Chapter 32
Chloe
AFTER GRABBING MY purse, and the elf costume from my locker, Graham, Anthony, and I rode the elevator down together. Nobody said anything. Anthony typed on his phone, texting everyone he knew about getting together. Graham just stood there, sulking for whatever reason.
Anthony groaned. “Oh, shit,” he said reading one of his texts. “My sister’s in a fucking ditch and needs my help.”
“Oh, no,” I said, feeling bad for her the both of them. “The roads must really be getting bad out there.”
“Yeah.” He looked at Graham. “I hate to ask, but can you bring Chloe home? I’d do it but obviously, I’m going to be busy for the next hour or so. She has my nephew in the car, so I can’t wait.”
Graham nodded, but I could tell he wasn’t happy about it.
“Thanks, brother,” Anthony said as the elevator doors opened. “I owe you.”
“Yep,” Graham replied.
“See you, Chloe.” Anthony gave me a quick hug. “Good luck with him,” he whispered into my ear.
I snorted. I’d need more than that.
Anthony took off, leaving Graham and I alone together. I decided to try and make polite conversation, so it wouldn’t be so awkward.
“So, where did you say you were going? A church?”
“Yeah.”
“Which one?” I asked as we headed toward the doorway leading out to the parking lot.
“Church Of St. Mathew.”
“Oh. Where is that?”
He told me.
“Wow. That is a long drive.”
“Yep.”
“You know, I could come with you and help out. I have my elf costume,” I said, raising the plastic bag.
“I don’t need any help.”
“Obviously,” I replied dryly and then sighed. “I just think it would be more fun for the kids if there’s both an elf and Santa Claus.”
He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Fine. If you really want to come, you can. But, I’m warning you now, it’s going to be a long drive and I don’t know when I’m going to be able to get you back home,” he said in a brisk tone.
“That’s okay. I still have tomorrow off,” I answered, wondering why I was willing to subject myself to such a crab ass.
For the kids, I thought. And Christmas.
And, as ornery as he was, I hoped that he might come around. Obviously, something was bothering him and not knowing what it was, was also bothering me.
“Should we grab a bite to eat first?”
“I was already planning on it,” he said.
“Oh, good. I’m hungry, too. Where should we eat? I’ll buy.”
“You don’t have to buy,” he muttered..
“I want, too. Where should we eat? A steak joint? Pasta place? Hell, I’d even go for pizza,” I said, my stomach growling at the thought.
He gave me a strange look.
“What?”
“Built up an appetite, did you?”
“Hell, yeah. I haven’t eaten since this morning.”
He didn’t reply.
When we got to the big glass doors, Graham whistled. “Wow, it really is coming down, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I replied staring outside. It looked like we’d gotten a foot of snow already and it was still coming down strong.
“I think we should just grab something quickly. I have a feeling it’s going to be a longer drive than we think,” he said, pulling his keys out of his pocket.
“Sounds good. Panera?” Hot soup sure sounded good at the moment.
“Sure.”
I followed him out into the blustery snow, keeping my head down as we walked through the parking lot. When we finally made it to his SUV, which was completely covered in white, he told me to get in and then proceeded to try and brush off as much snow as he could. Unfortunately, it was coming down so much that by the time he jumped back inside, the windows were covered again.
“Burr.” He took off the cap, hair, and beard, and tossed the items into the back seat. The he began unbuttoning the Santa jacket. “This thing is wet,” he said, pulling it off, along with the pillow he had strapped to his waist. “Good thing I put a T-shirt on underneath.”
I stared at his biceps for a few seconds, remembering how he’d held me in his arms. Those, sexy, muscular arms.
Damn him for being such a gloomy son-of-a-bitch.
He turned and caught me staring at him. “What?”
“Nothing,” I said, looking away.
“You sure you don’t want to go home?”
“No. I’m good.”
He let out a weary sigh. “Okay. Just remember… I warned you.”