A Wrong Bed Christmas

3

ALEXIS WOKE EARLY in spite of the night’s events, but mostly because Emma was already up and showered, anxious to hit the road.

“Aren’t you a bowl of sunshine?” Alexis said, yawning. “Did you sleep okay? I mean, after everything?”

“Slept fine. But I’m sad to report that you still steal the covers. If I hadn’t wrapped myself up like a burrito, you’d have left me with nothing.”

Alexis laughed softly. “Bad habits are hard to break. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I still love you, but I feel bad for whoever you marry. It’s always going to be a battle for the bedding.”

“True story.” Alexis climbed from the bed, stiff, and still not quite awake. She needed coffee and quick. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, but as soon as she put pressure on her right foot, she nearly yelped from the shock of pain. Well, if that isn’t a fine way to wake up. She lifted her ankle and grimaced at the black-and-blue bruising and swelling. Crap, this doesn’t bode well. Alexis tried to put some pressure on her ankle, but it was a no go. She bit her lip. “Em? We have a problem.”

Emma plainly hadn’t heard Alexis. “Can you be ready to hit the road in about an hour? I think the roads should be open by then,” Emma called out from the bathroom where she was doing her hair.

“Em? Come here a minute,” Alexis said, sinking back down on the bed. When Emma appeared with a concerned frown, Alexis said flatly, “Houston, we have a problem.”

“What’s wrong?” But just as the question left her mouth, her gaze fastened on the nasty bruising on Alexis’s ankle and she gasped. “Oh my God! Oh no! That looks terrible, Lex. We need to take you to the doctor. It definitely looks worse.”

Alexis had to agree, but she wasn’t about to ruin Emma’s weekend by spending it in the ER. “It’s the weekend, which means an ER visit, and I cannot afford a bill like that right now. I just paid for all my books for the semester. I’m practically living on ramen noodles at this point. I’ll just have to wait until my regular doctor’s office opens. Besides, what can they do for my foot that I can’t?”

“What if it’s broken?” Emma fretted.

“It’s not broken,” Alexis insisted, feeling fairly confident that she was right, but there was a shadow of a doubt that was dogging her. It hurt pretty bad. And the swelling wasn’t helping, either. “I probably just need to ice it.”

“And elevate it,” Emma added with a fatalistic shake of her head. “There’s no way you can sit in the car for the next two hours.”

“No. This is not going to ruin our girls’ weekend. I’ve been looking forward to this party for weeks. You know Arnold is going to be crushed if I don’t share a cookie with him. I’ve already promised.”

Emma’s parents ran a school in Colorado Springs for mentally challenged adults, and Alexis and Emma were planning on surprising Emma’s parents at the annual Christmas bash. They were going to serve dinner on Saturday with a full-fledged girls’ weekend thrown in the mix.

Alexis enjoyed volunteering at the school. The residents never pretended to be something they weren’t—unlike the guys she seemed to attract like bees to pollen.

“Arnold will have to take a rain check,” Emma said, then decided, “If you’re not going to go to the hospital, then I’m canceling my trip, too. I can’t leave you alone like this.”

That was exactly what Alexis didn’t want Emma to do. “No,” Alexis said emphatically. “You are not canceling your trip over this. It’s no big deal. It’s not as if my foot is going to fall off or something. I just need to baby it a little.”

Emma pointed. “Your foot looks like it was beaten with a bat. If it’s not broken, I’m willing to guess it’s badly sprained.”

There was no denying her foot looked terrible. So much for her idea of getting a pedicure. “Please don’t cancel on my behalf.”

“I can’t leave you like this,” Emma said, appalled that Alexis would even suggest it.

“Seriously, I’ll just putter around the house and watch a movie marathon all day. There’s no need for you to cancel your plans because of this, and I would feel ten times worse if you did.”

But Emma knew her too well and called her out. “No you won’t. You’ll try to hang lights and bake and decorate the Christmas tree because you can’t stand to sit still. You have the attention span of a gnat and an inability to sit still for any length of time. I’d have to tie you to a chair if I wanted you to stay off that foot.”

“That’s a little extreme.” Alexis pretended to appear offended. “For your information, I recently took up crocheting and that takes a lot of patience.”

“You tried it once and then got frustrated and haven’t touched it since.”

“Okay, fine. Crocheting isn’t my thing. But neither is yoga and you’re the one who told me to find something to help me relax.”

“Yes, and you’re still looking because you have a hard time being still. So, forgive me if I don’t believe you when you say that you’ll take it easy.”

