A Christmas in Connecticut Read online

  They finished breakfast together. Jack insisted on doing the dishes before leaving for the hardware store.

  “Oh my god, Claire. Are you okay?” Emmy asked.

  “I’m fine, just an enormous lump on my head and an out-of-control libido.”

  “That’s a relief,” Emmy coughed and giggled at the same time.

  “Are you laughing at this?” Claire asked, alarmed.

  “I’m trying not to, but honestly I can picture the whole thing. I’m just glad you and the puppies are fine,” Emmy snickered.

  “Ha ha, I’m glad I can amuse you, Em,” Claire huffed.

  “Seriously, it probably was a good thing that you passed out…otherwise they would have expected you to perform the cutting and tying of the cords.”

  “Right…good point.” She felt queasy again at just the mention of the cords being cut. “What am I doing, Emm? I mean…I’m a fraud…and there’s no happily ever after with Jack…how would that work with me in L.A. and him in River Falls? How?” Claire felt despair come over her. Maybe she should call Jack and cancel tonight. She wasn’t sure she could handle any more heartache right now…just put an end to all of this before it got really out of hand.

  “Have you given more thought to coming clean with him?” Emmy asked.

  “I tried to the other day, I said something about creative license and that I wasn’t all that I seemed. But we got interrupted by Beth before I could finish.” Claire had a lot of guilt over not being completely honest with Jack. But she wanted so desperately for him, and Beth to have a nice Christmas. She wanted to try her best to help them. Maybe some of what she’d watched Emmy do over the years had stuck.

  Emmy was quiet for a minute. “You know, Claire, there’s no telling how anything will ever turn out before we begin something. That’s part of the beauty of life. Right? This might lead to heartache…but then again, it might not. Follow your heart and not your head with Jack. You never know what might happen, but you won’t find out if you kill it before it’s even had a chance to begin.”

  “Thank you,” Claire said softly, letting her friend’s words sink slowly into her consciousness. Let’s see where this goes.

  Jack pulled in front of Beth’s house and killed the engine. Claire had taken up residence in his mind 24/7 lately, and after seeing her naked body last night, he knew she wasn’t moving out any time soon. He had been so worked up at the sight of her he’d briefly entertained the thought of telling her Pippa could wait until after they were done. But how would that have looked? She probably would have gotten upset if he’d decided that sex was more important than the dog’s wellbeing. Damn dog. He walked up to Beth’s door in a daze, conjuring up the image of Claire in his arms again, as he let himself in.

  “Hey Beth, it’s me.” Archie immediately shot down the hallway at the sound of Jack’s voice. “Hey Arch, let’s get you walked.” He scratched the small black dog between the ears. Archie immediately rolled onto his back. “Your little shenanigans cost me a lot, buddy,” he whispered as he rubbed the dog’s stomach.

  He stuck his head in Beth’s room. “How’s it going?” She was scrolling through something on her phone.

  “How’s it going for you is the real question.” She set the phone down and looked at Jack. “Sheila told me what happened last night…Claire passed out? What happened?”

  “Yeah…not sure exactly what happened, but she’s okay, and Pippa and the pups are doing well.” Jack ran his hand over his jaw. He had a feeling this line of inquiry was going past the normal formalities. He didn’t really want to share what Claire had said to him about being squeamish. He was thinking back to when she brought up the issue of creative license. He had been giving it all a lot of thought.

  “Hmmm. Sheila also told me you were at Claire’s house when she called.” Beth’s mouth curled at just the hint of a smile.

  “Uh…yeah.”

  “Care to elaborate?”

  “Not really…nothing to elaborate on.” He glanced at her. When Beth caught wind of something, she didn’t let go…kind of like Archie and his favorite bone. “I better get Arch walked,” he said as he began to leave the room.

  “Archie can wait.” At the sound of his name, the dog let out a big snort. “Why were you at Claire’s last night?”

  He was going to have to spill the beans. “We went out on a date. Okay…it was just one date, that’s it.”

