Blaze of Winter: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (4 page)

“Much better now that you’re here.” Briefly, she thought of her own beautiful mother lying in her hospital bed, ravaged by the same breast cancer that Kate had fought successfully. Once their mom had been diagnosed, she, Kate, and Emma had gone to get tested for the BRCA gene mutations. She and Emma weren’t carriers, but Kate had turned out to have a mutation for BRCA2. That knowledge had given her the motivation to have frequent mammograms, which had definitely given her a leg up on fighting the disease when it finally manifested itself.

Kate’s mouth formed a straight line. “Avery Eleanor Newbridge, you can’t fool me. I might be recovering from cancer but I’m not blind. Why are you so unhappy, darling?” She set her box down on the chair next to where Avery was standing. “Please tell me.”

Avery shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“When your dear mother, may she rest in peace, asked me to look after you and Emma, I told her I would guard you girls with my life. Don’t make me feel like I’m failing.”

Avery reached out a hand. “You’re not failing. Mom would have been so proud of you, beating the cancer and taking care of both of us.”

Kate merely stared at her, tacitly encouraging her to continue. Avery sighed. She wasn’t going to get out of this, but she didn’t want to burden her aunt with the depressing details about her client’s overdose. She could still hear her boss’s parting words to her: “Avery,” Yvonne had said in a gentle tone of voice, “remember that this is not your fault. Your clients have to want to change themselves. You are just the facilitator of that change.” As far as Kate was concerned, Avery was just taking a much-needed break from her work. And that was all her aunt was going to know.

Avery cleared her throat. “I just don’t know what I’m doing with my life anymore.”

“Don’t you?” Kate looked at her appraisingly. “I’d say you’re taking the time you need. Isn’t that what most people do when they’re trying to figure things out? Regroup? Reassess? Find a way around the roadblock?”

“Yes, but—”

“And isn’t Star Harbor the perfect place to do that?” Kate took a soft cloth and wiped down the reservation desk, making the wood gleam. “So peaceful, in wintertime. Few tourists. Locals hunkering down for the season. Snow covering the Green and the houses, blanketing the woods in solitude. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is.”
That
she couldn’t deny.

Kate moved to the antique barrister’s lamp and dusted the lampshade. “So stay. Get yourself back together. No one’s here, anyway. Not until Christmas week. And speaking of Christmas, we should probably get the lights up soon. You’ll get our decorations out from the cellar?”

“Sure,” Avery agreed, “but I forgot to tell you that someone
is
here. Theodore Grayson booked a room.” No need to inform Kate that he was planning to stay “indefinitely.” And certainly no need to tell her aunt that he’d rattled her, both physically and mentally. “Now that
we have a guest, we’ll need someone to cover the overnight shift. Do you want me to do it, or should I call Carla?” Avery asked, referring to the middle-aged woman who sometimes helped out at the Inn. “See if she could come a few weeks early?” The trek from Kate’s house to the Inn was only a couple of blocks, and she’d do it if she needed to, but she hoped that her aunt would recommend Carla. The thought of making herself available to Theo all night, every night, wasn’t something she truly wanted to contemplate.

“Theo. I wonder what he’s doing back in town,” Kate mused, ignoring her question about Carla. “Always was a clever boy, despite his antics.”

“Clever?” Avery gave her a dubious look. No one that handsome had the right to be clever, too.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, dear. You, of all people, should know that.” Kate gave her an insightful look. She was right, of course. How many of her clients initially resorted to trickery? It sometimes took upwards of half a dozen sessions to figure out the full extent of their addictions. She was trained to ferret out the truth from the sometimes intricately constructed lies that her clients created about themselves. Some were experts at deluding everyone around them—including themselves. Mia Davenport had so fully convinced Avery that she was all right that her relapse had come as a complete shock. By the time Avery had caught on to Mia’s renewed drug use, it was too late.

“I might not always be the best judge of character,” Avery admitted.

“There,” Kate said triumphantly. “But of course you’re learning. You know,” she said, her eye still fixed on the lampshade, “if Theo’s back in town, you might want to take the chance to get to know him better.”

“I’ll have plenty of opportunity to do that tonight,” Avery muttered.

“Tonight, dear?”

“He asked me out to dinner.”

Kate clapped her hands. “Why, that’s wonderful! Are you going to the Kitchen?”

“It’s pretty much the only game in town,” Avery said wryly. “And I’m not sure it’s so wonderful. He makes me feel—”

“Nervous? Unsettled? Jittery?” Kate reached for a spray bottle and misted the windows with cleaning solution.

