Just once, he told himself. Just this one time.
With his heart pounding in both fear and hope, Dax cupped her face and pressed his lips to hers.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
JENNA TUCKED A BLANKET around the sleeping Sophie, kissed her velvet cheek and snapped off the overhead light, though she remained in the semidarkness gazing at her daughter while she thought about the eventful day.
The scene with Rowdy had both embarrassed and unnerved her, but Dax’s reaction had shaken her to the core. She still couldn’t believe he’d fired his ranch manager because of her. More than that, she couldn’t believe he’d finally kissed her. Kissed her in a way she’d never been kissed. Tender and ravenous and with such care, as if she were fragile crystal in danger of shattering.
She’d wanted him never to stop, but they’d both heard the front door open and the sound of Gavin’s book bag thump onto the coffee table. With a wry twist of that delicious mouth, Dax had pressed his forehead to hers, given her a look that would melt steel, then gone to greet his son.
Jenna touched a finger to her lips, feeling him there even now and foolishly wishing to repeat the pleasure. Dax Coleman, with only the touch of his mouth, had given hope to an impossible dream.
At dinner he’d been unusually quiet and thoughtful and Jenna wondered what he was thinking. Dare she dream that he was as stunned as she? For stunned she was. Stunned by the emotions roaring through her. Stunned to feel so complete in his arms. Stunned to be falling in love.
Could Dax possibly feel the same? Or was he instead filled with regret about a rash behavior?
All through the meal of beef medallions and pasta, he’d said little and afterward had left the house, using the excuse of a mare about to give birth. She’d wanted to go out to the barn with him to watch the miracle, but he hadn’t asked and she didn’t quite have the courage to impose.
Perhaps they both needed time to process what had happened. Her optimistic side believed he felt something special for her. He was certainly a better, braver, stronger man than Derek, but it was Derek’s betrayal that kept her afraid.
Sensitive Gavin must have felt the tension between the adults because he’d been clingy and whiny all evening. She’d made a special effort to focus on him, finally bringing out the ingredients for baked dough ornaments. Working the dough with his hands and cutting the shapes seemed to ease his stress and by storytime Gavin seemed happier.
Still, when she’d put him to bed, he’d hugged her a long, heart-tugging time. After she flipped off the light and stepped into the hall, he’d called out, “Jenna.”
Expecting a request for a drink, she’d said, “Yes, Gavin.”
“I love you.”
A perfect peace settled in her soul.
She loved him, too. She’d loved him since the first time she’d found him standing guard over Sophie’s crib. With every day that passed, she loved him more.
With an ache for the little boy’s hungry heart, she’d gone back into the darkened room for another hug. “I love you, too, Gavin.” She’d kissed his forehead. “You’re a very special boy.”
Now, restless and too keyed-up to sleep, she padded down the hall toward the living room. The house still smelled warm and delicious from the cinnamon in the dough ornaments. Tomorrow they would be cool enough to paint and string with red ribbon for hanging on the tree.
The prelit, flocked spruce Dax had brought from a storage room filled a corner of the dark living room. She plugged in the lights, basking in the beauty she and the Coleman males had created. A lighted wreath sprigged with holly, along with swags of plush, snow-doused garland hung over the fireplace. More garland, flocked and sprinkled with tiny white lights, draped around fat red candles and down the sides of the mantel. Soon the stockings she’d been personalizing would be ready to hang.
At her parents’ estate, she’d never been allowed to participate in Christmas preparations other than shopping. A designer had always been retained for the occasion. But Jenna had watched and longed for the day she could create a Christmas of the heart with her own special touches.
Touching a shiny red ball with one fingertip, she smiled softly. That day had finally come in a most unexpected manner and in an even more unexpected place.
She heard Gavin stir and tiptoed down the long hall to his room. He tossed restlessly and murmured, then settled again. She waited a moment longer before returning to the living room, where she went to the window and gazed out. A heavy frost lay over the brown grass and glistened beneath the moon. A Texas night could be so still, and yet she knew life teemed all around her.
The quiet snick of the door latch turned her around. Dax, shoulders hunched against the cold, came inside, filling up the room and her heart. Her stomach fluttered, foolishly happy. One kiss shouldn’t mean so much, but to her, it did.