Read A Fairytale Christmas for Free Online Page A

to kiss her or touch her or sleep with her—
    Sleep with her? Oh, Lord. Why had he let that thought form? The vision of having her warm and naked beside him shot an arrow of arousal through him. The images in his brain weren’t just crystal-clear, they came with feelings that rumbled through him. Feelings. His attraction was morphing into something he didn’t dare even name—because he didn’t want it and neither should she.
    He bounced from his seat. “Let’s get to work.”
    They worked until ten. At ten, tired from his manual labor, Drew ran his hand down his face and said, “That’s it. I’m done for the night.”
    She collapsed on her desk. “I’m so glad you said that.”
    He laughed. “Go home.”
    She immediately rose. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
    With that she left the room, and Drew chuckled again then caught himself. He liked her too much. Everything about her. He wasn’t just attracted to her because she was gorgeous. Shehad given him good advice about Brody, had cooked a great supper, and hadn’t complained when he’d told her she’d have to work late.
    He rose from the desk and ambled into the kitchen, where he grabbed one of her homemade muffins and groaned in ecstasy when he bit into it. She really was too good to be true. And too young for him. He had to remember that. She was young and smart and had her whole life in front of her. What the hell would she want with a guy twelve years older than she was?
    After finishing his muffin, he headed down the hall to the foyer stairs. Unfortunately, when he rounded the corner, he nearly bumped into Gwen. He skidded to a stop. So did she.
    “Sorry,” automatically came out of his mouth, then his gaze collided with her baby carrier and he took a step back. “I forgot all about Claire. I thought you said she’d have to be in the office with us?”
    She shrugged. “She was asleep when I got done with the kitchen so I let her sleep on.” She laughed lightly. “I told you she was a good baby.”
    “Yes.” But it was cold outside. Bitter cold. And not only had Gwen bundled herself to go home, but she’d had to bundle her baby. Now she’d drive fifteen or twenty minutes in the cold to get into town and to her house.
    The urge to tell her to stay the night rose up in him like a tsunami. But when he met the gaze of her pretty green eyes his stomach plummeted. Damn, she was gorgeous. And he was attracted to her. If he asked her to stay, she might take it the wrong way. Worse, she might take it the right way and agree that sleeping at his house was smarter and safer. Then he’d probably lie in his bed thinking about how she was downstairs. How he was attracted to her and how he couldn’t have her. And he wouldn’t get any sleep.
    Reminding himself that the roads were safe and she was a West Virginia girl, accustomed to driving in the snow, he reached for the doorknob and opened the door for her. “See you tomorrow.”
    She smiled her beautiful smile at him. “See you tomorrow.”
    She walked out into the cold, and as he watched her go he noticed the little puff of smoke coming from the exhaust pipe of her car. She’d already started it. At least he didn’t have to worry about her and the baby being cold on the drive down.
    When she was gone, he sucked in a breath.
    It had been one hell of a two days. First he couldn’t deal with Brody. Then he was attracted to the woman he’d hired to be his assistant, and if that wasn’t bad enough she had a baby. Then he had to do manual labor to make his son feel he wasn’t a slave. And now he couldn’t even do the kindness of letting his secretary and her baby stay at his house because he was worried about his attraction to her.
    Somehow, some way, he had to get control of something.
     
    Gwen had breakfast ready when Brody and Drew woke up the next morning. She’d warmed the pumpkin muffins in the oven and made fresh coffee, eggs and bacon. She knew the scent of it greeted them as they