Page 133 of Run, Run Rudolph
His smile was crooked, lifting higher on the right, and filled with mischief as he leaned back to look at me. “You in a rush to go in there and behave?”
“Never.” I tightened my hold on him. “You know Char, of course. By the way, her boyfriend James wants you to teach him how to wrestle a steer to the ground.”
“What?”
“Just kidding! Samantha’s secretly rich, and wants to date a leprechaun.”
He narrowed his eyes for a second before shaking his head at me. “Okay, now you’re just being a brat and testing me.” He released me from his arms, toeing off his winter boots, his right hand still on my hip, as if he didn’t want to let me go.
“Are leprechauns even real?” he asked.
I shrugged. I hadn’t really thought about it.
“What about Cupid? Dragons? Hobbits?”
I giggled, holding his arm. “I don’t know.” I was actually a bit relieved that I’d been banished. It meant I’d never have to come face to face with anything magical ever again. “But seriously, Samantha loves everything Irish. Josie is a mystery I will never solve, and Gabby’s in love with her roommate, who is also her best friend. Watch. She’ll bring Lamonte up a ton. It should be a drinking game.”
He pulled me back into his arms. “Did you used to slip my name into conversations?”
I shook my head slowly. “Never.” I tangled my fingers in his thick locks as I kissed him long and slow, unable to stop myself.
He broke the kiss, resting his forehead against mine. “Never?”
“I was too scared to mention you. You were the man-who-must-not-be-named.”
“Why’s that?” His hand had slipped up the back of my sweater, like he couldn’t resist feeling my skin.
I focused on his chin, the tiny bit of five o’clock shadow he’d missed under his lower lip when he’d shaved, probably at some ungodly hour while running out to an animal emergency. I knew he kept an electric razor in his truck so he could take care of shaving while out and about. I loved that about him.
“I was afraid if I mentioned you, people would realize how infatuated I was. And I was afraid that if I looked at you, you’d know how I felt. I thought I was just upset with you for not telling me I was a bother, but really, I now understand it was more about trying not to show or admit how badly I was crushing on you.”
“Infatuated, huh?”
He loved hearing about my secret crush. Insatiable brat.
He lightly kissed my hands again with a reverence that sent a shiver of delight through my nervous system. He lifted his eyes. “Promise you’ll never hide how you feel from me again?”
“Of course I won’t.”
“Promise?”
“Hey, you hid your feelings, too!”
“You were dating my brother.” A cloud of darkness shuttled across his eyes.
“And you were so much older, unattainable, and wouldn’t let me see any of your inner thoughts,” I teased.
He tapped the side of his nose, mimicking Santa from the other night. “Top secret, Tamara Madden from Eagle Ridge.”
I giggled, and he pulled me into an embrace. His voice was low and confiding as he said, “You were the only reason I ever went on those family vacations when I was in college.”
Unable to hide my reaction at his ludicrous claim, I blurted out, “I was not.”
“My mom’s guilt trips aren’t that strong. And you made them fun.” His look was tender. “I never knew when you were going to put Kade in his place or wind him up with some poking. I’ve always loved being in cahoots with you.”
I twisted my hand into a fist, pressing it under Haden’s, then opening it so I could interlock our fingers. “I like being in cahoots, too.”
Haden rested his forehead against mine. He sighed. “Why didn’t I meet you first? We could have saved so much time.”
