“Hello,” I called as she hurried across the sod laid for my lawn—we’d all been flabbergasted to learn that humansfarmed grassto build lawns like this—and I met her halfway down the steps. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s great!” She was breathless and smiling, and I felt like a gust of sweet-smelling wind had just washed over me when she bounced up to me. “I would have texted, but I didn’t know your number, and I wanted to show you some pictures.”
I’d been working remotely for the last decade, as my boss traveled around the world, and if I had been in her shoes, I would have just sent the pictures electronically. But I loved that Brooke printed them out and arranged them in a binder, and I would bedamnedbefore I suggested anything that gave her an excuse to stay away.
So I gestured toward my front door. “I can’t wait to see them. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Oh, hot chocolate would belovely. You remember theMistletoe Mistakewe had at the diner?” When she exhaled, her breath clouded the air in front of her, and she giggled and ducked into the house. “It’s so cold out there! Well…” Green eyes flicked over me briefly. “I guess you don’t think so, Mr. Wears Short Sleeves.”
“I told you,” I teased her as I headed for the kitchen. “I’m from Alaska. This is summer weather to me.”
Gods below, the sound of her laughter went right to my cock.
Hot chocolate. Hot chocolate!I didn’t have any mix, and nothing I could make was going to be as good as the diner’s, but I did have some M&Ms…
When I returned to the living room carrying the mug, Brooke was standing near the front window. She’d removed her gloves and hat and was staring down at her binder?—
No.
She was staring down at my little tree.
Suddenly a little nervous, I thrust the mug toward her. “Here. I microwaved the milk to melt the chocolate.”
Her nose wrinkled adorably as she studied the drink. “It’s brown.”
“Yeah.” I tipped my head closer to hers so I could stare down into the mug. “Chocolate’s brown.”
“This isn’tbrown-brown, it’s like…blue-and-red-and-green-swirled-together-brown.”
Ah. I peered closer. She was right. “That’s all the candy coating from the chocolates I had to use. It’ll add sugar.”
A giggle slipped free, and when she peeked up at me, I realized how close our noses were. I didn’t move away, and neither did she.
I wanted to kiss her. In that moment, I wanted to kiss Brooke more than anything.
But as I swayed toward her, she lifted the mug and took a sip. Her eyes widened with what looked like delight, andI saw her lips curl. “It’s really good!” she announced, lowering it just enough to speak. “Do you want some?”
Yes. I nearly groaned it out loud but managed to swallow down my plea. If I wasn’t careful, I would press against her, pinning her with my body, showing her exactly howmuchI “wanted some.”
But I couldn’t afford to terrify her. Not if we were going to be working together for the next few weeks.
No matterhowmuch I wanted to taste that chocolate on her lips.
So I forced myself to exhale, to straighten, to plaster a polite expression on my face. “I made it for you.”
“Thank you.” Her gaze flickered sideways. “I like your tree.”
“It’s…” I swallowed. “It is smaller than the one you chose.” The one we met under.
Brooke turned toward the potted tree, which should have been disappointing. But somehow her shoulder ended up almost brushing my sternum, and I froze, terrified of scaring her off if I drew her attention to the proximity. If I inhaled, my body would brush against hers…
“And it’s in a pot.”
I heard the teasing in her tone, but didn’t understand it. “What?” I croaked.
With a little grin, she shot me a smile as she sipped her hot chocolate. “You left the root ball intact, didn’t you, Sylvik? You didn’t want to cut down a living tree.”
Forget my earlier good intentions. Because when she said my name? Those chocolate-flavored lips caressing my simple syllables? I swayed forward, having to reach out and grip the edge of the credenza to stay upright.
