Can't Say No Read online

  “It’s a couple blocks off Main Street.”

  “That’s easy. Let’s go.”

  “I’m getting a hot chocolate.”

  “You mean a hot chocolate love potion?”

  “They claim if you share a hot chocolate love potion you’ll forever be in love with that person.”

  “That’s—charming.” And also a cash-grab on Valentine’s Day.

  “It’s cute. It’s been a Willow Valley traditional Valentine’s drink for as long as I can remember. I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t a single person in Willow Valley who hasn’t had a sip.”

  “Next!”

  Creed stepped aside as Aspen ordered her over-priced drink.

  He pulled out his gloves from his pocket and slipped them on, rubbing his cold hands together to fight off the chill while he waited. If anything, the hot chocolate would warm them up. It was a crisp night and cooler by the lake with the wind blowing off it.

  “Here.” Aspen held a cup out to him while holding another in her free hand.

  “We’re not sharing?” he teased, taking the cup.

  She blew through the opening of the lid, her lips forming a perfect round shape and the cold winter turning them a darker shade of red.

  “How many girls have you shared a cup of this love potion with?” she asked, her curious eyes peeking over the top of the cup. “You were quite the charmer in school.”

  He stepped toward her and blew on the liquid in his own cup. “A different girl each Valentine’s.” He shrugged. “Sometimes two. Maybe three. It really depended on how many dates and if I could separate them through the night.”

  She laughed. “You’re ruthless.”

  He took another step. “But I’ve never shared my drink with anyone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

  “Then you’re lucky this liquid is the hokey pokey you think it is.” She sipped her drink, her eyes not leaving his.

  “Who said I think it’s hokey pokey?” He reached over and snatched her cup.

  “Hey, hey, hey!” She reached for it, but pulled her hand back as the hot liquid sloshed out the lid. He brought the cup to his mouth and sipped the hot liquid.

  Aspen gasped.

  He flinched as it burned his tongue and left a hot trail down his throat, but it was worth it. She was worth it.

  She puckered her lips at him in the cutest way. “You deserved that. You can’t go around stealing other people’s love potion drinks. That’s against the rules.”

  “There are rules?”

  “Unsaid rules, but everyone knows them.”

  “I’m not stealing. We’re sharing.” He held the drink out for her, but she stubbornly folded her arms over her front and refused to take it.

  “I don’t recall offering to share with you.”

  He tossed his full cup in a nearby garbage. With his free hand he pushed a strand of her hair off her face and his hand cupped the side of her head. “I’m planning on winning tonight, but I’m not referring to the mission.”

  She slightly moved her head away from his touch, but not enough to break the contact. “Maybe I planned on sharing that drink with someone else.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “That would make my plan to win your heart more challenging.”

  Aspen cocked her eyebrows at him, analyzing or deciding or simply hating him, he couldn’t tell.

  “Everyone knows you like a good challenge.” She took the drink and walked away leaving him with a bubble of hope.

  “We have a race to win.” She called over her shoulder, before she looked both ways and started across the street. “Move your feet, Creed!”

  His lips curved into a smile as he did a slow jog to catch up to her, falling in line with her step. They hurried down Main Street. He could hear Aspen’s unsteady, quivering breath from the cold air. Still, she giggled and laughed as they rounded the corner and started down a side street. They quick-walked for a couple blocks passing small quaint cottages, a lot of them decked out with red, white and pink lights. He remembered his mother saying something about the town offering a prize for best decorated house which explained the impressive house with two large lighted Christmas candy canes propped together to create a heart. The homeowners had also installed an entire row light-up hearts in their flower bed.

  “It’s just up ahead.” Aspen pointed ahead of them. He saw a sign in the shape of a dog bone with the shop’s name written across it.

  Her steps increased the closer they got, and Creed matched her pace, wanting her to go a speed she felt comfortable with as they trudged over snow and sometimes slippery ice.

  Aspen set her coffee down on the sidewalk and pulled her cell phone out of her coat pocket. “Get beside me and we’ll do a selfie.”

  He lowered himself in front of the shop’s sign and Aspen snuggled into his side, pressing their heads together. She angled the picture to capture their faces while also getting the dog sign in the top right corner.

  “Ready?” she asked, shivering against his side.

  Creed nodded, wrapping one arm firmly around her waist. He had ways to warm her up. As her thumb slipped over the button at the bottom of the screen, he hooked his finger under her chin and brought her face to his. Their mouths met and he heard the click of the picture at the same time her surprised gasp warmed his lips. He could imagine what else he could warm if she let him. He hoped one day in their future she would trust him enough to let him into her life.

  He kissed her softly, assessing the way her lips moved ever so slightly with his. She held reluctance and caution in the kiss, but he found promise when she didn’t jerk away from his touch. There was no denying how right she felt in his arms, her lips against his. He gently ran his tongue over her lips tasting the cocoa and spice from their hot chocolate. He restrained from diving between her scrumptious lips and tasting the inside of her mouth.

  She pulled away slowly and only enough to look at him as her tongue ran over her lips. He wanted to cover them again with his mouth and taste the delicious trail she left him.

