Hunk for the Holidays (14 page)

He worked fifteen-to-sixteen-hour days and most Saturdays and Sundays. The only time he took off was when his family flew in and, even then, most of their conversations revolved around work. There had been nothing for Tess except money. And since her father had passed away, she had plenty of her own. Of course, he couldn’t take all the blame for their rotten marriage. If Tess hadn’t claimed she was pregnant, he wouldn’t have married her in the first place.

Still, he should’ve divorced her right after their first marital fight, when Tess had screamed the truth at him. Why hadn’t he? Maybe because Tess was convenient. She wasn’t blond and she wasn’t brown-eyed, but she had loved him. Something he believed Amy would never do. So he stayed married to her because it was easier than getting a divorce. And because he could never have Amy.

Or so he thought.

Now he wasn’t so sure. The only woman who could help him figure it all out was the same woman who had just turned to say something to the man behind her. A man who had all of Rory’s dreams tumbling down like the boxes of remote control cars a kid had just knocked
over. Obviously, Rory had read more into his kiss with Amy than there was.

If Derek Terrell was here, nothing had changed. Except Amy’s status. She was now engaged. Which meant Rory had made a fool of himself again. He had no business being there. None whatsoever.

Damn Aunt Wheezie.

He turned to leave and almost fell over a pint-sized kid in a Broncos’ cap.

“Hey! Watch it, knucklehead.”

Big Al’s words coming out of a little girl’s mouth had Rory stepping back and taking a closer look. A pair of big brown eyes flashed up at him with annoyance before recognition settled in.

“Hey, Uncle Rory. I’ve been looking for”—she stopped and smiled brightly—“what I want Santa to bring me.”

No matter how battered his heart felt at the moment, Rory couldn’t help grinning at the little girl in the tattered jeans and Transformers hoodie. Gabriella Lynn Walker had stolen his heart the moment he first held her in his arms. But she wasn’t the chubby toddler who nestled against his shoulder anymore. Five years had gone by, and she had grown into a sassy tomboy who talked even louder than Big Al McPherson.

“You want to keep it down, Gabs?” he said as he glanced back over his shoulder. Amy was craning her neck, no doubt looking for her daughter.

“You hidin’ from Mom or Dodo Derek?” Gabriella asked when Rory jumped behind the life-sized giraffe.

It lightened Rory’s mood considerably to hear the nickname. “I thought you liked Derek.”

“Nah.” Gabriella set down the Lightsaber she’d been playing with and moved over to the Lego table. Most girls would’ve started working on the pink castle. Gabriella went straight to the pirate ship. “That’s only a game we play. I act like I like him and he acts like he likes me.”

“And what makes you think he doesn’t?”

She shot him one of those kid looks that pretty much called him a dodo before she picked up a miniature cannon and snapped it onto the side of the ship. Rory had always been the peacekeeper of the family, the one who calmed tempers and kept fists from flying, but at the moment he felt like hitting something. Preferably Derek’s face. It looked like Wheezie was right. Derek didn’t like Gabby. And what kind of person wouldn’t like a kid like Gabriella? Sure she was outspoken and loud, but that’s what made her so cute.

He handed her another cannon. “So I take it that you don’t want your mom marrying Derek?”

Gabriella glanced up, and her eyes squinted. “Who said she’s marrying Derek?”

Realizing his mistake, Rory tried to backpedal. “I guess I just assumed that they were getting married since they’ve been dating for so long.”

“Well, you assumed wrong.” Obviously upset, Gabriella tried to ram the cannon Lego into a spot it didn’t fit. “My mom is going to marry a McPherson. Aunt Wheezie said so.”

The information didn’t surprise Rory. Obviously, Wheezie had already started her matchmaking attempts with Gabby. Which didn’t explain why his aunt had laid it on so thick that morning. Not unless…

“Why, that devious old bird,” he whispered.

