A Mistletoe Affair (9 page)

“It won’t,” she said in a hushed tone. “But he’s worth it.”

“Yes, he is.” Jordan looked down at the baby, who was now sleeping in Vicki’s arms. “There is nothing in my world worth more than him.”

Her heart pinched at the love in his voice. What she wouldn’t give to become a part of that world, a world where Jordan and Mason were both a part of her everyday existence.

The old Vicki wouldn’t dare to dream of it. As for this new version of herself that was slowly starting to emerge, the fantasy didn’t seem out of reach.

Once in the car, Jordan slid into the driver’s seat, but he didn’t turn over the ignition. His hands gripping the steering wheel, he released another of those exhausted breaths and let his head fall forward.

“He’s okay, Jordan,” Vicki said.

He raised his head and aimed his eyes at the brick urgent-care building. In a voice that was terribly soft and filled with emotion, he said, “Thank you for being here with me, Vicki.”

“You’re welcome,” she answered, her voice equally soft.

“I’ve never been a fan of the double standard that says that women should be the automatic caregivers. If Allison had even bothered to ask for custody, I would have fought her on it. Being a single father isn’t easy, but I know I’m the better parent.” His eyes closed briefly. “But on a night like tonight, I’m grateful that I didn’t have to go through this alone.”

Vicki reached over and put a comforting hand on his arm. “You’re an amazing father, Jordan, and despite what you may think, you didn’t need me here tonight. You would have done just fine on your own.”

Finally, he looked over at her, his eyes teeming with gratitude and something else, something that warmed every inch of her skin.

“I’m happy I didn’t have to,” he said.

Vicki didn’t know how much time passed as they continued to stare into each other’s eyes. It wasn’t until Mason let out a loud yawn from the backseat that they snapped out of their daze.

“I guess that’s our cue.” Jordan chuckled as he started the car, but before backing out of the parking space, he turned to her and said, “You wouldn’t let me take you out to dinner to thank you for babysitting Tuesday night, but this time I insist.”

“We can’t go to dinner, Jordan. You need to get Mason home and in bed.”

“I know. I was thinking something more along the lines of takeout. Between the tree shopping and the trip to urgent care, I’m starving.”

“I haven’t eaten anything since noon,” she said, making a point of looking at the time illuminated on the dash. It was after eight o’clock.

“Since noon?” Jordan put the car in Reverse. “It’s no longer a question. You, Ms. Ahlfors, are joining me for dinner.”

*

Jordan stared at the tapered candles in the kitchen drawer, debating whether or not to take them out. Who would have thought candles could be such a big damn deal?

But they were a big deal. Candles made all the difference. Candles turned a casual meal shared between two friends into a cozy dinner shared between two people who wanted to be
more
than friends.

Was he ready to become more than just Vicki’s friend?

He took out the candles.

He found a couple of Waterford crystal candleholders in the closet that housed most of his and Allison’s wedding gifts. They had been married long enough to keep the gifts without feeling beholden to send them back, but not long enough to unpack at least half of the stuff they’d received.

He ran across the wedding china and considered setting the table with it, but then thought better of it. He would not subject Vicki to eating on dishes meant for Allison. He would give that china to Goodwill the first chance he got.

Jordan was setting a match to the second candlewick when Vicki emerged from the back of the house where she’d just tucked Mason into his bed.

“Is he asleep?” he asked.

“He is,” she said, a surprised smile slowly stretching across her face as her eyes darted from the candles to the wine chilling in the electronic wine chiller. “I checked his temperature again and his fever is already going down.”

“Hopefully he’ll sleep through the night,” Jordan said. He snatched the baby monitor from the counter. “But just in case he wakes up...”

She walked over to the table and trailed her finger along the rim of one of the wineglasses. “This is...nice,” she finished. “Very nice.”

He lifted the bottle of wine from the ice. “Are you okay with Riesling? I like my wine on the sweet side.”

“Sure.” Her eyes followed him as he rounded the table.

“What?” Jordan asked.

