A California Christmas (Silver Springs #7) - Brenda Novak Page 0,45

told me a psychologist couldn’t change the facts.”

“He told me that, too,” she said, “but he seemed to do a lot better when he was working with Dr. Smith. The nightmares eased a bit. I know that much.”

“Maybe he’ll try therapy again one day. We can’t force him. Where is he now?”

“He took Emery to LA.”

“You don’t think there’s any chance of them getting together, do you?”

“I don’t know. At first I was hopeful, but if he won’t settle down, it will only drag her into the same morass of worry I’m in.”

“Maybe she’ll be able to fulfill him. Having Cora come into my life made a huge difference for me.”

“Yes,” she said, as though that made her more optimistic. But while Eli had been severely abused as a child, he hadn’t watched his father murder his mother and sister.

That made everything permanent.

11

It was probably completely natural for Emery to touch him so often. They were friends, they’d had a couple of drinks, and they were out forgetting about Ethan and having a good time. Dallas just wasn’t used to having a woman take his hand, grab his arm or spontaneously hug him—not unless she was also open to a sexual relationship. And, as a result, his mind kept shooting off in a completely different direction, one that was decidedly not platonic.

But he didn’t have a lot of female friends. He spent half the year climbing, surrounded almost entirely by men. Even during the winter, when he worked at the gym, he dealt with more men than he did women. His students had mothers, of course, but they were usually married or too old for him. And Emery was particularly attractive...

After a delicious Mexican dinner, where they’d talked and laughed for nearly two hours, they’d decided to leave his van at Beer & Salsa and take an Uber to Rodeo Drive. They’d both had one too many margaritas, so they weren’t ready to drive back to Silver Springs, and Emery wanted to see the Christmas decorations in this ritzy area. He suspected she also wanted to show him her city. It was obvious by the way she talked about living in LA that she loved it.

As they strode along, she slipped her arm through his, and he once again told himself it was no big deal. She didn’t mean anything by it. It had been much warmer before the sun went down, so warm they’d left their jackets behind, and now it was growing chilly—that was all. But the awareness he was beginning to feel, despite trying to ignore it, was getting so distracting he was having trouble focusing on what she said.

“What do you think?” she asked.

He didn’t have an answer. He’d missed every word except the last question. He’d been too busy imagining what it might be like to kiss the girl he’d been too afraid to ask out back in high school—even as he chastised himself for considering it.

“I...” He looked down into her expectant face and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry. I zoned out there for a second. What’d you say?”

She pulled her arm away. “It’s okay. Are you getting tired?” she asked as though she was suddenly worried she might be boring him. “We can go home, if you’re ready.”

“No. I’m not able to drive quite yet. I just...had something else on my mind. What was it you said?”

“I suggested we go to the beach. Have you ever been to the beach at night?”

“Not this late,” he replied.

“It’ll be dark, but the moonlight reflects off the water, and you can hear the surf crashing onto the shore. It’s quite an experience.”

Considering what he was feeling, the beach might be too isolated. But just knowing she wasn’t receptive to the kind of intimacy he was beginning to crave would keep him in line. He was still a little buzzed, so they needed to do something until he sobered up. “You won’t be too cold?”

“Not if we build a bonfire,” she said eagerly.

“I didn’t realize you could still do that.” He loved California as much as anyone, but it had to be the most overlegislated state in the union.

“Only on some beaches. But I happen to know which ones.” She grinned mischievously up at him. “Should we Uber there?”

She was obviously enjoying herself. She’d been so miserable lately that Dallas was glad to see her forget about the recent past for a while. Since he didn’t want to do anything to ruin her reprieve, he figured he might