Page 56 of Christmas Magic

Her bad hip twinged. “Please!” she gasped. “Slow down.”

He abruptly stopped and faced her. “Are you hurt?”

Wiping a light sheen of perspiration from her brow, she said, “I can’t keep that pace.”

“I should have been more considerate of you. I apologize.” He raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed the backs of her fingers. “Please forgive me.”

Aww. How romantic.

Awareness washed over her—and not from them touching hands. She glanced toward the stage. Fred, the little girl still sitting on his lap, was looking right at Cora, his eyes wide and his mouth open in surprise.

As she recalled the last time she’d seen her ex, her face burned.

Be strong. Show Fred what a prize you are. You’re worthy of a handsome young lover.

“Santa’s noticed us,” Lucian murmured.

“Just as we’d hoped.”

Might as well give her ex a good reason to stare. Leaning in against Lucian, she slowly tipped her head back. The clean scent of him—a blend of aftershave and soap—teased her nostrils.

Mmm. So tempting.

He held her gaze. “Fair Maiden?”

How she longed to crush her mouth to his. That would be a bit brazen, though, and she also might mess up her lipstick.

Better to tease Fred; let him guess at the depth of relationship she and Lucian shared.

With a bold wink, she pressed a kiss to Lucian’s cheek.

At the touch of Cora’s lips, Lucian experienced a flicker of misgiving.

He’d kissed women and been kissed by them many times before—at least, that’s what his gut instincts told him. But, never before had those instincts niggled that a kiss wasn’t quite right.

Why would he feel so? He cherished Cora. Her peck on the cheek, while a little forward for a maiden, had still been appropriate for their chivalrous courtship.

Truth be told, he couldn’t remember kissing her before. How odd. Also, a tad terrifying. Was his memory loss another sign that he’d knocked his head recently—or worse, that he was slowly going mad?

Bollocks.

What had happened moments ago couldn’t have been their first kiss. He certainly wasn’t going to embarrass himself or her by letting on that his memories had failed him.

Cora drew back, her eyes shining. So lovely. Mentally, he shoved aside another tingle of warning that something was off.

He stroked her cheek. “’Twas a fine kiss.”

“I promise, that was just the start—”

In his front pocket, Lucian’s cell phone buzzed. He’d switched off the ringtone earlier, at Cora’s request, but the phone had buzzed several times over the past while. That meant someone was trying to get hold of him.

He glanced at the phone screen: Molly.

Three missed calls from her.

Four texts.

Should he be concerned that she was so persistent?