Now she was regretting her impulsive act. Tanner was too worldly and cynical to go for such a holiday tradition.
“It’s good to see you, Kyla. And I like the tree. Please come in.” Did he sound a bit stiff? Probably. He took the tree from her and dragged it inside the apartment. “You haven’t been at the mall. Did you quit?”
One of the branches snagged the bottom of his towel; she held her breath and waited, eyes peeled. Sadly, the towel stayed in place. When he leaned the tree against the wall and turned back to her, she jerked her gaze up and met his eyes again, realizing he’d asked a question that she’d never answered.
“I…um…have another job, so I only work part time at the mall,” she said before taking a long breath and trying to sound a little less ditzy. “I don’t need to stay. I just wanted to drop this off and…I’ll…uh…be going now.” Kyla stumbled as she backed toward his door.
“You can’t just drop off the tree and run. I’ll need help decorating it,” he said. His large frame filled the doorway, blocking her exit. “Also, I need to apologize for…um…shutting the door in your face the other day. It was just that the guys that were here were…” He trailed off awkwardly and his cheeks flushed.
She knew it. Those two guys were thugs. That had to be it!
“No need to explain. I wasn’t offended,” she lied. “And you can decorate the tree however you like. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. You did me a great favor a few days ago, and I wanted to find a way to show my appreciation beyond the…um…cookies.”
“I do appreciate the tree, Kyla, and the cookies,” he said, but his expression — it was almost a leer — had her stomach dropping. “Both things are really sweet. Now let me repay the kindness. I ordered pizza right before I jumped into the shower, so join me and we’ll throw on a few decorations.”
She found that she actually wanted to help him. She really wanted to keep looking at his indecently clad body.
“Well, I guess I could help,” she muttered as her eyes drifted to his chest again. It should be illegal to have a body that chiseled. If all of Seattle could see him, the man would prove lethal to half the people there — maybe a bit more than half.
“Thanks,” he said, then walked over to his fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine. She didn’t know her wine, but it didn’t look like a cheap grocery store brand.
“Don’t you think you should get dressed first?” she croaked out as she stepped up to the counter. She would never be able to stay here in his apartment with him looking like this. Not without succumbing to every temptation known to man or woman, anyway.
“I just got out of the shower. Sorry,” he said blithely, and he took a sip of his wine. He didn’t appear to be the least bit apologetic.
“I shouldn’t have just barged in. I’ll go ahead and wait while you dress.” Please, go dress, she thought.
With a shockingly smug smile, Tanner passed by her, far too close for comfort. The fragrance of his body wash hit her point-blank, making her inhale extra deeply. She really wanted to run her fingers down his perfect chest — just once, she thought. But she somehow managed to keep her hands to herself, though her eyes devoured him as he disappeared into his bedroom.
He left that door open, damn him, and it took all her willpower not to stretch her neck. The thought that he’d be standing in there completely na**d for a few moments was making her pant like a… She stopped that thought and turned away from the door to face his empty kitchen counters.
“I don’t have any ornaments, so what are we going to use?”
Kyla jumped when Tanner spoke right into her ear from only a couple of inches away. She’d have been quite the happy girl if he’d decided to just slip his hands around her and pull her back against his chest.
Spinning, she angled around him, cursing her traitorous body. No, she wouldn’t allow this stranger to make her lose her mind.
It might be too late, her body taunted.
“We’ll do popcorn strands,” she said desperately.
Tanner gave her with a blank look. “Popcorn?”
“Haven’t you ever made popcorn strands?” she asked, and he shook his head. “Gee, Tanner. Not even in elementary school?”
“Nope,” he replied, refilling her glass.
Kyla was shocked. She’d somehow drained the first glass of wine in no time flat.
“Well, then, you’re in for an experience. I’ll be right back. I have some things we’ll need in my apartment.”
She rushed from his place back to hers and gathered up all the supplies not only for popcorn strands but for some other homemade ornaments as well. Cheap decorating was simple if you had an ounce of knowledge and a desire to do arts and crafts. As she took a minute to control her breathing, she looked at the things she’d amassed with a bit of sadness.
Making popcorn strands for the trees outside had been a tradition in her family. Her dad loved feeding the birds and squirrels, and they’d all had so much fun threading mountains of popcorn and berries. Of course, her family had eaten as much in goodies as they’d put on the strings, and always did so to the sounds of the Rat Pack singing Christmas songs.
Kyla didn’t know what had possessed her to buy those things this morning. One minute she’d been doing a little grocery shopping, and the next she’d been checking out with popcorn and cranberries in her cart. That was before she’d even ended up at the Christmas tree lot. There weren’t even any trees outside the apartment building. The act had been completely senseless. Well, it had been until now.
Maybe her mom had been there with her, and she’d put the items in the cart. The thought made Kyla’s eyes sting — but she was finished feeling sad and refused to shed more tears. It was time to embrace some happiness.
When she came back into Tanner’s apartment, she found him nailing a couple of boards onto the bottom of the tree, and she watched as the muscles in his shoulders flexed with the swinging of the hammer before he stood and propped the tree up on its makeshift stand.
“I didn’t take you for the kind of man who could handle a hammer and nails,” she told him. She set down the tree stand she’d grabbed — too late! — and then placed her packages on the kitchen counter. Next, she found a frying pan, put it on the heat, and poured in two tablespoons of oil to it with one kernel. When the kernel popped, she added half a cup of popcorn and waited for the party in the pan to happen. “Hey, Tanner, can you grab a big bowl?”