Merry Christmas, Baby Read online

  He slid his hands beneath her sweater’s hem and caressed her back. His touch, sure and warm, banished all thoughts except how good it felt and how much she wanted more.

  They lay down on the bed and took their time undressing one another, exploring, savoring the experience. Everything about this man turned her on—the lean but defined muscles, the smattering of hair on his chest, the texture of his skin against hers, his scent, the way he smiled, one corner of his mouth quirking higher than the other, and the way he moved.

  His mouth captured hers and she sighed her satisfaction into their kiss. She cupped his buttocks in her hands—she loved his ass. He had the perfect man-ass—tight, taut and well-shaped.

  He was here for such a short time and who knew where things would be when they were both in New York…?. She jumped out of bed. “Hold that thought.”

  She stepped into the walk-in closet and pulled the door closed behind her. She’d played in a production of a farce a couple of years ago in Anchorage. Anchorage was the only “real” theater in the state and that was a stretch. Plus she’d had to fly there and stay with a cast mate for the entire run. She’d played a buxom French maid in the production and she’d had to provide her own costume—nothing like theater on a shoestring budget.

  She’d been waiting on this opportunity for a long time. If Jared thought she was weird, he was leaving in two days anyway, so no worries. If he liked it, they’d have a good time. She pulled on black hose with a garter belt, a black lace thong and a frilly white apron, leaving the rest of the costume on a hanger. Slipping on a pair of black heels, she cracked the closet door. Only one thing left. “Close your eyes,” she said.

  “They’re closed.”

  “No peeking.”

  “No peeking.”

  She stepped out of the closet and hurried over to the dresser. She quickly twisted and pinned her hair up and brushed on some red lipstick. She pinned on the frilly little cap that completed the outfit.

  She checked herself in the mirror—well, as much as she could see. If Jared wasn’t turned on, she was going to look pretty stupid. And if he was…then they’d both reap the benefits.

  “You can look now, monsieur,” she said with the same accent she’d used in the play. “I am Celeste.” The name she’d used before. “I am here to serve you.”

  “Wow.” He propped up on one elbow to get a better look. “Double wow.”

  This had definitely been a good idea, judging from his reaction and the look in his eyes. She approached the bed. “What would you like, monsieur? I will do whatever you say.”

  He told her in a low, husky voice exactly what he’d like. Smiling, her heart racing in anticipation and excitement, she climbed up onto the bed and straddled him. His erection pressed against the crotch of her wet panties. “Like this?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He reached up and traced the edge of her nipple with his fingertip. Oh, yeah was right. He pulled her to him and licked the nipple he’d just outlined. She shuddered and grasped his shoulders. His mouth was warm and wet and just the right combination of gentle and rough as he sucked, licked and nipped her breasts.

  “Oh, I like that,” she said, careful to keep her voice in character. “That feels so good.” Actually it felt better than good. She wasn’t even sure what it meant but she threw out whatever came to her in French. “C’est vrai. Oui, oui, oui.”

  Meanwhile, she rubbed her satin-covered mound against the hard line of his penis, her excitement notching higher and higher. She liked having him naked beneath her while she had on the hose and heels and thong and the sheer apron.

  He stroked his hands over her hips. Reaching behind her, he grabbed her thong in one hand and pulled gently, tugging it tight between her wet folds. She moaned. “Oui.”

  Teddy’s excitement notched up to fever pitch when he told her what he wanted her to do next. Her hand not quite steady, she delved beneath the edge of her panties into her slick channel. Her fingers coated with her essence, she smeared it on his nipple. She repeated it on his other nipple. On instinct, she slowly, deliberately licked each of her fingers before she leaned forward to complete the rest of his request. She dragged her tongue over his eraser-head-hard tips, licking herself off him.

  “Oh, baby. That’s so, so hot.”

  She thought so, too.

