn’t celebrate the holidays. She knew this was a temperamental button, and yet, she kept batting at it like an incessant little toddler. What in the world was wrong with this woman? Did she have a damn screw loose?

“Thank you,” she said.

“I believe the proper phrase is ‘I’m sorry,’” I said.

“I was thanking you for taking me home, and for everything else you’ve done,” she spat.

Now it was my turn to feel bad.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “You’re welcome.”

“Both proper phrases. Good for you.”

I stole a glance at her and could see the grin crawling across her cheeks. She was sassy. That was for sure. She had a mouth on her that could spit fire in a heartbeat. Even though she was annoying as hell, it was honestly a bit refreshing. People I worked with—except for Mac—seemed almost intimidated and put off by me. They told me exactly what I wanted to hear and always addressed me formally. People who recognized me and came up to me on the street were always offering a smile and hiding behind their plastered-on masks of joy and delight.

But Abby was always honest, no matter how she felt that honesty would affect someone at the time. It was nice, although very annoying.

“Really, though, thank you,” she said. “For paying for the hotel room and getting me that food. For just agreeing to take me home, even though I knew you didn’t want to.”

“Look, Abby. We’re two very different people. You’re spot on when you call me a Grinch. I’m the last person people want to spend holidays with. But I’m not a bad man. I do help people sometimes.”

“I didn’t mean to insinuate you didn’t,” she said.

“I mean, I was the one that found out my father was having an affair. Walked right in on him and another woman when I came home from lacrosse practice early.”

“My gosh. Colin, I’m so sorry.”

“I was so angry with him,” I said. “I accused him of ruining our family. You know that man actually tried to get me to keep his secret. Kept saying things like, ‘it’s just a bad spot,’ and ‘things’ll get better between your mother and I.’ It wasn’t until I grew up and looked back on the situation that I realized my father had been screwing around because Mom had become busier than he would’ve liked with her own job. Her own life.”

I could feel Abby’s eyes on me as my mouth ran away from my body. I had no idea why I was telling her all this. It was like I was having another out of body experience. It was me, but it didn’t feel like me.

Only this time, I wasn’t wishing for it to stop.

“I told my mother what I saw, knowing I was doing the right thing. And even though it cost them their marriage, I knew that woman deserved better. She tried for years to get me to talk to my father, but I wasn’t having it. I wanted nothing to do with that man. After everything my mother gave him: a home, a child, someone to clean up after him, support. She put her entire life on hold to raise a family with him and bounce around until he landed in a career he was happy with, and the one time she did something for herself, he went and fucking cheated. Like a coward.”

I felt my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. I could feel my breath coming in pants. Even thinking about it made me irate. My mother, with her beautiful eyes and her thick head of hair she had even while she was in her sixties. That woman was the epitome of grace and elegance, and my father had thrown her away like trash.

Like she was no better than dog shit on the bottom of his shoe.

“Do you ever think you’ll talk with him?” Abby asked.

I instantly felt my body relax into the seat as the snow plows started to gain speed.

“I couldn’t now, even if I wanted to,” I said. “He passed away two years ago.”

I felt something descend onto my leg. I looked down and realized it was Abby’s hand. Her eyes were dripping with pity—something I couldn’t stand from other people—but for some reason, I didn’t mind it from her. Maybe it was because I knew she was struggling with her own things. Like her ex and how he cheated on her. Maybe that was why I felt the need to tell her about it.

Maybe I was just trying to let her know that it was never really the woman. Not completely. In my eyes, men that cheated always lacked something in themselves and were too damn cowardly to address it.

Maybe I was trying to convey that to her without really realizing it at the time.

“I can remember when my mother called and told me he was dead,” I said. “I didn’t even realize she was still in contact with him.”

“I couldn’t imagine, honestly,” Abby said. “But I suppose it’s different when you have a child with someone.”

“For a second, before I remembered why he was gone in the first place, I did feel regret. Guilt for not reaching out before he passed away. I wondered if maybe he had changed, fixed whatever part of him was broken. That’s what you need to understand about men that cheat. They’re broken people. It wasn’t my mother’s fault, and it wasn’t yours, either. They’re just chipped away and cracked, and instead of fixing themselves, they piece everything back together with glue and hope it holds. But it never does. Eventually, everything falls apart.”

I could feel Abby squeeze my leg before she removed her touch, and part of me wanted to reach out and take her hand.

“That’s why you hate the holidays,” she said. “Because thinking of family reminds you of all that.”

The only thing I had to offer was a nod because she’d hit the nail right on the head.

“Colin, you have got to let go,” she said. “Of this anger and this guilt. The man isn’t even alive now, and all you’re doing is allowing him to continue affecting you. I don’t think your mother would want that for you, and in a way, that means he won, you know? That broken man won something over you, and you don’t seem like the kind of man that accepts defeat that easily.”

“And what do you think I should do about all this?” I asked.

“Let go,” she said. “Cast it away. Let go of the guilt and the anger and try to be less serious about things.”

“Easier said than done, Abby.”

“None of the greatest things in life are easy to come by. Was your business easy?”

“No,” I said, snickering. “No, it was not.”

“Then why would you think this would be?”

For all the annoying traits and the terrible singing and the slamming of my buttons, she was a very intelligent woman when she decided to show it. Her words rang true and cut deeper than she had probably intended them to, and it gave me a lot to think about. She settled her vision back out the window as the snow plows slowly picked up their pace, and in that moment, she said something to me that shocked me to my core.

“I’m technically homeless,” she said.

But instead of launching into a diatribe about her life, she turned her face out the window and settled in for the ride.

And for some reason, that made me even angrier.

 

Abby

 

I was floored by his revelation and by the fact that he simply opened up and started talking. He was telling me about his father and about why he didn’t enjoy the holidays. He was telling me why he was so uptight and why he was always so stern and serious. My hand descended onto his leg as I tried to provide some kind of comfort for him. But when he was done, I could tell he was uncomfortable.

“I’m technically homeless,” I said.

I was trying to level the playing field and trying to get him to understand that I knew what it felt like to hurt and to be hurt and to feel like there was nowhere to go. I wasn’t ready to tell him about the last year of my life. I wasn’t ready to tell him why I was homeless. I wasn’t ready to admit all of the stupid moves I’d made in my life. And why? Because I wasn’t ready to prove him right.

I wasn’t ready to show him that I was nothing but a stupid little girl.

I saw his gaze flicker over toward me before he trained his sights back out the windshield. I could tell he was listening intently even if he was looking out the window. I turned my gaze out onto the wintry landscape we were driving by and hunkered down into my seat. I knew he was waiting for me to talk, but I wasn’t ready. I knew he was waiting for me to offer up details about my life since he’d stepped out onto that limb, but I wasn’t ready to be out there with him.

He might’ve had a cheating father, but he also had a successful company. He still had his mother, who probably loved him more than anything in the world. I could tell by the fabric of his suits I’d felt the night before and by the way he could just rent one of these fully-loaded cars that he’d never hurt for money in his life. Ever.

Some people weren’t that fortunate. Some people just had hits that kept on hitting them while they were bleeding from their nostrils.

Just thinking about my past year raised a knot in my throat. I tried clearing it out and swallowing it down. I tried singing a bit under my breath so Colin couldn’t hear. I even tried rolling the window down and getting some fresh air.

But nothing was working.

I reached down for my purse and slid the apple juice from the bottom. I opened it up and guzzled it down, practically choking on it to try and relieve the pain that was flowing throughout my body. My eyes were watering, and it hurt to breathe. It became harder to swallow the juice down, and I could feel my back cramping up. I didn’t want to have a panic attack in this car. The last thing I needed was to show this man how weak I was. How vulnerable I had become with him.

Cleaning my mouth off, I could feel his gaze on me while we kept rolling down the road. I screwed the cap back onto my juice before I put it away. Then I started thinking about Colin. I wondered if he would take my advice and open himself up to forgiveness. I wondered if he would let things go and maybe try to celebrate the holidays with his mother. He didn’t really mention much about her, but I got the distinct impression that she was still alive.

Why wasn’t he spending the holidays with her, then? Surely, she would want him there.

I chanced a glance over at Colin, and I could tell how hard he was paying attention. His back was straight, and his eyes were focused. His brow was furrowed, and his hands gripped tightly to the steering wheel. Holy hell, the man was as serious as they came. I knew traveling in the snow wound people up sometimes, but this was getting ridiculous. He was tapping his free foot on the floorboard of the car as we sat there in silence, and I had to stifle an incredulous giggle.

“What?” he asked coldly.

“Just loosen up,” I said.

“I already heard your arguing point,” he said.

“It wasn’t a point to be argued,” I said. “It’s what you need to do. Just loosen up, Colin. You’d be a lot more fun if you did.”

It was the truth. I saw a glimpse of it the night before at the vending machine. How his eyes lit up with his laughter and how his entire body seemed to relax. I knew he was capable of it. I knew it was stuffed deep down inside of him. He just had to let it out. He just had to take a deep breath, close his eyes, and let the delight that wanted to take hold of him just… sink into his bones. He didn’t have to explain it. It didn’t have to have an origin point. Sometimes people were just happy because they chose to be.

Just like he was rigid and miserable because he chose to be.

“You just do wonders for my ego,” he said.

“It’s not my job to stroke your ego,” I said. “Tell me more about your company.”

“You want me to keep telling you more about myself while you sit there dropping bombshell tidbits without explaining?”

His words were like a blow to my gut, and I sank down into my chair before I let out a sigh.

“Okay, my business,” he said, sighing. “It’s doing really well. We employ over five hundred people, and that’s just in the U.S. alone. Overall, there’s around three thousand employees the company manages, and I pride myself in offering only full-time positions.”

“Wow,” I said. “That’s… actually really awesome.”

“It’s important for me to take care of my employees,” he said. “A full-time salary, a 401(k) with matching incentives, health insurance, and opportunities to donate their money as tax write-offs to charities they find important.”

“Do you donate to any?” I asked.

“Personally, or on behalf of the company?”

“Both,” I said.

“Personally, I donate to Wounded Warriors and UNICEF,” he said. “The idea of hungry children makes my stomach crawl, and the idea that we can’t even take care of men and women who fought for our country makes me very upset.”

“Who does the company donate to?” I asked.

“The company has an overall ethics statement. It’s common for businesses to have a certain ideal they get behind. Like energy companies investing a certain amount of time or profit into clean energy renewal.”

“So, what does Murphy Inc. support?” I asked.

“Clean water restoration,” he said. “Every year, I offer an all-expenses-paid trip to a third world country, and I fund the efforts to dig and build wells in order to access clean drinking water. I offer the trip up to all the employees, and I’ve never had an issue with filling all twenty slots.”

“You send twenty people overseas to dig wells on your own dime?” I asked.

“The company’s dime, but yes. And then I donate a certain amount of money at the end of every year to other charities whose sole focus is water filtration in other areas we can’t reach. Like small third-world islands and the like.”

I was absolutely floored by what he was telling me.

“See?” he asked. “Told you I wasn’t a terrible person.”

“That’s amazing, Colin,” I said. “Really.”

“Helping people is important to me, especially if they can’t help themselves. My mother was helpless in that scenario. She was helpless to the decisions my father made that impacted our entire family. I helped her as much as I could, and I took that lesson with me. I told myself that if I ever started a business, the core value of that company would be to help people. No matter how that help was determined or brought about. Now, I help young entrepreneurs build relationships with people who help them succeed. I help seasoned entrepreneurs by giving them a podcast forum to reach younger generations via their videos. And now, I’m hoping to be able to branch into the European market like I was able to do the Asian market and help them as well.”

