Page 52 of Promise Yule Be Mine
I put my hand up to stop him and with my other one opened the door for him.
"It was my pleasure."
"And I'll see if I can convince Jenna to change some—" he started when he skidded across the sidewalk, over a frozen patch that hadn't quite melted and fell backwards.
One second he was falling, the next he was in my arms, my body acting on instinct, as if a primal sort of protective urge turned me from a regular Joe into a superhuman.
I stared at his face, his expression a mixture of shock, astonishment and something else I couldn't define. Or one I didn't want to define for fear of what it might do to me. But his eyes? His eyes betrayed something I didn't want to admit, his lips calling my name like a siren to my undoing.
I didn't think. I couldn't anymore. Not with Nova in my arms. Not with him in my life.
I leaned in. That was all Icoulddo.
But before our lips could touch, Nova's eyes went wide and he slithered out of clumsy embrace and coughed.
"We…we should get going. I've got a baker to find," he announced to no one in particular and, avoiding looking at me, marched toward my car leaving me completely and utterly…breathless.
16
NOVA
Icouldn't believe I'd done that.
Not that it was my fault I’d slipped. Or that he’d caught me. But I couldn't help but feel it was my fault he’d almost kissed me. Because I’d almost kissed him too.
It was like a scene out of a movie or something. The accident. The instinct. The catch. The proximity. And here I thought these things didn't happen in real life, but they did.
With unavailable men.
Agh. Why is my life like this?
For the rest of the way back to Christmas Falls I kept to myself, both my eyes and lips. And my hands. Kept them busy trying to find alternatives for the wedding cake. If push came to shove I could always bake something myself, although I reallyreallysucked at decorating. Maybe they wouldn't mind a "rustic" type of cake?
Kody dropped me off at Jenna's, barely able to look at me and I escaped into my friend's apartment with my tail between my legs.
Did he feel as guilty about what had almost happened like I did? Or was he embarrassedforme?
I took the rest of the day to make calls, find a solution and get Kody Campbell completely out of my mind. I succeeded in exactly zero of my endeavors.
Which was how I'd ended up with a bottle of wine on one hand and a glass in the other by seven. My mind was a mess. This whole situation was a mess. And Jenna was none the wiser.
A rattle at the door startled me out of my self-induced wallowing session and I sat up, ready to launch either bottle or glass at whoever was intruding.
But then, Jenna peeked in, still in uniform and at least one of my concerns was eased. Which left me with all the rest.
"Jen," I put everything down and walked up to her to give her a hug. "What are you doing here?"
Jenna laughed. "What am I doing at my home? Hm…that's a thinker."
I shoved her shoulder gently. "You know what I mean."
"I managed to get a flight home finally. I am fucking exhausted though! I haven't worked this hard in my life."
Her gaze landed on the bottle and glass of wine, and her eyes lit up.
"That's exactly what I need. It's as if you read my mind."
She abandoned her carry-on in the middle of the room and grabbed the glass to take a generous gulp. "Are you drinking on your own or are you waiting for someone?" She said as soon as she was done. The red of the wine seemed to move to her cheeks.
