Page 66 of Eight Days of Christmas
She leaned in closer and stroked her throat. “Alone?”
“Yeah. We said we would finish our talk tonight.”
Though he wanted to do more than talk. His fingers ached to touch her, so he scratched at the scruff on his chin instead.
She glanced over her shoulder. “When everyone goes to bed and Landon heads home, you could stay?” Her words came out subdued, almost raspy and it did very little to quell his craving for her.
“Sounds like a plan.”
The thought of being alone with her enticed him but also forced an ache in his gut. Falling back into a pattern of stolen kisses would be easy. But he couldn’t get his hopes up. Not until they finished their conversation.
Isabella took a step away from him, and he sucked in a deep breath.
“Until then.” She flashed a coy smile over her shoulder and started for the living room but then she turned around, a sexy smirk on her face. “And you do know I’m going to have the best cookies.”
He smiled, taking her in from head to toe. She was so damn adorable.
“Oh, I have no doubt that you have the best cookies.”
She grinned. “Will have.” She took a step closer and lowered her voice. “Are we even still talking about cookies?”
He took a step closer too, shoved his hands into his pants pockets so he didn’t grab her the way he wanted to. “I don’t know, Miss New Yorker, are we? Because I’ve tasted your cookies, and they blow my mind every time.”
She took a long breath, looked up at him, her eyes resembling firelight. He could kiss her right now. Kiss her and forget about everything else.
He leaned forward.
“Auntie Izzy, come on!” Ava shouted, startling them from their daze.
They stepped away from each other and turned to look at the little girl at the end of the hall, frustrated that her aunt was a slow-ass.
“Kids.” Isabella laughed and headed that way, walking backwards. “You coming? Or are you dreading the smackdown I’m about to deliver?”
He just smiled and shook his head. “You should know better than to challenge me, Isabella Whitley. It’s on now.”
With a laugh he felt down to his toes, she turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
He clutched his heart, his blood running hot.Troublejust sauntered away from him in the form of a beautiful brunette.
And he was eager to discover just what kind of shenanigans she could get him into.
Chapter Twenty-One
Isabella
Squeezinga piping bag stuffed full of green frosting, Isabella tried to focus on decorating a tree shaped sugar cookie. She was still in awe that Leo had forgiven her. And maybe even more shocking, he’d confessed he cared about her.
Now, he stood so close to her, brushing all manner of body parts against her when no one was looking. After their conversation in the hall, he was making her so hot she worried she might spontaneously combust, and she had no doubt that he knew exactly what he was doing. But she wasn’t going to think about Leo. Not about his nearness, and certainly not about the impending talk they were going to have later.
Alone.
Which was a lie. He was all she could think about, damn him.
Ava’s giggle snapped her out of her Leo stupor. Isabella glimpsed at her niece’s star-shaped cookie that she was currently piling high with gobs of yellow frosting. Isabella glanced back at her own, about to add a bit of yellow frosting to the top of the tree cookie to act as a star, when Leo’s arm swooped in front of her, piping red there instead. She inhaled a sharp breath.
“Whatdid you just do?” She shoved his arm out of the way to get a better look at her cookie that moments ago was close to perfect. “Who puts a red star on top of their Christmas tree?” She narrowed her eyes at him.
Leo gave her a playful smile. “I thought red would look nice.”
