Beyond the Mistletoe: A Christmas Romance (Beyond Love Book 7) (6 page)

His voice lowered into a seductive tone as I got caught up watching his lips move.

“We have a bet going about which one of us you’ll fall for.”

The nerve. I’d never mistaken arrogance for charm before, but with Derek I was skating on a slippery rink. Worried I might come sliding into a messy finish, I regained my composure and readied for battle.

“Are you serious?” I wanted to be insulted, but I was far from it. If I was being honest with myself, I was almost flattered, but I wouldn’t let that show.

He nodded and a wry grin spread across his delectable mouth. I noticed he missed a morning of shaving, and I liked the scruffiness along his jawline.

“And you think you’ll be the one?” I asked, scowling.

Derek shook his head and stood up slowly.

“On the contrary. I think Eric has it in the bag.” He turned and walked away, leaving me completely bewildered and once more…breathless.

Chapter Six

I sat snuggly tucked in between
Esquire
Eric and rugged Derek as the sleigh bounced along the snowy path at a steady pace. Bodie had curled up on my feet in an extra horse blanket, and Gabby and Jason sat across from us. Another fuzzy blanket had been stretched across the three of us.

Only one word completely encapsulated how I felt right now.

Awkward.

I often thought of myself as a free spirit who never let a thing rattle me. I was an artist with a soul meant for creativity. Yet, as I sat wedged in between these two men, I felt completely uptight and ready to explode at the first prick.

“So how are things at the bakery, Emily?” Jason asked, attempting to ease me out of my shell; except now the conversation felt even more stilted than it had seconds ago when we were all admiring the glistening snow-topped trees.

“Great.” And that was the only word that managed to pop into my head and out my mouth.

Jason nodded and hugged a giggling Gabby.

“Still painting?” he continued, knowing full well I was.

“I am.”

“Nice.”

“Yep.” I pressed my lips together.

Couldn’t I pull something more out of myself?

Gabby shook her head, realizing how absolutely clumsy the conversation had become. I had no idea what was wrong with me other than the fact that I was securely squeezed in between two incredibly good-looking men and was expected to do something about it. The pressure was more than I could handle.

“What do you like to paint?” Eric asked.

He attempted to turn on the bench so our eyes could meet, but we were tucked in so tightly his shoulders went up to his ears, and he looked extremely uncomfortable.

“I dabble in all kinds of things. It seems to depend on my mood. I had a brief period where I concentrated strictly on storms a few months back, landscapes prior to that.”

“My sister does charcoal. She’s quite good. I don’t have a creative bone in my body.”

“Why don’t you tell him why you were focusing on storms,” Gabby prompted, the puffs of cold air hovering in front of her mouth.

Was there nothing sacred?
I flashed her an evil look, but it was absolutely impossible to be aggravated at her. Her happiness bordered on delirium with the combination of wedding and holidays coming up.

“The reason is not that interesting.” I shook my head.

“But it’s pertinent,” Gabby added.

I sucked my lip in and saw Derek smile out of the corner of my eye.

“I had a few online dating fiascoes.” I saw my own breath in the air and shivered.

“Haven’t we all?” Derek’s laugh was infectious. The sound of his voice soothed me to my core, but I couldn’t fathom him resorting to the online underworld of companionship.

“Not me. I stay away from that at all costs,” Eric said matter-of-factly.

“Smart man,” I muttered under my breath.

“So why storms?” Derek asked.

I sat quietly for a second or two wondering the same thing. The icy temperatures nipped at my nose, and I let out an unexpected sigh. Was it a wise idea to let two potential suitors know about my dating failures? I held in a laugh. Suitors? I really needed to leave some of the classics behind and start reading contemporary romances.

But I enjoyed curling up by the fire with my classics and Bodie.

“I’ll probably sound like a raving lunatic, but I got mad at the whole online attempt and furiously painting cloudy skies seemed like the most productive way to take out my aggression.” We passed several snow-covered boulders bordering the trail, and I knew I’d rather paint those than the storm clouds any day. Maybe it was being squished in between two attractive men, who, by all appearances, didn’t mind competing for my attention. It was kind of…nice.

