Page 79 of Mistletoe Misses
“You sound like his defense lawyer.”
She smirks. “You’ve already tried and convicted him in your mind. Apparently, he needs one.”
“What about all the arguing? I thought you hated each other.”
“Hate is a strong word, Maddox. We butt heads a lot and challenge each other, but I don’t hate him. He’s a good man and a standard my potential dates must live up to, or I don’t waste my time.” Her hand raises to the arm crossed over my roiling stomach. This conversation is brutal. “You and Dad are top ofthat list, too. If my man doesn’t love me as hard as you loved Carmen and Dad loves Mom, I don’t want it.”
“I don’t know what to say, Ken.” My arm moves to her shoulders, and hers lock around my middle.
“I do. Thank you for showing me how a real man treats a woman.” Her eyes twinkle in a playful warning signal. “Just so you can stop planning his funeral, Jamie is as real as they come, too.”
“I know, and I’m glad you understand what you deserve.” I kiss the top of her head. “And you deserve the world, Ken. Don’t ever settle for anything less.”
???
“That was intense,” Carmen says after I shut down Aaron’s boasting in a one-sided beer pong match.
“For him, maybe. He’s a six-pack in, and we just started.”
She laughs. “I was talking about you and Kendall. For a while there, you looked like you were about to claw through a wall.”
“Very observant.”
“Not really. You’ve usually been easy to read.”
“Another one of my curses.”
Stepping in front of me, she tucks her hands into the back pockets of my jeans. Delight bubbles in all the right places inside me at the sudden turn of events. “I think it’s sexy.”
“Guess it’s a good thing since I can’t stop it.” Holding her against me, I bend to plant a quick kiss on her lips.
“Anything to worry about with Kendall?”
“No. I think she was trying to tell me she admires me. She just took a long and excruciating route to get there.”
“Oh really? What did she—”
Excitement at the table erupts, and we shift in time to see Mom and Dad position themselves to face off.
Turns out, Mom’s terrible at aiming a ping pong ball but has an unnatural beer guzzling talent. When did my perfect mother learn to down room-temperature beer like a frat boy?
“I taught her that,” Aaron brags to the stranger-to-me beside him, squashing my curiosity.
“Should have known.”
I snuggle up to Carmen and enjoy the crazy that is my family until it’s time for our next destination. Aaron’s keeping us on a tight schedule. He doesn’t want to miss any of the pub activities tonight. Although, I wonder how much longer he’ll be in charge. Things are bound to go askew whenever the text on the brochure starts to blur through his drunken eyes.
Chapter 18
Carmen
After an hour of line dancing to Christmas songs sung by popular country artists at the third pub and another of holiday-themed trivia at the fourth, Maddox and I find ourselves in a corner booth at the fifth, passing the time with altered board games. I watch him concentrate on picking the right piece from the customized tower of Jenga, tailored to keep the conversation and festive fun flowing. His brow lowers, and his tongue curls at the corner of his mouth as he removes the little wooden block.
It’s an adorable view, but I’m over being separated from him by a table, room, or dance floor. I want to hold him, kiss him, and bring him to his knees. I want to show him my love and feel his surrender without an audience in the way. He has only two weeks before he must return to work, meaning we don’t have the luxury of time to play games—board games or other.
“Interested in walking me home?” I ask, leaning on the table to talk over the noise of the lively bar.
“Are you tired?”