Avery laughed. “Has being sick given you second sight? Because you’re right on target.”

“Darling, the Grayson men have always been a bit wild, but Theo’s a pussycat.”

“P-pussycat?” Avery couldn’t think of a less appropriate image for the man. He was more like a dangerous leopard.

“Oh, yes,” Kate continued, blithely ignoring Avery’s strangled tone as she wiped the windows. “Cole and Seb were quite the hell-raisers. Theo joined in, but he was more like the brains behind the operation than the muscle. Not that he isn’t large,” she said, pausing a moment as if to contemplate his size, “but he never was as wild as Cole and Seb.”

“He seemed pretty confident to me.” Confident of the effect he’d had on her. Funny, she was usually drawn to gentle, unassuming types, not swaggering, giant men. And especially not to men who looked like Theo Grayson.

“Of course he was confident. Have you
seen
the man?”

Yes, she’d seen him all right. Who wouldn’t be confident with a face like that? Like Superman disguised as Clark Kent with those ridiculous glasses. He hadn’t needed to say much. Theo’s self-assurance had been palpable from the moment he’d leaned on the reservation desk to demand a room. “So, his brothers are … worse?” She’d only seen them together for a few short moments at Emma’s wedding. As the maid of honor, she’d been so busy dashing here and there that she’d barely had the chance to enjoy herself, let alone study the wedding guests. She’d talked briefly to Sebastian, Theo’s twin, but he hadn’t had nearly the effect on her that Theo did. Seb’s brash charm could in no way compare to his brother’s simmering intensity. And she rarely saw Val and Cole, let alone spoke with them.

Kate laughed. “I wouldn’t use the word
worse
. But they do have stronger personalities.” As Kate turned away from the window, the door pushed open and Babs Kincaide, one of her aunt’s close friends, came in, her long silvery-gray hair tossed from the wind. “Babs,” Kate said, embracing the older woman. “It’s good to see you.”

“Lemme shut the door so you don’t catch anything,” Babs replied, extricating herself from Kate’s hug and shutting the door against the chill gusts. “Don’t want you getting a cold.” Her flowing velvet skirt swung around her legs as she moved, and Avery tried not to grin at Babs’s thick eastern Massachusetts accent.

“I’ve been doing better lately,” Kate said, smiling. “I’m lucky that Avery’s been picking up the slack around the Inn.”

“Hi, Babs,” Avery said, giving a little wave.

“Girl, you’re getting skinnier every time I see you,” Babs clucked, her weather-beaten brown eyes not missing a thing. “Too bad the Clam Shak’s closed for the season. You could get some meat on your bones with some of my fried fish and fresh corn.”

During the summer when the Shak was open, she’d tried Babs’s food. It was delicious. Avery couldn’t believe that for most of the year, Babs was a sculptor, only opening the restaurant during the tourist season to pay her bills. Still, Avery didn’t think she was too skinny. Self-consciously, she grabbed her cardigan from the back of her chair and tugged it on.

“So,” Kate said, realizing Avery’s discomfiture and changing the subject, “what brings you to the Inn this afternoon?”

“Wanted to invite you and Avery to dinner. I’m having a few friends over tonight for some good food. We’ll be playing rummy afterward. Stakes are low, but the betting is always hot.” Babs winked at her.

Kate shot Avery a quick glance. “I’d love to join you, but Avery already has plans.”

“Thought you just got to town, girl. Making friends already?” Babs asked, those knowing eyes seeing right through her.

Kate coughed into her hand. “So what can I bring?”

“Just yerself,” Babs said, turning to open the door. “I’ll see you at seven-thirty at my place.” She shut the door behind her, leaving them with a puff of wintry air.

Kate let out a breath. “Whew. That was close. Though she’ll find out soon enough if you’re going to the Kitchen.”

Avery was confused. “What? What was close? What’s she going to find out?”

“Oh, nothing, dear,” Kate said, waving her hand dismissively and gathering up her box of supplies.

“Aunt Kate,” Avery said, her hands on her hips. “You can’t just put something out there like that and then let it go. What’s going on?”

Kate stared at the ground for a moment before raising her gaze back to Avery’s. “Babs has a—a complicated relationship with the Grayson boys. If she knew you were going out with Theo, we’d have never heard the end of it.”

“Great.” Avery rolled her eyes. “But
you
think it’s a good idea.”

