Chapter Five
The moment Kyle drove into Nicole’s yard he knew that Nicole and Stuart had invited more people to Thanksgiving dinner than they had originally planned. There was one too many cars. Kyle grabbed the case of beer off the passenger seat of his truck and got out. After learning that Anais was bringing pies, he didn’t want to show up empty handed. He would have bought wine, but after only a minute of studying the bottles, he realized that he didn’t know shit about wine. But he did know good beer.
He knocked on Nicole’s door and wasn’t surprised when Stuart opened it. Stuart greeted him with a grin. “Come on in.” He took the beer from him. “I’ll put this in the fridge.”
Kyle glanced around warily. He could hear voices drifting from further in the house. “Who else is here?”
“My parents surprised me and came up from Florida.”
“Aunt Meg and Uncle Gene are here?”
“Yep, they’re in the den. Follow me. I’ll take you to them and then put these away.” Stuart hefted up the case. “Thanks by the way. Nicole made tea, but we’ll need something to drink while we watch the game.”
Kyle smoothed a hand over his hair. As soon as he walked in the den, his aunt cried out and pulled him into a tight hug. He hugged her back. His uncle chuckled and gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you, boy,” Uncle Gene said.
Aunt Meg leaned back and held his face between her hands. She was short so he had to lean over a bit to help her accomplish this. “Oh, you’re so handsome. Isn’t he handsome, Gene?” She didn’t wait for her husband to reply. “You must have girls lined up around the corner. Do you have someone special?”
Smiling, Kyle shook his head. “No to both.”
“I can’t believe that. Can you believe that, Gene?” Again she didn’t wait to see if he would answer. Gene just smiled and sat back down, apparently accustomed to his wife’s tendency to rule a conversation. “How is your mother? I haven’t heard from Janet in a few weeks.”
“She’s fine,” Kyle replied, hoping that he wouldn’t have to elaborate. He hadn’t talked to his mother since he opened the garage. He’d called to tell her about it and she’d immediately predicted that it would be a colossal failure and warned him that he could not come back and stay with her. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting when he called, but he should have known it would be anything but support.
Aunt Meg gave him a searching look. Then she gave him a soft, sympathetic smile. His mother and Aunt Meg looked enough alike to be twins but they could not have been more different in temperament. His aunt was patient and kind. She was the kind of mom who made homemade cookies and knitted scarves in the winter. His mother had her moments, but he never expected to get more out of her than the bare minimum of care. He got the necessities and nothing extra. Store bought cookies were good enough. His mother had been quick to point out that he wouldn’t need a scarf if he’d zipped his coat all the way to the top and pulled his hat down. As for saying “I love you” and warm hugs? Those weren’t necessities either.
“There are a couple of really pretty single girls here in the kitchen.”
“Meg,” Gene groaned. “Don’t push.”
Kyle laughed. “I’ve met them both already and they’re not interested in me.”
“Not interested in you? Are they crazy?”
She sounded so incredulous that he laughed again. “Believe me, it happens.”
Meg shook her head. “Girls are so stupid these days.”
He felt the need to explain. “Belinda isn’t single. She’s been with the same guy for years.” He’d met Nicole’s sister on one of his exploratory trips to check out the buildings before making the decision to move. Stuart and Nicole had taken him out to dinner. Belinda had come along with her boyfriend Chip. “And I’m not Anais’s type.”
Meg frowned. “What’s not to like? Anais seems like a smart girl. I’ll have a talk with her.”
“Whoa!” Kyle caught his aunt by the shoulders before she could go marching off to the kitchen. “I think it’s the tattoos,” he explained.
“Well, they’re not to my taste, but I understand all the young people have them these days.”
Perhaps they did, but not so much in this town. He stuck out like a sore thumb. And Anais definitely wasn’t willing to overlook them. He’d managed to not to think of her for a whole day and he figured he was over her. That thought lasted for as long as it took her to walk into the room.