“Well,” I said, sighing. “You’re just a little chatter box when you get going, aren’t you?”

“Now you know how I felt at the beginning of this ride,” he said, grinning.

“So, you didn’t just give me this ride to keep up your image?”

“Oh, no,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. Upholding a positive public persona is what allows me to run my business the way I can. No one wants to do business with an asshole, so I can’t go around acting like an asshole.”

“But they’ll do business with a Scrooge?” I asked.

“I hoard myself up in my office, and I don’t make holiday appearances,” he said. “No one’s any the wiser.”

Then, I saw his eyes dart toward the clock before his body tensed back up.

“Relax, tin man. It’s only two in the afternoon.”

“I have to be at the charity by six,” he said.

“But you don’t make that speech until eight, right?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“So, you can be a little late and still make it?” I asked.

“Yes, but it isn’t becoming to be late.”

“But you could be if it was necessary,” I said. “You know, since there’s snow on the road and stuff?”

“Did you just call me the ‘tin man’? I do have a heart, you know.”

“I wasn’t referencing your lack of heart,” I said.

“What were you referencing then?”

“I was referring to the armor you’ve built around yourself that seems to be impenetrable.”

He looked over at me with a wary look, and I could tell I’d just peeled another layer of him back.

“Relax, Colin. If you’re a little late, I’m sure everyone will understand. As long as you’re there to give your speech, people might not even know you’re not there. Especially if you’re not at the meeting. They’ll be talking with Mick instead of searching for you.”

“You mean Mac,” he said.

“Yep. Him.”

I watched him frown, and I wished I could break through that grinch-like exterior. I felt like I was digging deeper emotionally, but it didn’t feel like he was relenting on this holiday thing. He was probably going to get dressed up and go to this holiday charity ball, and people around him would be wearing green and red with sparkles and smiles on their faces.

And then there would be him, in some all-black tuxedo or something, standing in a corner and being cynical.

“Would you just lighten up a little bit?” I asked.

But his frown only deepened, and his scowl only grew wider. If he could open himself up to the holidays, he would enjoy this time of the year more. He’d enjoy that charity event-ball-dance-whatever a little more.

He might even enjoy this car ride a little more if he’d just give it a damn try.

 

Colin

 

Lighten up? Was she serious? The nerve of that woman! Holy hell, she had balls as big as Satan’s. If she really thought that simply telling me to lighten up after spilling my guts to her was going to work, then she was sorely mistaken. My hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly to keep my head from popping off my shoulders. I needed to get off this highway. Between Abby, who didn’t seem to have any sort of a filter, and the slowly-moving traffic on the highway, I was starting to grow frustrated.

Pulling off the highway, I careened us into a gas station. Even though we’d spent two hours on the road already, we’d only made it do Des Moines, Iowa. We weren’t even halfway through our journey today, and the car already needed to be gassed up. The interstate was awful, I had the worst traveling companion alive, and I needed more coffee. Just when I thought this trip was starting to look up, it was shot to hell by Abby’s big mouth, and all I wanted was for it to be over. I was missing the most important meeting of my business career, I was going to be late for this damn charity event, and I was stuck with a woman whose grand sage advice was ‘lighten up.’

Ripping the car door open, I slipped out as Abby chattered behind me. I tuned her voice out and starting pumping gas into the car. Then I walked myself into the gas station. I no longer cared about what she was saying. I no longer wanted to listen to her rants about the holidays. What I wanted was for the roads to be clear so I could drop this woman off, then have her be gone from my life forever.

I walked over to the coffee machine and filled up the largest cup they had. I was tired of traveling this way. And what made it worse was that every single time I thought I understood Abby a bit better, she threw me some kind of curveball that shattered things to pieces. How in the world was she simply okay with everything? How in the world was she just going with the flow? It was people like her that stunted the world’s conglomerate growth. People like her who stayed ignorant with their positive attitudes and their naivety toward international topics. Like politics and the health crises. People like her didn’t have any important business to get to. They just went through life like it was nothing. Like nothing was of importance, and soon, they’d be dealt another hand they could just try out or something.

It irked me to no end.

Capping my coffee off, I paid at the counter before I returned to the car. I felt the warmth of the drink flooding my system while Abby sat there staring at me. Just looking at her made me upset again. People needed to take life more seriously. People like Abby were way too easygoing, and then they were shocked to no end when bad things happened to them. What did they expect? Did they think their positive attitude and fluffy little smile would make them immune to bad things? Did they think the world would somehow dole out an easier hand to them just because they chose to keep a smile on their face?

I shook my head as I hung up the gas pump. Then I slid back into the car and readied myself for the longest two-hour journey of my life.

“None for me?” Abby asked.

Panning my head toward her, I felt the words settling on the tip of my tongue. If this woman knew what was best for her, she’d sit back and keep her mouth shut for the rest of this drive.

“No,” I said plainly.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Because I’m not your cash cow.”

I could feel her eyes on me as I settled my coffee into the cup holder. I cranked up the car and slowly pulled back out onto the road, watching her in my peripheral vision. She was staring at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read, and I was hoping my statement would finally shut her mouth.

But I was dead wrong on that account.

“You’re angry,” she said.

“And you’re talkative.”

“You didn’t have an issue with it before,” she said.

“I’ve always had an issue with how talkative you are. I figured my spilling my guts would’ve tapered that down, but apparently not.”

“So, you didn’t open up because you wanted to?” she asked.

“No.”

“Wow. Okay. You know what I think?”

“What?” I asked.

“I think you’re pissed off because I told you to lighten up.”

“You think?” I asked. “What brought you to that wild and intelligent deduction?”

“You don’t have to be patronizing,” she said. “And this right here reinforces my point. You’re too wound up.”

“And after I told you everything I did, the best advice you’ve got for me is to lighten up?”

“I’m not a sage,” she said.

“Then stop acting like one,” I said. “Stop giggling and singing and trying to be everyone’s wise old friend, then skirt by your own problems when someone wants you to reciprocate an action in response to theirs. You want me to lighten up? Then string some lights up around my head and turn them on. Being who I am is what got me to the successful place I am, and I guarantee you being as laid back as you are got you to where you’re currently sitting. Unable to buy yourself a cup of coffee. So while I might be high-strung, I don’t hate my life. Take it for what it’s worth.”

The words spewed from my mouth before I could catch them, and I could see Abby melting into her seat. Her gaze hung on me for quite some time as we rode down the highway, and I simply kept my eyes trained on the road in front of me. The snow plows were no longer in sight, and the road in front of me was only slushed, so I picked up my speed to get us into Minnesota quicker.

And still, there was no word from Abby.

I upset her, and I knew I did. I chanced a gaze in her direction, but she was staring out the passenger side window. Her arms were folded over her chest, and she was snuggled up with the door, trying to get as far away from me as she could.

Taking a risk, I reached down and turned on the radio. I simply wanted quiet. Not this kind of tension. I tried a compromise and turned on the radio to Christmas music, hoping it would lift her spirits a bit. I knew I’d be in for some awful singing, but it would be better than the silence we were riding in now. This terribly uncomfortable silence.

But instead, the Christmas music filled the car while Abby kept silent. She wasn’t singing. She wasn’t dancing. She wasn’t even tapping her foot.

Not only had I made her upset, but I’d pulled from her that Christmas spirit or whatever it was. She was silent and kind of absent. Like she’d slipped into her mind and was lost in her thoughts. Part of me was relieved she wasn’t talking, but part of me was worried. I was wondering what types of memories she was swimming through and curious as to how they impacted her.

Abby was apparently an all or nothing sort of woman, and right now, she was giving me absolutely nothing.

“Abby?” I asked.

But all I was met with was silence.

“Abby, come on. This isn’t fair.”

“What isn’t?” she asked.

“You can’t lead me to believe that you don’t understand why I’m upset,” I said.

“Sure. I get it.”

“You’re more than welcome to sing to the radio, if you’d like.”

“Thanks for the permission, Dad,” she said.

“Abby.”

“It’s insane,” she said, snickering. “You’re even scolding me with that kind of voice.”

“What kind of voice?”

“That low rumble that fathers have when their children disappoint them,” she said. “It wasn’t my decision for you to just spew your life out like that. And I’m not wrong. You’re too high-strung. I don’t know you well enough to tell you how to not be high-strung. I just know that’s what you need to do. Your boxers ride up too much or something.”

“My boxers?” I asked, grinning.

“Or briefs. Or those combination things men wear nowadays.”

“You mean you don’t remember the kind I wear?” I asked. “Must’ve been a poor encounter.”

I could see her cheeks flushing as a grin crawled across my cheeks.

“You think I talk too much,” she said.

“I think you’re a lot of things. Overly cheery. Naive. Unprepared for bad circumstances in life. But we’re all a lot of things. I’m high-strung and a workaholic. I don’t enjoy the holidays, and I don’t celebrate birthdays.”

“You don’t celebrate what?” she asked.

“Drop it,” I said sternly.

“I just don’t understand,” she said.

“And I don’t expect you to. Just like I won’t understand you. We’ve only got a road trip. We can’t possibly dissect one another in that short amount of time.”

“I wish we could,” she said, mumbling.

“Why?”

But then, she fell silent again. I was curious as to her answer. I wanted to know why she wanted to dissect me. Why she cared so much about knowing who I was. To her, I was just some workaholic with a stick up my ass who wanted to ruin the holidays. Why did someone who cared so much for them want to get to know someone like myself?

Every time I talked with this woman, she simply became more and more of a mystery.

“It’s nothing,” she said. “It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid if you don’t want it to—”

“I said drop it,” she said.

Her tone was harsh, and I clamped my mouth shut. She folded her arms back across her chest and went back to staring out the window. I had pulled her back into reality and got her talking with me, but the moment I tripped that secretive little wire, she pulled right back out of it. O Holy Night was starting to play on the radio, and I expected her to start singing, to fill my car with the noise of a dying cow while she tried to get the notes right.

But still, there was nothing.

Reaching over, I cut off the radio and listened to the silence. It was a little less tense than it was before, but it was still rough. I turned my sights back to the road and kicked up the speed a little, trying to get her home a fast as I could.

Then I rolled up behind the snow plows clearing the highway, and I groaned.

Someone somewhere was determined to make me miserable, and it was working.

 

Abby

 

I saw the sign for Minnesota and silently cheered to myself. I figured cheering out loud would make the Scrooge’s head pop through the ceiling, and nobody wanted that to happen. Apparently, I was supposed to stroke his fragile ego and let him know it was okay to be angry for the rest of his life, and that wasn’t going to happen. With all the stress and tension he carried in his life, he would croak by the time he was forty.

I hoped he had his estate settled.

I didn’t get it. I just couldn’t understand how someone could hate all of the snow and the romance of being cooped up with a stranger. He’d opened up to me for just a moment, and it was like I was seeing another person. A vulnerable side to him that was open to just about anything to make him smile. That man would’ve enjoyed the holidays. That man would’ve enjoyed the snow and a twinkling Christmas tree. The holidays didn’t have to be extravagant and loud in order to be enjoyed.

But the man with the stick up his ass was determined not to enjoy them.

