Twelve Days of Christmas (11 page)

If he didn't kiss her soon, she was going to reach for his lapels and jerk him close and do it herself.

Just when she was about to stand on the tips of her toes and kiss him, Cain leaned down and captured her mouth. His kiss was exactly how she'd imagined. Her entire body swayed toward him and he wrapped his arms around her in a hold that half lifted her from the ground.

Julia's arms slipped around his neck as she gave herself over to him. The kiss was intense and deep: a mingling of passion, need, want, desire, and longing. It went on for what seemed like several moments. When they broke apart, they both swayed as if their entire world had made a shift…and for Julia it had. This was above and beyond anything she could ever have predicted.

Cain pressed his forehead against hers. “I knew you'd taste like heaven.”

His words felt like warm honey.

“You're going to be addictive, aren't you?” he murmured.

“I…I don't know…maybe…I'd like it if I were.” With everything in her, she hoped what he said was true.

“One taste will never be enough.”

She grazed her lips over his in a near kiss, enjoying the freedom to tease him.

His arms remained around her. Her own were tucked about his waist. “You still going to buy me coffee in the morning?”

“My word is good.”

“Mine, too.”

Straightening, he kissed the bridge of her nose. “I'll see you in the morning and then you can tell me all about Jeremy.”

Julia smiled softly. “In the morning,” she promised.

Cain had a difficult time sleeping. His head was full of Julia. It was happening; he could feel it. Despite everything, he was falling for his neighbor and falling hard. It'd been utterly selfish of him to take her to dinner, but he'd wanted—no, needed—more time with her. After working all day and then volunteering, she'd been exhausted. Her tiredness was complicated by the fact that she was coming off the flu. But she had to eat, and Cain suspected she'd skip dinner entirely and he didn't want that to happen.

That was the excuse he'd used to have Tom get them a table. In retrospect, he'd gotten more than he bargained for. Cain tended to be a private person who kept his emotions in check. A woman he'd dated a few times recently insisted he hid himself behind a brick wall. He didn't disagree with her. He was well aware of his tendency to keep his private life private.

What he learned about Julia was that she, too, lived behind a brick wall, only hers was cleverly hidden behind a bright smile and effervescent personality. In the time they'd spent together, and admittedly there hadn't been much, he'd learned relatively little about her life. She'd talked freely about her family and seemed close to her parents and siblings, which was all well and good. What she'd avoided was anything deep, including any reference to previous relationships.

Over dinner she'd opened up to him for the first time and he had with her as well. She hadn't given a lot of detail about what had happened with her college sweetheart, but he could tell the breakup had deeply affected her. By her own admission, she hadn't been in a serious relationship since Dylan.

Cain could appreciate that. He'd been burned himself. Burned badly enough to be leery of women in general, which was one reason he'd been openly suspicious of Julia and her attentions. No one was that happy or friendly without wanting something in return. No one in his experience, anyway. He'd been sure it was all a sick joke. But when he'd asked the barista about her, Cain had been assured this was no act with Julia.

To his credit, Cain had resisted as best he could, but it was as if she were the sun, spreading her glow and warmth over him. Without him ever meaning for it to happen, he found himself caught up in the centrifugal force that was Julia. He'd been swept up by the happiness he felt when he was with her, the feeling of belonging, which was something he hadn't felt in a good long while. It was like an elixir he was fast coming to crave.

His change of heart started when he'd wrongly accused her of stalking him. In retrospect, he'd felt like a bloody fool. When she'd sat down at the piano bench with that choir group he'd nearly groaned out loud. She'd been furious with him and rightly so, but she'd kept her cool. He had to admire the way she'd handled herself.

Later, when he'd come down with the flu, she'd been thoughtful and kind. A smile came when he remembered her marching into his apartment, yellow rubber gloves and bucket in hand. That woman was something else…

Cain wasn't much of a Christmas person, never had been. There was only his grandfather and him, and they didn't exchange gifts. For the first time in memory, he was looking forward to Christmas because he had Julia to share the holiday with, and having her in his life made all the difference in the world.

Oh yes, he was falling for her.

Cain fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The entire night Julia felt like she was floating on a dream. She slept deep and woke to her alarm, her heart full of Cain. She could barely wait to see him, barely wait to look into his eyes again, to discover if the spark, that happiness she saw in him, was real and true. If she'd noticed a difference, perhaps his grandfather had as well.

Rushing through her morning ritual, she didn't have time to check her blog for anything more than statistics. Her readership had grown to numbers that shocked her, doubling almost overnight.

Forty thousand hits and more than a thousand shares. The comments went on for pages. The temptation to stop and read a few of the shorter ones was nearly irresistible. Unfortunately, she had a toothbrush sticking out of the corner of her mouth and didn't have a minute to waste if she was going to meet Cain at the agreed-upon time.

The weather threatened snow, which would be perfect for the season. Wonderful. But snow would make it a nightmare to travel into the heart of the city. Despite what the country seemed to believe regarding the Pacific Northwest, Seattle didn't receive a large amount of snowfall. Maybe once or twice a winter. Being on Puget Sound, temperatures rarely dipped below freezing.