Her ebony hair curled about her shoulders. She wore a deep burgundy lipstick that matched her top to perfection. Her blouse was nothing but a showcase for her breasts. It had a cowl neck that didn’t reveal any cleavage, but the material clung lovingly to her breasts and hugged her small waist in an enticing manner. Remembering the feel of them crushed against his side, Kyle curled his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to touch her. Her legs were encased in tight jeans. On her feet, she wore black boots that rose to just below her knee.
It took him a moment to realize that she wasn’t alone and that Belinda and Nicole had followed her into the room. Nicole’s lips twitched as though she were fighting a smile while the object of his thorough perusal looked slightly embarrassed.
Belinda stepped around both of them and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. He was thoroughly confused by her enthusiastic greeting as they had only met once. “It’s good to see you again, Kyle. You’re even better looking than I remember.”
“Thank you. You look good, too.” She did. Belinda was almost tall enough to look him in the eye. She must have gotten all the tall genes in the family since Nicole barely cleared five feet. Belinda was lean while Nicole was curvy. The only thing the two shared was their coloring. Belinda’s long blonde hair cascaded to the middle of her back. She had a lovely face with big honey brown eyes. She wasn’t a ravishing beauty, but she had a wholesome sweet innocence to her that was difficult to ignore.
“Well, thank you.”
His eyes were drawn back to Anais. He struggled to lift his gaze from her chest. “Hello, Anais. Nicole.”
“Hi, Kyle,” they both said, almost in unison.
Belinda linked his arm with his, pressing one small, firm breast into his bicep. “You know, I regret that I didn’t get to know you better before. Why don’t you tell me more about yourself?” She led him over to the sofa where his aunt sat. She sat, drawing him down with her. He was in the middle with Belinda on one side and his Aunt Meg on the other.
“What did you want to know?”
“Well, you’re from Philadelphia, right?”
He shook his head. “No. Actually, I was born here because this is where my mom is from. My dad was in the military and we moved around. For the last ten years, I’ve lived in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.” Belinda was sitting unaccountably close and she continued to cling to his arm. Kyle shifted so that he was closer to his aunt only to have Belinda follow. He suddenly wondered where Chip was.
“What made you decide to move home?”
He wouldn’t have called this home since his parents were on the move while he was still in diapers. “It was Stuart. He told me about how I could get a building in town with a grant. I’d been feeling restless where I was working. The timing was right.”
She gave him a big smile. “An enterprising man—I like that.”
She was flirting with him. He wondered why. “So,” he began as casually as he was able to, “where’s Chip?”
Belinda scowled and her lips thinned. “Probably having dinner with his new wife.”
Kyle didn’t know what to say. He was given to understand that Chip and Belinda had been together since high school. There was a story there, but he didn’t want to pry. He’d end up with a blubbering woman on his hands and he was clueless when it came to soothing crying women. “I’m sorry,” he ventured.
“It’s okay. I’ve wasted enough of my life on that total loser. I’m better off without him. I’m ready to move on.” And then she smiled at him in such a way that he let him know that he fit into the category of the better things that she wished to move on with.
***
Anais forked up a bite of yam and tried to ignore her growing irritation with Belinda. It would be easier if she weren’t seated directly across from Kyle and the other woman. Belinda gushed over everything he said or did in a blatantly flirtatious manner. It was so obvious as to be sickening. Belinda had never been her favorite person, but today she was really getting on her last nerve. Though Belinda was nice enough, there was something patently false about her friendliness. Her smiles never reached her eyes and she occasionally made catty comments that let her true feelings slip free.
She told herself it wasn’t because she was jealous. Because she certainly wasn’t. So what if Belinda had managed to make Kyle talk more than she’d ever heard him speak. Kyle was nothing to her. It was just that the man had poor taste in women. Couldn’t he see that Belinda was on the rebound from Chip?
Anais cut viciously into her turkey. It was juicy and so tasty that it didn’t need gravy. Stuart, with his father and Kyle watching on, had deep fried it in the back yard. Belinda, of course, had tagged along, hanging onto Kyle like a barnacle. Stuart and Nicole had tried to distract her, but Belinda was tenacious. Anais didn’t know why they bothered. Kyle didn’t seem to mind the extra attention.
