Chin resting in the palm of her hand, Marissa cast Eric a glance and a smile. “Impressive.”
He leaned closer and whispered, “I redo most of what she does after she goes to bed, but I’ll never tell her that.”
“Gosh, no, you have to take what you can get.”
Funny, her words mirrored his thoughts almost exactly.
“It’s always me and Mom, my dad’s never around,” Eric heard Heather say. “You’re lucky your dad is cool.”
“So’s your mom,” Reese said. “My mom is okay sometimes, but I really wish I could stay here with Daddy more.”
A painful lump formed in Eric’s throat. He swirled the last little bit of wine in his glass, hoping with all his heart he could grant that wish very soon. Marissa remained silent after that comment and suddenly Reese and Heather were at the screen door.
“Daddy, the kitchen’s clean, can we start the campfire now?”
In typical six-year old fashion, they switched gears in the blink of an eye. He caught Marissa’s gaze. “Your ankle good enough for a quick tour?”
She sat up straighter, a look of anticipation warming his heart. “Yes, definitely. I’ve been wanting to see the rest of the house.”
Eric faced the girls when they came out onto the porch. “Give me a few minutes to show Marissa around, then we’ll get the fire going, okay?”
“Okay. We’ll be in the treehouse.” Reese grabbed Heather’s arm to pull her along, down the stairs. “Don’t forget to call us.”
“We won’t,” Eric promised.
He took Marissa through the house first. It was gratifying to see everything through her eyes and hear her admiration for the work he and Mark had done. A walk through the basement revealed what he had to do yet, and then he led her out to his workshop.
“Sorry for the mess—give me a minute to sweep up.”
She stopped him when he reached for a broom. “I don’t mind, leave it. I love the smell of fresh cut pine.”
Propping the crutches by the door, she limped barefoot across the floor. She dragged a rocking chair he’d crafted out of maple away from the side wall and sat down. The chair rocked gently from a push of her uninjured foot. Delicate fingers caressed the flawlessly sanded wood. Her quietly voiced appreciation of the quality of his creation made his chest expand.
It took a moment to realize the sudden swell of emotion wasn’t a simple matter of pride in a good piece of work created from his own hands, it was her.
He hadn’t been looking for anyone special in his life right now past Reese. Yet after only one day with Marissa and her daughter, he could picture himself and the beautiful blond in front of him tucking the girls into bed together before cuddling on the couch to watch a movie. Or better yet, making love in his king size bed with the firelight flickering across her golden skin. Then they’d sleep in the next morning until the girls woke them up for breakfast.
It was totally crazy to think of a future with this woman and her daughter already, but think of it he did. His heart rate picked up, and he turned to brace his hands on the windowsill until he’d taken a couple of deep breaths. He’d have to be careful not to rush any attempt to get past her defenses and risk chasing her away.
“Eric?”
He turned around at Marissa’s soft, hesitant voice.
“Um…” She ran her palms up and down the smooth arms of the rocking chair. “I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“This morning…and then later, after the reindeer rides.” She met his gaze, her eyes full of remorse; the height of her cheekbones colored a pretty shade of pink. “First of all, I assumed you’d forgotten the field trip, and I was angry for Reese’s sake because it was something my ex would’ve done. I know how disappointed Heather is whenever Ted says he’ll be there and then never shows.”
Eric absorbed that, but wasn’t sure how to respond. Being compared to a man that even a six-year old didn’t seem to respect was a bit of a reality check after what he’d just been thinking. He didn’t like the feeling one bit.
A slight frown creased her brow. “Why didn’t you tell us you were at the accident this morning? I mean, you saved a man’s life.”
Eric leaned back against the windowsill. “It’s not something I brag about, I just do what has to be done. It’s part of the job.”
“Explaining why you were late is not bragging,” she rationalized.
He lifted a shoulder, unwilling to discuss the subject further.
“Okay, then…continuing on with my humiliation…” She gave him a sheepish smile. “After judging you completely irresponsible, I then jumped to the conclusion you were hitting on me while you were married.”
