Mistletoe Magic (5 page)

“
Mistletoe’s also negative for FIV and FeLV.” “She’s doing
well, given her condition when she arrived.”

“
Fantastic.” Her excited word didn’t match her hunched
shoulders.

Something was
off. “Have you spoken with your friends?”

“
Yes.” Caitlin looked him straight at the eyes, the corners of
her mouth tight. “My friends are getting two kittens for Christmas,
a brother-sister pair from her parents. They can’t take
Mistletoe.”

The
disappointment in her voice made him want to kiss Caitlin happy. He
touched her arm instead. “Sometimes these things turn out for the
best.”

She nodded,
half-heartedly.

“
Hey, Dr. Sullivan. Better watch out.” Veronica said from
behind the counter. “You’re standing under the
mistletoe.”

Noah glanced
up. Sure enough, the greenery hung above him.

Smiles tugged
on the lips of other worried clients. One was the owner of a cat
who chewed on a lamp chord and electrocuted himself. The other
owned a dog with a leg wound due to a broken fence rail.

Maybe hanging
the mistletoe hadn’t been such a bad idea, especially now that he
was standing here with Caitlin.

Pink tinged
her cheeks. He remembered the charming blush from their days at
MSU. He wanted a refresher with her kiss. Who was he kidding? He
wanted to kiss her until she couldn’t think about anyone but him.
“You game?”

“
Sure.”

Not the most
passionate response, but that was good enough with a kiss
attached.

Anticipation
surging through him, Noah lowered his mouth toward. She rose up on
her toes to meet him halfway, surprising him once more. He’d made
the moves before.

His lips
touched hers. Soft, warm, sweeter than he remembered.

Merry
Christmas to me.

He owed Santa
a plate full of cookies and a beer. Mistletoe would get a treat.
This kiss was the best present he could have asked for. He ran his
mouth over hers, wanting more.

She arched,
her breasts pressing against his chest. His temperature shot up.
His groin tightened.

He reached
up.

She backed
away, her face more flushed. Her breathing ragged.

His lips
tingled. He fought the urge to pull her into his arms for another
round.

Had she always
kissed like that? If so, what had his twenty-two-year-old self been
thinking?

“
Now that’s what I call a kiss under the mistletoe.” Veronica
clapped. The other clients joined in, filling the waiting room with
applause.

Caitlin
curtsied as if she were a ballerina playing the Sugar Plum Fairy in
The Nutcracker.

Following her
lead, Noah bowed. Memories of the shy girl he’d once dated clashed
with the woman standing here today. She was nothing like he
remembered. But that didn’t seem to stop his attraction from
growing exponentially the more he saw of her.

“
You probably need to get back,” she said.

Noah should
have been the one to say that, not her. But a part of him wished he
could stay with her longer. But animals needed care and people
didn’t want to be here all night, even if he would be. “I do.”

“
Give Mistletoe a rub for me please.”

The kitten’s
name was growing on him. After the hot kiss, so was the hanging
green stuff. Maybe they should keep the mistletoe up during the
month of December, not just Christmas Eve.

Kissing her
had lightened the anxiety in the waiting room. He was glad to have
brought a smile and lighthearted moment to pet owners, but maybe he
could figure out a way to get Caitlin under the mistletoe again,
without an audience.

That gave Noah
an idea. One that might put him on Santa’s naughty list, but seeing
Caitlin smile would be worth a stocking of coal. And if he managed
to get another kiss… “How would you like to give Mistletoe a rub
yourself?”

Caitlin sat
alone in exam room #3. Framed pictures of dogs and cats covered the
walls, but images of Noah filled her mind, compliments of his
toe-curling kiss.

Talk about
hot. Even though the kiss hadn’t lasted long and people had been
watching.

Still, her
pulse hadn’t slowed. Her nerve endings tingled. Her lips throbbed.
She touched her mouth with her fingertip.

The kiss under
the mistletoe had been unexpected, wonderful, a little scary.

Okay, a lot
scary.

Kissing him
had been better than she remembered.

Out of
practice or lonely or something… else? She tapped her toe. The
something else made her wish for another kiss.

A knock
sounded. The door opened.

Noah walked in
with Mistletoe wrapped in a blanket. He cradled the kitten like a
baby against him.

Her heart
melted, pooling at her feet like an ice sculpture left in a
greenhouse.

“
Sorry it took so long.” He adjusted the blanket away from the
sleeping kitten’s face. “I was hoping a dog we’ve got back there
couldn’t reach his stitches but somehow he did. Now he’ll have to
wear a cone.”

“
Poor doggy. Maybe Santa can bring him a bone to make up for
being stuck in a cone of shame for Christmas.” She loved how Noah’s
thumb rubbed the spot under the kitten’s chin, almost as an
afterthought. She wondered if Noah knew he was doing it. “You don’t
have to apologize for doing your job. But you know what’s
funny?”

He looked from
the kitten to Caitlin. “What?”

“
You used to talk about being a vet and your future, but this
is the first time I’ve ever seen you with an animal. This is where
you belong.”

“
Thanks. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.” His gaze
remained on her. “Or be anywhere else.”

Her heart sped
up. Not good. She needed to tamp that down. “What about your plans
to live in a big city?”

“
Plans change. Like people. You’re not the same woman I knew.
I’m not the same man. I hope you… see that.”

He sounded so
serious, a way she’d only heard him talk about being a vet. “I see
that.”

Noah exhaled.
“I’m glad.”

“
I also heard what the other clients in the waiting room had to
say about you, making house calls to the elderly if their pets are
sick, taking care of feral and barn cats for the shelter. You’re
devoted to your job.”

