Page 16 of The Love Ambush (The Sullivans #1)

I whip my head to look at Gentry so fast I give myself a crick that shoots a bolt of pain straight up behind my ear. I grit my teeth and ignore it, because I want to see Gentry’s reaction. Did she really have a thing for me back then? For how long?

But she’s staring out the window, the back of her neck telltale pink, as Brodie pulls up in front of a large, drafty-looking, white farmhouse.

“Is this the reindeer farm?” Gentry asks.

“It sure is,” Brodie says. “The owner, Josephine, should be waiting for you inside. I’ve gotta call Daphne and let her know we’re close.” He looks back at Gentry. “Keep it to less than five, okay?”

Somehow, Gentry smiles at her brother. “We’ll be right back.”

“We’ll be back when we’re ready,” I say, and she glares at me. Like I’m the asshole.

I hop out and immediately wish I’d stayed in the SUV. It is freaking cold out here. So cold my nose hairs feel crackly when I breathe. As soon as we get our bags inside, I need to dig out my coat, gloves, and hat.

I shut my door and walk around to the SUV’s rear gate. Thankfully, the drive is clear of snow.

Gentry meets me and reaches for her bag as soon as I open the gate.

“Why are you mad at me?” I ask. “Brodie’s the one being the jerk.”

“He’s getting married in a few days. He’s probably stressed, and I’m not going to add to that stress.” She pulls out her bag and sets it on the ground. “I’m going to wait until he’s back from his honeymoon to yell at him.”

“It’s freezing out,” Emily says as she walks around to join us.

Gentry looks grateful for the interruption as she wheels Emily’s bag over to her. “You’ve got warm clothes and your winter coat in here. Let’s get inside and bundle up before we go to the resort.”

They hurry off toward the house as I stare after them. What the hell did I do to earn her anger?

“Don’t take it personally,” Sophie says as she joins me at the back of the SUV. “She’s always like that.”

“Like what?”

“Grumpy and defensive,” Sophie says. “Even before we ruined her life by existing after Mom left, she’s been like this. It’s like she’s trying so hard to be perfect, she doesn’t realize that everything’s not always her fault.”

“She seems to have no problem blaming everything on me.”

“Huh.” Sophie studies me, a slight smile rising. “Maybe that’s a good sign. Maybe that means she trusts herself around you.”

“Or maybe it just means she doesn’t give a shit what I think of her.”

Sophie smirks. “Language.” Then she pats my shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll figure out how to win her over.”

***

The walkway up to the farmhouse is lined with bushes, all covered in a light dusting of snow. There’s a festive wreath on the door, and Christmas music plays loud enough that I can hear it as soon as I step onto the porch.

Laughter rolls out and smacks me so hard I freeze in place, stunned. That’s Gentry’s laughter, and it sounds real and relaxed. I haven’t heard her laugh like that since we were kids.

I unfreeze quickly and hurry into the house to see an older woman with short silver hair, smiling fondly at Gentry, both Sophie and Emily staring at their sister like they don’t recognize her.

Gentry is gorgeous, chin tilted slightly, eyes sparkling, as her laugh drifts into a contented smile.

“Glad someone finds my old lady jokes funny,” the woman says.

“Very funny,” Gentry says. “I really needed that.”

“Clearly,” the woman says. She turns and notices me. “You must be Levi Sullivan.” She holds out an elegant hand. “Josephine Winters. You can call me Jo. Everyone else does.”

I take her warm, calloused hand in mine, and she gives it a firm shake. “You can call me Levi. This is a beautiful house.”

Now that I’m distracted from Gentry, I can appreciate the intricate moldings and worn but sturdy hardwood floors. A fire burns in the next room in a large fireplace, and Christmas greenery lines every available surface.

“Thank you,” Jo says. “I’m quite fond of it. When our mayor started talking about the need for visitors to be able to stay in town overnight, it just made sense to convert my place into a bed-and-breakfast. I don’t enjoy being here alone much, anyway.”

“Is this really a reindeer farm?” Emily asks.

“It sure is,” Josephine says. “After I show you to your rooms, we can go meet the reindeer if you’d like.”

Emily looks at Gentry, pleading in her eyes. “Can we?”

She looks so much like a child in this moment, it’s hard to believe she was drunk less than twenty-four hours ago. An odd protective instinct floods me, and I add keeping an eye out for her to my list of things to do to help Gentry whether she likes it or not.

“Not right now,” Gentry says. “Brodie’s waiting for us.”

Jo’s face pinches just the tiniest bit before it clears. “I’m sure he’s got a lot on his plate planning the wedding of the century. But the reindeer aren’t going anywhere. As soon as you have a free moment, come find me and we’ll go see them.”

“Okay,” Emily says, looking crestfallen, but not arguing. The set to her jaw makes me think she’s definitely going to at least complain.

“Ready to see your rooms?” Jo asks, pasting on a cheerful smile.

“Sure,” Gentry says.

