The Night Before Read online

  Elias sat in the seat for a second, trying to feel his fingers. He sniffed and glanced over at Ava, his stomach sinking at the thought that she’ been sitting in that freezing car for at least an hour. The inside of the cab was dark, save for the lights on his dashboard, but he could plainly see that her nose was red, her cheeks flushed. She was sitting stiffly, feebly waving her hands in front of the heater. He was glad he had the presence of mind to leave the truck running, so it was toasty inside of the cab, though Ava obviously wasn’t feeling it yet. He took off his gloves then scooted closer to the passenger seat and reached for her bare hands.

  “This’ll help them warm up faster,” he said when she looked up at him with surprise. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth but didn’t object, as he gathered her small hands between his, rubbing and massaging warmth back into them.

  “Damn, Ava. You’re frozen,” he said, working his way over her palms, then massaging each individual finger to bring back circulation. Her fingers were soft, as if she’d never done a day of hard work in her life, never washed a dish.

  “Can you feel your fingers yet?”

  “Almost.” She smiled as he kept working on them.

  “Your hands are really soft.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled without looking up at him, though he did see her brows were raised.

  “What? You have pretty hands. Like a pianist,” he observed as he continued massaging, lingering at the creases between her fingers. She pushed out a small laugh, her eyes still on his fingers as he massaged her hands.

  “That’s not creepy at all. Is this the part where you tell me you want to cut them off and keep them forever in your freezer?”

  A burst of laughter escaped him and she smiled up at him, those hypnotic onyx black eyes of hers playful and, he realized, inviting.

  “You have a smart-ass mouth, Ava.”

  He said it matter-of-factly and she chuckled, her willowy laughter softly bouncing throughout the darkened truck cab.

  “I’ve been told that a time or two,” she admitted, still smiling.

  Now that he wasn’t freezing, he noticed that she’d scrubbed her face free of the make-up she had on at the party. Pretty as hell. Her lashes were long and thick, and her eyes were slightly hooded as if she was in possession of some deep secret that she was just a second away from revealing.

  “Does it always get you in trouble?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Your smart mouth.”

  She shook her head as she met his eyes, hers teasing.

  “Nope. The opposite. My mouth usually gets me out of trouble.”

  He smirked and his gaze skirted to her lips—which for this second at least, were his favorite feature—full and soft, her top lip poking out more than her bottom, gently curved like they were made specifically for kissing. He felt more than heard the small hitch in Ava’s breathing when he raised his gaze back to hers, saw the new awareness in her eyes as she realized the implication behind her words.

  “Stop, Elias.” She rolled her eyes and smiled as he chuckled.

  “What?” he grinned and she rolled her eyes again, though she made no attempt to remove her hands from his.

  “You good yet?” his voice was low, and Ava touched her tongue to the corner of her mouth, wiggling her fingers then nodded.

  Reluctantly, he released her hands, repositioning himself behind the steering wheel. It was already going to take them an hour or more for a fifteen-mile ride and they needed to get a move on.

  “I can’t believe this weather,” Ava said, shaking her head as she peered out of the passenger window, rubbing her hands over arms again, pressing toward the vents once more.

  “There’s hot chocolate in that thermos for you.” He nodded his head toward the cup holder as he pulled onto the highway. “It’ll warm you up some.”

  “You brought me hot chocolate?”

  Her surprise was evident and he grinned.

  “Wow, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She lifted the thermos and took a long sip, humming her pleasure.

  “This is so good,” she said, her surprise evident once more.

  Hell, he’d bring her hot chocolate every day of the week just to hear that sound of satisfaction from her, or to see her eyes gloss over with pure bliss, the way they were now.

  She was quiet for a while as he maneuvered down the slippery interstate, and he didn’t know if it was because she was still frozen or if she was still shaken up from being stranded. He knew why he wasn’t talkative—it was slick as hell outside, and he was driving on black ice as he crept along the deserted highway, praying they wouldn’t end up stuck out here. It was that bad.

  “Hey, Elias?”

  Ava’s honeyed voice floated through the quiet cab and he broke his concentration momentarily to glance over at her.

  “Thank you,” she said again, inhaling as she met his gaze, her eyes serious. “I mean it. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t answered. So, thank you.”

  He smiled. “It’s no problem, Ava. You call, I’ll come.”

  5

  Damn, damn, damn, he was fine.

  She’d thought Elias was good-looking at the party—fit, bedroom eyes, pretty lips. But nope. She’d been mistaken. Because now, behind the wheel of a truck in his hoodie and black pea coat, he was gorgeous. Action movie star gorgeous. Athlete endorsement deal gorgeous. Throw you up against the wall and make love to you with your panties pulled to the side gorgeous.

  Ava reluctantly turned and looked out of the window, mentally shooing away her treacherous thoughts. Scenarios she had no business imagining. But unable to help herself, she looked at Elias out of the corner of her eye again. His facial hair made his lips even more noticeable; they were full and well-shaped, matching those sleepy-sexy eyes of his perfectly. He even had a small dimple in his right cheek that showed up only when he was smiling genuinely.

