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He’d ask her to the ball. If she said no, she said no. But if she said yes, well, it’d be worth the risk for sure.
He tossed the banner to Nick, ignoring his protests because he’d been about to move on to a new task in the setup process, and strode over to where she stood in the foyer.
“Hi.”
She gave him a questioning smile, her arms loaded with presents wrapped in pink paper. “Hey.”
He loved that Holly didn’t force Noelle to have a Christmas-themed birthday party despite the fact that her birthday was only ten days before it. That was the same thing their mother had done for Holly since her birthday was also in December, and he knew it’d really helped to make her feel like she wasn’t simply celebrating Christmas twice.
“Need a hand with those?” he offered, holding his arms out to relieve her of the load.
She shook her head. “I’ve got it, but thanks. Single mom, remember? I’m pretty used to having my hands full at all times.”
He leaned back with the chuckle that bubbled forth, and when he did, he spotted the bundle of mistletoe over his head. The same one Noelle had taken advantage of when he’d first walked into the inn this season, and his pulse jumped.
Robin followed his gaze, then her eyes widened to about twice their usual size when he looked down at her again.
Jack’s mouth went dry. The urge to wrap this gorgeous, independent, impossibly strong woman in his arms and crush his mouth to hers nearly brought him to his knees.
Not only were her arms completely full of his niece’s birthday gifts, but he was also very conscious of the fact that his brother-in-law was less than ten feet away, prepping for the party.
The first time he tasted those lips wouldn’t be with Nick as their audience. In fact, if he had his way, they wouldn’t have anyone around. It’d be just the two of them, with no chance of birthday guests—including his sister and the guest of honor herself—interrupting the moment.
“Well, that thing needs to be a little lower so it can be easier to spot before getting caught under it,” she said with a nervous chuckle.
Jack ignored the self-conscious side of him that wondered if she meant she wouldn’t want to be caught under it with him at all or just when they were unable to savor the holiday tradition of a kiss in front of Nick.
“You’re probably right. But we can’t ignore it, can we?”
Robin visibly gulped but didn’t reply.
Jack took a slow step toward her. Silently and steadily, he removed the stack of presents from her hands and held them off to the side. Then he leaned in, keeping his gaze locked on hers the entire time.
He’d known her eyes were brown. He’d known they were light, like fallen leaves, rather than dark chocolate. And he’d known they were big and round and beautiful. But as he stilled inches from her lips and studied them at a closer distance than ever before, he also saw flecks of gold and a hint of yearning that made his blood heat.
How bad would it be to kiss her in front of Nick?
Not bad, to be sure. But not nearly good enough.
Sticking to his original plan, he heard the soft intake of her breath as he quickly dipped his head to the side and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. When he pulled back, he couldn’t help but wink at her. “I’ll put the gifts in the party room. You don’t have to do everything by yourself, you know.”
Without waiting for her to reply, Jack spun back into the dining room. Nick shot him a sardonic look on his way, which he ignored.
And then, even if Jack wanted to turn around to see if that simple kiss on the cheek had affected Robin as much as it’d affected him, the front door opened, and Noelle and Abby ran in. Holly chased after them to keep Noelle out of the dining room until they were finished decorating, and then those uncle-y duties won out, and chaos ensued.
* * *
Once the party officially started,two hours went by before Jack even found himself within two feet of Robin again. Which was both good and torturous. His attention to detail and situational awareness were instincts he couldn’t simply turn off like a switch, and after feeling her soft cheek under his lips, he was more aware ofherthan ever.
“Best party you’ve ever been to?” she asked as she sidled up to him with a mug of cider in hand.
Jack sniffed in the general direction of the drink. “You drink that stuff?”
“What?”
“It’s like hot apple juice.”
Robin scoffed. “It is not.”
