12 Christmas Romances To Melt Your Heart (54 page)

T
hey met
at the front of the restaurant and gazed out the large picture window together. The snow was coming down faster and harder as the wind picked up and carried the snow at an angle.

What had been a snowstorm was quickly turning into a blizzard.

“This weather is crazy. Two big snowfalls in Tennessee.” Jake chortled. “I think Mother Nature needs some medication.”

“I don’t know. I’ve always wanted a white Christmas.” Eliza wrapped her arms around her chest and sighed. Watching the snow fall was as hypnotizing as watching a fire. “Although I would prefer to be watching the snow from the comfort of my living room by the fireplace versus a restaurant.”

“Yeah, with a cup of hot chocolate.” He looked at her and grinned. His dimples made her heart do a tumble and she knew from the heat in her face that she was turning all shades of red.

She laughed and looked back at Main Street. “And some Christmas music.”

“Yes. The oldies like Dean Martin.”

“And Bing Crosby,” she said excitedly.

“Nat King Cole,” he added.

She turned and stared at the man in front of her.

“None of this new stuff, either.” He arched his eyebrow.

She pushed her hair away from her face and studied him. “I never pegged you as a sentimental guy. I thought you would equate Christmas with hunting and football.”

He barked out a laugh. Turning to face, her he leaned in a little too close. “Maybe it’s time you opened yourself up to new relationships and getting to know someone.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” She frowned.

“You need to get reacquainted with old friends.” His gaze dropped to her lips. “You might be surprised what you find.”

J
ake never had
to work so hard to get a woman’s attention in his life as he did with Eliza Ross. The woman hadn’t given him two glances in all the years he’d known her and now she was looking at him like he had grown two heads.

She’d been the quiet girl in school, preferring books to boys and studying to partying.

He’d always admired Eliza’s quiet reserve of strength and independence. She was a woman who didn’t need a man. She’d made that perfectly clear when he’d come into the bookstore after he’d returned from college. He’d tried to flirt with her, but either he was rusty or she wasn’t interested. She both confused and confounded him.

And he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

He wondered what her silky brown hair would feel like in his hand. And those damn caramel eyes, well he could just stare into those for days.

So when he’d seen her frantically looking for her cat, he’d jumped at the chance to help. Maybe for once she could see him as someone worthy of her heart.

“Come here.” He reached for her hand. The warmth of her small palm in his made his heart tingle. It was a feeling he was not used to.

“What?” She gave him an unsure look as she nibbled on her full bottom lip. A lip he would love to be nibbling on.

He groaned and tried to get his overheated body under control. He didn’t want to scare her off by acting like a damn caveman. He took a deep breath and led her over to a booth by the window.

He motioned for her to sit. She slid into the booth, keeping her gaze locked on him. She looked unsure.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He headed for the kitchen, praying for the ingredients he would need.

“Where would I go,” she mumbled.

He grinned. He liked that about her. She didn’t play games like a lot of the women he’d dated in the past.

Once in the kitchen, he searched the stainless-steel cabinets and grinned when he finally pulled out the container of hot cocoa mix.

Grabbing some milk from the industrial-size refrigerator, he pulled out a pot and began to slowly heat the milk until it was hot.

Pulling out two mugs from a cabinet, he mixed the chocolate and the milk together in the cups.

Grinning to himself, he walked out of the kitchen.

Surprise flashed in her eyes as he handed her the hot mug of chocolate.

“Thank you.” The corners of her lips quirked upward before she took a sip of the hot drink.

“Mmmmm. This is perfect.” She closed her eyes and smiled as she savored the warm treat.

He almost dropped his cup as he watched Eliza lost in pleasure. His mind went to a whole other kind of pleasure he’d like to give her.

Her eyes popped open and she looked at him. “Thank you. This was very thoughtful.”

“You’re welcome,” he managed to croak out. He shook his head and slid into the booth. He needed to get a grip.

They sat in silence as the snow blew across Main Street and the skies turned dark gray. A flash of lightning lit up the dark clouds as thunder pealed in the sky.

“Wow. Thunder snow. That’s something you don’t see often.”

“I think this snowstorm is going to be worse than the last, I saw the snow plows salting the roads earlier today,” he added.

She set her mug on the table and pressed her forehead to the window, looking right and then left.

