Page 46 of The Best Christmas Choir Ever

“Yeah, but the choir never would have been ready for that if I was running this solo. We’d still be trying to get that lip buzzing thing right.” He reached out and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. Danger zone. Retreat! “And I’m serious. None of this would be possible without you, Charlie.”

“We’ll agree it was a team effort. Because without your encouragement and support, none of us would have gotten up there,” she said. Her eyes bored into his.

Julian’s gaze flickered to her lips. He didn’t know what was happening between them. All he knew was that he wanted to hold her again.

That was foolish. Don’t dive too deep too fast. Don’t get whisked away into the danger zone. This wasn’t a sunny summer fling, no matter how warm his chest felt. Retreat… Pull back…

Oh, to hell with the danger!

He surged forward and pressed his lips to hers. Heat spread through him, consumed him, and he wanted to drown in her. Charlie met him, nudging at his chest until he stumbled against the desk. He sat down, shorter like this, and Charlie took advantage, standing between his legs to deepen the kiss.

“We shouldn’t,” she said, even as she tilted her head, fitting her lips to his more snugly. “Not here.”

“I agree.”

“Not like this.”

“Anyone could see.”

The open door. Julian could have laughed at how little he cared. Sparks went off in his mind and all he could think about was how he wanted to sink into the softness of Charlie.

She moaned against him as his lips found her neck, sucking gently. “Fuck, Julian,” she hissed.

He hummed in agreement. “Yes, I think you should.”

She laughed against him, the vibrations echoing through his chest.

His hands traveled down her back, pulling her closer. How had this not worked eight years ago?

They broke apart to breathe, and Charlie blinked dazedly, her lashes fluttering. “I need to get to the music room,” she said. It sounded like she wanted to do anything but that.

“Okay.” Julian’s eyes skittered to the open door, then back to her. When he slackened his grip, she stepped away, and his head finally started to clear. “I’ll run the news visit by Diane and let you know how that goes.”

“Good,” Charlie said. Her fingers brushed over her neck where his lips had been moments ago. “If she agrees, I can get started on a song selection in case they want a performance.”

“I’ll keep you posted.”

Charlie nodded and headed for the door.

Julian sank back against his desk. Fuck. What the hell was he doing?

Julian spent the rest of the morning putting together an email proposal, including the link to the viral video that had prompted his entire conversation with Charlie. When he was satisfied with it, he sent it off to Diane, requesting a short meeting.

To his surprise, she responded almost immediately and told him to come down to her office.

As he made his way there, a bout of nerves rocketed through him. What if Diane didn’t like the idea? He didn’t know why she wouldn’t, but if she shot down his proposal, then there went a great opportunity to get the choir noticed. And sure, it might not harm their application in the end, but it couldn’t possibly hurt to have a little good press.

“Hey,” he said, knocking on Diane’s door.

“Hey.” She removed a pair of earbuds from her ears. “I hear the gingerbread contest is going to be fierce this year.”

“Warren’s convinced your admin staff are full of cheaters.”

“No comment. Also, this is the most adorable thing ever, right?” She referenced her computer screen which had the community center video pulled up.

“It’ll definitely put Glendale on the map,” Julian joked. “If that’s cool?”

Diane leaned back in her chair. “I have no issues with you running with this.”