Heart of Christmas (Curiosity Bay #4)

6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

MacGregor

Audrey trudged up her driveway behind my car. I didn’t want her to catch me checking her out in my rearview mirror, or there’d be hell to pay. Her features had softened since the parking lot, so hopefully, she’d warmed up to her idea of letting me crash here for the night.

I climbed out of the car, and her gaze caught mine.

My pulse instantly spiked. Seeing the fire behind her eyes lit me up, and I knew better than to follow my instinct as she walked past me.

I smiled. “Thanks again. This is really sweet of you to let me crash here.”

She spun around and cocked her head. “Don’t get used to it.”

“I won’t.” I nodded, smiling as she turned and walked to her door. “I’ll just grab my things and meet you inside.”

The snowflakes piled up along the steps, and I wondered if the ferries would run again tomorrow. I secretly hoped not.

Audrey didn’t say a word and strolled into her house as I scrambled, stuffing all the clothes I’d planned to keep me warm into my suitcase and getting inside before she changed her mind.

When I walked up the steps and slowly opened the door to her home, everything about the inside hit me like a spray of bullets, peppering me with everything I couldn’t get enough of from the woman who broke my heart.

Finally, I’d admitted it to myself.

Audrey Evans broke my heart. As I stood in her small entry, with red poppies painted and framed on the wall, an overstuffed Santa propped in the corner, and a bowl of pinecone potpourri piled high in a bowl, I wondered if she even had a clue.

She walked back through the hallway and raised her brows at me.

“Your shoes go there.” She pointed to a small Christmas mat with Rudolph’s bright red nose in the center. “I don’t need to spend my day off tomorrow cleaning up from your tracks.”

I snickered, but she only scowled more, which made it extremely difficult not to make things worse.

“I’ll show you to the guest room.”

She watched me slowly kick off my shoes and place them right where she told me to. “That sounds great. I hope you’ll let me buy you breakfast or something to compensate for this inconvenience.”

Audrey straightened and looked down the hall. “Just be sure to get on the ferry tomorrow morning, and that will be repayment enough.”

“Ouch.” I clutched my chest and nodded. “Will do.”

I picked up and carried my suitcase so I wouldn’t get in trouble about that too. I followed Audrey down the hall. She’d hung more paintings of flowers down the hall, and I found myself stopping to look at them.

She paused and spun around when she realized I wasn’t behind her.

“What?” Her frown only deepened.

“I'm just admiring the artwork.” I stared at the closest one, wondering if Audrey had painted them. “Did you do them?”

“Would it matter?” Her hand slid to her hip.

I nodded. “Kind of. I remember what you’d told—”

“I was a kid who blabbed too much to a strange man. Painting isn’t a big deal. I didn’t know what else to tell you. I had to fill the time.”

“You weren’t a kid. You were twenty-four, and I was twenty-six.” My eyes stayed on hers, and I felt such an urgent pull to her like I had so many years ago. “And I wasn’t strange. I don’t believe you ever thought that.”

“I’ve learned a lot since then,” she said flatly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’d like to hear,” I offered.

A wry smile covered her expression as she shook her head. “That’s how you fooled me last time, pretending like you thought what I had to say was interesting.”

Shock registered through me. I ate up every single detail about Audrey. Any little fact or tidbit about her life growing up, her dreams, her hopes… I wanted to hear it all.

That night was incredible, and it felt like it had never existed.

She didn’t say anything else. Instead, she just stared at me.

“Audrey, I never pretended with you.” I shook my head, feeling the color drain from my face. “Never.”

A surprised chortle echoed from her throat. “Save it for someone who cares.”

I wanted nothing more than to know what I’d done to Audrey so many years ago. I couldn’t understand how my version of events and hers could be so different. If anything, I should be the one burned. She’d never said goodbye. She left before I returned. She blocked me.

And I thought we’d shared something incredibly extraordinary and…

“I think I’ll just stay in the guest room and not leave until the ferry is up and running. I don’t want to make this any worse for you than it already is.” I picked up the suitcase as she stood in front of an open door and motioned her hands toward the room.

I set my suitcase on the wooden floor. A little Santa figurine wiggled from the vibrations on a table next to me, and I looked up at Audrey.

“The remote is on the end table. If you need anything, let me know.”

I walked up behind her as she turned around. Her fingers grazed my chest as she bumped into me, and I heard a tiny gasp.

She looked up at me while I scooted beside her and moved into the bedroom. “This is wonderful. Thank you, Audrey. Would you at least let me pay you for the room?”

I turned around to see she had already left, leaving me to stare at the guest bedroom, wondering if there was anything I could do to improve things.

The cream comforter had been fluffed recently, making me wonder who’d stayed here. A Christmas throw had been placed on the corner of the bed. The sheer curtains hung along the oversized window, overlooking the snow piling against the trees outside. A bit of frost etched the corners of the window. A small tinsel Christmas tree stood on the dresser, and I couldn’t help but smile. Leave it to Audrey to make every inch of her home reflect the holiday spirit.

