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A smile curved his inviting lips, negating her efforts to breathe. He slid his fingers through hers and gave a gentle squeeze. Despite the callouses from all his physical activities, his hands were warm and soft, familiar and soothing, fantasy-inspiring and tingle-inducing. “This doesn’t make you uncomfortable, does it?”
“Nope.” She draped her free arm over his shoulder and let the subtle scents of his soap and shampoo mix with the aroma of freshly baked cookies to flood her senses. “Alexa play ‘The Christmas Song’ by Nat King Cole.”
“Great choice.” He led her into a tight circle as the music began, guiding her with a hint of pressure from his rock-hard thighs and strong hands. “My mom was right about dancing lessons being good for more than football.”
Her eyes drifted closed with the graceful sway of their bodies, and the occasional brush of his not-insubstantial bulge against her leg incited spasms in her long-neglected lady parts. When the whisper-light caress of his breath feathered across her chin and then his warm lips touched hers, her body sang and her heart gave up the hopeless battle.
Wisps of Laurel’s coal-black hair escaped her ponytail, tickling Bull’s nose as he eased his lips back from the brief but earth-shattering kiss they’d shared and pressed his cheek to hers. His feet had stalled and the world seemed like it had frozen in this perfect moment.
He mentally crossed his fingers for a three-peat or more at the party tonight—because he didn’t have to fake any feelings with this woman. She was it for him.
Too weak to resist kissing her again, he nuzzled her temple and dipped his head to find her irresistible lips. A millisecond before he made contact, a loud knuckles-on-glass knock twanged through the kitchen, sending his pulse racing and diverting every drop of blood away from his dick and toward his pounding heart.
Then a chime interrupted the music. “You have one unread text message from Jay Jacoby. Jay Jacoby wrote, ‘Here to pick up the food you have ready so far.’”
Laurel stiffened in Bull’s arms and jerked toward the patio doors leading to her deck.
Jay stood in the falling snow with a shit-eating grin on his smug mug and raised his hand in a quick wave. Footprints showed his path through the backyard into the abutting property beyond.
The rush of icy air as she let the interloper inside cooled the heat of embarrassment on Bull’s face but did nothing for his libido. His friend’s timing sucked worse than his ability to play quarterback, which was pretty damn pathetic in spite of the instruction he’d been given at their Sunday morning flag football games.
“Hey, Laurel. Smells great.” Jay stomped his boots on the rug and yanked off his gloves, the amusement in his expression still obvious in his smirk. “I figured you’d be knee-deep in cookies and snack foods, not dancing and playing tonsil hockey with your neighbor. Am I safe to assume Bull’s your date for the party?”
“Yes.” She hurried to the counter and started packing the cheesecakes into an empty container. How could she focus on normal stuff after the way their bodies had moved together? “I told you I didn’t need a fix-up. These have to be refrigerated. The big cooler’s in the garage if you don’t have room in your refrigerator. You can take all the cut fruit and veggies too. How’s Robin? Is she going to be able to stand being in the same room as the food?”
At the mention of his wife’s name, Jay finally lost his annoying grin. Hopefully, that meant he would keep his mouth shut about who Laurel’s blind date was supposed to have been. “Maybe? She’s taking a nap right now, but she managed to eat toast for breakfast this morning without feeling like she was going to puke. That’s a big improvement over the last month. Did she tell you we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat at her appointment last Friday?”
Her shoulders dropped an inch or two, probably from the easy change of subject. “Mm-hm. She was really excited. I’m glad she’s finally getting over the morning sickness. Beau, will you please get the fruit and vegetables out of the fridge while Jay finds the cooler?”
“Sure.” Resigned to the temporary loss of the romantic mood from the arrival of his friend, Bull stalked to the fridge and tried to focus on the task at hand.
Footsteps and then the snick of the door to the garage opening and closing came from his left. Less than a minute later, Jay reappeared and set the cooler on the floor. He raised a questioning eyebrow, but Bull ignored the prompt. “So…you two. When did that happen?”
3
Smoothing her clammy palms over her sparkly reindeer sweater and down her skinny jeans-clad hips, Laurel slowly blew out an exhale and pivoted away from the mirror in her bathroom on her wedge-heeled ankle booties. Her dangly jingle-bell earrings clinked with the movement.
Unfortunately, the sound didn’t distract her. She shouldn’t be nervous about a date that really wasn’t a date, but those kisses in her kitchen had triggered very real feelings and Beau’s intentions hadn’t seemed at all pretend. Although they’d stuck to food prep all afternoon, the air around them had been charged with more than static electricity after Jay left. Anticipation had made her antsy and disappointment had settled in when Beau said goodbye and carried the last of the food to the Rockwell-Jacoby house at three thirty.
Her doorbell chimed as she picked up her coat and purse from the bed.
Breathe.
And remember this is fake.
She repeated the reminders over and over on the way to greet her sexy neighbor—the man she absolutely, positively would not include in her wish list when Santa asked everyone at the party what they wanted for the holidays this year.
That thought abandoned her brain when she opened the door.
Beau stood on her porch in thigh-hugging black jeans, a red thermal Henley, and a leather jacket that emphasized his broad shoulders and muscular build. Snowflakes melted on his dark hair and neatly trimmed beard, leaving shiny droplets of water that sparkled under the porch lights. “Hi. You look great. Festive. Are you ready to go?”
A whimper nearly escaped. “Hi. Um, come on in. You look great too. I just need to put on my coat.”
The smile he aimed at her as he stepped inside lit multiple body parts on fire. “Let me help.”
Clearing her throat to cover a groan, she turned her back to him to hide the warmth spreading to her face. “Thanks.”
He held her wool peacoat, making sure her hands found the sleeve holes, and lifted her hair out of the way when he adjusted the collar at the back of her neck. His fingertips brushed her skin, setting off a shiver through her entire body. “Do you need a scarf? The temperature dropped a few degrees when the sun set and the wind’s picking up. Don’t want to ruin your evening off with frostbite.”
