Read Mistletoe Match-Up (Romancing Wisconsin #3) for Free Online Page B

tree. When she straightened, a swift scan of the room revealed the only open space to sit was on the couch, where the girls now held Derek hostage.
    She chose a spot on the floor near the eight-foot Douglas fir, next to the recliner her dad and baby Evan cuddled in. No sense giving anyone the wrong idea as to why Derek was here. Clearly he didn’t want her reading more into it than what it was—a generous gesture that had less to do with her and more to do with the sweet angels on his right. Heather and Reese ate up his undivided attention, and Lisa couldn’t help but think he’d make a great father some day.
    Derek’s quick glance away from the girls caught her staring. Evan, bless his dear little heart, chose that moment to reach over the arm of the recliner and grab a fistful of Lisa’s hair. The five-month old gave a squeal of glee and yanked hard enough to bring her to her knees with a gasp.  
    Her mother jumped up to help untangle his slimy fingers, and Lisa took the opportunity to get her thumping heart back under control.
    “Janelle, what are Butch and Judy doing today?” Sue Riley asked.
    Janelle held out a set of plastic keys to baby Ethan, who sat on Mark’s lap. “Grandma said they’re taking it easy this morning. When we all get there around two, we’ll help her with dinner.”
    “I already baked my pies there this morning, so don’t include me in that we ,” Derek advised. “The football game starts at three.”
    Voices fell silent and the background Christmas music swelled. Eric coughed. Reese giggled behind her hand.
    Lisa fought a smile and asked Derek what most of her family was probably thinking. “You bake pies?”
    He glanced around and then scowled at her with a shadow of a grin. “You think that’s funny?”
    Heather and Reese answered in stereo for her. “Yes.”
    “Best apple pies in Northeast Wisconsin, girls. Don’t knock ‘em till you’ve tried ‘em.” He gave them each a stern frown, ending with Lisa.
    “They’re pretty damn— darn —good,” Mark confessed. “I had a slice at Thanksgiving.”
    Marissa refilled her coffee cup from a carafe on a side table. “I made more than enough food, maybe Butch and Judy would like to join us? They could completely relax and enjoy the day—especially after the wedding.”
    “That would be so nice,” Sue said. “I barely got to talk to Judy yesterday.”
    Janelle glanced toward Derek. Derek looked at Eric. “You guys watching the game?”
    Eric, Mark, and Lisa replied simultaneously. “Of course!”
    “Christmas isn’t Christmas without mistletoe and football,” Ben Riley declared.
    Sue sighed over the laughter. “See what I’ve put up with all these years?”
    Mark suddenly made a comical face of distaste and informed everyone Ethan needed a diaper change. Janelle rose, but she directed her commiserating grin to her mother-in-law, not her new husband. “Seeing as it appears Lisa is a lost cause, I’ll go call reinforcements.”
    Lisa hesitated, tried to talk herself out of it, but the temptation proved too great to resist. Rising to her knees once more, she called to Janelle, “Ask your grandma to bring Derek’s pies.”
    Derek braced his elbows on his knees. “Want to try one?”
    She poured a tablespoon of sugar into her smile and stirred. “You bet I do.”
    Eric snorted as he relieved Mark of the stinky baby. “Only because she made two apple pies this morning.”
    Derek’s gaze narrowed before he leaned back with a resigned groan. “Great. Here we go again.”
     
    ****
     
    For the first time in their history, Derek won. Three times. In one afternoon. Lisa scrubbed extra hard at the baked-on marshmallow ringing the sweet potato dish that Judy Walsh insisted on bringing over.
    Wasn’t that kiss under the mistletoe supposed to save her Christmas? If you asked her, the man was nothing but a jinx!
    She glanced through her lashes in time to see Derek lift Evan above his head and blow raspberries on the