“What in particular made you so mad?” I didn’t need to look at Derek to know his eyes were sparkling with intrigue.

“I guess that I’d even let myself make a profile,” I confessed, bringing my hand up to adjust my scarf over my nose. We were now swiftly gliding toward a frozen pond, and the winter scenery somehow made me relax slightly.

“I’m sure you’ve got some doozies,” Derek agreed. “I’ve got a whole slew of them myself.”

“In fact, Derek goes over to Lily’s house for Sunday dinners and tends to provide the entertainment with dating stories gone awry,” Gabby confirmed.

“Is that so?” I asked, twisting to see him.

“Indeed, it is.”

I sat stumped. In all honesty, I couldn’t imagine Derek having any issues finding women to date. In fact, my gut told me both Derek and Eric had no trouble lining up the females, which made this particular situation even more troubling. Why were they here putting up with this weekend’s events? Was the dating scene that dire?

Derek’s eyes linked with mine, and I felt the flutter return. I didn’t know if it was the snow in the air or what in particular, but he looked absolutely incredible. The scarf tucked around his neck framed his face and forced me to concentrate solely on his eyes, which was almost my undoing.

I cleared my throat and sat back on the bench. Tempted to glance in Eric’s direction to see if the same flood of emotion ran over me, I wiggled slightly to get a glimpse.

“Well, I’d love to see your sister’s work. I’ve always thought about experimenting with charcoal.”

“You two should meet,” Eric offered. “I’m sure she’d love to show you her drawings. She’s got a website too.”

“I’ll have to check it out.” I turned slightly, catching Eric’s gaze. There was no arguing the fact that he was extremely attractive, but…

“Uh-oh, Derek,” Jason laughed. “Do you have any artistic siblings to introduce to Emily? Or is Eric one-upping you?”

This was so embarrassing.

“Not a one. I might be destined to a life without love…” I heard the smile in Derek’s voice.

“But he doesn’t need a creative sibling, considering—” Gabby began.

“Let’s keep some mystery about me.” Derek waved his hand to cut Gabby off, and she hid her disappointment, but not before flashing a wry expression in my direction.

“I didn’t want to be the person to burst your bubble about your chiwoodle…” Eric began.

“I don’t think you could.”

The sleigh bounced over a mound, and I found myself grabbing Derek’s leg to steady myself. In doing so it was impossible to miss the strength in his long, lean muscles as they contracted under the blanket. My body temperature immediately went up several degrees, but rather than remove my hand right away, I let it rest there.

Catching Gabby’s grin widen, I straightened up and acted like the feelings flooding through me never happened. At the most, this weekend was meant to be all about the fun, not feelings overtaking my senses.

“Well, Bodie isn’t technically a chiwoodle,” he continued.

“What do you mean?” I didn’t even bother to turn.

“I looked it up last night on the web and he’s technically a wapoo.”

I felt Derek’s body shudder with laughter but didn’t hear a thing come out of his mouth as everyone waited for my response to this earth-shattering proclamation.

“What are you talking about?” I removed my hand from Derek and instantly wished I hadn’t.

“The AKC posts the acceptable hybrid names, and Bodie’s Chihuahua-poodle mix is actually called a wapoo not a chiwoodle.”

There was something about Eric’s delivery that irked me slightly.

“The AKC doesn’t know everything about everything,” I informed him. “Bodie grew up as a chiwoodle, and I’m not going to blow up his world and tell him he’s actually a wapoo. That’s crazy.”

“A chiwoodle literally doesn’t exist,” Eric countered.

“A chiwoodle does exist, and he’s
literally
sleeping soundly on my toes right now.”

Derek couldn’t keep in his laughter as Eric turned to face me. I attempted to make eye contact by dislodging my shoulder from Derek’s.

“You can call Bodie whatever you want, but the AKC doesn’t recognize it.” Eric smiled, lifting a brow.