  Beth’s eyebrows shot up and her eyes grew wide. “I knew it! I could tell there was something between you both. Oh my god, Jack!” Her face was beaming.

  “Don’t get all worked up…it’s not going anywhere…I mean…how could it? She lives there, I live here. End of story.”

  Archie was looking from Jack to Beth and back to Jack again, as if he too wanted to know how this story was going to end.

  “What is meant to be will always find a way, and you guys are so cute together.” Beth looked as if she were about to burst with happiness.

  “You’ve been reading too many romance novels,” he said with a laugh. “Seriously, I better get Archie’s walk in, and then I need to head to the store.” He took a step towards the hallway.

  “Wait, Jack, don’t you think it’s a bit weird that she passed out? I mean…Sheila said Claire became squeamish, and that’s why she fainted. What do you think happened?”

  Jack scratched his head. “I think she’d probably had too much wine and not enough food at dinner, that’s all.” Beth seemed satisfied with this.

  After getting Archie walked and fed, Jack headed to the store. His thoughts were 100% on Claire, he couldn’t wait to resume where they’d left off last night. She was beautiful and his body responded powerfully at the sight of her naked body. He let out a groan at the memory. But there was something else at play…a different attraction. He really liked being with her. He felt comfortable around her…but more than just comfortable…he felt as if she belonged…like a missing part of him. Jack had talked little to anyone about Tara. He felt surprised that he’d shared so much of it with Claire. It was a sour memory that he wasn’t keen on remembering. But sharing it with her had felt different.

  He was really touched to hear about Claire reading to Ruthie at the retirement home. It was really a window into her kindness. It gave his heart a little squeeze.

  They’d spent a lot of time together the past week…hours spent at Beth’s going through all his dad’s stuff. Every memento offered the chance to share a little sliver of himself with Claire, and he’d enjoyed doing it…he didn’t usually talk about himself, but with Claire it felt safe and good. They’d both talked about the pain of losing parents. He hadn’t really talked much about his dad’s passing except with Beth. Claire understood what he was feeling and processing, and he could listen to her as well. He listened to how her parents’ death had felt, without trying to fix it. He just listened.

  There was a small nagging feeling, though…he wasn’t sure what to make of it yet. He normally paid attention to what his gut told him…that intuition had served him well in Afghanistan…most of the time, at least. Something wasn’t jiving with Claire. Was it a big deal? He wasn’t sure…but he knew something was off…just how big of a something remained to be seen. Maybe she’d feel comfortable enough with him to share whatever the hitch was he was picking up on. Then again, maybe she had tried to share something with him, and he hadn’t really listened. He kept remembering her words about creative license and “not being all that.” Whatever the case was, her help had been invaluable to him, and he was grateful to her.

  The store had been busy all day, which kept Jack’s thoughts and concerns at bay. Before he knew it, it was time to close the store and head over to Claire’s. He was gathering the last items he would need for her tree.

  “Criminy…”

  “What’s bugging you, Hank?” Jack smiled to himself as he heard the old veteran grumbling under his breath about something as he locked the door to the store. Something was stirring him up.

  “It mus
t be killing Belichick that this kid is so bad at the read-pass option, for Pete’s sake…it sure is killing me, I’ll tell ya that.”

  “Well, he’s no Brady, that’s for sure.”

  “No Brady? Pffft...that’s the understatement of the century. Did you see him throw into coverage on third and long last night? Right into the defender’s arms…I’m pretty sure he had his eyes closed when he threw it…a high school kid could do better. Patriots won’t be making the playoffs, I’ll tell ya that.” Hank shook his head in resignation before noticing all the stuff Jack was packing up.

  “All that for Beth?” he asked, nodding towards the bags Jack had filled.

  “Uh…no.”

  “Are you putting up your own tree?” Hank looked incredulous.

  “No…it’s for Claire.”

  “You’re putting up a tree for Dodger Cap? I see.” Hank's eyes twinkled as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well now…remember…I pointed her out to ya.” He rocked back on his feet, a self-satisfied smile across his face. “Don’t forget.”

  “I won’t forget.” Jack smiled as he headed out to his truck.

