After the Christmas Party by Janice Lynn Page A

didn’t like a single thing about the season. Still, she was doing something to help someone who had helped her. Someone she genuinely liked and who hadn’t taken advantage of her.
    “Thank you.”
    “For?” he asked, studying her way too intently for her comfort.
    She wanted to squirm, like a kid sitting on Santa’s lap. “Last night.”
    “Nothing happened last night for you to owe me any thanks for.”
    Was that how he saw the night?
    “Had something happened,” she admitted, “I wouldn’t have been thanking you.”
    “You might have,” he teased, but when she didn’t smile, he relented. “For the record, I prefer my bed partners to be sober and just as into me as I am into them. Whether or not we were going to have sex last night was never an issue.”
    “I wasn’t into you?” That she had a hard time imagining because the man made her burn from head to toe. Even now she wanted to rip his clothes off him and lick him all over. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to clear the image of her doing just that.
    He shrugged. “We’ve already established that you drank a little too much.”
    “Did I want you?” she said, more insistently. What was she saying? Of course she’d wanted him. She still wanted him.
    “You said you did.”
    “Oh.” A vague memory of her telling him he could do whatever he wanted so long as he didn’t leave her ran through her mind. Fire spread across her cheeks. she had made a complete and utter fool of herself. “I’m sorry.” She turned to go, wishing her car was in his drive so she really could escape.
    “I’m not.” he turned her to face him. “I wanted you, Trinity. I’m not ashamed to say so.”
    She blushed and he grinned.
    “I wasn’t inebriated, except by your smile.”
    “I’ve said it before but it bears repeating, you’re smooth with the lines, Riley.”
    “No lines,” he said. “Just the truth.”
    “Right.”
    “Seriously.”
    “Seriously, I want that dessert now.” Anything to get away from this conversation.
    “Chicken,” he accused, apparently reading her well enough to know exactly what she was doing.
    “Bok bok, Mr. Big Tree,” she replied, wondering at her sparring back and forth with him verbally when really she should be embarrassed at her out-of-character behavior.
    His laugh made her feel warm inside.
    “Like I said, fun girl.”
    “Like I said, give me dessert.”
    Trinity had expected Riley to insist on coming into her apartment when he’d followed her home, but he didn’t. He walked her to her door, kissed her forehead, saw her inside, then left without setting foot into her place.
    Go figure.
    Staring at the closed door, she wanted to open it, to yell to him that he could have at least kissed her good-night properly.
    ‘Meow.’ Casper brushed up against her leg, reminding Trinity that she’d like to be fed.
    “I know. I know. I rushed off this morning without paying you much attention.” She glanced down at the solid white cat that she’d rescued from an animal shelter when she had been nothing more than a tiny pitiful-looking kitten.
    Casper mewed again, staying practically beneath herfeet as she walked towards her small pantry to get a can of cat food. She opened the can, put the contents into Casper’s dish and watched the cat dive in with gusto.
    “You’d think you were starved,” she teased. “But I am fully aware that Riley fed you this morning while I threw on my scrubs.”
    That he’d been thoughtful enough to do so had impressed her, even if she hadn’t made a big deal of him having done so. The man was thoughtful all the way round. he was just a little too good to be true.
    Well, all except for the not having kissed her good-night part. That he could use some work on.
    Or maybe it was her sanity that could use some work, because she shouldn’t want him to kiss her. She didn’t want a relationship, didn’t want to set herself up for another fall, like the one Chase had delivered.
    “I know you