Page 16 of A Cowboy Christmas

“This old place.” He waves his hand around. “It’s too much house for us. I’ll be glad to leave it.”

“Liar,” Reba says as she comes over and places a mug of coffee in front of me.

“He likes cream,” Sabrina says softly, and our eyes meet. “Sugar too.”

“Coming right up.” Reba goes back to the refrigerator, but my eyes stay on Sabrina.

She bites her bottom lip as her eyes move down my body. Is she remembering last night as vividly as I am right now?

“So tell me, son,” Miller says as he leans back casually in his chair, “what brought you to our home at this early hour?”

“Like I said, Sabrina said you fell. She left worried, and I wanted to make sure everything was okay. And to see if I could help.”

“How sweet of you.” Reba places the cream and sugar in front of me, and I stir some in.

“Yes, how nice,” Sabrina finally says. “Thanks for stopping by.”

“Come on, princess.” Miller pats her hand. “There’s no need to rush him out of here. Let the man enjoy a cup of coffee. Better yet, why not show him around the place?”

“Grandpa.” Her eyes narrow, but he shrugs her off.

“I’m sure he’d love to see your room.” His grin is practically mischievous as I take a sip of my coffee and wait for her to respond.

Chapter Eleven

Sabrina

I still can’t believe he showed up here. He even joined us, sat down, and charmed my grandfather. I thought Booker was a surly grump.

I’d assumed I might possibly see him at the diner today, but he came here first. That must mean something, right? I didn’t sleep much because my mind was going over everything that happened at his place. I kept wondering what it might have meant to him and if he knew that he'd taken my virginity. Or realized that he came inside of me. We really should talk about that.

“Do you mind if I change first?” I ask Booker, who follows me out of the kitchen. Reba and my grandpa watch us the whole way, and I'm sure they are gossiping up a storm by now.

I don’t know what my grandpa is up to. He’s never tried to play matchmaker before, but I guess I’ve never gushed about a man to him either. I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing until he started talking about it to Booker. Guess I’m no good at hiding this fascination I have. Me and half the town of Mittenville.

“By all means.” He smirks and then openly stares at my ass. The man has no shame, and he doesn’t even try to hide it. That shouldn’t turn me on, but here we are. There’s a filthy side to him that comes out to play when no one is around to hear.

“Alone,” I say firmly.

“That would be a no.”

"Booker." I stop walking to glare at him.

“Go on.” He gives my ass a pat, making me jump.

I walk faster and hear him chuckle from behind me, and damn it, it sounds sexy. It makes my heart flutter even as I try to ignore it.

“This is my room.” I begin to open the door, only to remember how I left it this morning. I spin around, slamming it closed behind me, and Booker is so close. “Maybe you should wait out here,” I suggest, but I know it’s going to fall on deaf ears.

“Little star.” He leans down, and I can’t help it when my eyes flutter closed. For a moment I think he’s going to kiss me, but then I hear the door click open.

“Hey!” He’d reached around and opened it. “You distracted me. That’s cheating.”

“Never said I played fair,” Booker says and pushes my door open.

No, I don't believe he’s someone who plays fair. He’s one that plays to win. He’ll bulldoze his way through anything.

“Well, it’s a mess in here, so...” I shrug. “You’ll have to deal.” I raise my chin in defiance.

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