Page 7 of Christmas Replay
I swung open the door and gave her a wave so she’d know she was at the right place. While my house and yard were lit up and stars twinkled in the clear sky overhead, overall it was dark around here. As the car shut off, I hurried outside.
“Hi.” She looked a little shy and unsure.
“Hi. I’m glad you found it okay. Any trouble?” I took her bag when she opened the car’s back door.
“No, between the GPS and your directions, it was pretty easy.” She leaned into the car and my eyes went immediately to her jeans-clad ass. I quickly averted my gaze when she emerged with her purse and a square container. “I made cookies yesterday, so I figured I’d bring them along.”
“Yum. I love cookies.Allcookies.”
“You don’t look like it. I mean…” She made a chagrined sound as her cheeks pinkened.
“Thank you.” I reached for her hand as we headed for the house. “You don’t look like you love all the cookies either.”
“Well, that’s only because I work my ass off running back and forth all day at the coffee shop. And I have a lucky metabolism my grandma always assured me will go away.”
I shut the door behind us and set down the suitcase then reached to help her off with her coat. “Will she be missing you for Christmas?”
I hadn’t thought that she might have plans with family. Last year, she’d said she’d intended to curl up in a chair and read.
“No. She passed two years ago. It was just her and me—oh gosh, I shouldn’t tell you that. I meant to say, I have ahugefamily that will definitely hunt you down if you’re a serial killer, all of them in the special forces. They know things,” she ended on an ominous whisper.
“I’m sorry about your grandma,” I said after hanging up her coat. Taking her hand, I brought her farther into the house, so we weren’t lingering in the entryway. “And thanks for the heads up on your family. I’ll watch my back, but I’ll repeat I’mnota serial killer.”
“Sure, sure. Well, I’m a black belt, too.”
Something told me to explore that. Call it lawyerly instinct. “Karate? Judo? Tae kwon do?”
“Smartassery, actually. It’s a difficult level to achieve.”
My laugh burst forth, and I knew I was going to fall deep and hard for this woman. I hugged her to my side and kissed her temple. “Are you hungry? We didn’t share a sandwich this year.”
“I could eat. I snuck a couple cookies on the way, but they’re not exactly holding me over. That thing about oatmeal filling you up…total lie.”
“I think you’d have to eat a lot of cookies to get enough oatmeal for that.”
She just stared at me for a long moment.
“Thereweretwo containers,” she deadpanned.
“Oh, well, okay. We need to hunt down all those liars then. Maybe your special forces family will help. What are they? SEALs, rangers…”
“SEALs, of course, but I’m pretty sure they’re in on the oatmeal lie. So what are we eating?” She leaned against the kitchen island while I went to the fridge, and she glanced around. A few years ago, my parents had invested a bunch in opening up this floor, creating an open-concept of the kitchen, living room and dining room. Their designer had done a great job because, while it was open, it also remained three distinct spaces.
“Oatmeal,” I answered, matching her deadpan while I pulled out the casserole that had been warming in the oven. She peered over as I pulled the foil off the cheesy broccoli and chicken. I hoped she wasn’t anti-vegetable.
“That looks delicious. I never considered putting broccoli in my oatmeal. Inventive, Cliff.”
I winked quickly at her. “I always keep them on their toes at work. Always new ideas.”
Somehow, though, I had a feeling it would be Alissa keeping me on my toes. It was something I looked forward to experiencing for a long, long time.
Five
Alissa
Why was the banter between Cliff and me so easy? It seemed as if we’d been friends forever instead of being practically strangers.
After we’d eaten, he showed me to my room so I could put my bags down, then I’d gotten a quick tour of the rest of the house.
