“And you love it.”
He nodded. He sure as hell did. And the notion caused his chest to constrict.
“Give me half an hour to get Norton and change and then I’m all yours,” Rina said. After brushing a kiss over his lips, one that was brief but electric, she bolted for Frankie’s.
Cheeks flushed and glowing, she lit up something inside him. Colin never wanted to lose the feeling, but he warned himself not to get too used to it. Life was all about change. His parents’ deaths, Joe and Nell taking him in, his brief marriage, followed by Nell’s death, Colin’s divorce and then Joe’s marriage to Corinne. Nothing ever stayed the same.
Fate always threatened to take away what he loved most. But in this case, Colin himself had the means to tear him and Rina apart. But he hoped to build a solid foundation before then, something that could withstand the repercussions when they came.
CHAPTER NINE
AROUND FOUR that afternoon, Colin lugged a pathetic-looking tree up Rina’s stairs. “This thing looks like it’s seen better days.”
Rina unlocked the door and held it open so he could drag their tree inside. “We’re lucky they had any left the day before Christmas Eve. Personally, I don’t care what it looks like. It’s ours and that’s all that counts.”
Norton barked when they entered, and he danced around, jumping on Colin with his front paws. “Go walk him before I become his next victim, will you?”
Rina laughed. “I expect that tree set up and ready to be decorated when I return.”
“Slave driver.” He winked and waved her away.
A few hours later, he stepped back to admire their handiwork. The small tree twinkled with all the spark, spunk and spirit that Rina had brought into his life. Red, green and gold ornaments decorated the branches, along with silver tinsel and a shiny star on top. The result was commercial in color but warm and comforting in the aura it exuded. A fire crackled in the small fireplace where Norton lay basking in the heat before deciding to snooze on the couch instead.
A feeling of accomplishment filled Colin, along with the strange sensation of belonging. Here. With Rina and her dog in this small Cape apartment. “Amazing,” he said, unsure if he was referring to the tree or the feelings she inspired.
“I know. Even with remnants left in the stores, this tree looks just perfect.” Her soft, grateful gaze me
t his and yearning flared to life between them.
He’d held off touching her all day, knowing the tree would never get put up or decorated if he even so much as stroked or kissed her soft skin. But the work was finished and now the fun could begin. “We can’t make love by the fire on Christmas Eve, but there’s no reason why we can’t do it tonight.”
She let out a husky purr of agreement and came into his arms. “But I thought we’d make New Year’s resolutions first.”
He blinked, surprised. “I’m not big on those.” Mostly because they entailed promises, something he’d never been great at keeping. To distract her, he slipped his hands beneath her heavy wool sweater so his hands spanned her waist, traveling upward and coming to rest on the outside of her breasts. The full mounds filled his palms, warm feminine flesh awaiting his touch.
“Force yourself. For me, okay? It’s an old family tradition, and I thought you and I could do it together this year.”
Even if they wouldn’t be together next year to reassess and reevaluate? Colin wondered silently. “You go first,” he said instead.
“Okay.” She scrunched her nose and she got lost, deep in thought. “I will continue to be true to myself.”
“In what way?” he asked, intrigued.
“You know how some people undergo psychotherapy? Well, I don’t have to. My column’s been one huge lesson in self-awareness. And it’s taught me a bigger lesson about you.” She wrapped her hands around him, trapping his hands against her bare skin. “So I’ll continue to write my column and only let people and things that are good for me into my life.”
“That’s a tall order.”
“I can handle it.” She grinned and brushed a kiss over his lips. “Your turn.”
He swallowed hard. “I’ll be true to…” He wanted to say you, but bit his tongue, knowing that kind of promise was impossible to keep. And any commitment he made to Rina, he intended to follow through upon.
“Come on, Colin. Don’t take the easy way and just repeat what I said. Make a New Year’s resolution,” she urged.
“I resolve to take care of things in my life the most responsible way I can.” Vague, but he hoped she wouldn’t question him.
Because it was a holiday weekend, no one had returned his business calls, but he intended to start by having another talk with the accountants and seeing exactly what shape the paper was in now. His last figures had been from too far back. Then he needed to talk to Joe. Together, maybe they could come up with a plan that wouldn’t hurt the people they both cared for, he thought, looking into Rina’s wide-eyed gaze. But in the meantime, he couldn’t deny that he’d been progressing with his plan, and he silently cursed Corinne for letting things slide so far that Colin had to put the pieces back together.
“See? That wasn’t so difficult, was it?” she asked.