When everyone was finished with dinner, Anais and Meg helped Nicole clear the table. Belinda, sitting so close to Kyle that they were practically sharing one chair, appeared to be so enraptured by the details Kyle was sharing with Gene about a custom detailing job he was doing for a client that she didn’t seem to notice the other women leave the room.
Nicole grumbled as she loaded the dishwasher.
“What’s wrong, dear?” Meg asked as she handed Nicole a dish.
“Belinda. The way she’s glued herself to poor Kyle is disgusting.”
Anais laughed, but the sound was too edgy to be mirthful. “Poor Kyle? He seems to be just fine.”
Nicole put the last of the plates in the dishwasher and moved on to the glasses. “He’s just being polite. He feels sorry for her after she laid that sob story about Chip on him. The truth is that Chip asked her to marry him right out of high school, but she kept making conditions he had to meet in order for her to accept. He finally got fed up with it and found someone else.”
“Still it must have been a surprise to her,” Anais said, grudgingly finding some sympathy for Belinda.
“It probably was,” Nicole agreed. She closed the dishwasher and then got a stepstool so that she could reach the upper cabinets in her kitchen. She pulled down dessert plates.
“What kind of conditions did she make?” asked Meg. “A woman has to have some standards.” Anais nodded in agreement.
Nicole carefully made her way down the stepstool. “Some of them were reasonable. She wanted him to quit smoking and gambling. But she didn’t like him hanging out with his friends—even if it was only once a week. Then she wanted him to lose weight. She had to approve of his clothes and his hair. She had demands about the way he could wear his facial hair, and on and on.”
“Well,” said Meg, “you don’t have to worry about Kyle. He’s much to hung up on Anais to fall for her.”
Anais started. “What?”
Meg smiled. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed, dear? He can’t keep his eyes off you.”
“Well, he’s got his hands full of Belinda,” Anais pointed out.
Nicole smiled. “You sound almost jealous. And now that Meg has mentioned it, I have noticed the way he keeps staring at you.”
“I am not jealous,” she declared, but she made a mental note to notice if Kyle was looking at her. “I’m hungry for dessert.”
“I can’t wait to have some of your pie,” Nicole said. “You carry the pie and I’ll carry the cake.” Nicole had baked an upside down pineapple cake.
“I’ll carry the silverware and napkins,” Meg volunteered.
“We have dessert,” Nicole announced as they reentered the dining room.
Stuart, Belinda, and Gene chose cake. Nicole and Meg decided to have a small slice of cake and a small slice of pie. Anais didn’t like pineapple and only had pie. Kyle, eyes twinkling, took a slice of pie. “I’ve been salivating for a taste of your pie for what seems like forever.”
Anais swallowed. Though his words were innocuous given the context of the conversation, the heat in his gaze and effect they had on her were anything but. She squirmed in her seat as he took his first bite. His eyes closed and he moaned. Because Stuart and Nicole and his parents were talking and laughing at the end of the table, Anais didn’t think anyone noticed his reaction with the exception of herself and Belinda.
As his eyes opened, they locked on hers and Anais felt a jolt deep down in her belly. The look on his face was positively predatory. She suddenly remembered her grandmother’s warning about feeding unattached males. The desserts, she said, were particularly potent. They were pure magic—a surefire love potion. Shit. She’d never believed her grandmother, but the way Kyle was looking at her…he was definitely feeling something.
“You weren’t lying when you said you could cook,” he said, his voice strangely husky. “This is delicious.”
“Thank you.” Anais cleared her throat and managed to tear her eyes away from him long enough to take a bite of her own.
“He’s right. This is the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had,” Meg said. “There’s something different about it that I just can’t put my finger on. What’s your secret?”
“She won’t tell,” Nicole interjected. “It’s a family secret.”
Anais nodded. “That’s true. It’s handed down from mother to daughter.” Her mother had never learned to make it as Olivia had no interest in the culinary arts. Anais wondered if Olivia had learned to cook would she have had an easier time with the only pursuit that did hold her interest—chasing men.
“Can I try a bite of yours?” Belinda asked Kyle in a sultry tone.
