Page 32 of The Mistletoe Bluff
Elsie narrowed her eyes at Maya before saying to me, “You’re a lot nicer than Maya made you out to be.”
“Um, thank you?”
Maya went rigid next to me. Then Elsie looked at me before I could process her words further. “Did Maya tell you? She entered that—”
“Okay!” Maya interrupted, squirming out of my grip. “Everyone done eating? We should really get going.” Then she was out of the booth, shrugging on her coat while we all stared at her.
“Are you okay?” Elsie asked, her nose scrunching. “We haven’t finished dessert yet.”
“I, uh…bathroom!”
Before any of us could react, she half speed walked half sprinted to the corner of the restaurant. For a moment we all stared after her, unsure how to respond to her sudden freakout.
“Should I go check on her?” Elsie asked.
I shook my head. “I’ll be right back.”
Neither of them said a word as I slipped out of the booth and made my way to the bathrooms. I expected to have to wait outside in the hallway, but to my surprise Maya was standing in the dark corner next to the door, face in her hands.
“Maya?”
Her head snapped up, eyes wide.
It was dark in the hallway, but it looked like she might have been crying. Her cheeks were glistening.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I stopped in front of her, moving the hair out of her face. It was only natural for my fingers to skim down her cheek and neck. Her blue eyes glinted in the dim light as they met mine. “You know they love you and were just poking fun at you. And I didn’t mean for the comment about the class competition to come across badly. I really think you—”
Her hand covered my mouth, silencing me. Sparks flitted over my face, down my arms, and all the way to my toes. Did she feel it when she touched me too, or was it all in my head?
“I’m okay, Oliver,” she whispered. Her breath smelled like chocolate. “I just needed a minute.”
I suspected that there was more to her explanation, but she didn’t offer anything else. Part of me wanted to pry, to understand what was going on in the mind of this stunning woman that had been haunting my dreams for over a year, but the other part of me didn’t want to do or say anything else that would bring tears to her eyes.
I wanted tostopher tears. Could I distract her? Make her smile?
What would she do if I kissed her? Surelythatwould be an adequate distraction.
Her hand slipped from my lips, her gaze never leaving mine.
“I was wondering about something Elsie said.” I stepped closer. “It sounded like you’ve mentioned me before.”
“You’re my enemy. Of course, I’ve talked about you.”
A mixed cocktail of pleasure and irritation spilled through me. I hated that she felt I was her enemy, but she had brought me up before…and that meant she was thinking about me.
I backed her toward the wall and planted my hands on either side of her. I leaned forward, my nose skimming along her neck, my beard brushing her ear. She sucked in a breath.
“Do you really think I’m your enemy, Maya?”
A shiver shuddered through her, and she closed her eyes. “I don’t know what to think of you anymore,” she admitted, her voice so quiet I thought I had imagined it. I took another step closer, our chests almost touching.
“Villain or hero…I’ll be whatever you want if it keeps me close to you.”
Her breath caught, and I was sure lightning was about to strike from all the tension crackling between us. What would she do if I kissed her?
No sooner had the thought passed through my mind than Elsie’s voice shattered the moment. “There you are, we thought you—”
Elsie froze, noticing our proximity. I swallowed, wanting nothing more than to stay right here, but I forced my arms to return to my sides and wrangled my legs backward until there was an appropriate amount of space between us.
