Page 31 of Hell Bent

“Sorry I said the thing about not wanting to go out with you if you lost,” she said. “I was … I was impressed. By you. Impressed by you.”

I glanced over. I couldn’t tell, not in the dark, but I had the feeling she was blushing. “And you didn’t want to be impressed.”

“Well,” she said, “it would have made it less confusing if I hadn’t been.” I laughed, she did too, and before I knew what I was doing, my hand was reaching for hers, and I was lifting it to my mouth and kissing the backs of her fingers. She sucked in an audible breath, I tightened in all the places a man does tighten, and I thought,I do not want to go to family Christmas.

She said, “Uh …” and didn’t seem to know how to go on.

I said, “Want to skip this thing?”

“What?” she said. “No. Of course not.” And crossed her legs. The legs were long. The black heels were high. And that was definitely lace at the bottom of the dress.

This was going to be one long night.

13

THE SILLY SEASON

Alix

It was a mansion. It even had a tower. Also a regulation-length lap pool and a basketball court. That was the only part of the evening that went the way I’d anticipated, though.

The door opened, and there was a woman behind it. Not the kind of woman I’d expected, which was along the lines of “girlfriend of Brian,” but a more normal-looking one. Pretty face, red hair, pale skin, not much makeup, and more curvy than skinny. Wearing a smile along with a frilly green-and-white apron over a purple dress that emphasized the curves, and looking much more like milk and cookies than a supermodel.

Before she could say anything more than, “You must be Alix and Sebastian. I’m so glad you came. Oh, wine. That was nice of you,” a blond preschooler in a green dinosaur helmet with spikes rolled past her on a sort of low plastic tricycle, ran into Sebastian’s leg, and announced, “I have a bike. I can go fast.”

“I see that,” Sebastian said, not rubbing his leg. “Santa bring that for you?”

“Yes,” the kid said. “Because I’m a very good boy.”

“You’d be a better boy,” a voice said, “if you didn’t run into people. Stop before you hit them, OK?” That was Harlan, who was wearing dress pants, unlike Sebastian. They were both wearing something less casual on top, though. In Sebastian’s case, a leather bomber jacket—distressed, brown, and looking scarred and old, rather than brand-new, navy blue, and twelve hundred dollars of suede—and under it, some kind of very finely knit sweater, probably merino, in a golden brown that looked great against his olive skin and amber eyes. And, man, did the guy look good in jeans.Thighs.

Also butt. I’m just saying.

I can’t remember what Harlan was wearing.

“I have a pirate ship,” the toddler announced. “I can climb up.”

“Cool,” Sebastian said. “You can show us, then.”

“Yes,” the boy said with great seriousness. “I will go very, very high.”

“Yeah, dude,” Harlan said. “That’s the problem. This is Nick,” he told us. “He’s a big talker, in case you didn’t notice. Wonder where he gets that from. And my wife, Jennifer.”

Jennifer had taken our coats now, and Nick said, “Come see,” and tugged at Sebastian’s pant leg.

“Give me a second,” Sebastian said.

“No,” Nick said. “Now.” And tugged harder.

Harlan picked Nick right up off the trike and said, “Let’s go do a puzzle. Sorry,” he said over his shoulder. “Exciting day. No nap, apparently.”

Jennifer headed around a corner with the coats and wine, and that left me alone with Sebastian. I said, feeling ridiculously shy, “You look nice.”

“You look more than that,” he said. “I think the word is ‘beautiful.’”

I smoothed a nervous hand over the deep-blue sleevelesssheath dress.Nota loose one this time, but not skin-tight, either. I’d bought it for the way its self-belt showed off my waist, and for the rich overlay of floral lace along the high neckline. And, of course, for the eight inches of lace at the bottom. Refined but, I hoped, not entirely.

Jennifer came back and said, “I can’t believe I left you out here. Come on in.” But when I walked through to the interior of the house ahead of Sebastian, he put a hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear, “I like the back even better.”