Page 13 of Sugar Plum Serenade

“I haven’t been surprised for a very long time.”

She didn’t say what had surprised her. The kiss, probably, but maybe it was more.

“I’ve had my own share of surprises today,” he confessed.

“Care to share?”

“Let’s just say the other surprise wasn’t nearly as pleasant as you.”

She smiled, and he almost moved in again. Olive was a tempting woman. It had been a long time since he’d been so intrigued. Right now, when he was wondering who the hell he really was, probably wasn’t the time to give in to temptation.

“I should go,” he said, but he didn’t stand.

“Yes, you should.” She didn’t move, either.

“If I don’t…”

Olive sighed, and then she looked at the Christmas tree. Avoiding him in some small way? Maybe. Still, neither of them moved. “I didn’t expect… anything like this. I’m really not in the market for a relationship.”

“Neither am I.”

“But we can be friends, right?”

Tuck stood slowly. “Sure. I need to go.” While I still can…

“I hope you feel better.”

Standing by the couch, he looked down at her. “I do.” He’d forgotten about ghosts and grandmothers and lost opportunities for a while. “Thanks, friend.” He headed for the door, turned to look back at her. “Do you have plans for Sunday?”

“No. Unless you count sleeping in as a plan. That’s the one day the boutique is closed.”

He’d been thinking of asking her to spend Sunday with him, but when she mentioned sleeping in, he changed his mind. “Go out with me Saturday night. Dinner. Dancing.” And who knows what else…

“No dancing,” she said. “But dinner would be lovely.”

He grinned at her. “Great. Wear something sexy.”

Olive staredat the closed door. Wear something sexy? She didn’t own anything sexy! And if she did, she wouldn’t have brought it with her. She’d packed clothes for working at the boutique and for exercise. One red and green T-shirt with a holiday themed gnome on it for the family gathering, since south Mississippi was too warm for her ugly Christmas sweater. All her shoes were comfortable, made for standing or walking. All the clothes she’d packed were practical.

Of course, she did work at a boutique that had a few sexy offerings.

When she’d come here to help Dawn she hadn’t imagined her stay might include a date that wasn’t really a date and a hot neighbor who kissed as if there was nothing and no one else in the world. How could she have prepared herself for Tuck?

Maybe nothing would come of it. They didn’t have all that much in common, she had to admit. Again, she wasn’t looking for a man, and if she was… he wasn’t her type. She told herself that again and again.

But really, did she even have a type? Hot, kind, and chivalrous should be every woman’s type. And that kiss…

It was going to take some time to wind down after that. She wasn’t in the mood for TV and didn’t want to pick up her book. Her mind reeled with the wonderfulness of reality; she wasn’t interested in fiction at the moment.

Olive grabbed her phone and pulled up a favorite album from her music app. She listened, lost in the lyrics and the flow of the notes while she did a few stretches to work out the kinks brought on by a long day on her feet. She closed her eyes, stretched her arms over her head, twisted side to side. It felt good. She bent down to touch her toes and swept back up again. And again. She balanced on one foot, a yoga pose she’d learned in a class she’d started last year.

The second song on the album was a slow, pleasant, almost generic pop tune. She let the music wash over her as she moved. She didn’t think about Tuck for a few long seconds. She didn’t give a moment of brain power to retail or family or Christmas. Instead she simply felt the music. Her stretching turned into a dance of sorts as she moved. Up, down, around, a twist. And there was Tuck again, creeping into her thoughts.

Dinner and dancing he’d said. And oh, that kiss.

In the middle of the song, she stopped moving and forced herself to stand perfectly still. What the hell was happening to her? Nothing and no one made her dance. Not even Nathaniel Tucker.