Chapter 12

 “Okay, I’m impressed. Anne invited you to spend the night at the B&B with her and you turned her down?” The guy had more willpower than Skye would have given him credit for.

As far as she knew, no man had ever rejected her gorgeous and graceful cousin. Hell, they’d been lining up at her door since she’d turned fourteen. And she had only opened that door a few times. She was, after all, very selective. She had dated quite a few of her admirers, but she always seemed to know on that first date if she wanted there to be a second one. And when there was a second one, it only lasted a few weeks, or sometimes a couple months, right up until her next tour.

Chris set down his beer and thumped himself in the head. “I must be insane. Shit, she was all over me—” His tongue was starting to bleed from all the biting he’d been doing lately. But this was her cousin. And her best friend. “Let’s just say, she was definitely willing. I’m pretty sure my rejecting her is a point against me.”

“Maybe now, but not in the long run,” Skye assured him. “What excuse did you give her?”

“That I think we need to keep it on a professional basis.”

“Let me guess. She asked when you’d be finished photographing her.”

Chris chuckled and winked at Nick. “You’re right. No one knows Anne like Skye does.”

“I should hope not,” Skye said. “So, I assume she did. So, what did you say to that?”

“A couple weeks. Then she scheduled a date.”

“A date? Such as dinner and a movie?”

“Well, that wasn’t exactly what she was suggesting.”

Skye laughed. Anne was nothing, if not predictable, at least when it came to men. “An affair?”

Chris didn’t particularly like divulging their conversation to someone, but he needed all the help he could get. “A torrid affair.”

“Whoa, she doesn’t mess around,” Nick said. This was not a side of Anne he’d witnessed.

“Nope, she doesn’t,” Skye confirmed. “She knows what she wants—at least most of the time. So, how did you respond?”

“I suggested we date first. But if she hasn’t already fallen in love with me by then, I don’t know how I should play it. I can only be friends with her for so long.”

“I feel your pain,” Nick said. “Been there, done that.” He swatted Skye on her sexy little ass before kissing her.

“It was worth it though, Cowboy. Just remember that.”

“Trust me, I do, Sweet Pea. Every day.” He leered at her. “And night.”

Chris looked on with envy, wondering if he and Anne would ever get to the same point in their relationship, especially the engagement part. “You two aren’t making this any easier.”

“Sorry.” Skye stepped away from her fiancé. “Hands off, Cowboy, at least in front of the customers.”

He swatted her lightly again. “Like hell.” He turned back to Chris. “Just hang in there. Spend time with her—as friends. She’s obviously attracted to you. The harder you are to get, the harder she’ll fall.”

“I hope you’re right. Unfortunately she’s a little too smart. She’s up to something. I have no idea what it is, but I have a feeling she’s going to put a lot of effort into getting me to give in, long before our professional relationship is over.”

Skye grimaced and both men stared at her, waiting for her to speak her thoughts. “That does kind of sound like Anne. She does tend to have ways of persuading people to do what she wants them to do.”

He knew this about her, but somehow hearing it from Skye made it worse. “Such as?”

“Such as she could always get her big brother Alex to take her places once he had his driver’s license. And then—not sure how she managed this one—she could always get the twins to do her chores for her when she had something better to do. And she can always get her students to step outside their comfort zone and dance in ways they never expected to be able to.”

He’d definitely witnessed that.

“And even her staff of teachers. They’ve all moved beyond their own styles of dance. She’s very inspiring.”

That he had witnessed too.

“Okay, so tell me, what can I expect?”

“To need all the willpower you can muster,” Skye said.

Great. He was running low on that.

Seeing the look of dismay on the love-struck man’s face, Skye said, “It’s good that Arielle and I are kidnapping her from her dance studio tomorrow.” They had come up with a plan. Between the two of them, they should have Anne getting over her “commitmentitis” before the month was out. They would have included Sophie in the plan, but she was off on her honeymoon with Sean, not expected to return until Christmas Eve. But surely between the two of them, she and Arielle could handle Anne and her stubborn resistance to letting her heart get involved with a man.

“Don’t worry, we’ll work our magic,” she promised.

“Good.” Because he had a feeling magic was exactly what was needed—if not a miracle.

