White-Hot Holiday(4)

The puppy lollopped after Luke just as the phone inside the house started ringing. Tyler got up to answer it, leaving Naomi alone with Aaron. The sun had set, and the sky was awash with indigo. While they’d been talking, night had crept up on them. Insects chirped in the milky darkness. A citronella candle on the table gave off an orange-scented glow. Fruit bats flapped about the trees. Naomi shifted in her seat, aware of the man sitting next to her and his potent, hard-to-ignore physicality. His bare, muscular forearm with a light dusting of hair lay at ease on the armrest not far from her.

Aaron cleared his throat, startling her. “I want to apologize again for my rudeness earlier on,” he said. “I don’t know what got into me.”

She waved her hand. “Please, don’t worry about it. You’re a guest here. Just enjoy your stay.”

“Thanks.” He nodded, hesitated before adding, “I’m usually not so frank with someone I’ve just met. It must be you.” He grinned, white teeth gleaming in the dusk.

Her heart flipped at his dimpled smile. Damn, she hated the visceral impact he had on her. Was he flirting with her, or just being friendly? She’d hate to misinterpret his actions. But what did it matter anyway? He was leaving in a few days, and in the meantime he’d be too busy catching up with Luke to bother her. Besides, they were patently incompatible, so even if he were flirting with her, and she was a sucker for his dimples, nothing would ever come of it.

“Yeah, must be.” Shrugging, she affected a nonchalant grin. “I was too nosy. But don’t worry. I’ve forgotten about it.”

“Oh?” His smile lingered. “I kinda liked it.”

“You like hating Christmas?”

“I liked being honest about it. With you.’” His mouth edged up again.

She took a deep breath. “I see. Should I just call you the Big Bah Humbug, then?”

“Maybe not when Chloe’s around, but you can call me anything when we’re alone.”

A nervy feeling twitched in her stomach at the idea of being alone with Aaron. She waved at the twinkling Christmas lights Luke had strung up around the deck. “In case you hadn’t noticed, this is a bah-humbug-free zone.”

His eyes continued to glimmer at her. “I can see we have an interesting few days ahead of us.” Linking his hands behind his head, he stretched out in his chair, and as he did so, his polo shirt rode up a few inches, revealing a slice of firm, toned abdomen.

Naomi gulped and gripped her hands together as attraction simmered in her. Luke had warned her about Aaron’s charm, and she’d assured him she was immune. But wasn’t that fast becoming a lie?





Chapter Two


Someone was shaking him by the shoulder. Aaron opened his eyes to find Luke standing at his bedside. His friend was fully dressed and wore an expression of contained concern.

“What’s up?” Aaron pushed himself upright and tried to blink the sleep away from his eyes. Early morning light filtered through the drapes.

“Something’s come up.” Luke jingled keys in the pocket of his jacket. “It’s Tyler’s mother. She’s been admitted to hospital, and we have to drive up to Sydney right away.”

“Is it serious?” Aaron rolled out of bed and stood, his sleepiness ebbing away.

“We’re not sure. Something to do with her heart. I’m sorry to do this to you, but I don’t know how long we’ll be away.”

“Hey, don’t worry about me at all. Just go with Tyler. She’ll need your support. You’ll be taking Chloe, too?”

“Yeah.” Luke paused, eyeing him keenly. “So you’ll be okay hanging out here with Naomi?”

“Of course.” Aaron rubbed his chest. Now why did the idea of being alone with Naomi cause his spirits to lift so much? “Like I said, don’t worry about me.”

Luke was silent for a few seconds. “You know all about Naomi’s rough year.” He shifted his stance, folding his arms.

Aaron met his eyes, read the nuance in his words, and nodded.

“I’d really appreciate it if you kept an eye out for her while we’re gone,” Luke said. “In case she needs help.”

“Oh, sure.” He wasn’t certain Naomi needed any help from him, but it would be more than pleasant to ‘keep an eye’ on her. “Don’t worry about anything here.”

Aaron pulled on a shirt over his sleep shorts, then walked with Luke down the hallway.

