The Homespun Holiday (7 page)

Millie laughed.  “I don’t think you
need to worry too much.  Your foot is safe for now.  Last I heard, John was
drinking his way through Louisiana.  He got some kind of job down there and is
now remarried.  No kids though, thank God.”

“He sounds like a Grade A idiot,”
Mack grumbled.  “Just promise me that if he shows back up causing trouble,
you’ll let me know.  Neither Paisley or you needs that kind of garbage in your
lives.”

Millie nodded slowly.  “I promise. 
It sounds like he and Tiffany would probably get on like gangbusters though,
doesn’t it?  They both sound like terrible human beings,” Millie pointed out,
trying to lighten the mood.

“That’s because they both
are
miserable
people,” Mack returned without a hint of apology in his voice.  “At least you
got something awesome from your dick of an ex-husband though.  He left you with
Paisley.  All Tiff left me with was a mountain of credit card debt that I
didn’t know about.”

“You’ve got me there,” Millie
agreed easily.  “Paisley is the best part of him – even if he doesn’t know it.”

“Don’t give him all the credit,
babe.  That kid is your mini-me.  She’s cute as hell.  Especially when she bats
those long eyelashes at ya.  The little devil knows that’s how she can get me
to cave to just about anything,” he admitted ruefully.

Millie grinned widely at that
tidbit of information.  “Don’t feel bad.  That’s how she gets me and her
grandparents to do her bidding, too.  You should know that she’s beyond excited
to help you decorate for Christmas tomorrow.  But between you and me, I think
she’s more excited to see Nugget again.  Since she got to play with him this
summer, she still talks about him all the time.”

“I guess getting her a puppy for
her
Christmas present would be out of the question?” he asked, sounding slightly
hopeful.

“Don’t even joke about that,” she
replied hastily, shaking her head in denial.  “As much as I’d love to make her
happy, I barely have time to keep little Miss P and I organized.  I can’t
imagine adding a dog into the mix right now.    Besides, I thought you didn’t
shop for presents,” Millie teased him, hoping to take the sting out of her
steadfast refusal.

“I make exceptions for cute kids
and their moms,” he declared with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

Millie chuckled and rolled her
eyes.  “If you give me a second, I’ll grab my shoes and be ready to go,” she
said, walking to the hall closet where most of her shoes seemed to migrate. 
She opened the door and scanned the floor for a pair of heels that would work
with her dress.  Spotting a classic pair of black leather pumps with a three
inch heel, she dug them out quickly and shoved her feet into the shoes.  “So,
where are we going, anyway?” she asked over her shoulder, gratified to find his
eyes glued to her ass.  It was nice to feel like she still had that special
something that kept a man interested.

“Well, before I saw you in that
dress, I was going to take you to the Longhorn.  We’ve got reservations for
7:30.  Now, I’m not so sure.  You… in that dress… looking the way you do right
now… it’s a bar fight waiting to happen,” he said, his dark eyes gleaming with
masculine interest as he watched her turn to face him.  “Damn, you had to go
and add those shoes.  Now I’m positive there’ll be a fight if I take you out.”

Millie blushed.  “I seriously think
you’re overestimating the male sex’s interest in me, Doc.”

“And I
know
you’re
underestimating your own beauty,” Mack countered evenly, watching as she
approached him.  When she was in arm’s reach, he moved quickly, capturing her
hips and pulling her against him.  “I love that there isn’t a conceited bone in
your body, but you need to understand exactly how sexy you are, Millicent.”

Millie gasped as his hands
tightened on her waist, tugging at her until she was flush against his hard
body, the very stiff proof of his interest in her stabbing into the soft flesh
of her abdomen.  Looking up into his tense face, she was intrigued by the
little muscle jumping in his jaw.  It was as if he was barely hanging onto his
control.

“You feel that?” he asked, gently
pushing his pelvis against her until she gasped.

“Y-yes,” she breathed, unable to
break away from his hypnotic gaze.

“That’s what you did, Millie.  No
one else is here.  Just you.  You’re gorgeous.  Innocent beauty wrapped up in
an achingly sexy shell.”

“I…you don’t need to say things
like that to me just to make me feel good,” Millie whispered, as her breath
began to pass from her lips in little gusts of air.  

“I don’t lie, Millicent.  And you
should know by now that I very rarely do anything I don’t want to do.  And I
never say things that I don’t mean, baby.  You’re old enough to be able to
recognize when a man’s truly interested.  But in case you’ve forgotten, I’ll
tell you this much.  A man can’t fake a hard-on, darlin’.  The one I’m packing
right now is all you’re doing.”

