CHAPTER FOUR

The snow had started to fall from the sky early in the morning, leaving the ground covered in a light blanket of white. Claire was in panic-mode, pacing back and forth in Tori’s office, texting away on her phone while barking orders.

“We need to get up there now before the roads get any worse.”

“Tell me again why we can’t just reschedule?” Tori asked, knowing good and well there was no world in which Claire would consider such a thing.

“Because it’s Valentine’s Day. And because everything was supposed to be perfect! Damn snow in February!” Claire said, fisting both hands in the air. “I have Gretchen coming to photograph everything for the blog,” she whined.

Tori glanced through the window in her office out to the empty gym. No one had shown up for her yoga class earlier today, and it looked like her barre class wasn’t going to have any takers either.

“The gym is pretty dead. Ryan and I can probably get out of here early.”

Claire’s eyes lit up. “Perfect. Elle is already there, and I’m going to pick up Gretchen on my way. I think it’s going to be a much smaller turnout than I’d anticipated. Sorry you won’t be able to find your dream guy tonight.”

Tori rolled her eyes. The prospect of finding her dream guy seemed about as far-fetched as winning the lottery.

“Go find your brother and get up there as soon as possible!” Claire demanded, not looking up from her phone as she continued to type quickly as she hurried out the door.

Tori sighed and turned off her computer screen. She locked up her office. Dream guy, ha! Valentine’s Day had always been low on the list of favorite holidays, but this year it felt more contrived than ever. She didn’t regret breaking up with Luke, but it would have been nice to have someone for the party tonight. It was hard enough being in the same room with Chris, but the thought of sitting across the room from him without the buffer of Luke made her stomach ache. And what if he brought someone? Tori pounded her head lightly against the doorframe before closing the door behind her.

She found her brother in his office, flipping through a magazine, feet propped up on the desk.

“Slow day?” Tori asked as she plopped down on a chair in front of his desk.

Ryan nodded and tossed the magazine down. “All your classes get cancelled?”

“Yep.” She picked up the “Men’s Health” her brother had tossed so she could admire a shirtless Chris Hemsworth on the cover and flipped the pages, mindlessly admiring the physiques of the men.

“All my afternoon clients canceled too,” Ryan said. “Think we should get out of here? Claire is probably circling the parking lot waiting for us.”

Tori smiled at the thought. She wouldn’t put anything past her best friend when it came to pulling a party together.

“Yeah, but I have a question for you first.” Tori set the magazine down. She couldn’t get Autumn and her family off her mind. She must be able to do something to help.

Ryan eyed her suspiciously. “Okay, shoot.”

“Autumn, the little girl I work with on sensory therapy…”

“Dax and Susan’s little girl. She’s a firecracker.” Ryan shook his head.

Tori smiled. Obviously, he had his own fond visions of Autumn running and jumping through the club.

“Their insurance won’t pay for the therapy anymore. Is there anything the gym can do to help? She’s doing so well. I can’t stand the thought of her not being able to continue.”

Ryan ran a hand through his hair and let out a deep breath. “There’s not a lot we can do. Those sessions are too expensive for us to foot the bill.”

“It’s so unfair!” Tori whined, slamming her fist into the arm of the chair.

“Easy. We’ll figure it out. Maybe we could look at private funding, scholarships, something along those lines.”

Tori nodded, still steaming inside.

Ryan stood, motioning for Tori to follow. “Hey, I promise we’ll work on it. In the meantime, let’s go enjoy the party.”

Tori shifted in her seat, playing with the name card in front of her. She should have known she’d be seated by Chris, who had yet to show up. She was pushing back the nagging feeling of disappointment that he hadn’t arrived while panicking at the idea of sitting across from him. No scenario put her at ease. They were chaos and fire, and she’d been burnt too badly to escape scarring.

The snow continued to fall, and the roads had to be near impassable now. Ryan had more than enough room for everyone to crash tonight, so with the depressing realization that she would be spending the night at her brother’s house on Valentine’s Day, without a date, Tori decided to drink. A lot.

She looked around at the group. Ryan and Elle huddled close at the far end of the table. Elle leaned in as Ryan whispered something in her ear, and Elle’s cheeks bloomed with a faint shade of pink. Claire played the part of the perfect hostess, engaging everyone in conversation and occasionally helping Gretchen capture shots of the event. Tori didn’t know Gretchen well. The young girl had worked for Claire on and off for the past year, capturing photos for the blog, but aside from her beautiful photographs, Tori didn’t know much else about her. She was quiet, although that could very well be the result of her being an outsider to their tight-knit group.

Jake had also shown up for the party and sat next to Claire, obviously hanging on her every word.

The six of them settled in around the table, telling stories and drinking wine.

“Without more people, most of the games I’d planned won’t be very fun, but I do have one we can play.” Claire handed out a pen and a pad of paper to everyone.

“Write your name at the top and answer the five questions. Tear off the sheet and hand it to Gretchen when you’re done.”