He held up his bare left hand.
“Yeah, I know, but Ted never wore his ring, either.”
Eric crossed his arms over his chest with a scowl. “I’m not so sure I like the theme of this conversation.”
“Let me finish or I won’t get it all out.”
“There’s more?”
She cringed and nodded at the same time. “The thing is, my ex has joint custody of Heather, only he doesn’t bother to show up but maybe four or five times a year. I’ve tried to protect Heather, I’ve made countless excuses for him, but as you heard earlier, Heather’s got him all figured out anyway.”
Eric growled. “Added to what you said earlier, he sounds like a selfish jackass.”
“Yeah, pretty much.” She paused, and he saw her struggle to form her words. Her reluctant gaze met his. “Based on that experience, a couple of, um, innocent comments Reese made this afternoon led me to believe that you weren’t available to her when she needed you, either.”
His remorse over the past rushed forward with dizzying speed. He dropped his arms to his side while straightening from the window. “What’d she say?”
Marissa sat forward in the chair, her hands clasped in her lap. “You have to understand that it was because of my wrong assumptions that they sounded bad.”
“What’d she say?”
She sighed again. “Just that she wished she could see you more, and that her mom said you didn’t have time for her.”
Eric’s hand clenched at his side. “Unfortunately, there was a time Nina would’ve been justified in saying that—to me, not our daughter. This past year I’ve done whatever I can to make sure Reese knows she’s the single most important person in my life, but Nina still looks for any reason to cut me down in front of her.”
He paused for a breath only to have the meaning of Marissa’s earlier words finally hit home. Heat rushed through his body as he captured her gaze with his. “So let me get this straight—you’ve been comparing me to your ex all day?”
The guilt in her expression said it all.
“Wow.” He ran a hand through his hair, grasped the back of his neck for a moment, then dropped his arm in defeat. “I made a hell of a first impression on you, didn’t I?”
She pushed to her feet and took a step forward, her hand outstretched. “No, Eric, it’s not you, it’s me—”
“Breaking up with me already?” he exclaimed with light sarcasm. “We haven’t even had our first date yet.”
And the way things were going, they weren’t likely to, either.
She limped closer. “Honestly? It’s because of my initial reactions to you this morning that I went the wrong direction. I’ve focused all my attention on Heather since my divorce five years ago, so basically, when you add in my marriage, I haven’t dated for almost eight years.”
He’d only had a couple dates after Nina left him more than a year ago, but he’d rather hear her story.
“After Ted, I haven’t even been attracted to anyone until…um, until today.” She met his eyes, that cute pink tinge spreading across her cheeks again. “You really threw me off balance. In self-defense, I exaggerated reasons not to like you so I wouldn’t think so much about wanting to…kiss you again.” Her blush deepened. “But you kept being so nice, and—”
“Charming?”
he interjected. A grin emerged, full of rekindled hope.
“Don’t push it,” she warned, only she ruined it with a smile of her own. “And, tonight I saw the way you were with not only Reese, but Heather as well, and I realized I’d projected all my insecurities about my past onto you, which isn’t fair at all. Because I shouldn’t automatically assume you’ll cheat on me, or ignore the girls when you decide you have something better to do—or what about later, if we…um…”
Her lashes quickly lowered. She visibly swallowed the rest of her words while her face flared bright red.
“If we…?” he prompted, curious to see how far into the future her thoughts had traveled.
Marissa shook her head. “Nothing, forget it.”
“Not so fast,” Eric protested when she hobbled toward the workshop door.
She paused near the opening, but didn’t face him. “Listen, I know we only just met, so assuming we’d have any type of relationship—especially now—well, that’s just a little crazy and...” Her hands flailed in the silence, as if their movement would locate the words she sought. “I’m sorry—for everything. And I should’ve just apologized and then shut up. I will shut up right now. In fact, it’s probably time to go—”
Eric grasped her shoulders from behind, stalling her departure. She jumped about an inch. He hunched his own shoulders and pressed his cheek next to her ear. “You’re doing it again.”
