Page 52 of The Mistletoe Trap
Grams wound her arms around Julie. Equally short in stature, Grams gave the tightest hugs in history, and right now Julie needed every last newton of force. “We love the both of you and how exponentially our family has grown since the Frosts moved to Crystal Springs. As much as we all hoped it might work out, I suppose none of us fully thought through the various complications, how bumpy the path might be, or anyone ending up with hurt feelings.”
Pain lanced Julie’s heart. Part of her had been holding out the tiniest bit, the glimmer of hope a beacon she couldn’t quite let go of. In a lot of ways, having Grams validate her concerns was a step in a positive direction. It’d help stifle all thewhat-ifquestions that were constantly swimming through her head. An idealistic notion about what love could conquer wouldn’t do anyone any good. If anything, it’d lead to a bigger crash when she returned to her Phoenix apartment and found herself alone and as boring as Brad accused her of being.
“But,” Grams said, pulling back to look her in the eye. “I’d also like you to indulge an old woman and allow her to give you some hard-earned life advice…”
After all the head shaking, it was a relief to nod.
“On top of being a total”—Grams lowered her voice to a whisper—“bitch, timing is a myth. When it comes to what you want, often you just have to seize the moment.”
…
Gavin struggled with the buttons on his shirt for more minutes than he wanted to confess to, unsure whether it was because of his injury, or his messy thoughts, or both. It wasn’t like the run-in with Kristin had been bad; more like it’d reminded him of what he’d already decided.
After strained pleasantries and a couple sentences of idle chitchat under the guise of catching up, Kristin didn’t bother holding back. It seemed she’d had the words at the ready, too, presumably because she’d been wanting to speak her mind on the subject and how everything had gone down between them for a while.
All those wasted years…Gavin did his best to smother the rest of the words that’d replayed on a loop and messed with his emotions and his mind. Long story short, it reinforced his earlier conclusion: he didn’t have any business considering any type of dalliance with Jules.
“Grr.” Releasing the two sides of his shirt, he crossed from his room to the office and knocked.
“Yeah?” Julie called, and when he opened the door, a black ball of fur barreled into the hallway. The cat seemed offended to find Gavin there. After taking a second to convey as much, Kylo Ren pranced across the hall and leaped onto the rumpled sheets and comforter strewn across Gavin’s bed.
“Sure, go right ahead, dude. Make yourself at home.” Gavin stepped across the threshold and scanned the room. He was sure Julie had answered, but there wasn’t another way out of the office and—
“Hey,” she said, popping out from under the desk. Not that he’d admit it, but he jumped the slightest bit, thrown off by her sudden appearance.
And speaking of appearance…Holy. Shit.The navy dress hugged her body as if it were made for her, and with every movement, the fabric shimmered and sparkled in the overhead lights. Under other circumstances, he might tease her about it having only one sleeve, but due to her exposed shoulder and the flare of her hips, he’d instantly become a fan.
Loose blond curls cascaded over the side of the dress with the sleeve, and the rest had been pinned up with a gemstone barrette that matched her jewelry and the heels on her feet. She’d done up her eyes in that way women did to make them look bigger, a black pointed line at the corner, and her lips were an intoxicating shade of crimson that had his mouth watering for a taste.
Long story short, she looked like a shiny present, and he desperately wanted to unwrap her and play with her all night long.
“I could’ve used you a few minutes ago, when I was down on my hands and knees,” she said, and that sound you hear when you go under water? Well, he must be in over his head, because that warbled noise rushed through his ears. She held up a dangly earring. “I dropped it, and you’d think it’d be easy enough to find, but it went way under there and this dress isn’t for crawling around, you know?”
Did he? Perhaps a demonstration was in order.
“Gavin?”
It took him clearing his throat twice merely to be capable of speech. “Yeah?”
Right. He’d come here for a purpose, and she was asking after that purpose. He gestured to his open shirt, and the way she bit her lip as she looked him up and down wasn’t helping the growing situation in his pants. “I suck at buttoning my shirt with my left hand. My fat fingers kept fumbling—which isn’t a problem I usually have, FYI—so I’ve come to you for help.”
Once she finished securing her earring, she strode across the room, and a smile curved her lust-inducing lips. “Finally, a sport I’m good at.” She reached for the bottom button and pushed it through the hole.
“This is a sport now?”
She tugged the sides of his shirt hard enough he wobbled in her direction, and it took every ounce of his restraint to stop himself from giving in to the sway. “It is since I’ve been working on my sexy moves. How’s this…?”
She ripped open his shirt, and that one button she’d secured didn’t have a chance.
He remained completely frozen and, when she didn’t add to the move, blinked at her. “Was that it? I mean, it’s a good start, but you might want to throw in some light touches. Really rev the guy up as you torture him with getting the right stuff in the right holes.”
At that, she giggled. “Are we still talking about buttons?”
“I’m not sure,” he said, which was a little too true.
The tips of her strappy heels hit the ends of his toes as she moved that much closer. Within a handful of seconds, she’d secured the bottom three buttons.
Her gaze lifted, and crackling energy charged the air as they locked eyes. She placed a flat palm on the center of his abs. His muscles twitched, and just when he didn’t think he could take it anymore, she glided her hand up to the center of his chest.