“Babs and I have very different ideas about things. That’s what makes us such good friends,” Kate said with a smile.

“Carla,” Avery said, prompting her aunt to respond to her earlier question.

Kate shook her head. “I don’t think we need her. She knows she’s coming Christmas week, and it would probably be an inconvenience for her to change her schedule around. I’ve known Theo for years and I trust him. He’ll be fine on his own, but give him your cell phone number just in case he needs something. You can ask him tonight if he’s all right with us not being on-site.” She whirled away. “Oh, a free night! I haven’t been out in the longest time.” She stepped out of the foyer and Avery heard her footsteps disappearing down the hall.

“Right,” Avery said to herself, wondering if Kate had been planning something like this all along.

CHAPTER 4

At precisely eight o’clock that evening, a rough knock sounded at the door to Aunt Kate’s small house on Ashumet Avenue. Unsurprisingly, Theo had known right where to find her. Star Harbor was a small town, and in the dead of winter, it seemed more like a sleepy little fishing village than a resort destination. In the off-season, people returned to their real roots—fishing, artistry, craftsmanship—but people still got out and about to talk to one another. Apparently Theo was still tapped into the Star Harbor gossip mill.

Avery took a deep breath, forcing her heart rate down before she opened the door. He looked exactly as she remembered. Huge. Gorgeous. Dangerous.

He was still wearing his giant pea coat, but he’d taken off his glasses. Without them on, he was stunning, his unusual eyes glowing even more brightly. Avery hadn’t changed, but she’d put her hair up in a snug twist and had slicked on some lip gloss. He smiled as he looked at her mouth.

“Hi,” she said warily, second-guessing her decision to put on the gloss.

“Hey. You look great. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes. Let me just get my coat. Why don’t you wait here while I grab it?” In a few moments she came back wearing gloves and a large, down-filled puffer jacket. His mouth slowly curled up. The jacket was twice the size of her body and she knew she looked ridiculous. “Don’t laugh,” she warned him. “I’m cold-blooded. This coat is the only thing that keeps me warm.”

“I see.” He gave her a sly smile, his eyes crinkling slightly at the edges. He looked suspiciously like he was imagining other ways to stay warm. Dirty ways.

Or was that her own imagination running rampant? Theo was getting under her skin, no doubt about it. All he had to do was look at her and she started thinking about things she shouldn’t. Before she dissolved into blushes, she let out a deep breath, shook her head, and
pulled up the faux-fur-lined hood. “Let’s go.” They stepped outside and she shut and locked the door behind her before they began to walk down Ashumet Avenue.

“Should we go to lock up the Inn? I didn’t get a key to the front door.”

“Oh, we rarely bother locking it,” she said, giving him a sidelong glance. “This is Star Harbor, after all. Speaking of which, Kate wanted me to ask you if you’d mind if we didn’t have night staff on duty. You’re the only guest until Christmas week, and Kate claims she trusts you.”

They hit Front Street and turned right. “No problem. I’m not looking for a four-star experience. I’m just looking for peace and quiet.”

“Okay,” Avery said. “I’ll give you my cell phone number. If you need anything in the middle of the night, just give me a ring.” Even as the words left her mouth, she cringed. But he didn’t comment on the potential innuendo; he just thanked her and kept walking steadily forward.

The downtown lay still and quiet, the tops of the Victorian homes blanketed in snow, the streets empty of cars and pedestrians. The sky was dark, and the only light came from the old-fashioned gas lamps that illuminated each corner of the cobblestone-lined blocks. The air smelled damp, suggesting a storm might be on the horizon. It would probably snow again tonight.

Just as they reached Wharf Street, Avery slipped on a large patch of ice that hadn’t been fully melted by the salt and teetered as her feet went out from under her. Before she could even blink, Theo grabbed her around her waist, pulling her tightly against him. Though it looked like he was standing on the same slippery ice, he hadn’t even budged, standing as solidly as an oak tree.

Instead of immediately releasing her, he held her against him, giving her the chance to experience his strength firsthand. Despite the padding of her thick jacket, she could feel her hip pressed up against his long, strong thigh. Then he shifted, swinging her body in front of his. Involuntarily, her hand came up to his chest and she looked into his eyes. His gaze pinned her
where she stood, and a small quiver began in her belly and vibrated outward. She shivered, whether from nerves or excitement, she wasn’t certain. She only knew that his hand on her waist was strangely reassuring, even as a wild heat bloomed on her cheeks.