“No, because there is something incredibly sexy about a woman who’s confident in the kitchen.”
Kathleen laughed. “Good answer. I’m very confident when it comes to my chocolate mousse. How does that sound? Or would you prefer something more manly and substantial like a cake?”
“The mousse will definitely do,” he said with enthusiasm. “Can I lick—” he gave her a look meant to curl her toes, then completed the thought “—the spoon?”
Kathleen’s knees had turned rubbery somewhere in the middle of the sentence, but she kept herself steady with some effort. “You can lick any utensil you want to,” she agreed. “And then you can wash the dishes.” She gave him a warning look. “And I tend to be a very messy cook.”
Ben laughed. “A small price to pay. Shall we walk to your place, or do you want to ride?”
“It’s only a few blocks,” she said. “Let’s walk.”
Though the night air was cold, the December sky was clear and signs of Christmas were everywhere. There was a tree lot on a corner and the fragrance of pine and spruce filled the air with an unmistakable holiday scent.
“Do you have your tree yet?” Ben asked as they drew closer to the small lot.
“No, I usually wait till the last second, because I have to get the store decorations done first. Sometimes the only festive touch at home is a small, artificial tree that’s predecorated.”
He looked aghast at that. “You can’t be serious.”
“Why on earth not?” she asked. “It hardly seems worth the effort just for me. I’m rarely at home during the holidays, and by Christmas Day I’m usually visiting my family.”
He seemed surprised. “The mother who infuriates you?”
“And the stepfather of the moment, plus my grandparents,” she told him. “I can take a day of all that, then I run back here as quickly as possible.”
Ben’s expression turned thoughtful and then he halted in front of the trees. “I think it’s time that changed. Pick out a tree, the biggest one on the lot, the one you used to imagine when you were a little girl.”
“I don’t need a tree. Besides, I certainly can’t fit a huge tree into my house,” she protested, though she was just a little charmed by the idea of it.
“We’ll make it fit,” he said, clearly not intending to give up. “Come on now. Pick one. I’ll put it up while you fix dinner. We can play Christmas carols and sing along.”
The whole idea sounded temptingly domestic. In fact, it reminded Kathleen of all the dreams she’d once had for the perfect holiday season. Instead, most of her holidays had been spent avoiding arguments that quickly escalated into something nasty. She couldn’t recall a single Christmas that bore any resemblance to those happy occasions she’d read about in storybooks.
Ben’s desire to give her one more thing she’d always longed for cut through all of her practical objections and had her walking amid the fragrant trees without another hesitation.
She sniffed deeply as the vendor held up first one tree and then another for her inspection. Ben did all the practical things. He tested needles and checked the trunk to see if it was straight. Kathleen concentrated on finding a tree that filled her senses with the right scent, a tree that was perfectly shaped for hanging ornaments.
When she found it at last, she overcame all of Ben’s objections about the curve in the trunk. “Who cares if it’s a little crooked? We can use fishing line to make sure it doesn’t topple over. This one smells like Christmas.”
He regarded her with amusement. “Your heart is really set on this one because it smells right?”
“Absolutely,” she said, drawing in another deep breath of the strong spruce aroma. Heavenly. If the tree didn’t have a decoration or light on it, she could be satisfied with that scent alone filling her house.
“I guess this is it, then,” Ben told the vendor.
The man winked at her. “Don’t let him put you off, miss. It’s a beauty. Would you like me to bring it around to your house when I close up?”
“No,” Ben said. “We can manage.”
Kathleen gave him a skeptical look but took him at his word. He hoisted the tree up as if it weighed no more than a feather and despite its awkward size, carried it along easily for the remaining two blocks to her house.
Once inside, she helped him find a spot for it in the living room. “There,” she said, standing back to admire the tree leaning against the wall. “That will be perfect, don’t you think so?”
When she glanced at Ben, he was looking not at the tree, but at her.