Romancing the Holiday (24 page)

He’d never realized how alone he had been until he had her with him all weekend, or how much he’d enjoyed spending time with her.

Usually he was all about getting women out of his house.

Now all he could think about was when he could get Tori back there.

Chapter Nine

Mondays were always busy, so by the time Tori got home, she was exhausted, not only from work, but from her nonstop ringing and texting cell phone.

Word was out that she had been with Brody, and there had been more calls and texts from Calliope than anyone.

She knew Calliope had her hands full at the day care center, so for her to take the time to send her approximately seven million texts meant that it was urgent. And for Tori to send only one back, which said “We’ll talk after work tonight,” meant that Tori was being a big fat coward.

She couldn’t face anyone, didn’t want to talk about this thing with her and Brody.

Whatever this thing might be, which was probably no thing at all, which was why she didn’t want to talk about it.

She hadn’t been home more than a half hour when her phone buzzed.

She looked at it, saw that it was Calliope again and pressed the button.

“Hey.”

“You might be the queen of avoidance, but I’m the queen of I-will-stalk-you-until-you-talk-to-me-because-we’re-best-friends-dammit.”

Tori smiled at that. It was true. “I’m sorry, Calliope. It was a hellish day at work.”

“I’m sure it was. Now answer your door.”

She frowned. “There’s no one at my door.”

“There is now. Me.”

Tori went to the door and looked through the peephole, laughing when Calliope stuck her tongue out. She opened the door. “Oh, my God, you really are a stalker.”

“Told you. I was afraid you were going to ignore my calls again.” Calliope came in and Tori shut the door.

“I did not ignore your calls.”

“Of course you did.” She threw her purse on the chair and flopped down on the sofa, her curls bouncing as she did. “Trying to process your hot, sex-filled weekend with Brody and couldn’t come to terms with it enough to talk about it yet?”

Tori laid her phone down and fell into the nearby chair. There was no sense lying anymore to Calliope. Her best friend knew her facial expressions and body language better than anyone. “Yes.”

She propped her feet on Tori’s coffee table. “Spill. And I mean everything. Well, you can spare the intimate sex details because that’s between you and hot stuff. But how did it happen?”

“I don’t know. He took me out to dinner. We were supposed to go over my annual review. We talked. I bolted from the restaurant when it got personal and he wanted to talk about the two of us.”

“Coward.”

“I know. But then he took me back to his place and gave me the option of coming in or not.”

“And you took option I-want-to-sleep-with-you.”

“I don’t know that I consciously took that option, but I knew the two of us had to talk and clear the air.”

“Bet you didn’t do much talking, did you?”

She laid her head in her hands. “Not particularly.”

Calliope clapped her hands together. “Well, it’s about time. You should have jumped Brody’s bones years ago.”

She lifted her head. “No, I shouldn’t have done it at all. This only made things worse.”

“Yeah? How so?”

“We work together. You know how entrenched I am with his family. When things end between us—and they will, because you know how he is—I’ll lose my job and my connection to his family.”

“Oh, aren’t you Miss Negative today? What if things don’t end badly, or God forbid you think positively, what if they don’t end at all? What if you two end up together, like forever and ever?”

Tori snorted out a laugh. “Brody doesn’t do forever and ever. He doesn’t even do two weeks.”

“Brody’s grown up now. He’s not the same guy he was before.”

“Before what?”

Calliope gave her a smug smile. “Before you, honey.”

She didn’t want to think positively. She didn’t want to hope that things would work out between her and Brody, because the crushing fall would be unbearable.

“We just had a weekend, Calliope. Nothing more.”

“And then he kissed you in the office this morning. In front of his brothers, no less.”

“You know about that?”

“I’m married to one of said brothers, you know. You think he wouldn’t tell me?”

“Okay, right. Forgot about that.”

Calliope laughed. “Wyatt called me from the truck with one of those ‘You’re not gonna believe this shit’ kind of phone calls. I figured it would be a jobsite thing, and nearly fell off my chair when he told me Brody planted a hot one on you right in front of Wyatt and Ethan. What was your reaction when he did that?”

“Honestly? I was so focused on Brody kissing me, it was like no one else was in the room. I didn’t even think about it until after.”

Calliope gave her a nod and a smug smile. “Oh, you’re in deep.”