I was honestly glad that he turned off the radio. I wasn’t in the mood to sing Christmas carols in the car, although he probably would’ve shut me down if I’d started. Even though he thought the trip was slow-going, I thought it was fabulous. It was my first time riding in a luxury vehicle like this, and I was taking in every single aspect of it. I wanted to remember the good parts of this trip. The way he laughed at the vending machine. The way his body breathed warm life into mine. The way his eyes twinkled for just a moment when he was talking about his perfect Christmas.

Those were the parts I wanted to remember.

Not the ones like these. The ones where he was hellbent on fighting and twisting every aspect of my personality to fit his agenda. Not moments like this, where he was ticked off that I was telling him a truth about his personality he seemed unwilling to accept. He was quick to call me naive and immature, but at least I understood the reality of my scenario without allowing it to drown me in the process.

If he only knew.

Slowly, however, I started to feel guilty for the way I was speaking with him and now, about the fact that we simply weren’t. Maybe that was the point. Maybe he was upset that he finally gave me what I’d been asking him for, and in return, I only gave him little snippets. Maybe in his world, a courtesy was returned for a courtesy received. Well, that might’ve been how it worked with the rich, but with us poor people, that wasn’t how it worked. You were kind and courteous because the only other option was to be lonely and bitter, like he was. Where I came from and how I was raised, you didn’t give courtesy to receive it. You gave it because it was the right thing to do. You gave it because you never know who you’re going to come across who’s going to need that courtesy in order to lift their spirits.

Just another selfish aspect of an angry man.

And why the hell was I starting to feel bad? I’ve got shit in my life going on, and here was this pompous windbag, making me feel like I wasn’t trying. Like I wasn’t doing my best to try and make this trip bearable. I was the one having to counteract his scrooge-like tendencies. I was the one having to fill the silence of the vehicle so neither of us would get bored. And he was making it seem like I was just some stupid little teenage girl who didn’t know how to move on from a fight.

I was trying to move forward. That was what this whole trip home was about. Moving the fuck forward. Getting away from all the bullshit I left behind in San Diego and trying to figure out what in the world I was going to do now. I was a woman who went from having everything to nothing. Colin had no right to judge me, nor did he have any right to assume he knew anything about me.

Tears began trickling down my face as my chest heaved with broken breaths.

“What now?” he asked.

“You’re just so insensitive!” I exclaimed.

I could tell my outburst got his attention as he whipped his head over toward me.

“You sit there in your expensive suit and your tailored coat and your genuine leather driving gloves and you assume you know everything about me, but you don’t know a damn thing, Colin. You think my happiness and my Christmas spirit are naive and traditional of some bubble-headed teenage girl, but you don’t have the first damn clue as to why it’s the only thing I have to grasp onto right now.”

Wiping at the tears falling from my eyes, I felt the dam burst. Tears rolled down my cheeks as my hands trembled, and soon, the car was filled with nothing but my sobs.

“You have no idea how hard things have been for me,” I said, sniffling. “You don’t have the slightest clue as to what this year has thrown into my lap. All I have is a negative account balance, a tanking credit score, and a bedroom at my parents’ house until I can figure out where the hell my life is going from here, and you sit there, accusing me of not understanding. Well you know what? I’m not the only one sitting in this car who doesn’t fucking get it.”

“Look,” he began. “I didn’t have to give you this ride. I didn’t have to let you stay with me. I didn’t have to keep you safe, and I didn’t have to feed you anything. But I did.”

“I get that,” I said.

“I also didn’t have to tell you about some nonexistent, perfect Christmas or even about my father, but I did,” he said.

“Yes, I know, but—”

“So, unless those tears are accompanying some sort of story you’re about to spill into my lap that forces me to see you in a new light, you can tuck them away and save them for another day of manipulation.”

“Fine, you want a story?” I asked. “I’ll give you one. I told you my boyfriend was a cheat, right?”

“Yep.”

“Did I tell you he cheated on me with my best friend before clearing out my savings account?”

I looked over at him with my reddened stare, and I could tell he was in shock.

“Yeah,” I said. “Forty thousand dollars gone in the blink of an eye. I’m sure that’s just pocket change to you, but it was a savings account I’d grown diligently since college. We were together three solid years. Three! We talked about children and buying a house. Hell, we even went house-shopping the day before I figured out he was fucking my best friend. Who also happened to be my roommate, mind you.”

“Abby, I’m so—”

“Save the apologies,” I said flatly. “At the beginning of November, I found him and her, just splayed out on the couch in our apartment. They looked like they were having the time of their lives. Let me tell you. Didn’t even realize I’d walked in until I called their names. I had to get over the cries of them calling each other’s names before they heard me.”

I could feel his gaze on me while his stone-cold stare slipped into one of pity. I hated it when people pitied me.

“I told my roommate to choose,” I said. “She couldn’t live with me and screw him, so she chose. She packed up her stuff and was gone two days later. Just like that. I met her in college, Colin. We weathered freshman year together. We got initiated into the same damn sorority. Sisters! We were supposed to be sisters. And of course, my stupid, naive self forgot my ex was attached to my bank accounts. Why? Because we were talking about getting married and buying a damn house. That’s why. He drained my savings and took everything I had with him, and he left me with nothing. No way to pay rent. No way to eat. No way to recover.”

“You didn’t have a job that could help you get back onto your feet?” Colin asked.

“Until four weeks ago, I did,” I said. “My landlord wasn’t budging on the rent issue, and I had credit card payments I was defaulting on, so I got desperate. I pawned Christmas gifts I got people just to be able to pay off the balance on the credit card, only to realize my landlord didn’t take credit card payments for rent. I got fired from my job four weeks ago. I couldn’t find another job in my field, and my asshole landlord handed me my eviction notice two weeks ago.”

“That doesn’t even sound remotely right,” he said. “What do—did—you do for work?”

“First off, once you default on a single rent payment, it’s up to the landlord what he or she chooses to do,” I said. “He chose to evict me. And second, I was a celebrity publicist. I’d just been promoted, actually. To the manager of the entire department. Wanna know what got me fired?”

“What?”

“Fact-checking. Lack of it, to be exact. I trusted one of my writers to fact-check a very serious story he was running on someone, and instead of going back behind him, I trusted him. We ran the story. It exploded until the celebrity’s P.R. person called my desk, and within five minutes, I was able to tank the story we’d just run on the front page of the damn website.”

“What was the story about?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter. What mattered was that I could’ve almost ruined someone’s career with that story. Popular Faces magazine is revered in the celebrity community because they pride themselves in running only stories that are legitimate. They have positive contacts with just about every up-and-coming, as well as major, celebrity in Hollywood. It was a dream job for me. It was like I was doing some sort of public relations service to them. Not dealing in some seedy underworld writing bullshit like the tabloids.”

“You were working for Popular Faces?” he asked.

“Yep. And now I’m not. I was sent home promptly after I took down the story, and both myself and that writer were fired two hours later. In the span of two months, my best friend, my career, my money, and the man I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with were ripped away from me. In the blink of an eye. My mother always told me when it rained, it poured, but this is just too much.”

I felt myself choking back tears while Colin’s eyes volleyed between the highway and the side of my face.

“Abby, I’m so sorry,” he said. “I had no idea you’d been through so much.”

“And that’s why courtesies aren’t always returned,” I said. “See, I was raised with the notion that you just gave courtesy out of the goodness of your heart because you never knew who might need it without the expectation of reciprocity. Apparently, you didn’t grow up with the same notion.”

“Apparently not,” he said. “And for what it’s worth, I really am sorry. For the way I spoke to you and for the things I said. What you’ve endured, most people can’t get through, much less still smiling the way you’ve been.”

“Thanks,” I said.

I didn’t know what else to say. I curled up into the seat and gazed out the window, watching while the snow-covered trees passed us by. I wanted to forget about all of this stuff over the holidays. I wanted to distract myself from it. I could tackle it once Christmas was over. I could plant my feet back onto the ground once Christmas was over and done with. But Colin had been determined to level the playing field, so there it was, leveled so he could feel better about himself.

Only now, I didn’t feel better at all. All I wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep.

 

Colin

 

I couldn’t believe what Abby had just told me. As she sat there curled up into herself, the only thing that ran through my mind was how remarkable she was. I would have never guessed that the woman who was so bubbly and full of holiday spirit had been going through all that. I never would’ve guessed that the woman who was trying to get to know this stranger and continuously kept a smile on her face had just been evicted from her home. She was right. Courtesy was something she needed right now without the forcible reciprocity found within the business world. In my world, if you gave someone a courtesy and it wasn’t reciprocated, your businesses would always be at odds. Reciprocating kindness and making sure things were always even between two parties ensured a foundation of trust.

I was out of my element with her.

If she had the ability to keep that optimistic outlook of hers through all the things life had thrown her way, then she really was a rare type of person. Going through that kind of heartache and abandonment would’ve broken anyone.

It would’ve broken me. That was for sure.

“Abby?”

“What?”

“Do you want to talk about it anymore?” I asked.

“What do you wanna know?”

“Who was the client?” I asked.

“I don’t know if I can talk specifics, honestly,” she said.

“I can respect the professionalism, but something tells me you just need to get it out.”

“And you would know something about that?” she asked.

“Yes, actually. I would. There’s a great deal of things that go on behind closed doors when it comes to business I wish I could tell someone. I’d like to give you that if you’d let me.”

I could tell she was turning the idea around in her head. There were more times than I cared to admit to where I wished I just had someone I could call up and talk with. Someone who was completely unbiased and knew none of the people I had to interact with on a daily basis. Keeping client and professional relations sometimes meant biting my tongue when really, I wanted to spew venom in their direction. People who treated me with disrespect, then turned around and expected me to treat them like a king or a queen. There were times where I’d sit at my desk at one in the morning and look at the phone, just waiting for it to ring to remind me that I wasn’t so alone.

Those were moments I sometimes didn’t even want to admit existed. And if that was the case for her—if she felt as lonely as she looked—I wanted her to know she wasn’t.

I wanted to try and pick her spirits back up, especially since she was digging down deep within herself to try and keep them that way.

“There was a story that came across my desk the morning I got promoted,” she began. “It was one of those anonymous source type stories that we don’t deal in. But the meat of the story was too good not to pass up.”

“What was the story about?” I asked.

“Insider trading,” she said. “There were rumors coming out of the guy’s head office, apparently, that the owner of a rising technological company was seeking insider trading information in order to bolster his portfolio so he could skim that quick money off and begin paying off the massive debts he accrued in order to get his business off the ground.”

“That wouldn’t happen to be Micah Beddingfield, would it?” I asked.

She looked over at me with widened eyes, and I sighed as I merged into another lane.

“He’s a massive competitor of mine,” I said. “Up and coming. Really trying to cut into the market I created with his new product. There have been whispers and rumors that have made it into my office about that kind of thing, but no one’s been able to prove it.”

“That was the issue,” she said. “The story ran with the ‘anonymous source’ shit. I don’t know what in the world that writer was thinking. I guess he thought that since I handed him the story, I’d already vetted it. I got it down before it made massive waves, but the magazine still has to issue an apology. It’s disgusting that the story might actually be true and that the magazine had to apologize anyway.”

“It’s a small world honestly,” I said.

“How so?”

I looked over at her and her big, bright eyes before I turned my gaze back to the road. I had been looking to hire a publicist for quite some time, especially since I had someone now trying to chomp into my market space like Micah Beddingfield was. He was a shark and lacked any business integrity. He was in it for the money and nothing else. I could see it in his sly smile every single time he popped up in the media. I had people constantly calling my secretary for quotes and all sorts of rebuttals to his public statements.

