Page 38 of Baking it Merry

“You’re the worst,” she whispered, even as she closed the distance between them.

“And you’re infuriating,” he murmured, right before silencing them both with a kiss.

Seven

Daphne stood in Tristan’s driveway staring at his house for several long minutes.

“You can put a stop to all the lying by setting up and leaving,” she reminded herself.“Or you can keep kissing him.”

Just the thought of kissing him had her feeling tingly from head to toe.No man had ever turned her on so much with just a kiss and it bothered the hell out of her that Tristan had to be the man to do that to her.

“Damn the man…”

Naturally, that’s when he opened the front door, looking better than a man had a right to.The black trousers and crisp white shirt weren’t anything special, but combined with his lightly stubbled jaw, perfectly tousled dark hair, and his air of confidence, he looked like he just stepped off the pages of a men’s fashion magazine.

Stepping down from the front porch, he slowly made his way toward her, and Daphne felt a little smug herself.Tonight, she skipped the festive clothes and went for simple elegance—a little black dress.It was a wrap dress that exposed a hint of cleavage, and she paired it with simple black heels and tasteful silver jewelry.

When Tristan came to a stop in front of her, she swore she heard him moan softly before asking, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Shaking her head, she replied, “My mother’s driving the van over with all the food and should be here in five minutes.It made more sense for her to drive it over rather than me going to get it.We saved time, so I don’t have to rush to set up.”

They stood in companionable silence for a moment before he said, “You look…beautiful.”And yeah, his voice was a little gruff and sounded so sexy that her knees went a little weak.They started to sway toward each other when he took a step back.“Did you mention our…arrangement to your mother?”

“Arrangement?”

This time, he definitely groaned.“How my family thinks we’re dating?If she’s here when my parents show up, it might come up.”

“Oh.I didn’t think about that.”Nibbling her bottom lip, she considered their options.“I’d rather not get her involved.So when she gets here, let’s get everything unloaded quickly so she can leave.”

Luckily, that’s when her mother pulled up and, after making brief introductions, they all worked together to get everything into the house.

“Thanks so much, Mom!”she gushed.“I know you and Dad have plans tonight, so I’ll talk to you over the weekend.”

“We’re going to that Asian fusion place you were gushing about the other day!I’ve looked at the menu online about three times today!”Laughing, she added, “Is it okay if I take the van home or would you like me to take your car so you can have the van?”

“Oh, um…I guess leaving the van would be smarter.I can’t believe I didn’t think about that.”And after they swapped keys and her mom said goodbye to Tristan, Daphne immediately started setting things up.

“Tell me where you need me to be,” he said as he carefully pulled a tray of carrot cake shooters out of a box.

“I appreciate that you didn’t change anything like last time.”

He chuckled.“I learned my lesson.But I would like to see if maybe we can put the cocoa bar on the kitchen counter this time.I feel like there wasn’t enough space for it to be fully appreciated last weekend.”

“And yet we ran out of cocoa,” she reminded him.“But…you’re the boss, so…we can try that.The crock pot is over on the table and I brought an extra one so we can have a second batch warming at all times.”

They worked together for a few minutes before Tristan turned on some soft holiday music.

Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” set the perfect tone to get to work.After that, there was a little “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Last Christmas,” and then the classic, “All I Want for Christmas is You.”Each song had her dancing as she put the final touches on everything.Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Tristan trying not to dance and failing miserably.She was about to comment on it when he playfully moved beside her and they danced together through Mariah’s last note.

“That was…”

Michael Bublé’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” started and Tristan slowly pulled her into his arms.They swayed slowly to the music and the moment temporarily took her by surprise.The intensity in his gaze took her breath away.This shouldn’t be happening.Her servers would be here any minute, and yet she couldn’t look away.

“Tristan, I…”

“Shh…” he whispered.“This is nice.We tend to get in trouble when we talk.”

Ducking her head, she laughed softly.“That’s true.”The next thing she knew, they were dancing cheek to cheek.Humming quietly, she allowed herself to simply enjoy the moment.When the song ended, neither seemed to want to move apart.And for the first time in a week, she initiated a kiss—not because they were arguing or people were watching—but because she was caught up in the moment.Raking a hand through his hair, she noticed the way his eyes drifted shut.“This isn’t a good idea…”

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