Page 33 of Dancing in Lake Mistletoe

Before I can talk myself out of it, Dutch leans in. It’s slow, deliberate, like he’s giving me every chance to back out, to step away. But I don’t. I can’t. He leans in slowly, his gaze holding mine as our lips brush. His mouth is warm and soft. I close my eyes as my body sways toward him. His arms come around me, drawing me into the heat of his body. I press in against his chest, and the edges of his coat come around me, enclosing us.

It’s a sweet, gentle kiss, but it changes from soft to passionate with a tilt of his head and a tug of his teeth against my bottom lip. I open to him, and his tongue delves in and sweeps against mine. Relaxing my arms, I slide them around his shoulders and rise up on my toes, wanting to get closer to him.

He tightens his hold on my waist, and the hard evidence of his desire presses into me.

At the contact, he breaks the kiss and groans against my lips. And I feel the vibration all the way to my toes.

His eyes meet mine, and he dips his head again to give me another quick kiss before stepping back.

“It’s time to get Josie,” he says, his voice thick with regret. “But I’d love to take you out again. On a real date.”

“I’d like that too,” I say, still a little lightheaded.

“Josie is gonna talk you into cheeseburgers tonight. That doesn’t count. How about after practice tomorrow? I can pick you up in the morning and take you to the theater, and then we can go to dinner afterward,” he suggests.

“That’d be great,” I agree.

“It’s a date.”

He wraps my hand in his and tugs me into his side, and we walk back to the studio to pick up an excited seven-year-old ballerina, who talks me into joining them for cheeseburgers before they take me back to the inn.

Mindi

The air is crisp and cold, biting against my cheeks as I pull my scarf tighter around my neck. My breath puffs out in little clouds as I step out onto the porch of the inn, where Dutch is standing with Keller.

The sky is a pale gray, thick with snowflakes that float lazily to the ground, covering everything in a soft white blanket.

“Good morning,” I greet.

Dutch’s gaze comes to me, and his eyes crinkle with his smile. “Hi.”

I hear a whinny, and my attention shifts from him to the sound.

A sleigh is parked just at the edge of the yard, and as soon as I see it, I can’t help but grin.

“What’s that?” I point at the road.

“Your chariot,” Dutch replies.

Excitement bubbles in my chest as my eyes fly back to him.

“You’re really taking me to work in that?” I ask, half-laughing as I make my way down the steps toward him.

He grins, his blue eyes twinkling beneath the brim of his cable-knit hat. “What, you don’t trust my sleigh-driving skills?”

I laugh and shake my head, my boots crunching through the fresh snow as I reach him. “I trust you. I just can’t believe you did this.”

He shrugs, giving me that easy smile of his that makes everything seem like a good idea.

“Seemed like a fun way to get you there. Besides, the truck’s stuck in the barn after last night’s snowstorm, and the roads are slick. So, horse and buggy it is.”

I glance over at the sleigh, taking it all in. It’s an old-fashioned wooden sleigh, painted red with white trim, and it’s attached to two gorgeous horses.

“You have horses? And a sleigh, just at the ready?”

“Yep. That’s Prancer and Holly, and they pull that sleigh at the Christmas Market every year,” he says.

I stare at the animals in disbelief. Their coats are sleek against the cold, and their breaths come out in big white puffs. The sleigh bells strapped to their harnesses jingle softly with every little movement, a sound that immediately fills me with glee.

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