Page 47 of Mistletoe Misses
“Thank you for today,” she says, holding my gaze with expectation. For what, I don’t know, but I think I want to find out.
On the quiet hike here, I talked myself into exploring a little more in hopes that it would help me figure out where I stand on her requested second chance.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” she asks.
“Same as I do every day—working on the bookshop.”
“Sadie and I are going to the holiday bazaar and the Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony afterward. Would you like to join us?” Then, the hook she thinks I can’t refuse. “Sadie is caroling before the parade. I know she’d love for you to be there.”
“What about you? Are you singing, too?” My freakout at the bar on my way into town aside—the shock of seeing her for the first time too much to handle in my fragile mindset—I’d like tohear her sing again. So long as it isn’t our song. That might take more groundwork, more time, more forgiveness.
Her smile blooms and fills another empty space inside me. “Yes. I’m singing.”
“Why didn’t you mention that?”
She shrugs. “After my gig in Moyer’s Ridge, I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”
“You saw me?”
“You’re hard to miss, Maddox.” She blushes, and I love the subtle color on her cheeks and what it represents. “Plus, I was exploiting your soft spot for Sadie.” She smiles again, bringing one out in me.
“I’m starting to soften to other things as well,” I venture, surprised by how paper-thin my walls feel.
“Oh, yeah?” Something light and sensual flashes in her eyes. It’s fast enough someone who didn’t know her might have missed it. But I’ve studied her every expression for most of my life and recognize the one she’s giving me now. Biting down on her bottom lip, she leans back against the wall—her invitation and permission to touch and taste whenever I’m ready.
“What are you softening to, Maddox?” she asks in a sultry tone I hadn’t heard from her yet.
I’d love to hear more.
I step closer, testing my body’s reaction to her proximity. Every muscle springs into action, like getting a fastball down the middle with the bases loaded. With her in my sights, nothing aches. Nothing longs for what used to be. I’m living in the moment, appreciating the woman more than her memory, even though it terrifies me.
The teasing smile fades from her face as I lean in, primed for the next test. Her rapid breaths brush across my lips. I can almost taste her. I want to taste—
“Momma,” Sadie calls, skipping into the hallway in time to see me jump back. Her eyes dart between me and Carmen while contemplating our drastic mood change.
“What is it, darling?” Carmen says gently, and I’d love to know where she found the words. My brain had been wiped clean on my way to our almost kiss.
What had I been thinking? I wasn’t, and that’s half the problem. I wasn’t being careful and cautious, as Cooper rightfully suggested, and now I’m paying the price.
“The knob on the bathroom sink is stuck again,” Sadie complains.
“Did you twist it like I showed you?”
“I did. Nothing happens.”
“I’ll be right there,” Carmen says, gently nudging her back inside.
“Kids have the worst timing,” she says with a nervous giggle, and I’m thinking the opposite. Sadie may have saved me from jumping off the cliff when I should be taking the stairs.
“I need to get going, anyway.”
“Baby steps. Got it.” She smiles, and I wish the sight would quiet the storm brewing in my gut as it had before.
“That’s probably best.”
“No problem. If those steps are bringing you to me, I can wait however long it takes.” She reaches for my free hand, sending shockwaves up my arm. “Just keep moving, Maddox.”
“I’m trying.”
