“Yeah. I’ll do that.”
* * *
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly enough. Blake’s call ended and they both seemed to have gotten over the awkwardness of lunch. Maybe it was the security of being at Nicks, but Kim saw him relax once again. Next time maybe she’d bring takeout and they could have a picnic on the floor.
The phone rang and she picked it up, making sure to smile as she spoke. “Naughty Nicks Frosted Fantasies. Where one of Santa’s helpers will bring you a special present from the not-so-frozen North. My name is Elf Kim, how may I help you?”
“Are you like their pimp? What the fuck is a chick pimp called anyway? A pimpette?” Laugher rang in her ears as she slammed the receiver down.
“Asshole.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Crank call.” She got up from behind the counter and went to fill up her water bottle at the cooler. “Someone just being a jerk.”
“Do you get a lot of those?”
Blake closed the distance between them, reached out and cupped her cheek. The gentleness of his touch made her want to weep. This was her attraction to the man, not his good looks, or his humor—although those things certainly didn’t detract—his ability to be real. Most guys she knew would have freaked out when she stood up and crowded in, or else they’d assume she was about to jump their bones—which she wanted to, but no, not here—but not Blake.
The concern in his eyes was clear and sincere.
Kim somehow resisted the urge to get up on her tip-toes and kiss the end of his nose. “I get a few a day. I’m used to dealing with them by now.”
“You se
em upset though.”
“I’ve just been a bit stressed out the past little while. Too much on my plate.” And too many thoughts of him on her mind.
“If you need some time off, I don’t mind.” He let his hand drop, but he didn’t move back. “I can ask one of the guys to come in and run the office.”
“No!” Her heartbeat raced and her hands trembled. There was no way she was going to leave for even a day. She wanted, no needed to soak in every minute of time she had to spend with him. It was the only thing that would keep her going as the year moved forward. “I’m good. It’s just...don’t send me away.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Silence fell between them again, but this time it wasn’t awkward or strained. There was a weight behind it, as though they both wanted to say something more, but neither were willing to risk the consequences.
“Blake, I think we should—”
He held up his hand. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t say that you think we should talk about this. I don’t have a good track record with words that come after that phrase near Christmas.”
Shit. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You gave me a lot of good memories to help me counter the bad ones.” He smiled then, barely a quirk of his lips, but it lit up his eyes. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I didn’t mean to overreact at lunch. And I shouldn’t have pawed at you the way I did. I was just...impulse.”
Kim blinked, no longer certain about how to proceed, or even what to say next. Maybe rather than talking she needed to simply cut to the chase and show him what she wanted. Going up high on her toes, she placed a kiss to his cheek. Her lips were prickled by the start of his stubble, the sensation sending chills through her. Dragging her mouth across his jawline and down to his chin, she kissed him again.
“Kim?” His voice shook and she felt him swallow.
Ignoring his mouth, she moved over and kissed his other cheek, before finally making the stretch for the tip of his nose. He sucked in a little breath, but he made no move to kiss her back. That was fine. She’d thrown the gauntlet and he now knew where she stood. She looked up to see that the color of his irises had been nearly swallowed by the blacks of his pupils. For the first time since she’d met him, Kim didn’t have a clue how he would react.
Oh, she knew what she wanted him to do, she simply wasn’t certain he was ready to get there.
Blake let out a stuttered breath. “Kim, I—”