“Which one is it? Does your doctor prescribe it to you?”
“Yeah. It’s the prescription-strength ibuprofen bottle.”
“Ibuprofin? I thought it was going to be something much stronger than that.”
“Naw. I have a friend who got in trouble with pills. It’s because of Mary that I won’t touch anything stronger.”
Even while relief flooded through me, I felt a tiny stab of jealousy rear up. “Mary?”
“Yeah. I’m friends with her brother, Boone.”
The way he said that put my mind at ease. Levi didn’t seem to be holding a torch for Mary.
I brought the bottle over to him along with a glass of water.
He took the pill, then studied me for a minute. When he spoke it was almost a growl. “I had fun tonight.”
Nodding, I told him, “I did too. Thanks for taking me around town and introducing me to so many people. This was a really magical day for me, Levi. I’ll never forget it.”
Levi had flirted with me earlier tonight, and now I’d find out if those were just idle words or if he planned to back them up with something hard and hungry.
The man was still in his Santa outfit, and I wanted to jump in his lap and ride him until morning. I’d never felt this way about a man before, and I was swept up in an undercurrent of feelings.
He slipped a hand up to shift my hair to the side, then he caressed the nape of my neck. “Did your adventure to Red Oak Mountain turn out the way you were hoping, Robin?”
I couldn’t help but snuggle in closer to him. “It was better than I ever expected.”
Both the dogs were sleeping by the fire, Hot Cocoa nuzzling against Comet. They’d become fast friends in the span of one day.
And the haunted look that had been in his eyes earlier was gone. Replaced by something light and soft. I couldn’t believe this was the same man I’d walked up on chopping wood earlier today.
“So… it’s getting late,” he rumbled.
“Yeah. And the snowfall’s starting. Do you want me to leave? I can go find a motel.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t mention that to try to chase you off, Robin. I might be reading your signals wrong, but just in case I’m not, would you like to… stay here with me tonight?”
My heart leaped into my chest. He wasn’t trying to gently nudge me out the door. He was trying to nudge me into hisbed.
My voice was squeaky. “How do you feel about that? Would you like me to stay?”
His mouth split into a wide grin underneath the fake Santa beard. His beard was crooked again, and I wanted to take his picture so I could keep this moment forever.
“Yeah, girl. I’d be over the moon if you decided to stay.”
I looked up at him shyly. “I’ve never…”
He stroked the back of my neck softly. “I know. If you’ve never kissed anyone before, I have to presume that means you’ve never been with a man. We don’t have to… unless you want to. We could just hold each other.” He got a goofy expression on his face. “I’d actually like to hold you all night long.”
It was my moment to be brave. I’d waited thirty-one years to find a man who stirred my heart. Now that I’d found him, I wasn’t going to shy away. “I’d like to do more than hold each other. I’d like Santa to give me a special present tonight.”
Levi’s eyes sparkled in the light of the fire.
“Well, what are you waiting for, Robin? Why don’t you crawl up on Santa’s lap and tell me what you want for Christmas?”
Even though this was the moment I’d been hoping for ever since I’d laid eyes on him, I felt shy now. Clumsy. Awkward.
And since he was approaching this in such a light-hearted way, did it mean we were nothing more than a one-night stand?