I moved my suitcase underneath the window and smelled popcorn drifting through the air. I knew better than to wonder if she’d offer me any. I was lucky I was here.

An SUV turned into the drive and parked. I didn’t want to make things even more awkward for Audrey, so I closed the bedroom door to give her privacy.

The doorbell rang, and a minute passed before it rang again. Another minute or so went by when I heard a man’s voice calling for Audrey as he pounded on the front door.

I walked over to the window and tried to see who could be at the front door when the pounding got louder.

The last thing I needed was for someone to think I was holding Audrey hostage, so I quickly made my way around the bed, out of the bedroom, and over to the entry as I heard Audrey singing off-key as popcorn popped.

I reached for the handle, and just as I went to open it, the door sprang open, and her brother nearly knocked me down.

Surprise covered his face as he glanced around the entry and brought his gaze back to mine.

He frowned. “Where’s Audrey?”

“I think she’s in the kitchen,” I said, pointing over my shoulder as her cheerful singing bounced down the walls. To say it was a little off-key would be putting it mildly, but I loved the sound regardless.

Her brother grimaced and looked at me. “I didn’t know she had a visitor. She didn’t text me when she got home, and she didn’t pick up her phone, and…”

I scratched my head. “I'm sorry about that. I’m sure I can be blamed for that, too.”

He stuck out his hand. “I’m Brad.”

“Nice to meet you.” I shook his hand. “I’m MacGregor.”

“What’s your first name?”

I chuckled. “That is my first name.”

Brad eyed me suspiciously as Audrey’s singing came down the hall, louder now but still entirely out of key. Two pink headphones covered her ears as she approached us, staring at the floor, holding two bowls full of popcorn and lost in her own world.

Her eyes flicked up to see two unexpected men in the entryway, sending bowls of popcorn flying into the air. She shrieked and tried to recover as the bowls crashed to the ground.

The popcorn looked like confetti as she groaned and slid off her headphones.

Audrey laughed, looking at her brother, and shook her head. “I forgot to text you.”

Brad grinned. “I can see why now. You have company.”

“Not that kind of company.” Her frown returned when she looked at me as I knelt to help pick up the popcorn. “Anyway, I’m fine. I made it home. All is well.”

“Plus one.” Her brother winked.

Brad still smiled at his sister as I scooped the popcorn with my fingers and put the popped kernels back into one of the plastic bowls.

“He’s like a stray dog. Just needed a place until the storm blows over.” She shook the last few bits of popcorn into her bowl. “All the hotels are booked.”

Brad nodded and looked over at me. “How long have you known him… exactly?”

“We dated briefly years ago,” I explained, standing up.

“I wouldn’t call it dating.” Audrey pressed her lips together.

My brows cinched tightly. “What would you call it?”

“Nothing I want to say in front of my brother,” she huffed, grabbing the bowl back from me. “I’ll refill the popcorn. Thanks for checking on me, Brad. I’m fine. But you should get home before the snow gets even worse.”

“You want him to stay with me?” Brad asked Audrey.

She shook her head before she answered. “No. He’s my problem. Plus, I wouldn’t want to impose on Oscar.”

I held in a chuckle as I noticed my life playing out in front of me between these two siblings.

“Who’s Oscar?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“His ornery cat,” Audrey answered, turning down the hall with both bowls.

Brad glanced at me quickly before following his sister down the hall. I strained to hear them but couldn’t make anything out, so I walked back into the guest room and sat on the bed.

The front door opened and closed, and a minute later, Audrey appeared at the door to my room with two bowls of popcorn.

“My brother left,” she said, coming in and handing me a bowl.

I looked down at the popcorn and chuckled. “Should I be worried about eating this?”

She traded the bowl with me and tossed one in her mouth. “No. Not a sprinkle of poison to be had. Happy now?”

Nodding, I smiled at Audrey and ate some buttery popcorn. “This is really good. I didn’t expect to be fed here.”

“It is what it is. I’m going to send you on your way tomorrow, knowing that I treated you better than you ever treated me.” She eyed me with a wicked glint in her gaze.

I let out a sigh and shook my head. “I really wish you’d let us talk about things because…”

She waved her hand in front of her face and swallowed her popcorn. “Because why? You want to feel better about things? Have me forgive you ?” She laughed. “Not on my watch.”

I shrugged, wishing she knew how confused and concerned I was about everything. Our versions of events had to be polar opposites, or she’d understand that I should be the one upset. Things didn’t add up at all.

When her eyes landed on me, heat rolled through me. She was so gorgeous and fiery and… even better than I’d remembered.

“Thanks for the popcorn. It’s delicious.” I nodded, taking another bite. “I’m glad to see it’s still your favorite. You promised me a bowl of it someday. Remember?”

Recognition flittered through her gaze as she narrowed her eyes on me. “Yeah. I remember.” She reached for the tiny Santa figurine on a table and held it with her free hand. “You don’t deserve him in here. The first ferry should leave around six in the morning. Try not to wake me. I don’t get snow days very often.”

Audrey shut the door, and I chuckled to myself. There was no dredging up the past with her and trying to reconcile. That was abundantly clear.