“Oh, boy,” Millie murmured,
exhaling a shaky breath just as his firm lips covered her mouth.  Startled, she
gasped, her lips parting as Mack’s tongue drove forward, plundering her mouth
in a deep, wet kiss.  And, dear Heavenly Father, could that man kiss!  Mack
might not have dated for a while, but he still knew his way around a woman’s
mouth.  He teased her tongue with his, drawing her closer as one of his hands
moved to cup her ass.  Gripping his shoulders, she nestled her body against
his, pressing her mouth harder against his while her nipples pebbled behind the
silk cups of her bra.  Just when she thought her knees would give out on her,
he slowly pulled his lips from hers, staring down at her with glittering eyes.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen,”
he declared in a voice roughened by passion, “but, I’ll be damned if I say I’m
sorry.  I think that might have been the best kiss I think I’ve ever shared
with a woman.”

“I know it’s the best kiss I’ve
ever had from a man,” Millie returned breathlessly, silently loving the way he
held her closely to him, cradling her neck with one hand while the other
continued to squeeze her ass.

Mack smiled at that.  “Good to
know.  But I’m gonna let you go now and you’re gonna take one step back,” he
informed her gently.

“Why?” Millie asked absently.

“Because if I don’t, I’m gonna find
the nearest flat surface, lay you down, and take something I’m not sure you’re
ready to give me yet,” he shared honestly, moving his hand to gently run the
back of his fingers over the swell of her cheek.

“Okay,” Millie affirmed, trembling
slightly as he slowly released her.  Taking a small step back to put a little
distance between them, she inhaled deeply.  “I can’t believe we just…”

“…kissed?” Mack supplied
helpfully.  “We did.  And I won’t be happy if you act like you want me to take
it back, Mills.  A man does have his pride, you know,” he admonished gently,
his gaze soft as he stared into her eyes.

“I don’t want to take it back; I’m
just not sure what it means,” she explained cautiously.

“Neither do I,” he offered softly. 
“What I do know is that chemistry like what we have together doesn’t come along
very often.  You lit up like the fourth of July the moment I put my hands on
you, Millicent.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, looking
away from him and feeling thoroughly embarrassed.  “It’s been a long time since
a man has paid me that kind of attention,” she muttered defensively.  “I
couldn’t help how…”

“Hey,” Mack interrupted, gently
covering her moving lips with the palm of his hand.  “That wasn’t a criticism,
baby.   I loved it.  And for the record, you aren’t the only one that got lit
up by that kiss.  I don’t remember anything ever feeling as good as your mouth
under mine.”

Shocked and bewildered, Millie
could only stare dumbly at him.  Was he serious right now?  He’d felt that
electrical current running between them, too.  She wasn’t too sure what exactly
it was that she’d felt.  She only knew that his kiss had left her feeling
wildly bereft and completely baffled.  It seemed like his lips had burned a
permanent imprint onto her body.  Yeah, the kiss had been
that
good. 
Phenomenal, even.  But she had no idea what that meant to him or if it would
mean anything at all in the long run to her ongoing relationship with him.  In
short, her mind and her heart were fighting a vicious battle with each other
because while her mind knew that an intimate relationship in the workplace
rarely worked out, her heart wanted desperately for her to try and have a
successful one.

“Babe?” Mack called softly, shaking
her arm gently to get her attention.  Waiting until her eyes had focused on his
face again, he chuckled softly.  “Stop thinking so hard.  There’s steam rising
from your ears.  Just go grab your coat and purse.  Let’s go have a nice dinner
and then we’ll go back to my place and talk.”

“I’m not sure that a stop by your
place is such a great idea,” Millie stated worriedly.

Seeing her dubious gaze settle on
him, he grinned again.  “Don’t look at me like that.  We were going to go by my
house so you could get a feel for what decorations I’d need, remember?   I’ve
got no imminent plans to seduce you.  At least, I don’t have any plans for
tonight,” Mack amended quickly when Millie opened her mouth to object.

“Fine,” Millie relented.  “But you
keep your lips to yourself until we figure out what the hell we’re doing here. 
Got it?” she asked, pointing her index finger toward his nose.

“Got it,” he agreed.  “But Millie,”
he began, waiting until she turned to look at him again before he spoke.  “I
already know what’s going on with me, babe.   I figured it out the second my
mouth touched yours.   I’m just waiting on you to catch up.”

Startled by his words, Millie
curled one of her hands into a tight fist, the nails of her hand digging into
her palm.  The small bite of pain assured her that this was no dream. 
Mackenzie Daniels really was here saying these things to her.  She’d really
kissed him, and they’d
both
really enjoyed it.

“Millie.  Get your very firm ass in
gear before I decide that I want a tour of your house.  Specifically, your
bedroom,” he warned gruffly.

