“Oh, that’s right, Ev, tell the whole world.”
“That Dr. Munro is hot for his younger receptionist? Yes, yes, I will tell the whole world.”
Reid laughed at our backs, and Patrick cut him a filthy look. “Remember, the best man does a speech at the wedding,” he warned.
“I have no secrets from Ev.”
“But you do from Annie.”
That wiped the smirk off my fiancé’s face. Reid reached for me, pulling me toward him. “Okay, stop baiting your brother, Ev.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun.”
Really.
Best. Christmas. Ever.
New Year’s Eve
Chapter One
RYAN
“Will Joe be there?” I asked my sister as I watched Gil work at adding the new lock and second dead bolt to my apartment door.
Shaw sighed heavily, causing the phone line to crackle. “No. He said he’s got a meeting during the holidays that he can’t miss. Who arranges a business meeting over the New Year?”
Apparently Joe.
Somehow, I didn’t think he was telling the truth.
My little sister, Shaw, had called to ask me if I wanted to spend New Year’s Eve with her and her husband, Dex, at a cabin in Lake Tahoe. Dex’s dad Joe knew the guy who owned the place, and he’d offered Joe the cabin over the holidays for free. He’d decided not to use it but had said Dex and Shaw should and invite a friend or two to go with them.
“Dex is pissed. He wants to spend New Year’s Eve with his dad, you know. It’s his dad’s year.”
Dex had alternated the holidays with his parents since their separation when he was only four years old.
“Well, I’m in.” Hell yeah, I was in. The only reason not to go would’ve been Joe, and he wouldn’t be there.
“Great!” My sister sounded relieved. “I did not want to leave you alone.”
She’d said the same about Christmas, and because I didn’t want her worrying about me, I’d spent an awkward few hours with her, Dex, and Joe until I feigned feeling ill and left early.
I regretted leaving. But not just because I’d left my sister early on Christmas.
No, I regretted it for an entirely different reason.
But alone on New Year’s Eve? “I would have been fine,” I lied. Maybe four days ago, I would have been fine. Not now. Not after what happened.
Gil packed up his tools, shooting me a look that said “I’m done.”
“Sweetie, I’ve got a call coming in I need to take. Call me later to discuss the details, yeah?”
“Yes!” Shaw yelled excitedly. “Wait until you see this place.”
We hung up, and the absence of her voice made me feel lonely and exhausted.
Gil gave me a disapproving look. “You didn’t tell her?”
I shook my head. No way. It was my job to look after Shaw, not the other way around. She might have gotten married at the crazy age of nineteen, but she was still my baby sister and still mine to protect. Even from worrying about me.
“Sounds like you’re planning a trip together. How are you going to explain the shiner?”
I tentatively touched my bruised cheek. “Walked into something.”
My building manager rolled his eyes. “That’s original.”
“Is it done?” I asked, not wanting to talk about it. I’d done all the talking I needed to do with the cops. And it was technically still the holidays. I would not let this ruin my favorite time of year.
“All done.” Gil handed over a new set of keys. “Like I said, the co-op board is going to move their asses on the new security system at the front entrance.”
I nodded, even though I was thinking too little too late.
Gil had been riding the co-op board’s ass for years about the cheap entrance system that continually broke. Most of the board didn’t live in the building but rented out the apartments, so they weren’t invested in the daily maintenance of things. It was my luck that the entrance system had broken this past week and Gil hadn’t gotten around to fixing it. That was the last time I’d ever choose a first-floor apartment just because I wanted to live in a certain area.
Seeing the guilt flicker across Gil’s eyes, I shook my head. “No. Don’t do that. Not your fault.”
“Yeah.” He exhaled heavily and pulled open my apartment door. “You call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Thank you.”
As soon as he left, I locked the door and slid the dead bolts home.
Leaning against it, I stared into my small apartment and wished like hell it was New Year’s Eve already and I was at Lake Tahoe. My little sanctuary had become a place I feared.
And I hated that.
I hated that someone could do that to me.
A four-foot Christmas tree sat in the corner of my open-plan living area. I’d twined fairy lights over the too many bookcases that filled the small room. A wreath hung on the wall above my largest radiator. I’d replaced my oven mitt with a Christmas one and hung it over the oven door handle. My Christmas tea towels were folded on my small kitchen counter. A Santa Claus sat propped on the breakfast bar near the wall in case he toppled.
My place looked cozy and warm.
But if you knew better, you would see the tree was a little squished because I’d knocked it over a few nights ago. My glass coffee table with the bowl of glitter-speckled acorns and furry snowballs was missing after we annihilated it in the struggle.
I took a deep breath, trying to alleviate the tightness in my chest.
Maybe I’d take the tree down early this year. Get rid of the reminder.
In two days, I’d have some distance from the place, and when I returned, it would feel like home again. It had to. There was no other option. No one was going to make me feel afraid in my own home.
As brave as the self-administered pep talk was, hours later, I was still awake. I’d curled up on my sofa with my blanket and pillow, my ears pricked for the slightest sound. I’d barely slept since it happened.
Giving up on sleep entirely, I made some hot cocoa and grabbed my e-reader. Needing something light, easy, and romantic, I downloaded a rom-com. Unfortunately, it was about a woman who was crushing on her father’s best friend.
It hit a little too close to home.
I shut off the e-reader and tried (and failed) to forget the last time I’d been alone with Joe.
It had been two months ago at Dex’s twenty-first birthday party.
I groaned as I sipped my cocoa, almost choking on it. I deserved to choke on it! What an idiot. What a selfish idiot. As someone who had always prided herself on being thoughtful and responsible, what I’d done at Dex’s party was the complete opposite. Why Joe Colchester could make my brain fritz and my hormones take over, I’d never know.
The problem was that I was deeply, deeply attracted to my little sister’s father-in-law.
Memories assailed me, taking me back to Dex’s party.
Since arriving at Joe’s, I’d had insistent flutters in my belly waiting for him to show. Shaw had opened the door, and Dex led me out to the pool where most of the guests were hanging out. Joe’s house had an enormous yard and a swimming pool, perfect for hosting parties. All of Dex’s family, as well as his college friends, were in attendance. His mom, Renee, was too—she and Joe were friends and the best example of co-parenting I’d ever seen. Renee had brought her husband, Alan, and Dex’s two half-siblings, twins Austin and Hopper. I was standing around, beer in hand, talking to Shaw and Renee while Dex hung out with some guys from school when I felt him.