All three of the rooms are upstairs. The kids are sharing a room with twin beds, and Gentry and I have our own rooms with double beds.

“All four of you will have to share the one bathroom on this floor,” Jo says. “I hope that’s all right. Eventually, I’m going to add another bathroom, but we aren’t quite there yet.”

“That’s fine with me,” Gentry says, looking over at me. “Levi’s the one who might have a problem sharing a bathroom with three women. Maybe he’d be happier downstairs.”

Jo’s brows rise like she’s finding this development very interesting. “I don’t have those rooms ready for guests at the moment.” She turns to me. “Think you can handle sharing a bathroom?”

“It’s not a problem for me,” I say, staring Gentry down. “I don’t need much time in front of the mirror. I wake up this pretty every morning.”

Jo laughs. “Alright then. I’ll leave you all to it. Let me know if you need anything. Breakfast’s from seven to nine in the morning.”

“Thank you,” Gentry says.

As soon as Jo’s out of earshot, Sophie winks at me. I have no idea what it means until she herds Gentry toward her room. “Please trade with me, Gentry. I can’t share a room with Emily. She goes to bed at, like, nine every night. I’ll die if I have to go to sleep that early.”

Emily also winks at me. “I need my sleep, Gentry. You always say I’m impossible to reason with when I’m tired.”

Gentry narrows her eyes at the two of them, trying to figure out their game.

“Seriously, Gentry,” Sophie says. “You made me come all the way out here, and all we’re going to be doing is helping with Brodie’s wedding. We aren’t even going to have any fun. I deserve my own room.”

Gentry glances at me, like she doesn’t want me to watch this, but I need to know where this is going. Is this another ruse to push me and Gentry together? Or do the kids really not want to share a room? I don’t know them well enough to be sure.

“If Sophie gets her own room, I should get my own room,” Emily says. “You never go to bed early either, Gentry.”

Ah, now it’s all making sense. “I don’t care where I sleep,” I volunteer.

Gentry eyes all three of us. “We are not forcing Levi to give up his room. You two are just going to have to work it out.”

“Fine,” Sophie says. She turns to me. “Levi, will you trade rooms with me? All you have to do is be quiet after nine.”

“Sure,” I say, ignoring Gentry’s glare. I’m not giving up a chance for her to get to know me better.

Sophie cheers and hurries into my room, shutting and locking the door behind her.

“Sophie,” Gentry calls after her, still glaring at me. “Give Levi back his room.”

I head for the kids’ room, and plop my suitcase on the bed closest to the door.

Gentry follows me in. “Levi, you don’t have to give up your room. The girls will be fine sharing.”

“I know, but I don’t care where I sleep. I doubt I’ll be spending much time here anyway, and it’ll make them happy and make your life easier.”

She sighs. “They’re playing you. They know I’m never going to be okay with Emily sharing a room with a grown man. This is a scam so they can each have their own rooms.”

She’s figured out it’s a scam, but she hasn’t figured out what the girls are really after. I’m not about to clue her in. “Good. I didn’t want to say anything, but I’m not comfortable sharing a room with a fourteen-year-old girl, either.”

“You don’t have to share a room with anyone. Go tell Sophie to give you back your room. She’ll listen to you.”

“Nah, I’m good here. I promise I’ll give you your space.”

I turn and sit on the bed, doing my best not to reveal how giddy I am about this development. She’ll probably ignore me the whole time we’re here, but I’ll get to spend more time with her, which means more opportunities to at least become her friend. I need to at least be Gentry’s friend.

The idea of being Gentry Lendew’s enemy for all time is unacceptable.

Gentry huffs out a sigh of frustration. “Why are you doing this? If you think you’re getting sex out of this, you’re dead wrong.”

I stare at her, confused. “Who said anything about sex?”

She crosses her arms over her chest, staring me down. “You think sleeping in the same room will make it impossible for me to resist you. You probably have some plan already figured out to convince me we just need to have sex to get over our stupid attraction to each other.”

Her cheeks are slowly turning pink, and she looks deliciously flustered. “So you are attracted to me?”

She stomps a foot and glares at me. “For the past two years, when we haven’t been fighting, you’ve been flirting with me. You wouldn’t do that if you didn’t have some desire to play and lay me.”

I wince at her phrasing. “Oh, I know how attracted I am to you. You being attracted to me is what’s newsworthy here.”

She takes a step back and tosses up her hands.

“Why would I have been so mad about you kissing and ghosting me if I didn’t have at least a tiny bit of attraction to you, Levi?

” She lets out a tiny frustrated growl. “It doesn’t matter.

You aren’t convincing me to sleep with you, so go get your room back from Sophie. ”

I cross the room to stand in front of her and lean in close enough to get another whiff of her delicious scent. “Maybe I just want an excuse to spend more time with you.”

She sucks in a sharp breath. “Levi—”

“And there’s no getting you out of my system, Gentry. One time will never be enough.”

I walk away before she can say anything else.