Page 88 of The Mistletoe Bluff
She returned the kiss, her lips hot against mine as her hands wrapped around my neck, my own pressing into her back, pulling her as close as possible.
How did I get so lucky to be standing here, holding this woman? A year ago, I had the world’s biggest crush on her, but the hate in her eyes when she looked at me always kept me far away from her. But now the world had twisted on its axis, and she was somehow in my arms, with her lips against mine.
She’d been through so much in her life, so much loss and heartache, and heck, so had I. Other men might have shied away from her, not wanting to touch those kinds of issues, wanting something simpler—easier.
But those men were all cowards.
And none of them deserved Maya Beck.
I would fight those demons of doubt and slay that dragon of fear that kept her afraid that everyone would leave her.
I would do whatever it took for her to see the amazing person I saw when I looked at her. Calling her princess was a joke at first, but she was every bit as special and important as a true princess to me.
When we pulled apart, I pressed a light kiss to the tip of her nose which was bright red from the cold. She rested her forehead against mine.
“I’m sorry this was such an awful Christmas dinner,” I said, taking her hands in mine. “How about I make it up to you?”
My heart started thundering but I had never been so sure of anything in my life.
“You don’t need to make it up—”
I silenced her with a look.
She sighed. “How?”
I grinned. “I thought you’d never ask. Come with me.”
I laced our fingers together, tugging her down the icy sidewalk that led to a small park at the end of the road. She clung to me for dear life, trying not to slip and slide over the slick concrete.
“Where are we going?”
I gave her a mischievous grin. “You’ll see.”
Maya narrowed her eyes. “It’s Christmas. Everything is closed, Oliver.”
I smirked. “Do you trust me?”
Part of me expected her to say no, so it was a surprise when she nodded.
“Where are we going?” she repeated.
I threw her a small smile. “Even when things seem grim, there’s always some Christmas magic somewhere. You just have to know where to look.”
Maya
Oliver’s hand was a mini fire around mine despite the snow falling around us as we walked down the sidewalk. There were no streetlights around, so we were forced to rely on the moonlight peeking through the clouds to see where we were going.
At least until we got to the end of the sidewalk that brought us to a little park with a swing set and two slides.
On the other side, lit up like—well, like a Christmas tree—was a large evergreen covered in lights. It was the largest out of all the surrounding ones, and as Oliver tugged me closer, I noticed there were tinsel garlands wrapped around the boughs. I giggled to myself when I saw they only went halfway up the tree, as if whoever decorated it couldn’t reach that far.
Oliver stopped next to the tree, and I raised my eyebrows in question.
“Is this the project you had to do earlier today?” I asked.
His smile nearly stopped my heart, and he nodded. “Close your eyes, darling.”
I wasn’t fond of being told what to do, but when he said it in that husky voice and tacked onthatpet name…Honey, I’ll do whatever you want me to.