“There’s no sign of anyone.” She glanced at him. “How is someone going to see the lights on if everyone is at home?”

“The cops will see it. You know they will patrol the streets. I saw Sloan and Mitch getting snow chains for their tires at the garage today.” Sloan and Mitch were two of Cloverton’s finest. They’d played high school football together and they were two of the few friends he still hung out with. They didn’t seem to mind he hadn’t gone on to play professional football. To them, he was just Jake.

“You’re right. There’s no need to worry.” She laughed before taking another sip of her hot chocolate.

Meow.

Miss Kitty jumped up on the table and rubbed her face against Eliza’s fingers, seeking attention. She laughed and scratched the cat under the chin as it let out a contented purr.

He held out his hand, and the cat wound its tail around his arm as it rubbed its head against his knuckles.

“Wow, she likes you.”

“You sound surprised.” He arched his brow.

She laughed. “She doesn’t usually take to new people.”

“Well, I’m not exactly new. You’ve known me all your life,” he reminded gently.

“Yeah, well, just because you grow up with someone doesn’t mean you’re a part of their lives. You and I had a totally different circle of friends. You were the popular high school football player with a ton of friends.” She turned back to the window and gazed out. “I was the nerd who liked to hang out at the library and had only a handful of friends.”

He set his coffee mug down and reached out. Lifting her chin with his fingertips, he forced her to meet his gaze.

“You had more friends than I did. It took me a long time to realize that not everyone was my friend. I lost a lot of friends when I went off to college. You went to college and came back and your friends were the same. I know you, Allison and Tabitha still hang out. Me, not so much. In a lot of ways you came out better than I did.”

S
he frowned
as she considered his words. “I never thought about it like that. I just figured that your life looked so perfect. I guess I shouldn’t be so quick to judge.”

He nodded as his fingertips gently trailed to her jawbone. Once he started touching her, he couldn’t seem to stop.

“It made me take a long hard look at everything in my life.” The words flowed out as his heart pounded in his ears.

“It did?” Her pupils dilated and her lips parted.

“It made me realize that there were some risks I hadn’t taken. It made me regret how much time I wasted in high school with people I didn’t really like. Truth be told they probably didn’t really like me either. If I could do that part of my life over, I would I would focus more on my grades even though it wasn’t the cool thing to do. I would spend more time reading and not care who gave me shit for it. And I sure as hell would risk asking out a girl who I knew wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

Her eyes widened slightly.

“And if I ever got that girl alone I wouldn’t miss my chance to kiss her.” He leaned in closer.

“You wouldn’t?” Her pink tongue swiped across her lips, wetting her mouth.

“I wouldn’t.” His heart hammered in his chest as her sweet perfume seemed to pull him closer like a magnet.

It was now or never. He needed this. He’d dreamed of this. There was no going back.

He angled his head as his finger slid across her skin and cradled the back of her slender neck. She sucked in a gasp of surprise but didn’t pull away. Her lips parted. That was all he needed.

He brushed his lips across hers. The second they touched, a warm jolt shot through his body. He kissed her gently, nibbling on her full, silky lips and savoring her warmth.

He held his breath, waiting for her to push him away and slap him. But when she didn’t stop him, he deepened the kiss. He slid his tongue between her lips, tasting her sweet, warm mouth. He groaned as she kissed him back, brushing her tongue shyly against his in an intimate dance.

He wished the damn table wasn’t between them so he could pull her into his lap and kiss her until she would never think of another man again.

Breathing heavily, he pulled back and looked into her heavy-lidded gaze. What he wouldn’t give to have her look at him like that for the rest of his life.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.”

“You have?” Her voice was thick with lust.

“Yes, I…”

The creaking sound of a tree limb cracking drew their attention back to the window. A tree only a few feet away from the window was leaning to one side from the weight of the snow and ice. A large limb snapped and landed on a low-hanging electric line, sending tiny sparks into the air.

“Oh, no.” he mumbled. Unease settled in his gut. He knew what was coming next.

“What?”

Before he could answer, the lights flickered before going out.

“Well, that was the electric line.”

“And our only hope of getting out of here.” Her eyes widened. She scooped up Miss Kitty in her arms and held her close.

“Don’t worry. It will be okay.”