“Too late,” he said, stuffing the last bit into his mouth.
Anais picked her glass of water, ostensibly to take a sip, but really to hide her smile.
***
Kyle washed his hands and glanced up at himself in the mirror. He wondered how long he could get away with hanging out in the bathroom. He was tired of Belinda hanging all over him. He’d been trying to be nice because he knew she was hurting after her breakup with Chip, but her flirting was getting old. She wasn’t really interested in him and he certainly didn’t want her.
Figuring he couldn’t stall much longer before someone began to suspect something was wrong, he opened the bathroom door to find Belinda lounging against the opposite wall. Kyle stifled a groan and resisted the urge to slam the door in her face. She’d applied bright red lipstick right after dinner. Though her lips curled up in a seductive smile, he could see the sadness in her eyes.
“Kyle, I was wondering if you’d like to get out of here. We could go somewhere where we could be alone.” She put her hands on his chest and worked her way closer until her arms were looped around his neck.
He gripped her wrists and pulled her away. He shook his head. “No. It would be rude to leave.”
She shrugged. “Anais did—said she wanted to open up the store tomorrow morning for the diehard shoppers.”
Kyle felt an immediate pang of disappointment. Though he hadn’t been able to get close to her this evening because of Belinda, he’d enjoyed looking at her and listening to her talk to the others. Belinda took advantage of his moment of distraction, snaking her hand between his legs and grabbing his dick. It was almost scary how fast she came at him.
Her eyes widened. “Wow. Is that thing for real? I don’t know if I should be terrified or excited.”
“Okay, quit it,” Kyle growled, shoving her hand away. Enough was enough. “How would you feel about being groped by a stranger?”
“Depends,” she said, slurring her words a little. “If the stranger was you, I’d like it very much.”
He suddenly realized that she was drunk. She’d had more wine than food at dinner and she’d polished off two beers since then. “Belinda, let’s go back downstairs with the others. Let’s get you a cup of coffee and maybe a slice of that pie.”
She pouted. “I don’t want any of that pie. What was so great about it? I hate pumpkins.”
Kyle slid an arm around her waist and led her back downstairs. He was glad when she didn’t object. He steered her toward the kitchen and he was glad to find Nicole and Stuart there. The two broke apart, flushing like guilty teenagers. Kyle smiled at them. “Could you get Belinda some coffee? And maybe a bit of the turkey and some cake?”
Nicole rushed over to her sister. “Belinda, what’s wrong?”
Belinda slumped against the counter. “Nothing.” Then she giggled.
Nicole sighed. “Okay, I’ll handle this.” She corralled her sister into a chair at the kitchen table. “One double expresso coming up.”
“If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to head home.”
“Sure. Thanks for coming,” Stuart said.
“Thanks for inviting me. Dinner was delicious. Are Aunt Meg and Uncle Gene still in the den?”
Stuart nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay. I’ll say goodnight to them then and head out.” He found his aunt and uncle snuggled up to each other and Kyle couldn’t help but smile. As he watched, Gene dropped a kiss on her forehead. After all these years, they were still deeply in love. He wanted the type of relationship that they had one day. “There really must have been something in that pie,” he said.
Meg laughed. “Maybe so. Do you think her secret ingredient is booze?”
Kyle shook his head. He didn’t know what was in that pie, but a single taste of it had awakened his taste buds. He wasn’t even that fond of pie and he usually hated pumpkin. He had been damned offended when Belinda had wanted the last bite. Just thinking about it made him realize that he should have requested a slice to take home. “I was about to head home and I wanted to say goodbye. How long will the two you be in town?”
“Until Sunday,” Gene answered standing. “I’m sure we’ll see you again before we leave. I want to see this garage of yours.”
Kyle smiled. “That would be cool.” He hugged them both and then headed back to the kitchen. Stuart, Nicole, and Belinda were all seated at the table with a cup of coffee.
“Thought you were leaving,” Stuart said.
“I was wondering if there was any pie left.”
Nicole grinned. “There sure is.” She reached into the oven and pulled out an entire pie wrapped in cellophane. “Here. You can have it.”
“I can’t take your entire pie.”
