Page 33 of Matchmaking Under the Mistletoe

After jumping in the truck, Brian fiddles with the radio for a second before finding the station of Christmas classics and pulling out of the driveway. I have to fight the urge to ask him again where we’re going, but since he seems determined for it to be a surprise, I decide to distract myself by singing loudly to the radio.

I hit a few particularly bad notes, and Brian chuckles, screwing his nose in an overly exaggerated wince at the sound of my singing.

I open my mouth to say something else when the truck slows to a stop. I look out the window to figure out where we are, to see Brian pulling into the parking lot of Coopers’. I shoot him a confused look. “Okayyy, I’m lost. What are we doing here?’

“Well, I remembered what you said about your ex-husband never wanting any Christmas decorations, and then I thought about how damn hard you’ve been working at the inn, and I just felt like I needed to do something. So, I thought I would surprise you with a Christmas tree, but if you don’t want it…” he starts, but before he can finish, I’m launching myself across the seat and kissing him again.

God, could this man be any more perfect?

I pull away a moment later, squeezing his hand in mine. “Brian, this is perfect. Oh my gosh, I haven’t had a tree in over ten years. Can I decorate it too?”

He shoots me a wide smile before saying, “Of course, Mills. Yesterday when I was in Saddle Ridge, I ran into that store you liked and grabbed all the pink decorations they had. You know the ones you wanted for the inn but wouldn’t get because you thought Deer Valley’s needed to be more traditional?”

I stare at him for a moment, unable to believe he did all this for me. “Brian, I can’t believe you did all this… I just…” I stammer, feeling off kilter by the whole encounter. I truly don’t remember a time that someone did something this nice for me.

After a moment, Brian realizes he’s rendered me speechless, and he leans over and kisses me softly on the lips. “Millie Pouncey, you’d better never forget that you are worthy of someone who treats you like you’re not an inconvenience or an afterthought, because that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Now, let’s go get you that tree.”

I smile at him, feeling myself falling for him a little more with every confession like that he gives me. God, I really think I love this man.

Wait, what? The thought hits me out of nowhere, making my nerves rise for a moment. After everything that happened in D.C., I can’t help but feel anxious at the thought of giving my heart to someone else so soon, especially someone I’ve onlyknown for a month. But at the same time, it only took me days to realize that Brian couldn’t be any more different than my ex-husband if he tried. While Allen looked for ways to control me and make sure I always felt inferior to him, Brian builds me up and makes me feel invincible. As scary as it is to think about how this could end, I refuse to let myself pass up someone who makes me so incredibly happy.

It feels like a weight is lifted as he opens my door, and we walk through the entrance of the tree farm. It’s still before eight on a Saturday morning, so I’m not surprised that the farm is mostly empty other than the cashier working the front register and the attendants cutting down the trees selected for purchase. As we walk, Brian threads his fingers through mine, pulling me closer to him.

“I’m shocked we haven’t seen a soul you know,” I tease him before continuing. “Is it just me waiting for one of the nosey locals to pop out between the trees with a camera? Oh my gosh, imagine what would happen if they saw us like this.”

“Well, I could think of worse things, I reckon,” he says with a wink. “Honestly Millie, I’m not gonna hide how attracted I am to you unless you ask me to. But we’ve got a busy few days getting ready for the gala and I want us to be able to figure out whatever this is between us without all their bullshit. What do you think?”

“Hmm, I think you just don’t want to lose your title of Most Eligible Bachelor, Mr. Mayor,” I taunt playfully, bumping him with my shoulder as we continue walking through the trees.

He rolls his eyes at me before saying sarcastically, “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.”

“Speaking of which, I know you told me you never brought women home because of Miss Ethel, and you haven’t seriously dated anyone because you were taking care of everyone else, but how in the hell did you keep the women you went out with orhooked up with a secret in this place?” I ask, my tone light, but genuinely curious.

Brian looks down and quirks his brow at my question. “Millie, I think you misunderstood. It’s not that I just didn’t have a girlfriend or bring women home. When I was first elected, Miss Agnes pressured me into going out with her granddaughter. By the time we finished our drinks, there were rumors I was going to propose. On top of everything else, I just didn’t have time to deal with it. So, I haven’t done it in years.”

My jaw drops at his admission. I knew he said his dad getting sick had changed his priorities, but I figured he’d still had flings with women. “Wait, so you mean to tell me that last night…”

“Yeah. I thought you understood. First time in years.”

I open my mouth to reply, but can’t think of an intelligent response before he continues, “Mills, let me be clear. This thing with us isn’t casual for me. Yes, the sex was incredible, but I’m not looking for a casual hookup. I know we haven’t known each other that long, and you’ve got a lot going on. So why don’t we just take this slow and see where it goes. We can talk about it after the holidays.”

“Uhh, oh… okay,” I say, still feeling the shock of his confession and trying to ignore the effect it has on me. I knew last night wasn’t something he regularly did but hearing him share a lot of what I’ve been feeling has me feeling giddy.

“Sooo…back to this Christmas tree. What do you think about that one?” he asks, pointing to a large eight-foot tree to our right.

“It’s perfect,” I say, unable to stop the smile from spreading across my face. “You really didn’t have to do this.”

“I know, Mills, but I wanted to,” he says with a wink.

He motions the attendant over and before I know it, we’re making our way back to the truck with our new tree in tow.

“Before we head home, I’ve gotta grab some paperwork from my office in City Hall. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes,” he tells me as he pulls out of the parking lot.

“Oh, sure. That’s no problem,” I tell him, turning my phone over in the cupholder where I left it earlier. I chuckle to myself when I see some messages from my sister.

Lizzie: Okay, I was trying to be patient, but we both know that’s never been my strong suit.

Lizzie: Please tell me you and that boss of yours are fa la la fucking right now…

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