  Chapter 11

  Claire heard the knock on the door. She checked her reflection in the mirror for what felt like the fiftieth time. Just relax…you look fine. But she couldn’t relax. Her entire insides felt like shifting sand in a molten hot desert. A desert that hadn’t seen water in a very long time. She thought her thirst was going to be quenched last night, but it had been a mirage. Pippa wasn’t having any more puppies, so nothing was going to get in the way this time. She let out a measured breath between her lips and pulled the door open.

  Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Jack. A flannel shirt over dark jeans, a sexy smile on his face. “Hi,” she managed to get out of her dry throat.

  “Hi yourself,” Jack replied, his hands full of stuff as he gave her a brush of his lips over hers. She felt a jolt of desire shoot through her core.

  He cleared his throat, obviously feeling the same thing. “Before you know it, you’re going to have a slice of Christmas right here in your living room.” He set down several bags. “Just give me a hand with the tree…I’ll put it in the stand. If you’ll just steady it while I tighten down the screws, that would be great. We’ll give it some water and then eat dinner. We can then spend the rest of the night trimming it.” Jack coughed a bit, rubbing his hands together, and Claire thought she noticed his face go red.

  “Sure…sounds perfect.”

  Together, they got the tree in the stand and then sat in the dining room to enjoy the food that Jack had picked up at Jenny’s.

  “That was delicious,” Claire said after finishing the turkey meat loaf with mashed potatoes and roasted carrots. Sure beats the frozen stuff I’ve been eating, she thought.

  “Now you see why I eat there so often.” Jack gathered up their plates, taking them to the sink. “I bet you’re ready to cook your own food.” He looked back at her as he ran water over the plates.

  “Yeah, I’ve just been so busy, you know…with all the…stuff.” She jumped up quickly and began to unbox the tree lights. She looked over at Jack, who seemed satisfied with her answer. What are you doing, Claire? Maybe she should come clean…but then he would know she was a fraud…it would definitely put a damper on what she hoped would happen tonight. Maybe she should wait to say anything. If this was going anywhere, there would be plenty of time to tell him the truth. Right?

  He joined her in the living room, first getting a fire roaring. They worked together, weaving the string of lights in between the tree’s branches; Jack had opted for tiny white ones that twinkled. Then they hung the red glass ornaments. He’d also gotten a box of candy canes they hung on the tree.

  “These are a good filler if you don’t have a lot of ornaments,” he said, holding up one of the red and white striped candies. “You should put that tip in your blog,” he said as he pointed it towards her, giving her a sexy smile that made her melt.

  “Yeah, that’s actually a great idea.” She stepped back to admire their work. “It looks beautiful. Thank you.”

  “Wait, it’s not finished.” He held up both hands towards her. He used a stepstool from the kitchen to place a shiny gold star on the tree’s top. When he stepped down, he snapped off the lights. They both stood and admired the twinkly tree.

  Claire inhaled the aroma of pine mixed with the scent of burning oak logs…it was magical and intoxicating. In the darkened room, the tree’s lights twinkled brightly, bouncing their reflection against the walls and ceiling. She couldn’t help but smile. Jack had come up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders as she admired the tree. “It’s beautiful, Jack…thank you; It really was sweet of you to put up a tree for me.” She reached her hands back and held his hands with hers.

  “I’m glad you like it,” he whispered in her ear, and then kissed her neck. His lips felt warm and tender. His hands moved her hair to one side, allowing him to kiss the sensitive nape area. She let out small whimpers. What he was doing felt good. Really good, and her body was responding rapidly. He gently pressed himself against her as he continued. She could feel his desire for her. This sent her insides bolting even more.

  She turned towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The lights from the tree and fireplace danced in his eyes. She pulled his face to hers and drew him in for a kiss. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her against his body. His lips luxurious against hers; soon his tongue gently found its way into her mouth, her insides did somersaults.

  Claire stepped back and unbuttoned Jack’s flannel shirt. She needed so badly to see him naked in front of her. He finished unbuttoning it and let it drop to the floor. She ran her hands over his shoulders and biceps before pressing herself against him and melting into his lips.