The snow began coming down harder, and our sleigh slid into the woods where the temperature seemed to drop another few degrees. I sat back on the bench, unsure what to say to Eric, because in that moment a realization hit me. Eric had the one quality that drove me crazy.

He was a know-it-all.

“It’s true.” Derek suddenly jumped in. “He relayed Bodie’s fate to me earlier in the bar. Even had the front desk print out the page. He thought you might not believe it.”

“I do have a copy in my pocket,” Eric confirmed.

“Nah. I’m good. I’ve never been one to follow the crowd, and I have a small issue with authority so whether it’s scribed in the universe or not, Bodie is and always will be my little chiwoodle.”

I felt Eric’s shoulder shrug against mine as if he were somewhat disappointed I didn’t embrace this newfound information. Wanting to drop the whole chiwoodlegate scandal, I eyed Gabby.

“I can’t wait to get back to the fire,” I announced, feeling the chill drill into my bones.

“It is getting a lot colder,” Gabby agreed, blowing into her gloved hands.

Derek leaned over to whisper something in my ear, and I literally wanted to melt into him.

“I’ve got a secret. You have a chiwoodle, and I have a buggs. And when she barks, she sounds like an old man tore his hamstring.”

I chuckled and glanced over at Eric, who was talking with Jason about his findings and how the AKC goes about naming conventions.

“What’s a buggs?” I whispered.

“Wouldn’t you like to know…”

I giggled and nodded. “Actually, yes.”

“All in good time.” He patted my knee, and with that simple gesture, desire to be touched again paraded through my body, reminding me just how long it had been since I’d been with a man.

Bodie sat up, stretching his head toward the sky, and Derek reached down to scratch his ear next. Seeing the smile on Derek warmed me up all over again. Could this man do no wrong?

But he wasn’t the only man sent here to amuse me. I needed to keep my options open.

“Eric, I’m sorry. In your presence, Bodie will only be a wapoo. I apologize for being so harsh.”

Eric brought his hand out of his lap and wrapped his arm around my shoulder and squeezed me. I stiffened at his touch and realized no matter how attractive he was, there was something missing. I glanced at Derek, who took it in stride. Actually, I think he got some twisted pleasure out of seeing me squirm. I knew Gabby did.

“Don’t go ticklin’ the wrong ear with your free hand there now, Eric,” Derek said devilishly.

An unexpected giggle erupted from my belly, and my body warmed again. I doubted I had the nerve to do anything more than ogle at rugged Derek and
Esquire
Eric this weekend, but Derek’s charisma made me lose my ability to make proper judgments, which was why I should focus on Eric. Then the reasonable and objective side of me would make sound decisions, and I’d leave the weekend unscathed and ready for Gabby’s upcoming nuptials.

Derek leaned over and pulled out a thermos I hadn’t even noticed.

“Hot chocolate anyone?” he asked, unscrewing the lid.

“Absolutely. I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on us,” Gabby scolded him.

“Timing is everything. If I whipped it out too soon you’d be disappointed the rest of the ride home that we didn’t have any left.” He poured the thick chocolate into the first foam cup, and Jason stood up in between bumps to fetch it for Gabby. “It’s kind of like sex.”

My jaw dropped open, and Jason’s laughter filled the air.

“Would you like some?” Derek asked me.

“Like some of what in particular?”

The hot chocolate. Of course, he was talking about the hot chocolate.

“Yes. Please.” I answered before giving him the chance to further expand on my embarrassment. I honestly had no idea what was going on with me.

Pouring the hot chocolate, Derek’s lip curled up slightly as if he’d cracked a code.

“And you?” he asked Eric.

Eric nodded and slid his arm off my shoulders.

“Looks like we’ll be getting back to the lodge in the next ten minutes,” Jason said, glancing at his phone.

“See? Timing is everything.” Derek smiled, handing me my own cup of delicious peppermint cocoa. Our gloved hands touched as I took the cup from him, and a spark ran through my fingers.