Page 10 of Unexpected Christmas with the SEAL

Macklin glanced between them. Then he seemed torn about staying with Hannah and soaking up more of her love, or going to Cal and getting new attention.

Macklin was honestly the most affectionate and biggest attention-whore horse Cal had ever met. If you sat in his stall or on the ground outside near him, the big teddy bear would try to sit like a dog in your lap. It didn’t matter than he was hundreds of pounds. He thought he was a lapdog.

Hannah kissed Macklin’s neck, which caused the horse to turn around, face her and give the top of her head a lick. She scrunched her face in a cute way that said she appreciated the reciprocated kiss of the horse, but wasn’t keen on the slobber. “Mack and I are just fine. You can go.”

He shrugged, then turned to go. “Don’t sit on the ground too long. You’ll get hemorrhoids.”

“That’s an old wives’ tale,” she replied, irritation in her tone.

He let the barn door close behind him, then went to his truck, grabbed everything he’d packed, and headed up to the farmhouse.

Nobody should be alone at Christmas. Not him. Not Hannah. Not anybody.

So even though she was stubborn and didn’t seem to know any better, Cal was older, wiser, more patient, and a lot less stubborn. Or maybe he was more stubborn because he was persistent.

Either way, he wasn’t going to let her prickly disposition scare him away. Not when he saw in her eyes how desperately shedidn’twant to be alone for Christmas. However, she was also determined not to let anyone see that desperation.

Her strength was admirable. Possibly a little misguided, but still admirable.

She didn’t always have to be strong, though. Sometimes showing your vulnerable sidewasshowing your strength. That you’re strong enough to be vulnerable. Strong enough to show the world—or at least a few trustworthy people in it—your flaws.

He plunked everything he brought onto the kitchen table, found an apron with chickens all over it on a sky-blue background, then got to work.

It was over an hour before the sound of the front door opening broke through the kitchen noises.

Then came the voice and stomping of a prickly woman. “What the fuck?”

Bruno, as if seeing Cal for the first time today, raced over and demanded more attention. Only Cal’s hands were soapy from doing dishes, so he had to dry them on his apron before he could bend down and give the dog some love. All while ignoring the angry glare of the woman with her hands on her shapely hips.

Hannah cleared her throat, so he lifted his gaze up to her fire. “I’ll ask again. What. The. Fuck?”

“You told me to go. You didn’t tell me to gohome. I’m making dinner.”

Her eyes became thin slits as she took in his pizza making station. It’d been a long-standing Christmas Eve tradition in his family when he was a kid. Homemade pizza for dinner along with a Christmas movie marathon while he and his dad—who’d been an architect—built the most epic gingerbread house.

“It’s make your own pizza night,” he said cheerfully. “I have all kinds of toppings. Cheese is grated, sausage and bacon are cooked. Onions are caramelized, and I found some already cooked chicken breast in the fridge. All you have to do is slather on the sauce, build your beast and slide ‘er into the oven.”

Her gaze remained narrow, but she slowly dropped her palms from her hips, wandered into the kitchen and washed her hands at the sink. Still not having said a word, and with her eyes holding all kinds of skepticism, she went to the pizza making station and began to build her pie.

Cal grinned as he watched her ladle on the sauce, then put mushrooms, sausage, caramelized onions and bacon on her pizza before sprinkling it with cheese—then, because this was obviously not her first rodeo—she put the pepperoni on top of the cheese so that it would perfectly crisp up in the oven.

He was pretty sure he was in love.

Hannah made her pizza identical to his—andput her pepperoni on top of her cheese—made his belly do several somersaults, and his body grew hot.

Her expression relaxed sometime between putting on the onions and bacon, then she stepped back and watched as he expertly slid the pizza paddle that he handmade and brought from home, under the pizza, opened the oven and shimmied it onto the pizza stone he also brought from home.

He set the timer on the oven, then went to build his own pizza. The only difference between her pizza and his was that he added banana peppers and mixed his cheese with half mozzarella and half white cheddar. Mozzarella had the stretch, but cheddar was where the flavor was.

“I’m going to go shower,” she said, her voice soft as she walked quietly behind him and down the hall. “Could you feed Bruno, please?”

He smiled at her back just before she disappeared into the guest room, then glanced down at Bruno. “I think she’s finally warming up to me, buddy.”

Bruno cocked his head to the side.

Cal grabbed a piece of pepperoni from the counter and tossed it into the air. Bruno leaped up and caught it in his mouth. “Let’s see if we can make her smile again with our movie choices, hmm?”

Bruno looked up at the counter where the pepperoni came from.

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