“What?”
“Assuming the wrong things when we’re actually on the same page.”
Her breath caught. “We are?”
“I’ve been planning to ask you to dinner ever since I noticed you weren’t wearing a ring.” He turned her around and locked his gaze with her beautiful blue eyes. With one hand, he trailed his knuckles softly along her cheek before tucking her long hair back over her shoulder. “Not to mention, imagining our second kiss without an audience has been driving me crazy.”
Chapter 7
Marissa wouldn’t have thought it possible, but his low-voiced statement made her pulse race even faster. He was going to kiss her again. She wanted his mouth on hers more than she’d wanted anything in a very long time.
A sudden attack of nervousness made her glance out the window in the gathering darkness toward the back of the yard where the girls still played. Beams of light filtered through the thick foliage concealing the tree house windows.
“They’re fine,” Eric assured her, mistakenly guessing the reason for her hesitation. She didn’t correct him. He threaded his calloused fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck. Tingles radiated down her spine from his warm touch.
Marissa cleared her throat and met his eyes once more. “Um, as a general rule, I don’t kiss on the first date.”
A smile appeared, slow and sexy. “Then we’re in luck, because this sure as heck isn’t a first date. It’s more like an extended, recovering disaster of a first meeting.”
Instead of the prolonged anticipation of his kiss increasing her anxiety, her tension eased with his teasing observation. She pretended to think about his description while his fingers gently massaged her neck. After a few seconds, she shook her head with a soft smile of false regret. “Unfortunately, I don’t kiss on those, either.”
His eyes narrowed. His smile remained, but he dropped his hand and pulled something from his pocket. “Good thing I’ve got a trump card.”
She frowned at his handful of mangled, dark leaves until a holly berry identified the foliage as the mistletoe from the zoo. Laughter bubbled up inside her. “Oh my God, you stole Butch’s mistletoe!”
“I didn’t steal anything,” Eric denied. “Santa gave me an early Christmas gift.”
“Yeah, sure,” she teased.
“First I’m a jerk, now I’m a thief and a liar?” he challenged.
“I didn’t say that!”
“Butch gave me the mistletoe right after he suggested I drive you home.”
Marissa glanced up at the mistletoe in his hand. The wonderful little leaves conjured the vivid memory of Eric’s warm mouth on hers and erased her smiling doubt. She reached up to take the mistletoe from his grasp and twirled it between her thumb and forefinger. Resting her forearm on his shoulder while his hands settled on her hips, she stepped close and flattened her other hand against his chest. His heartbeat thundered beneath her fingers. She slid them up over his T-shirt to link with her other arm around his neck.
Their bodies made full contact; thighs, hips, chests. His eyes darkened to slate gray, and heat jolted straight to her core.
“Soo…what is it that you said in the golf cart?” she whispered in breathless anticipation.
His head lowered. “Mistletoe rules.”
“And I remember something about it’s bad luck if we don’t kiss under the mistletoe?”
He leaned closer, his breath brushing her lips. “Very bad.”
“Who made up that rule?”
His gaze locked on hers. “Seriously? You want that story now?”
She grinned and shook her head, then closed her eyes at the exact moment his lips met hers. It began as a duplicate of the kiss at the zoo, but with her overblown fears put into perspective and no need to fight her overwhelming attraction, Marissa wasn’t about to let the privacy of the workshop go to waste.
She tightened her arms about his neck, pressed closer to his solid length, and parted her lips in blatant invitation. Eric accepted with a deep, stomach-fluttering groan, angling his head to slide his tongue against hers.
The lingering flavors of the wine they’d drank danced on her tastebuds; sweet vanilla, ripe black cherry and tantalizing spices. Pine registered, too. She dragged a ragged breath into her tight lungs.
Eric. All him, all male.
