Page 352 of A Merry Mountain Christmas

“I love you,” he said. “I shouldn’t have run away from you—I should havelistened—but I let my past get between us.” His brow furrowed with anger she knew wasn’t for her. “That’s how I always dealt with Genevieve, by taking off, but I don’t want to do it anymore. That’s not who I want to be.”

She smiled at him, running a hand through his thick hair. “Well, you’re in luck, because I can give you plenty of lessons about snapping at people until they quail in submission. Except I’ve been told that doesn’t work out too well either.”

“I’ll hold you to it, Red.” He reached up to caress her face and wiped away another tear that had escaped her eye. They were silent for a moment, just taking each other in, like they had inthe car. Then he said softly, “I didn’t know what I was looking for when I came here, not really, but I never imagined I’d find this. I always felt like I had to do everything alone, but you made me realize that I don’t want that anymore. I wantyou. And if you really feel the same way, then the River thing isn’t an issue.”

She kissed him, a slow, sweet kiss meant to tell him that he was the one in her heart and he didn’t have to be alone anymore. He had her, and they had each other, and that was enough to get them through this crazy life.

Then she pulled back and grinned at him, letting her sassiness roll out again. “Is this a good time to tell you that I think you should adopt Ruby?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Jack woke to the warmth of Maisie’s soft body next to him. The sun hadn’t risen yet, and she was still asleep. He told himself not to wake her. They were up late the night before, professing their love with both words and their bodies.

She rolled over and released a contented sigh as one eyelid cracked open. “You’re not watching me sleep like a crazy stalker, are you?”

He grinned, his heart warming. “And if I said I was?”

Laughing, she pushed him onto his back and crawled on top of him.

“Merry Christmas,” he said, staring into her eyes. The happiness he saw there made his chest puff with pride that he’d put it there.

Her smile softened into contentment. She lifted a hand to his face, and gently cupped his cheek. “Merry Christmas.”

He kissed her then, because his lips hadn’t covered hers for nearly six hours, and that was five hours and fifty-nine minutes too long.

She lifted her head a few inches and smiled. “What about morning breath?”

He wrapped his arms around her back. “Worth it.”

He glanced over to the bedroom door and saw Einstein and Chaco watching them.

“Question,” Jack said, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “Can dogs be taken from their owners for being exposed to live porn?”

Maisie laughed and lifted up on her elbow to check them out. “They probably have to pee.”

When she started to get up, he pulled her back down. “I’ll take them out. You go shower, and I’ll join you when I’m done.”

“Okay,” she said hesitantly. “But maybe put them on leashes. In case they decide to bolt.”

They didn’t run off for her, but he knew her dogs were her babies, and he’d follow whatever rules made her feel comfortable. He put on his dress pants and shirt while she ogled him. Grinning, he slipped his feet into his dress shoes.

“You look like you’re doing a walk of shame,” she teased.

“There’s absolutely not one ounce of shame from sleeping with you,” he said, leaning over to give her another kiss. “I’ll proudly wear this all day long.”

“We should have given this whole morning situation more thought,” she said, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Especially since you volunteered to go to the shelter with me.”

He’d barely had the presence of mind to text Iris to tell her he’d be home late. She’d replied that if she saw him before brunch at the Buchanan house, which Finn and Adalia were optimistically calling the First Annual Christmas Brunch Extravaganza, she’d kick him in the rear end. “The only thing I was capable of thinking about was getting you home so I could strip that sexy dress off your gorgeous body. Promise me you’ll wear it again.”

“It’s not mine. It’s Blue’s.”

“Then I’ll buy it from her.” He kissed her again. “Just tell her what we did in the car while you were still wearing it.” He cocked a brow. “She might not want it back.”

She laughed. “You’re terrible.”

“You love every moment of it.”

“Obviously,” she said. “Now take those dogs out before I drag you back to bed and they pee on the floor.”

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