  “Maybe you should pull this off,” he said in a low voice as he untucked her top and gently pulled it over her head. Claire had on her sexiest lace bra underneath. Jack ran his finger along her collarbone and then slowly down to the swell of her breasts. His finger slipped under the lace and found her nipples, circling them as he kissed her neck. She moaned under his touch, wanting more.

  Soon she was lying on the couch watching as Jack undid her jeans, sliding them off her before undoing his own, pulling them to the ground. He laid on top of her, kissing her lips while Claire ran her hands through his soft hair. She buried her nose into him and inhaled his scent while he kissed her neck. Everything about him was intoxicating to her. She wanted every single part of him.

  Jack looked up at her. “Is this okay?” he asked.

  She could barely squeak out her answer from her dry throat. “Yes.”

  “Good,” he replied before freeing her breasts from her bra and tenderly taking one into his mouth, cupping it gently as he sucked. Slowly, his other hand slid into her panties, cupping her as his tongue worked on her nipples.

  Claire was going wild inside; every nerve ending was screaming for more. With his mouth, he slowly worked his way down her stomach, his tongue gliding against her skin. He kissed the outside of her panties before sliding them off her. Gently, he opened her thighs before bringing his mouth to her most sensitive area. Oh my god this feels so good.

  He alternated between sucking and using his tongue, flicking it lightly against her and making small circles before slipping it inside of her. Claire’s breathing became more rapid and ragged as she pulled his head tighter against her as he continued with his mouth. As pleasure came rushing over her, she arched her back and moaned loudly. A tidal wave washed over her. She tingled from the tips of her fingers down to her toes. “Oh Jack, that was so good,” she said, breathing heavily.

  “Good…there’s more to come. You tasted so good in my mouth,” he said in a low voice as he stood up. He grabbed a condom from the pocket of his pants.

  Claire watched as he slipped out of his jeans and boxers. “Oh my god,” she said as her breath caught at the sight of him. He gently laid down on top of
her; his body was warm against hers. She ran her hands over his chest and down his arms, feeling the outline of his biceps. Jack let out a groan after gently guiding himself inside of her. She grabbed his shoulders and looked into his eyes. This was not an ordinary roll in the hay. Something more was happening. A connection was clicking into place.

  He stopped for a moment and returned her gaze. Without words, they were communicating. His body connected to hers. As he continued, she held onto him tightly. Soon he shuddered with his own release, his face buried in her neck.

  He kissed underneath her jaw before finding her lips again. Softly and slowly, he finished what they had begun. He ran his hand over her hair and looked at her. “I hope that was okay.”

  Claire nodded her head. “It was more than okay…it was pretty spectacular.”

  Jack smiled. “I agree.”

  They repeated everything again in the early light of the morning. Claire was giddy with happiness. She was enjoying the moment with little thought about where this was all headed for the time being. They were enjoying a breakfast of coffee and toast before reality came back into sight for her.

  “Beth wants to know what the Christmas menu will be. I told her I’d talk to you about it,” Jack said.

  Ugh. Emmy had given her some ideas for things she would be capable of cooking. “I was thinking a nice honey glazed ham.” Easy…just put in the oven, drizzle with honey, voila. Claire took a bite of toast, feeling pleased with herself.

  “That won’t work…Beth is allergic to a preservative used in ham. We were thinking turkey instead.”

  What? No. Not turkey.

  “But didn’t you just have turkey for Thanksgiving? Maybe there’s ham that isn’t preserved.” Good one Claire. Anything but turkey.

  “No…she really can’t even stomach the taste of ham because of how sick it makes her. Turkey would be great…we didn’t really have one for Thanksgiving because it turned out more like jerky…Beth over-cooked it or the oven was too hot, I can’t remember…all I remember was that it tasted like shoe leather. I think we’re all hankering for an actual turkey we can eat. Mason’s turkey farm is close by. It’ll be just like your blog. We can take a visit out there, it’s picturesque.” He smiled at her, taking a sip of his coffee.