“It’s perfect.” Anne put the sweater she’d chosen for her mother back into the bag and set it on the empty chair between her and Skye.

“I agree.” Skye gazed into the bag at the exact same sweater she’d chosen for her mother, only in ivory instead of blue.

Arielle laughed at them and thanked the server as she poured her tea. “You two certainly do make Christmas shopping easier.” She reached for the bag she’d set on the floor and handed it to Skye. “Here, set this on the chair with yours, will you?”

They’d done well. So what if all three of them had selected the same sweater? Arielle’s mother’s was a forest green, her favorite color. They were gorgeous, cashmere. All three of them had splurged. Their mothers deserved it.

“Ah, this is nice,” Anne said. “I was beginning to feel as if I lived at my dance studio.”

“Happens every year at this time,” Skye teased. Only there was something profoundly different this year. There was a man involved. She winked at Arielle who smiled in return.

“So, what else is going on in your life?” Arielle asked Anne. “I haven’t seen you in ages. Not since Matt’s and my Thanksgiving wedding.”

Anne cringed. Had it really been that long? Well, she’d been kind of distracted lately.

“What’s going on?” Arielle asked again, studying her closely.

“Uh, nothing much. Just rehearsals for my new version of The Nutcracker.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm, what?” Anne snatched a maple nut scone from the three-tiered server.

“Nothing, just hmm,” Arielle said casually.

Anne set down her scone. She was sitting between her cousin who knew her better than anyone else on the planet and her therapist cousin-in-law who could read her like a book. She might as well open up. “Okay, there’s this guy.”

“A guy?” Arielle said. “Why haven’t you told me about him?”

“Because there’s nothing going on.”

“But obviously you want there to be.”

Anne grimaced. Oh, yeah, she did.

“Is this the same guy? The photographer?” Skye asked, feigning ignorance.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Have you made any progress?”

 “None. I guess he’s just not that interested.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Skye said.

“Well, he’s definitely attracted. Damn, we have the most amazing chemistry, but he refuses to do anything about it.”

“Because?” Arielle asked.

“He’s doing a photo essay on dance, featuring me. And he wants to keep it professional.”

Skye had to take a sip of her tea to keep herself from laughing.

“But damn, he is so fricken’ hot. And it’s obvious he wants me. I mean, he can’t exactly deny that fact when he gets so turned on, but—God, I don’t know where he gets his willpower.”

Skye took another long sip of tea and reached for the teapot to pour herself more.

“What’s he like?” Arielle asked.

“He’s amazing. You should see the pictures he takes. They’re incredible. He doesn’t just take pictures. He’s an artist, the way he captures the movement at the exact right moment and the way he uses the light . . . And it doesn’t hurt that he’s incredibly gorgeous with light brown hair and dark brown eyes and he has an amazing body. All muscle. Whoa, what we could do together.” She cringed and looked from Arielle to Skye. “Oops, did I say that out loud?”

“’Fraid so,” Arielle confirmed.

Anne shrugged. “Well, what can I say, it’s the truth. I just wish I could get him to let go of this ridiculous notion that we can’t do anything until this photo shoot is over. I mean, is that the most absurd thing you’ve ever heard?”

“Maybe he’s afraid of jeopardizing his art? Maybe once you have a relationship it will change the way he sees you—as a lover instead of a dancer,” Arielle offered.

Anne’s brow furrowed. She hadn’t thought of that. “Uh, maybe, but considering the way he looks at me now, I doubt it would change anything.”

“How does he look at you?” Skye asked. As if she hadn’t seen it firsthand.

“Like he wants to devour me.”

“You have to give the guy credit for maintaining a professionalism,” Arielle pointed out.

“I would if I could get past his rejecting me,” Anne said.

Arielle returned Skye’s wink. She couldn’t wait to meet Christopher Newell. He sounded amazing. And perfect for Anne.

“I just have to figure out a way to break through his reserve. And get him to go to bed with me.”

“Why so anxious?” Arielle asked casually. As if she didn’t know.

“Because the guy is hot! I mean, it is so fricken’ hard even being in the same room with him. It’s been pure torture having him help with my production. Even when he’s across the room, it’s hard not to drool.”

Arielle and Skye laughed at the image.

