Kiss Me for Christmas Read online

  Her mom leaned closer, so their shoulders touched as the townspeople on screen came out to support good old George. This had been a Latrelle tradition since she could remember, and the years of Christmas memories crashed together. The time they’d gotten the big dollhouse and she and Cassandra had fought over the living room furniture layout. The time her mother had hidden their Christmas stockings full of candy in the oven because they’d taken to hunting them down early every year. Smoke and the smell of burnt chocolate had permeated the house for hours, after her father had turned on the oven for biscuits.

  She turned to face him now, and his face was split into a smile that warmed her from the inside out. He was healthy. They were all here together, and it was going to be an amazing holiday.

  “That’s my favorite part,” her father muttered as the bell rang, letting old George know that an angel had earned its wings.

  He said that every year. She was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude, and her eyes flooded. Luckily, her tears coincided with the end of the movie and didn’t seem out of place as she rose to her feet. Everything was going to be fine. As soon as…

  “I’ve got to call Mick. I really love you guys, and I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Her mother gave her a watery smile and nodded. “We love you, too. Now go see to your beau and work it out because that one’s a keeper.”

  …

  Leah went into her bedroom and closed the door, her mother’s words ringing in her ears. That’s exactly what Mick was. A keeper. He’d make some nice girl very happy someday. She felt an irrational surge of jealousy toward her, whoever she was.

  Friends and business partners, she reminded herself firmly.

  A minute later, she was just about to hang up the phone when he finally picked up on the fifth ring. “Hello?”

  Her pulse did a shimmy, and she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry,” she blurted without preamble. Silence crackled over the line, and she fidgeted with the edge of her comforter. Apparently, he was waiting for more. “About saying you snore. And that you have halitosis. Annnd…any of the other things I may have said behind your back.” Still nothing and she let out an exasperated sigh. “What else do you want from me, Mick?”

  “Who is this?” he deadpanned.

  Relief flooded her and she grinned. “Har har. How many other fake fiancées do you have, anyway? I thought we were exclusive,” she said, feigning hurt.

  “I just wanted to make sure I knew who I was talking to before I requested some dirty make-up sex.”

  Heat flared between her thighs, and she quickly reminded herself that he was joking. That’s what they used to do before all this weirdness between them…before everything got all messed up. “When you say dirty, how dirty do you mean, big boy?” she purred in an over-the-top Mae West impression.

  “I mean the kind where I lift you onto the kitchen counter and slide you forward until our hips touch,” he whispered. “Then I wrap my fist in your hair, and press my thighs in close, grinding against you so you can feel m—”

  “Got it!” she squeaked, unable to stop the quiver that ran through her at the mental picture he created. His warm chuckle poured over the line, and she smiled in spite of herself.

  …

  By the time they got to St. Paul’s an hour later, the holiday spirit was in full effect. When they’d all piled into Mick’s sedan after breakfast, he’d had the Christmas carols blasting. After a rousing sing-along of “Holly Jolly Christmas,” they teased one another about tearing up during “The Little Drummer Boy.” She’d laughed right along with them and realized that she’d been oversensitive lately. Her family had always been the type to joke around and be sarcastic with one another. It was only in the past year or so that it had started to bother her. Maybe she’d been fooling herself a little with her insistence that she was 100 percent fulfilled with her job and her sad excuse for a social life. And maybe her parents weren’t the only ones disappointed that she hadn’t found the love of her life yet.

  She sent a sidelong glance to Mick, who was yukking it up with a group of kids gathered around him. It had been her family’s tradition to spend time over the holidays volunteering at their local shelter. She’d kept up the tradition alone on Thanksgiving when her parents were in Phoenix, but as rewarding as it was, it hadn’t been the same. Now, with Cassandra handing out reindeer antlers, her dad serving up steaming plates of honey-glazed ham with maple gravy, and her mom bustling around with a kettle full of sweet-smelling cider, a sense of rightness settled around her like a handmade quilt.

