Zuri gave him her brightest grin and held out the candy cane to him again. “Go ahead. Take it.”
He continued to stare, unblinking.
“You are Duke Lowry, right? I’m Zuri. Zuri Milano.”
“Yes, I’m Duke.” He took the candy cane but didn’t return the smile. In fact, he glowered. “Is that your luggage?”
“Yeah, that’s all of—”
He didn’t wait. Just picked up her huge hot-pink suitcase as if it weighed nothing and placed it in his back seat. He came back and reached for the hard-sided makeup case she’d carried on the flight.
She quickly grabbed the handle and held it tight. “Be careful with this, please. It’s my life.”
His only response was to lift one dark eyebrow.
“It’s my makeup and styling products. The tools of my trade.”
His espresso eyes locked in on hers, making her cheeks heat. Great. That would do wonders for her scars. But goodness, there was something darkly appealing about a man who could take someone down with a hard stare. Someone who wouldn’t be intimidated by a girl with chutzpah.
Even Christmas chutzpah.
Clearly, she’d have to up her game.
“I’ll take good care of it.”
And somehow, with those words, she knew she could trust him with it. Maybe it was because Vivien and Boone had mentioned multiple times what a good guy Duke was. But something in his direct stare spoke even louder. She peeled her hands off the handle of the case and passed it to Duke.
As soon as he turned around to put it in the truck, Zuri released the breath she’d been holding. Man alive, she was supposed to be the one affecting him. Not the other way around.
He opened the passenger side front door for her.
Now that was a positive sign. She loved how her grandfather always held the door for her nonna. Duke must have a soft, gooey center in there somewhere beneath his holiday-hating shell. All Zuri had to do was find it.
Duke closed her door, then jumped in the driver’s side. He didn’t say anything as he maneuvered the car out into traffic. A whiff of his clean, citrusy scent filled the car. Just like the clove oranges her mother used to decorate with.
“So, we have a while to Deep Haven, huh?”
“About five hours on good roads.”
Looking out the window, she watched thick snowflakes pelting the windshield. So probably, she shouldn’t bank on good roads. “Then I guess we have plenty of time to get to know each other.”
Because there had to be a reason Duke hated Christmas. If she could discover that reason, she could find a way to fix it. Like she did when her clients asked her to cover up their flaws and blemishes. When she knew what kind of skin condition it was, she knew what tools worked best in covering them up.
Speaking of flaws… She pulled down the sun visor and checked her cheek in the mirror. She could use a touch-up. She pulled out her compact and dabbed powder on her nose and cheek. Just a gentle pat on the big scar to keep the thick layer of concealer in place.
That was better. Wouldn’t want to scare off Duke just yet.
She fluffed up her hair before leaning in toward her driver. “So, is Duke a nickname?”
“Nope.”
“Were you named after The Dukes of Hazzard? My mom loved that show.”
“No.” He checked his blind spot.
She waited until he was finished merging onto the freeway, but he didn’t elaborate on his answer.
“I’m named after my mom’s best friend. I guess that’s how an Italian girl like me has a Swahili name. My brothers are named after saints and old ancestors. I mean, after six kids you have to get creative, right?”
Still no response.
“Do you have any siblings?”
Duke shook his head and kept his gaze fixed on the early afternoon sky out of his windshield.
“You’re an only child? I often wished I was, growing up. You don’t know what it’s like squeezing nine of us plus my nonna and Pop into an ’80s split-level in the New Jersey suburbs. There was no such thing as privacy in my house.” And even then, surrounded by people, sometimes Zuri felt the loneliest there.
Her driver gave a noncommittal hum, acknowledging her words, but offered nothing to continue the conversation.
This was going to be harder than she thought. And there was always the distinct possibility that hunky Duke was keeping his emotional distance because he had a girlfriend.
But Vivie would’ve mentioned that, right? Especially because Zuri got the distinct impression that Vivien was hoping something would develop between her best makeup gal and the best man.
Which was pretty ridiculous. Sweet, but ridiculous. Vivien just had romance on the brain after finding the man of her dreams.
Zuri had given up on her own happily ever after long ago. She was here for Vivie’s. “So, how do you and Boone know each other?”
“We used to work together.”
“Where was that?”
“The Kellogg Police Department. Not far from here.”
“So you’re a cop.”
“Detective.”
“And how do you like being a detective?”
“It’s fine.”
“You know we have a long drive. You don’t have to be so shy. Tell me more about yourself. Your family. Hobbies.”
His gaze slid over to her. “I’m named after my mother’s favorite musician, Duke Ellington. You already know I’m an only child. My parents have both passed away. And I don’t have time for hobbies.”
Oh.
“I’m sorry about your parents.” She’d really stepped into that one. But if he thought that would put her off, he was wrong. The idea of poor Duke being all alone in the world only tugged at her heart. No wonder he was a little surly. She couldn’t imagine Christmas without her parents and grandparents and all her crazy family. It was crowded, loud, and often by the end of the night, overheated with that many bodies packed into the house. But Zuri wouldn’t have it any other way.
Duke had nobody.
She couldn’t give him a family, but maybe music would help lighten the mood and bring back good memories. She reached for the screen mounted on his dash. “Do you have any Christmas music radio stations? I love—”
“No.”
“Really? That’s strange. I would’ve thought the Midwest would eat up stuff like that. But that’s okay. I have a great Christmas playlist we can listen to on my phone. It has all the classics—”
“No thanks.” His deep voice practically grumbled.
“You don’t like Christmas music?”
“Let’s just say I’m not a fan of Christmas anything.”
“Oh, come on, Duke. There has to be something you like about Christmas.”
The muscles along his jaw went taut, and his eyes never left the windshield. “Look, it’s a long ride, and I need to concentrate on the road. Besides, after this wedding we’ll probably never see each other again. So, no need to pretend you want to get to know me. We obviously have nothing in common.” He set the station on talk radio, turning up the volume loud enough Zuri couldn’t respond even if she wanted to.
So that’s how it was going to be.
She blew out a short breath through her nose. It fogged up the window she looked out. If it weren’t for Vivien, she’d have nothing to do with this jerk ever again.