SIX
ASHIVER WASHED DOWNher spine and she wrapped her arms around her waist. “Let’s go in the other room. It’s cold in here.”
She hurried into the living room and sat by the fire. The heat from the logs warmed her, but when Justin joined her on the floor, goose bumps trickled over her skin.
For the first few minutes, she played tag with his gaze. She didn’t want to stare into his intoxicating brown eyes or at his knee-buckling grin, but she couldn’t help herself. He was like an addiction.
Finally, he cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “Well, since there’s nothing to talk about, what do you think we should do to pass time?” He waggled his eyebrows.
Her heart jumped to her throat. She had to keep him occupied. She couldn’t have him trying to kiss her again. Glancing around the room, she searched for something to do, anything to keep her from looking at him. “Well, since it’s the end of January and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I wonder if we should see if your friend has any decorations for that holiday.”
She stood and rubbed her hands together. “Decorating always puts me in a good mood.” She glanced down at him. “What do you say?”
He lifted to his feet and stood very close in front of her. His eyes narrowed as they bore into hers, and her throat dried. Leaning toward her, he cupped her chin and his thumb gently stroked her skin.
Brooke lost her breath, but for the life of her, she couldn’t push his hand away. The strength just wasn’t there.
“I think,” he said softly, “you’re avoiding telling me about your past, which isn’t a good thing, especially for your soul. But if it will make you happy, I’ll snoop through Brad’s closets and see if there are any decorations.”
She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until he stepped away, then it came out in one big relieved gush. Flutters stirred within her stomach and she cursed her weakness – charming men. What was wrong with her? When would she learn she couldn’t trust men like that?
When he disappeared down the hallway, she moved to the disc player and opened the oak cabinet. It looked as if his friend liked country music. Stacks upon stacks of discs lined the shelves, and she touched each one as she read the artists. Finally, she found one she really liked.
She flipped open the case, set the disc in the player, and clicked the On/Off button. The country singer’s baritone voice rang through the quiet room. If Justin sang, she imagined he would sound this way, too.
Humming the familiar tune, she wandered to the window. It looked as if several more inches of snow had fallen since they’d arrived. Being up in the mountains, could they get snowed in? Would the snowplows make it this far to uncover the roads?
She shivered and ran her hands over her arms. Confinement with Justin would be torture. The next twenty-four hours were going to be hard, especially if he grinned at her in that charming way... and his warm chocolate eyes could melt a glacier.
Justin’s boots clomped on the wooden floor, and she turned away from the window. He came into the room carrying two boxes.
“Look what I’ve found.” His voice lifted with excitement.
She smiled and hurried over to take the top box. After setting it on the floor, she ripped off the duct tape. “Oh, Justin. There are tons of decorations. Some of these are Christmas, but I think if we pull out just the red, purple, and white decorations, that will look enough like Valentine’s Day. Don’t you think?”
He set down his box and slapped his hands against his thighs, brushing off dirt. “Let’s try it and see.” He glanced around the room. “What do you want me to do?”
She arched an eyebrow. “Have you ever decorated before?”
He shrugged. “I remember as a child that we used to decorate before Christmas, but since I’ve moved out, I don’t decorate any longer. My mother and her housekeeper still make the house decorative.”
“I’m sorry you don’t do that anymore. My parents always made it a family affair. We’d pop popcorn and heat apple cider. We even had a Christmas movie playing on the television while we decorated the tree. I looked forward to it every year.”
He knelt beside a box and removed a few items that were red and white. The frown marring his handsome face sent a pain shooting straight to her heart. Perhaps she shouldn’t have told him about her happy childhood Christmas traditions. Obviously, he didn’t have the kind of family upbringing she’d had.
She reached over and touched his hand. When his gaze bounced up and met hers, she smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll teach you how to decorate. There’s nothing to it.”
The corner of his mouth pulled into a grin and her heart melted.
Brooke spent the next hour showing Justin how to decorate. With her nightmarish past with Chuck forgotten, she actually felt like a normal person again. Justin didn’t look at her as if she’d committed murder, and he treated her like she was special.
Justin made her laugh more times than she could count, and the longer the evening progressed, the more relaxed he became around her. His arms grazed hers as they worked side-by-side, and his body brushed against her as they moved past each other. When he tickled her, she allowed his fingers to poke her.
