Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

MIKAYLA

M y Spidey sense tingled as I followed my parents into my mom's best friend from college's house. Not sure what the source of the temporal disturbance was, so I shrugged it off as getting off a plane with Super Hot Clark Kent doppelg?nger tired vibes.

Until I rounded the corner.

I knew before I even saw the dark tousled hair or those gorgeous baby blues cleverly hidden by black frames.

My no men, just the holidays and family mantra flew off the roof along with Dasher and Dancer. His eyes widened before a slow smile spread along his lips.

"Hey."

"Imagine bumping into you here, of all places?" I teased, hand on my hip, the other holding whatever holiday cocktail my mom and his had decided would fit the holiday spirit. It was red, made my insides tingle (or was that him?), and kept my hands occupied.

Shit. Mikayla Jayne, stick to your guns. Sexy smiles have fooled you before, the nice elf whispered, arms crossed and perched on one shoulder.

But, the naughty elf on my shoulder said in a singsong voice, they were never this sexy AND made you miss takeoff and landing…imagine the other things he could do while stuffing your stocking.

"How do you two know each other?" my mom asked as Martin kissed her on the cheek before escaping in the food's direction.

I shot him a glare, knowing what was coming. Traitor , I mouthed. This was why I was staying at my Nana's house instead of theirs. I knew she couldn't help herself once she heard I broke up with the boyfriend she never met. Or knew his name.

Fuck my life.

Like sharks in the water, our mothers smelled blood. Cue the set up.

The two of them exchanged a glance that had me ready to jump on a plane back to Chicago and hide in my apartment. Consequences be damned. Hide out. Avoid.

"We sat next to each other on the plane," Ryan said, hiding his smile behind a mug of what I assumed was coffee from the delicious scent wafting its way to my nose, but if it were me, it would be vodka. Straight.

Hmm. Maybe I could still hide and avoid here. Passed out in the guest room at Nana's house. Under a few blankets. Gatorade on the nightstand, and a spicy audiobook in my ears if I ever woke up.

"Oh, I bet that was a fun flight." Mom turned to me, eyes full of pity, then back at Ryan. "She's a bear to fly with. I hope it wasn't stressful. We've tried everything to help her, but nothing short of knocking her out has ever worked."

"Mom!"

The chuckle from the man who saved me snaked its way down my spine, and damn, did that Naughty Elf love it. "Your daughter was the best companion I've ever had on a flight. Usually, I'm surrounded by work, and I never get to relax. Or eat red velvet Oreo brownie truffles. She even snagged the recipe from the flight attendant."

Oh God. Now he was in for it. Shit.

Mom's eyes widened, and like clockwork, Mrs. Bennington slid right into her place as a matchmaking partner in crime, like sugar and spice and everything set-up-your-grown-kids nice.

Ryan's mom clapped her hands together. "This works out perfectly. Tina and I were just saying there's so much we still have to do that we just can't possibly cover together. If only we had an extra pair of hands-"

"Or two!" my mom interjected.

"And it looks like a Christmas Miracle has arrived just in time. So the two of you can take care of all the little things we need help with. A two-person job, and we just didn't think we could do it all! Time to ‘Deck the Halls'!" she finished, glancing between the two of us like she just won the damn local Christmas pageant. And we were the trophy she was going to display. Proudly.

No men. Just the holidays. And family.

Fa la la fuck my life.

Four not calling bird shaped finger sandwiches, three French chocolate mini mousse pies, two dark chocolate turtle candies, and one very large ‘Partridge with all the vodka in a Pear Tree' drink later, I sat out on the deck, loving the way the night sky lit up. Stars dotted the entire horizon. I couldn't remember the last time I sat and looked up at anything other than a high-rise.

Nana headed home early, and for the fifth time in an hour, I thanked the stars above she had a pool house she insisted I stay in when I came to visit. I needed space and time to lick my wounds, though with the way the matchmaking moms were doling out holiday to-do list tasks via emails, Ryan and I just might have to spend time together in order to get them off our backs.

My brain calculated exactly how straight laced every damn movement and smile C.K. executed, from how he chose what to eat, to the path he took around a room, to the amount of time he sat down versus avoiding our mothers.

I bet he even had a blueprint of a woman's body in his head, with all the buttons, switches and wing adjustments he needed to make. Oh, yes, I totally Googled him when I had the chance. Tucked in a half bath at the far end of a hall, and far away from half the town in attendance, I sat on the counter, feet in the sink. Fingers swiped while I nursed my drink and clicked on video after video and social media post. Stories on the team he worked for, which included pictures of the girl he was trying to forget.

No tattoos or piercings, or wild hair. I was so far from Ryan's crush that disappointment pooled in my belly. But no men, just the holidays, and family , the Nice Elf repeated.

The Naughty Elf and I swooned a little at the way he commanded and controlled his team from atop the pit box. The precision with which he made decisions, the intensity with which he studied everything around him. And, damn, when he flexed his arms, the forearm porn was what any girl would want under her tree on Christmas morning.

