Page 65 of Catching the Mistletoe

“So...” Mack broke the silence, his eyes shifting around the cabin.

“So...” I echoed, equally lamely.

He cleared his throat as though he was going to say something more, but then stopped himself. “Are you hungry?” That definitely wasn’t what he’d been going to say, but I went along with it.

“I could eat.”

He nodded, moving toward the kitchen area. “There’s a hot meal. It’s beef stew.”

“Great.”

“There’s wine too. Would you like some? It’s red. “

Fuck yes. A nerve soother was exactly what I needed. “Yes, please.” So polite, like strangers.

As he rummaged around in the kitchen, I took my boots off and left them by the door. From there, I wandered around the cabin, exploring the cute knickknacks and pictures on the walls. There was a Christmas tree in the corner, decorated with little wooden ornaments and garlands of tinsel. It was absolutely perfect, and I couldn’t believe Mack had done all this for me.

Suddenly, he was behind me, his breath warm on the back of my neck. “Here.”

As I took the glass from him, our fingers brushed, and I felt the tingles all the way up my arm. I raised my eyes to his, ever so briefly, but couldn’t hold his gaze, so I dropped them to the glass.

“Arabella.” Mack’s voice was soft, and my eyes flickered up, meeting his. His fingers touched my chin, lifting my face to his, and he leaned in, brushing a featherlight kiss against my lips. It was somehow soothing and hot at the same time, and I felt my heart fluttering in response.

“Let’s have dinner.”

“Okay.” I followed him toward the kitchen. “Need a hand?”

“No. You have a seat.”

“Okay, boss.”

“Cute.”

I laughed. Nothing like a bit of banter to lighten the mood. He brought our meals and a basket of crusty bread to the table and took the seat opposite me. Then he just sat there, watching me. “Why are you being a creep all of a sudden?”

His eyes lit with amusement. “I’m waiting to see if you like the dinner.”

Again, with the cuteness. I arched a brow. “What are you going to do if I don’t? Drive to the nearest town and get me something else?”

“Yes.”

Okay, so now I was melting. Taking a forkful, I let out a moan of delight and yeah, maybe it was a little exaggerated, and I did get a thrill at how Mack shifted in his chair. “It’s so good. You should try it.”

He smiled, picked up his fork, and took a bite. “You’re right, it’s really good.”

The quiet was a little less strained now, which was really nice, I gotta say. But it did give me time to wonder. “Okay. I need to know something.”

“What’s that?”

“Why now?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Because I’ve done all my homework.”

I stared at him, my fork halfway between the bowl and my mouth. “So, all this... all the orgasms... everything. It was you figuring me out? Like, what got me going and stuff?”

“Yeah.”

“Um, okay. I don’t know how to respond to that.”

---