  Her half-smile and rather hazed look reheated his insides.

  “You taste like chocolate,” she said.

  “So do you.”

  “If I believed in that love potion, I’d think it was working.”

  He didn’t loosen his hold on her. “How many guys have you shared the hot chocolate love potion with?”

  He felt her take a deep breath against him. She blew it out slowly and said, “One.”

  Creed grinned.

  “But as handsome and amazing a person I think he is, there’s too much history between us. I don’t know why you’re back or why you’re kissing me—”

  “You do know.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not fair to Tess or your family. It was hard enough for me to find reasons not to stop by their place at Christmas or Thanksgiving in case you showed up. And when you didn’t show up, fearing I might be there, that wasn’t fair to them either.”

  “This isn’t about anyone but you and me.”

  “Or is there another woman in your life and you’re scared? Are you here looking for whatever you needed last time, only to take off with another woman?”

  “There’s no other woman.”

  “I went against everything I believed in that night. I slept with an engaged man. As much as I told myself your fiancée wasn’t the one for you, it’s no excuse. I was my father’s daughter that night and I’ve had to live with that ever since.”

  “I’m sorry I put you in that position.”

  “I can’t do this again with you. I let my guard down last time, and feelings I don’t even know how to label ended up ruining our relationship, or whatever we had. Friends, annoying little sister ... however you saw me before that night.”

  “I’ve never thought of you as a sister. You were Tess’s best friend, and, I’ll admit, most of our childhood I couldn’t stand either of you, but at some point I stopped looking at you as Tess’s friend. At some poi
nt, you became the only person I could talk to about things I would never tell my family or friends. That’s why I ended up at your place that night. I needed an honest opinion about my life and you had always been straightforward with me.”

  “You told me you loved me that night and then you left without a word and married another woman.”

  “That was the biggest mistake of my life.”

  “Telling me you loved me?”

  “No.” He cupped her face. “Walking away from the only woman I’ve ever loved.”

  “That’s a big statement.”

  “From a man who knows what he wants.”

  Aspen stepped back, putting space between them. “Right now, I want to win this game. Since you’ve ruined our photo—”

  “I wouldn’t say ruined it.”

  “Listen Mr. Sharing Lips, go kiss the sign.”

  “What?”

  “The Backstage Grooming Pet sign.” She nodded toward the sign as she lifted her cell phone up like she was getting ready to snap a picture. “Go kiss the sign.”

  He laughed. “No—”

  She held her hand up. “Can’t say no.”

  The smile on his face dropped away. “Well played, Aspen.”

  She beamed proudly. “Thank you.”

  “You owe me after this.”

  She shrugged. “It’ll be worth it.”

  Without another choice, because there was no way she was holding his refusal to do something tonight over his head, he walked to the sign, bent down and puckered his lips.

  The things he’d do for love.

  Chapter Five

  ASPEN TURNED HER back to Creed, preparing to take a selfie with him bent over and kissing the sign. But first, she needed a second to herself to steady her breathing and get her emotions back in check. She didn’t want to end up sleeping with him again and his charming smile and sweet kisses were enough from them to end up precisely there. Toss in him professing his everlasting love for her and they’d probably land there faster.

  But this scene felt all too familiar. Showing up unannounced, professing feelings, stealing kisses, but never offering anything solid. The man needed lessons on how to pursue a woman. He’d been spoiled by women flaunting and throwing themselves at him since high school. He didn’t even know the proper dating etiquette.

  “Any day, Aspen,” his muffled voice shouted at her. “I think my lips are freezing to the sign.”

  Halfway through a deep breath, she laughed, envisioning his lips freezing to the sign. How would they ever explain that?

  She held the camera aloft as she positioned herself with Creed kissing the sign behind her. His eyes were trained on the screen—on her, his lips scrunched up and still. Remarkably, this wasn’t the craziest thing she’d ever seen him do. She’d seen him dive off Willow Valley’s cliffs into the water and watched him ride dirt bikes at speeds no one should. He’d always been careless, never thinking about the consequences. She couldn’t help but feel this visit was only another example of his irresponsible behavior.

  Aspen pressed the camera button. The faster they finished tonight, the quicker he’d be out of her life again.

  “Did you enjoy that?” Creed came up behind her.

  “Yes, I did. Want to see?” She held the camera to him, but he shook his head.

  “I’m good.”

  She zoomed in on the screen where his lips were locked on the sign and she laughed at the sight.

  “The first picture is taken. It’s only eight-thirty and we have five more to go. What’s next?” Aspen picked up her coffee cup from the ground, while Creed dug another mission out of his pocket. She sipped the now luke warm drink and moved from foot to foot to keep warm.

  He unfolded the paper with a cocky, half-smile on his lips that turned her mind to mush. “Mission number two: be a mannequin in a store window display.”

  Aspen laughed. “Who wrote that? I gave easier missions like taking a picture of the pet sign.” She hitched her finger behind them.

  “I think it’s clever.”

  “And sounds warm.”