Tori looked over the questions on the paper.

Question 1. What is your favorite TV show?

Question 2. Who was your first kiss?

Question 3. What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Question 4. What’s your favorite time of day to have sex?

Question 5. What color underwear are you wearing?

Tori jotted down her answers without a lot of thought, no longer uncomfortable with the awkward information often exchanged at parties like this. While she had no interest in knowing about Ryan’s sex life, she’d learned to tune it out. She and Claire had been tagging along with her brother and his buddies since they were in high school, and it was the price they’d paid for sharing friends. It wasn’t the first time they’d had to divulge information that the other would rather not know, and it no doubt wouldn’t be the last, but being together was always worth it.

“Elle, you’re up first. Everyone else write down your answers for Elle as I re-read the questions.”

Claire posed each question to the group, and they tried to come up with the answer that Elle had written down. They handed their answer to Gretchen who compared them against Elle’s answers.

It was no surprise to anyone when Ryan guessed all the answers correctly. Elle smiled at him adoringly, and Tori refilled her empty wine glass.

The game turned out to be more fun than Tori’d expected, and as they took turns sitting in the hot seat, she laughed and smiled along with the rest of them.

“Last, but not least. Tori, it’s your turn.”

Chris’ hands were like ice by the time he and Charlie walked from the truck to the front door of Ryan’s house. The snow was coming down in big, icy flakes now. They had made it just in time. In another hour, the roads would be too treacherous to venture far. He opened the door a crack while he and Charlie kicked the snow off their shoes. The group was crowded around Ryan’s dining room table laughing and drinking. Chris paused and listened as Claire asked the group questions about Tori. Tori sat in her seat, mindlessly twirling her wine glass in her hand. No Luke in sight.

“This can’t be right. No one got a single question right!” Claire whined.

“I thought Sex and the City was your favorite TV show? And if Tom wasn’t your first kiss, who was?”

Tori shrugged and took a large drink from her wine glass.

“I was,” Chris answered from across the room as he and Charlie entered the house.

Tori whipped her head around and met Chris’ gaze. Her cheeks were flushed, and she glared at him as the rest of the room glanced between them.

“You guys made it!” Claire said, running over and hugging him and Charlie.

The others stood and came forward, and Chris introduced Charlie around the room. He watched Tori out of the corner of his eye. She looked magnificent in a red dress that hugged her skin tightly and made her toned legs look longer than ever.

“Yay, now that you guys are here, we can play more games,” Claire squealed as she hurried to the other room and came rushing back with an armful of party supplies.

“How are the roads?” Jake asked as they all shuffled around the dining room.

“Getting pretty slick out there, but they salted the roads earlier today, and the plows were already out clearing the main roads in town.”

Claire clapped her hands, getting everyone’s attention. She grinned mischievously and held up a blindfold.

“Everyone line up — boys on one side, girls on the other.”

Chris shrugged off his heavy jacket and fell into line with the guys. He’d prefer to sit and drink, but he knew there would be no dissuading Claire from the games she had planned.

“Boys, you are going to be blindfolded. Ladies, I’ll hand each of you a coin to hide on your person. Keep in mind the boys are going to go looking for it, so don’t put it anywhere you don’t want them to touch.”

Claire went through the girl’s line, moving ladies around until she seemed to have everyone paired up how she wanted them. Elle was across from Ryan, Gretchen was across from Charlie, and an empty space waited in front of Jake that was obviously meant for Claire.

Chris looked to a red-faced and unsmiling Tori. Aw, hell.

He wondered how much wine she had already consumed. Tori wasn’t a big drinker. Maybe she was upset that Luke hadn’t made it. The snow had probably kept him in Carroll. Chris was relieved he wouldn’t have to spend the night watching the two of them together, but he felt a tiny bit of remorse that Tori was spending Valentine’s Day alone.

Claire wrapped the black satin blindfold around his eyes, blocking out the room around him. He could hear the ladies shuffling around, presumably to hide their coins.

He desperately wished he was two beers deep for this game.

“Okay, boys, step forward. First boy to find the coin wins. Although in this game, I don’t think there are any losers.”

Chris stepped forward slowly, reaching a hand out to find Tori. Her outstretched hand met his. At the first touch of her soft hands, he was reminded of the intense chemistry that there had always been between them. He felt it in the slightest touch, fingertip to fingertip. He was momentarily confused as he realized Tori was handing him the coin. Apparently, she wasn’t too eager to have his hands roam around her body. Pity, he wouldn’t have minded that too much.

He could hear the other couples still fumbling around for the coins so he took the opportunity to pull her against him. Leaning down until he felt her hair tickle his nose, he breathed in the smell of wine and soap and her. Tori tried to pull away, but he held her tight while he whispered, “The Golden Girls, me, people who are late, morning, and I’m guessing your panties are red to match the dress.”

Tori stilled as she realized he had correctly guessed all her answers from the previous game. She pulled back enough to see his full lips turned up in a wicked smile, exposing the adorable dimple on one side. She took a moment to appreciate his form while he was unable to see her check him out.