“Well, I got a phone call from my secretary while I was still in San Diego,” I said. “Something about reporters really harassing the office over this last public statement Beddingfield made. It really ruffled some feathers and apparently spooked my investors so much that they felt the need to get in touch with me.”

“What did he say?” she asked.

“What Beddingfield is trying to do is the equivalent of what Twitter tried to do. He wants to take a very specific aspect of my overall platform and refine it. Specifically, he wants to take the podcast forum that I’ve started and use that same platform to refine it. He’s trying to paint me in the media as biased toward more seasoned entrepreneurs.”

“What kind of ammunition is he using?” she asked.

“The fact that the podcast platform is only there for seasoned businessmen and women to give their advice. He thinks that any entrepreneur ever should be able to post a video and give their advice. But that’s not the point of the platform. It’s not supposed to be a YouTube for entrepreneurs. It’s supposed to be more like a lecture forum. We vet the people who want to give a lecture or post a video, so we know the people who download these podcasts aren’t being fed wrong information. Beddingfield’s twisting that concept and accusing me of pushing a very specific business agenda and a very specific way of growing and beginning a business.”

“So how does that make him a tech mogul or whatever?” she asked.

“He’s creating his own podcast materials. Everything from professional cameras and microphones to green screens and lights. He’s specializing in the ‘portable podcast,’ where you can take all the things you would need to create a decent podcast and put them in a suitcase to take with you wherever you went. That’s his technological platform.”

“It’s very smart, if you think about it,” she said. “In this day and age, everything is all about portability and accessibility to the masses. That doesn’t mean what he’s doing isn’t wrong. He shouldn’t be trying to drag you into a dog fight, so to speak.”

“Exactly. When I got that phone call from my secretary and watched the interview, I realized I’d need to hire a publicist to help me navigate this. I’m terrible with the media. I don’t like cameras at all.”

“So no podcasts from you?” she asked, grinning.

“Nope. No podcasts from me, though I think it would be welcomed if I pitched it. I said it was a small world because you seem to be a publicist-like figure in need of a job, and I have an opening and a need for one.”

“So, what are you asking?”

“I’m offering you a job, if you’d like,” I said.

I knew it sounded crazy, but the truth of the matter was, she had integrity. She had her own moral compass, but in the end, she was willing to abide by the moral compass of her company. And that was the type of person I needed. Someone who had morals they were guided by, but would ultimately respect the morals of my company and how I wanted to be portrayed.

Which wasn’t at all how Beddingfield was portraying me.

“A job,” she said, smiling. “That’s very generous of you, given the fact that you can’t stand me.”

“It’s not that I can’t stand you,” I said. “We’re just two different people with traits that get on one another’s nerves sometimes. That’s all.”

The broader her smile got, the warmer I felt inside. I didn’t expect her to answer me now, but I was hoping she would think about it. I wouldn’t mind seeing her a bit more, especially with the physical connection we had. It would present more opportunities for me to get to know the strength she hid underneath her giggling form, and maybe it would give me another opportunity to explore her some more. I couldn’t deny the desire we both had for each other back in that hotel, and I couldn’t lie to myself about it any longer. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed exploring her with my lips and feeling her body cling to mine.

I wanted more opportunities like that with her, if she would let me have them.

“I’ll have to think about it,” she said.

“I’m just glad you’re smiling again,” I said.

“Aww, you’re so sweet.”

“I try.”

“Not too hard sometimes,” she said.

“Those jokes of yours are going to get you into trouble one of these days.”

“They’ve already gotten me into trouble more than I care to admit these past twenty-four hours,” she said. “Get with the program.”

Her giggle filled the car, and I was happy she was happy. The tension in the car dissipated and the snow plows were finally out of our way, which meant I could kick up the speed on the highway. I felt the stress I’d been carrying around slowly leave my body, and I started wondering why in the world that was happening now.

What changed?

I looked over at Abby, who was humming to herself, and then it hit me. It was her. It was that smile and that cheery expression that was once the most annoying thing to me in the world. It was her countenance and the strength I now understood she possessed. It was the way she was still smiling, even though her entire world had crippled itself around her.

Maybe this was a little more than just her body. Maybe this was a little more than just a slice of lust.

But I shook the thought from my head as the highway began to widen. We went from four lanes to six, and soon, we would be at eight. In less than two hours, we would be in her hometown, and I still wasn’t quite sure where I was dropping her off.

“Have you decided where you want me to drop you off?” I asked.

“I’ll guide you to my house,” she said.

“I thought you wanted me to drop you off at a restaurant or something, so you could eat?” I asked.

But all she did was grin, and I felt a sort of excitement blooming in my gut. I’d get to see where she lived. Where she grew up. I had no idea why in the world I was excited about that prospect since I wasn’t staying there or anything, but there were two things I did know.

The idea made me excited, and the smile on Abby’s face denoted the same excitement I felt.

 

Abby

 

Once we came upon the exit for my house, I felt a sadness drape over me. The last couple hours of our impromptu road trip had actually been fun. Colin described the job a little more to me, and I got to listen. For the first time since I caught my ex with my best friend, I felt hope. Hope toward a brighter future. Hope toward a way to dig myself out of this hole that had opened up underneath my feet. I gave him directions and sent him on a wild goose chase for my house. Then we pulled up into the driveway, and I sighed, though not with as much relief as I figured it would be.

I took stock of the childhood home I’d grown up in. The light blue shutters against the creamy white house ripped me back to better days. Days of rocking on the porch swing with my father as he read me his favorite books. Days of running around in the driveway with Mom throwing water balloons when it actually got hot during the summer. Days of sneaking in and out of my room, only to be caught and grounded by my parents.

All of it came rushing back while I sat in the car, my body hesitant to move from the seat beside Colin.

“Here we are,” he said.

“Yep. My home.”

“It looks nice,” he said.

“It looks like my father went all out with the Christmas lights again.”

I giggled as they kicked on. It was already five-thirty, and the sun had set beneath the treetops on the land my parents owned. There were icicle lights that twinkled and colorful lights that wound around the columns of our porch. There were color-changing electric luminaries that lined the driveway and a Santa that was waving at people from our front lawn. Dad put up the blow-up snowman beside the house and stuck all sorts of random stuff in the driveway, and all of it overwhelmed my body and filled me with laughter.

I threw my head back and let it all out as Colin sat there and looked at me.

“We never did Christmas lights,” Colin said.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I was never one to put them up. That’s always Dad’s job.”

We sat there in silence for a little bit before I saw movement in the windows, and I started coping with the fact that this was all over. In a few minutes, I would get out of this car and walk into my house and have to tell my mother everything that had happened to me. I’d cry into a cup of my father’s hot chocolate, and they would rub my back and tell me it would somehow all get better, and Colin would be out of my life forever.

“I’m thankful for you,” I said.

“What?” he asked.

“I’m thankful for you.”

“How is someone who is so full of spirit thankful for a Grinch like myself?” he asked.

“Because you gave me a ride when you didn’t have to, you protected me when it wasn’t required of you, and you fed me out of your own pocket. Thank you for your kindness.”

I turned to look at him, taking in his bright blue eyes one last time. I saw a grin cross his face before he nodded, and there was a part of me that wished this wasn’t over. There was a part of me that wanted to tell him to pull out, keep driving, and find us another hotel to stay in. Not just because of our physical connection, but because of all the things we’d found out about one another. I saw his Scrooge-like attitude in another light, and I knew if I spent enough time with him, I could make part of his perfect Christmas a dream come true.

But he opened the door to slide out, so I followed him in kind.

“When are you heading back to San Diego?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m not,” he said. “San Diego was the last leg of a trip I actually made to L.A. That’s where I live.”

“You live in L.A.?” I asked. “Wow. Do you enjoy it?”

“It’s nice. I have a penthouse with this beautiful ocean view.”

“Sounds like something out of a dream,” I said.

He opened the trunk and helped me gather all my things. I heard the front door open and started getting excited. I was ready to wrap my arms around my parents and feel their warmth. I was ready to breathe in the scent of my mother’s perfume along with my father’s watermelon bubblegum he was addicted to. Smells I associated with the two people I trusted most in this world, and I was ready for them.

But I wasn’t ready to let Colin go yet.

“So, when do you head back to L.A.?” I asked.

“Next Wednesday. I’m in a hotel in Minneapolis for a bit. Then I’ll travel back.”

“Any plans for Christmas?” I asked.

“Nope.”

“Well, you’re more than welcome to spend Christmas here if you’d like,” I said.

He turned toward me, and I could’ve sworn he was actually debating it. He picked up some of my things in his hands and helped me carry it all to the porch, and I could see the way my mother looked at him. I set the stuff down before I turned to Colin, and I could see the lights of the house sparkling in his eyes.

Christmas looked good on him.

“Maybe,” he said. “And think about my offer.”

“Thank you for getting our daughter home,” my father said.

“What offer?” my mother asked.

He offered his hand, and Colin took it before my mother interjected.

“Yes, thank you for taking care of her,” my mother said. “I don’t know what we would’ve done had she not gotten a rental car in order to get here.”

“I would’ve gone and gotten her, Miriam,” my father said.

“Okay, Jack. I hear you. I’m just trying to pay the man a compliment.”

That was the second time I heard Colin laugh and his features lit up. His smile was bright, and his eyes sparkled, although I could hardly see them with how big his smile was. His cheeks came up so far, they almost closed his eyes, and my stomach did a flip at the sight of it. He was an incredibly handsome man, and I wished he could consider more than a “maybe” for Christmas.

“Well, I need to be off,” Colin said. “I already missed my meeting. Can’t be late for that event.”

“Oh, a business man,” my father said. “What type of business are you in?”

“Sweetheart, that’s Colin Murphy,” my mother said. “Don’t you recognize him?”

“Okay, time to go,” I said. “Thank you again, Colin.”

His eyes connected with mine before he nodded. Then he turned to walk back to his car. I watched him while he walked away, taking stock of every single movement his body made underneath that coat of his. The three of us watched him drive away before we gathered my things and went inside. I knew the moment the door shut behind us my mother would say something.

“Well, he’s a cutie,” she said.

“I knew it was coming,” I said, grinning.

“I hope you didn’t give the poor man much trouble,” my father said.

“Oh, I’m always full of trouble, Dad. You know this.”

“She is your daughter, after all,” my mother said.

“I’ll get your stuff to your room, sweetheart,” my father said. “There’s hot chocolate waiting for you and Mom in the kitchen.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

I gave him a kiss on his cheek before he started picking up my stuff. I watched him walk down the hallway, taking in the slight hunch in his back. My parents weren’t old by any means, but spending long amounts of time away from them accentuated the way they were aging. My mother’s fingers were becoming swollen with arthritis, and my father’s back was starting to give him trouble. I wanted to rush over and help him, but I knew all he would do was swat at me.

“Come come, Abby,” my mother said. “Let’s go have a drink.”

I let her lead me into our kitchen, and the tears were falling before my butt even hit the seat. She took my hand within hers and squeezed it tightly as I stared down at my father’s homemade hot chocolate. It was steaming, freshly made and waiting for me, but the only thing on my mind was the negativity consuming me. I had no more energy left to give to smiling and being happy, and I heard my mother sigh before I lifted my eyes.

“Talk to me, honey,” she said.

“I lost everything, Mom,” I said. “Absolutely everything.”