  Walking back toward Main Street, the wind whipped against their fronts instead of their backs. Aspen wrapped her scarf over her head and pulled it up to her nose until they were back on Main Street. A cold vibration caused her body to quiver as she followed Creed past plenty of windows they could sneak into and pose as a mannequin. The Old Town & Co. Soap Shop was still open. If she snuck in there, she could easily pretend to be checking out the soap in the window giving Creed a chance to take the picture. The flower shop had an assortment of flowers she could shuffle through giving him another chance to snap a picture, but Creed passed them all. He didn’t stop until they were at the far end of the street.

  She looked up at Ruby’s Closet, the town’s lingerie and subtly advertised adult store. The window looked classy, with shimmering heart shapes hung from the ceilings above two female mannequins wearing silk robes—one robe long and one short—both open and exposing sexy gowns beneath.

  “Are you serious?” Aspen wasn’t getting up in there.

  “Yes.” He grabbed her hand again and the bell chimed above them as they stepped inside the little shop.

  Soft and soothing romantic music welcomed them as did the eccentric owner Ruby Rose. Her long, dark brown wavy hair looked as delicate as her name. Her wide brown eyes and face exposed all her emotions for them to see.

  “I enjoy lovebirds who shop together.” Ruby’s silky red dress grazed the wood floor and Aspen wondered if she’d find the spaghetti strap dress hanging in the lingerie section of the shop.

  Ruby stopped in front of them and took each of one of their hands in hers, bringing them together and sandwiching Aspen and Creed’s hands between hers. “You’re a new couple, but your history binds you together.”

  Aspen kept from rolling her eyes, not sure whether the woman actually believed she was reading their hands or was simply playing into the Valentine’s Day hype in hopes of selling some sexy night-time wear.

  “Your bond is strong. Just like your affection for each other under the sheets.”

  Aspen tried to slip her hand away, but Ruby’s fingers gripped too tightly. “We’re just looking.” She yanked again, freeing her hand and hearing Creed chuckle under his breath.

  “All lingerie is on special, tonight only.” Ruby winked at them. “And behind the curtains are some fun toys.” She pointed to thick red velvet curtains at the back of the store with sheer red material draped down giving a tease of what was beyond, but not enough to show the goodies.

  “Thank you.” Creed wrapped his arm around Aspen’s shoulder. What was with everyone touching her tonight? “I think we’ll check that out first.”

  Ruby moved behind a wood plank counter, like a ribbon blowing in the wind and sat on a stool, grabbing a book from the counter. “Take your time.”

  The wood floor creaked beneath them as Creed led Aspen to the curtain. Incense burned on a shelf and a strong patchouli smell circled them. Creed lifted the curtain and ushered her inside. Once the curtain fell, she turned to find him reaching for a long whip hanging on the wall.

  “You have to be on your best behavior,” she said. “I’m a business owner now and I have to see these people at every town meeting.”

  “Are you more into a whip or flogger?”

  Was he listening to her at all? “I’m not into either.”

  “Not that you know of.” His mischievous grin caused her to question her opinion.

  He draped the whip back on the hook and his hands moved over a collection of handcuffs. Silver ones, pink ones, and even fuzzy red ones.

  “These could be fun,” he said.

  “All we’re doing here is wasting our time. If we’d gone to the soap store we’d already be done with this mission and on to the next one.”

  “And not having nearly as much fun.” He held up a red thong and his eyes moved down her body like he envisioned her wearing it.

  She snatched it out of his
hands and tossed the skimpy piece aside. “How are we going to take a picture in her window without her noticing?”

  Creed picked up a role of red bondage rope and tossed it from hand to hand. “Go ask her if she doesn’t mind us taking a picture.”

  Aspen didn’t want to spend any more time in this sexy shop with Creed than she had to. “No.”

  He grinned, setting the rope down and picking up a fur-covered paddle. “Can’t say no.”

  She wanted to slap the grin right off his face. Instead, she groaned. “Okay, this is what we’ll do. I’ll go back outside and you pretend to want something from the window—”

  “For you?” He hung the paddle back up. She knew she had his full attention.

  She shrugged. Ruby already thought they were a couple. “Sure. It doesn’t matter.”

  “It matters.” He stepped closer to her, making the already small room seem tiny.

  “Why?”

  “I need to know the details to sell the plan.”

  “Fine, it’s for me.”

  His eyes thoroughly appreciated her from head to toe and back up again. “If it’s for you, I’m going to ask for the neon pink teddy.”

  “Neon pink?” she asked, picturing all the cute sheer baby doll outfits she’d seen. “You think if I were to choose anything here, it would be a neon pink teddy?”

  He stepped closer. “No, and that’s the reason I’m choosing it.”

  “You’re not choosing it. You’re going to inquire and not purchase.”

  “Don’t you want to know why I’m choosing the neon pink teddy?”

  “Not at all.”

  His brown eyes darkened with overconfidence. “Liar. You want to know.”

  “I want to solidify a plan so I we can get out of here.”

  “Do you?”

  “Creed.”

  Her scolding went unheard. He leaned down and without touching her, whispered in her ear, “I know there’s a wild side inside you. A side I would love to explore.”

  Aspen backed away until her back touched the curtain. “You have the wrong girl. I think it would be wise to accept me for who I am before you decide how much you love me.”