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wrapped tightly in the quilt, but she was still so close. He felt that tightening in his groin, again, and he quickly readjusted his body so that the flames wouldn’t cast a telling shadow across his stomach.
    “My family was furious. So furious, in fact, that no one spoke to me for an entire year. I missed Christmas with them last year.” She dropped her gaze in embarrassment. “It’s a four-hour drive from my apartment to my parent’s house. I called and called, but no one would answer or return my calls. So I figured that if I drove up, well, I just figured that if I was standing on their front steps, they couldn’t be so heartless as to turn me away.” He saw that her eyes were damp, glistening as the unsteady light caught the tears and then released them.
    “They turned you away, though, didn’t they?” he asked, not realizing that he was leaning forward to wipe the tears until the action had already been completed.
    She nodded sadly and then jolted with the touch of his fingertips to her cheek before continuing. “My own parents turned me back out into the cold because the man that they want me to marry had decided against being with me. I had thought my entire life that I would be the one to turn down the marriage, that I wouldn’t be able to go through with it. In the end, though, I was the one that wanted it, and he didn’t.”
    “But you’re on speaking terms with them now?”
    Brea chortled. “If you want to call it that. Brandy called a month ago to invite me to Christmas dinner. She had spent all those months with just getting them to acknowledge that I existed, much less allow me to a family function. She said Mom and Dad wanted me there, but I found that very hard to believe at the time.” She shook her head as she laughed softly. Her hair swung behind her, loosened from her shoulder, the dark waves catching the light and creating a halo. “It was my sister I spoke with earlier, and my parents didn’t even realize I wasn’t there. And she had some news about my mom inviting a mystery guest. The news? That she invited my ex fiancé.”
    He looked at her incredulously and was taken aback by how bright and innocent her eyes were as she lifted them to meet hers. “That’s just typical for my mother, though. If something doesn’t go the way she wants, and she can have any control over it, she takes it.”
    “So tell me what was so amazing about this Eric.”
    She hesitated, opened her mouth to answer, and just as quickly, she snapped it shut. “I’m sorry. I’m talking far too much. What about you? What are your plans for Christmas?”
    He narrowed his eyes for a moment before smiling warmly. “You’re avoiding my question, aren’t you?” He cocked his head to the side as he waited for her reply. “Are you afraid of offending me in some way?”
    She bit her lip in response, amusing George.
    “You weren’t terribly concerned with offending me earlier, so don’t hold back now. You compare me to your Eric, do you not? Isn’t that why you hesitate?” He didn’t know why, but he wanted to know what her ex had that he hadn’t and why their relationship hadn’t worked. Not that it matters , he reminded himself. He wouldn’t see her again after tonight, and tonight was only tonight.
     

Chapter 8
     
    He had guessed her reason for not wanting to share details about Eric. After all, how fair was it to compare the two men when the one was obviously superior to the other? Eric was a saint, especially in comparison to George. True or not, she wasn’t going to rub all of his flaws in his face by telling him how wonderful her ex was.
    He studied her, waited for her to answer, but she held her ground, remaining silent and meeting his gaze. Finally, he relented and she released the breath that she had held for those long moments. “Would you like some coffee?”
    He pushed up from the couch and had already started towards the kitchen. Brea jumped after him and grabbed his arm, the shock