Alexis knew Emma was right, but it killed her to think that Emma would cancel over something so dumb. Miserable for ruining her friend’s weekend, she rose on unsteady legs with the intent of hobbling her pathetic self to the kitchen for some coffee, but Emma was already slipping her arm beneath her to help. “I’m sorry,” Alexis said, feeling like doggie poo. “I didn’t mean to ruin our weekend.”

“It’s okay.”

But it wasn’t okay. Alexis could hear the sharp disappointment in Emma’s voice even as she tried to hide it with a cheerful smile. That was Emma in a nutshell, always thinking of others before herself and it broke Alexis’s heart that she was the cause of Emma’s disappointment.

Erik and Layton were in the kitchen getting coffee when Emma and Alexis made their way in.

Erik frowned. “Lex? Is that ankle still bothering you?” he asked.

“It hasn’t gotten any better,” she answered glumly as her butt found a dining room chair. Her mood was rapidly plummeting as quickly as the temperature outside. Another storm was coming. “It actually seems to have gotten worse during the night.”

Layton came forward. “Let me take a look.”

“It’s fine.”

But Erik chimed in, saying, “Let Layton take a look, Lex. He’s got paramedic training.”

Hard to argue with that, seeing as she didn’t want to rush to the hospital. “Fine,” she grumbled, allowing Layton to gently examine her foot. He slowly manipulated her ankle, carefully gauging her reaction. She winced a few times and then yelped when he pressed her foot. Layton nodded and released her foot with care. “Well, I don’t think it’s broken, but you’ve probably got one helluva sprain. If you go to the ER they’ll order an X-ray, which won’t show soft-tissue damage, but it’ll definitively show whether or not you have a fracture.”

“But you don’t think it’s broken, right?” Alexis said.

“I don’t, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t have a hairline fracture. Best to check it out.”

“See?” Emma said, lightly tapping Alexis’s head for being difficult. “I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

“No, I’m not going to the hospital,” she said stubbornly. “And you’re not missing out on your parents’ bash. Erik, please tell Emma that I’m a big girl and I can handle myself, even slightly injured.”

“Lex, it’s fine, really. I don’t really want to drive alone anyway, so we’ll just do that movie marathon you mentioned. It’ll be fun.”

“Erik can go with you,” Alexis volunteered, shocking Emma. She didn’t know why she’d offered her brother’s services, but it seemed to make sense. Erik was a total gentleman.

“Oh! That’s not necessary. I’m sure he has plans,” Emma said, darting a look at Erik. “It’s fine, really. I don’t mind canceling. Lex really shouldn’t be alone with her foot the way it is.”

Alexis sent an imploring look Erik’s way, C’mon, bro, don’t let me down!

But it was Layton who spoke up first. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but... I could stay behind and help you out so your friend doesn’t feel like you’re being left behind all alone. It’s kind of my fault you’re all banged up anyway.”

All eyes turned to Layton. Did Layton just volunteer to babysit her?

Erik said, “That’s okay, man. You don’t have to do that. It’s not your fault. It was a misunderstanding all the way around.”

“I know, but hell, I’ve got nothing to do today that didn’t include drinking a few beers and being a slug. Besides, I’ve got the training. If her ankle gets worse, I’ll bundle her up and force her to go to the ER.”

“He has a point,” Erik slowly agreed, nodding. Then he looked to Emma. “How do you feel about that?”

Alexis hesitated then looked to Erik and Emma, saying, “Well, if Erik agreed to go with Emma... I guess that would solve both problems. Are you okay with that, Em?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Emma started shaking her head, but Alexis wasn’t going to budge on this one. “Em, it’s dangerous on the roads. You know it’s stupid to drive alone and I refuse to let you cancel your plans. Erik will be the perfect gentleman, I can promise. He’s one of the good guys.”

Emma’s cheeks flared as her gaze darted. “I know Erik is a good guy. I just don’t want him to have to do something he doesn’t want to do.”

Erik chimed in. “I don’t mind,” he said. “And I agree with Lex. You shouldn’t drive alone in these conditions.”

“The storm doesn’t seem to be letting up as I’d hoped,” Emma said, biting her lip with indecision. “Are you sure you don’t mind the drive?”

“Not at all. We can catch up. Tell me what’s new in your life since you were just my bratty little sister’s friend.”

“Bratty?” Alexis repeated with indignation. “Like you were the epitome of well behaved. Just because Mom and Dad were blind to your antics doesn’t mean everyone was. For your information, I told them that it was you who broke Mom’s ceramic elephant from Africa during that party you held your senior year.”