“I’ll just grab my coat and bag,”
she agreed quickly, spinning on her heel as she sprinted for her jacket.

Several hours later, Mack let
himself back into his own house, and for the first time in a long time, he
entered his home smiling.    His dog greeted him at the door.  Patting Nugget
on the head as he tossed his keys in the ceramic dish on the entry table beside
the front door, Mack slowly made his way to his favorite recliner.

Sitting down, he released a long
breath as he leaned his head back and focused his stare on the dog sitting at
his feet, staring at him with something Mack could have sworn was amusement. 
“Don’t look at me like that, Nug.  So what if I’m falling for her.  You try to
bite everybody that walks through the door, but you fell in love with Millie
the second she came over the threshold.  You’ve got no room to judge me,” he
admonished his judgmental dog.  Grinning while Nugget stretched his massive
body out at his feet, Mack silently went back over the last few hours in his
mind.

As far as first dates went (and
yeah, he wasn’t going to try fooling himself any longer… this had definitely
been a date), this one had, without a doubt, been the best first date he’d ever
had.  Maybe it was because he’d known Millie for several months and knew they
had things in common.  Perhaps, it was great because he’d made up his mind to
be himself and not try to disguise the gruff, surly asshole he knew he could
be.  Millie knew what he was like, anyway.  She’d have known if he was putting
on an act for her, so he didn’t bother.  Crazily enough, she seemed to enjoy
his company in whatever form it came.

The bottom line was they’d had a
great time together tonight, and it was undeniable that they shared an insanely
hot chemistry when they were together.  He could still taste her kiss on his
lips.  Millie’s unique flavor of strawberries and wine was branded on his
tongue, and he knew that no matter how many women he kissed, it would be her
sweet addictive taste he craved until the day he died.      

“Fuck,” Mack groaned.  “I’m waxing
poetic like a damn girl with her first crush,” he said out loud, chuckling at
his plight as he shook his head in amazement.  He couldn’t help how he felt,
though.  Hell, if he was honest, he was a little relieved that he could feel
this way at all.  He’d honestly thought that his ex-wife had killed his ability
to feel anything beyond the most basic of emotions for anyone. 

Luckily, however, Tiff had only
soured him against women.  She hadn’t completely ruined him.  If she had, he
wouldn’t be able to feel this way about Millie.

Now, he wasn’t a man that would say
he believed in love at first sight, insta-love, or any of that other bullshit
(he did still have his balls, after all), but he could say – without the worry
of losing a single man point -  that the way Millie had made him feel tonight
was pretty damn close.  He’d been seeing her for months around the office, but
tonight he’d really
seen
her.  He’d seen all of her.  The beauty… the
maturity… the shy girl that lurked just behind the eyes of the stunning woman
he already knew.  And all of it – every single bit – he liked.  No, fuck it. 
He loved. 

God, his sister would have a field
day with these budding feelings he was having when she arrived in a little over
twenty-four hours.  Yeah, his sibling was gonna give him hell.  Bree had told
him love would creep up on his ass again when he was least expecting it, and
damn if the little brat hadn’t been right.  Again.

He gave brief consideration to the
idea of trying to hide his changing feelings for Millie from his family, but
just as quickly dismissed the notion.  Pretending that he didn’t feel anything
for her when he very much did would only drive him nuts and potentially
alienate her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.  Millie wasn’t a
dirty, little secret, and he’d be damned if he treated her like one.  No, he’d
endure his sister’s endless teasing and “I-told-you-so”s if it meant he could
be with the beautiful woman that worked for him.

He’d wasted enough time trying to
ignore the gifts that fate had put right in front of him.  He’d spent way too many
years wallowing in self-pity, avoiding relationships in a bid to protect his
heart from being broken again.  He’d shunned romantic entanglements for years
because he didn’t want to risk putting his heart back on the line, but when you
found a woman… or rather, the
right
woman, he found that it was easy to
throw caution to the wind and take a chance.  After spending tonight with
Millicent, he knew, unequivocally that she was that woman. 

Tonight, he realized that he was
sitting across the table from his future, staring her in the eyes.  And instead
of being terrified…instead of wanting to bolt… he’d wanted to snatch her up and
never let her go.

It was crazy.  It was happening
entirely too fast.  He was entirely too cynical and jaded for a woman as sweet and
kind as Millie, but none of that mattered.  Tonight, his heart had recognized
its mate, and it wasn’t keen on letting her go – not for a minute or hour or
day.

