We finished dinner without any more run-ins with Zoe. I felt like shit walking away without explaining what she overheard, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. Wyatt said he left her a really good tip. Not that it would make it better, but he tried.
“Have you found your ornament yet?” I asked when we stepped out into the cold.
Wyatt shook his head. “There are a few I’ve liked, but nothing I loved. I’m going to have to grab whatever I can find this weekend.”
“I saw a new store not far from here. It has all local products. I haven’t checked it out yet, but if you haven’t been there, we can check it out.”
“Dr. Peyton? Are you suggesting a Christmas adventure?” He stepped toward me, wrapping his arms around my back and tugging me close.
I smiled. “I think I am.”
“Does that mean I win? That I’ve managed to convince you that Christmas isn’t so bad?”
I wanted to tell him no, that I still had reservations about Christmas and the entire holiday season, but with his arms around me, the snow falling in our hair, lit snowflakes reflecting in his eyes, I loved it.
The holidays were definitely better with someone to share them with.
I shrugged. “I might be shifting my perspective.”
He let go of me and danced in a circle around me, taunting me with, “I win, you lose. You have to go out with me. Hell yeah!”
I laughed, loving the silly, playful side of Wyatt. He made it easy to like him. Easy to want to spend time with him. I knew it would be, but I didn’t expect that I would ever have so much fun with a man like him. A man who always seemed to be so put together. I was crushing hard on Wyatt.
And there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
Wyatt slipped on the ice and nearly fell on his ass. He caught himself with my sleeve, tugging me down. I grabbed him, on instinct, and we both ended up on the ground.
Our arms and legs were tangled together and we were both laughing like lunatics. I picked up a handful of snow and smashed it over his head. He laughed harder, pushing himself to a seated position and pulling me closer.
“Now that wasn’t fair.”
“You dragged me down.”
“Actually, you dragged me down.”
“If you hadn’t grabbed me to start with, I wouldn’t have fallen!”
He laughed again, standing, then reaching for me. “Come on, crazy girl, let’s go.”
I took his hand and tugged, letting him know I could pull him back down if I wanted to. His eyes grew wide, but he held firm and helped me stand. He didn’t let go of me right away, but eased our bodies closer until he could wrap his hand around my neck. With a smile, he lowered his lips to mine.
He only kissed me for a second. Just long enough to chase away the chill on my lips. I wanted more, and when he pulled back, I could see he did, too.
“Let’s go shopping,” I said with false cheer.
He grinned at me, then stepped back and took my hand. We walked to the store in silence. Wyatt opened the door for me and followed me inside. The store was clearly new, but I was always a fan of something different, and I loved Winterville. I knew as soon as we stepped inside that it was a unique place.
“I’ve never been in here,” Wyatt whispered as we looked around. “This place is pretty awesome.”
I nodded. “It is. Everything Buffalo, but lots of stuff about the suburbs, too.”
Wyatt led me deeper into the store. His fingers grazed over sweatshirts, scarves, and wool socks. He joked that he needed to get me those for Christmas since I liked the holidays now.
“You’re so clever,” I joked back. “I should get you a box of tissues.”
“Tissues?”
“To wipe your tears when I beat you,” I said with a shrug.
“Oh, the woman has jokes now! I thought I won.”
“I never admitted that.”
“There’s still time,” he promised. He stepped closer. “We still haven’t done my favorite thing this time of year.”
“We went sledding, and ice skating, and shopping. We even set up your Christmas tree. What’s left?”
His smile turned me to mush. It hit me straight in the heart, then traveled down to settle between my legs. He leaned in, his lips brushing my ear, and whispered, “Making love in front of a warm fire with snow falling outside.”
The image of Wyatt above me, Wyatt beneath me, Wyatt behind me even, flashed through my head like a sexy movie built only of my fantasies. I wanted it all.
Wyatt kissed my throat, his tongue darting out to tease me. Then he pulled back and turned away, continuing his shopping trip.
It took me a full minute before I could put one foot in front of the other again. I looked around for something to bring my mind back to the present and not the fantasy. I took a deep breath and saw something I thought Wyatt might enjoy.
“Did you see this book?” I held it up. “The History of Winterville.”
Wyatt walked back over to me and reached for it. “I should probably read this.” He flipped through, pausing at some old black and white photos. “It looks so different.”
I nodded. “We spend a lot of time thinking about what we can change, but not much examining what’s already changed.”
“That’s very profound, Dr. Peyton.”
I smiled, then noticed a collection of ornaments in the back corner. “Did you see those?”
Wyatt tucked the book under his arm and looked where I was pointing. “I didn’t. Haven’t made it back that far.”
“Let’s go see if they have one for you.”
Wyatt followed me to the ornaments. They were stunning. Elegant and elaborate or simple and quaint. I almost wanted to get one for myself.
I picked up a snowflake ornament. It was elegant, but simple. Straight lines of metal with a glittery element that made it look like ice. It spun in my hand, dangling from my finger like a delicate fantasy. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
I felt Wyatt beside me before he spoke. “It’s beautiful.”
I nodded. “It is,” I answered, feeling like I was in a trance.
“I think that’s the one,” Wyatt said, finally snapping me out of myself.