“Sure you can. I’ve got cake and all the other leftovers. I mean, really, do I look like I need an extra helping of dessert?” She placed her hands on her ample hips.
“Hey,” Stuart protested. “I happen to love the way you look.”
Nicole laughed. “Still, I’m sure that Anais would like him to have it.”
Kyle wasn’t so sure about that, but he accepted the pie. “I’m really leaving this time.”
It was chilly and quiet out. He felt like he was the only car on the road as he drove back toward town. He’d driven about a mile when his headlights picked up a car parked on the side of the road. He frowned. It resembled Anais’s car.
He slowed as he neared it. Sure enough, he spotted Anais in her car fiddling with her phone. He parked in front of her and got out. She rolled down her window as he approached. “Anais, what’s wrong?”
She nibbled her lower lip. “My car started making this funny noise and slowing down. Now it won’t start.”
“Did you get your engine checked?”
“It wasn’t next on my list.”
He rolled his eyes. “It might be something simple, but I don’t have any tools with me. Come on. I’ll give you a ride.” Her eyes widened and she looked around as though checking for more cars on the road. Frowning, Kyle glanced over his shoulder. “Are you expecting someone?” he asked, thinking maybe she’d already called for help.
“Um, no.”
“Then come on.” He glanced down the road. It was empty, but he didn’t want to keep standing here. He thought of all the videos he’d seen of cops getting hit while standing beside a car they’d pulled over. As she continued to hesitate, Kyle sighed. “Anais, why are you so afraid of me? You know I’m not a serial killer, right?”
Her eyes widened. “They told you I said that?” she squeaked.
Kyle hid his smile. “How can I make you’re more comfortable?”
She muttered under her breath for a moment before returning her attention to him. “Kyle, I don’t think you’re a serial killer.”
“But you’re still scared of me. Why?”
“Can I be brutally honest with you?” At his sharp nod, she continued. “You fit the profile. You’re a single white guy. How old are you?”
“Thirty-two.”
“You’re the right age. And your eyes are downright creepy.”
He blinked. He’d received compliments on his eyes his entire life. And she thought they were creepy? “What? I-” He shook his head and ran a hand over his hair. “What? I mean, I…what?”
Before he could wrap his mind around that, she asked, “Do you get along with your mother?”
He hesitated for a fraction of a second. Evidently, that was too long in Anais’s estimation. She slapped her hand down on the lock of her door and began rolling up her window. “Fuck.” He should walk away and leave her ass right out here until morning. But he couldn’t do it. If something were to happen to her, he wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt.
He knocked on her window until she opened it a fraction. “Anais, call Nicole and tell her that I’m giving you a ride if that will make you feel safer.”
“I can’t. My battery is dead.”
He slipped his cell from his pocket and pushed it through her window.
“Thank you.” She fumbled with his phone for a minute. Then she bit her lip and handed it back. “I can’t recall the number. It’s programmed in my cell.”
“Anais, for fuck’s sake, I don’t get along with my mother because she’s a bitter unhappy woman who blames me for my father leaving. But I have never so much as laid an angry hand on a woman. I’ve never tortured puppies or kittens.” He let out a harsh breath. “And if you want some brutal honesty, I don’t think you’re afraid of me because you think I’m a killer. You’re afraid of me because you want to fuck my brains out.”
She gasped. “W-what? I-I do not. What would give you that idea?”
He leaned forward. “It’s the way you look at me. I’ve seen you staring at my hands.”
She sputtered. “I’m envisioning them around my neck.”
“The only reason I would put my hands around your neck would be to hold you still while I fill you with my cock and I’m not into that. How about the kiss? The way you rubbed up against me.”
“I was acting.”
His eyes narrowed on her. She was lying. That kiss had gone beyond what was needed to convince that jerk to leave her alone. However, pushing this was getting him nowhere. “Anais, I’m not leaving you here. Look, we’ll drive to my garage. I’ve got a tow truck. I’ll tow your car wherever you want and then take you home. I promise will not lay one finger on that sexy little body of yours. How does that sound?”
