Page 25 of The Christmas Eve Delivery

“We wait until the reservation checks in before we get to have dessert,” she said.

“And what would that be?”

“Hmm,” Lydia said. “I was thinking I would like you for dessert.”

13

LYDIA

There was something very domestic about Miles helping in the kitchen. He rolled his shirt sleeves up, exposing powerful forearms. I don’t know what it was about a man in a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, but it was so damned attractive. And there he was in the kitchen, looking completely out of place and somehow, completely perfect. The bell from the front desk sounded.

“Oh, crap,” I said. My hands were covered in orange juice and cilantro with flecks of finely chopped onion.

Miles picked up a dish towel and turned on the sink. “I can’t check someone in for you. I don’t know how your system works, but I can finish dinner.”

He guided me to the sink and washed my hands for me like I was some little kid. His long arms wrapped around me, and he rubbed soap in his palms until he had a frothy lather. He washed, rinsed, and then patted my hands dry on the towel.

I kissed him on the cheek before scurrying out to the front. A couple with suitcases stood with impatient looks on their facesas they waited for me. I pressed my hands down against the apron I still wore as I walked around the desk. “Sorry about that,” I said. “I was just putting my dinner together. You must be…” I checked the notes on the computer. “The Fondas?” I asked.

The woman looked around as the man grunted an affirmative sound.

“Are you the chef too?” she asked.

“Oh, no. We don’t have a restaurant here. I was literally makingmydinner,” I said. There were hazards to living at the inn. Mealtime was one of them.

“No? Where can we eat around here?” she asked.

I directed them to the diner a few blocks away.

“We saw that as we drove in. Is there anything else?” she asked.

“Not unless you want pizza delivery. We don’t have many restaurants in town. You would have to go back out to the freeway,” I said.

She continued to make other unhappy noises about the food situation, but I really couldn’t be bothered. It wasn’t my fault. No one seemed to understand that I didn’t have a restaurant onsite. There was literally no mention of dining facilities in any of the promotional materials put out by the inn. Maybe when I got this place fixed up, I would consider expanding and adding a restaurant. And that was a big maybe. I had no experience running a restaurant.

I handed them their key and watched as they headed upstairs before going back to the kitchen. Miles was closing the oven door and setting the timer as I watched from the door.

“How long have you been standing there?” he asked.

“I was admiring the view,” I said. And I was admiring everything about him.

“Well, everything should be ready in about forty-five minutes. What should we do to pass the time?” He sauntered over to me and slid his hands over my ribs and down my hips before grabbing my butt and holding me tight against his chest.

I danced my fingers over the buttons just below his throat. “Forty-five minutes doesn’t seem like enough time to get anything done properly,” I teased. “It is more than enough time to get the job done.”

“You’re right, why be in a hurry when I want to take my time with you?” His voice was a low, sexy grumble.

“We could do something boring,” I suggested.

“Or you could pour us a glass of wine and tell me what your plans are for this place,” Miles suggested.

“Like I said, something boring.”

He laughed and released me. “Fine, I’ll go look for the wine. You have to have some around here someplace.”

“Of course I do. It’s in the pantry, second shelf,” I said as I pointed to the small walk-in pantry beyond the refrigerator.

Forty-five minutes in Miles’s company did not feel like much time at all. Before I knew it, the timer for dinner was going off. We sat, laughed, ate, and shared stories about living in a small town compared to what it was like in the city. I had only ever been there for school trips or weekends away and never really knew what it would be like to actually live there.

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