I immediately handed it over and smiled. “You should get it.” I couldn’t explain why I felt odd looking at it, or why it bothered me that Wyatt was buying it and I couldn’t have it. It made no sense. I didn’t even put up a Christmas tree. Vicki did, but she knew to decorate it when I wasn’t home. I ignored it the entire month of December and finally breathed when January arrived and the tree was packed away.
But I wanted that ornament. I wanted that reminder of something beautiful and precious in the holiday season. I wanted something to hold on to next year when Wyatt wasn’t a part of my life any longer.
Because I knew he wouldn’t be. Neither of us wanted that. We liked our freedom. And once Valentine’s Day passed, and my obligation to be his date was fulfilled, we’d go our separate ways.
Which was why my desire to have a reminder of our time together baffled me. I wasn’t a sentimental kind of person. I was logical and practical and stoic. I didn’t like trinkets. I didn’t like emotion.
Wyatt bought the ornament and came back to where I was standing, looking at the empty spot where the ornament had been. It was the last one, so I couldn’t even buy myself the same thing and know we’d both have one forever. It was gone.
“You ready to go?” Wyatt asked like nothing was wrong.
I nodded and followed him back out into the cold.
We were halfway to his car when he said, “You know I got that for you, right?”
“What?”
He breathed a laugh and stopped me. “I saw how much you liked that one. It’s yours. I was going to save it for Christmas, but I can tell it’s bothering you.”
“It’s not,” I lied. “You’re the one who wants a Christmas ornament.”
“Do you know my favorite part about getting a new ornament?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“It’s not the ornament. It’s the memory of who I was with when I bought it. My mom or my sister or a friend. I saw another ornament that was similar, but not as girly. I got that one for me.”
“Wyatt,” I said softly, touched that he bought me something. I reached up to touch his face, my gloved hand brushing his cheek.
“I wanted you to have something to remember this Christmas. But you’re not getting it tonight. You have to wait until Christmas.”
“Am I going to see you then?”
He nodded, his eyebrows pulling together. “I thought you were going to Olivia and Ethan’s?”
“We are. I just didn’t know you were.”
“Yeah. I get together with my family in the morning and leave by mid-afternoon. Usually I’m alone Christmas night.”
“Well, good. Then I’ll have someone to talk to.”
“Maybe we can talk Olivia into hanging some mistletoe around the house.”
I laughed and shook my head. “You don’t need that to kiss me.”
Wyatt stepped closer, our bodies aligned. He slid his hand around my back and took my lips in a kiss that stole my breath. His tongue swept into my mouth and claimed a part of me that no one else ever had. A part of me that I held out for just me. A part that said I couldn’t count on anyone else to take care of me.
But Wyatt had been doing just that. In his quest to make me love Christmas, I think he was making me love something else entirely.
That was a new feeling.
He eased back, letting the cool air fill the space between us. It brought a hint of clarity to me. Something I desperately needed in that moment.
Wyatt didn’t say anything as we walked back to his SUV. He held my door and jogged around to get in. He turned it on and blasted the heat, aiming all the vents my way.
His hand rested on my thigh on the drive back to his place. My mind couldn’t make sense of anything with his scent surrounding me and his large hand caressing my leg. I wanted him. But I wanted more than just sex. I didn’t do long term. I didn’t do permanent. I knew, without a doubt, that whatever was going on with us would end, but I couldn’t deny that I wasn’t anywhere near ready for it to.
“Want to come up for a drink?” he asked when we got out of the SUV.
I dug for my keys and shook my head. “I should get home. More wine and I won’t be able to drive, and we both have to work tomorrow.”
I wanted to spend more time with him, but I knew I had to be there for my patients in the morning. I wasn’t giving up my career. No matter what. Plus, I didn’t need more to drink. Wine before dinner and with dinner was enough.
“Peyton,” he said, his voice dipping lower. “We both know I wasn’t really asking you up for another glass of wine.”
“Oh, really?” I asked with a grin. “Then why were you asking me up?”
“I think you know why.”
“I’m a little slow when it comes to men. You should probably spell it out for me.”
He yanked my body tight against his, shocking a gasp out of me. He dipped his head to my ear and whispered, “I want to get you naked.” He kissed my neck. “And finish what we started over the weekend.” He kissed my jaw. “And find out once and for all if we’re as good together in bed as we are as friends.”
He ended his argument with a kiss. A demanding one that had me clutching his shoulders for support. I was powerless to resist his assault on my senses. He knew I wanted him. I knew he wanted me. And the dance we’d been doing was messing with my head.
That was why I thought I was falling for him.
He wasn’t just a friend, and he wasn’t just a lover. He was a confusing blend between the two.
If we slept together, he would be firmly in the lover category, and I could stop lusting after him. I’d have him. And everything would make sense again.
I pulled back from his kiss, enjoying the heavy-lidded look he gave me. I grinned and turned toward his building, leaving him to follow me. Within seconds, his footsteps raced across the parking lot to my side. He opened the door for me and guided me to his apartment with a hand low on my back.
Nope, not my back!
We paused on our way up the stairs to make out again. His fingers dug into my ass, urging me to climb him. When they dipped to my thighs and lifted, I knew I was done.
A man who could actually lift me?
I might be falling for him.
Or at least for his talents in the bedroom.
Or hallway.