Take Me Home for Christmas (Whiskey Creek #5)(61)
Author: Brenda Novak

Eve blushed. “Do you have to make it so embarrassing? It’s enough of a transition already.”

Noah rubbed his chin. “You hired Sophia but you’re dating Eve. Interesting reversal.”

Ted sent him a look that told him to stuff it. “We’ll skip the editorials, if you don’t mind.” Eager to get away from the group until the shock wore off, he turned to Eve. “Can I get you something? You want a yogurt?”

“Oh, my gosh!” Cheyenne cried. “How weird that Ted’s going to be buying Eve’s yogurt from now on!”

Kyle was the only one who didn’t seem to think this development was funny. He hadn’t said a word since the “big reveal”—and he got up and followed Ted to the line of people waiting to order at the register. “Hey, man, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” He kept a smile on his face, for the sake of the others, but his eyes were serious.

Ted couldn’t admit the truth, couldn’t show any uncertainty. That wouldn’t be fair to Eve. “Of course.”

Putting his back to the group’s table, Kyle tried again. “You remember how it went when Callie and I—”

“I remember,” he broke in to save him from having to spell it out.

“You have to think long and hard before getting that intimate with one of these girls.”

“I have thought about it.”

Kyle gave him a skeptical look as they moved forward in line.

“What?” Ted snapped, irritated by the fact that Kyle was forcing him to examine his motives and decisions.

“It’s just…so fast. One day you’re friends, like always. And now you’re lovers?”

“These things happen. You should know.”

“Exactly. So…where’s the heat between you two?”

“Maybe it’s not that kind of relationship.”

When the person ahead of them in line seemed to be listening, Kyle lowered his voice. “But it’s supposed to be now, isn’t it?”

“Eve and I don’t base everything on sexual attraction. Not everything,” he repeated when he realized that made it sound as if he didn’t want to make love to her.

“Listen…”

The guy ahead of them ordered, giving them more space but less time than they probably needed to finish this conversation.

“I lost the one girl I was dying to have,” Kyle went on.

Ted was surprised to hear him confess that, for him, there’d been no one who could compare to Olivia.

“It hasn’t been the same with anyone since,” he continued. “My marriage failed for a lot of reasons, but first and foremost it was because I didn’t love Noelle to begin with. We should never have gotten together. The year I spent with her, and the year I spent recovering from the divorce, which is when I slept with Callie, were the two worst years of my life. Some days it’s still hard dealing with the aftermath. Besides all the emotional bullshit, I have to pay Noelle a hefty amount of spousal maintenance each month. That means there’s no way to cut her out of my life entirely.”

Not only that, but he had to watch his stepbrother with the woman he really wanted—although Brandon and Olivia hadn’t shown up today.

“Anyway,” Kyle went on, “I don’t want you or Eve to go through anything like I did.”

The earnest emotion in his plea scared Ted. He’d been so decisive, so sure he could remain committed to Eve. But when he made love with her—like last night before they got into the Jacuzzi—it just wasn’t as satisfying as he wanted it to be. He’d actually felt a little…hollow afterward.

Was he letting her down by trying to force this? Were they better off taking a step back and admitting that they felt pretty much the same way they’d always felt toward each other? Or were his emotions the only ones that weren’t changing?

She seemed so happy. He didn’t want to wreck that, didn’t want to hurt her. He’d already promised himself he wouldn’t. Besides, he wasn’t sure he’d given it long enough to make a final decision. They used to tease Noah for his inability to commit. Ted had never messed around as much as Noah had, but he suspected he was the one with a commitment problem—and that came as a shock.

“Why did you decide to make a move on Eve?” Kyle asked.

It had seemed safe. Smart. But was that only because she wasn’t Sophia? He had to admit he hadn’t been thinking clearly on Halloween night, even though he’d assured himself that he was. Alcohol had a way of doing that to a person.

“Can I help you?”

The barista was ready to take their order, so Ted couldn’t answer Kyle’s question. There was no time. And he was grateful for that. He couldn’t imagine what might come out of his mouth now that he felt so torn. He didn’t want to say he’d been drinking. That would only convince Kyle that he had indeed made a huge mistake.

But something in his eyes must have revealed his uncertainty because Kyle took one look at him, shook his head and cursed.

* * *

Eve was busy that night. And she was going to be gone for the next week. It was her grandmother’s eightieth birthday, so she was flying to Montana with her parents for a family reunion and party. That gave Ted some breathing room. He was relieved to have it, needed the time to write. But it wasn’t as if he could slip into isolation like he used to. Although Sophia was supposed to be off on the weekends—that was what he’d originally intended when he’d advertised for a housekeeper—she was so grateful for the free rent and so determined to do all she could to repay him that she insisted on cooking for him regardless of the day. And it was tough to complain about that when she made such delicious meals, which were always right when he wanted them.

There were other benefits to having her around, as well. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen the house quite so clean. And if he listened carefully, he could hear laughter, which somehow made him smile. It was Alexa, who spent her time with her mother whenever she was out of school. He liked Sophia’s daughter, he realized, despite her paternity.

It was Saturday night and the two of them were in the kitchen. Sophia was instructing her daughter on how to tell if a turkey potpie was done when he walked into the room.

“Can I get you something?” Sophia asked.

Alexa shot him a smile, and he returned it. “I’m beat,” he said. “It’s time for a glass of wine.”

The smile disappeared from Alexa’s face as her gaze shifted to her mother.