***
As soon as he closed the living room doors, Brett pulled Hannah into his arms. He needed to kiss her as much as he needed to breathe. In his entire life, he’d never felt this way about anyone, and it terrified him.
When her lips opened under his, he pulled her closer, groaning as her hands tangled in his hair. It was so good to be close to her, to show her what she meant to him. But it wasn’t enough. He needed to find out if Hannah felt the same way or if he was a temporary distraction before she left for Vancouver.
Her mouth left his. If he thought kissing her was crazy, the hot little kisses she left on his neck made him crazier. He wanted to carry her back to his cottage and never let her go.
“Hannah…”
She murmured something against his neck.
He held her hands, gently pulling them away from his chest. “We need to talk.”
She leaned against him and sighed. “Now?”
He wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her one last time before letting go. “Come with me.”
She held his hand as they climbed the stairs.
“Where are we going?”
“To Pat’s office. The rest of the Christmas decorations are there.”
“We really left the living room to get the decorations?”
“Someone needs to get them, so it might as well be us.”
“And our kiss?”
He glanced at her and frowned. “That’s what we need to talk about.”
They walked into Pat’s office. Brett looked at the sturdy wooden desk, the rug that had belonged to Pat’s father. Photographs of the ranch and the McConachie family lined the walls. Mixed up in the haphazard arrangement of images were photos of Stevie and Brett, and a few of Mary-Beth. Everything in this office reminded him of what it meant to be part of a family.
He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned to Hannah. “I want to talk about us. About where we go to from here.”
She looked worried.
Brett took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he wanted to say. “I’ve been thinking about you. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the night we met at Charlie’s Bar and Grill.”
Hannah stared at him with the same serious expression that always confused him.
He tried for the more direct approach. “I like you. A lot. Do you like me?”
“Yes, but—”
“Why does there always have to be a ‘but’?”
“Because nothing is ever straightforward.”
“What can be more straightforward than two people being attracted to each other?”
“Because attraction leads to other things. And before you know it, you’re not the same person any more.”
He was getting even more confused. “Your life always changes when you meet someone you like.”
Hannah crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I don’t want to change. Deciding to move to Bozeman was the best thing Claire and I ever did. When I applied for the residency in Vancouver, it felt just as right. And then I met you, and everything…”
“Changed?”