“We’re locked in a restaurant where the lights just went out. And since the lights went out I’m betting the heat won’t work either.” She swallowed and looked to him for answers.

For the first time, he didn’t have any.

Grabbing her by the arm, he gazed into her caramel eyes. “Eliza, trust me. You’ll be okay. We have heat for now, and if that goes out, then we can go into the kitchen and turn on the oven. It’s gas, so it won’t go out. I know the owner, and she’s going to want to check on the place to make sure the pipes didn’t freeze, so she’ll be back. Not to mention we are in a restaurant so we won’t starve to death.”

She blinked as his words seemed to settle over her. Slowly she nodded as an unsure smile settled on her lips.

“Trust me. We’ll be okay. I bet we can even scrounge up something for Miss Kitty to eat.” He grinned as the cat let out a meow.

She laughed a little as she glanced down at the cat winding its way between her legs.

She still didn’t look like she trusted him about surviving over night, but she didn’t look scared to death either.

He’d take what he could get.

“I’ll fix us some more hot chocolate. We’ll go back to the table to watch for someone passing by so we can flag them down.”

She nodded with renewed hope shining in her eyes. He didn’t think anyone would be out in this weather, but he wasn’t going to steal hope from her.

He watched as she and Miss Kitty headed back to their table. His mind was three steps ahead, planning for the worst. If they had to spend the night in the restaurant, he needed to be figuring out a place for them to sleep comfortably.

The booths were too short for either of them to stretch out on comfortably. Maybe if he took the table out from between the booths, he could move two booths together and put them end to make it long enough for them to sleep on. First he needed to make the hot chocolate. Anything that would put her mind at ease.

A
few minutes later
, he was carrying two mugs of steaming hot chocolate back to the booth. This time he’d found some marshmallows to top off the drink.

He pressed the mug into her hands.

“Thanks.”

“Well, it’s not wine and flowers but I suppose it will do.”

“What do you mean?” She frowned before taking a sip.

He cleared his throat, deciding now was not the time to go all romantic on her. They could very well be spending the night together.

“Nothing.” He chuckled. “So how is business going?” He took a sip, letting the hot, thick chocolate slide down his throat and warm his stomach.

“It’s up and down. It seems a lot of people aren’t interested in paper books anymore since the e-readers have come out.” She took another sip and gazed out the window. “It’s sad. Some kids don’t even know what it’s like to read an actual paper book.”

“Have you always wanted to own a bookstore?” He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Her chestnut-colored hair fell in waves like velvet silk across her slender shoulders, and her eyes sparkled every time she spoke of her store.

“Yes. I remember as a child going to the library and loving the smell of the paper and leather and the feel of the pages.” She gave him shy smile. “I guess that sounds pretty weird to you, doesn’t it?”

“Not at all. I think doing what you love is the ultimate American dream.” He looked out the window. “You’d be surprised how many people are stuck at a job that they hate because they feel like they have no other options.”

She frowned and set her mug down. The ceramic clinked on the table. She turned, giving him her full attention.

“How about you? You seem to stay pretty booked up. I always see your truck at someone’s house.”

His heart sunk. He could lie, but he didn’t want to do that. Not with her. With her, he wanted to be truthful.

“When I started my business, I expected to be pretty successful. I picked that line of work because people always need a plumber. Plus I had a lot of friends here in Cloverton, so naturally I could get a lot of business. Now a lot of my so-called friends I grew up with won’t even send me their business. I think in a way they felt like I let them down by not getting into the NFL when I had the chance. But once I got to college, I realized I didn’t want to spend my life playing football. The house calls I’ve made don’t end up much better either. Sometimes it’s a housewife who is looking for a little action while the husband is at work.” He shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Jake.” She reached over and touched his hand. “I had no idea. Honestly, I figured you were doing well.” She frowned. “And for your friends not to support your business is, well, it’s shitty.”

He grinned. He’d never heard her utter a curse word in her life. Yet she was mad enough on his behalf that she was letting loose with the cursing.

“It doesn’t matter.

“Yes, it most certainly does matter.” She lifted her chin in defiance. “Is plumbing what you really want to do?”

“Well, my plan was to start this business and get it going and eventually sell it. I’d love to be able to buy some of the buildings here on Main Street as an investment. Fix them up and sell them for a profit.”

“Like a house flipper?”