I groaned and brought my knees up to my chest, and rested my cheek on them. This whole stay away from the opposite sex was all fine and dandy until it…wasn't. Fuccckkk. One way or the other, Ryan Bennington's presence overrode most of my best laid plans.

Laid, the Naughty Elf snickered. You are not making that Nice List, Mikayla .

Now my tired brain and overly horny body were arguing with the Nice Elf who kept repeating the mantra. And the why.

The cheating asshole who broke my heart. But, now that I wasn't in Chicago, surrounded by the things that reminded me of how wrong I was about…everything.

"Hey," a deep voice said, breaking me out of my pity party of one. Well, three, if you counted the stupid imaginary elves who kept offering their unwanted opinions. Both of whom wouldn't shut the fuck up as Ryan's face came into view as he crouched down in front of me.

"Hey, CK."

He chuckled, and the sound reminded me of the old Rat Pack Christmas album my dad used to play every year before he passed away while on deployment. Training exercise accident.

Yeah, right. But boy, did he love old Blue Eyes.

Must run in the family, I thought as I stared at Ryan's. One side of his mouth quirked up. "So, our moms are pretty adamant about decking the halls for them, aren't they?"

Oh, God. Please Deck My Halls, Daddy, repeated in my head, just like it had on the plane. Naughty Elf snickered. The little bastard. "Christmas is kind of her thing. And she's relentless."

He snorted and pushed his glasses up his nose. Cue the flexing forearm porn and my drooling resolve dissolving. I sat up and squared my shoulders, but didn't miss the way his eyes darted to the tattoos trailing from my shoulder where my cardigan had slid down.

Stay strong. No men. Just the holidays. And family.

"We're fucked, aren't we?"

I feigned an outraged gasp with my hand on my chest. "Did you just swear, Mr. Clark Kent look alike?"

Damn, his eyes sparked, desire in their depths as he stared me down. "Oh, I do all sorts of bad things, Mikayla Jayne. Maybe I'm trying to get on the naughty list this year. I hear getting coal is much more fun if you earn it by being all kinds of bad." He glanced out over the horizon. "I especially excel and avoid meddling adults who keep trying to help me get over…things."

Either I needed to get back to the pool house fast and bring out my trusty, never fail me vibrator, or I might do something neither of us would regret. Wait, was I talking myself into something, or out of something?

Ryan hooked his thumb in the direction of the sliding doors that led out to the patio. "I think your nana left and your parents are still going strong. I don't know about you, but I could use a little quiet. And you nana not so subtly suggested I sneak you out of here before, and I quote, ‘my daughter makes you play whose stocking is it'?"

I groaned and chuckled. "I think we should listen to her advice. But you don't have to drive me. I can call a car."

"No way. Letting down a Nana is like landing on the naughty list the wrong way."

"There's a wrong way?"

The smirk he gave me when he nodded was pure Naughty Elf catnip. "And a right one." He stood, held out his hand, and arched a brow.

"Really?"

"Yes. And I'll tell you all about how to do it the right way on the drive."

Tears streamed down my face. "And your mom believed you?"

Ryan's shoulders shook with laughter as he made the turn onto my nana's street. It was one of those that had houses spaced out enough that there was room to breathe. Which I loved after living in Chicago for the past four years. The stars shined brighter. The breeze drifted lazily in. And my heart didn't beat out of my chest with every step I took.

No more racing thoughts. No more living on the edge of a panic attack or trying to figure out how I got it so wrong.

Of why I wasn't enough.

"Luc and Van had suds all over their clothes, I didn't. Being the mastermind has its advantages," he chuckled. "All the bubbles dissolved. Mostly," he amended. "By the time she realized I was behind most of the pranks, I think she was more proud than anything. A bunch of kids growing up at the racetrack could've been doing a lot worse, she figured."

I loved the way his voice sluiced like whiskey down my spine, warming me. When we left the house, my mom caught us, and gave me a huge thumbs up before Ryan noticed. But when she called out, "Don't forget, we'll have the to-do list in the morning for the two of you to do together." My cheeks heated like the time she tried to help me get a date to prom my junior year in high school by cornering the quarterback in his parking spot in her Jag.

Mortified. But, this time, I was a grown adult. And so ready to give her a dose of her own medicine. Because the last thing I wanted for Christmas was complications, feelings, or another broken heart.

I just wasn't sure how yet.

Lights lit the driveway in a dim glow as Ryan parked off to the side of the house.The pool house sat farther back, on the edge of the property. God bless nanas and their intuition. He turned to face me, but before he said a word, I stopped him.

"Come and have a drink with me. Please?"

He looked out the window at the house, where not a light lit up the night, then back at me. Just when my hope was about to float away like the Sugar Plum Fairy, he said, "Well, I do owe you the Naughty List explanation."