Secret Santa 4U (4 page)

Oh well.
Last night had definitely been worth a little stiffness.

Wispy lace in the window of a lingerie shop
caught her attention.
Feeling more than a little naughty, she went inside to splurge on some
items she
’
d always shied away from.
It was amazing what a little sex play
could
do for a girl
’
s self-confidence.
Her hand glided across the whisper-thin material of a see-through
negligee
hanging from a mannequin.
Blood rushed to her cheeks.
She could nev
er wear something that revealing.
Well, not around a man anyway.
But alone in her apartment, in front of the computer, it was strangely inviting.

Feeling brave, she chose not
just one sexy outfit, but
two.
One
was
a
white
baby doll gown with a matching pei
gnoir, and
the other
a
black
teddy
with a barely-there front.
These, she justified with a secret smile, would be her Christmas presents to herself.

Done shopping, Sophie walked back to the entrance and grabbed an empty table at the nearby coffeehouse.
Sett
ing her bags on the ground beside her, she ordered an iced mocha and sipped it as she waited for Brody.

He was earlier than she expected.

“
Hey,
”
she greeted as he took a seat across from her.

“
Hey, yourself.
”
He pointed to the large green and red bag besid
e her.
“
Buy anything good?
”

She wrapped her ankle around the bag and
grinned around her straw.
“
Maybe.
”

“
A
h, so we
’
re b
eing mysterious,
are we
?
”

“
We are
.
”

He nodded toward the parking lot.
“
I already put my stuff in the truck.
”

“
Cheater.
”
She stood and thr
ew away her half-empty cup.
“
I had to lug th
ese
big ol
’
bag
s
all over the mall.
”

He reached out to help her.
“
You were the one
who
insisted I drive, so
technically, it can
’
t be my fault.
You can
’
t go blaming
the chauffeur.
”

Sophie handed him
a couple of
th
e smaller bags but held onto the larg
e bag with the two laptops and the lingerie
tucked inside.

“
What gives?
”
he asked, grabbing the nearly weightless bags in one hand and holding his other hand out
,
palm-
side up.
“
Gimme the big bag, Soph
.
”

She shook her h
ead.
“
Oh, no can do.
Might be something in here for you.
”

“
You
’
re so stubborn,
”
he mumbled.
“
Wait here.
I
’
ll
bring the truck around.
”

The drive home was pleasant.
There was hardly any traffic on the roads
,
and everything was covered in a fresh blanket of s
now.
Sophie smiled.
Regardless of the season, she always found snow a bit magical.
It covered everything like a fresh coat of paint
and
made the
world seem fresh and new.
She looked up at the gray clouds above and saw the tell-tale flakes begin to fall aga
in.
It was one of the many perks of living this close to the
Appalachian Mountains
.

“
Great.
Another storm
’
s coming
.
”
Brody turn
ed
on the wipers.

“
It
’
s not so bad.
At least we won
’
t have to drive in it.
”

“
Yeah, b
ut my apartment
’
s gonna be colder than a witc
h
’
s tit in a brass bra.
”

She frowned.
“
Don
’
t tell me you haven
’
t told the super about your heater.
”

“
Okay.
”

She blew out a sigh of relief.

“
I won
’
t tell you.
”

“
Ah, c
’
mon, Brody.
You can
’
t expect to stay in that apartment when the hea
t
’
s out.
You
’
ll freeze
to death
.
”

Pulling up to a red light on the deserted road, he stopped and looked at her.
“
I still have my fireplace.
”

“
Well, that
’
s something at least.
”

“
Yeah.
”
The light turned green
,
and he put the truck in gear.
“
I should
probably
get
some firewood.
”

So
phie sighed.
“
Brody
Jacobs
, it
’
s
December twenty-third, just a day before
Christmas Eve
,
and it
’
s snowing
like crazy
.
Where are you going to find any dry wood for sale?
”

“
I
’
ll call around.
”

She couldn
’
t let him stay in his apartment under those conditions.
“
Do you have any plans for Christmas?
”
She was surprised she hadn
’
t asked before.
“
I mean, I know you
’
re not going home for the holidays, but are you spending the day with anyone?
Friends?
Family?
”

He
shook his head
as they drove into the apartment comple
x
.
“
Nope.
No plans.
”

“
Then I
’
m officially inviting you to spend the holidays with me.
I have a tree, presents and best of all, heat.
”

Brody
parked the truck
beside Sophie
’
s VW
and cut the engine.
Turning toward her, he grinned, t
he endearing slashes etched
into his lean.
“
I thought you
’
d never ask.
”
He hopped out and ran around to her side, helping her as she struggled with her bags.

“
Give me about twenty minutes to get my presents wrapped
before you
come down.
That should give you enough time to pack.
”

His
crystal blue eyes widened
.
“
Or
get trapped in the ice cave that is my apartment
.
I might have to eat my own leg.
”
He gasped.

“
You
’
re hopeless.
”

The dimples
re
appeared in his cheeks.
“
Yep.
See ya in twenty!
”

Absently, she watched him take the stairs two at
a time.
Boy, his backside was nice and tight and fit snugly in those faded jeans.
Sophie blinked.
What the hell?
No, no, no.
Brody was just a friend.
Nothing more.
She shook her head, trying to dispel the images of his tall, lean body and handsome face.
W
hen the images wouldn
’
t g
o away, she shook harder.
Oh
,
for crying out loud
.

Grabbing the
oversized plastic
bag, she dragged it inside her apartment and slammed the d
oor shut.
Why did she keep conjuring up sexy images of Brody in her mind?
The only logic
al
solution
was to blame it on the
time of year.
Some sort of seasonal affective disorder.

She hurried and wrapped one of the small
laptop
s
,
as well as
the other baubles she
’
d gotten
,
and set them under the tree.
At least it looked festive.
Hopefully, Brody d
idn
’
t need a lot of entertaining
,
and she could just sneak back to her bedroom and log into the dating site.
No.
That would be rude.
She
’
d have to wait until Brody was asleep.

She had m
inestrone
simmering
on the stove
when Brody came down.
He had two neatl
y-wrapped rectangular packages balanced in one hand and a duffel bag in the other.
“
Where should I stow my gear?
”

Sophie pointed toward the living room.
“
You
’
re bunking on the futon.
”

With a n
od, he headed in that direction, making a quick detour to place
the packages beneath the tree.

It
’
s
A Wonderful Life
played on the
television a
s they ate.
A nice, comfortable silence surrounded them while
they enjoyed their dinner and movie.
However, a
s soon as the credits rolled, Sophie picked up the plates and set th
em in the sink.
With an exaggerated stretch, she told Brody,
“
I
’
m wiped out.
Guess it was all that shopping.
I
’
m going to hit the hay now.
If you need anything, just help yourself.
Oh, and feel free to surf.
You know that computer better than I do, so have
at it.
”
She pointed to the desktop computer on the desk across the room.

He looked a little shocked since it was only a little after nine o
’
clock but waved at her.
“
Thanks for letting me crash here.
I appreciate it.
”

“
You
know you
’
re always welcome
.
”
She
turned and started down the hall
way, only to spin
around once again.
“
Turn off the tree before you go to sleep?
”

He nodded, distracted by the television.

I
nside her room, Sophie closed the door and got undressed.
Smiling secretly,
she put on the
transparen
t peignoir
.
It felt sinful against her bare skin.
She slid beneath the warm flannel sheets and opened the laptop.
Thank God for wireless internet.
Within minutes, she was surfing the dating site, popping into different rooms.
Where was he?
After almost an
hour of room-hopping, she decided to head back to the room for 30-somethings.
The standard greetings welcomed her: