White-Hot Holiday(11)

She caught herself licking her lips and realized her breathing had quickened. In the mirror she saw her flushed skin and wide eyes. Good God, she was only thinking of Aaron’s kisses and look what he did to her.

She shouldn’t have pulled away from him. She should have kissed him back. She pressed her fingers to her cheeks, alarmed at her wayward thoughts. And excited.

Yes, she should go out there andand talk to Aaron again. Let him know she appreciated him. And maybe he’d kiss her again.

She fluffed up her hair, straightened her dress, spritzed on a dash of perfume. It wasn’t even nine thirty yet. The night was still young. Anything could happen.

Heart pounding, she made her way through the rambling house. The family room was dim and empty. Through the glass doors, she spotted Aaron’s tall shadow on the deck, leaning against the railings. Inhaling a deep breath, she walked outside.

Aaron was holding Milo in his arms, scratching the pup behind the ears. As soon as he caught sight of her, he stilled. Though darkness cloaked him, she could sense the sudden alertness in him as he straightened to face her.

She smoothed her dress with hands that twitched. “Um, it’s nice out here.”

“Yes, it sure is.” His voice was rather reserved. He resumed kneading Milo’s ears.

She took a couple of steps closer. “I just wanted to say thank you for taking me to dinner. It was very thoughtful of you.”

He inclined his head but didn’t say anything. Naomi hesitated, unsure how to proceed. It was kind of difficult seducing a man when he was holding a puppy.

Then, he said in a lighter tone, “I’m still hungry, though. How about you?”

She breathed a little easier. “Yeah, I am too.” At the restaurant she’d been too agitated to eat, but now her body craved sustenance. “Why don’t I make us toasted cheese sandwiches?”

“That sounds great.” Grinning, he lowered Milo to the floor. “I’ll help you.”

Naomi was pretty sure toasted cheese sandwiches wouldn’t make the top-ten list of ways to entice a man, but at least some of the awkwardness between them had disappeared. They went into the kitchen, where she got out the makings and switched on the sandwich press. Aaron rolled up his sleeves and buttered the bread, while she sliced cheese and tomato. Making sandwiches together was nice, she thought. She might not get to kiss Aaron again, but she enjoyed hanging out with him.

“My mom used to make me grilled cheese sandwiches when I was a teenager,” Aaron said as he helped her assemble the sandwiches. “I seemed to be hungry all the time.”

“I bet she spoils you with food every time you visit.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what mothers are like. Even though I’ve been looking after myself all these years, she’s convinced I must be starving for some real food.”

She liked it when he talked about his family. It made him sound more grounded, less high-flying. She slid the sandwiches onto the press and closed the lid. “What’s your favorite food of hers?”

“Let’s see.” Aaron tapped a knife against the breadboard. “That’d have to be the pumpkin marshmallows she makes every Christmas. I have to admit they’re the one thing I do look forward to in December.”

“Pumpkin marshmallows? Is that roasted pumpkin with marshmallow on top?”

“No, they’re marshmallow squares made from cooked pumpkin and some other ingredients. I have no idea how they’re made. All I know is that no one makes them like my mom.”

As Naomi glanced up at him, she caught the fleeting, wistful expression on his face. Deep down, Aaron was a softie, even if he didn’t think so himself. Her heart warmed toward him, and the temptation to push him up against the kitchen counter and kiss him madly set a tremble through her. His woody cologne mingled with the scent of toasting cheese. His bare forearms, revealed by his rolled up sleeves, brushed against hers. Desire flooded her, and she couldn’t resist running her hand up his arm.

His eyebrows shot up. “Naomi?” The question hung in his husky voice.

The soft hairs on his arm tickled her palm, sending a current through her. Curling her fingers around his forearm, she nudged him toward her. He responded, his breathing quickening as he shifted in her direction. But instead of taking the initiative and drawing her into his arms—as she desperately hoped—he rested his back against the counter and inspected her with narrowed eyes.

“Can you make things clear for the dumb male here? Are you going to kiss me for real now or push me away after one little peck?”

Lust and warning glinted in his eyes. She swallowed at his candor. Fair enough, she had been sending out mixed signals. Striving for clarity, she glided her hand down his arm to his wrist, and he responded by twining his fingers through hers, the dry heat of his palm against hers making her heart break into a fast patter.

“I was silly earlier.” She raised her chin to gaze straight into his eyes. “I was reading too much into the situation. Overcomplicating things.”

“You got that right.” His lips quirked into a teasing smile. “Nothing complicated about a kiss. Just lips and mouth and maybe—if a guy’s lucky—a little tongue.” His thumb leisurely caressed her palm, shooting heat straight to her breasts. Oh sweet heaven, how she wanted a little of his tongue anywhere on her. But then his thumb grew still, and he heaved a sigh. “On the other hand, you do have a point about complications.”

This was definitely not what she was expecting. “Oh?”

He sighed again and looked down at their intertwined fingers. “I don’t want to do anything that might upset Luke.”

“Luke warned you off me?”

“Yeah. I’m afraid he did.”

“You’re very loyal, but it’s a little insulting to me.” Her fingers tightened involuntarily around his. “Luke is my favorite uncle, but he’s not the guardian of my virtue, and he has no say over who I can or can’t kiss.”

Aaron’s eyes glimmered as temptation warred openly in his expression. “You gotta know how much I want to kiss you if I’m contemplating upsetting your uncle.”

All this talk about her uncle wasn’t exactly conducive to kissing. “Luke is far away in Sydney. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” She tugged at Aaron’s hand, and he closed the gap between them. The flaring heat in his eyes told her she’d convinced him. Her pulses thumped. Her surroundings grew hazy as Aaron lowered his head to hers.

Then the front door banged open with a loud crack. Naomi and Aaron froze. Lights flickered on. Voices murmured. Footsteps grew louder. Milo raced off, yapping ecstatically.

“Hi, we’re home.” Tyler traipsed into the kitchen followed closely by Luke with Chloe curled up in his arms. They stopped as one.

Naomi and Aaron sprang apart. Heat rushed to Naomi’s cheeks as she wondered how much Luke and Tyler had seen. In the sudden silence, a sizzling noise grew louder.

“Oh my frigging Lord!” Naomi dashed forward as she spotted melted cheese oozing out of the sandwich press and dripping onto the kitchen counter.

Tyler went to help her. As they grabbed paper towels, Tyler said to Naomi, “I left a message on your phone telling you we’d be home tonight. Didn’t you get it?”

“Uh, I must have been too busy to check my phone.” She occupied herself with the cheesy mess, glad for the distraction.

Tyler grinned as she glanced at the two men who had moved off to chat while Chloe and Milo greeted each other fervently. “Mm, looks like you’ve been real busy.”

“How is your mother?” Naomi asked in a rush. “Everything work out?”

“I guess it went as well as can be expected.” A pensive expression replaced Tyler’s smile. Tyler’s relationship with her mother had been fraught ever since her mother had dumped her in foster care at an early age. “I think she was glad to see me, even though she couldn’t wait to get rid of me, if you know what I mean.”

Naomi couldn’t imagine being estranged from her mother, and her heart went out to Tyler. She squeezed Tyler’s hand. “You did your best, and I’m glad you’re all back.”

“I couldn’t let Luke miss more time away from Aaron. It’s such a pity he can’t stay longer, don’t you think?” Tyler grinned at Naomi.

“Yeah,” Naomi murmured laconically, hoping her expression didn’t give her away too much. Yes, it was a real pity Aaron wasn’t staying longer. She might not get a chance to kiss him again. On the other hand, in a mere couple of days he’d worked her up to such point where all she could think about was kissing him, so maybe it was a good thing he was leaving so soon.



Another night. Another dinner with Aaron. Except tonight would be very different from last night. For a start, Luke, Tyler, and Chloe were coming too. And they were going to the Red Possum, the unpretentious pub in town with a family-friendly bistro out back. No dressing up, no lamb with stinging nettles, no fancy wines. And no morbid rambling about her breakup, either. That had to be an improvement.

Naomi swiped on some lip gloss and straightened the straps of her casual tank top. She couldn’t decide what she felt about this evening, Aaron’s last night before he left early tomorrow morning. All day she’d felt unsettled, distracted. She’d gone to work at the gift store as usual, except Tyler had accompanied her, not Aaron. A few customers had asked about the charming American, and she’d had to explain that he was spending his final day with Luke. She had to admit she’d missed his company.