  She’d barely gotten a glimpse of him when he knocked on her window, while she sat freezing in her car like a dummy. But when he took her hand, firmly pulling her up the hill and then grabbed her hands once they were inside of the truck— Lord. Then he’d started massaging her fingers and even though they were cold, she felt it. She’d felt Elias’ touch to the very tip of her toes, just as she had when she’d briefly kissed his rough cheek. So much so, she had to crack a joke to get herself together, which in retrospect didn’t help much because the deep timbre of his laugh was just as arousing as his spontaneous hand massage.

  She chewed on the inside of her lip, watching the passing scenery. They were creeping along at a snail’s pace but Ava trusted Elias was doing what was necessary to keep them safe since the snow hadn’t let up at all.

  “The Christmas Song” came on, somehow making the confines of the cab feel smaller, warmer.

  “This is my favorite Christmas song of all time,” she told him dreamily, eyes still on the road.

  “Nope. ‘This Christmas’ Donny Hathaway,” he countered, tossing a half-grin her way.

  “Nat King Cole is classic,” she told him, arching a brow.

  “So is Donny.”

  “Yeah but Nat King Cole is classic classic.”

  He grinned that cocky but alluring smile again. “So is Donnie.”

  “Yeah, but he’s new classic.”

  “What does that even mean, Ava?” he asked, arching a thick brow. The way he said her name, the familiarity in which said it, had her shifting on the seat again.

  “It means I’m right,” she managed. “And you’re not.”

  He chuckled and she finally pulled her hat off her head. Elias looked over at her. It was one of those kinds of looks that said he liked what he saw, very much. She shifted in her seat and his smile increased knowingly before he returned his attention to the road. He was cocky but it was warranted. There was a connection between them, undoubtedly. A connection and familiarity that was buzzing and humming now that they were in the intimate co
nfines of the warm truck. The same way it had while they’d slow danced at that dry party.

  Elias’ phone buzzed between them and he grabbed it off the seat, answering it without taking his eyes off the road.

  “What’s up. Yep.” He glanced over at her and smiled. “She’s straight.”

  She smiled because he was and he chuckled a little, wondering who he was talking to.

  “Alright. About another hour or so.”

  Ava’s eyes widened. They were only a few miles outside of Macon and it was going to take a full hour?

  “Yeah, I will. Peace,” Elias said, wrapping up the quick conversation.

  “My brother, Jeremiah,” he informed her as he tossed the phone back onto the seat beside him. “Wanted to make sure I got to you before you turned into a snow cone.”

  Ava smiled. “Thank you again, Elias, for leaving your family and—”

  “It’s cool,” he interrupted her, glancing over at her, the shadows from the darkened highway dancing over his handsome features. “I was trying to think up a way to see you again tonight anyway. So, that ditch was a win for me.”

  Ava laughed and shook her head, her belly warming.

  “But for real. What’s up with you venturing out in Snowpocalypse?” he finally asked, his warm baritone breaking over the soft sounds of the music.

  She hesitated.

  “You were gonna disappear on me, huh? Leave me hangin’ for our date?”

  “No.”

  “No?” He cocked a brow at her.

  “I mean, I wasn’t going to leave you hanging… I was…”

  She stopped abruptly when the truck jerked, lurching to the left on the slick asphalt. Elias was immediately on high alert, cursing softly under his breath, rolling the wheel gently in the opposite direction as the truck attempted to spin, the loud highway markers indicating they were too close to the edge. Ava didn’t even realize her hand was gripping his thigh until she looked down, trying to calm her breathing once they were safely back in the proper lane.

  “It’s really slick out here,” she said unnecessarily, as he placed a hand over hers on his leg, in an obvious attempt to calm her.

  “Yeah, we’re driving on pure ice right now,” he answered, his serious gaze still on the road.

  She gasped softly and looked down out of the window.

  “Black ice,” he explained with a half grin at her expression. “You can’t see it.”

  “That’s probably what happened to me…. I skidded and started spinning.” She was acutely aware of his hand still over hers, wondering how she could be so turned on by the simple gesture, especially given the circumstances. He fixed a look on her that made her feel chastised and… protected.

  “It’s a blessing you weren’t seriously hurt.”

  “I know.”

  “The power went off at my mom’s,” she finally offered. “She’d left unexpectedly out of town because her boyfriend had a family emergency—his daughter was in a pretty bad wreck. I figured I could probably beat the storm. Clearly, I was mistaken.”

  He frowned. “You were at your mom’s alone with no power, Ava?”

  He removed his hand from hers and ran it over his head frowning. “You know you could’ve called me then. I would’ve come and got you.”

  He glanced at her again, his gaze more serious than she’d seen it in the past few hours, and it turned her on.

  “So, you’re staying with me tonight, right?”

  His baritone was low when he asked the question, and even though he likely hadn’t meant to sound so sexy when he asked the question, he certainly did. She shifted in her seat and looked out at the snowy road.

  “I’m not dropping you back off at a house with no power,” he told her when a few long seconds ticked by and she still hadn’t replied.

  She’d only thought briefly about what she would do once Elias actually picked her up. Her thoughts had primarily been focused on staying warm and not panicking. But staying at his parent’s home? Overnight?

