Page 13 of Christian Clause

Instead of replying, she looks away just in time for the waitress to bring our cups of coffee.

Determined to know more about her, I ask, “So, what brings you here, Thanksgiving shopping or Christmas shopping?”

After taking a sip from her coffee, she says, “Neither. I’m here to get some personal stuff. What about you?”

I lean back in the chair to regard her with interested eyes. “I’m here to look for a birthday gift for a friend.”

Her eyes widen a little.

“What?” I ask, intrigued by the action.

She shrugs lightly. “Well, you don’t look the type to go about buying birthday gifts for friends.”

Laughter escapes from my throat as I lean forward to place my hands on the table. In a low voice, I ask, “What kind of man do you think I am?”

Suddenly, the air thrums with sexual tension. My eyes drop from hers to her lips. Desire slams through my body and leaves me breathless for a minute as I watch her chew on her bottom lip. I feel like drawing closer to trail my tongue across her full lips and nibble them.

Just then, a couple with two kids enters the place nosily and breaks the tension between Hope and me. Grimacing, I sit back and watch how she tries to avoid my gaze. There’s something between us I want to explore. When I see what I want, I go for it. I don’t allow the grass to grow under my feet.

“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”

Her breath catches in her throat as her brown gaze clash with mine.

“I’m spending it with my sister and her family, whom I flew from Atlanta to see,” she tells me matter-of-factly.

I’m not bothered by her response. “So, when can I see you again?”

“Are you for serious?”

I chuckle and nod.

She shakes her head and says, “I came here to be with my sister and her family.”

“I don’t see how seeing you again would hinder that,” I challenge softly.

“It does because I don’t have the time for anything else.”

“Not even a harmless date?”

Raising her delicately carved brows, she says, “Is it really going to be a harmless date?”

I plaster a grin on my face when I say, “You tell me.”

She laughs and I enjoy the sound of it. She shakes her head again and says, “It will not be possible, Chris. I just got out of a relationship and I’m not about to start another. I came to Cedar Crest to enjoy the holidays with my family, and that’s it.”

I open my mouth to tell her I don’t want a relationship from her. But then, I pause and ask myself what I really want from her. Sex, red hot steaming sex?

No. That’s not what I desire from her. At the moment, I just want to get to know her because she seems like a very interesting person. There’s the added advantage of her stunning beauty. Before I can tell her we should start with getting to know each other, she astounds me by pushing back her chair and rises swiftly.

“Thanks, Chris, for the coffee. I better get on with my shopping. It was nice meeting you.”

I just sit there watching her swaying hips as she walks out of the coffee shop. Then I let out a curse.

Did I just let her go?

Swiftly, I pay for the coffee and rise, belatedly realizing that I didn’t even take a sip from mine. I hurry out of the place back to the mall. My heart tightens in my chest when I catch no sight of her luscious body. Shoppers move noisily about the place, but the woman clad in jeans and a jacket with a white and purple sweater proves elusive. I check the stores on the ground floor, hoping that she dashed into one of them just to avoid me.

After going through each one, I don’t see her, which heightens my frustration. I run my fingers through my hair as I stare at the escalators. Could she have gone up to one of the upper floors? Feeling like a stalker and a maniac, which is totally out of my character, I head for the escalators. After moving through almost all the floors, I realize that I’m making an utter fool of myself.

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