Blue Christmas (The Moody Blue Trilogy | Book One) by Diane Moody Page B

blame God and now yourself? There’s no
way you could have known this was going to happen now. Gevin and Rissa want to
get married. What’s so difficult to understand about that? He’s older, Jason. Why shouldn’t he want to get married and settle down? I think it’s great that
he found someone like Rissa and knows this is the real thing. That’s probably
pretty tough to discern in your business.”
    He rolled his neck.
Her comments clearly only agitated him more. She folded her arms across her
chest and took a deep breath. Just let him talk.
    He threw the cloth
in the sink and turned around to lean against the counter, bracing his hands on
the edge behind him. “I’m just not ready. Not now.”
    Her heart ached
for the disappointment in his face, his every move. “Have you talked to any of
the other guys yet?”
    “No. I thought
about it. Then I decided, why ruin their break too?”
    His cell phone
rang from the living room. “Geez, I don’t even want to answer that.” He looked
up at her, his eyes asking should I? Hannah shrugged leaving the
decision up to him. It rang, then rang again.
    He left the room,
his steps heavy. Hannah dropped her head onto her folded arms on the table. Oh
God. Please help him.
    “Hey! When did you
get in? . . . Yeah? . . . Did Tracey come with you? Good, it’ll
be good to see her.” Jason walked into the kitchen, holding the tiny phone to
his ear. “JT,” he whispered.
    Hannah sat up.
Jason crossed his eyes. The slightest hint of a smile crept up his face. He
winked at her and her heart skipped a beat.
    “Okay, we’ll see
you in a few minutes. Tell Mom to fix you guys a turkey sandwich or something . . . Okay,
see ya, man.” He disconnected and put the cell in his jeans pocket. “Well,
Hannah, how would you like to meet JT Malone?”
     

     
    “Hannah, Jason—come
on in. Y’all want a sandwich?”
    Laura was in her
element. Dressed in a navy designer tracksuit with her blonde hair twisted in her
signature French braid, she set plates heaped with sandwiches in front of her
guests.
    Hannah tried to
swallow. I can’t believe it. I’m nervous again. After everything else, I’m reduced
to a basket case of nerves. Trembling, no less! She avoided eye contact
with JT as long as she could, afraid she would blush twelve shades of purple.
    Jason grabbed his
buddy in a bear hug, slapping him on the back. “Hey JT . . . Tracey—
get up and give me a hug, woman!” As Jason moved to embrace JT’s girlfriend,
Hannah took a chance to steal a peek at Blue’s famous bad boy. With a
huge smile planted on his face, he approached her. He was shorter than she’d
expected, but well built. A thin dark beard lined his jaw, accented by multiple
earrings on each ear. His close-cropped hair was a dark shade of burgundy. Suddenly
she was gazing into those puppy dog eyes that made girls all over the world
melt like butter.
    Me included.
    “And you must be Hannah.”
His raspy voice snapped her out of her fog. “Laura’s been telling us all about
you. I’m JT, Hannah, nice to meet you,” he said taking her into a warm hug.
    “Hi JT,” she
croaked. Oh God, please don’t let him feel my heart beating against his
chest!
    “Hey, you’re
shaking! Come on in and warm up,” he said, leading her by the hand toward the
kitchen table.
    Yeah, that’s it.
Shaking from the cold. Right.
    “Mama Mac, how
about some hot tea or something? This one’s shaking like a leaf.” He pulled the
chair out for her and she sat down. She looked up to see Jason snickering
silently behind JT’s back. Great. He knows I’m star struck. She shot him
a warning glare.
    “Hi Hannah, I’m
Tracey—and thanks guys for remembering to introduce me.” JT’s girlfriend was attractive
in an eclectic sort of way, just as Hannah would have expected. Jet black hair
in a short blunt cut. She had her own share of piercings, though most were tiny
studs confined to folds of her ears. Her ready smile helped put