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When they were out of earshot, Brit turned to him and said, “Thank you for that.”
When she looked at him that way, he resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her senselessly. Instead, he reached out his hand and tucked a long strand of her hair that escaped her bun, behind her ear. “No problem. Aunt Kim can be a little pushy, sometimes you just need to push back.”
As much as she wanted to lean into his hand, Brit took a step back. Nothing could happen between them, despite her wanting it to. She was a wanted woman, not from the police but from her ruthless employers. And then he would find out what she had done for a living and want nothing to do with her. Eyes filled with regret she looked up at him and said, “I’m going to see if Jasmine needs any help in the kitchen. Do you want anything?”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say ‘you’, but instead he mutely shook his head. He had a lot of planning to do and could really use some advice. The only person he could think of that had been in a similar situation was Ben when he’d met his mom. He needed to give him a call asap.
“Alright then. I’ll see you at dinner.” He watched as she walked out of the room and waited until the sound of her footsteps faded down the hall.
He reached into his back pocket and swore. His phone wasn’t there and then he remembered it was still in his coat pocket and had been when he’d fallen through the ice. It was likely a $2500.00 paperweight now considering it had been submerged in the icy water as long as he had been. Luke exited the room, crossed the front foyer, and headed straight for the reception desk to the landline phone. Picking up the receiver to call Ben, it dawned on him that he didn’t know his number. Not wanting to ask Kim or Dean for the number, he replaced the receiver in its cradle just as Kim yelled from above. “Look out below!” The first mattress hit the stair steps, then slid down the rest of the way to the floor. “Luke, don’t you dare touch that!”
He walked over to it, grabbed it by the corner. “Too late,” he called up as he pulled it into the living room. Dropping the corner, he walked over to the chairs and pulled them aside then dragged it in front of the fireplace. Even though he was feeling better he was still amazed at how tired he felt.
He turned as another thud came from the stairs followed by a third. When he got to the stairs, Kim was running down them all red in the face with Dean right on her heels. “Don’t you touch those!”
Luke raised his hands and backed away while laughing.
Dean picked up both mattresses by the corners and pulled and as he passed Luke, he said out of the corner of his mouth, “She’s a mite bossy today.”
“I heard that,” Kim said, her lips drawn in a tight line as she placed her hands on her hips.
“Of course you did, my dear,” Dean replied. “You were supposed to.”
Luke burst out laughing. “Don’t you mean everyday Dean?”
“Supper is ready,” Jasmine called as she came down the hall. She joined them in the foyer and asked, “What’s all the banging?”
“Didn’t Brit tell you?” Luke asked as he walked into the living room.
“No,” she shook her head, following him. “She just started making sandwiches and didn’t tell me anything.”
“That’s because I wanted it to be a surprise,” Brit said, as she came into the living room. “The three of us are camping out on the floor in here tonight.”
“We are?” Jasmine’s eyes darted to the far corner of the room where the massive tree sat, naked. “Can we decorate the tree after we eat Kim?” She then turned to Brit and Luke. “Want to make s'mores?”
“Slow down,” Kim laughed. “Yes, to the tree. But I decided it needs to be in the front window first.” She looked at Dean and batted her eyelashes. “That is if we can convince Dean to help...”
He laughed at her. “Woman... feed me first and I’ll help you do anything.”
“Yes!” Jasmine squealed with delight. “Come on, the food is ready.”
