Page 18 of Mishaps and Mistletoe

“Okay then, Jojo.”

When her bright green eyes met his, they twinkled like the lights on the decorations they’d seen at the tree farm. Was the way she batted her eyelashes flirty? Nah. He was imagining that.

“Can I offer you a drink? I’ve got water, milk, and white hot chocolate.”

“The essentials, then.”

“Hey, I’m a bachelor. You’re lucky I have more than beer and water to offer.”

She raised both hands. “You’re right. I’ll take a white hot chocolate if you don’t mind.”

“That’s what I was going to get for myself. I’ll make two.”

He grabbed the milk and a small pot, and with a quickclick, click, he started the gas range.

“So—” he began, turning his attention from the pot as the milk warmed.

“Yeah, so—”

“Does this feel real?”

“Not at all. Does it feel real to you?”

He blew out a long breath. “Nope.” It hadn’t felt real twenty-five years ago, either. He’d felt detached, miserable, like a boat without an anchor and no course planned. Moving from foster home to foster home was hard.Reallyhard. Most people weren’t in the market for a teenager, but all he’d wanted was a home, and he’d found it with the McCanns. But hope? That was something he wouldn’t let himself have. Any time he got enough optimism to lift his spirits, life came in like a giant needle popping that balloon any chance it got. And that’s why he’d given it up. At least, until he’d met Jojo. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

“I kept hoping you’d call,” she responded, the corners of her lips turning down slightly.

“We never exchanged numbers.” He remembered that vividly. They’d lived in denial the whole two weeks, neither one of them willing to acknowledge that this teenage romance had an expiration date. But he’d planned to see if she wanted to keep in touch their last day on the beach. Only, she’d never shown up.

“Yeah, I left it for you. There’d been a mix-up with our flight, and some cancellations, and my dad got us on an earlier one. So, I snuck away that morning and left a note with your manager at Sweet Licks. I thought you might call me when you came in for your next shift.”

“I never got it.” How much different would things have been if he had?

“Dang. I thought maybe you were just blowing me off.”

“I never would have done that, Jojo.”

Her skin flushed, and he couldn’t help but notice the way her teeth scraped across her bottom lip. She shook her head like she was coming out of a trance. “I still can’t believe the McCanns adopted you. How are they doing, by the way?”

“They’re great. Pops and Ma retired, bought an RV, and said it was time for a new adventure. Truth be told, I’d been craving a change of scenery, though I’d never told them. But when they left, I figured it was time. They told me to go wherever I wanted. Wherever I ended up would be home.”

“So you came here.”

“I came here.”

“To Wheeling, West Virginia?”

“Yep. Call me crazy, but I wanted to experience the weather, mountains, all four seasons. Walk outside in July without getting butt sweat. Things like that.”

Josie grimaced. “I hate to break it to you, but butt sweat is definitely a thing here in July.”

“Do your worst, West Virginia. Do your worst.” They both laughed.

He checked the milk and turned off the burner. A scoop of mix, a good stir, and it was ready to go.

“This is delicious,” Josie said after her first sip. A drip of the beverage clung to her lip, and he nearly came undone when she licked it off. “Why don’t I drink this more often?” She took another long sip, and Kevin spent way too long watching her mouth cup the rim of the mug.

Stop staring, you idiot. Don’t even go there.

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