Page 53 of Wintertime Heat (Holiday 1)

Falling in love with this man was so easy.

He would keep coming up with reasons and opportunities to touch me. Small casual touches which centred me. He was stubborn and arrogant, but he listened to me. He would drop everything the minute I enter into the room and all his focus would be on me as if I was the most important thing in the world. There was a certain intensity to him when his eyes followed me around the room, like he was constantly trying to figure me out.

A part of me was addicted to his touch, his laugh, those smirks.

I slide under the heated water, lost in my thoughts.

The sensible part of me was warning me not to fall any deeper.

The part of me that had resisted his charms from the very beginning whispered in my head to protect myself. This man would damage my heart beyond repair.

Puppy love, I warned myself. This was all this was.

He cared about me.

But then, that could be where he drew the line.

Steven had a son.

As I got out of the bath, and dried myself with a towel, my mind in turmoil, I reminded myself that he had a child he was responsible for. And somewhere out there was the mother of this child. I wasn’t even aware of what had happened there. A part of me was curious, but I was too scared to ask and risk ruining these few fleeting days.

Besides, he was too devoted of a father to simply let any woman into his life and get involved in raising his child.

I sigh.

Why am I getting myself worked up over this?

Why can’t I just enjoy this moment for what it was?

A brief fling with a man – except it didn’t feel like a fling.

“Ugh!” I growl at myself in the mirror. “I’m just making this whole thing worse.”

Pointing a finger at myself in the mirror, “Enjoy this while it lasts, Abby. You’re a school teacher. He’s a freaking billionaire. You’re from two different worlds. Don’t put a label on this, you idiot. Not everything has to be neatly packaged and tagged.”

Tugging on the shirt I had been given, I set out in search of Jarvis to ask him for some decent clothing to wear on my way home today.

The butler wore a smooth expression on his face as he listens to my request.

“I could ask one of the helps to lend you some more comfortable clothes if you plan to leave today. But, I would advise you to wait till tomorrow.”

I blink, “Why?”

He clears his throat, “The weather has calmed down, but the snow will be removed overnight. It wouldn’t be very safe to leave right now.”

I run a considering hand through my damp hair, and then a thought strikes me. I hope he wouldn’t think my being nosy.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes, Miss?”

I hesitate before asking, “How long have you worked for Steven?”

When he raises his brow, I immediately wave my hands, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It’s just,” I hesitate, “Steven never talks about himself.”

The ol

der man gives me a kind smile, “Master Tanner took me into his employ when he moved here from Ireland. My family has served his for generations. He’s a good man, Miss Abby. Just a little reserved.”

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