Page 26 of Mistletoe Love Match
Heat rose to Alec’s cheeks. “Why would you say that, Phoebe?”
She gestured with her processed meat. “You’re under the mistletoe.”
He glanced up. Jesus, this stuff followed them everywhere.
Calliope plucked the phone from his hand and shook it like she was trying to scramble the circuits. “We’re losing the connection. Hello, hello? Bugger all, it must be the snowstorm. We’ll see you tomorrow.” She ended the video call and released an audible breath. “That nephew of mine is a pushy little thing, isn’t he? And Phoebe is a real piece of work.” She handed him his phone, but she couldn’t wipe the sweet as hell whisper of a grin from her lips. “We don’t have to dance or . . .” She trailed off and gestured to the ceiling.
Or kiss.
He could fill in the blank. He could also sense the shift in her demeanor, and he didn’t like it one damned bit. They were on the verge of a mistletoe kiss seconds before Sebastian called. He desperately wanted to return to that place where the world disappeared and it was just the two them. He wasn’t about to let things get awkward. Luckily, he knew exactly what he had to do to get them back on track. It was a dangerous undertaking, but he didn’t have any other choice.
There was no other way.
He had to piss her off.
ChapterSix
Alec Lamb
He schooled his features and braced for impact. “Are you a shit dancer or something?”
“Excuse me?” she shot back, wide-eyed.
“Listen, I gave Sebastian my word I’d dance with you,” he said, adding a pinch of aloofness to his tone. “And that’s what we’re doing.” He tapped the music icon on his cell phone and searched for a specific Christmas song. “Unless . . .” he added, then looked her up and down.
“Unless what?” she demanded, losing the air of anxiousness as she embraced herboyobravado.
He bit back a grin. He had her hot and bothered and right where he wanted her.
Channeling his inner wanker, he returned his attention to his phone and pressed play. He pegged Calliope with his gaze as the first few jaunty bars of “Frosty the Snowman” rang out. “Unless,” he continued, “you need to know the correct lyrics to dance to a particular song, or you’re just a shit dancer and you’re embarrassed to dance in front of me.”
That should do it.
Prepare for Calliope anger eruption in three, two—
“Nobody knows what comes after the ‘two eyes made out of coal’ part, you daft twit. We’ve already established that.” She scoffed, then lifted her chin. “And I’m not embarrassed to dance in front of anyone. I’ll have you know I’m a brilliant dancer. I’ve cut the rug to ‘Frosty the Snowman’ more times than I can count.” She sized him up. “I can’t imagine you’ve got any moves, Dr. Wanker.”
A lightness took over. Going back and forth with this woman got his heart pumping.
He set his phone on the mantle. “I’ve got moves so hot, they’d leave good old Frosty a puddle of carrots and coal.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it,” she murmured.
She took a step back, but he wasn’t about to let her get away. In fact, she was about to see a whole different side of him. He reached for her hand and twirled her like they were auditioning forDancing with the Stars.
Going round and round, she shrieked a playful girlish sound. “Bloody hell, Alec! What’s gotten into you?”
He pressed his hand to the small of her back and twirled her body flush with his. She gasped, and he found himself breathless as the song ended. But they didn’t stop dancing. He held her close and swayed his hips from side to side, doing a little step-step-together movement.
She rested her hand on his shoulder and glanced down at their feet. “Are we salsa dancing?”
“I’m not sure exactly what this dance is called,” he conceded. “A couple of years ago, Anders and I were building a medical clinic in a rural village in Ecuador. This vivacious little old lady who lived on one of the nearby farms insisted on teaching us how to dance. I never thought I’d have any use for it, but it appears it was time well-spent.”
Calliope relaxed into his embrace as a ghost of a grin graced her lips. “Why do you say that?”
“Because, Calliope Cress, my killer dance moves allowed me to fulfill a promise—a promise to make you smile.” Just as the words fell from his lips, the palpable energy that drew them together shifted.
No, that wasn’t right. It hadn’t shifted. It had evolved.