“I know.” It was already too late to guard her heart against the break. “And I don’t think I can handle it.”

Calliope came over to her and shoved herself into the chair next to Tori. “You can handle this. Love is scary business, Tori, but it’s worth fighting for. I think you and Brody could have something special.”

Tori looked at her. “I’m scared.”

“I know you are. And I know you think you have a lot to lose, but at some point you have to either close yourself off to him, or throw yourself headlong into this and trust Brody not to hurt you.”

She shuddered at the thought. Could she do that? Could she trust him, given his past track record with women?

It was a huge leap of faith.

She didn’t know what to do.

Calliope’s pocket buzzed. She shifted. “Hang on a sec.” She looked at her phone and then at Tori. “Oh, it’s Brody’s mom.”

“Hey, Mom...” She looked at Tori. “Really? That sounds fun. I’m actually at Tori’s right now and I know she’d love to help.”

Tori’s eyes widened and she shook her head.

Calliope grinned. “Yes, tomorrow night is perfect. We’ll be there. Love you.”

She hung up and Tori asked, “What did you just volunteer me for?”

“Mom wants to have a baby shower for Riley since she’s epically pregnant. She wants us to help her with the planning and execution.”

“Oh.” It warmed Tori’s heart to be asked to help. “Sure, I’ll be happy to do that.”

“Great. We’re going over tomorrow night to help Mom with the planning.” Calliope climbed out of the chair. “I need to go home and fix dinner.”

She led Calliope to the door. “Thanks for coming over and beating me up about Brody.”

Calliope hugged her. “It’s for your own good.” She grabbed her arms. “Trust in yourself, Tori. And in Brody. I don’t think he’ll let you down.”

She nodded and closed the door after Calliope left. She fixed dinner, took a hot, relaxing bath, then climbed into her pajamas and into bed. She hadn’t had much sleep over the weekend and she was beat. Not that she was complaining.

As she stared up at the ceiling, she realized she ached for Brody. He was out of town the next three days on a job. She wondered if he would have asked her out tonight if he’d been home.

Probably not. They’d spent three nights together, which likely exceeded his spend-time-with-a-woman rules anyway.

But then there’d been that kiss this morning, which had blown her away.

She sat up and punched her pillow into submission, suddenly not as tired as she’d thought. She rolled over and stared out the window, hoping the passing clouds would lull her into sleep.

When the phone rang, she startled. It was only nine o’clock, though. She grabbed the phone, her stomach doing a mad leap when she saw Brody’s name come up on the display.

“Hey,” she said as she punched the button.

“Hey, yourself. What are you doing?”

“Lying in bed, actually.”

“Oh. Were you asleep?”

“No. I was tired earlier so I went to bed, but now I can’t sleep.”

He laughed. “I guess we didn’t get much sleep the past few nights, did we?”

Her toes curled just thinking about it. “No, we didn’t.” She shifted onto her back. “What are you doing?”

“Going over some paperwork for tomorrow’s build. Boring stuff. My mind was wandering and I thought about you, so I wanted to give you a call to tell you I wish I was home. In bed. With you.”

If he kept talking to her like that she was going to have to throw open a window to let some icy cold air in. “I wish you were here, too. How did your day go today?”

He told her about the project, complained a bit about some delays, and made her laugh about a meeting he’d had with some of the other contractors. She realized he was sharing his day with her, which made her smile, especially when he asked her how her day had been.

“Has your phone been blowing up with people asking about the two of us?” he asked.

“Sort of. Calliope stalked my door as soon as I came home from work.”

“Figured Wyatt would blab to her.”

“Also, I’m going to your mom’s tomorrow night. She asked me to help plan Riley’s baby shower.”

“That’ll be fun for you. I guess.”

She laughed. “I’m looking forward to it. Girl stuff, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. Well, I’ll let you get some sleep. I’m about to hit it, too. I’ve got an early morning.”

“Okay.”

They both went silent.

“Brody?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for calling.”

“You’re welcome.”

Another silence.

“Tori?”

“Yes?”

“I missed you today.”

She sucked in a deep breath, her heart tightening. “I missed you too.”

“Night.”

“Good night.”

She clicked the phone off and laid it on her nightstand, then curled under her covers, wishing she was in Brody’s bed right now so she could inhale his scent.