  And Mick made it all the better. She couldn’t deny that his presence was a huge part of the happiness she was feeling at the moment.

  “Hey Leah, come see what Mick showed us!” A young boy named Walter waved madly, his plump cheeks pink and his eyes glowing with excitement. He held out a cupped hand. In it lay a delicate, white rose fashioned from tissue paper.

  “Cool, huh? He’s gonna help us each make one for our moms as Christmas gifts.”

  All the volunteers had spent the better part of the morning sorting small gifts for the children so they’d have something to open on Christmas morning, but there weren’t enough funds to provide gifts for the adults as well. As she gazed down at the happy little faces, she realized how important it was for the kids to experience the joy of giving, too. It was so like Mick to think of that. She blinked back the sudden mist in her eyes. “Really cool. Do you want me to try to find some markers? Then we can color the stems green and the flowers whatever colors you like.”

  The kids chattered excitedly as they called dibs on their color choices, and her gaze locked with Mick’s. “Nicely done,” she murmured for his ears only.

  He gave her a sheepish grin. “Thanks. That’s how I used to pick up girls back in the fifth grade, so it’s been a while. It worked on Suzie Metcalf, but I’m a little rusty.” He held a second one out to her. “What do you think, does it make you want to share your peanut butter and fluff with me?”

  It made her want to share a whole lot more than that with him. She took his offering and nodded wordlessly.

  He leaned in close and dropped his voice. “What do you think a dozen would get me?”

  She pulled away, searching his face for a clue, but before she found one, he turned his attention back to the children. She crossed the room to the kitchen and stripped off her heavy, cable knit sweater. Suddenly it seemed really hot.

  “You okay? You’re looking flushed.” Her mother pressed a cool hand to Leah’s forehead.

  “I feel great. Just a lot of running around, and I was in front of the oven for a long time working on the gravy.”

  “Well, the gravy is on the tables now, so maybe you should take a break for a few minutes.” Her mother patted her cheek gently. “I wanted to tell you, your father and I are having a wonderful time. I’m so glad we came.”

  “Me too, Mom.” For once, she spoke the truth.

  …

  “Thanks so much for inviting me to join you all. I can’t imagine a better way to kick off the holiday.” Mick shook hands with Leah’s dad, but Rita hauled him in tight for a solid hug like she had the day they’d met, which he returned full force. He hadn’t been hugged like that since his own mother had passed. When she let go, he felt a twinge of regret.

  “Tomorrow at noon, right? I’ll bring a deck of cards so we can teach Mick how to play spades,” Cassandra said.

  After the next day’s plans were firmed up, the family filed out the door. Leah made her way back into the living room and flopped on the couch. “That was so much fun. Mick, you were great with the kids.” Her face had been shining with happiness since they’d left the shelter, but at that moment, it clouded over. “I wanted to say again, how sor—”

  He cut in, not about to let her ruin a perfect day by beating herself up over something they’d already worked through. “It’s water under the bridge. Deal?”

  She nodded. “Deal.”

  “I can honestly say, I’m
hard-pressed to recall a time I’ve enjoyed myself more. I think it’s going to become a new holiday tradition.”

  She drew back. “I’m not sure whether my family will be out here next year, but…” She hesitated.

  “I just mean about the volunteering, not foisting myself on your family every year,” he assured her. Her penetrating stare had him stumped. If he didn’t know better, he could swear she was disappointed. Why? Shit, he’d never been so out of touch with a woman’s emotions as he was with hers right now.

  “It would be a great thing for Luke to get involved in. He’s a generous little guy, and he would love it. Giving and giving back? It’s good for the soul, you know?”

  Whatever he’d spied in those watchful depths had faded, and she gave him a tired but megawatt grin. “I do know. I feel the same way. And he’s such a great kid.” She tucked her legs beneath her bottom and searched his face. “What does he like to do?”

  “Luke?”

