SUSAN MEIER - Bride Under the Mistletoe - The Magic of a Family Christmas

“But it made you cautious.”

She nodded.

“Maybe you should be cautious.”

She smiled. “Are you warning me off?”

“Yes.”

The seriousness of his voice caused her stomach to tighten. She caught his gaze again. His dark eyes virtually glowed, sending a sizzle of electricity through her. If she touched him, she had the feeling he’d be lost.

“I’m not the kind of guy to settle down and you are absolutely the kind of woman to settle down. Even if you didn’t have Harry, I would know it. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting you. And you’re not too far off the mark about me being pushy. When I want something I go after it. And right now I want you.”

She licked her lips at the severity of his tone and took a step back.

“Forget all about your first impression and stick with the worry that I’m enough like your husband that you shouldn’t get involved with me. We’ll both be happier, if only because you don’t want to get hurt and I don’t want to hurt you.”

Swallowing, she caught his gaze. “You don’t have to warn me. I can take care of myself. I’m a big girl.”

“Not big enough to play in my league.”

With that he turned and walked out of her house. Wendy stood in her foyer a long time, every cell in her body tingling. Not just because he was an attractive man, but because he’d admitted that he was so attracted to her he was having difficulty stopping himself from doing what he wanted.

She absolutely knew that feeling. Just being in the same room with him made her blood hum in her veins. She hadn’t felt this good, this alive, in years. Though the Miss Goody Two-shoes in her told her to back off, the promise in his soft voice and sensual eyes told her not to listen. She wanted this, and for once in her life she didn’t want to walk away wishing things could have been different. For once in her life, she’d simply like to enjoy the moment. Do what she wanted to do instead of what she knew was the “right” thing to do. For once in her life she didn’t want to be Miss Goody Two-shoes.

But she didn’t really know how to be anybody else.

THE next morning, Wendy met Patty and Emma by the time clock. Patty tapped her forearm to catch her attention. “You know, you haven’t really spoken much since you got Harry. Everything okay?”

Punching her time card, Emma added, “You didn’t bite off more than you can chew with that little boy, did you?”

Wendy gasped. “Oh, no! I love everything about having Harry in my life.”

“Then what?” Emma asked.

Wendy licked her suddenly dry lips. Part of the problem she was having with Cullen was that she hadn’t talked about any of this with her friends. The only input and opinion she had was her own. Lately, she was beginning to think she wasn’t all that smart when it came to men.

Patty growled, “Come on, spill it.”

Catching Patty’s arm and nodding to Emma, she moved the three of them to a quiet corner. “Okay. The problem is Mr. Barrington.”

Both Patty’s and Emma’s eyebrows rose. “He’s a crappy boss?”

“He’s a great boss and he’s even been helping me with Harry.”

“Oh, really?”

“Harry and I met Cullen the Saturday before he took over for Mr. McCoy.”

“The day of the ice storm?”

Wendy winced. “The day we lost power.”

“Oh, you little devil! He stayed at your house, didn’t he?”

“Yes, and that’s why Harry got so close to him.”

“And you, too?”

She sighed. “And me, too.” Glancing around to make sure the hall was clearing and no one could hear, she took her voice down to a whisper. “Last Friday night, he tried to kiss me and—”

Both Emma and Patty’s eyes widened.

“—then we had a bit of a disagreement about money. I more or less accused him of trying to buy me.”

This time their mouths fell open.

“Girl, when you decide to have a life you pull out all the stops.”

“No kidding. The problem is he’s a really great guy. And I’m afraid he’s never going to speak to me again because—well, I’m an idiot. I keep taking everything he says and does the wrong way.” She shook her head. “But I think he’s wrong about a few things, too. He says we’re not good for each other because he doesn’t want to settle down, but I’m not so sure I want to settle down either right now.”

Patty gasped. “You want a fling?”

“Maybe.”

“So,” Emma said, leaning closer, her eyes bright with excitement, her voice a low whisper. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I know,” Patty said, grabbing Wendy’s hand to make sure she paid attention. “You’re going to really listen when he talks, stop jumping to conclusions and stop comparing him to Greg.”

Wendy winced. “You figured that out.”

“Yes.”

Patty glanced at the clock on the wall. “Two minutes to get to the wheel.” She sighed. “If we had more time I’d give you real advice, because I saw the way he looked at you. For now, just listen—really listen—to what he’s saying and take your cue from that. For God’s sake, don’t push him, but don’t miss the obvious.”

Deciding that was probably the best course of action, Wendy headed for her office. When she arrived, Cullen was rifling through the file cabinets in front of her desk.

“Good morning.”

Without looking away from the files, he said, “Good morning. So, how was Harry this morning?”

Normal conversation. Thank God. This she could handle. “He was great. Happy as a clam. I reminded him to ignore Freddie, and he grinned.”

Cullen shook his head with a chuckle. “Kids. They’re very resilient.”

“I have a feeling Harry has spent a lot of his life accepting things he couldn’t change.”

“Yeah, me, too.” He paused a second then said, “Are you busy today?”

“Just the usual. But my job title is assistant to the president, so if you need me to do something, your work comes first.”

He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “I don’t really have work for you to do. Actually, I have nothing on my calendar today for myself.” He caught her gaze. “So I thought maybe you’d come out with me this afternoon and help me choose a gift for Harry for Christmas.” He paused. “The kid’s had it so rough the past few months that I want to buy him a great gift. Something that makes him feel special.” He paused. “That is, if it’s okay with you.”

She nearly cursed herself for being such a hard case that he worried it might not be okay for him to buy Harry something for Christmas. “Of course you can buy him a gift!”

“And you’ll help me?”

This was her perfect opportunity to fix the mistakes she kept making with him. Away from the office, away from Harry, they could simply be themselves.

“Sure. I’d love to go shopping.”

“I understand there’s a mall—”

Before she nodded in agreement, a thought struck her. She wasn’t the only one who had made some mistakes about Cullen. The employees had been gossiping ever since he arrived and most of what they’d said had been way off base. When they got their big raises in January, she wanted the people in the town to realize Cullen had been the one who saw the problem and rectified it. Since job confidentiality precluded her from telling anyone he, not Mr. McCoy, had instigated the raises, the best way to help everyone figure it out for themselves would be to get him out among the townspeople. Soon they’d see him for the nice guy he was and know he’d been their benefactor.

“The mall’s too impersonal. We should stay in town. There are a few small shops that have some interesting gifts.” She slid onto her desk chair. “You’re very important to Harry. A gift from you should reflect that.”