Page 4 of Everything Christmas

Enough about him.

“So, Mrs. Pittinger, do you know anything about bulbs?”

Distracting the woman worked because she went off on an hour-long trivia-filled tangent about gardening. Merry was dirty, sweaty, and her hair had frizzed to twice its volume by the time she finished. In dire need of a shower and seeing to her growling stomach, which loudly protested that it was well past lunchtime, she packed up her plastic caddy and gathered her knee cushion. When a shadow crossed over, she squinted up at the tall figure blocking the sun.

“Are you wearing sunscreen?”

“Pardon me?”

“I could tell you were pink from across the street. Redheads have a tendency to burn.”

Didn’t the man know how to say hello? Twice now, he’d approached and started rifling questions at her.

With a tight smile, she nodded. “I applied SPF 30 before coming out this morning. Thank you for your concern.”

“I’m sorry for the disturbance this morning. Ashley wasn’t happy with me.”

Merry put her hand to her forehead, using it like a visor against the sun. With the light shining behind him, his face was in shadow and she couldn’t make out his features. “That’s a bit of an understatement, don’t you think? She was talking about lopping off body parts. That’s more than unhappy; that’s furious in my book. What did you do, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“She was expecting more than I was willing to give. I told her up front I didn’t want a relationship, but evidently she didn’t hear me.”

Merry swallowed the caustic remark on the tip of her tongue. The man was a looker but clearly a player. Heading for her garage to put everything away, she called over her shoulder, “I’m going for lemonade. Want a glass?”

It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust from bright sunshine to the dimness of her garage. She was stowing everything on her gardening shelf when a deep voice said from behind her, “I’d love a glass.”

Merry spun with a hand to her racing heart. “Sheesh, you startled me. You move quietly for a big guy.”

“I’m sorry. I was just walking normally.”

She shrugged it off and eyed him up and down. Dressed for a run again, this time his chest and abs were covered, which was good for her peace of mind. Tall, dark, and handsome with tanned skin and tons of muscle was every girl’s fantasy man. Maybe having Don Juan in her condo wasn’t a good idea.

“You could stop after your run, if you’d rather.”

“No, hydrating before is a good thing, especially in this heat.”

“Okay, come on in.”

Leading the way into her back hall and beyond to her kitchen, she caught sight of herself in her mirrored china cabinet. Yikes! She shook herself mentally. He was just being friendly. What did he care if she was dirty and sweaty?

Heading for the sink, she scrubbed her hands and nails thoroughly then grabbed two tall glasses, filling them with ice. After she poured, she handed him his glass and pointed to her breakfast bar. “Want to sit?”

“Thanks.” He moved to one of the two stools, but before sitting, he raised the glass and took a deep sip. Merry had the pleasure of watching the muscles work in his throat as he swallowed.

“Mm, this good. It’s fresh, isn’t it?”

Even though she knew he was a player, he was seriously hot and did things to her, especially her brain. “Yeah,” she drawled, her thought processes sluggish in his presence as usual. “I, uh, can’t stand the fake powdery stuff.”

“Good for me,” he replied, smiling broadly before he downed almost all of it.

“More?” she asked.

“I better not. Hydrated is good, but waterlogged and running rarely end well.”

Not being a runner, she didn’t know but could imagine. Merry sat on the stool beside him and took a normal-size sip. She also tried to make small talk. But what could they possibly have in common?

“So, is my condo laid out like yours?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been in here.” He looked around, assessed her kitchen before standing and moving to the entryway of her living room. “You have three bedrooms, two baths, right?” At her nod, he moved back to her and sat down. “Me, too, although I turned one into a home gym. My living room is bigger, but not by much, and I have two-and-a-half baths. The kitchen is almost identical. Of course, mine doesn’t have the moving carton décor like yours.”

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