“Sorry, gross, but it’s true.”

“I’ve never seen you quite so—” Skye stopped herself from using the word, “smitten” just in time. “So attracted to a guy.”

“Well, you haven’t seen him. God, it’s so frustrating. I mean after that last kiss, I thought for sure—”

“You’ve kissed?” Arielle asked.

“Oh, yeah, but he won’t let me do anything else.”

“But you’ll be finished with the photo shoot soon, right?” Skye asked.

“Not soon enough.”

Arielle leaned closer and looked Anne in the eye. “What’s really got you in such a hurry?” she asked in that therapist manner she had.

Anne sighed. “I really want to be with him.” She would have stopped there except for Arielle’s raised eyebrow waiting for an honest answer. “Even more than wanting him, I want to get over wanting him.”

Arielle smiled and relaxed her shoulders, reaching for a second scone. At least Anne had admitted the truth. They were making progress. “So you’re still afraid of commitment,” she said softly.

“What’s commitment got to do with this?”

Arielle frowned. Maybe not as much progress as she’d thought. “You want to get on with your fling because you think that will cure you of your attraction to him. The sooner you get involved, the sooner you’ll be able to leave him behind.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Anne protested. “He won’t be waiting around for me anyway.”

“You don’t know that. And it’s called commitmentitis,” Arielle reminded her, a word she and Sophie had come up with to describe the two cousins’ fear of commitment. Fortunately Skye had gotten over hers.

“It’s not that at all.” Anne scowled at the cookie she’d snatched from the tray but took a bite anyway. “I’m just attracted to the guy. It’s nothing serious. I just want to have a torrid affair with him. And then move on.”

Skye raised her eyebrows as she caught Arielle rolling her eyes. 

“Do you ever worry about breaking a guy’s heart?” Arielle asked.

Anne considered that for a moment. “There’s never any danger of that. They all leave when I go off on tour.”

“They leave?”

“Or don’t wait for me to come back.”

“Because you give them the message that you don’t want them to,” Skye interjected.

“I do not!”

“Yeah, right.” Skye’s eyes narrowed as she challenged her cousin to the truth.

“What if one did wait?” Arielle asked calmly.

The horrified expression on Anne’s face answered the question. Definitely a serious case of commitmentitis.

“Well, maybe it’s time to give it some thought,” Arielle said, “because one of these days a guy is going to stick around and wait for you.”

Anne shook her head in protest. “I seriously doubt that. No guy is going to put up with my going off to dance every few months.” No man would ever tolerate her lifestyle and let her be who she was.

Arielle leaned forward again, to be certain she had the dancer’s attention. “Well, it’s something to consider. Because it really is possible to have a relationship and pursue your dream. And there is a guy out there who will love you for who you are and want you to be yourself and to be happy. Maybe not this guy, but some day . . . ”

She looked up at Skye and raised an eyebrow. Skye took the cue and jumped in. “I can see that with most couples, but Anne’s lifestyle makes a serious relationship pretty much impossible.”

Anne nodded her agreement. “She’s right. No guy will tolerate my going off on dance tours three or four times a year.”

“You don’t know that,” Arielle said.

“Yeah, she does. A guy might act like he’s okay with it, but in the end he’ll steal your soul. Isn’t that what all men do?”

Anne winced at Skye’s words. “Well, not Nick.”

“No, he’s the exception,” Skye defended.

“Or my brothers. Or yours. Or any of our male cousins, for that matter.”

“Yeah, okay, there are a few exceptions. But this guy isn’t one of them.”

“You really think that?”

“Damned right.”

“You don’t even know him,” Anne defended.

“Well, neither do you. I mean, really, what do you know about him?”

“Not a lot,” she admitted. Just that he was incredible to look at and to touch. And he was wonderful with his niece and an amazing photographer. And he looked at her as if she were the most amazing dancer in the world. So far she’d found only one flaw. His damned willpower.

“See. He’s probably just reeling you in so he can scoop you up in his net and take you home and keep you barefoot and in the kitchen.”

“Probably.” Only she didn’t believe that. Not for a minute.

As Anne stared into her tea, Arielle and Skye exchanged a conspiratorial smile. Mission accomplished. If nothing else, they’d given Anne a lot to think about.