Mistletoe Match-Up (Romancing Wisconsin #3) (5 page)

Her head tilted up, then her eyes closed. “Stupid mistletoe.”

After a deep, resigned breath, she met his gaze again, her cheeks stained bright red. “The official rule in the Riley house is that you’re not allowed to refuse a kiss if you’re caught under the mistletoe.”

He grasped the doorframe with one hand, and lifted the other to brush her hair back from her cheek. She came across like she didn’t want this, but her breath hitched when he leaned close. Good so far. Better yet, she didn’t retreat.

He threaded his fingers through her soft hair and skimmed along the smooth nape of her neck. Her gaze dropped to his mouth, then her lashes drifted closed, fanned against her flushed cheeks. The vision drew him like a magnet. He knew he was playing with fire but couldn’t locate any common sense to avoid the flames.

“What happens if you break the rule?” He whispered the question only inches from her mouth.

“Bad luck. Supposedly,
really
bad luck.” The husky rasp of her voice and her warm breath burned Derek faster than a scalding gulp of hot chocolate.

“Considering your Christmas Eve, I don’t imagine you want to jinx Christmas Day…do you?”

One heartbeat of hesitation. “No.”

He closed the distance until their mouths became one. Eyes closed, he savored the silky sensation of her lips against his. But with someone like Lisa, it wasn’t enough. He wanted—
needed
—to taste her. At the first swipe of his tongue, she angled her head and opened to him with a soft sound of surrender. Her moist, sweet essence tantalized his taste buds, drawing him deeper.

Typical Lisa fashion, she didn’t allow him full control. Hands swept under his open jacket, nails raked the muscles of his back through his dress shirt. She eliminated all space between them, her breasts pressed against his chest as her tongue sought equal access to the recesses of his eager mouth. The material of their clothes did nothing to contain the heat of their bodies.

A low groan rumbled from his throat, and he brought his other hand up to cup her face. Derek walked her backward, intent on continuing the kiss inside, out of the harsh winter wind chilling his backside.

The chime of the grandfather clock shattered their moment of passion. Lisa jerked back, putting distance between them without completely pulling free of his touch. While they both caught their breath, Derek gazed down into her wide gray eyes, his confusion mirrored in her expression.

What the hell did this mean? Them not fighting—her kissing him back like she couldn’t get enough. Hell,
he
wanted more. Right now.

When the second peal of the clock faded to silence, he knew it was too late to try to figure out anything right now. He’d be able to think clearly in the light of day. One thing he knew, he
definitely
needed distance, because all he wanted to do now was find her bedroom and take advantage of the empty house.

“Merry Christmas, Lisa.”

He dropped his hands to his side and took a step back, then spun on his heel and went home.

Chapter Four

Lisa went through the motions at Eric and Marissa’s Christmas day, but her mind ran overtime, eight hours in the past. Derek Walsh had been right about one thing, she didn’t know how to handle him all grown up.

She never expected last night to end under the mistletoe, especially after the fiasco of Janelle’s proposed contest. Her pulse sped up just thinking about the thrill of Derek’s hard body aligned with hers; his strong hands cradling her face while he kissed her breathless.

The doorbell jolted Lisa out of the seductive daydream. Not that it mattered. She’d relived those moments most of the night and countless times throughout the morning. Not only could she pick up exactly where she left off to the second, but she could still feel the hot glide of his tongue against hers. Heat spread through her body. She leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes.

“Lisa—it’s for you,” Marissa called.

She rose to her feet with a curious frown. Marissa gave her a knowing grin on her way past, and Lisa felt the eagle eyes of her family and Marissa’s sister, Nikki, follow her until she rounded the corner leading to the front entrance.

 
Derek stood just inside the door, a large square present in his hands. Those monarch butterflies that should’ve migrated south back in September woke up in her stomach. Boy, he looked different today in a brown leather jacket, rust-colored shirt, faded jeans, and tan work boots. With his blond hair casually combed to the side and slightly windblown, and a single day’s growth of light whiskers on his jaw, the rugged look hit her senses as effectively as the formal tux. Maybe even more so.