“You little snitch. You promised you wouldn’t tell. I paid good hush money for that,” Erik said, grinning. “I should’ve threatened some kind of punishment for reneging on the deal.”

“Good times,” Alexis said, laughing. “Okay, so is it settled? Erik will go with Emma, and Layton will stay with me?”

They all shared looks and then nodded, agreeing. Emma heaved a breath and then said, “All right, if that’s the case, we need to get moving. If that storm is determined to dump another load of snow, I want to put some miles on the road before it happens.”

“I can be ready to roll in fifteen minutes. That work for you?”

Emma nodded and they both split off to finish getting ready.

“And just like that, it was you and me,” Layton said.

“Yeah...you know you don’t actually need to stay,” she said in a conspiratorial whisper. “I appreciate what you did. Emma wouldn’t have agreed without Erik and you volunteering. As soon as they take off, wait about a half hour and then you can take off, too.”

He shook his head, grinning. “Sorry, no can do. My offer was legit. What kind of guy would I be if I left you to fend for yourself when you’re plainly injured?”

That surprised her. He really wanted to stay? To be truthful, she’d thought he was just giving her backup. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, I mean, I know it’s not actually my fault, but I do feel a bit responsible for your laid-up foot. The least I can do to assuage my guilt is to help you out.”

Alexis didn’t know what to say to that. She paused for the tiniest of moments only because a hot guy was her personal weakness, and the last person she needed to mess around with was her brother’s best friend, but what were the odds that anything would happen between them over a weekend? She could be around a hot guy and keep her hands to herself. She smiled with determination—mostly to prove something to herself—and said, “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. I wasn’t lying when I said I had a movie marathon in mind.”

“I like movies.”

“Chick flicks.”

“Movies with hot chicks? Sounds good to me.”

She laughed at his devilish charm. Yeah, he was just the sort of guy who’d turn her head. But not this time.

Nope.

Layton Davis...it ain’t gonna happen.

* * *

TRUE TO HIS WORD, Erik was ready to go within twenty minutes. With Emma in her SUV waiting, Erik paused to give the obligatory big-brother speech, which Layton didn’t fault him for, but he was tempted to remind Erik that Alexis wasn’t a kid.

“I know you’re a good guy or else I wouldn’t even think of leaving Alexis with you, but I feel I have to warn you about my sister. She’s...spirited.”

Layton’s brow rose. “Spirited? Erik...horses are spirited. Be more specific.”

“Hell, this is the most awkward conversation ever. Look, she has a thing for falling for the wrong guy and I don’t want to see her hurt. She’s been through enough. Her last boyfriend... Let’s just say I wasn’t a fan. So, yeah, what I’m trying to say is...don’t mess with her and for God’s sake, don’t let her mess with you. Keep things friendly, but not too friendly.”

“C’mon, man, like you would have to ask. I’m not here to hook up with your sister. I’m just helping out.”

The look of relief pinged Layton’s conscience. The fact was, Alexis was hot. She was a grade-A hot piece of ass if he were being honest, but he meant what he’d said. He wasn’t here to mess around with the woman.

Erik clapped him on the shoulder and climbed into the car. “Help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge. I’ll call you when we get there.”

“Drive safe,” Layton said, waving.

The snow started to drift lazily from the sky, dissolving into tiny wet spots on his face almost instantly. He glanced at the sky. Hopefully, they made good time before the storm really started up again. Layton turned on his heel and returned to the house, where Alexis was already up and hopping around the kitchen.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing. What are you doing?”

“Preventing you from overdoing it. What happened to the movie marathon?”

“There’s plenty of time for that. I want to make some kettle corn. Want some?”

Kettle corn. How did she know it was his weakness? “You know how to make it?”

“I sure hope so, otherwise I’m about to make a huge mess for nothing.”

He chuckled. “Okay, wiseass, as much as I would love to scarf down some kettle corn, you are getting off that foot. I told you I didn’t think it was broken, but it’s certainly sprained and you need to elevate it with some ice.”

Alexis scowled, but he didn’t give her a chance to argue and simply scooped her into his arms, shocking her into stunned silence as he carried her to the living room. He deposited her on the sofa and then put a pillow under her foot. “You sit here while I get the ice.”

“Is now the appropriate time to admit that Emma was right and that I don’t sit still well?”

“I already had that figured out.”

“Story of my life. I’ve never been able to just sit around. Once I had the chicken pox and I drove my mother crazy because I couldn’t stop itching and squirming, which then made it worse. My mom says it was the longest two weeks of her life.”