“What happened with Anthony?” she asked.

“You were right. He was cheating. With Bethany.”

“He was sleeping with Bethany?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said, sniffling. “I… I walked in on them, and I told her to make a choice. And she chose him and moved out. And then Anthony cleaned out my savings account—”

“He did what?” my father asked.

He sat down beside me and put his hand on my shoulder while I tried to gather my racing thoughts.

“All of it,” I said. “I hooked him up to my accounts because I really thought we were gonna work. We talked about marriage and children and a house. I mean, I called you guys after we went house shopping for crying out loud!”

My father leaned in and kissed my cheek as the tears poured down my face.

“Because he was hooked up to the account, the police say the money is legally his. I could challenge it and take it to court, but with what money? I lost my job, Mom. That stupid hiccup I had to fix cost me my job.”

“They fired you over that?” my father asked.

“Yes. Me and the writer that posted the story. I missed rent because of it, so my landlord evicted me.”

“Honey, how in the world did you get home?” my father asked. “Where’s the rest of your stuff?”

“I had to pawn the Christmas gifts I bought. I had to sell things to pay off my credit card and get the plane ticket home. I don’t have anything. Not a damn thing to my name.”

I laid my head onto my father’s shoulder while my mother cried along with me. I could feel him trembling with anger as his arm hooked around my body, pulling myself and my chair closer to him. I sobbed so hard I was hiccuping for breath. I snotted all over his shirt as tears drenched his neck. This was the worst fucking Christmas ever, and I was just so glad to be home.

“What am I going to do?” I asked breathlessly.

“Colin Murphy mentioned something about an offer,” my mother said. “What was he talking about?”

“He offered me a job as his publicist,” I said, sniffling.

“That’s wonderful,” my father said. “That solves one problem.”

“I don’t know if I’m gonna take it,” I said as I sat up.

“Why not, honey?” my mother asked.

“I don’t want it to be a charity job,” I said. “I want to earn something like that. He only offered me the job after I told him about everything that was going on in my life.”

“Wait, that man knows what’s going on with you?” my father asked.

“It was a very interesting road trip,” I said.

“Well, tell us about it,” my mother said. “Jack, get yourself some hot chocolate.”

“A job’s a job, sweetheart,” my father said. “Just think about it. Like he said.”

“I wanna hear more about this road trip you took,” my mother said.

“Well, he’s a Grinch. That’s for sure.”

“Oh, I bet that was painful for you,” my father said.

“It really was,” I said. “He hates the holidays. For a good reason, but it just blew my mind that someone actually hates Christmas.”

“Well, that kind of outlook isn’t tolerated here,” my mother said, grinning.

“I think I had him coming around to the idea,” I said. “I got him to tell me about his perfect Christmas.”

“See?” my father asked. “The man likes Christmas. Maybe he just doesn’t have anyone to spend it with.”

“I’m glad you said something about that because I may or may not have invited him to come spend it with us.”

“Well, hopefully he shows up,” my mother said. “We could use a little dose of handsome around here.”

“I take offense to that,” my father said.

“Mom, play nice,” I said.

“How did the hotel stay go?” my mother asked. “Were you somewhere nice?”

“Oh, no. Not even close. We got snowed-in outside of this little town where there was nothing but a cheap motel. You know, one of those places that’s used by more than simply travelers.”

“That was the only kind of place available?” my father asked.

“It was, and there was only one bedroom available,” I said. “It was a very interesting night.”

“He treated you with respect, right?” my father asked.

I could see his stern glare, but his question ripped me back to last night. How he warmed me with his lips and how his body rocked perfectly into mine. How his stone-cold expressions were twisted into salacious pleasure. Where his bright blue eyes had darkened with lust and mystery as we chased our endless pleasures. I had to fight back the shiver running up my spine as I sat in front of my parents, their eyes on me as I gathered my thoughts.

“He was more than respectful,” I said. “I promise. In fact, he was really good at taking care of me. He paid for food and for the hotel and for the car repairs without ever once getting angry that I couldn’t contribute financially.”

“Good,” my father said. “Wait… car repairs?”

“Oh, yeah. When we first drove into the storm, we got a flat tire on the side of the road. And get this, Dad. He even got out and fixed it.”

“Good,” he said. “Boys these days don’t know how to do a damn thing because they think technology will do everything for them. Nice to know some men still know how to take care of basic things.”

“How was the rest of the drive here this morning?” my mom asked.

“It was actually nice. We talked. He opened up a bit, so I opened up in response to his opening up. It’s how he knows what’s going on with me.”

“I bet he had to drag it out of you,” my father said. “You’ve always been crap when it comes to talking about yourself.”

“Semantics,” I said. “The point is, he wasn’t nearly as unbearable as the first leg of the drive. He wouldn’t even let me sing Christmas carols the first leg of it!”

“Honey, no one will let you sing Christmas carols if they can help it,” my mother said.

“I resent that comment.”

I felt my dismay and my hopelessness quickly melting away. I sat at the table with my parents and sipped the hot chocolate, answering their questions and filling them in a bit more on the things that had happened to me. I told them that I wasn’t sure if I’d ever go back to San Diego and that I honestly didn’t want to, and they told me I could stay with them as long as I wanted. I hugged their necks and kissed their cheeks, thanking them profusely for taking me back in.

“Of course,” my mother said. “You’re our daughter. You’re always welcome here.”

“Stay as long as you like, sweetheart,” my father said. “Your bedroom’s here for a reason, and you’ll always have it.”

“Do you think he’ll come for Christmas?” my mother asked.

“Sweetheart, let’s let Abby breathe for a little bit. Maybe she wants to rock on the porch swing or something?”

I could see my father’s eyes light up before he scurried off to get a book. I knew exactly which book he was getting, and my eyes watered with joy. Every year, my father and I sat on the porch swing as he read The Night Before Christmas to me. It was a tradition we’d started to counteract the fact that Mom wanted to watch Hallmark Christmas movies every night.

So, I made my way out to the porch with my hot chocolate and sat on the swing to wait for him.

“Ready, love bug?” he asked.

“I’m always ready, Daddy.”

He sat down next to me, and the comfort of his body relaxed mine. I laid my head on his shoulder as he cracked the spine of the book. Then his voice fluttered over my body as he read the story I knew by heart. I mouthed the words as he read them aloud, my mind tracing all the way back to Colin and what he was doing right now.

If he was able to keep to the speed limit, he was already in Minneapolis.

I found myself wondering if he was thinking of me like I was thinking of him.

 

Colin

 

I was thankful I’d booked a hotel room in the same venue as the charity event. Grabbing my stuff from the trunk, I rushed toward the check-in desk and quickly grabbed my key. It was already a little past six, and I still needed to get a shower before I could get changed.

I left a trail of clothes from the door to the shower before I turned on the water and hopped in.

Normally, I would have to hang everything up. But tonight was different. This was the most important night of my company’s life, and I had to push my eccentricities off to the side. I didn’t have time to fuss with my suit, and I didn’t have time to unpack the way I was used to. I needed to shower, dry off, get changed, and get downstairs.

But as the water heated my body, I thought back to the last shower I had. The cold ass shower in that dingy hotel room I shared with Abby.

Abby, with her seductive eyes and her long, flowing hair.

I found myself a little more thankful for the warm shower. After being stranded and not having the level of comfort I had become accustomed to, I was learning to appreciate the world around me a little more. My bed would feel good against my back tonight, especially after sleeping on that musty one at the motel, but my bed would definitely feel a little emptier tonight. My mind drifted back to Abby and what she was doing, and I wondered if she was talking with her parents right now.

I wondered if she was crying or if she was laughing. I wondered if she was thinking about me or if she was secretly happy to be away from me. Despite our differences and the arguments we got into, I really did enjoy spending time with her. Some of her optimism had rubbed off onto me, whether I wanted to admit it or not. She was a good influence on me, and I hoped she would seriously consider my job offer. It would be nice to have someone with her countenance and her presence around at the office.

And the fact that I could get to know her more didn’t hurt.

I thought back to last night and felt my body heat underneath the water. As I got out of the shower, I could’ve sworn I felt her lips upon my neck, and the way her hair splayed out whenever she laid back and the way it curtained off our faces when she straddled my lap. I closed my eyes and reminisced in her scent and her taste, and I could’ve sworn her natural perfume was still on my upper lip. I breathed in deeply, trying to conjure any memory I could of her while I dried my body off.

But when I opened my eyes, I was in an empty hotel room.

Now, the decadent windows and the beautiful view didn’t mean as much. Now, the plush couches and the California king-sized bed didn’t call to me any longer. Now, the mini-bar and the stocked refrigerator were just excessive things used to help someone like myself not feel so alone.

I’d had a taste of what it felt to have a very special woman next to me, and my body was begging for her to be back.

Pushing the thoughts from my mind, I got dressed and headed downstairs. I had a speech I needed to give and a man I really needed to talk with. I hadn’t heard from Mac yet, which meant people were probably bombarding him with questions from the meeting.

That meant things were going well, because if he bombed it, he would’ve called me right away.

Entering the ballroom, I was greeted with smiles and congratulations. People were patting me on the back and bringing me in for hugs I didn’t want. Others were throwing me questions while someone was shoving a flute of champagne into my hand. I smiled and nodded, trying to take in everything they were saying at once.

Then Mac swooped in and pulled me off to the side.

“I take it the meeting went well?” I asked.

“It went better than well. Not only is the venture into the European market happening, but the investors are fronting most of the money. We projected we’d still have to pay for forty percent of this out of pocket, but we’re only going to have to pay ten.”

“Ten percent,” I said.

“Yep.”

I couldn’t believe it. I drew Mac in for a hug, not knowing how else to react. That meant so much more work was coming my way. I would have to get the coders on board with stringent European market rules, and I’d have to dig into the employees of the company and see if anyone spoke any other languages. There would be things to translate and platforms to reformat. We would need more space for uploading more videos, and I would have to personally reach out to the dominant companies in Europe and start conceiving positive business relationships. My mind was spinning with all the things that would have to be accomplished by this time next year, and the only thing that seemed appropriate was to smile.

Smile and think of Abby.

“What’s gotten into you?” Mac asked.

I was still hugging him through all the excitement and promptly let him go.

“I’m just excited,” I said, smiling. “Aren’t you excited?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I just don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile this big before. You road lagged or something?”

“No,” I said. “I’m just thankful.”

“Uh huh,” he said. “Well, you have a speech to give. Stay away from numbers and specifics. I’ll field those questions tonight. I sent you a massive file to your email. You can read through the numbers tonight from there.”

“Wonderful. Just wonderful.”

“Did you have too much coffee?” Mac asked.

“No,” I said, grinning. “No, I did not.”

I strode past Mac and headed for the stage. It was time for me to give my speech, and I knew exactly what I wanted to say. I walked up the side stairs and grabbed the microphone, and as I readied myself to talk, everyone was staring at me.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you’ll forgive my tardiness,” I said. “A massive ‘thank you’ to Mac Rosenberg for fielding a meeting I missed because winter weather does not agree with rental cars.”

Laughter trickled across the ballroom floor while Mac gave a polite wave to the crowd.

“I want to thank you all for being here tonight,” I said. “This charity we’re raising money for is near and dear to my heart. As you know, employees of this company take a trip every summer to a country in need and build fresh water wells for as many towns as they can get to in three weeks. Usually, we send twenty people, but this year, I would like to celebrate this new professional venture by sending thirty.”

