Page 31 of His Wood Her Fire

At my age, it was pretty ridiculous of me to act like some teenager with her first crush.But the truth was, before he told me he hadn’t had a woman in five years, I’d thought I was in over my head.

I mean, Bo was a walking fantasy.A hero straight out of one of those smutty novels Andy liked to read when he was supposed to be working.

But it wasn’t just his sexy mountain man looks that stole my heart.It was that and everything else about him, too.

Like how kind he was to Moose and Frou-Frou, giving them belly rubs and treats when he did not know he was being observed.

The way he took care of me with the fireplace fiasco and the generator breaking.And of course, I couldn’t discount the way he took care of me in bed.

Bo was the most thorough lover I’ve ever had.The man touched me in places I never knew existed.

Get your mind out of the gutter!

I was talking about my heart.

How rude!Snort.

He said he loved me, and I couldn’t get it out of my head.

Probably because I was in love with him, too.

Chapter Fifteen-Bo

The week before Christmas it snowed almost every day, and even though I had yet to tell Gloria that I lied about the generator just up and dying, deep down I felt I’d made the right choice.

But it was Christmas Eve, and I heard my woman talking to someone on the phone earlier.Okay, so I started eavesdropping when her phone rang, and was relieved when I heard her say it was work.

Truth was, I had some of my own to deal with and I needed to call my agent.In particular, I needed to drop out of opening night for my showing at a posh gallery in the city.

Manhattan was about a two and a half hour drive from here, but no way was I going to attend and leave Gloria alone.

I’d checked the roads earlier, and they’d all been cleared and were fine for travel.But usually when I visited the city, I stayed over, so I didn’t have to drive back so late.

But I really didn’t want to do that with my baby stuck here alone.So, I listened to Gloria’s conversation.And as I did, I realized not going would be a huge mistake.

Garden State PR?Shit.I should have put it together!

A laugh tickled the back of my throat as I thought about all the mistakes I’d almost made with her.

My Gloria.Sexy little vixen.

It was kismet.There was no other explanation.

This woman is my destiny.

Ever since she drove that ridiculous compact car of hers up my driveway, I’d felt as if my entire world had been tipped on its axis.And it had.By a beautiful, curvy, passionate woman I could never deserve in a million years.

But that didn’t matter because I was still keeping her.

Call it a Christmas gift to myself if you want to.

Gloria belonged with me.I’d never been surer of anything else in my entire life.

I smiled at the strings of cranberries and popcorn we made together and hung across the mantle.On the coffee table was a tin of homemade sugar cookies, and the plastic container of fudge she’d made for me with exactly two pieces left.

The woman was a phenomenal snack maker.But really, as long as I had her to eat, what else did I need?

I took in the scene in front of me and sighed my contentment.A small tree sat in the corner, decorated with a strand of twinkle lights my sister left after coming here for a fourth of July barbecue and some glass cookie ornaments Gloria made using Jolly Ranchers.

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