  He rolled on a condom and pulling her thong aside, he guided her up with his hands. Willingly she came down on him, taking all of him inside her at once. She paused for a second, settling on him, rocking against him, and then she rode him so hard and with such enthusiasm that her hair came down and she didn’t care. All she cared about was how good it felt, how much they were both enjoying it.

  His face tightened and she knew he was close to the edge. He reached between them and found her clit with his finger. Her orgasm exploded inside her and she felt him come right after her. As the last tremors shook her, she collapsed on top of him, incapable of anything more. She felt as if her entire body had become boneless. His breath gusted against her hair. “Thank you,” he said.

  “Mais, non,” she murmured. “Merci.”

  TWO DAYS LATER, JARED stood in his tux behind Nick’s best man as Nick and Gus exchanged vows at the Good Riddance community center. Having the ceremony at the community center was a little unorthodox, but it was the only building large enough to hold the crowd that had shown up for the wedding. And altogether Good Riddance was an unorthodox kind of place, so it fit. Gus’s restaurant had been a gathering place for the town for several years and Gus was obviously held in high esteem.

  Jared’s mind wandered as the officiating minister droned on about the sanctity of marriage, his attention snagged by Teddy standing on the bride’s side of the lineup. Good God but she was beautiful and sexy in that red velvet dress, her upswept hair leaving her sensitive neck bare. He had no idea how he’d gotten so lucky. Teddy was an incredible woman and not just in the sack, although that was off the charts, too. She was fun, but over the course of the last few days he’d discovered she had a serious side, as well.

  Teddy glanced at him, obviously feeling him looking at her. She didn’t exactly smile, but her eyes lit up. There was something about her, about them. They were good together in a way he’d never been with anyone else. Yesterday they’d made cookies in her kitchen. He’d never made cookies before in his life—it just wasn’t his thing. And quite frankly, if anyone had ever asked him to he would have said thanks but no thanks. But he’d had a great time making gingerbread cookies and decorating them. If he hadn’t met her, he would’ve never known how much fun it could be. What else would he miss out on without Teddy in his life?

  Lots. Perhaps everything. As illogical as it seemed, he was far more in love with her than he’d ever been with Trish. She suited him in a way Trish never had. He knew gut-deep that he’d found with her what Nick had with Gus.

  He realized with a start that the wedding was over and Nick and Gus were now officially married, when the crowd broke into cheering and the newlyweds took off down the aisle. Within a minute he was holding out his arm to escort Teddy in the best man and matron of honor’s wake. It felt very right and natural to have her walking down the aisle on his arm. The idea quickly followed that she belonged by his side.

  They followed the other couples back to the dressing area. Teddy sighed. “Wasn’t it beautiful?”

  Jared wasn’t about to disappoint her by admitting he’d zoned out during most of the ceremony. “Yes, it was, and so are you.”

  It was funny, he’d seen her naked at least twice a day—after that first night, he’d simply moved into her bedroom with no comment from either Gus or Nick—but now a soft blush suffused her neck and face at his compliment. “Thank you.”

  He ducked into one of the empty rooms, pulling her in with him and closing the door. He backed her up against the door and her arms were immediately around his neck. He kissed her, the need to have her a sudden ravenous hunger inside him. She kissed him back with an intensity that said she felt t
he same. Once again, that powerful connection flowing between them seemed deeper than mere lust.

  “Here. Now. Take me,” she said, already pulling up her skirt. One-handed he unzipped his trousers and pulled out his penis which was at full raging attention. While Teddy slid her panties down and stepped out of one leg of them, Jared rolled on a condom. That was good enough. He hooked her leg over his arm and slid into her. Hot, wet and tight she was ever so, so sweet. No other woman had ever felt as good as she did when he was inside her.

  They were both excited and further aroused by making love against a door while the rest of Good Riddance milled about outside. All too soon he felt himself coming. He swallowed her cries as she spasmed around him.

  Her breathing was ragged.

  “I love you,” he said against her forehead. They weren’t words he’d intended to say, but nonetheless he didn’t regret them.