  “Yeah.” She patted the couch beside her and waited for him to sit. When he did, she continued. “I mean, I see him on occasion, you talk about his T-ball games once in a while, and you drop in and out of the office with him, but only for a minute or two. It’s like…Gee, now that I think about it, you don’t even have any pictures of him in your office. Why is that?”

  To most people these questions wouldn’t qualify as tough, but to him they were the toughest. He’d worked hard for years to protect the relationship he had with his son. His time with Luke was precious because he didn’t get enough of it, to his way of thinking. He didn’t want to share the too few days and nights he did have with him with other people. Then he thought about Leah. About that interminable energy she had. About how generous she’d been. She’d let him in today, sharing her family and their Christmas ritual, and letting her guard down. And seeing her with Luke yesterday and those kids today only reinforced what he already knew.

  He sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees while he tried to work out where to start. The beginning was a good place.

  “The divorce was tough. I grew up without my dad around, and when Sheila and I failed at our marriage, I was in shock. I didn’t think I’d ever get over the fact that I couldn’t be with Luke every day. That I wasn’t going to see him lose his first tooth or be there if he had a nightmare.” That last one still got to him, and he swallowed hard. “Sure he could call me, but it wouldn’t be the same. I’d lost something so precious and I didn’t know how to handle it. I think for those first couple years, seeing his picture every day just reminded me of what I was missing. I didn’t want people to ask me about him because it only made it worse. I know this is going to sound strange, but on some level I wanted him all to myself and when people asked questions it was like I was sharing what little I had of him.”

  Leah’s eyes had gone suspiciously glossy and her bottom lip trembled. “I understand. The memories you made with him were yours and no one else’s. They’re the one thing no can take away from you.”

  Mick snapped his head around and looked at her. She got it. He shouldn’t have been surprised because every minute he spent with her lately seemed to unveil another facet of her.

  She put a hand on his shoulder and played with his shirt. “The fact that you wanted to be there counts, Mick. I promise. Luke is a lucky little boy to have you as his dad.”

  He loved this soft, emotional side of her. It made him want to tuck her into his chest and hold her tight. Without the all-business attitude as a buffer, she was 100 percent woman. It brought out the man in him. The one that wanted to do nothing more than take care of her. “I’m glad you think so. I’ve always valued your opinion.”

  She gave him a shaky smile and patted his arm. “So come on, tell me about him. All I ever see are the quick snippets. ”

  “He loves science,” he said, “bugs mostly.” At some point, their hands had drifted closer, and now they were touching. It felt like the most natural thing in the world when he laced his fingers with hers. “Let’s just say, I no longer need an exterminator.”

  Her gaze drifted to their clasped hands and a smile ghosted across her lips before those beautiful brown eyes looked back up at him. “What else?” she asked.

  “Comic books. We spend a lot of time debating who would win in a fight, Spider-Man or Batman,” he said with a chuckle. “And he loves all the holidays, but nothing can top Shark Week. Sheila lets him stay with me the whole week, and we basically hunker in and watch TV and talk about sharks for the entire seven days.”

  “That’s awesome.” He knew she really meant it when she gave his hand a squeeze. “I wish…”

  “Yeah?” She appeared almost wistful, as if there was nothing she’d rather be doing than sitting with him and Luke watching Shark Week. Her next words touched him deeply. “I think it sounds like a perfect way to spend a week.”

  He examined their entwined hands, admiring her elegant fingers, and tilted his chin to look at her. “You do?”

  She searched his face again. God, he hoped whatever it was she was looking for, he had it to give.

  Her intense gaze softened so completely that his gut clenched. “Yes,” she whispered. She didn’t look away for several long moments but when she did, he cleared his throat.

  “Luke is the best thing I ever made.”

  She squeezed his hand, “Thank you for bringing him to the open house yesterday. It was…”

  She didn’t finish, but then she didn’t have to because he knew what she meant. Thank you for sharing and opening up a part of you. Now that she’d let him in, and dropped the self-defense mechanisms, his growing suspicions had been confirmed. Leah and he had the potential to make a great couple. Not for show, or for the short term, but for real.