God, she had it bad.

She was deeply in love with Brody and this was going to wreck her completely.

Chapter Ten

The past few weeks had been spent in a whirlwind of work, prepping for the Christmas party, and nights spent with Brody. The best part of those few weeks had been the time Tori had spent with Brody.

Now she looked forward to days at the office, because he’d make time for the two of them to have lunch together. And when he was in town, they’d go out to a movie or to dinner.

It was like they were dating. A real couple. She was having a hard time getting used to him actually being fully in a relationship, expecting the other shoe to drop any moment and for him to say that he was tired of her. But that hadn’t happened yet.

And it was probably a good thing she stayed busy with other things, like Riley’s baby shower. The house was decorated in the most adorable shade of baby blues to welcome the new Kent baby into the family.

It had only taken a couple weeks to plan the shower, and Tori was convinced that nearly everyone in town had RSVP’d saying they were coming.

Okay, maybe not everyone in town, but Tori was glad when Calliope suggested they have the shower at her and Wyatt’s house instead of at Stacy’s, because Calliope’s house was much bigger, affording them the opportunity to broaden the guest list.

And it was much less stress on Stacy, though she was throwing herself into the new grandchild bit with as much enthusiasm as any grandmother-to-be. And with Ethan’s eight-year-old daughter Zoey assisting Stacy, Tori and Calliope, it was a joy to behold the finished product.

Zoey proudly sported her
I’m The Big Sister
T-shirt today, which of course was a baby blue shirt.

“Hey, Zoey, can you come here a second? I need your help.”

“Sure! What can I do?”

“Hold the end of this paper so I can hang it above the fireplace.”

Zoey carefully climbed on the stepladder, with her daddy’s ever-present help, and held the sign they’d had made that said Welcome Baby Boy Kent.

“Put the tape on that end.”

Ethan helped her, but Zoey grinned when she saw it up there. “That’s for our baby,” she said to Ethan.

He kissed the top of Zoey’s head. “It sure is.”

Riley waddled into the room. “Ugh. How can my ankles be swollen in December?”

“You should sit down, Mommy,” Zoey said. “You look like you’re about to bust a giant alien out of your belly.”

Riley snorted out a laugh. “You’re right, Zoey.” She carefully eased herself into a comfortable chair in the living room. “Come sit with me and we’ll read a book before the guests start to arrive.”

While Zoey ran to her backpack to get a book, Tori sat next to her. “How can you be thirty-seven weeks pregnant and still look so gorgeous?”

Riley took her hand. “Ethan paid you to say that, didn’t he?”

She laughed. “He did not. It’s true. Your hair is luscious and beautiful and you still have a great body.”

“Minus the huge stomach.”

“Tori’s right,” Ethan said, grabbing a seat on the other side of her. He laid a hand on her stomach. “You’re beautiful.”

“He tells me this every day. God, I love this man.”

Zoey returned with a book, so Tori excused herself and let the family have a few minutes of quiet time together before the madness. As she shifted away, she turned and admired the love they had for each other.

“I’m so happy for them,” Stacy said from behind her. She put her arms around Tori. “They’ve worked so hard for their happiness.”

She wrapped her arms around Stacy’s. “I know. It warms my heart to see them become a family, to know they’re adding a baby.” She turned around. “You can just feel the love pour from them. Sappy, I know.”

Stacy’s eyes filled with tears. She grabbed Tori’s hand and pulled her into the kitchen. “It’s not sappy at all. I love seeing my children happy and fulfilled, and Riley has always been like one of my own. Just like you.”

Tori took a deep breath. “Thank you, Stacy.”

“Now sit. Let’s have a glass of wine together before the craziness ensues.”

Stacy poured a glass for each of them. Tori lifted hers. “To Ethan, Riley, Zoey, and as-yet-unnamed baby boy Kent.”

Stacy raised her glass. “Salute!”

Tori took a sip. “Good wine.”

“It is good. I put Brody in charge of choosing the wine.”

Tori arched a brow. “Really? I had no idea he even knew anything about wine.”

“Well, you two are still learning about each other now that you’re dating, aren’t you?”

Uh-oh. “I...guess so.”

Stacy patted her hand. “Relax. I’m not going to meddle. Much.” She smiled behind the rim of the glass.”

