Page 76 of Baby It's Cold Outside

“Dan,” Wes said, trying to soothe his friend. “Wherever she is, she can take care of herself.”

“You don’t know the epically awful year she’s just had,” Dan said with a sarcastic huff.

Wes’s lips quirked wryly. “She told me a little about it.” And for a moment he was lost in the memories of a tipsy Evie on the plane, listing all the ways her life had gone wrong. Yet, despite it all, her sense of humor and her quirky outlook on life had never faltered, impressing Wes with her fierce determination. Even if her goal was something as simple as seduction…

The concern on Dan’s face had Wes pushing the thoughts aside to send Dan a reassuring smile. “She’s stronger than you think.” Wes let out a small laugh. “She’s stronger than even she thinks.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Wes said, shifting his eyes to the massive living room adorned in wreaths and lights and shimmering silver candelabras. “I’m sure she’ll show up soon.”

Of course, he couldn’t be sure of anything.

Like when she would show up. Or how the reunion would unfold.

When Wes had arrived at the Burling home, all decked out in holiday decorations, he immediately read the tension in Howard Burling’s shoulders and the worry lines framing Melinda Burling’s eyes. Evie’s parents were obviously on edge. One thing was abundantly clear: this day wasn’t going to be awkward only for Evie.

Dan let out small sigh. “Well, all I know is that Mom and Dad are grateful you took her under your wing yesterday,” he said. Which isn’t exactly how Wes would describe how the whole thing played out, but he kept his mouth closed. “There is no one they trust more.”

T

oo bad Wes didn’t deserve the faith. Because he was pretty sure taking Evie under his wing wouldn’t include hiking her onto a bar counter and having his wicked way with her. Several times, in fact. Wes’s gut did a slow barrel roll, and he struggled to keep the guilt from his face as Dan went on.

“You know how much my mother loves you, so I have to warn you…”

Dan shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

Wes narrowed his eyes warily. “Warn me about what?”

“Mom mentioned trying to set the two of you up.” Dan let out a sharp bark of laughter. “I told her it would be a complete waste of time.”

Wes covered a cough with his hand. “How do you figure that?” he said in a conversational tone, though his blood was picking up speed in his veins.

Dan’s eyebrows sought to become one with the roof. “You’re kidding, right?”

“People said Sara and I were perfect for each other,” Wes said, and his gaze drifted across the room. No need for him to elaborate on how that had worked out.

Months had passed after his divorce before he’d finally realized that perfect on paper didn’t necessarily translate into perfect in real life. And while he and Evie might not be an obvious match, even he had to admit that somehow they just…worked. After his father’s embezzlement scam, Wes had buried a part of himself, a wildness that Evie coaxed out of hiding. She’d seen what no one else had. As if she knew how important the reckless side was in making him feel whole.

Dan tipped his head curiously. “So what are you trying to say, Wes?”

Wes heard Dan’s parents heading back toward the living room, their voices drifting up the hall. He couldn’t stomach the question in Dan’s eyes or the overt suggestions Evie’s mother would make about him and Evie. Not in front of Dan, the friend who was beginning to see right through his facade.

His cellular rang, and Wes looked at the incoming number. “It’s the office,” he said as he stood. “I’ll take this in the kitchen.”

…

Palms damp, surprising given the chill, Evie gripped the steering wheel of her budget rental car, moving slowly through traffic in the post-blizzard cleanup. After hours of driving aimlessly, she’d finally worked up the wherewithal to head for her parents’ house. She hated returning this way—in need. Her life a royal mess. And every mile closer to her childhood home ratcheted up the tension in her body.

She longed to be back in bed with Wes, warm and secure, wrapped in his arms.

But when the sun had peeked through the heavy hotel curtain, reality had hit. And the woman who had boldly seduced Wes Campbell and then turned to total putty in his powerful hands, that woman had studied the handsome, sleeping form, realizing she had made her homecoming that much more complicated.

Way to go, Evie.

Grabbing her bags and sneaking out of the penthouse had felt cowardly. But how did a woman behave after relentlessly seducing a guy who’d resisted until the bitter end? Granted, when he’d given in to her efforts, his overdeveloped sense of honor finally collapsing like a soggy house of cards, he’d thrown in the towel with a heart-stopping force. Unleashing a Wes she’d hardly recognized. Yet she sensed the man who’d emerged was as honest a glimpse as the one who’d told her not to drink too much and then had kept watch over her sleeping body.

Her heart clenched at the memories.

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