“Yeah, like that. Eventually I’d like to start buying up land. I have always felt like land is a safe investment. It’s something that you can’t make more of.”

“Then you should totally do it.”

Her confidence in him made him shift in the plastic booth. He’d never told anyone this before. Yeah, he’d confided in his family, but never in a woman. But with Eliza, he felt safe talking to her about something as intimate as his dreams without worrying about being teased about it.

Meow.

The cat sat back on its haunches and batted its paw at his sleeve.

“Looks like someone is trying to get my attention.” He grinned as he rubbed the cat between the ears.

“She’s hungry. I was going to feed her after I closed up the store, but then she had the nerve to run off.” Eliza scowled at the cat. The cat, ignoring her mistress, continued to look at him with yellow eyes.

“I think Miss Kitty has the right idea. I’m pretty hungry myself. Let’s go see what we can scrounge up in the kitchen.”

“Do you think Mrs. Wentworth will be mad that we are eating her food?”

“She’ll be mad at herself for not checking to make sure no one was still inside before she locked us in. I’m sure she’s fine with us eating whatever we find.”

She nodded and slid out of the booth. Her dark red sweater reminded him of

autumn leaves and made her brown eyes sparkle. It was an amazing color on her. But then again, Eliza could wear a garbage bag and still look beautiful.

They made their way toward the back of the restaurant to the kitchen. The chill in the kitchen was something he was going to have to fix ASAP. He turned on the stove burners, and the blue flame sparked to life.

He saw her frown. “I’m just taking the chill off. I’ll see what’s in the refrigerator if you want to check those cabinets over there for some candles. I know Mrs. Wentworth puts out candles on the tables at night.”

She busied herself searching the cabinets while he dug through the refrigerator. Finding the ingredients for lasagna, he began to pull out what he needed and placed it on the counter.

“Score.” Eliza turned around with an armful of white tapered candles.

“I’m not so sure we’ll need all those, but...”

“Are you kidding? I watch those survivor shows on TV. We should be prepared.” She glanced down at the load in her arms. “This should take care of the lighting, some warmth and possible cooking if needed.”

He barked out a laugh. “Well, it might take care of the lighting. But unless you are cooking a beanie weenie, then it’s not going to put out enough heat to cook a meal.”

“Fine. I’ll go look and see if there is something for Miss Kitty.”

“I think I saw some tuna in the refrigerator.”

“I hate to take it. I know Mrs. Wentworth was going to have a special this weekend.”

“That’s not happening now. Even if the snow stops, no one is going to be going out with the roads in this shape this weekend. Go ahead and give it to Miss Kitty.”

She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the tuna. Cutting off a piece, she cut it into manageable bites for the cat while he got busy heating some ground beef in the skillet. Soon the kitchen was filed with warmth from the stove and aromas of cooking food.

“What can I do to help?” She stuck her hands in her jeans pockets and leaned in to smell the cooking seasoned meat. Her sweet perfume went to his head.

It was all he could do not to wrap his arms around her and hold her close.

“I think we could have some wine with our meal. What do you think?”

“A nice bottle of Cabernet?” She arched her brow.

“Perfect. I think she keeps the wine over there.” He pointed to the far side of the kitchen.

She returned with a bottle while clutching two wine glasses by the stems.

“And look what I found.” He dangled a corkscrew he’d found in a nearby drawer.

She passed him the bottle of wine. Their fingers touched, and a jolt of electricity shot through his body. Her gaze lifted up to his, and her lips parted. She’d felt the connection too. This whole attraction wasn’t one-sided.

Thank God.

She took a step back and placed the glasses on the counter. “You don’t have to do that, you know.”

“Do what?”

“You don’t have to act like you’re interested.” Her expression shuttered and she shook her head.

Her words were like a jackhammer in the chest. “What?”

Turning around, she faced him. Planting her hands on the counter behind her, she lifted her chin. “Jake, I know I’m not your type.”

“Eliza…” He narrowed his eyes and took a step toward her.

She held up her hand to stop him. “Don’t. Just don’t. I know what you’re going to say. That kiss was a mistake. It never should have happened.” She blinked and then looked away as she held her head high. “Let’s just forget about it and focus on surviving the night. After tonight, we won’t ever talk about it again.”

She shoved off the counter, but he caught her by the arm before she could escape.