Page 72 of A Cozy Kind of Christmas
She raised one eyebrow. “Is this supposed to be winning me over? You’re really killing it here, my guy.”
He tipped his head to the side in a challenge. “It’s already working, and you know it.”
“Hardly.” She scoffed, but internally, blood rushed to her head and her breath caught in her chest. How did he know her so well? And why couldn’t she resist his touch?
“As I was saying, you’re stubborn, bullheaded, and the most gorgeous, intelligent, funny woman I know.” His finger traveled up her arm in soft, concentric circles. “We have a good thing here, and I think it could be even better if you’ll just give me a chance.”
“A chance at what?” she asked breathlessly.
“At us. At love.” Connor cupped his hands around her chin, caressing her jawline so tenderly that it took everything in Johanna not to close the distance between them. To give in to gravity. To give in to him.
“What I’m trying to tell you is that I’m in love with you, Johanna King,” Connor continued with more resolve. “And whether you want to admit it or not, I think you love me, too.”
He was in love with her.
Love?
He’d walked away from his career and a huge promotion, hopped on a plane and flown across the country, and shown up at her cabin with flowers and chocolate. All for her?
Her breath felt fluttery. Unstable.
She couldn’t make sense of it.
Was this a dream?
“I don’t understand why you haven’t figured it out by now.” Connor’s voice grew even softer. “I’ve tried to show how much you mean to me. I should have said it out loud a lot sooner, but I was worried that I might lose you. I didn’t want to push you away.”
“Connor…” she finally said, her breath growing faster.
“No, let me finish.” He pressed his finger on her lips. She opened her mouth slightly, her body betraying her—pulling her toward him like an imaginary force she couldn’t escape. “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I don’t want to wait another second to tell you that I’m in love with you, Johanna King.”
She gulped.
Connor reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her eye, his finger tracing her jaw and landing on her lips. “You’re so beautiful, Jo.”
This time, her bodydidbetray her.
She leaned in, whispering his name so softly she wasn’t even sure she’d said it. “Connor. Connor.”
Their heads tipped together.
Their lips touched.
The kiss was slow at first. Then deep and more passionate—desperate.
Connor ran his hand down her thigh, his grip becoming more possessive as his lips sampled her neck and traveled toward her cleavage.
And for once, Johanna didn’t calculate the fallout. She stopped thinking, analyzing—weighing the risks.
Nothing else mattered now.
No strategies.
No plans.
No power moves or exit strategies.
Only this moment. The warmth of his skin, the way his mouth skimmed the edge of her neckline, the way her body so easily fell into his.
