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He caught her stare. “What?”
“Nothing really, I was just wondering if you ever do anything for yourself, or if your life is devoted to taking care of other people?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Why do you ask that?”
“Well, it’s true, and I don’t know how you do it without appearing to ever just want to do something for you. You’re eating a cold breakfast right now so your children could go outside and play. You could have made them wait the few minutes it would have taken you to finish. And last night, I watched and listened to the way you interacted with your employees. You asked them how they felt about things at work, and sincerely listened to their responses.”
She shifted her gaze from him to the floor. “And then there’s me. I threw up on your shoes last night, yet you didn’t appear angry and made sure I was okay before you left. Then gave me breakfast. I’ve never met anyone like you before. You’re the most unselfish person I’ve ever met.”
The silence that followed her assessment of him about killed her. She lifted her gaze to see what he was doing. His soft eyes studied her. A touch of sympathy swept through his gaze. Why sympathy? Why did he look like he felt sorry for her?
Joe lifted his coffee mug to his lips. His gaze stayed on her. The intensity of his stare made her nervous. Had she said something inappropriate? She wished she hadn’t spoken at all.
“You’re not completely correct in your assessment of me,” he said as a wickedly handsome smile covered his face. “I can be a very selfish man at times.”
“I doubt that.”
“Oh, it’s true all right.” He leaned toward her. “Let me let you in on a little secret, I chose to stop eating my breakfast midway through to help the kids get ready to go outside so that I could steal a few minutes alone, with you, and eating a cold breakfast was a small price to pay for that.”
Elizabeth’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She couldn’t breathe. Her face heated and she was sure it was as red as a vine-ripened tomato. She couldn’t think, and sat silent, completely unable to speak, even if she could have thought of something to say. An array of unfamiliar emotions passed through her. His unstoppable smile reached his gaze which was glued to her. Was he intentionally trying to add to her discomfort? The longer he stared, the hotter she grew. She wished she hadn’t worn a sweater.
Joe unlocked his gaze, rose from his chair, and cleared the table. As she helped with the dishes he asked her questions about her work. Though she had a master’s degree, she still had difficulty speaking at this very moment. Thank goodness his questions only required simple yes or no answers, or a nod of her head.
She turned away from the sink to find him leaning against the kitchen counter on the opposite side of the room. He stood there quietly with his thick arms crossed over his chest.
Unable to help herself, she raked over him. His worn jeans hugged him perfectly, displaying his muscular thighs. He’d pushed the sleeves of his flannel shirt up above his elbows, allowing her to notice his toned, olive forearms. Maybe if he wasn’t so darn good looking her brain wouldn’t be mush, and she’d be able to speak.
She met his gaze again. “What?” She asked.
“I’m afraid my selfish time is over. The kids can’t be outside for too long by themselves, and I promised them I would help build a snowman,” he said as he turned and walked toward the entryway where he retrieved his jacket and boots from the closet. She followed, and slipped on her boots and jacket.
She and Joe stepped outside into his front yard where the kids and Jake played. Max tossed snowballs into the air and the dog jumped up and caught them in his mouth, destroying each and every one, not seeming to tire of the routine task.
Joe flashed a wink at her before turning his attention toward the kids. “Are you guys ready to build a snowman?”
The kids stopped throwing snowballs at Jake and ran toward her and their dad.
Molly spun around and fixed her dark brown gaze on Elizabeth. “Are you going to help us?”
“I...”
Joe leaned toward her. “What’s the matter?”
“I’d like to, but I don’t know how. I’ve never made one before.”
“As a kid, you never made a snowman? Come on, everybody’s made a snowman at some point in their life.” He looked at her with disbelief.
“Not everybody. I haven’t.” Was she really the only adult ever who never as a child made a snowman?
“Well, today is your lucky day. The Antonetti’s are well-known for building grand snowmen.”
A couple hours later, the snowman was complete, along with a snow fort. Elizabeth eyed the snowman. It was a fine snowman.
“Who wants to go cut down a Christmas tree?” Joe yelled. The children jumped up and down. Excitement radiating in their bright gazes.
“Cut down a Christmas tree?” Elizabeth repeated.
Joe nodded.