  Seeing her with her family at St. Paul’s, and allowing himself to let go, he realized something that had blown his mind in the best way. He could still be a great dad and role model to Luke, and have a passionate relationship with a woman. A woman who wanted a good man with a little bad boy mixed in.

  A woman like Leah.

  And just like that, the last of the remaining self-doubt lifted, and he saw things clearly. His decision was made. He was going forward, balls out this time. She would have to reject him outright if she didn’t feel the same. He had nothing to lose now, because there was no way he could go back to the way it was. It was going to be all or nothing.

  Leah stretched and then flopped back against the cushion, giving him a beaming grin. “I’m so exhausted, but in that good kind of way, you know?”

  He stood and turned to her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Not a damn thing.” He reached for her.

  She took his hands and let him pull her up. When he drew her forward, the confusion was evident on her face. “Where are we going?”

  “Exactly how exhausted are you?” he asked, hauling her closer until she stood toe to toe with him.

  “Um,” she craned her head back to meet his gaze with wide, worried eyes. “Mick?” she whispered, then dampened her lips with the tip of her tongue.

  “Leah?” he mimicked softly, an instant before bending low and tracing the line of her jaw with his lips.

  “W-what are you doing?”

  He dropped lower and pressed his mouth to the pulse in her neck. It fluttered madly, like a trapped butterfly, and the evidence of his effect on her sent pure need knifing through him.

  “I don’t have any more tissue paper roses to win you over, so I thought I’d try a new technique.” He nuzzled her throat and sent a warm wash of breath over her skin. She shivered, her body moving almost imperceptibly closer. Yes.

  “Technique?”

  Her throat vibrated against his mouth. She seemed to want to say more, but stopped. Good thing because with the blood rushing in his ears, he doubt he’d have heard her anyway.

  Sinking a hand in her hair, he gently pulled until her gaze lifted. For once he didn’t bother dialing down the thick, dense need that rolled of
f him in waves. “I want you, Leah. I’ve wanted you for a very long time, and tonight, I’m going to have you if you’ll let me.”

  Chapter Six

  Let him? One minute Leah was toe to toe with Mick, and the next her arms and legs were wrapped around him as he carried her to her room. They probably would have made it there too, if he didn’t stop to kiss her. When he did, she didn’t hesitate.

  She grabbed ahold of his hair and did her own pulling. Only she wasn’t as gentle as he’d been. He tasted too good, way better than the cider they’d had earlier.

  A low ringing penetrated the haze of lust. She tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t go away.

  Mick tore his mouth away with a gasp. “My phone.” He shoved a hand in his pocket and gave it a cursory glance. “Bunny,” he growled.

  Leah chuckled, tipping her head forward to rest it on his chest.

  “I’m glad it amuses you,” he grumbled. A few beeps and a moment later, he slid the phone back into his pocket. “I turned off my phone, so no more interruptions. Just you. And me.”

  She gathered him in with a sigh, ready to experience all of him. Mick wasn’t the only one who’d been waiting a long time. Her time, counted out daily between her lips and God’s ears, came down to three years, thirty-seven days and about three hours, not that she was going to put too fine a point on it. But that was the exact moment she decided to stop messing around with people who didn’t matter in her life and start looking for someone who would. Mick had taught her that. He didn’t know it, but he was the reason she came up dry in the boyfriend department. She wanted a real relationship with a real man. If she weren’t so busy trying to swallow his tongue, she probably would have examined the sweet irony of that, but right now she couldn’t.

  She squeezed him tighter. Devoured him more deeply. He was the standard. The bar she’d been holding other men up to…and he wanted her. It was that simple. “Damn.” He fell with her against the wall. Her bottom hit first, but she didn’t care. The slight discomfort was worth it. “If you keep doing that, we’ll never make it to your bed.”