Page 63 of Wrapped Up in Christmas Love
“Come on. Let’s see if we can help get it going.” Zach introduced himself to the volunteer running the bouncy house, then studied the setup. His brain had always worked best in fix-it mode. In under two minutes, he had air going back in to fill out the globe.
Standing, he wiped his hands on his jeans, then grinned at Isabelle. “Tell me how good I am.”
Clasping her hands together, she batted her lashes. “My hero.”
“I knew you’d finally catch on.” Seeing her acting silly did funny things to Zach’s belly, and the vision of her spinning free from her self-imposed confines ran through his mind again.
“Had you not gotten it working, I figured you’d just huff and puff and blow it up with all your hot air.”
He laughed, then grabbed her hand. “Come on, Blondie. We need to try this baby out to make sure it holds air before we let the kids jump. It’s our duty to keep them safe.”
Isabelle gave him a dubious look. “I’m not getting in that.”
“You sure?” Grinning, he pulled her to him, not letting himself register how good she felt in his arms and scooped her up.
Wiggling, she glared. “Put me down.”
“We have to do this for the kids.” Pushing the flap back, he set her in the doorway, backside first with her legs hanging outside over the edge. Leaning in close, he stared into her eyes, making sure they didn’t convey fear. He wanted her to let loose and have fun, not be afraid.
Excitement shined in her blue depths. “You go right ahead,” she told him, “but I don’t have to do this.”
He grinned. “You can thank me later, Blondie.”
“Thank you?” She pushed against his chest. “More like I’ll be plotting on how to get even.”
“I look forward to your best efforts.”
Her warm breath crossed the small gap between them, drawing his gaze to her mouth. It would be so easy to close the distance between them, so easy to forget that he had no right to kiss Isabelle. He wanted to kiss her. Before he’d gotten to know her, before he’d learned how vulnerable she was, he would have. But he did know. If he made their relationship real, or any semblance thereof, she’d be hurt when he left.
So instead of the kiss he wanted, he reached for her boot and unzipped it.
“I’m not a child and can take off my own shoes.” Her protest lacked conviction, though, causing him to glance up. Curiosity shone in those big blue eyes and something that looked a lot like disappointment. She’d known that he’d wanted to kiss her but had chosen not to.
Oh, Blondie, don’t tempt me any more than you already do.
Heart pounding, mind racing, hands shaking, Zach wrangled her boot free from her foot. “I wasn’t taking any chances on you leaving these bad boys on in case you hoped to get in a few good kicks.”
Seeming to snap out of whatever had seized her, she half smiled. “You figured me out.”
In some ways. In others, he suspected that if he had the rest of his life, he still wouldn’t discover all the wondrous aspects of this woman.
“Too bad this is a snow globe instead of a castle.” He unzipped the second boot. “My taking off your shoes is a little Cinderella fairy tale-ish.”
“Except you’re no prince charming,” she immediately pointed out.
“And these contraptions are no glass slippers.” He pulled off the remaining shoe, smiling at her fuzzy penguin socks. “Ready to shake things up inside a giant blow-up snow globe? Pun intended.”
She narrowed her eyelids to tiny slits. “I really don’t like you.”
Zach dropped her shoe to the ground, then met her gaze. “So you keep telling me. But for the record, I like you enough for the both of us.”
Chapter Eleven
Head spinning atZach’s comment, Isabelle leaned back into the bounce house, swinging her legs inside as she fell against the firm surface.
Don’t read anything into what Zach said, she told herself. He was a flirt and hadn’t meant anything by his liking her comment. Nor had he meant anything by the way his mouth had been so close, by how his warm breath had been fanning across her lips.
Which didn’t explain the almost giddy bubbling in her belly. Giddiness because Zach liked her? Was she in middle school or what? Well, she was inside a bouncy house, which she hadn’t been in since probably middle school or even prior to then.
