Clear as Glass, стр. 54
“I had no idea there was water at the bottom of this hill. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have suggested we barrel at breakneck speed toward the creek.” She took the sled so he could return to level ground. Backing from the edge, she glanced at the trail they’d blazed down the hill and laughed. “Gosh, that was fun.”
He took the sled’s rope from her. “Do you want to go again?”
“Yes. Very much.”
“All right. Come on.” Head down, he started walking up the hill.
Unwilling to pretend everything was okay, she ran in front of him and pressed both mittens against the puffy ski jacket covering his torso. “Wait, Mitch. I jumped to conclusions about how you treated your mother. I should’ve asked what went on inside your family. Please forgive me.”
The tight corner of his mouth softened. “You were forgiven the moment you told me why you were angry.”
The solemn pledge in his gaze made her feel like he just dug his bare hands into the snow to hand her an armload of fragrant red roses. She framed his jaw with her mittens. “But I never made the same promise.” She kissed his mouth, loving the way his warm lips contrasted to the icy snowflakes falling from the gray sky.
He rested his forehead against hers. “I want to take you home, turn on the TV, and pretend to watch football while we fool around on the couch.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“I can’t.” He shook his head. “Phil asked me to show up at his house today to watch the game. I figured you’d be visiting your family, so I said yes.”
“You should go.”
“Not without you. Come with me.”
“Okay. If there will be lots of people there, I might get to watch the game without worrying about you finding a quiet corner to seduce me.”
“Don’t be so sure, pixie.” His mouth pulled back in a slow, sexy smile. “I’ll come up with something.”
Chapter Nineteen
In the two weeks since she arrived at Blake Glassware, Jaye hadn’t socialized with many people. Stepping out created the chance someone would recognize her, and she wanted to protect her anonymity a little while longer. She walked into Phil’s living room and felt her insides whir like a hung-up computer. If those here read the society or technology sections from the Syracuse newspaper, they’d recognize her and she’d be toast.
Freddie extended a beer to Mitch. “I saved a bottle for you.”
Instead of taking the drink, Mitch touched the small of her back. “Mind being my designated driver?”
“I can drive. Go ahead.” She sat on Phil’s brown couch and watched uneasily as Mitch took the beer. The possibility he might drink heavily like her ex-boyfriend unearthed the crippling forebodings she’d buried in the sandy soil of Virginia.
Twisting off the lid with a quick flick of his wrist, he tipped the amber bottle to his mouth and guzzled half the contents.
Jaye wondered if he mastered that trick during his fraternity days.
Exhaling, he sat beside her and rested the bottle on his thigh.
The sweet scent of yeast triggered painful memories of the last time Jaye smelled alcohol on a man’s breath. Two months ago, she finished work early and decided to surprise David at his apartment. He met her at the door, his breath perfumed with beer. Jaye’s cheerful invitation to dinner sputtered when she looked past his shoulder to spot a dark-haired woman wearing nothing but red stiletto heels and a studded dog collar.
David didn’t even own a dog.
Jaye didn’t stick around for explanations. When David sobered up, he insisted he had no idea how the woman got into his apartment. She didn’t believe him. When his psychologist confirmed that heavy drinking could cause blackouts, David was too happy to blame alcohol for his behavior.
The doctor worked hard to convince Jaye that David’s “problem” would go away with alcohol abstinence, but the good doctor didn’t seem to know how to heal the rip in her heart. A new tear began as Jaye watched Mitch’s thumb swipe the condensation off the neck of his amber beer bottle.
Phil’s wife set a platter of food on the coffee table and nodded toward the kitchen. “Can I get you something to drink, Jaye?”
“No thanks. I’m fine,” she lied. A lump of apprehension expanded in the hollow of her chest as Mitch took another long swallow, almost emptying the bottle. At this rate, he’d plow though a six-pack in less than ten minutes.
How inebriated did he intend to get? Was he a happy drunk? Would he bring home attractive women, like David had?
Jaye leaned toward Mitch. “Do you have an extra dog collar lying around at home?”
“No.” Mitch covered his mouth to mute a soft burp. “Why?”
She waved her hand. “Never mind. Just wondering.”
Freddie sat beside Mitch and peered at Jaye. “No skirt? This is the second day in a row I’ve seen you in jeans. Don’t you like us anymore?”
“At least she’s wearing the right colors: blue jeans and a white shirt.” Phil gave her an approving nod. “Penn State colors.”
Patti brought in a huge platter of wings, evoking a murmur of approval from the small crowd.
A round-faced man with a bad case of acne approached and jammed his hands in his pockets. “D’ya think I can sit on the couch, too?”
“Sure, Harry. There’s always room for another glassblower.” Mitch slid closer to Jaye and Freddie followed suit, making room for Harry at the end. Mitch set his beer on the coffee table and loaded a plate with wings, nachos, and coleslaw. He handed the plate to Jaye. “Dig in. Patti makes awesome wings.”
Jaye took an appreciative sniff of the food, struck he saw to her needs before his own. Heat from the chicken radiated through the bottom of the plate, warming her cold hands. “Thank you.”
“Sure thing.” He waited until Freddie and Harry filled their plates before loading