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She handed him her plate and he set it on top of his. “Explain.”
Layton shook his head with a small smile and then went to gently lift the ice pack from her foot. “I’m tired of the game. First dates, the obligatory small talk, the uncertainty of the outcome...it’s all one colossal drag on my time. I’d rather spend it hiking or riding my bike than sitting across the table from someone I just met to try to make some kind of connection. I don’t know...just not into it right now.”
Alexis laughed. “Okay, so it seems I’m not the only one who’s been burned in the past.”
“Touché.”
“What was her name?”
“What was his?”
“Riker.”
Layton did a double take. “Riker?” he repeated with a fair amount of incredulity. “Well, there’s your problem right there. Anyone name Riker is bound to be trouble.”
She couldn’t argue that point. “He was hot.”
“So was she.”
Alexis laughed, strangely enjoying the way they both flirted around the edges of something personally painful without poking too hard for the other’s comfort. If she were being truthful, she was terribly curious about the woman who’d been stupid enough to break this man’s heart.
If she were smart, she’d keep everything surface level.
But then if she were smart, she wouldn’t be in this position anyway, so why start now?
5 (#ulink_e568515f-6101-548b-81fa-dd0de066a3a5)
THAT SASS WAS ADDICTIVE.
Alexis was a ball of contradictions. Hot and spirited and yet, beneath all that burning sex appeal was a girl who’d obviously been hurt enough to withdraw from anything or anyone who might be able to hurt her again.
He could understand Erik wanting to punch the last boyfriend’s lights out, because he was feeling a little punchy himself and he had no reason to.
But turnabout was fair play so he let loose with a little intel. “All right...you shared, so I’ll give you something in return. Her name was Julianne. Jules for short.”
Alexis snapped her fingers with a definitive shake of her head. “Yep. Gotta steer clear of anyone named Jules—immediate problem.”
“Is that so?”
“Absolutely. You should also avoid anyone named Tiffany or Brittany and if they spell their names with an i run like hell.”
“Good advice.” He nodded, adding for her benefit, “Conversely, any guy named after a Star Trek Next Gen character you should avoid like the plague. Born players. They’re all concerned with going ‘where no man has gone before.’”
Alexis broke into peals of laughter, prompting a grin of his own. She had a way about her that was unabashed and free, definitely different from most girls he met, and it was getting harder to remember why he was supposed to keep his distance.
“Any other advice you might want to impart from the other side of the curtain?” she asked playfully.
He made a show of thinking, but all he was really thinking was that he wanted to kiss her. Strands of dark hair escaped her low ponytail to curl around her jaw, but she made no move to fix it and he was glad. There was something about her devil-may-care attitude about her hair that he found refreshing. Jules had always been picture-perfect, or at least worked hard to appear so and it got old. Don’t touch my hair or don’t smudge my lipstick were familiar admonishments before the end had come crashing down around them. “How’s your ankle feeling?” he asked, redirecting his own thoughts to safer ground.
Alexis’s gaze dropped to her ankle and she nodded. “Better. The ice helped.”
“You should still stay off it,” he said, trying to stay focused. “Now...are we going to watch movies or what?”
“Is there a third option?”
“Such as?”
“Such as...hanging lights.”
“Come again?”
“Here’s the deal, I can’t sit here for hours on end and just zone out. I need to be doing something, and since I’m stuck home when I thought I’d be elsewhere, and since you’ve already shared that you don’t think it’s a good idea if we knock boots, that leads me to suggest that you help me hang lights...seeing as I’m laid up and all.” She paused for effect then added, “Or, I suppose we could stay indoors, cuddled up on the sofa...just you and me and no one else in the house...with total privacy to do whatever we wanted and no one would ever know...”
“You don’t play fair,” he groaned, his groin immediately jumping into the conversation, happy to join the fun, which was a terrible, bad thing in the way of trying to keep his hands where they belonged—off Alexis!
“I never said I played fair,” she said with a beguiling smile. “I play to win.”
Damn straight, she did. He had to respect that. His choices were: ignore his better judgment and allow Alexis to hop around outside hanging lights or keep her indoors and try to be a good guy and keep his hands to himself. Yeah, not much of a choice. He wasn’t a damn saint. He gave in with a sigh. “All right, you win this round. I suppose being outside doing something is better than staring temptation straight in the face with you cuddled up beside me. But on one condition...”
“Which is?” she asked warily.
