I swallow it all back and say, “Daniel wanted you, didn’t he?”
Her lips press into a thin line, and she clearly has more to say, except then we’re interrupted.
“Well, isn’t this a vision?” I’m not even remotely surprised Tristian has ‘suddenly’ walked into the room. He was probably listening to every word. “Seeing you two lovely women together.” He rests a glass of something amber on the counter, eyes watchful as he assesses me. “Thought I’d come in and see if you needed any help.”
“You’re too sweet,” my mother says, giving me a pointed look. “But you let us girls take care of all this.”
“Nonsense,” he says, grabbing a pair of oven mitts and sliding them on his hands. “I’m happy to help.” He opens the oven and pulls out the turkey. It’s so massive that I can see his muscles shifting beneath his sweater as he hefts it. My mother directs him to place it on the counter and he grins. “This looks like something out of a magazine, Posey.”
She glows at the praise, but only I can see the traces of grimace in the line around his mouth. He’s probably wondering if it’s organic, antibiotic-free, GMO whatever.
“How are your parents?” Mom asks. “It surprised me you weren’t with them for the holiday.”
“They’re good. Up in the mountains. I didn’t want to give my dear old gran another mouth to feed.” His eyes dart to mine. “I prefer to be around Forsyth right now, anyway.”
“I bet they miss you. Especially those adorable sisters of yours.”
He grins. “I’m sure they do, but they’ll be too busy on the slopes to worry about me. They’re very adept skiers already.”
She walks past Tristian, running her arm over his broad shoulders, and squeezes his bicep. “They’re lucky to have such a strong, caring brother.” When he grins down, she winks back.
Jesus Christ. Is she trying to make me jealous?
Fuck me.
Is it working?
He gives me a look, eyebrow raised, that tells me he’s thinking the same thing.
“It’s one,” I announce, feeling awkward and hot and annoyed. “Isn’t that when you said we’d eat?”
“Oh, yes. Let’s get the rest of this on the table.” She picks up two casserole dishes, but as soon as her back is turned, Tristian swoops in.
The kiss takes me off guard, although I’m not sure why it would. Tristian takes his opportunities wherever they arise. If we’re meant to uphold the image of a Lord and his Lady, then he’s more than happy to press me up against the nearest vertical surface and make my head spin.
That’s exactly what he’s doing now, pressing his mouth to mine in a slow, sensual kiss. He cups my cheek, and it’s not filthy like usual—void of all the grabbing and grinding—but it’s no less searing.
I knew with the holiday break, we wouldn’t be like this for a few days, but I’m only just now realizing how much it’d pained me to give it up. Tristian can kiss me so sweetly when he wants to, gentle and unhurried—like he’s giving me something to be savored. Because that’s exactly what Tristian thinks he is. It’s an unconscious gesture to twist my fingers into his nice dress shirt, tugging him closer, because in many ways, he’s right.
Tristian Mercer is absolutely someone worth savoring.
He pulls away, giving me a soft grin, and then turns to take a dish from my speechless, slack-jawed mother. “Allow me.”
My face feels overheated, but I recover quickly, stepping forward to take the other dish. “I’ve got this.” The smile I send her feels wan, but she’s too busy making her eyebrows disappear up her forehead to notice.
I head into the dining room and place it on the table. Turning, I crash right into Tristian who’s inches away. His hand clutches my hip, steadying me, but slowly he withdraws.
“Your mother is very…charming.” He clearly wants to use another word. Possibly something that rhymes with ‘clutty’。
Sighing, I smooth down a wrinkle my hand had made in his nice shirt. “My mother spent her life manipulating men out of their money.” I tilt my head, giving him an assessing glance. “In fact, she strongly implied I should do the same to you.”
“Did she?” His fingers twitch by his side. He wants to touch me again, but there’s no one around to perform for, so he doesn’t. “I guess she knows me better than I thought. I am very malleable when it comes to beautiful women.”