Dark jeans stretched over his muscular thighs, and the top two buttons of his long-sleeve, Henley t-shirt had been left undone, previewing just a teasing glimpse of the defined chest she knew was underneath.

“Found it!” Jake called, bringing Tori back to the moment.

Chris eased his grip on her, and Tori turned, heading back to the table to grab her drink.

How was it possible that Chris was the only person, among those who knew her best, to guess a single answer? Not only had he gotten one right, he had guessed them all correctly. Even down to the color of her red panties. It was like he could see into the deepest parts of her soul. She didn’t know what game he was playing, but she had to remember all the reasons she hated him. They were good reasons.

“Wow, look at you. You’re all grown up,” Charlie said as he followed her to the kitchen where she was grabbing another bottle of wine from the pantry.

Tori smiled at him. “It’s good to see you.” She gave him a hug and offered him a goblet.

“Nah, I think I’ll grab a beer.” He reached into the fridge and grabbed a Bud Light. “You look incredible. I hear you’re taken, or I’d be working my charm on you.”

Tori laughed, feeling more at ease hidden in the kitchen with Charlie and away from his brother. Two years older than Chris and an impossible flirt, Charlie had always occupied a special place in her heart, but nothing but a teasing friendship had ever existed between them.

“Well, it’s your lucky night. It just so happens that I am no longer taken.” She eased the cork from the bottle.

“You and Luke broke up?” Ryan’s voice boomed from the doorway, and Tori jumped.

Shit. Ryan wasn’t going to be happy that she hadn’t told him. Meeting her brother’s questioning gaze, her stomach dropped when she found Chris standing next to him, his hands clenched and eyes narrowed.

Charlie chuckled and moved in closer, putting his arm around her waist. “It looks like I’ve picked the perfect time to move back then.”

“You’re really moving back?” Tori asked with a smile.

“Charlie, can I see you for a minute?” Chris snarled from across the room.

Charlie leaned in. “Uh-oh. Hulk smash!” he whispered in a terrible Hulk voice impression.

Tori couldn’t resist giggling, which only seemed to make Chris angrier as he stormed out of the room.

Charlie gave her a wink and went after him.

Ryan waited until they were gone to question her. “When did you break up?”

Tori let out a breath and leaned forward onto the counter. She kept her eyes downcast and focused on the wine bottle in her hand for strength. So far, cabernet had been what was keeping her going tonight. “Sunday morning.” She peeked up at his stunned expression. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. You’ve just been so happy with Elle and the new house. I didn’t want to rain on your parade.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “Oh please. You’re not going to rain on my parade — whatever the hell that means.”

“Sorry,” she repeated and bit the side of her lip. Ryan was an important part of her life, and they shared things. Maybe not everything, but the big things.

“Wanna talk about it?”

She shook her head and closed her eyes briefly. “Not tonight.”

Ryan took the bottle from her hands and started to fill her glass. He slowed when the wine reached the halfway point of the glass, but she placed two fingers against the bottle’s bottom and tipped it up until the red liquid neared the rim.

“Whoa, slow down. The night is young.” Ryan shot her a grin and then led her back out to the dining room.

Spotting Elle smiling at Ryan from the table where she sat, Tori took a moment to watch the way they melted just staring at each other from across the room. The sting of jealousy got under her skin. She wanted that... or a version of it anyway. She wasn’t interested in cheesy, overly romantic gestures, but having someone who lit up when she entered a room — that she wanted. She’d never really had that closeness with Luke. They’d had fun, some good times, but their relationship hadn’t been comprised of the type of love and desire that sent chills down her spine.

Ryan pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry if I haven’t been a very good big brother lately. I love Elle, but you’ll always be my little sister. I’m here if you need anything.” He gave her a soft squeeze then stepped away and joined Elle at the table.

Tori took her seat at the other end and watched as Charlie returned and winked before sitting across from her. She felt disappointed that Chris had not joined them and decided to make the most of what was left of the night.

“When are you moving back?” Tori asked Charlie, ignoring the impulse to ask about Chris.

“I’m going to be back and forth for the next month, but hopefully by mid-March.”

“What will you do here? For work?” Gretchen asked quietly.

It was the most she’d said all night, and the entire table hushed as they looked from her to Charlie while they waited for his answer.

He shot Gretchen his best smile, the one Tori recognized from his realtor advertisements, and the poor girl turned a faint shade of red. “I’m moving my real estate business to Sweetbriar and the surrounding area. It won’t be quite what I’m used to, but I’m looking forward to slowing down a bit.” He tucked his long blond hair behind his ear.

Tori giggled at Gretchen’s reaction. Charlie had always had a way with the ladies, but watching him so effortlessly make one swoon right before her eyes was too much. Her giggles were quiet and went unnoticed at first, but soon she was snorting and gasping so loudly the group had turned to look at her like she had three heads. Yeah, maybe it was time to stop drinking.