Applause ricocheted across the room, and the sound pulled a smile across my cheeks.

“Thank you, thank you. The money raised tonight will not only fund the extra ten people, but it will go to the charity we support that devises and creates affordable water filtration systems for third-world countries. With our expansion into the European marketplace, it will open up monetary possibilities for us to make an even greater impact than we are now. So, for those of you who are willing to open up your pocketbooks and donate, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Colin!” someone shouted.

I bowed my head to chuckle, and the sound stopped the room in its tracks. The conversations I had with Abby came rushing back to my mind. Conversations of me being rigid and way too serious. Conversations about how I needed to lighten up and smile more than I did. As I looked out across a ballroom full of people who were shocked to simply hear me laugh, that was when Abby’s hypothesis had been tested.

She was right. Abby had been right about me the entire time.

“On my winding road trip up here,” I began. “I carpooled with a wonderful woman. A woman whose spunk and fiery tongue opened my eyes to a lot of things about me I wasn’t willing to admit. She called me things like ‘rigid’ and ‘stick in the mud,’ and for a while there, it upset me.”

Murmurs and head nods slowly trickled through the audience, confirming my worst fears. People actually saw me that way, despite how hard I’d worked in my life.

“She called me things like Scrooge and Grinch and told me I needed to lighten up, and it made me very upset,” I said. “I kept thinking to myself, how in the world can a laidback woman like her judge a hardworking man like me? But she taught me two very important lessons that I brought with me tonight. She taught me that everyone has a story, and she taught me that sometimes, the truth hurts. After opening up a bit to her, she told me her life story. Well, her life story that spanned these last few months of the year, and it exposed me to a strength I didn’t know any one human being could possess. And it’s because of her that I stand here right now with a smile on my face.”

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me as I chuckled into the microphone.

“As crazy as it sounds, she seems to have given me a new outlook on life that you all can see plainly up on this stage. Your reactions to my own reactions have proven to me that she was right. She was right to identify all those traits within me that I didn’t want to admit to myself. I sunk myself into work and became a serious individual and used my business and my success as a reason rather than as a culprit. But that stops today.”

Another light round of applause trickled through the sea of people I was looking at before I lifted up my flute of champagne into the air.

“As we go into a new year and a new adventure with this company, I hope you will carry this same positive attitude and approach to life that I’ve been given by this wonderful woman. As Miss Abby…”

Holy hell, I didn’t even know this woman’s last name. She’d impacted the whole of me and changed me for the near future, and I didn’t even know her full name.

“In the words of Miss Abigail, ‘None of the greatest things in life are easy to come by.’ Invest in yourself, invest in your happiness, and watch how it will repay you in kind. I hope you will consider supporting our charitable causes, and I hope you all have a wonderful evening.”

I settled the microphone back into its stand as people tipped up their glasses and cheered. The applause that came from the ballroom floor shook the walls, and my cheeks were burning from smiling so much. I made my way to Mac who opened his arms to me, and I clapped his back before the two of us talked in hushed tones.

And for the first time in our friendship, we talked about something other than work.

 

Abby

 

My eyes opened Christmas morning, and a smile crossed my cheeks. Snow was beginning to fall outside, and I could smell coffee brewing downstairs. I felt a weight being lifted from my shoulders as I made my way into the bathroom. After a little bit of cleaning up, I’d be ready to sit around in my pajamas all day and simply take in being around the people I loved. Today was the day I would give no thought to my future. I would simply allow myself the ability to enjoy what was around me. Then, tomorrow, I could wake up and dive into the decision I had to make.

And thinking about that decision reminded me of Colin.

I started thinking about how lonely he probably was. How he was sitting alone somewhere in a rental house or a hotel with no one to spend Christmas with. I wanted to reach out to him, but I didn’t have his number, and soon, my father knocking on the bathroom door completely pushed thoughts of him toward the back of my mind.

“Breakfast is ready, sweetheart!”

Opening the door, I threw my arms around my father. He smelled like cinnamon rolls and peppermint coffee, and I inhaled his scent deeply. I smiled into the crook of his neck as he wrapped me up tightly in his arms. Then the two of us made our way downstairs and into the kitchen.

“Merry Christmas, Abby!” my mother exclaimed. “Want some coffee?”

“Only if we can drink it by the Christmas tree,” I said.

There were presents underneath the tree, but we were too wrapped up in the Christmas parade. We all sat on the couch and watched it together as my mother commented on all the musical performances. My father critiqued the floats as my mother ogled over the dancing and singing happening on television. The only thing I could think to myself was that this was how Christmas should be.

It should be spent doing absolutely nothing with the people you love.

We opened a few presents, and I felt a somber mood blanket me. This was the first Christmas ever that I didn’t have presents for my parents, and I had to hold back tears. I unwrapped beautiful gifts from them. A wonderful jacket and a gift card to my favorite restaurant. Boots I’d been eyeing for months and pants that fit me perfectly. I threw my arms around my parents and held them close, and before I could catch myself, I was apologizing for the lack of presents I had for them.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, honey,” my father said. “Having you here is enough.”

“Yeah,” my mother said. “Having you back home means so much to us, even if it’s during times like this. Trust us. You’re the best gift we could’ve ever wished for.”

The rest of the day was wonderful. We finished the peppermint coffee and cinnamon rolls before Mom made her infamous turkey salad sandwiches for lunch. We ate until we couldn’t eat anymore, then we decided to finish the day off with a movie marathon. We were going to watch the rest of the Christmas movies Mom didn’t get to watch before today, but eventually, Colin rose up from the back of my mind.

“Let me go do something real quick,” I said.

“Everything okay, honey?” my father asked.

“Oh, yeah. Just need to go see about something.”

Bounding up the stairs, I ripped open my door. I didn’t have Colin’s phone number, but I was sure I could find his contact information online. I opened my laptop and began typing in his name. Then, I started navigating my way through his website. It took me some time to nail down any sort of contact information for him, and it wasn’t actually his.

It was his secretary’s.

Nevertheless, I opened up an email and sent him a Christmas email. Even if he was alone, I wanted him to know that he was being thought about. I wanted him to know that someone had their mind on him this Christmas season, and as I sent the email, I hoped it would make him smile. It wasn’t anything fancy or extravagant, but I made sure it was heartfelt.

I went back downstairs and found my phone, hoping my email inbox would ding at any moment. I tried paying attention to the movie, but the only thing on my mind was hearing back from Colin. If he was the workaholic he claimed to be, then he would be in his office. Sure, it was his secretary’s email address, but I’m sure things like that were forwarded to him. Or maybe he kept tabs on her email while she was out of the office. Or maybe she didn’t take the holidays off, either.

But as the minutes ticked on without a response back from him, I gave up hope that he would contact me back.

Just as the movie began winding down, the house phone rang. Mom got up to get it, and Dad took the time to stretch. I heard her mumbling in the background as my father leaned over to kiss the side of my head. Then, Mom practically came bouncing into the room.

“Who was that, sweetheart?” my father asked.

“Abby, why don’t you go clean yourself up?” my mother asked.

“Why, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said. “I just have a fun little idea on how we can wind down Christmas this year. But that means we all gotta get cleaned up.”

“But we always lounge around in our pajamas,” my father said. “What are we doing differently this year?”

My mother just gave him a look before I stood up.

“Mom, what’s going on?” I asked.

“Can’t it just be a surprise?” she asked. “I want to surprise my family. Now, go get cleaned up.”

Sighing, I made my way up the stairs. I took a quick shower and pieced myself together, wearing a pair of my new pants. I slipped on the boots my parents had gotten me before I wrapped the beautiful coat around my body. Then I headed back downstairs. My mother was rushing around like a bat out of hell while my father’s face ached with his smile, and I realized that I was now the one in the dark.

“Okay, is anyone gonna tell me what’s going on?” I asked.

“So, there was a special caller on the phone,” my mother said.

“And that caller wants you to check the front porch,” my father said.

“Who called?” I asked.

They smiled and ushered me to the door.

“No, really,” I said. “I’m serious. Who call—”

My father opened the door for me, and I saw Colin standing on the porch. His eyes were bright, and his smile was big, and I simply stood there in shock. Colin was on my porch. At my house. Dressed in the most beautiful suit I’d ever seen that was tailored exactly to his body. His gray suit was paired with a dark red button-down shirt, and the tie he wore was a deep, shimmering green.

I laughed, throwing my arms around him as he pulled me close.

“What in the hell are you doing here?” I asked.

“I believe I was invited,” he said.

I pulled my head back to look into his eyes, but his lips quickly encompassed mine. His hand cradled my neck as our lips slowly massaged one another’s, and I melted into his touch. He tasted like coffee and chocolate as our tongues danced together, and when my legs gave out from underneath me, he caught me within his strong grasp.

“Would you like to come in?” I asked breathlessly.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

He backed me into my home and reached his hand out for my father. They shook hands again before my mother came around, scooting between us so she could give him a proper hug.

“Miriam Hollis,” she said. “Welcome to our home.”

“Jack Hollis,” my father said. “Glad you could make it for Christmas.”

“Thank you for having me,” he said. “I’m Colin Murphy.”

“Well, Colin Murphy, would you like to join us for Christmas dinner?” my mother asked.

“We have a honey-baked spiral ham, sweet corn, mashed potatoes, and anything else my wife decides to whip up within the next hour,” my father said.

“It all sounds wonderful,” Colin said. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yes,” my father said. “You can sit and have a drink with me. Once these two get going in the kitchen, they’ll run you over if you get in their way.”

Following my Mom into the kitchen, we quickly began throwing things together for dinner. I heard Colin and my father laughing with one another. My father was picking his brain about his business, and Colin was talking with my father about his professorship. All my life, my father had been a teacher of some sort, but he retired as the head of the Economics Department at the local college.

“He fits in nicely here,” my mother said.

“He does seem to be a bit more at ease than I remember him being,” I said.

“Sometimes you just gotta get someone around the right types of people,” she said.

We set the table before we all began to eat, and I found myself staring at Colin. He was smiling and laughing with my parents. He was offering up more information about his life than I’d ever been able to pull from him. I could feel a warmth radiating from him that I’d only experienced once or twice while we were on the road together, and it only served to pull a smile across my face.

The rigidity was gone, and in its place was a fluid, happy, intelligent man that set my soul on fire.

“So, I actually have a question,” Colin said.

“Ask away,” my father said.

“It actually has to do with Abby.”

“What’s up?” I asked.

Turning toward me, he slid his arm onto my thigh. I felt his warmth penetrating my jeans, and it took a great deal of deep breathing to keep that telltale flush from creeping into my cheeks. I felt my parents’ gazes on us as he looked deep into my eyes, losing myself in the softness of his facial features.

Features I had come to know as jagged up until this point.

“I’m staying at a hotel in Minneapolis, and it’s a wonderful place,” he said. “It’s where the charity event was held Saturday night.”

“How did that go, by the way?” I asked. “Did you make it on time?”

“Everything went very well, like I was telling your father,” Colin said. “I did make it on time for the speech, and we’re full-throttle for the next year, and there’s a lot of work ahead of us.”

“I’m so happy for you,” I said, smiling. “That’s wonderful.”

“Anyway, my hotel room is… a bit lonely,” he said. “I was wondering if you would be okay with me taking you there.”

“When would you like to go?” I asked.

“I was hoping after dinner.”