“
I am, but a wise woman wearing reindeer antlers told me that
there needs to be more than work in my life. She’s
right.”

A lump the
size of Rudolf’s nose formed in Caitlin’s throat so she nodded
instead of answering.

“
I really am sorry for hurting you.” Raw emotion sounded in
Noah’s voice. “No excuses unless being young and stupid with a
severe case of tunnel visions counts.”

That made her
smile. “We were both young and stupid back then. I had tunnel
vision, too, except the only thing I saw was you.”

“
I wish I had only seen you.”

His words sent
tingles down her spine, all the way to the tips of her boots.
“Noah—”

A soft mew
interrupted her. Noah’s mega-watt smile raised the temperature in
the room ten degrees and made her want to ask him out for coffee
the day after Christmas.

“
Ready to say hello to the kitty you rescued?” he
asked.

“
Ready, impatient, so glad you asked.” Caitlin took the kitten
from him and held the wrapped bundle close to her. She stared into
sleepy green eyes that blinked open to meet Caitlin’s. Her heart
bumped. “Oh, my. Hello, Mistletoe. Aren’t you the cutest kitten
ever?”

“
She is pretty darn cute.” Noah moved closer, his arm brushing
against hers. Heat emanated from him, making her scoot closer. He
didn’t seem to mind and soon they sat thighs touching, his arm
around her, as if that was where it belonged. “If you feel a bump
or any wetness, that’s from the subcutaneous fluids.”

“
She’s perfect.” Caitlin focused on the cat, but she was
equally aware of the man next to her. Sure, there was physical
attraction, the zinging, buzzing, humming kind. But while she’d
been infatuated with the senior vet-wannabe, the vet and man now
intrigued her, made her want to know what made him tick and listen
to him tell her about his new plans and how he’d ended up in
Marietta.

The little
tabby mewed.

“
Listen to her.” She laughed, a sound that bubbled inside her
thanks to the kitten and to Noah. “Mistletoe’s found her
voice.”

“
She’s small, but noisier than the beagle who came in after
her. She’ll be a handful, but most cats are.”

Caitlin
touched the kitten’s tiny paw with her fingertip. The cat wasn’t
helpless like a newborn, but she was still a kitten. “The thought
of Mistletoe going to a shelter…”

“
The shelter tries to put kittens and senior cats into foster
homes.”

“
That’s good to know.” But not enough. “My friends said I could
keep Mistletoe at the house until they get back on New Year’s Day.
That would give me time to find her a home.”

The pressure
of his hand against her back increased. “You may get attached even
if you plan on giving her away. That might hurt you.”

The sincerity
in his voice and his openness brought another lump to her throat.
He cared. That much was clear to her. The least she could do was be
open back. “Too late. I think I became attached the second I found
her.”

“
That’s what I thought.” He toyed with a strand of hair that
must have fallen out of her bun. The gesture felt natural… right.
“Are you going to be able to give up the kitten?”

“
I… “ Caitlin knew the answer he wanted to hear, and seven
years ago she would have gladly said that, but not today. “No. I’m
going to have to look for a new apartment.”

“
Lucky kitty.” He gave the cat a scratch behind the ears.
“Mistletoe can always bunk with me if it takes you a while to find
a place and move.”

Her gaze flew
from the kitten to Noah’s. “You’d do that?”

“
Not for just everybody. But for Mistletoe and… you I
will.”

Her pulse
skittered. She wasn’t sure what was happening between her and Noah,
but she didn’t want it to stop. “Thanks. I’m really glad you were
here today and not in Portland.”

“
Me, too.” He looked down at the cat, then up at her. “We’ve
kissed under the mistletoe. How about a kiss over
Mistletoe?”

Anticipation
swelled. Caitlin was going to get what she’d wished for—another
kiss. “Under, over, doesn’t matter to me.”

She leaned
forward, mindful of the kitten, and kissed him hard on the lips.
His kiss was warm, thorough, and tasty. The hint of coffee and salt
made her want more. No doubt his kisses were addictive, but at this
moment she didn’t care.

Best.
Christmas. Present. Ever.

Well, next to
Mistletoe.

Something
buzzed.

He drew the
kiss to an end. “That’s my signal to get back. You don’t want to be
tired on Christmas. Go home and sleep. I’ll bring Mistletoe over
when my shift ends?”

The air rushed
from her lungs. She forced herself to keep breathing. “I’d like
that. I’ll leave the address to my friends’ house.”

“
Great.”

Yes, it was.
But not quite enough, she realized with a start. “I remember how
you like to plan things. Plan on sticking around when you come
over. Spend the day. Christmas with me.”

“
Sounds like the best plan I’ve had in a while.”

“
It’ll be fun.” She wiggled her toes with excitement and hope.
“The house is all decorated. There’s a big Christmas
tree.”

“
Good, because I’ve been working so much I didn’t have time to
put one up.” The buzz sounded again. “I’ve got to go now, but in a
few hours I’ll be there with bells on. And Mistletoe.”

He held out
his arms for the kitten.

Caitlin kissed
Mistletoe’s head. Reluctantly she handed the kitten to Noah then
kissed his cheek. “Thanks for… everything.”

His gaze
lingered. “See you soon.”

Not soon
enough. “I’m not a kid, but I wish it were already morning.”

He laughed.
“Me, too, but Santa already delivered my presents.”

“
What?”

Tenderness
filled Noah’s eyes, a look she could get used to seeing. “You and
Mistletoe—and maybe a second chance.”

Her lips
parted with surprise. Christmas magic? Or mistletoe magic? Either
way, she was becoming a believer. Wait until she told Jen.
“Definitely on the second chance.”