“Wanna talk about it?”
She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Just another fuckboy pretending to be a man.” Anger I had no business feeling flared to life inside me. The thought of someone hurting her made me murderous.
“What happened?” I did my best to keep my voice steady, but even I could hear the menace in my tone.
She waved me off. “It doesn’t matter. We weren’t serious, and I’m more annoyed than hurt.” A small wave of relief washed over me. Whatever it was, she would get over it.
Maybe by gettingunderme.
5
EMILY
I. Was. Pissed. The moment I saw the text from Shayla asking if the guy in the video was Josh, I wanted to hit something. Although his face was partially obscured by the woman kissing him, the tattoo snaking down the arm wrapped around her waist was unmistakable. So was the platinum blonde hair with peekaboo mermaid highlights that belonged to the woman he swore was “just a friend.”
The betrayal stung. I was starting to realize that this thing with Josh wasn’t going anywhere, but it still hurt knowing he was cheating on me. He’d bailed on our holiday gathering just so he could take another woman to the hockey game. That was supposed to beourthing. It was how we met, and now a place that was supposed to be special to us was tainted.
It was a stroke of luck that Shayla had been able to record the live feed from the jumbotron. She was there watching her husband, the Wraiths’s star forward Easton Walker, play. According to her message, Josh and hisfriendwere already making out when the kiss cam landed on them. She recognized his hairdo—not many men rocking a copper faux hawk—and immediately captured the evidence. A couple of his friends nudged him and pointed to where his deception was projectedto the entire audience, and he quickly buried his face in the woman’s neck to conceal his identity.
White hot rage burned through me at the memory. I knocked back the rest of the whiskey in my cup, relishing the burn that rushed down my throat and settled in my belly. I fought the urge to refill it, knowing that drinking too much would only lead to a migraine come morning. I wouldn’t let Josh’s actions cause me any more pain. He didn’t deserve any more of my time or energy. I was going to forget all about him.
That wouldn’t be hard with Donovan standing in front of me. He was a sight for sore eyes, even in his Santa suit and beard sitting askew and hanging halfway off his face. With the liquor coursing through my veins and loosening my limbs and inhibitions, I reached up to straighten it. He sucked in a sharp breath but didn’t pull away. Before my fingers could brush against the synthetic white strands, Delilah burst into the room.
“There you are,” she said breathlessly, then her gaze landed on my arm that was raised toward Donovan’s face. I dropped it immediately and took a step back. Her eyes bounced between us before settling on Donovan, concern etched across her face.
Delilah wasn’t just my cousin. She was also my best friend. We grew apart after she got pregnant with Charlie following an assault by her jealous ex-boyfriend, but we were thick as thieves as kids. She knew exactly how I felt about Donovan. She was the one who’d talked some sense into me when I wanted to ask him to take my V-card on prom night.
Delilah leaned back, peeking into the living room before returning her focus to us and clearing her throat. My face warmed from the whiskeyandembarrassment. “The kids, um, are ready to play Pin the Nose on the Reindeer and are asking for you.”
“I’ll be right there,” he promised.
“You might want to…” she trailed off as she motioned to her face.
“Oh,” he said, catching her drift, and straightened his beard. This looked bad. She probably thought we were making out in here. My cheeks flamed as he followed her out of the room, chancing one last glance over his shoulder before disappearing out of sight.
Once the childrenhad played their games and eaten their Christmas cookies, their parents carted them off to their cabins. Charlie hugged me goodnight before Vance and Delilah ushered her to her room. The cabin was a disaster, so I started straightening up. Vance and Delilah needed time to settle Charlie down and put her to bed after the exciting evening, and Ellie would probably need to feed again soon. I didn't want them to have to deal with the mess tonight, so I grabbed a trash bag and began collecting the discarded wrapping paper and bows.
“Need some help?” Donovan’s voice startled me, and I looked up to find him leaning against the doorjamb.
“Sure.”
He pushed off and made his way toward me, his stride easy and confident. His beard and hat discarded, he still wore the suit. Even in costume, he oozed sex appeal. I wanted to pull that red velvet off him and explore every inch of his golden skin with my hands. And my tongue.
A shiver ran through me as he took the bag from my hand and continued collecting the garbage. I straightened up the chairs and the pillows on the large sectional where everyone had sat and watched the kids enjoy the Christmas festivities. Collecting the cups the little ones had left on the table, I went tothe kitchen and poured the remaining hot cocoa down the drain. I heaved a deep breath and let it out slowly before returning to the living room. Seeing Donovan again was stirring up all the old emotions—and desires—I thought I’d successfully suppressed over the last couple years. I had to brace myself before seeing him again.
It did me no good.
Seeing his mussed hair and five o’clock shadow was like a punch in the gut. He was one of those men who only got better with age. He was so beautiful, it almost hurt. I wanted him in a way I’d never wanted anybody before, not even the man I’d lived with for two years before returning to Willow Brook Falls.
“I’d better get going,” he said when he noticed me watching him.Busted.He smiled sadly, like he wasn’t ready to leave. I wasn’t ready for him to leave either. “It was good seeing you, Emily.”
“You too.” My voice was low and tentative as I took a step toward him, wringing my hands. He didn’t back away when I approached. With trembling hands, I slid my arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. He stiffened for a moment, and I regretted my actions. But then he relaxed into my embrace and wrapped his arms around my waist. My body was flush against his, and I was certain he could feel my racing heart pounding against his chest.
“Take care,” he whispered and pressed a chaste kiss to the side of my head.
Swallowing thickly, I nodded as he released me and pulled the door open. A blast of frigid air pelted us in the face as snowflakes blew in furiously, landing on the floor. Wind whipped around us, sending a chill skittering over my skin. I wrapped my arms around myself to ward off the freezing temperature, but it didn’t help.
“Son of a bitch,” Donovan groused before shutting the door again, but not before I saw what caused him to curse. A thick blanket of snow covered the ground, and it was getting colder by the minute. A half foot of snow had fallen since dinner, and it didn’t look like it was slowing down anytime soon. We’d been having fun, and everyone was so distracted with the kids, nobody had noticed there was practically a blizzard happening outside. There was no way Donovan could drive in these conditions. These mountain roads would be treacherous in this weather, and the county wouldn’t touch them until morning, if we were lucky.