Flicking my gaze toward my parents, I wasn’t sure how to answer his invitation. I’d always spent Christmas with them. The entirety of Christmas. Everything was deviating from the traditions I knew, and while they were wonderful deviations, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to leave my parents. I could see my father’s protective glare coming on as I drew in a deep breath. Then, I felt my mother lean into my ear.

“I really like him,” she said, whispering. “And your father will get over it. Go. Have fun. Enjoy your life.”

Turning my attention back to Colin, I wrapped my hand around his. I brought it to my lips and kissed the back of his hand, watching while his bright gaze slowly darkened.

“I’d love to,” I said.

“Okay, you kids,” my mother said, “I’ll clean up here. Jack, you’ll help me, won’t you?”

But all my father did was continue to glare at Colin.

“Jack?” my mother asked.

“Colin,” my father said.

“Yes, sir?”

He stood from his chair and approached the two of us. Colin stood and looked my father in the eye, my hand still in his as I stood at his side. I had no idea what my father was about to say, but I prayed that it wasn’t going to be too bad.

“She’s been through too much,” my father said. “Take care of her while she’s with you.”

“You have my word on that,” Colin said.

I breathed a sigh of relief as my father shook his free hand. Then we were off to Minneapolis. Our fingers were interlocked the entire ride as my heart beat heavily against my chest. My head was still spinning with the fact that he had showed up at my house, and I was simply enjoying being in his presence.

“I have a surprise for you,” he said.

“Oh, really? And what is this surprise?”

“It’s something I picked up for you when we were on the road. I was just going to ship it to you, but I decided to wait and give it to you in person.”

“You got me a present?” I asked.

“It’s not much. But it made me think of you when I saw it.”

I was intrigued with what this could be, but the moment we walked into the hotel suite, I was floored. The place was absolutely beautiful. There was a fireplace that was ready to be stoked, and a mini-bar as well as a refrigerator stocked with snacks. The carpet was plush underneath our feet, and the furniture was covered in fluffy cushions. The view from his balcony was spectacular, especially with the snow falling outside, and I found myself speechless as I stared out the window.

“This is beautiful,” I said breathlessly.

“You should see the way you look right now.”

Whipping my head around, I saw him holding out something for me. It looked like a snow globe, and as I wrapped my hand around it, I saw it had “Des Moines, Iowa” written on the bottom of it. There was snow fluttering around a plastic replica of the skyline of Des Moines, and I smiled as I shook it up again. It was simple. Nothing extravagant. But it was bought during a tense time in the trip. Des Moines was part of the second leg of our trip, when we just couldn’t talk with one another without getting upset.

And through all of the arguing and the misinterpretations, he still saw something and thought of me.

“Thank you, Colin,” I said. “I so wish I had something for you.”

“You being here with me on Christmas is the best thing you could’ve given me,” he said.

“I highly doubt that.”

That was when I felt him crook his finger underneath my chin and pull my gaze up toward his.

“I haven’t spent Christmas with anyone in over a decade,” he said. “No one. I’ve been alone and cooped up in an office until now. Thank you, Abby. Thank you for being here with me.”

My lip began to quiver, and my eyes began to water. His voice was so smooth against my ears, and his touch was so soft against my skin. I took a step closer to him, cradling the snow globe tightly in my hands until I could feel it pressing into both of our bodies.

His breath was intoxicating against my lips.

“Why don’t I start us a fire?” he asked.

“Then we could cuddle on the couch and just exist?” I asked.

His eyes danced between mine while I smiled up into his face. He cupped my cheek, allowing his thumb to dance along my skin. I closed my eyes and sighed, taking in his presence as snow continued to drop outside of the beautiful hotel room we were cooped up in.

“Sounds like the perfect Christmas to me,” he said.

Colin

 

The fire was roaring while the two of us sat cuddled together on the couch. Abby’s body was melded into the crook of my arm as her head laid softly on my shoulder. I’d spent so many Christmases by myself, telling myself it was the way it needed to be. First, it was because my father left us. Then, it was because the holidays were too painful for my mother. Then, I used work as an excuse to never go home for the holidays.

But this right here, with Abby snuggled into my body, was what the holidays were about.

“How did the charity thing go?” Abby asked.

“It went really well,” I said. “You were actually the inspiration for my speech.”

“What?” she asked, giggling. “No, I wasn’t.”

“You were. I even quoted you at the end.”

“What in the world did I say that was quotable?” she asked.

“‘None of the greatest things in life are easy to come by.’”

“I said that?”

“You certainly did,” I said.

“Huh. Well, it makes me sound smart.”

“Because you are.”

I placed a kiss on top of her head before she snuggled closer into my body. Her legs were curled up on the couch while the heat of the fire beat down against our bodies. I wanted to tell her all about the event. How we raised all the money we would need to send more people this summer to build fresh water wells. How we would be able to donate more to fresh water charities than the company had ever been able to in the past. I wanted to tell her about how well the meeting went and about how happy Mac was with everything. How we would be emerging into the European market soon and how we would have to take on even more staff with the expansion.

But the only thing I could do was smile down upon her and chuckle.

“What?” she asked as she looked up at me.

“Nothing,” I said. “This is just nice.”

“Thought maybe I looked funny or something,” she said, grinning.

“Never. You’ll always be beautiful. Especially in the light of the dancing flames of a fireplace.”

“You really should do that more often,” she said.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Laugh. Chuckle. Whatever that beautiful sound is you make when you’re happy about something. I love that sound.”

“You love it, huh?”

“I do,” she said.

“Good, because I plan on doing it a lot more.”

She looked right up at me with those big doe eyes, and I found my face gravitating toward hers. Our lips interconnected in a swirl of romance and passion, and soon, we were removing each other’s clothing. Our clothes were cast onto the carpet as the fire roared behind us, flickering a blindingly beautiful glow off Abby’s skin. She glistened as I laid her down, our lips devouring each other in a desperate attempt to taste more. Soon, we were clad in nothing but our skin as I sank between her legs, feeling her luscious heat radiating against my pelvis.

My hands planted beside her shoulders as I raised myself up. I locked my gaze with hers, watching the flames of the fire dance in the reflection of her eyes. I smiled, a chuckle falling effortlessly from my lips while my dripping thickness stood ready at her entrance.

Then she wrapped her legs around me and pulled me close.

Groaning, I dipped my face into the crook of her neck. I could feel her hands running along my back, tugging and gripping at my muscles as I slowly coated my skin with her arousal. She felt just like I remembered. She felt just as tight and just as sweet as she did in my dreams. The plush cushions held our weight as I slowly dipped in and out from her body, feeling her tremble against my skin.

“Colin, please,” she said. “Please, go faster.”

Peppering her skin with kisses, I rolled my hips harder into hers. I could feel her toes caressing the backs of my legs, shivering my entire body. I couldn’t get enough of her. I couldn’t taste enough of her skin between my teeth. I could smell her scent and feel her dripping down my cock. I could feel her massaging me in ways I’d only ever experienced with her. Goosebumps were lining my skin as my body flushed with her efforts.

Soon, she was raising her hips to meet mine as my lips danced all around her bosom.

Her hands wound into the tendrils of my hair before our lips crashed together again. I swallowed her moans as her heels dug into my body. I could feel her clinging to me, hanging on with every ounce of strength she had as her body vibrated against mine. I raked my tongue against the roof of her mouth and pulled a groan from her body. Then I smirked against her once I felt her shiver.

I pounded into her harder as the couch rocked, my snapping hips scooting the couch across the plush carpet with every thrust I gave her body.

“Please. Colin. I’m almost… don’t stop.”

Reaching down, I picked up one of her legs and slid it over my shoulder. I felt her exposed clit rubbing against my pelvis as I ground into her, burying my length inside her body. I collided my hips with hers over and over while her body shook, and I watched as her beautiful brown eyes rolled right into the back of her head.

“That’s it,” I said. “Let it go. Let me have it, Abby.”

“Oh, Colin.”

The way she choked upon my name as her bosom arched into my body caused me to stop. I sank myself into her depths as her pussy pulled me deeper, begging for me to fill her body as I held her close to my chest. Her fingernails scraped along the top of my head as my lips sucked in patches of skin along her neck. She shook and jolted as her legs clamped around my hips, trapping the whole of me against her as I soaked up her warmth.

Her back collided with the couch once the force of her climax was finished, and I could feel her dripping onto the cushions. She was heaving for breath as a sheen of sweat covered her brow, and soon, my lips were wrapping around her pert little nipples. She whimpered and moaned, her voice light as her hands shook in my hair.

Then, I heard her draw in a deep breath before she pushed me upright on the couch.

Abby

 

I straddled his lap on the couch and felt his girth throbbing against my walls. His hands ran up and down my back, caressing me as my hips rocked against his. The heat of the fire was barreling down against my back as I pressed myself into him, wanting to feel more and more as his hands grasped my hips. He rocked me steadily, helping me set a pace to his liking as our eyes connected with one another. His bright blue eyes glowed with the light of the fireplace escaping around the corners of my body, and I smiled at him while his fingertips dug into my skin.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, whispering.

I dipped my lips into his, and our actions ceased. His arms cloaked my back as my knees pressed into the couch, and I could feel something changing between us. There was a gentleness and an understanding that hadn’t been there before. A spark that ignited between our bosoms that rattled my heart against my sternum.

I broke the kiss and opened my eyes to see this beautiful man sitting in front of me, and he took my breath away.

Leaning my forehead into his, I slowly picked up my pace. My rolling turned to grinding, and my grinding turned to bouncing. I could feel him growing against my walls, pulling from me sensations I had yet to experience with a man. His hands were all over me as my lips attacked his neck, and I could feel that tightening sensation happening again. My swollen clit was peeking out from beneath its fleshy hood, searching for any signs of what it wanted.

And it was met with the rough curls of Colin’s hair that settled neatly against his groin.

I chased the ecstasy building within me as he thrusted up into my body. My hands clung to his back, and my lips coated his shoulder and neck in kisses. My whimpers turned to moans, and those moans morphed to groans, and soon, I was falling off a dark precipice and into the luscious waters of Colin’s darkened gaze.

“Abby, yes,” he said. “Just like that.”

My body shook, and my walls clamped down. I kept pulling him deeper and deeper into my body as my arousal coated his skin. I draped my tired body along his, feeling his heated skin against mine as his hands reached down to grasp my ass.

Then I felt myself being lifted from the couch while his thickness was still buried inside me.

The cool surface of the glass pressed against my back, and I hissed. Goosebumps covered every inch of my skin, and my nipples pebbled into painful peaks. Colin dipped his lips down and wrapped them around, breathing warmth into my body while he pinned me to the window. His hands planted beside my head as his hips pressed into me, and it wasn’t until he released my nipple from between his teeth that I felt his chiseled chest press into mine.

My lips were trembling with weakness as my mind swirled with passion.

Slowly, he pulled his hips back from me. I groaned with every movement before he slammed back in, and it caused my head to fall against the window. My fingernails attacked his shoulders, sinking into the meat of his muscles as my legs wrapped tightly around his waist. His lips captured mine, his tongue lapping across them as his hips continued their ministrations. It felt so good to have him so close.

I smiled into his lips before I pulled him even closer.

Then, I felt his arms move. My eyes fluttered open, and I found a cheeky little grin taunting me. His hand slid down the window as it began to fog around us, and before I knew it, he was hooking my leg around his arm.

“Colin?” I asked breathlessly.

