Read Mistletoe in Maine for Free Online

the room. Suddenly, her world went all woozy, as if she’d had too much wine. He approached them as she sat there dumbstruck, wishing to goodness he wouldn’t smile. For when he did, it sent all sorts of wild butterflies fluttering inside her, just like some crushed-out high school kid.
    “Miss?” Daniel asked, apparently having offered her some drink choices.
    “Might I suggest the Crestwood chardonnay?” Paul offered helpfully. “Or, if you prefer red, the Millhouse merlot?”
    Carol focused on her menu but couldn’t make out a bit of it. “I… um…”
    Paul’s face warmed in a smile as he gently took the menu from her hands, then righted it. Carol was mortified. She’d been reading it upside down. Her kids exchanged startled glances as she stared red-faced at Paul. In his effort to correct her menu, he’d revealed something else. He didn’t wear a wedding band. Carol swallowed hard, thinking maybe she shouldn’t have any wine at all. She was apparently drunk enough on the mountain air. “The merlot sounds great, thanks.”
    Daniel disappeared to get the wine as Paul’s dark eyes twinkled. “Excellent choice.”
    Carol smiled tightly, hoping she wouldn’t need to make too many other choices tonight. She wasn’t sure she could handle it. Especially with Paul standing this near. She needed him to back away—just slightly—so she could decide on the chicken or the veal.
    “Mom? All you all right?” Will asked her.
    She realized she’d been furiously fanning her face with her menu and stopped.
    “If you’re too warm, I can move you to table farther from the fire?”
    “Oh no,” she said, setting her menu aside, “this is perfect! Just great.”
    Paul studied them all pleasantly. “Do you have plans for tomorrow? Can I help you arrange something?”
    “I thought we’d go skiing,” Carol said.
    “Great thought. We packed in twenty more inches of powder today.”
    “Twenty?” Will asked.
    “For real?” Ashley chimed in.
    Paul nodded. “Big Moose Mountain is right up the way. I know an instructor who can give you a lift in the morning…?”
    Carol beamed. “That would be terrific. Wouldn’t it, kids?”
    “Yeah, cool,” Will said.
    “Really super,” Ashley added with a smile.
    “Perfect, then. Skiing for the Bakers is on the agenda.”
    A pretty teenage girl arrived with a notepad, and Paul graciously stepped aside. “I’ll leave Amy to take your orders,” he said. “Enjoy.”
     
    Paul straightened his tie, hoping to goodness he’d sounded as professional as he’d intended. While he wasn’t supposed to take a personal interest in his guests, he’d found it impossible not to notice Carol’s sweet demeanor, or the delightful way with which she’d studied her menu upside-down. He’d had the impression she’d been nervous, but hadn’t a clue why. Perhaps the atmosphere seemed a bit stuffier than she was used to, although that hadn’t been Paul’s intention. He liked to keep things upscale yet casual for his clientele, because that was how they apparently liked it. Dinner was always the most formal occasion of the day, but drinks afterward were decidedly down-home. He’d have to be sure to include her and her kids in his customary invitation to gather by the living room fire for hot cocoa or other libations. Maybe he could enlist Daniel’s help in making the kids feel more comfortable too.
    He crossed to the small two-top where Beth was seated, caught off guard once again by her beauty. Then again, she’d once turned that beauty against him and run off with his best friend… Paul collected himself, understanding that was years ago and that times and people change. Heck, Beth and he were little more than Amy’s and Daniel’s ages when they’d split up and gone their separate ways. He couldn’t be so harsh as to hold her accountable now for something that happened so long ago. They’d both crossed a lot of bridges since then, some of them terribly sad ones, it