Page 23 of Holiday Haven

“Great. I'll be ready.” Her smile dimmed a bit, thinking about dinner at his parents’ house. Shannon's high voice had been easy to hear and she suspected he'd only asked her to go because it would have been rude not to. Was he doing all of this from some sort of misplaced responsibility? Because she was Danielle’s sister and he felt as if he needed to take care of her? “Thanks again for dinner.”

“My pleasure.”

Despite her efforts to push Adam from her mind, the deep timber of his voice stayed with her throughout the rest of her busy shift. Filling her with anticipation for what was yet to come.

* * *

She agonizedover what to wear to meet Adam's parents. And the rest of his family. As she'd been scheduled to work the past three days in a row, she hadn't had time to shop, even if she'd had money to spare on a new outfit, which she didn't.

Difficult decision but saving money for a potential upgrade to a two-bedroom apartment for Joy won over clothes for herself, hands down.

Glancing at her watch, she realized the afternoon had passed quickly. And she still needed to talk to Mr. Baumgartner, the superintendent of her apartment building. She ran down to the first floor and knocked at his door. He didn't answer. Then she heard banging, and found the older man in the basement, working on the plumbing leading to the washer and dryer.

“Mr. Baumgartner?” She tapped him on the shoulder, knowing from experience he was rather hard of hearing.

“Eh?” He spun around to face her, covering his surprise with a scowl. “What? You shouldn’t sneak up on a man like that.”

“Sorry.” She used her brightest smile. “Do you know if there are any two-bedroom units coming available soon?” She would have loved to have a new place by next week, but that wasn't likely. Yet if a two-bedroom apartment was available she could put money down on it and that may be enough to convince the social work office to give her the benefit of the doubt and grant her permission to be Joy’s temporary foster mother.

“A two-bedroom unit?” He glared at her from beneath bushy gray eyebrows. With his rather rotund stature, she was struck by the image of him wearing a Santa suit. He'd be an awesome Santa. If he'd lose the perpetual scowl. “Why? You inviting some no-good young man to move in with you?”

She sighed, refusing to point out that if she were the type of woman to invite a young man to move in with her, they'd hardly need a second bedroom. She didn’t have a young man, or had even been out on a date in months.

Well, until today.

“No, Mr. Baumgartner, I wouldn't even think of living with a man.” It was true even though she knew her view was old fashioned. “There's an abandoned baby girl at the hospital who needs a place to stay for a short while. I'd like to bring her home with me.”

“Oh, yeah?” His eyes narrowed as he glanced at her waist as if checking to see if she was telling the truth or just planning for her own future baby. Good grief, he was acting as if her moving into a two-bedroom apartment with some sort of crime. Finally he grudgingly nodded. “The Olsons told me they were looking for a house. If they find one, their apartment will be available. But I don’t expect that to happen until the spring.”

Spring was too far away, but she forced herself to smile. “That's good to know. Will you please tell me if anything changes? I'd like to upgrade to a two-bedroom apartment as soon as possible.”

“I guess. If that’s what you want.” Mr. Baumgartner grunted and turned back to his leaky pipes.

She turned and slowly headed back upstairs to her place. Trying not to be too depressed by the news, she stood in front of her closet again. She'd wasted several hours trying on one outfit after another without success. Her dressy clothes seemed too dressy and her casual clothes seemed too casual. It was tempting to just wear her scrubs, pretending she'd just come home from work.

Now she was being ridiculous. She pulled out a pair of black slacks and a Christmas green turtleneck sweater. Tilting her head, she took in her reflection.

Not terrible, she thought. She ran her fingers through her long hair, added a touch of makeup to bring out her brown eyes and highlight her high cheekbones. The one feature she shared with her gorgeous sister.

When her doorbell buzzer rang, she gave a start, knocking her hairbrush to the floor. With a deep sigh, she picked it back up and smoothed a hand over her hip.

Willing her heart to settle down, she hurried downstairs to let Adam in.

* * *

Adam’s mouthwent dry when he saw Krista. How in the world had Austin remembered her as being plain? She was beautiful.

Amazingly, send-your-heart-into-asystole, beautiful.

“Hi Adam, come on in.” She stepped back, allowing him into the secured area of her apartment building.

Secure was a misnomer. The lock didn't look very sturdy he thought as he followed her to the second floor. Any man intent on getting in wouldn't allow that flimsy barrier to stop him.

“Can I get you something to drink?” She glanced at him over her shoulder as they went into her apartment. He looked around, not surprised to discover she'd made a home out of practically nothing. The small space was decorated to the hilt for Christmas–a wreath on the door, tiny bells dangling from the curtains over her windows, a decent sized tree in the corner of her living room, branches laden with ornaments. Popcorn and cranberry garland, which he felt certain she'd made herself, encircled the tree.

“No thanks, I'm fine.” He slid his hands into his jacket pockets when he saw the mistletoe hanging over her doorway. Maybe if he kept his hands tucked away, he wouldn’t pull her into his arms for a kiss. “My parents are serving hot cidar before dinner, if you don't mind heading straight over?”

Her bright smile sent a shaft of desire straight through him. Danger, he thought, taking a hasty step back. He was entering the danger zone.

---