He captured my lips again before he brought his hand back up to my side. My leg was folded over his forearm, and my knee was at my chest. I moaned lewdly at the way he felt inside of me. I could feel his thickness hitting angles I didn’t even know to exist.

But then he did it with the other leg, suspending me in midair with his cock filling me to the brim.

Thrust after thrust, he delivered, bouncing my body up the glass as I was helplessly suspended in midair. His grunts filled the cavity of the crook of my neck as my hands hooked around his head. I pressed his lips deep into my skin, feeling him pepper my breasts with warmth as he took me in a way I’d never experienced before. My toes were curling, and my legs were shaking. I was dripping down his girth and soaking the skin of my ass with the arousal he kept pulling from my body.

“Come for me,” I said breathlessly.

“No,” he said, his head shaking. “Come with me.”

In a flash, his head whipped up, and our lips collided. He pounded into my body as he pressed me farther into the glass. I ran my hand through his silken hair as I lapped at the roof of his mouth, swallowing his groans just as his hips began to stutter. My walls were massaging him deeply, pulling him in with their vice grip as my entire body began to tremble. I couldn’t get enough of him. I couldn’t breathe enough of his essence. I couldn’t get him close enough or get him to thrust hard enough or even kiss him long enough for my liking.

I wanted to coat myself in him and never let him go.

Our moans turned to wails of pleasure, crying out into a hotel room that now smelled of our scents. He thrusted up into me one last time, causing me to unravel as my head slammed back into the glass. My chest heaved, and my toes curled. I could feel my muscles cramping in all the right ways as my body quaked against his hold. His hips stilled, and I could feel him spilling into me, his arousal mixing with mine before it spilled out onto the floor.

Then slowly, we both slid down the glass until he was holding me in his lap.

The fire was roaring in the background while we sat against the window. The snow was coming down hard outside, buckets of it falling onto the concrete city below us. We both heaved for air as we wrapped our arms around one another, our lungs drawing in the sex-tainted air around us. Colin tucked my head underneath his chin before he pressed a kiss to my forehead, and the feeling alone tingled my skin. I pressed deeper into him as a smile crossed my face. Then I found Colin’s fingertips and laced them up with mine.

I couldn’t have concocted a better way to spend Christmas if someone had allowed me the chance.

“Abby?”

“Yes?”

“Are you happy?”

I looked up at him with a grin on my face before he looked down at me with that serious glare again. His eyes were locked onto mine, and his brow was furrowed deeply. His fingertips were running through my disheveled hair, and I could tell he was serious. He really did want to know if I was happy with him. Here. On this cold Christmas night, leaning up against a window he’d just pressed me into with his own body.

I gave him the only answer I knew to give him, and the smile that crossed his face fluttered my heart.

“Happier than I’ve been all year,” I said.

He picked me up and carried me toward the fire before placing me onto the couch. He handed me a blanket to wrap my naked body in, then started pulling all the cushions off the couches. He threw them in front of the fire before grabbing a blanket of his own. Then he offered me his hand. I smiled as I took it, allowing him to pull me down onto the cushions before our lips intertwined with one another’s once again.

We parted to catch our breath as his hand cupped my cheek, his thumb rolling over my skin as a bright smile crossed his face. I loved his smile. It ignited his eyes and made him seem less intimidating. But what I enjoyed about it the most was how familiar it had become. What I enjoyed the most was how much easier it was to pull it from him.

And how willing he was to offer it up to me.

“Merry Christmas, Abby.”

I leaned forward and captured his lips one last time before I smiled into his skin.

“Merry Christmas, Colin.”

 

THE END

 

… but Abby & Colin’s Story isn’t over yet!

 

 

Workaholic billionaire, Colin Murphy is determined to make his company even more profitable than it already is. He had an amazing Christmas but is now back to work and more focused than he’s ever been.

 

Abigail Thompson has been given a second chance. Hired by Colin Murphy, she’s not messing anything up—at least not on purpose.

 

Ironically, or maybe it’s Fate stepping in, their plane is grounded because of another snow storm. Forced to find another way, they agree to drive to the conference where they first met, in Wichita, KS.

 

They can survive the 8-hour drive, right? Abby will try her best to ignore the tall dark sexy man who stopped returning her calls. While Colin will pretend the beautiful woman beside him doesn’t melt against his touch.

 

Can he unfreeze his heart in time to realize she might just be the best thing that’s every happened to him?

 

Billionaire Holiday Romance Series

Driving Home for Christmas

The Valentine Getaway

 

A Holiday Romance series because every holiday is special…

Driving Home for Christmas

Book 1

The Valentine Getaway

Book 2

COMING SOON!

Book 3

 

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From Best Selling Author, Lexy Timms, comes a billionaire romance that'll make you swoon and fall in love all over again.

Jamie Connors has given up on men. Despite being smart, pretty, and just slightly overweight, she's a magnet for the kind of guys that don't stay around.

Her sister's wedding is at the foreground of the family's attention. Jamie would be find with it if her sister wasn't pressuring her to lose weight so she'll fit in the maid of honor dress, her mother would get off her case and her ex-boyfriend wasn't about to become her brother-in-law.

Determined to step out on her own, she accepts a PA position from billionaire Alex Reid. The job includes an apartment on his property and gets her out of living in her parent's basement.

Jamie has to balance her life and somehow figure out how to manage her billionaire boss, without falling in love with him.

** The Boss is book 1 in the Managing the Bosses series. All your questions won't be answered in the first book. It may end on a cliff hanger.

For mature audiences only. There are adult situations, but this is a love story, NOT erotica.

 

 

“His body is perfect. He’s got this face that isn’t just heart-melting but actually kind of exotic…”

 

Lillian Warren’s life is just how she’s designed it. She has a high-paying job working with celebrities and the elite, teaching them how to better organize their lives. She’s on her own, the days quiet, but she likes it that way. Especially since she’s still figuring out how to live with her recent diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. Her cats keep her company, and she’s not the least bit lonely. 

 

Fun-loving personal trainer, Cayden, thinks his neighbor is a killjoy. He’s only seen her a few times, and the woman looks like she needs a drink or three. He knows how to party and decides to invite her to over—if he can find her. What better way to impress her than take care of her overgrown yard? She proceeds to thank him by throwing up in his painstakingly-trimmed-to-perfection bushes.

 

Something about the fragile, mysterious woman captivates him.

Something about this rough-on-the-outside bear of a man attracts Lily, despite her heart warning her to tread carefully.

 

 

He groaned. This was torture. Being trapped in a room with a beautiful woman was just about every man’s fantasy, but he had to remember that this was just pretend.

 

Allyson Smith has crushed on her boss for years, but never dared to make a move. When she finds herself without a date to her brother’s upcoming wedding, Allyson tells her family one innocent white lie: that she’s been dating her boss. Unfortunately, her boss discovers her lie, and insists on posing as her boyfriend to escort her to the wedding.

 

Playboy billionaire Dane Prescott always has a new heiress on his arm, but he can’t get his assistant Allyson out of his head. He’s fought his attraction to her, until he gets caught up in her scheme of a fake relationship.

 

One passionate weekend with the boss has Allyson Smith questioning everything she believes in. Falling for a wealthy playboy like Dane is against the rules, but if she’s just faking it what’s the harm?

 

Capturing Her Beauty

 

Kayla Reid has always been into fashion and everything to do with it. Growing up wasn’t easy for her. A bigger girl trying to squeeze into the fashion world is like trying to suck an entire gelatin mold through a straw; possible, but difficult.
 

She found herself an open door as a designer and jumped right in. Her designs always made the models smile. The colors, the fabrics, the styles. Never once did she dream of being on the other side of the lens. She got to watch her clothing strut around on others and that was good enough.
 

But who says you can’t have a little fun when you’re off the clock?

Sometimes trying on the latest fashions is just as good as making them. Kayla’s hours in front of the mirror were a guilty pleasure.

 

A chance meeting with one of the company photographers may turn into more than just an impromptu photo shoot.

 

Hot n' Handsome, Rich & Single... how far are you willing to go?

 

Meet Alex Reid, CEO of Reid Enterprise. Billionaire extra ordinaire, chiseled to perfection, panty-melter and currently single.

Learn about Alex Reid before he began Managing the Bosses. Alex Reid sits down for an interview with R&S.

His life style is like his handsome looks: hard, fast, breath-taking and out to play ball. He's risky, charming and determined.

How close to the edge is Alex willing to go? Will he stop at nothing to get what he wants?

Alex Reid is book 1 in the R&S Rich and Single Series. Fall in love with these hot and steamy men; all single, successful, and searching for love.

 

 

Book One is FREE!

Amazon US:

Amazon UK:

 

Sometimes the heart needs a different kind of saving... find out if Charity Thompson will find a way of saving forever in this hospital setting Best-Selling Romance by Lexy Timms

Charity Thompson wants to save the world, one hospital at a time. Instead of finishing med school to become a doctor, she chooses a different path and raises money for hospitals – new wings, equipment, whatever they need. Except there is one hospital she would be happy to never set foot in again--her fathers. So of course he hires her to create a gala for his sixty-fifth birthday. Charity can’t say no. Now she is working in the one place she doesn’t want to be. Except she’s attracted to Dr. Elijah Bennet, the handsome playboy chief.
Will she ever prove to her father that’s she’s more than a med school dropout? Or will her attraction to Elijah keep her from repairing the one thing she desperately wants to fix?

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VVK8S5W

 

In a world plagued with darkness, she would be his salvation.

No one gave Erik a choice as to whether he would fight or not. Duty to the crown belonged to him, his father's legacy remaining beyond the grave.

Taken by the beauty of the countryside surrounding her, Linzi would do anything to protect her father's land. Britain is under attack and Scotland is next. At a time she should be focused on suitors, the men of her country have gone to war and she's left to stand alone.

Love will become available, but will passion at the touch of the enemy unravel her strong hold first?
 

 

The Recruiting Trip

 

Aspiring college athlete Aileen Nessa is finding the recruiting process beyond daunting. Being ranked #10 in the world for the 100m hurdles at the age of eighteen is not a fluke, even though she believes that one race, where everything clinked magically together, might be. American universities don’t seem to think so. Letters are pouring in from all over the country.

 

As she faces the challenge of differentiating between a college’s genuine commitment to her or just empty promises from talent-seeking coaches, Aileen heads to the University of Gatica, a Division One school, on a recruiting trip. Her best friend dares who to go just to see the cute guys on the school’s brochure.

 

The university’s athletic program boasts one of the top hurdlers in the country. Tyler Jensen is the school’s NCAA champion in the hurdles and Jim Thorpe recipient for top defensive back in football. His incredible blue-green eyes, confident smile and rock hard six pack abs mess with Aileen’s concentration.

 

His offer to take her under his wing, should she choose to come to Gatica, is a temping proposition that has her wondering if she might be with an angel or making a deal with the devil himself.

 

THE ONE YOU CAN’T FORGET

Emily Rose Dougherty is a good Catholic girl from mythical Walkerville, CT. She had somehow managed to get herself into a heap trouble with the law, all because an ex-boyfriend has decided to make things difficult.

Luke “Spade” Wade owns a Motorcycle repair shop and is the Road Captain for Hades' Spawn MC. He’s shocked when he reads in the paper that his old high school flame has been arrested. She’s always been the one he couldn’t forget.

Will destiny let them find each other again? Or what happens in the past, best left for the history books?

** This is book 1 of the Hades' Spawn MC Series. All your questions may not be answered in the first book.