Tori didn’t know what to say to that. “Stacy, I—”

“Is my mother giving you the third degree?”

Thank God for Brody’s timely arrival, because she would have had no idea how to talk about Brody with his mother.

“I was not,” Stacy said, giving Brody a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

He leaned against the counter. “Tell me again what I’m doing at a baby shower?”

“You were invited,” Stacy said. “Riley wanted a couples shower. And since you and Tori are now a couple...”

“I’m sure I heard Wyatt calling me,” Brody said, winking at Tori before he dashed out of the room.

“Coward,” Stacy said. “I’ll corner you yet today.”

Tori laughed. “I don’t think he’s comfortable yet thinking about the two of us together.”

“Well, the only thing I’m going to say about it is that it’s about time.”

“A lot of people seem to be saying that.”

“And you aren’t?”

She shrugged. “I’m just...taking it day by day.”

“Look, Tori. I have no rose-colored glasses on when it comes to my son. I know all about his notorious reputation with women.”

Good lord. She did not want to have this conversation. She prayed Calliope would come in soon. “Uh, reputation?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I know what a womanizer he’s been in the past. But I also know he would never intentionally hurt you. There are too many people in this family who care about you. I think he’s changed, Tori.”

“He and I are getting along great.” So far.

“Good. And I’m sure it’ll stay that way. He might not have always been the best when it comes to relationships, but he’s not stupid. He knows a great thing when he sees it. And you’re the best thing to happen to him in a long time, Tori.”

Her eyes stung as tears welled up. “Thank you, Stacy. I’m glad you think so.”

“Aww, come here, honey. “ Stacy folded her into her arms and hugged her tight. “I know you had a crappy family. You know no matter what happens, we’ll always be here for you.”

She squeezed Stacy and hoped what she said was true, because losing Brody would be devastating enough. Losing the whole Kent family would destroy her.

* * *

Baby showers were okay, if you liked blue shirts and blue outfits and blue hats and blue booties and blue everything and women oooh-ing and aaah-ing for an hour as every package was opened.

Thank God for beer or Brody would have never survived this. But Tori seemed to enjoy the present-opening part, and even his brothers had gotten into it, though he had no idea why Wyatt seemed so interested.

He smirked when Riley and Ethan opened his gift, a miniature construction bench with wooden hammer, wrench and the like.

“Oh, Brody, this is awesome,” Riley said. She patted her belly. “My little construction worker, just like his daddy.”

“Yeah, should be fun when he’s bangin’ on it while you’re trying to sleep.”

“Gee, thanks, Brody,” Ethan said.

“You’re welcome, bro.”

Tori nudged him. “Such a cute gift.”

“I did it to annoy my brother.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s adorable.”

“You think every gift is adorable.” But he grasped her hand and squeezed it, and she laid her head on his shoulder while the rest of the gifts were opened.

After that there was food, which he had to admit was his favorite part. He stuffed himself, then went into the kitchen to toss his plate.

“Hey,” his mom said, laying her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around him.

His family was demonstrative, and rampant huggers. He kind of liked that about them, so he held her close. “Good party, Mom.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” She tilted her head back. “Riley and Ethan seem to be having a great time and they received some lovely gifts.”

“Yeah, if you like that baby stuff.”

“Oh, you.” She pushed at him and he let her go. “Maybe it’s time you started thinking about that baby stuff.”

“I don’t have the right equipment, Mom.”

She rolled her eyes and climbed up to sit on a stool at the center island to sip her wine while he grabbed another beer out of the fridge.

“You know what I’m talking about. A wife. A family of your own.”

“Don’t you have your hands full with the new grandson on the way?”

“I have enough love in my heart for a house full of grandchildren. And you’re dodging the inevitable conversation.”

He took a long swallow of beer. “What conversation is that?”

“You and Tori.”

“What about me and Tori?”

“Are you serious about her?”

“I don’t know. Things are progressing.”

His mom took a sip of wine, then laid her glass down. “Brody, you know I love you like you’re my own son.”

“Ha, ha, Mom.”

She winked at him. “Seriously, I love Tori like she’s family, too. And I don’t want her to get hurt.”

“But it’s okay if I do?”

She frowned. “You think she’s going to hurt you?”

