Three Christmas Wishes - Krista Wolf Page 0,16
he said, folding his arms. “Do you?”
“Sure I do. It’s in Argentina.”
His whole face lit up with a smile, making him even more handsome than before. He was every bit a man — a flawless, dusk-skinned specimen of a man. But his face had a certain boyishness that was innocent and refreshing.
“Are you from down there?” I asked.
“Born in Cordoba,” he nodded.
His accent was faint, but there — an Americanized version of South American. Sexy as all fuck, too.
“Came to America when I was eight,” he went on. “Became naturalized at twelve, a full-blown citizen.”
“Congratulations,” I smiled.
“Thanks. We spend just about every winter down there though, in Argentina and Brazil. My family and I, that is.”
“But you’re here for this winter.”
“Sure am,” he smiled. “It’s going to be my first snow at Christmas!” His boyish grin widened. “Can’t wait.”
“I’ll help make a snowman if you want,” I said, setting my hands on my hips. “But Valerio, first I have to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“What was that all about last night?” I asked. “I need to know.”
He shifted in place, maintaining his innocence. “What? The kissing?”
“Yes,” I admitted. Then, more sheepishly: “and the… other stuff.”
“Ah, so the other kissing,” Valerio smiled. He scratched at his thick head of beautiful dark hair. “So who won?”
“What?”
“Who won last night?” he repeated. “Out of all of us?”
I couldn’t believe he was asking the question!
“Seriously?” I answered. “I think I did.”
“Ha!” Valerio laughed, slapping his knee. “You really did, didn’t you?”
I squirmed in place a bit, knowing how true it was. I’d been plied with wine, and treated like a princess. Made to come harder than I ever had in my life, then tucked in on the couch, all comfy and cozy.
“Well?” a voice suddenly called from behind me. “Did she tell you who won?”
Thirteen
SLOANE
Brock stepped out from between two trees, just like I had moments earlier. He looked rugged and handsome, dressed in a dirty jumpsuit that hugged his powerful frame. Just seeing him made the knot in my stomach tighten.
“She won’t say who won,” Valerio complained. “I already asked her.”
“Why not?”
“Does it matter?” I chuckled. “Are you boys really that competitive?”
They looked at each other for a second. Both of them nodded.
“Yes,” they said in unison.
“Besides,” Brock added, “we had a little bit of a bet going.”
“Actually a lot of bet,” Valerio disagreed.
I was still in the dark about what they meant. But I had to know.
“Okay, let’s hear it.”
Valerio stepped back and popped something into his mouth. A Tic-Tac maybe, or a breath mint. He offered me one and I shook my head.
“Stop stalling,” I told him. “I still want to know what last night was about. And why you all just… walked away at the end, there.”
Brock folded his arms across his dirty chest. The muted sunlight turned his eyes a spectacular blue, flecked with grey.
“Maybe we didn’t want to take advantage of you,” he said.
“Oh?”
“I mean, last night wasn’t planned, if that’s what you were thinking.”
On the other side of him, Valerio nodded. “If we’re being honest, we were all attracted to you yesterday. The three of us thought you were beautiful. Funny. Cute as hell.”
The complements landed with all the weight of a boxer’s blows. After my last relationship, I sure as hell wasn’t used to them.
“Ummm… thanks?”
“You’re welcome,” he smiled. “And we were happy to come over last night. It was a lot of fun.”
I nodded, ignoring the lump in my throat. “It was a lot fun for me too,” I said simply.
Brock was eyeing me over, scanning me up and down. It seemed almost like he was deciding something. I would’ve given anything to know what he was thinking.
“Anyway, we flirted with you the whole time you were buying the tree,” Valerio continued. “But after hours things would be different, so we decided upon something before we got there.”
“And what’s that?”
“We decided that no one gets left out,” Brock said. “That anything one of us did with you, the others could do also.” He paused and shrugged. “That’s kinda why things went the way they did.”
I blinked, letting his words sink in. “So, like a three-for-one deal?”
He smirked. “Sort of, yeah.”
“So you’re the Three Musketeers, then,” I laughed.
“I guess so.”
“Do you have a D’Artagnan?”
“Do we need one?”
“Probably not, no.”
“Well if we do, let us know,” Valerio grinned. “We could probably grab someone else from—”
Brock punched him in the arm, fairly hard. For a moment I thought Valerio might punch him back, but he let it go.
“Look, I’m sorry