“You sit your ass in a chair and let me do the work. The last thing I need is your brother asking why I let you hop around on an injured foot and you end up hurting yourself worse.”
She made a face. “You make me sound like an invalid. I’m fine. However, I concede to your demands. I will direct the labor and you will do the heavy lifting.”
He chuckled and grabbed the dishes. “So when is this decorating frenzy scheduled to begin?”
“Well, in the interest of not being outside when that storm hits, I’d say about five minutes after you put away the dishes and we get dressed. Sound good?”
Layton agreed, and she was actually ready to go a minute earlier than he was. He gave her a once-over ostensibly to gauge whether or not she was dressed warmly enough, but actually, his gaze was far from simply friendly. Hot damn. That girl could melt snow. White fuzzy boots, white fur-lined jacket and white snow pants, she looked like a snow bunny from an upscale ski resort who didn’t plan to actually do any skiing but would look plenty cute just sitting in the lodge sipping hot chocolate. “Trying to blend in with the snow?” he teased, needing desperately to treat her like a little sister so he stopped seeing her as a full-fledged woman with hips and curves. “I’m not sure you have enough white.”
She fake scowled. “Pardon me if I don’t take fashion tips from a man who thinks pajama pants are acceptable for going out in public.”
“Correction—lounge pants. Not pajamas,” he said, adding with a wink because he couldn’t help himself. “As you’ve already discovered, I sleep in the nude. No need for pajamas.”
Her cheeks flared adorably and he had to admit it did nice things to his ego. Knock it off, Romeo. Erik’s little sister, remember? Layton reined in his giddy libido with effort. “Okay, show me where the lights are and let’s get this started.” If Alexis sensed the fact that he was struggling with the need to be the good guy, she didn’t let on and he was thankful. He was quickly becoming a powder keg and she was the match. Just how would Erik react if he found out that the guy he’d left his injured little sister with had ended up boning her like some jerk-off who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants for one damn day. Yeah, Layton knew exactly how he’d react—badly.
And with good reason.
Layton hefted the box of lights from the garage and followed Alexis’s instructions, bringing three big boxes from their storage spot to the front porch.
“I’ll test the strands, you hang,” she said cheerfully, her breath pluming in front of her as her eyes sparkled. “I’m so glad I’m getting a chance to hang these a bit earlier than expected. Typically, I like the lights to go up right after Thanksgiving, but with midterms and a brutal professor who seems to hate me, I’ve been knee-deep in school stuff.”
“So master’s degree...that’s pretty impressive.”
She grinned broadly. “My dad calls me the perpetual student. He swears my decision to get my master’s was to get out of finding a real job.”
“Was it?”
Alexis gasped with mock outrage. “Of course not. I just want to land at the top of the food chain, and the only way to do that is with a master’s degree.”
“You want to be the boss?”
She looked wistful and aggressive at the same time as she nodded. “Hell yes. I don’t know if you could tell, but I’m not the type of person who takes orders very well. I’m much better at giving than following them.”
Why did he just think of her giving orders in bed? And why the hell did he find that idea hot as hell? Get your head in the game and focus, Layton! Thoughts like that are gonna land your ass in a pan of boiling water.
“The world takes all sorts,” he said with a forced grin, watching as she tested the first strand. Satisfied when all the lights twinkled and blinked, she handed the strand off to him and moved onto the next. He took the light hooks and began lining them along the porch rafters so he could hook the strand into each one. “Okay, so don’t take this the wrong way but you don’t seem the Suzy Homemaker type. What’s with the driving need to decorate for Christmas?”
“Christmas is my favorite holiday and always has been,” she answered with a small shrug. “There’s just something about the holiday that recharges my battery and restores my faith in humanity.”
“Christmas does that for you?” he asked incredulously. “That’s funny, all I see are a bunch of people trying to screw each other over for material stuff.”
“Sure, that happens, but what about the stories of people who go out of their way to help a stranger?”
“Yeah, I suppose that’s nice.”
“You suppose?”
“No, that didn’t come out right...it is nice. I guess I just don’t see enough of that. Christmas always seemed the greediest time of year. Really turned me off the holiday.”
“That’s a tragedy.”
He shrugged. “Nah, it’s just life. I like St. Patrick’s Day, if it means anything.”
“And why is that?” she asked.