Gabby heard him and didn’t hesitate to stand up for his great-aunt. “She’s not an old bird.” She scowled at Rory. “She just wants you to poop or get off the pot.” When she slapped a hand over her mouth, his suspicions were confirmed. Patrick wasn’t his great-aunt’s target.

He was.

A smile broke out on his face, followed by laughter. He laughed so hard and so long that he scared off most of the kids from the Lego table. Only Gabriella remained. She dropped her hand from her mouth and got to the point as only a kid can do.

“So do you love my mom or not?” she asked. “Because if you love her, you need to tell her before she marries Dodo Derek.”

Her serious brown eyes caused him to sober, and he squatted down next to her. “It’s not that easy, Gabs. There are a lot of things to consider. Like what your mother wants. She might love Derek.” Just the thought made his stomach hurt.

“But if she loves him, then why does she keep that picture of you in her drawer?”

For a man who kickboxed and had always prided himself on his balance and agility, all it took were those words to make him lose his balance and fall on his ass behind the Lego table. Amy kept a picture of him in her drawer? The information had him reevaluating the reason she had brought Derek to the store. And if she’d said yes to marrying Derek, why hadn’t she told her daughter? According to his sister and mother, Amy never kept anything of importance from Gabriella.

“Uh-oh.” Gabriella glanced over her shoulder. “Here comes Dodo.” She looked back at Rory, her eyes pleading. “Please, Uncle Rory, just tell her how you feel. I’ll keep Derek away so you can talk to her.”

Before Rory could say anything, she hurried off toward the escalator, disappearing behind the huge giraffe.

“Hi, Derek,” she said in the sweetest voice Rory had ever heard come out of her mouth.

“Your mother is very upset, young lady,” Derek said in a way that got Rory’s temper up. “You can’t just run around like some wild, unsupervised heathen.”

“Sorry,” Gabriella wheedled, “but I found exactly what I want Santa to bring me.”

“I told you before that I’m not buying you a dirt bike. Why can’t you act more like a little girl and ask for a doll?”

“Actually,” Gabriella poured it on. “That’s exactly what I was going to show you. It’s the cutest little pink dollhouse I’ve ever seen. Let’s stop by and tell Mom before we…” Her voice trailed off.

Once they were gone, Rory got up from the floor. He was still confused about what Gabriella had told him. Amy having a picture of him in her drawer could mean absolutely nothing. He paused in the middle of brushing off the back of his jeans. Or it could mean absolutely everything.

There was only one way to find out.

By the time Rory stepped off the escalator, Amy was only about ten people away from Santa. Rory’s gaze ran over the sweet curve of her behind before he stepped over the partition and touched her arm.

She whirled around so quickly, her purse slipped off her shoulder and landed on the floor. Cosmetics, keys, and loose change spilled out. People in line scrambled to help pick up the items while Amy stood frozen in place and stared at him with a look of complete horror. A woman nudged her arm with the brush she’d picked up, but Amy didn’t even glance at her.

Happy for something to do, Rory took the brush from the woman and thanked her. Then he leaned down to pick up the purse and started collecting the other items people had retrieved from the floor. By the time he was finished, Amy had come out of her trance.

“Thank you,” she said as she took the purse from his hand. “What are you doing here?”

For a second, his pride took over and he almost said he was shopping for his nieces and nephews. But then Gabby’s innocent face popped into his head, forcing him to speak the truth. “Wheezie told me that you were here and I wanted to see you. We need to talk.”

Amy glanced around. “Now isn’t exactly the time, Rory.”

She was probably right. After the incident with the purse, every eye in line was trained on them. But it didn’t matter anymore. He’d kept his feelings bottled up for five years. It was time to let them out. No matter what the outcome. Of course, being a typical insecure male, he needed just a little reassurance.

“Do you have a picture of me in your drawer?”

Her mouth dropped open as her face flamed a pink almost as bright as her sweater. With a stuttered gasp, she turned her back to him. Rory’s grin felt like it went from
ear to ear, and suddenly the words came much easier than he’d expected.