  He didn’t know what exactly he expected—well, perhaps a reciprocated sentiment—but he sure as hell didn’t expect what he got. Teddy had bent down and pulled her panties back up. Her hand already on the door knob she looked back over her shoulder at him. “We’ll just both pretend you didn’t say that, and I’m sure it’s time we joined the others.”

  In a flash she had the door open and the opportunity to respond privately was gone.

  What the hell? He’d just handed her his heart and she’d tossed it back at his feet. This was not the woman he thought he knew. They might have a reception to get through, but before the day was over he planned to find out just what was going on in her pretty head.

  8

  TEDDY MOVED THROUGH the reception with a smile on her face but inside her mind was whirling. He’d said he loved her. For one moment her heart had soared in recognition that she felt the same way. And then common sense had kicked in. It was too soon and too dangerous. That falling in love business could wreck her career plans, especially when he was so wrapped up in how great Good Riddance was.

  Merrilee came up and put an arm around Teddy. “You sure do look beautiful today. You and Jared certainly make a nice-looking couple.”

  What was up with everyone today? “Um, thanks,” Teddy said.

  “Gus is getting ready to throw her bouquet. You need to go get in the group.”

  “That’s okay. I think I’ll leave the other ladies to it.”

  “Nonsense,” Merrilee said. “Anyway, it’s bad luck for the new bride and groom if all the single women don’t join the group. You don’t want bad luck for Gus and Nick on your head, do you? Go.”

  Teddy suspected Merrilee was bending the truth. She’d never heard the part about it being bad luck if all the single women didn’t try to catch the bouquet. But then again, there was a lot about weddings she didn’t know. For the most part, weddings didn’t interest her. While some of the other girls had sat around dreaming of their special day, Teddy had been dreaming of Broadway. Their starring roles had been to stroll down the aisle. Her starring role was to be onstage.

  Heels and heart dragging, she joined the group of women ready to vie for the tossed flowers. She stood in the back. Jenna spotted her and cut through the group to tug her up to the front of the small crowd. “Oh, no, Teddy. No hiding in the back.”

  She didn’t have to look to know Jared was watching her from across the room. She felt his eyes on her. “I don’t even want to do this,” she said to Jenna.

  “Sure you do.”

  The group started a countdown, “Three…two…one…”

  Gus tossed the flowers tied in crimson ribbon. It was like a bad dream in slow-mo. Teddy watched as the arrangement headed straight for her like a heat-seeking missile. In the end, she instinctively cradled her arms, unable to allow the bouquet to hit the ground.

  Sweet, low-key Ellie stood next to her looking disappointed. Teddy offered her the flowers. “Here. Take them. I don’t want them.”

  “I can’t. It’s not the same.” Ellie smiled, catching Nelson’s eye across the room. “I don’t need them anyway.”

  Great! She had a bouquet she didn’t want and Ellie had been disappointed. Things were going to hell in a handbasket and it had all started with Jared’s declaration. She could kill him for saying he loved her. It had turned everything upside down. She didn’t want to talk about or think about love—it complicated everything. Anyway, how could he love her and she’d had some sort of crazy mixed-up feelings for him but how could she love him? They didn’t really know one another. People didn’t fall in love in three days. That was the stuff of books and movies. And look where it had gotten her mother. Teddy wouldn’t be so foolish.

  “OBVIOUSLY I SAID THE wrong thing earlier,” Jared said. He knew he sounded stiff and awkward but she’d steadfastly ignored him all through the reception until he’d finally corralled her for a dance and she’d have looked bad to have turned him down.

  She visibly drew a deep breath. “I just don’t know why you said it. We’ve only known each other for three days.”

  “It’s pretty hard for me to believe, too, but sometimes things happen.”

  “Yeah and I know firsthand how things can turn out. My mother married in haste and spent the rest of her life repenting at leisure. She gave up her career to follow my dad and he eventually deserted us.”

  “I’m not asking you to give up anything. I was just telling you how I felt. Have I asked for anything in return except maybe for you to give us a chance?”