Their gazes collided when he finished his own appraisal of her red cashmere sweater, low-rise jeans, and bare feet. One corner of Derek’s mouth quirked up. The warmth in his brown eyes brought a flush to her face and propelled her heart rate into the danger zone.

“Hi,” he said.

Good lord, one word should not sound so sexy.

“Hi.” When images of their kiss rolled by in vivid Technicolor, she switched her focus to the package in his hands. “You got me a present?”

He grinned. “Um…not really. I found this when I unloaded the wedding gifts at the lodge. Since Heather’s name is on the tag, I figured you’d need it today.”

“Oh. Of course.” She took it from him with an embarrassed smile. Now she recognized the wrapping paper—frolicking cartoon figures of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, too. “The girls opened their presents from Santa earlier, and we’re going to exchange gifts in a little while. I didn’t realize this one was missing. Thanks.”

“Sure.” He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets.

“How has your Christmas been?”

“Good. Yours?”

“Good.”
Okay, awkward conversation can stop any time now.

He half turned and jerked his thumb toward the door. “I see you got your car.”

“Eric pulled me out this morning.”

“You need new tires.”

“I know.” She just couldn’t afford them.

“They’re calling for more snow this week,” he warned.

“Six to nine inches on Tuesday.”

Her defensive tone made him shake his head. She spun the package in her hands and did her best to avoid staring at his mouth. He smiled and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, then. I’ll let you get back to your family—”

“You should come in for a while,” Lisa offered quickly, not wanting him to leave just yet. She motioned toward the living room where loud, cheerful voices competed with each other. Derek shifted and hunched his shoulders with a look of uncertainty.

“Mark and Janelle are here,” she added. “They’re your family, too.”

“I’ll see them at dinner later. I don’t want to intrude.”

Then it hit her. He wasn’t being thoughtful; he just didn’t want to stay. She cursed her own stupidity for hoping he’d want to spend time with her, and turned the gift some more. “Okay. Well, thanks again. And Merry Christmas.”

Derek reached behind him for the door as Eric walked past on his way to the kitchen. “You two going stand in the doorway all day?”

“I was just—”

Janelle brushed past Eric. “Hey, Cuz—Merry Christmas!”

Lisa stepped back. Then she quickly shifted when she remembered Eric took tradition to extreme and every doorway sported green leaves of entrapment. While her body said one thing, she didn’t want a repeat performance of last night in front of her entire family. In the light of day, it was pretty evident Derek didn’t either.

Janelle had Derek’s coat off and pushed him further into the house before he could get a word in edgewise. He met Lisa’s gaze with a smile of resignation. “I guess I’m staying for a while.”

Traitorous pleasure negated the rational of her mind over Derek’s reluctant demeanor. She shrugged. “Since you delivered the present, it
is
only fitting you’re here to watch Heather open it.”

Reese and Heather pounced on Derek the moment he appeared in the living room. While they gave him a rundown of all their new toys, Lisa walked over to place the package with the rest of the presents under the tree. When she straightened, a swift scan of the room revealed the only open space to sit was on the couch, where the girls now held Derek hostage.

She chose a spot on the floor near the eight-foot Douglas fir, next to the recliner her dad and baby Evan cuddled in. No sense giving anyone the wrong idea as to why Derek was here. Clearly he didn’t want her reading more into it than what it was—a generous gesture that had less to do with her and more to do with the sweet angels on his right. Heather and Reese ate up his undivided attention, and Lisa couldn’t help but think he’d make a great father some day.

Derek’s quick glance away from the girls caught her staring. Evan, bless his dear little heart, chose that moment to reach over the arm of the recliner and grab a fistful of Lisa’s hair. The five-month old gave a squeal of glee and yanked hard enough to bring her to her knees with a gasp.
 

