Page 43 of Welcome Home for Christmas
Chapter 11
Just don’t get attached, Allison told herself, sitting behind her desk the next morning. It was the Wednesday before Christmas. A traditionally busy week, and she’d managed to check off a lot on her to-do list despite the memories of last night’s great, earth-shattering, toe-curling sex with Troy.
Getting attached meant having her heart broken, she reminded herself. Been there, done that, didn’t want to do it again. She focused on the wish list for the children at Mercy’s Place. There was only one item she’d yet to find. Little Lucy wanted a special baby doll named Feed Me Betty. Allison hadn’t been able to find it anywhere; not even in the catchall toy store in Seaside.
She shoved the list into her purse and decided that since it was almost lunchtime she’d head out of the Veterans’ Center for a little toy shopping and a quick bite to eat. As she walked out into the parking lot, she froze. A certain tall, sexy Marine she was determinednotto get attached to was standing beside her car.
“What are you doing here?” she asked Troy.
He slid her that sexy grin that made tingles course through her body. He’d done a lot of things to her body last night, she remembered for the millionth time that morning. And she had liked the things he’d done. Every single touch. Every single kiss. Every bit of it.
“I came to see you. I wanted to see if you were hungry.”
She raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. “I’ve been famished all morning for some reason,” she said, feeling her cheeks heat.Hewas the reason she’d been famished. She’d had a workout last night that had her body aching in the best kind of way today.
“Can I take you out for a sandwich?” he asked.
For a long moment she stared at him. She wanted to say yes so badly that the only acceptable answer was no. Instead of saying no, though, she gave him an excuse. “First I have to do some toy shopping. Probably not your thing.” She looked at him, hoping despite herself that he’d disagree.
“My mother accuses me of being a big kid at heart,” he said. “I love toys.”
She nodded, disappointed and relieved at the same time. “Well, then I guess we could go together. You are Santa, after all.”
He opened the passenger side door to his truck, which was parked right next to her car, and tilted his head. “Hop in.”
It felt strangely intimate being in his truck with him. She could smell him in the air around her. The cologne and distinct smell of pine and cedar intertwined to make a scent that had her body buzzing. She couldn’t help but take a deep breath in.
“So about last night,” he began.
Her heart stuttered to a stop. “Last night?” she asked, feeling her throat immediately go dry. “I thought we already discussed that, and decided not to discuss it.” Because discussing had too many variables. And all of them led to disappointment. If he told her it’d been a mistake, that would hurt. If he told her it couldn’t happen again, that’d hurt, too. If he told her he wanted it to happen again, then eventually he’d pull away, and that might hurt the most.
“Youdecided we shouldn’t talk about it,” Troy said. “I think we should.”
Keeping her gaze straight ahead, she steeled herself for the conversation and nodded resolutely. “Okay. Shoot.”
“I liked last night,” he said. “A lot.”
Her skin flushed. She wanted to agree with him, but that would make her vulnerable. Disagreeing with him would be a lie. She’d liked last night, too. “We probably shouldn’t have done last night, though,” she said.
He glanced over, as one corner of his mouth kicked up. “And why is that?”
“Well, for the obvious reasons. We’re not a couple.”
“Enough of one for you to agree to have sex with me last night,” he pointed out. “You said you don’t have sex with guys you aren’t dating.”
Right. She’d made an exception because she’d wanted him so badly she could taste it. “Yes, that’s true. But our relationship is just a technicality. We’re only together until Saturday night after my family’s Christmas Eve party.”
He raised a finger. “So you admit that between now and Saturday night we are technically together,” he said. “There’s a loophole in our relationship. And I’m proposing that we explore that loophole.”
Allison swallowed. “Explore that loophole?” she asked.
Troy veered off onto a road that led out of Seaside.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To Paradise Point again,” he said. “My sister-in-law happens to own a toy store there. It carries everything. There’s not a doll that can’t be found in that place, I promise.”
“Really?” she asked, growing excited.
