“Why, Mr. Beverly, are you proposing?” she teases, and the challenging gleam in her eyes makes me want to take her up on the dare. I can imagine a great number of fates far worse than being Lucy Billings’ husband. It sounds rather nice, in fact.
But I’m not a madman.
“I’m asking you to be my girl,” I say. “To go steady. That’s what you Americans call it, right?”
She snorts. “In nineteen fifty. You’re stuffy even for an English guy, aren’t you?”
“Very,” I say. “My mother says I was an old man from the day I was born.”
Lucy smiles, a little fondly, I think. “I was just telling Emma today that I’m an old man on the inside. So I guess we have that in common. Pretty sexy, huh?”
I incline my head, and confirm, “Terribly sexy.”
She laughs again and leans into me. “Help me up, Stuffy Boyfriend?”
“With pleasure,” I say, warmth blooming in my chest as I help her to her feet. “How’s that feel?”
She takes a ginger step forward, still holding my hand. “Okay, I think. I’m going to be sore tomorrow, but no serious damage was done.” She glances back at me. “How about you?”
“Me?” I’ve forgotten about my bruised face until Lucy reaches up, cupping my cheek in her hand. “Oh, that. Not going to slow me down a bit.”
“Good,” Lucy says, her thumb brushing over my bottom lip, making my nerve endings sizzle. “Then should we go back to my place and make some fresh cocoa?”
“Crossing my fingers that ‘make some fresh cocoa’ is code for kissing until we can’t feel our faces?”
She beams up at me. “Yes. Absolutely.”
“Then I’m in, Billings.” I thread my fingers through hers. “I’m glad we’ve put our mortal enemy days behind us.”
“Me, too,” she says softly. “I like you. I’m sorry I was such a jerk for the past year.”
“Not another word about it. You’re forgiven, I’m forgiven, and we’re turning a new page. Though I would prefer to be called ‘sexy boyfriend.’”
“Really?” She frowns. “I thought ‘stuffy boyfriend’ had a nice ring to it.”
I arch a brow, and she grins.
“Just kidding, Sexy Boyfriend. Let’s go home. Your nose looks cold.”
I fetch our things from the blind, and we head off through the trees toward the glow of her front porch lights.
It’s a slightly tardy Christmas miracle, but I’m grateful for it all the same.
Grateful and determined to show Lucy I intend to make the most of my second chance…
5
Lucy
I’m not planning to jump Lawrence as soon as we close my front door.
I’m planning to offer him some cocoa or a beer or whatever else I have in my poorly stocked fridge, then start a fire and settle in for some pre-kissing conversation.
But I barely have time to hang up my coat before he pulls me into his arms and kisses me in a way that makes it clear he intends to have me for a late-night snack. I cling to his shoulders, dancing my tongue against his, head spinning as he draws me up his body, and I wrap my legs around his waist.
“Your hip is all right?” he mumbles against my lips as his hands grip my ass, sending an earthquake of desire rocking through me. “This is okay?”
“Yes.” I thread my fingers into his silky hair. “This is so good.”
“Bedroom?” he asks, spinning away from the door.
“Upstairs.” I suck in a startled breath as he crosses the room in three quick steps and bounds up the stairs two at a time.
But I love that he’s in as much of a hurry to be together as I am.
I don’t usually rush into things like this, but kissing Lawrence feels so completely right.
That’s how things got so out of control last time.
Touching him, being with him, just feels so natural, like something I’ve done a hundred times before, but at the same time so exciting I can barely contain the joyful cry rising in my throat.
“Like the first Christmas tree of the season,” I say as he swings into my bedroom and heads for the bed without bothering to turn on the lights.
“What’s that, love?” He lays me down on the cool quilt and stretches out on top of me, making my blood fizz faster.
“Kissing you,” I say, feeling a little shy but wanting to be honest with him from here on out. “It’s like cutting down the first tree of the year. Something familiar but still magical.”
He smooths a gentle hand over my forehead. “It is like that. For me, too. I haven’t felt magic like this for a very long time.”
“Me, either.” I bite my lip, hesitating only a beat before I confess, “I’m not sure I’ve ever had it. Everything was so intense with Bill at first, but I think that’s just because it was all so new. Every bridge we crossed together, we crossed it for the first time. But with you…”