Page 62 of With All My Heart, Joy

“Nice set-up for your recording.” He gestured at the high-tech corner of the living room. It was further evidence of how seriously Joy took her influencing.

“Thanks.” A furrow in her brow appeared. “I’ve been off my game lately.”

“That’s okay, you know.”

A flicker of uncertainty dusted her forehead again before disappearing. She turned to slide something into the oven. “That needs thirty minutes. Enough time to decorate cookies.”

Paisley appeared from nowhere. “Cookies?”

Joy’s face formed a special smile just for Paisley. Paisley did not, after all, seem to be an issue for Joy.

Something light and wonderful lifted inside Isaac as he watched Joy lead Paisley to the table where she had set up dishes of candies and frosting colored red, white, and green.

“This could get… messy,” Isaac said discreetly near Joy’s ear as Paisley wiggled in her seat, more excited than the puppy she wanted for Christmas. Joy turned, and he found himself in extremely close proximity to her lips.

Had he kissed her just yesterday?

The lips he stared at began to turn into a knowing smile, and he jerked his eyes to safer territory, finding her golden eyes laughing at him.

Joy Halverson was made for him. Of that, he was absolutely certain. What put him in a state of shock and awe was that it seemed she was made for Paisley, too. Her next words proved it.

“Don’t worry, I put a plastic lining on the table. On her chair, too.” She pointed at the cover that crinkled beneath Paisley. “I can’t promise she won’t have frosting on her clothes, but…”

“That’ll wash.” He ached to pull her into his arms. “Thank you, Joy. You’re an absolute miracle with her.”

His words made her glow. “Join us?”

He wouldn’t pass this up for anything. He sat beside Joy, deliberately pressing his leg against hers. A jolt of desire zigzagged through him when she pressed back.

“These are Red Hots, and here we have tiny candy canes…”

Isaac didn’t care what the candies were. He only cared that he was here in Joy’s home because she had shown up at his church to invite him.

The lunch was as delicious as he expected. Paisley ate three helpings of baked ziti and cheesy broccoli casserole. She passed on the mini steaks that practically melted in Isaac’s mouth, they were so juicy. He didn’t let Paisley’s portion go to waste.

When Paisley’s plate stayed empty, Joy pushed a cheerful Christmas mug in front of her, a candy cane curved over the rim as a convenient stir stick for the steaming hot chocolate within.

Isaac watched Joy reach for her phone, then stop. No doubt she was accustomed to recording every bit of life on camera for her fans. It meant more to him than she knew that she let the moment remain theirs alone.

The uncomfortable thought crossed his mind that her fans might misunderstand their relationship. Would it affect her job? And how would she balance the demands of influencing with a relationship with a man—and not just any man, but a man with a special-needs daughter?

He took a calming breath along with a final bite of food. He was getting ahead of himself.

“Paisley, do you like Christmas movies?” Joy moved toward the small television mounted on her wall. “I have lots.”

Paisley made her selection and settled in, clutching her mug with both hands. Isaac hoped all the liquid stayed in the cup. It didn’t always at home.

“While you watch, your dad and I are going to talk in the kitchen, okay?”

His heart thudded an irregular beat at Joy’s words. She came into the kitchen and stopped beside him, leaning on her elbows over the countertop. He faced the opposite direction with his back end against the lower cabinets. Only their elbows touched.

“I’m sorry about the way I took off last night.” Joy stared at her hands. “I panicked.”

Silence rested between them for a beat. “I thought it was because of Paisley.”

Her mouth fell open. “I love Paisley!”

“She’s a lifetime deal, Joy. And she can be…a lot.”

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