She motioned to the setup. “This is just a little more...involved than I was expecting.”

He paused in the middle of pouring his wine. “Look, Vicki, if it makes you uncomfortable, you can just consider this a thank-you for being there for me tonight.”

There was a questioning lift to her brow. “Is there another way to consider it?”

Time stretched between them as they stared at each other across the brief expanse of the table separating them.

Jordan measured his words before speaking. “For me, this is more than just a thank-you,” he said. “I’ve known you for years, Vicki, but I don’t
know
you.”

“We ran in different circles,” she pointed out. “It’s not all that surprising that we’ve never really gotten the chance to know each other.”

“How do you feel about changing that?”

The words came out on a deep, husky whisper. Jordan’s chest tightened as he awaited her answer. He couldn’t deny the significance of it. Her answer would tell him whether or not she was willing to give this thing he felt growing between them a chance to blossom, or if it would dwindle and die.

After several long moments passed, Vicki finally said, “I’d like that.”

The relief that tore through his body was strong enough to bring Jordan to his knees.

One corner of his mouth edged up slightly. “So would I,” he answered.

Once seated at the table, Jordan dished up steaming noodles and chicken satay from takeout containers. Suddenly realizing how famished they both were now that the intensity of the urgent-care visit had worn off, they dived into their meal. As tasty as the Thai food was, it was the conversation, and particularly Vicki’s musical laugh, that Jordan found himself enjoying the most.

In fact, they both laughed so hard that they had to remind themselves to quiet down lest they wake Mason. Vicki told him stories of some of the antics she, his sister and Janelle had pulled back in college, some so devious that Jordan teasingly threatened to tell all of their parents, even though years had passed since the pranks. He found himself wiping tears from the corner of his eyes several times.

He stopped Vicki in the middle of the story she was currently telling.

“Wait a minute.” He held both hands up. “First, who came up with the idea to put pepper in the basketball team’s jockstraps, and second, how in the hell did you all pull it off?”

“It was Sandra’s idea, but I’m the one who got us into the locker room. My chemistry partner was a kinesiology major, so she had access to the locker room as part of her work study.”

“I never would have thought you could be so Machiavellian.”

Vicki mimicked his previous pose, her palms facing him. “Keep in mind that I was always roped in. They were never my ideas.”

“Doesn’t seem as if you regret it,” he said.

A wry grin curled the edges of her sensual lips and she shook her head. “No, I don’t. Those were some really good times.” She took a sip of wine and asked, “How about you? Any regrets?”

Jordan laughed, but this time it didn’t hold much humor. “If I had to go through the list, we’d be here until New Year’s.”

“It can’t be that bad,” she said.

“It’s definitely not all good. Alienating lifelong family friends, marrying the most selfish woman in the world.” He shook his head. “I have to remind myself not to say things like that. I don’t want to get in the habit of talking bad about Allison, especially in front of Mason.”

“Even though she deserves it?”

“She does, but I have to own up to the part I played, too,” he said. Jordan moved his plate to the side and put both elbows on the table. He studied Vicki over his folded hands, contemplating whether or not he wanted to get into the morass of misery and frustration that he always fell into when he thought about his ex-wife. He decided that he didn’t.

He reached across the table and took her hand. Running his thumb back and forth over her smooth skin, he said, “I don’t want to spoil our dinner with talk of Allison. This is supposed to be about us, remember?”

“And exactly what are we, Jordan?” She slipped her hand away. She matched his recent pose, placing her elbows on the table and folding her hands. She rested her chin on her clasped fingers, her face serene.

“What’s behind the candles and wine? What were you hoping to accomplish when you set them out?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m not interested in playing games,” she said. She gestured to the table. “The wine, the candles... What are we doing here?”

It was not as if he hadn’t expected the question. It was not as if she didn’t have the right to ask it. But Jordan had been dreading it all the same. Because he’d asked himself the same question, and he still didn’t have an answer.