“Because it’s a day sanctioned for drinking beer.” She rolled her eyes and he grinned, adding, “Can’t imagine a better holiday than that.” Layton held the strand, inspecting it for loose wires of any sort as a force of habit. “Actually, I’d be lying if I said that I don’t enjoy Christmas a little bit. I like the lights and the displays but I’ve seen too many house fires caused by Christmas trees that it’s hard to forget what’s left behind.”
Alexis sobered, pausing in her strand detail. “That must suck.”
“It does. I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but Christmastime...can be kind of scary for public service. Do you realize that suicides and domestic violence go up during the holidays?”
“You’re a bowl of sunshine,” she said, handing him the strand. “You should really think of going into inspirational speaking.”
“Sorry. Occupational hazard, I guess.”
“You’re forgiven, but I don’t care what you say, nothing can dim my holiday spirit. I love the holiday and I’m determined to enjoy every last moment.”
Layton had to respect her determination to get her Christmas on, no matter the obstacles.
“One question though.”
“Yeah?”
“Why are you decorating your brother’s place? Is he as nutty about the holidays as you are?”
“Gracious no. Erik is about as observant as a lawn gnome. He’s not much into the whole decorating thing, which is why he lets me do what I want. Someday I’ll have my own place and I’ll be able to stop commandeering my brother’s place.”
“Heaven help the man you settle down with. I can only imagine what your house is going to look like.”
“It’s going to be fabulous and whoever I end up with will be the luckiest guy in the world because I make the world’s most insanely delicious gingerbread-men cookies and I give a pretty hot blow job.”
Layton stumbled back, missing the step and going down hard on his ass in the snow.
“Are you all right?” she asked, barely holding back her laughter.
“I’m fine,” he grumbled, climbing to his feet and wiping the loose snow from his pants. “You shouldn’t say things like that to a man you barely know.”
Alexis smiled with the innocence of an angel, but that impish twist at the corners of her lips ruined it in the most tantalizing way.
“Just stating facts.” She held out the next strand as if she hadn’t just rung his bell hard. “Better hurry, that storm is moving quick.”
“Are you the devil?” he muttered, mostly to himself, but she heard him loud and clear.
“Not the devil but quite possibly a fallen angel.”
A fallen angel with an agenda.
And he was running out of willpower to stay the course.
Heaven help him, what had he gotten himself into?
6 (#ulink_596ddb36-6f2e-573f-8c3a-15a569e48893)
ALEXIS KNEW THE minute the words came out of her mouth that she shouldn’t have said them. What was wrong with her? It was as if she were bound and determined to make the worst mistake of her life in record time.
“I’m sorry,” she said, quickly making amends. “I shouldn’t have said that. It was totally inappropriate. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. My brain is certainly not acting responsibly—not that that’s a big surprise given my track record, but I really am trying to change bad habits.”
His chuckle seemed forced, but what could she expect after she’d just let her potty mouth get the best of her. “Hey, it’s okay,” he reassured her. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. We’ve all made mistakes that we’re not proud of. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with being proud of a skill.”
She couldn’t help herself. “When you say things like that it makes me not sorry at all.”
A beat of charged silence flowed between them, filling the crisp air with heat. Layton shook his head. “We’re a pair to draw to, aren’t we?”
“As in, we both have the same problem recognizing what boundaries to pay attention to?”
“Exactly,” he agreed ruefully. “I know it’s wrong to look at my buddy’s little sister the way I’m looking at you now, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember why I was supposed to keep my distance.”
A delighted flush tickled her cheeks. “And if I wasn’t your buddy’s little sister?” she prompted.
He didn’t hesitate. “Then we sure as hell wouldn’t be hanging lights right now.”
What he didn’t say was plainly in his gaze. Her breath caught. “Maybe we could pretend that I’m not your buddy’s little sister. Just for today.”
“I’m not sure that would work. Eventually Erik would find out and I really don’t want to lose a friend because, you know, I couldn’t keep my hands to myself.”
It was solid reasoning, and that he was holding back to protect the feelings of a friend meant something, but it really didn’t change the fact that she wanted him and she wasn’t sure she wanted to deny herself. “I understand and I think it’s awesome that you’re the kind of guy who cares, but there’s something about you that I can’t quite get out of my head and maybe it’s because I’m in a reckless frame of mind or maybe it’s because you’re the hottest guy I’ve seen in a along time, but right about now, I’d much rather spend my weekend making all sorts of mistakes with you than anything else. So what are we going to do about that?”
