Bride Under the Mistletoe: The Magic of a Family Christmas. SUSAN MEIER
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“Sure. But not the same way you do. I don’t need my mom to take care of me. You do. So part of what you feel is fear. Especially fear of being alone.”
He nodded.
“Wendy’s not going to leave you alone. All you have to do is believe in her.”
Harry looked up. His blue eyes connected with Cullen’s dark ones. The trust that Wendy saw in them nearly stole her breath. “Okay.”
“And any time you get afraid, I want you to call me.”
“Okay.”
“In fact,” Cullen said, reaching over, opening the bedside-table drawer and retrieving a pen and a little tablet. “This is my cell phone number.”
Harry grinned. “You have a cell phone? Jimmy Johnson has a cell phone.”
He placed the tablet and pen on the bedside table. “Well, now you have my number.You can call me any time. Day or night.”
They were quiet for several seconds before Cullen said, “Do you think you can sleep now?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll tuck you in.”
Rather than laying him down, Cullen switched the mood of their discussion by tossing Harry to the bed. The little boy landed in the middle, his head slightly askew on the pillow. He giggled then said, “Thanks, Cullen.”
“Hey, any time.”
Cullen pulled the covers to Harry’s chin, kissed his cheek and ruffled his hair. “Go to sleep now.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
Wendy ducked out of the doorway before Cullen turned in her direction. She raced down the steps as quietly as possible, ran into the living room and fell to her couch, not wanting Cullen to know she’d listened in.
A few seconds later he appeared at the doorway. “I think I have him settled.”
“Thank you.”
“He only wanted reassurance that everything’s going to be okay.” He rolled his shoulders, as if to loosen their tightness. “I gave him my cell phone number.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I don’t think he’ll bother me. He’s in school all day so he doesn’t have a lot of access to a phone. Even after school he’s with a babysitter until you get home.” He met her gaze. “But if he wants to call me forty-six times a day until he’s comfortable, I can handle it.”
She smiled slightly, feeling like a real jerk for being so wrong about him. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He turned and walked into the foyer. Wendy scrambled from the sofa and to the door before he opened it.
“I know this was a huge imposition, so I appreciate it.”
“Again, you’re welcome.”
The foyer became quiet. Wendy searched her brain for something to say, but there was nothing, unless she wanted to apologize once more for misunderstanding about the raise. And she didn’t care to bring up that particular misery again.
Not sure what else to do, she looked up and found him staring at her, studying her.
She knew he was probably wondering how she could be so dense, and she shook her head. “Look, for two people who got off on the right foot, I know I’ve made a real mess of things.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t. You’ve been nothing but nice to both me and Harry and I’ve been…well…odd.” She pulled in a breath. “You’re not like my husband. Not that he didn’t have his good points, but when he died, leaving me alone, I got angry. I obviously jumped to some wrong conclusions about you and I’m sorry. I don’t normally take that anger out on people.”
“But it made you cautious.”
She nodded.
“Maybe you should be cautious.”
She smiled. “Are you warning me off?”
“Yes.”
The seriousness of his voice caused her stomach to tighten. She caught his gaze again. His dark eyes virtually glowed, sending a sizzle of electricity through her. If she touched him, she had the feeling he’d be lost.
“I’m not the kind of guy to settle down and you are absolutely the kind of woman to settle down. Even if you didn’t have Harry, I would know it. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting you. And you’re not too far off the mark about me being pushy. When I want something I go after it. And right now I want you.”
She licked her lips at the severity of his tone and took a step back.
“Forget all about your first impression and stick with the worry that I’m enough like your husband that you shouldn’t get involved with me. We’ll both be happier, if only because you don’t want to get hurt and I don’t want to hurt you.”
Swallowing, she caught his gaze. “You don’t have to warn me. I can take care of myself. I’m a big girl.”
“Not big enough to play in my league.”
With that he turned and walked out of her house. Wendy stood in her foyer a long time, every cell in her body tingling. Not just because he was an attractive man, but because he’d admitted that he was so attracted to her he was having difficulty stopping himself from doing what he wanted.
She absolutely knew that feeling. Just being in the same room with him made her blood hum in her veins. She hadn’t felt this good, this alive, in years. Though the Miss Goody Two-shoes in her told her to back off, the promise in his soft voice and sensual eyes told her not to listen. She wanted this, and for once in her life she didn’t want to walk away wishing things could have been different. For once in her life, she’d simply like to enjoy the moment. Do what she wanted to do instead of what she knew was the “right” thing to do. For once in her life she didn’t want to be Miss Goody Two-shoes.
But she didn’t really know how to be anybody else.
THE next morning, Wendy met Patty and Emma by the time clock. Patty tapped her forearm to catch her attention. “You know, you haven’t really spoken much since you got Harry. Everything okay?”
Punching her time card, Emma added, “You didn’t bite off more than you can chew with that little boy, did you?”
Wendy gasped. “Oh, no! I love everything about having Harry in my life.”
“Then what?” Emma asked.
Wendy licked her suddenly dry lips. Part of the problem she was having with Cullen was that she hadn’t talked about any of this with her friends. The only input and opinion she had was her own. Lately, she was beginning to think she wasn’t all that smart when it came to men.
Patty growled, “Come on, spill it.”
Catching Patty’s arm and nodding to Emma, she moved the three of them to a quiet corner. “Okay. The problem is Mr. Barrington.”
Both Patty’s and Emma’s eyebrows rose. “He’s a crappy boss?”
“He’s a great boss and he’s even been helping me with Harry.”
“Oh, really?”
“Harry and I met Cullen the Saturday before he took over for Mr. McCoy.”
“The day of the ice storm?”
Wendy winced. “The day we lost power.”
“Oh,