***
“Is this my pie?” Anais asked. It was the first thing she spotted when climbing into the cab of his truck.
“Yes,” he replied curtly. He started his truck. He glanced over at her. “Buckle up.”
She did so. He fairly vibrated with irritation. She supposed she should be ashamed of herself. He was trying to help her out and she was giving him a hard time. If their roles had been reversed, she would have left him on the side of the road. This was the second time Kyle had come to her rescue.
In no time at all, they were pulling up to his garage. They hadn’t exchanged a word during the ride. “Stay here.” Kyle took the pie, got out and went inside. Within minutes, he was coming back out. He called her over to the tow truck with a wave of his hand.
The ride back to her car was a silent one. He hooked up her car quickly. “Where do you want me to take it? We can take it back to town or your house.”
“Would town be too much trouble?”
He grunted and started the truck.
“Kyle, I really appreciate you doing this for me,” she felt compelled to say. “I’m sorry for being…so…well, stupid earlier.”
“It’s fine.”
Despite his words, she could tell he was still angry. His tone was hard and brisk. She’d be lucky if he ever spoke to her again. He sounded like he was so done with her. The thought made her stomach clench uncomfortably. She didn’t want that. It was because of Nicole and Stuart, she told herself. They needed to at least be friendly for the sake of Nicole and Stuart. Today wouldn’t be the last occasion that they would both be invited to celebrate by the couple. “I-I would like to thank you. I’ll make dinner for you.”
He glanced over at her. Light from a passing car hit his pale eyes, making them appear almost colorless. Anais shivered. He rolled his eyes and redirected his attention onto the road. “How do I know I can trust you not to poison me? You’d be doing the world a great service to rid it of a serial killer.”
“I said I didn’t believe that anymore. I’m…just cautious. I’ve been watching too many of those forensic programs.”
“So I’m not the only guy you’ve accused?”
“Well…. Kyle, you have to admit you’re pretty intimidating looking.”
He grunted. “So I am the only lucky recipient of your paranoid behavior?”
“I thought Leon was even creepier.”
“Who?”
“The guy in the grocery store.”
“Good to know that I rank slightly higher than that guy.”
“You could just graciously accept my apology.”
“I suppose I could if you’d stop insulting me.”
“I’m not doing it intentionally.”
“Seems pretty intentional to me when I had to spend twenty minutes to get you to take a damn ten minute ride with me in my truck.”
“It was not that long. And you can forget about me cooking dinner for you! I rescind my offer.”
“I’m surprised that you would consider even letting me in your house. Who knows what kind of mayhem I may get up to.” He pulled into the parking lot of his business and parked. He turned off the engine. “I’ll leave your car hooked up. In the morning, if you can find a mechanic that’s open, I’ll haul it there for you.”
“Thank you, Kyle. What do I owe you for this?”
“Nothing.” He opened his door and got out. “Come on. I’ll take you home—if you aren’t too afraid to let me know where you live.”
Scowling, she followed him over to his truck and climbed in. “That’s getting old.”
“I agree. I could do without being further insulted. You could hurt my business if you go around spreading rumors like that. I’m new in town after all.”
“The only person I told was Nicole. I wouldn’t go around spreading vicious, unfounded gossip. Look, if I really thought you were a psycho, I would have called the police, okay? Can we drop it, please?”
He took a deep breath and started his truck. He sat there for a second not saying anything. Then he shook his head. “Fine.”
The drive to her house was completed in near silence, punctuated only by her when she gave him directions, but she liked it better than the way they’d argued all the way back to his garage. When they drove up into her yard, the porch light illuminated the front of her house. She was surprised when Kyle got out and came around to open the door for her. “What are you doing?”
“Walking you to your door—and please, let’s not argue about it.”
“Okay.” She fished her keys out of her purse so that they were available when she got to the door. She unlocked it quickly. “Listen, Kyle, I really feel like I should pay you something. Please, I want to.”
“I can’t charge you. Consider it a favor from Stuart.”
She bit her lip. “Dinner. Tomorrow night. Neither of us has Thanksgiving leftovers. I’ll make you dinner. Please, Kyle, let me make this right.”