His red-hot heat intensified every flavor and scent. Or were her enhanced senses a result of the wildfire burning between them? Delving her fingers into his hair, as thick and soft as she’d imagined, she eagerly sought to explore the inside of his mouth as he had hers. His hands roamed every inch of her back and lower before he pressed her back against the doorjamb, his hips tight against hers.
Desire pulsed through her with every thrust of his tongue and suggestive movement of his hips. A low moan of pleasure vibrated her chest, yet she couldn’t have said which of them uttered the sound.
He tore his mouth from hers, raising both hands to brush her hair back and cup her face while their gazes connected. “Mistletoe definitely rules.”
She smiled. His thumb rubbed across her throbbing bottom lip, and she opened her mouth to nip at the rough pad. The retreating fire in his eyes burst back to life. It took nothing more than a gentle tug to bring his mouth down again.
The next time they came up for air, she buried her face in the warm crook of his neck. Their hearts thundered in sync against each other. “Mmm, you smell like pine.”
“That’s the workshop.”
“No.” She inhaled deeply against his heated skin when he bared her neck to graze his teeth across her skin. “I’ve noticed it off and on all day, and it’s not the same as when I first walked in here. It’s you.”
“Sorry.” He nipped the edge of her earlobe. His hot breath sent a delicious tremor rippling along her sensitized flesh before he moved on. “I worked a couple hours this morning before leaving to pick up Reese for school.”
“Don’t apologize, I like it.” She drank in the scent that had warmed and strengthened in the height of their passion.
He kissed his way along her jaw, so she framed his face with her hands, holding him still while she dipped her chin to capture his lips with hers. Raw desire gave way for something more tender and yet equally arousing. They pulled back at the same time, breathing deep but not labored.
Marissa stared wide-eyed at Eric’s stunned expression. An emotional connection thrummed in the air like she’d never felt before. Her chest bound so tight, drawing sufficient oxygen proved difficult, leaving behind a sensation of lightheaded intoxication that had nothing to do with the wine.<
br />
“Daad!”
Marissa blinked and dropped her arms at the same time Eric took a hasty step back.
“Moomm!” A second later Reese and Heather skidded to a stop on the workshop porch, flashlights bobbing in their hands. The two girls stared at the adults.
“Come on, Dad, when are we going to start the campfire?” Reese asked with a hint of a whine.
Marissa couldn’t make herself look away from Eric. Their severed physical connection did nothing to diminish the emotional link still hovering between them. He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair before finally transferring his full attention to his daughter.
“Ah...how about right now?”
“Yeah! Let’s go!” Reese dashed back the way they’d come. Like the flip of a switch, she jerked to a stop and retraced her steps. Heather hadn’t even had a chance to move. Reese aimed her flashlight down and leaned over to scoop something off the floor. She shook off the sawdust. “Oh, cool! Mistletoe.”
She didn’t question where it’d come from, just held it over Heather’s head and kissed her on the cheek. The two erupted in giggles. A second later they sprinted across the lawn toward the bonfire pit. “Last one there has to kiss a toad!”
Marissa reached for her crutches before looking up at Eric, a little nervous, but mostly happier than she’d been in a very long time. He extended his arm with a smile that matched the emotions singing inside her heart. She used his strength for balance and handed him the crutches on the other side. Halfway across the yard, he halted with a snap of his fingers.
“I forgot matches.” After a glance toward the occupied girls, he dropped a quick kiss on Marissa’s lips and handed her the crutches. “I’ll be right back.”
He loped back to the house and up the porch stairs by the time Marissa reached the girls. She found a comfortable seat by the fire pit and propped her foot up to ease the throbbing.
Eric returned with a stack of newspaper, matches to light the fire, the makings for s’mores, and a patio chair cushion. The latter he arranged under Marissa’s ankle as Reese cupped her hand and whispered to Heather. When flames had engulfed the wadded newspaper to lick along surfaces of the tee-peed chunks of wood in the fire pit, Eric dragged a chair next to Marissa’s and sat down with a relaxed sigh.
Mistletoe Mischief Page 6