“I’ll be honest with you, Vicki. I’ve been asking myself that same question since you left here Tuesday night.” He ran a hand down his face, then held that hand out to her in a silent plea. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a woman, longer than I’ve ever gone. I wasn’t sure if that’s what was fueling my attraction to you.”

Her composure slipped for a moment, her eyes growing wide with outrage. “Excuse me—”

Jordan cut her off. “I know I sound like a jerk, and maybe I am.”

“Maybe?”

He reached across the table and took her hand. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized that needing a woman had nothing to do with why I’m attracted to you. Shit,” he cursed. “That sounds just as insulting.”

Vicki nodded. “Yes, it does.”

He squeezed her hand slightly. “Look, Vicki, I like you. I like you a lot. You’re great with Mason—”

“So is that what’s behind this? Are you wining and dining me in hopes that I’ll become a convenient babysitter?”

“No!” Damn, he was blowing this. Big-time. “I don’t have to tell you that Mason is the most important thing to me,” he continued. “Seeing how much you care for him makes a difference, a huge difference. But when I look at you, a caregiver for Mason is not the first thing that comes to mind. I like you because you’re sweet, and beautiful, and you have this dry sense of humor that comes out at the weirdest times. You’re intelligent and giving and you have one of the kindest hearts I know.”

Not letting go of her hand, he stood and walked over to her. Taking both of her hands in his, he lifted her from the chair and wrapped an arm around her waist, settling his hand lightly at the small of her back.

“The wine? The candles? They’re here because I wanted to make tonight special. Not just to thank you for helping me pick out a Christmas tree or because you held my hand while Mason was being examined.”

He looked into her eyes. “I wanted tonight to be special because for the first time in a very long time I’m sharing a nice meal and good conversation with a woman I find unbelievably attractive and funny and interesting. You deserve wine and candles and everything else that makes a first date special.”

Her brow arched. “So this is our first date?”

“I’m not sure it started out that way, but that’s how I would like to end it.” He trailed the backs of his fingers along her cheek. “You said you didn’t want casual. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for anything more. But I am.”

“Are you sure about that?”

He nodded. “Casual doesn’t have the appeal it once did. I’m ready for something serious. Are you willing to take this to the next level, Vicki?”

It felt as if hours went by as she studied him, but it was only a few moments. Finally, she said, “So how do you usually end your first dates?”

The smile that stretched across Jordan’s face was so wide it made his cheeks hurt.

“It’s been a while since I had a first date,” he said. “But if I remember correctly, it usually ends like this.”

He dipped his head and connected his lips to hers. The minute their mouths touched, Jordan was bowled over by the sheer softness of her lips, the sweetness of her delectable kiss. It had been so damn long since he’d experienced anything even remotely close to the feelings racing through his blood that he had to slow himself down before he attacked her mouth with the passion suddenly coursing through his veins.

Jordan closed his eyes and focused on the breathtaking gentleness of her mouth as it became pliant underneath his kiss. He brought his hands up to her neck, his fingertips brushing lightly along her jawline as he held her steady. He hesitated for only a moment before he swept his tongue along the seam of her lips and had his first taste of what awaited him.

A groan tore from his throat the moment Vicki parted her lips and let him inside. She was sweet and spicy and warm and undeniably sexy. His tongue moved with determination, sweeping inside the silky depths of her hot mouth, claiming it, relishing in it. His fingers inched up to the back of her head and held her head steady while he explored every delectable crevice.

As one hand cradled her head, the other traveled down her spine, stopping in the shallow dip at the small of her back before lowering a few inches farther. Jordan smoothed his hand over the curve of her firm backside before cupping it and pulling her to him. He held her close, his body instantly hardening at the feel of her stomach against his groin.

As his tongue plunged in and out of her mouth, his thickening erection mimicked the motion.

God, how he’d missed this.

But it was so much more than just missing the feel of a woman against him. It was
this
woman that he wanted,
this
woman that made it special.

“Damn, Vicki,” Jordan whispered against her lips before swooping his hands underneath her thighs and lifting her up and onto the table. Her legs clamped his hips, and their kiss grew hungry.