He reached into his pocket for his
phone and dialed her number before he allowed good logic to change his mind. 
He wanted to hear her voice, dammit.  He’d made himself take her home earlier
even when both his dick and his heart had screamed at him to make her stay with
them.  He’d be damned if he deprived himself of this small joy.

“Hello,” her sweet, sleepy voice
greeted him groggily.  “Doc?”

“Hey,” he murmured quietly into the
phone, grimacing when he realized that he’d woken her up.  Even half-asleep,
she sounded sexy as hell.  He’d spent the better part of the evening with his
tongue in her mouth once they’d gotten back to his place after dinner, and he
still wanted more.  Shifting uncomfortably, he adjusted his stiffening dick in
his pants.  “Were you sleeping?”

“Just dozing,” Millie replied with
a gentle laugh.  “What’s up?”

Mack wracked his mind for an
explanation he could offer for his call.  Telling her that he missed the sound
of her voice made him sound like a pussy.  And he wasn’t quite ready to appear
that vulnerable to her – at least not yet.  So, he lied.  “I realized that we’d
never worked out a time for me to pick you and Paisley up tomorrow.”

Millie snorted.  “And here I
thought you might be calling to say that you missed me.  Silly, huh?’ she
questioned with a self-deprecating chuckle.

“Not so silly at all.  I was
calling for that reason, I just was too much of a pussy to cop to it,” Mack
returned truthfully.  

“Really?” Millie asked
breathlessly.

“Yeah,” Mack confirmed.  “Although,
the other thing is true, too.  What time can I come get you and Paisley?”

“Is eight o’clock too early to
start your day?” Millie asked, her quiet voice a little anxious.

“Doesn’t sound soon
enough
to me.  I’m beginning to think I made a mistake taking you home tonight.  I
should have gone with my gut and kept you with me, but I was trying to be a
fuckin’ gentlemen,” he explained ruefully, loving the sound of her laughter
when she began to giggle.

“I’m not so sure we’re ready for
sleepovers yet.  Especially since we never really defined what we were doing
together tonight.  We sorta got occupied doing other things, remember?”

Fuck yes, he remembered.  He’d been
able to think of little else since he’d kissed her goodbye and left her safely
on her doorstep.  After they’d shared a delicious dinner at the Longhorn, he’d
brought her back to his place, ostensibly to show her the place they’d be
decorating tomorrow.  After giving her a quick tour of the sprawling two story
home, they’d found their way back to his living room and his tongue had found
its way back into her mouth.

And Christ, he’d enjoyed the next
hour of his life exchanging long, slow kisses with Millie as he’d stretched her
out on the couch and hovered  above her.  She’d allowed his hands to wander
over almost every inch of her body, learning what she liked, noting which spots
were the most sensitive to his touch.  As he’d expected he’d found the firm,
ripe globes of her breasts to be incredibly responsive to his touch, her
nipples stiffening almost as soon as his hand made contact with her flesh.  He
hadn’t undressed her, so he still had to wonder if those little gems would be
pretty pink or a deeper shade of rose, but the mystery only added to her
allure.   Surprisingly, it was the curve of her neck, especially the dip where
her throat met her shoulder, that was amazingly susceptible to his attention. 
Every time his tongue had swept across that sweet little indentation, her body
had shuddered against his, her erect nipples poking against his chest as she’d
arched her back toward him and moaned his name.

“Yeah, babe, I don’t think I’ll
forget tonight any time soon.  At least not until we replace these memories
with even better ones,” he replied, his voice a little hoarse with unfulfilled
passion. 

“That will be hard since tonight
was pretty close to perfect for me,” Millie shared in a hushed voice.    

“You should know, I’m gonna take
that statement as a challenge, sweet Millicent,” Mack notified her, thankful
she couldn’t see the wicked grin on his face.

“Do I need to be scared?” Millie
questioned coyly.

“Scared, no.  Prepared,
absolutely,” he warned seriously, his body relaxing as he heard her breath
catch.  He loved making her make that sound.

“Why do I feel like I just went on
the endangered species list?” Millie asked a tad apprehensively.

“Probably because you’re not a
stupid woman.  Sweet dreams, babe.  I’ll see you in a few hours,” Mack assured
her before ending the call.  

Putting his feet up in his
recliner, Mack smiled at the wall, content in the knowledge that in a few short
hours, she and her daughter would be back under his roof, decorating for the
holidays.  Sure, he hated Christmas, and decking his house out in a holiday-themed
makeover was gonna cost a mint, but the price would be worth it if he got to
spend more time with his two favorite girls. 

And as he closed his eyes,
imagining them all under his roof, he couldn’t help hoping that this time next
year that Millie wasn’t sleeping ten minutes away from him.  He prayed she’d be
in the next room, in his bed, waiting for him.