By Proxy(42)

Sam had kissed a lot of girls in his life. A lot. So the fact that this girl—this sweet, beautiful, country girl who tasted like fresh air and sunshine—could make shivers run down his arms told him something. If he hadn’t been sure before, he was sure now. He was definitely falling for Jenny Lindstrom.

Her knees must have buckled a little because he felt her lean into him, and he wondered if she could feel his hardness against the soft cradle of her hips.

She turned her head away and broke off the fledgling kiss before he could deepen it any further, stepping back in his arms and looking up at his face. He stared at her lips in amazement. He noted no difference in them and yet they were permanently changed for Sam. He had touched them, tasted them, and staring at them now—for one brief, desperate moment, he wished they belonged to him.

When he met her eyes, she smiled at him, tentatively at first, then with more confidence as she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

“Jenny, I—”

“Me too, Sam.” She opened her eyes and his breath caught. Was the tenderness in her eyes just a mirror of his own?

“Jenny.”

He was lost in her eyes; the same bright eyes he’d seen flash with spirit and kindness, were now heavy-lidded with passion. If he kept staring, he’d kiss her again. He’d kiss her senseless. He’d kiss her until tomorrow morning if she let him. But he didn’t want to scare her; he didn’t want to ruin anything as amazing as the kiss they’d just shared.

She didn’t resist him as he pulled her against his body and put his arms around her, leaning down to lay his cheek on her shoulder, closing his eyes. She smelled of shampoo and wind and outdoors, fresh and clean. He waited, breathlessly, to see if she would pull away, but after a moment, he felt her arms go around his back, palms flat against his shoulder blades. She gently leaned her head sideways, resting it on top of his.

Wild promises and impetuous declarations flooded his mind at the threshold of such sweetness, but one prevailing thought stilled them all: Holding her is the best feeling in the whole world.

He felt her lift her head and start to pull away, so he leaned back, looking at her face, smiling into her eyes. She wriggled back from him and unlocked the door then turned to face him, offering him her hand. “Come stroll with me?”

He took her hand and let himself be led out the door.

***

Gardiner loved Christmastime. The street was festooned with sparkling red and white lights like blinking candy canes, zigzagging across the small Main Street. Hundreds of people walked in and out of stores, restaurants and boutiques, greeting one another cheerfully with “Merry Christmas!” A musical system piped jolly carols through the small Main Street area, and as the strains of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” filled the air, a rascally smile spread across Sam’s face. He squeezed Jenny’s hand, feeling happiness bubble up inside of him, caught up in the festive fun of a country Christmas Stroll. Not that he would admit it to anyone, even under torture, but the sweet, sexy Christmas song was actually one of his favorites, and he knew the words by heart. 'Cause I just want you here tonight holding on to me so tight. What more can I do? Baby all I want for Christmas is you…Ooh baby…

It was nothing like Chicago, which also bustled at Christmastime in a teeming, moving mass of people who moved anonymously in their own worlds, consumed with their own lives, shopping, pleasure. It had been a long time since Sam had been surrounded by such a genuine sense of community, and he realized how terribly he must have been missing the wholesome cheerfulness of the Montana Christmases of his childhood and youth. The engaging familiarity of attending Jenny’s Christmas Stroll was not only like restoring a forgotten memory but reviving it totally to see it bright and blazing before his eyes.

Sam kept Jenny’s hand tightly laced with his as she directed their course. Her plan was to walk all the way down Main Street to enjoy the decorations and lights then have dinner at the Grizzly Guzzle Grill across the bridge, where Lars worked as a bartender, and finally catch the tree lighting at Arch Park near the Yellowstone entrance.

“Heya, Jenny.” “Hi, Miss Lindstrom.” “Hello, Jenny!” It seemed everyone who passed them knew Jenny, and she received more than a few curious looks just as she had the night before. Sam also noticed with narrowing eyes that every man in Gardiner suddenly seemed to have the pretty schoolteacher on his radar. More than one did a double take as they walked by, nodding appreciatively as they took a second look.

With a bit of bemusement, he realized it wasn’t totally unlike walking into a club with Pepper, except Jenny seemed completely oblivious to the attention, smiling and greeting people as kindly as she had the evening before. What a difference in these two women. Both beautiful, but one knows it and one doesn’t. He was quickly coming to find he preferred the modest lack of awareness in the latter.