In the living room, Tyler was zipping up bags while Naomi held a sleepy Chloe in her arms and Milo whined anxiously. Tyler’s gaze flew straight to Luke, her face tight with worry. He moved over to her and clasped her hand in silent support. Aaron picked up the two packed bags and followed everyone out into the early morning air. In minutes, the Maguires were packed, and their car pulled out of the driveway.

“I hope it’s nothing serious.” Naomi rubbed her arms as she stared after the car.

Despite the situation, Aaron couldn’t help noticing her just-woken-up appearance. Clad in a loose, white T-shirt and gingham shorts, with her hair sleep mussed and face scrubbed clean, she looked soft and touchable, the mild sunshine bathing her in gauzy radiance.

“I’m sure Luke will call the minute they have news,” he said, trying not to stare too blatantly.

As they reentered the house, Milo stuck close to Naomi, whimpering in confusion. She scooped up the puppy in her arms and headed for the kitchen. “You deserve a treat, don’t you, poor little munchkin.”

Aaron followed, admiring the view of Naomi’s legs stretching out beneath her shorts. Luke had warned him to keep his hands off his niece. How was he going to keep that promise when she was so scantily dressed? And it wasn’t as if she were actively discouraging him. She could have gotten dressed instead of leaning against the kitchen counter feeding doggie treats to Milo. And though she lavished attention on the puppy, he caught her glancing at him, as if she were checking him out, too. He rubbed his chest, suddenly glad of his regular gym sessions and racquet ball games. He wasn’t a muscle-bound beefcake, but he was in good physical shape.

Naomi gave the dog one last cuddle before lowering him to the floor. “I need to make a few phone calls. Tyler was too upset to do them, so I volunteered. And then I have to get ready for work. Will you be okay hanging out here by yourself?”

Why did both she and Luke think he needed amusing like a bored school kid on vacation?

“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “But how do you get to work? I didn’t notice another car in the driveway.”

“I use my bicycle. It’s only about fifteen minutes, and it’s good exercise.”

That explained why her legs were so invitingly toned. He wondered if they were as smooth to the touch as they appeared and instantly thrust the question from his mind. “Will you be able to cope at work with Tyler gone?”

Naomi lifted her shoulders. “I’ll have to. Ally—that’s Tyler’s business partner—can’t do too many extra hours because she’s about ten months pregnant.”

“I’ll help you.”

“You?” Her mouth fell open.

“Yes, me.” He waved away her incredulity. “I’m not doing anything.”

“But you’re on holiday. You’re not supposed to do anything.”

“I can hardly rest around here while you and a heavily pregnant woman are run ragged by hordes of Christmas shoppers.”

“But you” She seemed at a loss for words. “But you hate Christmas. I don’t want you scaring our customers away.”

“I’ll keep my opinions to myself,” he said soothingly. Somehow he needed her to accept his help. He blandished a smile on her. “I’m very good at customer service. See these dimples here?” He pointed at his cheek. “They’re my secret weapon. I’ve closed major deals with them.”

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I see. So dimples are worth more than an MBA from Columbia?”

“Used judiciously, yes. They don’t teach you the proper use of dimples at Columbia. It comes from experience.”

Her smile widened, her indigo eyes sparkled, and for a moment he basked in their warmth. But then she appeared to remember that she wasn’t supposed to like him, and her lips straightened into a prim line as she smoothed down her T-shirt. “Very well,” she said, sounding every inch the schoolteacher. “You and your dimples can help out today.”

Forty minutes later, they’d showered, changed, and breakfasted. As they left the house and approached his Porsche, Naomi let out a sigh.

“We’ll be turning heads in that,” she said, not sounding pleased.

“That’s what it’s designed for.”

Aaron opened the passenger door for her and copped an eyeful of shapely leg as she eased into the low-slung seat. Dressed in a leaf-green linen dress that ended several inches above her knee and flat leather sandals, she looked both competent and lovely. It was too bad about the Maguires’ family emergency, but spending more time with Naomi was a great consolation.

As he maneuvered the sports car down the street and inadvertently revved it, her fingers dug into the red leather seat.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “Still getting used to driving this thing.”