Page 30 of Once Upon a Christmas Beauty

He nodded, trying to be understanding though his body was not excited about returning to talky mode. Except, he could sense she was about to leave him alone again, and he wasn’t ready to see her go. Heck, he wasn’t ready for any of this to end.

“Okay, but just so you know, I can be very quiet. Complete stealth mode. She’d never even hear me sneak down the steps after midnight.”

“Too bad I’m not that kind of girl.” Mia smirked, then leaned closer to whisper in his ear, “And I’m not always quiet.”

Alex swallowed hard. If this was all part of her “convince him to come back” strategy, although not needed, it was definitely working.

She took a small step back with that sexy smirk still on her face and hitched a thumb to the hallway. “I should, um, let you get back to your edits. ’Night, Alex.”

“Good night, Mia.”

He watched her go, difficult as it was, but respected her for putting Brooklyn first. Alex hadn’t dated anyone with children before, so this was a new environment for him. Only time would tell if they could make this work, but he was all for giving it a try.

With a sigh, he raked a hand through his hair and dropped back into the office chair, gaze shifting to the milk and cookies she’d delivered. His ex had never brought him milk and cookies when he was working late. But then, he’d never gone out of his way to do something sweet like that for Caroline, either. They’d both been more focused on work than on each other.

It was a mistake he’d sworn not to make again.

Alex snagged a cookie and visited the Tipsy Barrel Bourbons website once more, to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting with Max Williams. It was all about balance, or so he’d been told. So, he would work now to free up time to play later.

How hard could it be?

*

Mia woke earlyMonday morning, determined to get her head on straight and back to her normal routine. Thankfully, the melatonin she’d taken before bed had successfully lulled her to sleep. It was that or listen to Alex pacing and humming well into the night again. Or take him up on his suggestion to sneak around the house and pick up where they’d left off.

Which she would absolutely not do. Not with Brooklyn in the house.

But you and Greg used to have sex when your daughter was home.

Mia gagged a little at the thought of intimacy with her ex—a normal reaction, she’d been told by several other divorcées—and dismissed that argument. They’d been husband and wife. She and Alex had barely just become friends again.

Friends that might soon become more.

No, she couldn’t let her thoughts go there this morning. If she did, no one would get out of the house on time. Tempting as it was to call in a rare sick day, she refused to do that to her students. Besides, was she really ready to take things further physically with Alex so soon?

She’d told herself these past few years that she didn’t need a man. Didn’t need hugs or kisses or intimacy.And I’d been doing just fine on my own, thank you very much.

Until Alex kissed her.

One single kiss from him had been her undoing. Is that what midlife abstinence did to a person? Now all she could think about was getting back into his arms and picking up where they’d left off.

Which was dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb. They had just reconnected, and she wasn’t truly ready for that next step. Better to take things slowly, especially since he seemed content to do so. It would allow time to rebuild some of her confidence that’d been stolen by Greg leaving.

Besides, whether Alex would really stay good to his word about coming back was yet to be seen. For now, she had children to teach and a charity event to whip into shape before time ran out—things she should have spent more time working on this weekend but had been too preoccupied by Alex’s presence.

And smiles. And kisses.

He’d looked handsome as ever when he joined her and Brooklyn for breakfast, a white T-shirt under a soft flannel with its sleeves rolled up, showing off his muscular arms, and dark jeans that fit him so perfectly they were probably illegal in three states. Mia tried not to notice, of course, but quickly failed, the image teasing her thoughts the entire drive over to the Sweet Mash. That’s where he intended to do some work before meeting up with Max at ten, then call the dealership, secure a rental if needed, and be on his way—a thought that left her sadder than it should.

Though he’d been the one to ask if she’d be open to seeing him again, all she could think as he walked away was,what if he doesn’t come back?

Despite the initial chaos, having him there had brought back some of the laughter and silliness that’d been missing in their home these past few years. Some fun. And yes, a bit of romance, too.

Thathad been missing far longer than the rest.

As she went to ease back into the flow of traffic, Mia realized Gina was watching her through the diner’s large picture window, a huge knowing grin on her face. Curses, Margaret must have gotten on the horn about catching her and Alex in the dark last night. Mia smiled and waved, and Gina gave her a wink.

Yep, she knew. The only question that remained was how much did the rest of their town know?

---