Page 35 of Just One Look

“Hey.” His boot heels clicking with every step, Devlin crossed the massive room. “I heard you were here today helping. Looks like quite the haul.”

“Why in the name of Jehoshaphat would anyone donate this?” Paige came walking in with a raggedy cardboard box in her arms and dropped it on the table nearest the doorway with a thud. “I mean really.”

“What?” Liz followed Devlin over to his cousin.

Paige lifted the folded lids, exposing the contents. “Look at this stuff.”

Considering what she saw, Liz understood the woman’s reaction. Piles of miscellaneous ornaments, tinsel, garland, a few pine cones covered in sprinkles, a couple of sprigs of what she suspected was mistletoe. Pulling one of the sprigs out of the box, she glanced at it. “Maybe it’s not a lost cause? Maybe if we hang these around the place, call it Christmas in July, we can coax a few folks into spending more?”

“Why?” Devlin reached for another sprig.

Bobbing her head at Liz, his cousin smiled. “Could work. Maybe getting kissed by strangers will put folks in a better mood?”

Devlin raised one brow at his cousin, but didn’t say a word.

“Yeah. You’re probably right.” Paige sighed. “But you can’t blame us girls for trying.” Scooping up the box, she turned her back on them and walked way.

It took a second for Liz to realize that she was still holding one of the sprigs. Lifting it into the air, she called out to Paige, but she was already out of earshot. “I guess I can toss it in the trash as easily as she can.” Holding it in front of her, she stared at the sprig, a grin tugging at her cheeks. “Unless?”

“Unless what?” Devlin’s brows crumpled in confusion.

Raising it a little higher, she stepped closer to him. “Tradition.”

His frown remained and her mouth went suddenly dry. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Other than hold her hand for a few minutes the other night, Devlin hadn’t made another gesture towards her. Maybe he was trying to find a polite way to ease out of the proposition.

Just as she was about to spew out some excuse for her silly proposition, Devlin took a step in her direction.

Her breath caught as he continued moving closer until she could see the rise and fall of his chest with every breath. Dear lord, he was going to kiss her. His head dipped and his warm breath fanning her face, he paused, his gaze locked with hers, scanning her eyes, possibly reading her soul.

She couldn’t move, couldn’t blink, and then his mouth closed the distance and pressed ever so tenderly against hers. For the first time in her life, she was sure her toes had curled in her shoes.

Too soon, he eased away and taking a single step in retreat, straightened to his full height. A soft smile took over his face. “That was nice.”

“It was.” She could feel her lips tipping up into a smile. Her first proposition seemed to have worked out. Would it be too forward to suggest they do it again?

Suddenly, his warm smile slipped and his eyes staring over her shoulder narrowed. The soft words “oh, crap” slid from his lips.

Two of her least favorite words in the English language had Liz glancing over her shoulder in the direction Devlin was frowning. One glimpse of the sauntering female and she had to agree. “Oh, crap.”

“Do you think she sees you?” Liz nudged Devlin out of the line of sight of the doorway.

Devlin shrugged one shoulder. “I didn’t notice her look up from her phone. Maybe not.”

“Then you have time to hide.” Liz nudged him another step back. Why, even when she was pushing at him, was she so irresistible?

“Hide? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not twelve.”

“No.” Liz nudged him a bit more forcefully. “But from everything I’ve heard, she’s a royal pain. Maybe if you try out of sight out of mind, she’ll tire and go after someone else.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“See?” She nudged him again.

“I don’t mean the hiding, I mean the finding her someone else to focus on.”

“Fine. You think about it from the storage closet.”

Before he realized what had happened, Liz shoved him into the small room and didn’t quite close the door all the way. Holding onto the knob, he was about to swing it open and argue he did not need to hide when Courtney sauntered straight toward Liz, her smile wide and as phony as her long red nails. Suddenly the idea of hiding, not for self-preservation but for snooping, held more appeal than he’d expected.

---