  “I don’t know. I just… My career is important to me. You want to live in Good Riddance and I want to live in New York and that’s a fair distance apart.”

  “I know it is. I would never ask you to give up acting. It’s not a mutually exclusive situation. It doesn’t have to be me or your career.” He could tell by the closed look on her normally expressive face he’d have to pull out everything he had. “Look at Gus and Nick. What was it? Five, maybe seven days? When he first told me I thought he was insane, but once I saw them together I got it. And look, it’s been a year and they’re doing great.” Damn, wasn’t the woman usually the one to do this kind of convincing?

  He ran his hand through his hair. He was a man who was used to taking risks. If ever there was a time to put himself on the line, it was now. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I thought I was burned out at work, and maybe I am, but I can’t just walk away from my career and New York. I initially fell in love with Good Riddance, but you’re the real draw. You’re the sparkle in my life, not the place.”

  “I have to think. I need a little space.”

  “Does that mean you want me to sleep on the couch tonight?” It was his last night here. Her answer would be very telling.

  “I think that’s a good idea.”

  Damn. That pretty much said it all.

  TEDDY TOSSED RESTLESSLY in her bed, unable to sleep. She was doing the right thing wasn’t she, staying focused on her career? Now that she was finally prepared to move forward with her dream, she didn’t want to make a misstep. But what if she was turning her back on the best man she’d ever met? Was it just some crazy romantic notion that the two of them could have something special in such a short period of time?

  She eventually drifted off to sleep. She was dreaming, she had to be, when her mother came to her—the dream was so real she could almost feel the mattress sinking as her mother sat on the bed beside her.

  “Mom?”

  Her mother didn’t say anything but she reached out and smoothed the hair back from Teddy’s forehead, a gesture so familiar Teddy’s chest tightened with the cherished touch that had been absent from her life for the past nine years. Teddy realized, in her dream, that her mother’s smile was different. It was still the same sweet curve of her generous mouth, but the tinge of sadness was gone.

  Her mother’s lips didn’t move but Teddy clearly heard her speak. “Teddy, don’t be afraid to love. Your life doesn’t have to echo mine if you love. And, darling, my life wasn’t a bad one. I had you girls, and I wouldn’t trade my time with you and Marcia for an
y career.”

  In her dream Teddy could see the surprise on her own face. “You know I read your journals?”

  Her mother smiled and continued to speak without actually speaking. “Of course I know, darling. Give him a chance. Give the two of you a chance. Falling in love doesn’t mean you can’t have a career, too.”

  Before Teddy could speak again she awoke and her mother vanished as quickly as she’d appeared. Teddy lay in bed, her heart pounding—not from fear but from the exhilaration of seeing her mother, even if it was in a dream. If it had been a dream. Teddy wasn’t all too sure her mother hadn’t actually appeared before her.

  And suddenly the fear she’d felt when Jared told her he loved her disappeared. All her anxiety over her feelings for him dissipated. She realized with a start that things felt so right with Jared she’d been scared, she’d been on standby, waiting for something to go wrong. And it was still a possibility, but she no longer considered it a probability.

  Teddy slipped out of bed and padded across the room, opening her door. The couch was empty. Entering the room, she found Jared at the window overlooking town. He had to have heard her but he didn’t turn around. She knew she had hurt him. She approached him and slipped her arms around him from behind. Resting her cheek against his back, she said, “I’m sorry.”

  “Never apologize for being truthful.”

  “Okay. Then I’ll tell you that I…well…I love you, too. I want to give us a chance to see where we go.”

  He turned, his face cautious, and she didn’t blame him a bit given her earlier reaction. “You’re sure?”

  “I’m positive.” She ran her fingers over his jaw. It was amazing how important he’d become to her in such a short period of time. But hadn’t she sensed she was a goner from the moment he’d landed on his knees in front of her? “But I don’t want you to stay in New York if that’s not where you want to be.” She’d never do that to another person and their relationship would never survive it.