Read A Cowboy Under the Mistletoe for Free Online Page B

reaching for her again. He fisted his hands at his sides. “Let’s...maybe we should...back off for a bit.”
    She swallowed. “Okay. Care to say why?”
    “I had a really valid reason a second ago.”
    She laughed. “It’s a good thing you’re so damned cute. I’ll give you a minute to collect your thoughts.”
    “Thanks.” He rubbed the back of his neck and struggled for clarity.
    “You did say there’s no girlfriend.”
    “Right. No girlfriend.” Then he remembered why they needed to put the brakes on. Boy, she’d really fried his circuits. But the tree trimming had stirred up neediness in both of them. She might not be overly affected by it, but he was.
    Saying all that out loud, though, would mean bringing up a touchy subject, one he wasn’t prepared to discuss at the moment. Maybe a distraction was in order. “What’s your schedule tomorrow?”
    “My schedule? Why?”
    “Humor me. What shifts are you working?”
    “Most of them. Pretty much all day and for a couple of hours in the evening, too.”
    “Any breaks?”
    “Yeah, for an hour between one and two and again from six to seven. Usually I eat something at my desk.”
    “Let me take you to lunch at one and dinner at six.”
    She blinked in obvious bewilderment. “You’re kidding.”
    “No. We’ll go to that little diner. It’s close.”
    “For both meals?”
    “You don’t like the food?”
    “I like it fine, but I’m confused. What’s going on?”
    “I...want to spend more time with you before we’re in a kissing situation again.”
    A slow smile curved her kiss-reddened mouth. “Speaking of that, I’ll leave the coffee shop at nine tomorrow night. Is there a chance you might want to drop by here after I’m off work?”
    “If you’ll have me.”
    “Now there’s a loaded statement. How should I answer that?”
    He groaned. “Don’t try. You’ll get us both in trouble. I’ll be at the shop at one.” He walked toward the kitchen and got his coat.
    “You’re leaving?”
    He grabbed his hat from the counter before turning to face her. “If I stay, I guarantee things will get out of hand.”
    “Not necessarily.”
    He gazed at her without speaking.
    “Okay, you’re right. That kiss was a barn burner. Dampened my panties.”
    He sucked in a breath. “Don’t tell me that.”
    “Why not? You might as well know how you affect me since I’m well aware how I affect you. I was there, remember? I could tell what was going on with you.”
    “I’m sure you could.”
    Her gaze swept down to his crotch. “Still going on, I believe. When we have these pre-sex meals you’re determined to share, you’d better keep your hands and knees to yourself or no telling what might happen in the privacy of our booth.”
    “Nothing will happen because we’ll sit at the counter.”
    “Spoilsport.”
    “I’m just trying to—”
    “I know.” She sighed. “And I get it, actually. I need to stop giving you grief. Tonight’s been emotional for me, and you don’t want to take advantage when I’m feeling needy. But you won’t say so because you’re a true gentleman.”
    “No, I’m not.”
    “You are, Ty. You came over for a night of fun and games and instead you ended up with a woman getting teary and homesick over Christmas carols. Another guy might have seen that as an opportunity, but not you. You’d rather get together when I’m feeling strong and happy. Am I right?”
    “Sort of.” His conscience was giving him hell. “For the record, I had a reaction to those carols, too.”
    “You did?”
    “My folks and I always put up our tree on the Friday after Thanksgiving and played Christmas music while we did it.”
    She drew in a breath. “Oh, Ty. I’m so sorry. I should have realized that the holidays might be a tough time for you.”
    “They’re not. It’s been fourteen years since they died, and the plane went down in July. It wasn’t a tragic accident during Christmas.”
    “Fourteen years might sound like a