Page 43 of Bad Boy Bachelor Christmas
“Good man.”
“I stopped things.”
“Bad man! Why?”
Sighing, I swirled my drink. “Because she’s not Veronica, Justin. Simple as that. And going any further than we did last night felt…” I trailed off and shook my head. I took a greedy sip of whiskey. “Wrong, somehow.”
The smart ass comment I expected never came. Instead, Justin nodded solemnly. “I want to say I understand, but I don’t think I ever can. She’s the first girl who’s turned your head since Veronica died. I can’t imagine what sort of turmoil that stirs up. But for what it’s worth, and coming from someone who knew Veronica just as long as you did, she wouldn’t want you to keep a good woman at arm’s length for her sake. She’d want you to fall into it. She’d kick your ass if she knew you were using her as an excuse to play it safe.”
I knew all these things. Veronica was—had been—the kind of woman to lead with her heart. That strength had inspired me and had been the thing that made me fall in love with her when I was in my early twenties and had a head full of starry dreams. I’d been in the process of being primed to take over the farm, and with her by my side, I’d felt invincible. We had run things together for a brief snapshot of time before fate intervened and turned the tables on us.
Fate. Such a wicked bitch.
“If you want this girl,” Justin said softly, “I think it’s time you let yourself go after something good. And Winter? She’s good to the tips of her toes.”
CHAPTER20
WINTER
Snow began falling outside the restaurant window as soon as Cami and I sat down. She’d insisted on taking me to this place, an apparent holy grail in town loved by all the locals. Based on how good it smelled and how busy it was, she’d made the right choice.
The ceiling was full of Christmas lights and glistening ornaments. The sight reminded me of being a kid and lying on my back under the Christmas tree, looking up at the lights and the baubles, feeling that swell of childlike excitement and wonder for the holiday season.
And the anticipation of Santa’s visit, of course.
Cami handed me a menu. “Okay. You can’t make a bad choice here. Everything is delicious—literally. What I usually like to do is order a bunch of appetizers to share, but we don’t have to do that. Look, see what speaks to you, but know it’s on the table. No matter what though, I’m getting cheese sticks.”
I laughed. “Okay, I won’t get between you and your fried cheese.”
“You’re a quick learner, Winter Dodson.”
After a diligent review of the menu, I opted to go Cami’s route, and we ordered four appetizers to share, which I suspected would be way too much food. We also ordered red wine, because why the heck not, and sipped on it while we talked about the open house this morning.
“Justin has a thing for you,” I said.
Cami gave her head a little shake. The shorter curls that framed her face danced above her eyebrows. “No, not really. He plays like he does, but he and I are more like brother and sister. Maple Hill is a small town. Everyone knows everyone. He used to date my older sister through high school and college, so I always looked up to him as this really cool older boy who would drive me to school sometimes and surprise me with toys and candy every now and then.”
“He and your sister didn’t work out?”
“She went to study in London and things fizzled out. They were kids when they started dating. In the end, they weren’t all that compatible once they got their footing in adulthood. She’s married now with kids of her own and he’s doing just fine, as you can see. You did him a serious favor staging the house, by the way. I can’t believe how good it looked.” She pumped her eyebrows. “I can’t wait for the party tomorrow night.”
“I don’t really know what to expect—or have anything to wear. All my clothes are business casual or loungewear.”
“Don’t worry, I have some connections. You’ll have a dress.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, or who said connections were, but I wanted to go to the party, and I wanted to show up looking the part. “Thank you.”
“I’ve got you, girl. You’re one of us now. It’s kind of how things work here. Once you’re in, you never get out. And the fact that you’ve defrosted North’s heart a couple of degrees? Well, it’s only a matter of time before everyone notices and starts begging you to stay.”
“Really?”
She gave me a knowing smile.
I fidgeted with my cutlery. “Actually, speaking of North, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t want to put you in a bad spot, so I totally understand if this is off the table, but… erm… things sort of heated up between us last night.”
Cami’s eyes widened. “Heated up? Girl, nothing is off the table except for vagueness. I need to know what ‘heated up’ means.”
I looked around, my cheeks burning, to make sure nobody could hear us. “Wealmosthad sex. Likealmostalmost. But right before things went that way, he pumped the brakes and said he couldn’t do it. We talked briefly this morning, and I think I know why he backed off, but still, he wants it and so do I, and I don’t really know what to do about it. I’m here for only a few more weeks. Do we just pretend there isn’t this giant elephant in the room? It’s really distracting.”
