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“I meant that.”
He laughed. Damn, she was cute. “I’m sure you did, but around here, Christmas is everything. They’ll treat you like you’re this year’s Christmas angel.”
She cringed. “It was baked goods.”
He leaned in and dropped his gaze to her eye level, inhaling that sweet scent only belonging to her. “I never said they couldn’t be a bit much, at times.” He chuckled to himself and then moved to the rest of the slow cookers and began packing those up in the boxes to return to his fellow cops who had lent them. Penelope settled in next to him, her arm brushing his. With that simple touch, heat filled his groin. His plan had been to keep things platonic today, ensuring nothing could go wrong with his promotion, but with that heat tempting him, and seeing this new side of her, he asked, “Got any plans tonight?”
She closed the box. “Maisie was talking about watching sappy Christmas movies all night.”
“How about I give you a pass on that?” He rose and dropped his gaze to her as she stayed on her knees. Weakness flooded him, followed by hot desire to see her right there when they were both naked.
“What kind of pass?” she breathed, obviously reacting to the heat tormenting him.
“Come away with me somewhere for the night.”
“Hmmm.” She slowly rose until her soft curves were pressed against his hard planes. “And pass up Christmas movies…I don’t know, that’s a real tough one.”
He grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear. “What if I promise you that tonight will be more romantic than those sappy Christmas movies?”
She slid her hands up his biceps. “That’s a hefty promise.” Need coursed through him, and he brought his mouth close to hers.
Right as his lips brushed across hers, a surprised voice said, “I don’t believe it.”
He glanced sideways finding Clara. For a moment, he thought Clara was surprised about Darryl nearly kissing Penelope. He quickly realized that he had it all wrong when Clara added, “You did all this, Penelope?”
“God, no,” Penelope gasped, taking a step back, her cheeks notably flushed. “Darryl put this event on. I just helped by getting some treats at the bakery.”
Clara watched her cousin for a long moment then placed her hands onto her hips. “That’s it. Fess up, what in the hell is going on here? Why are you helping with this? I thought you hated Christmas.”
Darryl quickly turned away and went for the next slow cooker to stay the hell out of this conversation. The last thing he wanted to do was put Penelope in the hot seat with her cousin, considering she’d done so great today. But he also knew Clara from high school. She was one tough cookie. Clara had dated his best friend in high school, Sullivan Kenne. He’d moved away when the National Baseball League signed him, but Darryl had seen Clara back then—she had a huge heart beneath all that toughness. Her annoyance at Penelope was pure worry.
“There’s nothing up,” Penelope defended. “Can’t a person just help out?”
Behind Darryl’s back, Amelia’s voice joined in. “I think it’s so great, Penelope. Seriously, way to go. You’re the talk of the town.”
Clara’s voice softened, just enough to warm. “And it’s really true? You bought out the bakery?”
“Yeah, I bought some baked goods,” Penelope said quickly. “No biggie. People are making way too much out of this. God, it’s not like I saved a baby from a burning building o
r something.”
“It’s a very kind thing to do,” Clara said, obvious pride in her voice. “So, hurry up and get over here and hug me.” There was some shuffling around, and then Clara added, “You made us all super proud today.”
“Well, ah, I’m glad,” Penelope said tightly.
Darryl smiled to himself and shut the box, suddenly aware of the heavy silence at his back. Feeling all the laser-focused feminine eyes watching him, he drew in a deep breath then turned to them and smiled. “Hi, ladies.”
Clara’s hard expression slid back into place. “We all set for the barn dance on Christmas Eve?”
He nodded. “We are.” Three Chicks Brewery was donating beer to the barn dance to raise money for the literacy program at the school. Darryl suspected for Amelia and Maisie, the move was about donating to their town, but for Clara, he didn’t doubt in the least she thought of the donation as smart business. Which it was. “I’ll send some of the guys over to help load up the kegs, if that works.”
She nodded, warmth filling her gaze. “We’d appreciate the help.” She turned to Penelope. “We’ll see you at home later?”
“You will.” She smiled.
“Mommy, donuts.”
Clara spun around. “No, those are for—”