Alexis’s story was telling. He held no illusions that Alexis would be an easy patient, but there was something about her that drew him, in spite of all the reasons he ought to keep his distance. Maybe it was the memory of those dream kisses or maybe it was the memory of that near-perfect ass. Ha! Neither memory was safe enough to entertain for longer than a heartbeat.

He returned with an icepack wrapped in a towel and gently draped it on Alexis’s ankle. “That ought to help, but you really have to keep off your foot if you want it to heal.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled. “Are you sure you want to hang around? There’s nothing exciting about watching paint dry.”

“Depends on the company.”

Alexis met his gaze and cocked her head to the side with a sweet, beguiling grin that he didn’t trust in the least but found extremely compelling. “Is that so? And are you saying that you would enjoy my company? The woman who nearly turned you from a rooster to a hen with one kick?”

“In spite of that...yeah.”

Were they flirting? It felt like flirting. And he liked it.

Hell, he’d always been a sucker for the girl who was just out of reach; she didn’t need to make it ten times more difficult by being sexy, too.

Erik’s advice rang in his head like a gong and he pulled back even though there was something captivating about Alexis—and he wasn’t just talking about the sweet rack she was sporting.

“You’re going to get me into trouble,” he said with a chuckle as he rose from his haunches. “You know your brother has it in his head that you’re this fragile thing who might break if handled too roughly.” He waited a heartbeat, then asked with a sly grin, “What do you think about that?”

She met his grin with a saucy one of her own. “I think I’m a big girl and I don’t need my brother to run interference for me.”

“That may be true, but I’m not the kind of guy who would go behind a buddy’s back to get at his sister. You know what I mean?”

“That’s admirable,” she admitted with grudging respect.

“And why does it feel the opposite when you say it like that?”

She laughed and the sound tickled his bones like fingertips dancing down his vertebrae. “I told you, you don’t have to stay. I’ll be fine.”

“I gave your brother my word. I’m not going anywhere.”

There was the slightest, most minute, almost indiscernible hitch in her breath, and that sexy little sound almost caused an immediate erection to tent his jeans. Ah hell, this was going to be the hardest test of his life. For crying out loud, they’d only just met, but there was electricity bouncing between them that was hard to ignore, and if she didn’t stop looking at him as if he were the choicest cut of beef, he was going to have a helluva time keeping to his word.

“Tell me about this guy who did you wrong,” he said, moving to sit beside her on the sofa. Act like a friend. Not a hungry wolf ready to pounce. “According to Erik, he was a douche.”

“He said that?”

“Well, not in so many words, but I got the impression he hadn’t thought much of him.”

She shrugged as if it was no big deal, but beneath that negligent shrug was the faint show of heartache that surprised him. Alexis gave off the vibe that if anyone was doing the heartbreaking, it was her and not the other way around.

“What can I say? I’m a terrible judge of character,” she said.

“I don’t believe that.”

“No? Well, I can’t deny that I’ve been drawn to the worst sort of guy. My track record isn’t the best.”

“We all have unfortunate hookups in our past,” he said. “It’s called live and learn.”

Alexis laughed and adjusted the ice pack. “Yeah, well, until I get through with my master’s degree there will only be one kind of learning going on.”

“Sounds like a solid plan.”

And it was. So why did he want to make her break it?

4

CIRCUMSTANCE WAS A funny thing. Alexis stared at her ankle, amazed at how much could change in the blink of an eye. Last night she was lobbing objects at Layton’s head and today, she was noticing how nicely his cropped, dark hair set off the masculine cut of his jaw. Maybe she wouldn’t mind if Layton played nursemaid after all. Even if she had the very best intentions to keep her hands to herself, she could certainly enjoy the view.

And the view was quite spectacular. Muscled chest and arms, solid abs narrowing to a trim waist and hips... Yes, indeed, Layton had the goods.

“Okay, so tell me the real reason you volunteered to stay behind,” Alexis said, putting Layton on the spot, trying to make things interesting.

“What makes you think I wasn’t being completely altruistic in my offer?”

“Were you?”

Layton paused, then that little glint in his wondrously dark eyes gave him away. “Okay, full disclosure...you’re a beautiful woman and I happen to have a weakness for women like you, but even with that said... I promised your brother that I wouldn’t do or say anything inappropriate.”

“Such a gentleman,” she murmured as her heart rate did a little jump at his admission. Was it terrible that she was already imagining him naked beneath her? Good grief, her hormones were out of control.