Her mother jumped up to help untangle his slimy fingers, and Lisa took the opportunity to get her thumping heart back under control.

“Janelle, what are Butch and Judy doing today?” Sue Riley asked.

Janelle held out a set of plastic keys to baby Ethan, who sat on Mark’s lap. “Grandma said they’re taking it easy this morning. When we all get there around two, we’ll help her with dinner.”

“I already baked my pies there this morning, so don’t include me in that
we
,” Derek advised. “The football game starts at three.”

Voices fell silent and the background Christmas music swelled. Eric coughed. Reese giggled behind her hand.

Lisa fought a smile and asked Derek what most of her family was probably thinking. “You bake pies?”

He glanced around and then scowled at her with a shadow of a grin. “You think that’s funny?”

Heather and Reese answered in stereo for her. “Yes.”

“Best apple pies in Northeast Wisconsin, girls. Don’t knock ‘em till you’ve tried ‘em.” He gave them each a stern frown, ending with Lisa.

“They’re pretty damn—
darn
—good,” Mark confessed. “I had a slice at Thanksgiving.”

Marissa refilled her coffee cup from a carafe on a side table. “I made more than enough food, maybe Butch and Judy would like to join us? They could completely relax and enjoy the day—especially after the wedding.”

“That would be so nice,” Sue said. “I barely got to talk to Judy yesterday.”

Janelle glanced toward Derek. Derek looked at Eric. “You guys watching the game?”

Eric, Mark, and Lisa replied simultaneously. “Of course!”

“Christmas isn’t Christmas without mistletoe and football,” Ben Riley declared.

Sue sighed over the laughter. “See what I’ve put up with all these years?”

Mark suddenly made a comical face of distaste and informed everyone Ethan needed a diaper change. Janelle rose, but she directed her commiserating grin to her mother-in-law, not her new husband. “Seeing as it appears Lisa is a lost cause, I’ll go call reinforcements.”

Lisa hesitated, tried to talk herself out of it, but the temptation proved too great to resist. Rising to her knees once more, she called to Janelle, “Ask your grandma to bring Derek’s pies.”

Derek braced his elbows on his knees. “Want to try one?”

She poured a tablespoon of sugar into her smile and stirred. “You bet I do.”

Eric snorted as he relieved Mark of the stinky baby. “Only because
she
made two apple pies this morning.”

Derek’s gaze narrowed before he leaned back with a resigned groan. “Great. Here we go again.”

****

For the first time in their history, Derek won. Three times. In one afternoon. Lisa scrubbed extra hard at the baked-on marshmallow ringing the sweet potato dish that Judy Walsh insisted on bringing over.

Wasn’t that kiss under the mistletoe supposed to save her Christmas? If you asked her, the man was nothing but a jinx!

She glanced through her lashes in time to see Derek lift Evan above his head and blow raspberries on the infant’s neck. Evan chortled and squirmed until his tiny little fingers found Derek’s hair and fisted tight. Derek’s deep laugh wound around her heart and squeezed. Her viscous scrubbing gentled.

Okay, fine, he’s more than a jinx
.

The kids loved him. After his initial attitude at the wedding, he’d demonstrated thoughtful tendencies more than once. And it certainly didn’t hurt that looking at him was a treat in itself. His pushed up shirtsleeves and exposed, muscled forearms became a distraction until Lisa gave herself a mental shake.

Why did any of it even matter to her? She shouldn’t care if he won and she lost. It was all so stupid. First was the accidental afternoon diapering race. He had Ethan, she had Evan—although who gave a rip if he could powder a baby’s butt faster than her, right? Evan’s little package had psyched her out—especially when he started peeing a fountain.

Next, the Indianapolis Colts lost to the Green Bay Packers by one measly point, resulting in her forking over ten bucks she shouldn’t have bet in the first place. Minus the money, it wasn’t that big a deal, either, because she liked her home state team second best after the Colts. Plus, she’d had a blast getting Reese and Heather to cheer with her instead of Eric.