  “You’re good with me, alright?”

  He was in her head again and she glanced over at him.

  “My family is chill and the house is storm-proof. My dad is a little bit of a survivalist, so even if the power does go out, we won’t be out of commission. You’ll be safe there and we have the extra space.”

  He turned and looked at her, his expression saying there wasn’t much room for argument.

  “Okay.” What else was she going to do? “Thank you.”

  They were quiet for a while as he concentrated on maintaining control of the truck on the slick road. Beneath the headlights, safe in Elias’ truck, the snow no longer looked so intimidating. It was actually beautiful, dream-like as it swirled and fell against the blackened sky, in a rhythm all its own.

  “So, what were you doing before I became your damsel in distress?” she asked.

  He smiled.

  “Finishing the gumbo,” he glanced at her. “Thinking about you. I wasn’t ready to leave you earlier.” She looked at him and grinned.

  Their gazes held for too long and it felt as if he was seeing too much, namely that she felt the same.

  “You really cooked gumbo?”

  He smiled again at her abrupt subject change but played along. “I really did. I told you it’s our turn to cook this year.”

  “And you have three brothers? No sisters?”

  “Nope. All boys. Nothing but testosterone.”

  “Where do you fall in age?”

  She sipped her cocoa. From his personality, he was probably somewhere in the middle. He was accommodating but knew how to demand attention.

  “The middle kinda,” he answered, and she smiled. “The twins—Daniel and Jeremiah— are the oldest, then me, then my little brother Matthew.”

  “If you tell me your mom and dad’s names are Joseph and Mary…”

  Elias laughed heartily, warming her insides because his smile was so full of life and completely uninhibited. She turned so that she could see him better, her back leaning slightly against the truck door as she cradled the thermos with both hands.

  “Nah,” he said, refocusing the road. “My mom’s name is Hope and my dad’s name is Joe. They’re just very…”

  “Biblical?”

  He laughed again. “Something like that. They just wanted to give us names that stood for something.”

  Ava nodded. “That’s respectable. I just can’t believe I don’t remember you guys. Four brothers in this town?”

  It was practically impossible that she couldn’t remember crossing paths with him, or at least one of his brothers.

  “Macon’s not that small.”

  “Yea but…” she trailed off, keeping herself from saying that I his brothers looked anything like him, there was no way she would’ve forgot them.

  “You really only would’ve known me, anyway,” he said. “The twins were in college by the time we moved here my senior year. And Matthew is four years behind me…”

  “And it’s not like I really ever came back to visit after I left for school.”

  “Right,” Elias said. “And as you so unpretentiously pointed out, we ran in different circles.”

  Ava laughed, eyeing him. “Because you were a senior when I was a freshman.”

  He smirked. “Nah, don’t try to clean it up now.”

  “Shut up,” she said, swatting at his leg.

  “For real though. It was probably a little more than an age difference,” he admitted, casting a smirk her way.

  “You said that like you were a trouble maker.”

  “I was,” he admitted with a chuckle. “A little bit. I had a few suspensions. Tried to sell a little weed. Got put in an alternative school for the second semester of senior year.”

  “You sold drugs?” she said in mock surprise.

  He grinned and eyed her. “I sold weed. But I wasn’t very good at it. I was just trying whatever I could. Trying to see what fit.”

  “Middle child syndrome,�
� she said airily.

  “You analyzin’ me, Ava?”

  “Just making a friendly observation, Elias.”

  He grinned again, his eyes roaming over her.

  “So, what about you? Any brothers or sisters?”

  “I have one brother, through my dad. My parents have been divorced since I was two.”

  Elias nodded, his eyes still on the road. “Let me guess… You’re the youngest?”

  His gaze was assessing, grin cocky.

  “Why would you guess that?”

  Elias grinned, eyeing the road. “Seems like you’re used to getting your way.”

  “Seems like you’re used to making incorrect judgments about people’s personalities.”

  He chuckled she arched a brow.

  “So, you’re the oldest?”

  “Sorta kinda.” She hated this part of the conversation. You’d think she’d be over it by now, but the feeling lingered in the far back of her mind. Elias glanced at her curiously.

  “My brother and I are two weeks apart. So, I’m technically older.”

  Elias glanced at her but said nothing. To his credit, his facial expression didn’t change much as he took in the information that her father had been unfaithful to her mom in the worst possible way.

  “My dad ended up marrying my brother’s mother after he and my mom finally divorced,” Ava volunteered, though she didn’t know why. Something about Elias, maybe the intelligence in his eyes, was making her talkative. Or maybe it was being in the confines of this truck, smelling his warm, woodsy scent, the intimate feel of being on a barren highway.

  “Are you close with your brother?”

  Ava smiled, her eyes still fixed on the falling snow.

  “Actually, I am. We grew up in different parts of the country,” she said, looking at Elias’ profile. “His mom moved them to Kansas to be with her family after my dad got her pregnant, but we always had a really great bond. It makes sense with us being so close in age, I guess. ‘Ghetto twins,’ as people at school used to call it when they found out.”

  Elias frowned, casting another look her way. “People are corny.”