Page 11 of All He Wants

I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, run or enjoy every second spent with her. Ember made the decision, sliding her hand into mine and moving with the music.

“Are they playing covers of contemporary songs? Like Bridgerton?”

I chuckled, holding her close as we swayed, enjoying her warmth and the scent of her shampoo drifting to me from where her head fit under my chin. “Yeah, we make a game of trying to guess all the songs. Last year, Mom made it really hard.”

We danced in silence, our breaths in sync, until Ember pulled me to a stop.

“You and Leigh… Are you together?” Her blue eyes swallowed me up, like this was the most important question she’d ever asked — what I couldn’t figure out was why.

“No.” I hesitated, trying to decide whether to leave it there, or explain further. “We’ve been friends forever. Since we were kids.”

Her mouth puckered, like this wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear. “I see.”

If I hadn’t known better, I might have thought Ember was… jealous? “She’s gay,” I blurted and Ember jumped, the force of the words clearly taking her aback. I cleared my throat. “Ah, that is — Leigh likes women. I don’t have anything that interests her.” Ember’s mouth tilted up and I rambled on. “She, ah, wanted to ask you out actually. I told her you’re with Nick.”

“That’s nice of you,” she said, humor colouring her voice. “It’s good to know the dress is working for me.”

I nodded quickly. “Definitely working for you,” I said, and then wanted to kick myself. “I mean, ah, you look fine. Nice.” Her brows were rising higher and higher so I opted to snap my mouth shut altogether. “Where the hell is Nick,” I muttered and when she laughed, I couldn’t help but relax.

“Easy, it’s okay. He went to get drinks, I think.” She smiled and it was gentle. The music shifted and I drew her closer, goosebumps running across my skin everywhere we touched. Her pupils were blown wide, the black nearly swallowing all of the blue as we leaned into one another as if magnetized.

A pair of hands slid around her waist, and I barely noticed, too lost in her eyes on mine, her mouth just inches away, her breath and mine becoming one as the violins soared.

Ember looked up and away, the heat melting into a more comfortable flare as she smiled up at my brother behind her and reality hit me in the face.

I dropped her hand and made to step back, freezing when her hand fisted in my shirt, a wordless plea in her eyes that was at odds with the challenge in Nick’s when I looked at him in question.

But this was Ember, and I would have done anything she asked of me. So I stayed.

Her hands rested on my shoulders as she swayed to the music and when Nick reached for her, to spin her out into the room, I anticipated her return. Caught safely in my arms, with Nick on her other side, Ember became boneless between us, her arms around me, her head on Nick’s chest, our steps in sync as the sound faded away around us.

CHAPTER FOUR

Ember

I wasn’t sure what had gotten into me last night. I’d danced with Nick and Oakley until my eyes couldn’t stay open any longer. Between the alcohol and the delicious warmth of the two of them on either side of me, I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt so relaxed.

But that was then. By the time breakfast rolled around on Christmas Eve? Doubt and embarrassment had set in. What did Nick think about what had happened? Maybe it would have seemed innocent if not for the way he’d teased me the night before, making me come harder than I think I ever had in my life.

I was hyperaware of Oakley’s presence. We had pastries and hot drinks for breakfast, and every small piece of eye contact, every brush of our hands, made me want to run and hide.

Nick didn’t seem to think anything was wrong at all. He hummed cheerfully as he poured milk into his coffee, told anyone who’d listen what a great night they’d had last night, and had smiled at me all morning. If I didn’t know him so well, I’d think he was overcompensating, or bottling it all up to yell at me later, but this was Nick. Closed off, yes, but a liar? Never.

Except when he didn’t tell you about his parents’ estate.

I shrugged the thought away and licked chocolate off the tip of my finger from where it had leaked out of my pastry. Finger in my mouth, I looked up and found both Nick and Oakley watching me — the former with a smirk on his mouth, the latter with heat in his eyes.

What the hell had I got myself into?

“The snow has eased off a little,” Rachel said, smiling brightly as she looked around the table at all of us. “So I think we’ll be able to go on our usual walk. Ember, darling, did you bring boots?”

I nodded. “I’m all set, thank you.”

I was actually looking forward to getting out of this house, away from the two confusing brothers, and into the fresh air. Plus, it looked like a winter wonderland outside. The snow behind the house was crisp and untouched, glittering lightly in the sun, and the forest looked like it could have graced the front of a Christmas card. Apparently there was a trail that ran through it that the Hart’s hiked every year on Christmas Eve. It sounded festive and fun and, if I was being completely honest, made me feel a little sad imagining what holiday traditions my parents might have had before I’d lost them, earlier than my memories stretched back.

“I’ll pack a few flasks of hot tea and coffee,” Rachel murmured to herself, like she was making a list. “Go and get your warm clothes on, everyone. Be back downstairs in ten, okay?”

We all mumbled our assent and I gulped the last of my hot chocolate before following Nick upstairs to our room and adding on extra layers. Though his dad insisted it was pretty mild outside, which I didn’t believe for a second.