“I don’t know.” He looked around. They were alone in the kitchen. “I’m not used to relationships.”

“Obviously, since you’ve been manwhoring your way through nearly every woman in town since you were seventeen.”

“Jesus, Mom.”

“It’s the truth, isn’t it? I don’t live under a rock, you know. You’ve never had a steady relationship with a woman.”

“I’ve been busy with the company.”

“That’s an excuse to avoid commitment.”

“And you watch too much Dr. Phil.”

“Actually, I’m into Dr. Oz now, but that’s beside the point. You might want to blow me off as not knowing what I’m talking about, but I’ve been married to your father for thirty-seven years. And we’ve had our rough patches. He’s hurt me and I’ve hurt him, but we have a strength in our love that’s binded us.”

Brody sucked in a breath. He knew the reason he and his brothers were solid was because of his parents, the upbringing they had. “I know love and marriage isn’t easy. Except for you and Dad, of course.”

His mom laughed. “Before your dad and I met and fell in love, I had my heart broken a few times by guys who couldn’t commit, and despite me being deliriously happy with your father, I know the pain of having my heart broken. It’s a pain you don’t ever forget, so don’t stand here and insult me by insinuating that I don’t have personal experience in matters of love and heartbreak.”

He’d never had this kind of conversation with his mother. “Okay. I’m sorry, Mom.”

She scooted off the stool and came over to him and laid her hand in his. “I love you. Above all, I will always love you, no matter what. But I love Tori, too, and that girl has been through hell and back in her life. She looks at your father and I as family. She looks at Ethan and Wyatt as her brothers. But she has never once looked at you as family.”

“No?”

“No. That girl has been in love with you since she was a teenager. Open your eyes, Brody, and be careful not to hurt her. Or if you realize she’s not the one for you and you know you’re going to hurt her, then let her down gently, and don’t alienate her from the family she loves and who love her.”

Fuck
. “Yeah. Okay. I understand.”

“Good. Then I’ll butt out from now on. I love you, son.” She reached up, grabbed his head and pulled him down for a kiss on his cheek. “I need to go ogle the cute baby gifts and take a few hundred more pictures.”

After she left the kitchen, he downed the rest of his beer and grabbed another.

Talk about a Come to Jesus meeting. His mother had read him the riot act and had done it in her most gentle, sweetest voice, just like she always had done when they were kids. She’d never had to raise her voice to them. Calm reason had them dropping their chins to their chests and confessing their sins before they knew what was up.

Now he had to figure out what the hell he was going to do about what she’d told him.

It was one thing to have fun with Tori, to have a relationship with her because it wasn’t complicated, and because it was what the two of them wanted.

It was another thing entirely to have the entire town and his family eagle-eyeing his every move.

“There you are.”

He turned around as Tori entered the kitchen.

“I wondered where you’d disappeared to. Too much baby blue for you?” she asked with a grin.

“Yeah. Way heavy on baby land out there.”

She laughed. “I think they’re set for Baby Boy Kent’s first couple years after that shower.”

“It seems that way.”

She tucked herself under his arm. “Things are wrapping up out there if you want to make your escape.”

That was the nice thing about Tori. She always gave him an out and wasn’t the clingy type. “Are you hanging here for a while?”

She nodded. “I’ll help clean up the disaster after everyone leaves. I don’t want to leave that for your mom or Calliope to deal with.”

And she was generous, always thinking of others before herself. “Then I’ll stay and help, too.”

“Are you sure? We can handle it.”

He bent and brushed his lips across hers, loving the way she yielded against him.

Maybe it was time he stopped thinking and worrying about what other people thought and focused only on what he felt. “If you can handle it, then so can I. Later, you and I can make our escape.”

Her eyes sparkled with promise. “I love the sound of that.”

* * *

Exhausted and giddy from the baby shower, Tori was more than a little thrilled when Brody had asked her to follow him to his place after.

He’d spent the evening looking like a miserable cornered deer. She knew it wouldn’t be his kind of venue, but he’d been a trooper about it. She supposed that’s what family did for each other, at least family that cared about each other, another reason she loved all the Kents. They stood up for each other and by each other, even during the uncomfortable events. Even Brody’s dad had showed up and dutifully showed enthusiasm over every baby item that had been unveiled.