“I’m sorry, Amy, for the way I’ve treated you since I got back. Jealousy can make a man do some pretty stupid things, and I’ll admit that I was pretty jealous. First about Mattie and then Derek.”

He stepped closer, savoring the scent of strawberries that was uniquely Amy. He wanted to touch her. To place a hand on her trim waist and pull her back against him. But it was probably better if he didn’t. Touching Amy screwed with his head, and he wasn’t sure how long Gabriella would give him. He cleared his throat and tried to place his thoughts in some kind of order.

“From the moment you walked into M & M looking for a job, I knew you were special. And I looked for any excuse to walk past your desk or hang out in the copy room.” He paused before he continued. “I don’t know why I didn’t ask you out. Maybe I thought you were too young for me. Or maybe dating a mother scared me. Anyway, by the time I figured out what I wanted and finally broke it off with Tess, you started avoiding me and hanging out with Mattie.” He ran a hand through his hair and followed behind her as the line moved up. “Now I realize I should’ve talked to you before I ran off to Chicago like some immature idiot.”

The woman who stood behind them butted in. “Men.” She shot a mean glance at her husband, who stood next to her holding a little girl with chocolate on her face. “You’re always running off when the going gets tough.”

The man glanced around. “But what happened to the other dude she was with?”

The woman shushed him. “Let him finish.”

Rory rolled his eyes and turned back to Amy. It might have been his imagination, but her shoulders looked less stiff. He took this as a positive sign and forged on.

“After the divorce, I told everyone I wanted to move back here to be close to my family. But the truth is that I wanted to move back here to be close to you. I’ve missed you more than I can ever put in words. I’m not going to tell you not to marry Derek—if that’s what you want. But before you make that decision, I think we need to give what we have a chance.”

The little boy and father in front of Amy finally reached Santa. The kid took two steps toward the elderly man with the full white beard and let out a bloodcurdling scream that sent his father into panic mode. It took two elves and a handful of candy canes to quiet the kid down.

The boy was still whimpering in his father’s arms when they walked past.

“Just say it already.” The man looked more harassed by Rory than he did by his son’s crying. “You love her.”

“Of course he does,” another woman in line said as she swiped at her eyes with a tissue.

“Geez, Mister, even I know that,” a freckle-faced kid said as he cut in front of two little girls.

It was the final straw. It was bad enough that Rory was standing there spilling his guts for the entire line like some hormonal teenager. He refused to talk to Amy’s back. Taking her arm, he pulled her around. Her head was bent so he couldn’t see her face, but he could see what she held in her hands.

A pen and a checkbook.

He blinked, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him.
But the checkbook remained. Amy’s concise numbers neatly written in the lined columns.

“You were balancing your checkbook?” he asked in disbelief. “Here I was spilling my guts and you were busy calculating how much money you have in the bank?”

She looked up at him. If he hadn’t been so blinded by anger and humiliation, he might’ve noticed the tears in her eyes. But he was more concerned with her inability to deny the accusation. Completely demoralized, he turned and pushed his way through the line. As he passed the family with the chocolate-smeared little girl, the father spoke.

“I don’t know what he’s so upset about. A woman who can balance her checkbook is worth her weight in gold.”

Chapter Twelve

Please tell me this is the end of it.” James readjusted the numerous shopping bags he already held so he could take the most recently filled bag from Cassandra.

She pulled a list out of her purse and studied it. “I need to get something for two more cousins. Oh, and Aunt Wheezie.” She turned and weaved her way through the crowded department store.

James followed, taking note of the way she filled out her jeans. The blue denim tapered up long legs and clung to her perfect ass like a second skin. With every step she took, those sweet cheeks twitched. First to one side and then the other. Enthralled by the hypnotic wiggle, he didn’t notice she’d stopped until he ran into her from behind. A curtain of dark, silky hair whipped across his face, and she shot him a questioning look.