Page 54 of Cooped Up for Christmas

What if he didn’t want this to continue?

The thought of this being over made me want to cry.

Oh, who was I kidding? I had a life in LA and he lived in Seattle. Unless one of us sacrificed a lot, we could never be together. It was over.

“So,” he said at long last.

“So.”

Yeah. I had no idea what to say.

“What are your plans?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I’m heading back home, I guess.” Unless I got a better offer.

His expression went hard and he nodded. “Okay,” he said in a raw voice. “I told you I had to come, when I found out you’d be here. I told you I needed to know if—”

“If there’s anything between us.”

“Right. And there is.”

He looked to me expectantly, so I said, “Yes. There is.” Because there was.

“But that wasn’t the whole truth, Vic.”

Oh. Great. My stomach dove.

He cleared his throat. My pulse thudded. “I wanted even more than that,” he said at long last.

My heart did a little trill, not too hopeful, but a bit. “Why?”

He laughed. “Don’t you know, Vic?”

I shook my head. I was all at sea here.

Someone throw me a floatie.

He stood then, and moved to sit next to me, but not too close, I noticed. He gently took my hands in his. “Vic, you’re the one I could never forget.”

Lordy. This was getting a little uncomfortable for my apprehensive psyche. “Are you trying to tell me there haven’t been any other women since me?”

He gaped at me and then laughed. “No. I’m not saying that. There have been other women. In fact—” He paused, then started again. “Okay. All right. Yes, there have been other women, but my point is, you’re the only one I could never forget.” He shook his head. “I thought about you those hot nights in Iraq, when I was jumping out of airplanes, when I was on boring stakeouts.”

“Did you ever think of me when you were stunt-manning in movies?” I had to ask. You know I did.

“Ah… Yeah. Sure.”

I gave him a look, because that bit, I had trouble believing.

“Hey. I’ve been wanting you for over fifteen years. Do you really think I’m just going to let you waltz out of my life? No.” He pulled me closer. “No.”

His lips were warm and hungry on mine, but questing, as though he were waiting for something. Some tacit invitation.

The tip of my tongue to his served as that. He gave a great groan and yanked me flush against him and opened his mouth.

Heat flared.

I nearly deflated when the kiss ended too soon, even though it probably ended that soon due to the cheering from the kitchen.