On the off chance there was snow, Julia reached for her knee-high boots. She loved them and had waited until there was a price reduction before she made the purchase. The cashmere scarf Cain bought her was tucked around her neck. This was a special gift she would long treasure, and for more than the quality. Cain had surprised her with his thoughtfulness, making sure she was warm and protected against the elements.

Phil, the barista, greeted Julia and Cain when it came their turn to place an order at Starbucks. He looked from Julia to Cain and then he winked at her. “I see you two have settled your differences.”

Cain frowned at the other man. “Can we just get our coffee without the commentary?”

“Cain,” she chastised, linking her arm around his. “Be nice.”

He continued to glare at the other man. “This is as nice as I get in the mornings.”

“Grumble, grumble, grumble,” she muttered under her breath, but beneath it all she was smiling.

She claimed a small table while Cain waited for their coffee order to come up. Carrying her latte and his coffee, he joined her a few minutes later, slipping into the chair across from her. His gaze fell on the scarf and she could see he was pleased she was wearing it.

“I heard there's a threat of snow today,” she said conversationally as she tasted the peppermint and mocha. It was delicious and exactly the right temperature.

He took a drink from his cup and savored the caffeine before he commented. “What have you got going tonight?”

“Practice with the kids at the Boys and Girls Club.” She reminded him they were the reason she couldn't have dinner with him.

He held on to the cup with both hands and held her gaze. “Is Jeremy one of the kids?”

“No, he's the adult leader.”

Cain's face tightened. “You and him an item?”

Julia toyed with the idea of purposely making him jealous and quickly decided against it. Cain wouldn't appreciate her sense of humor, especially in the morning. Besides, it would have been childish. “We used to be. These days we're nothing more than friends.”

“He feel that way, too?”

“Stop with the inquisition. I dated Jeremy earlier in the year. He's a great guy. He's got a big heart for kids and…”

Cain held up his hand, stopping her. “I don't want to listen to a litany of his virtues, Julia.”

“Okay.” She took another sip of her drink. “Trust me, there's no need to be jealous. It's Christmas and I'm doing him a favor, helping with the kids program and…” She paused as an idea came to her.

“And…?” Cain asked.

“Come with me tonight,” she blurted out excitedly, warming to the idea. She didn't know why she hadn't thought of this earlier. “I have a couple errands to run after work and I can meet you at the club at seven.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“So you can meet Jeremy, for one. And afterward you can walk me home. Maybe it'll be snowing.” That would be perfect. And romantic. She could picture the two of them arm in arm, strolling through the falling snow. The image was enough to make her want to smile and pray for snow, no matter how much of a hassle the aftermath would be.

Cain's head snapped up. “You walk back to the apartment from the club? Alone?”

“It's only a few blocks. The neighborhood's safe.”

“A woman alone at night?” He didn't bother to hide his displeasure. “I don't think so.”

“Honestly, what is it with you two?” Julia didn't understand it. The club was only a handful of blocks from her apartment, and businesses lined both sides of the street so the entire way was well lit.

“Two? Who else is worrying about you?”

“Jeremy. He doesn't like me walking home alone, either.” It might not have been a good idea to mention Jeremy's name again, but if it got Cain to consider coming to the center, then it was worth his darkening frown. “Are you going to meet me or not?”

“I'll be there if for no other reason than to make sure you get home safely.”

He didn't sound overly happy about it.

“What time do you think you'll be finished?” he asked.

“Eight or so.”

He set his cup down and stood.

Julia followed. Something was wrong, and it was more than the fact that Cain wasn't a morning person. She grabbed hold of his coat sleeve as he started toward the exit. “Cain, what's the matter?”

He went still and his gaze softened when he met her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“You're in a bad mood. Did I do something?”

He stilled. “As a matter of fact, you did.”

Her heart raced, fearing that he'd found out about her blog. Eventually she'd need to tell him. She dreaded it and wanted to put it off until after Christmas. Then and only then would she reveal what she'd done and how she'd used him. Until that time she'd pray with every iota of faith she possessed that he wouldn't be offended.

He held her gaze for a long moment. “You want to know what?”

“Yes.” It felt as if her heart was in her throat, her pulse pounding in a loud staccato beat, making it hard for her to breathe normally.

“You made me care about you,” he admitted.

“Is that a bad thing?” Surely he realized she shared his feelings. She'd come to care about him, too. A lot.

“I promised myself that I wouldn't let that happen again and here I am disliking a man I've never met because I don't want anyone else feeling about you the way I do.”

“You don't?” she asked, sighing with the question. He said the most beautiful things and didn't even seem to know it.

He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “I don't know what this is, Julia.”

“This?”

“Whatever
this
is between us. I have to tell you not only is it unfamiliar, it's unnerving.”

Her drink forgotten, Julia watched him closely, her heart in her eyes. It took restraint not to leap up, hurl her arms around his neck, and confess she felt the same way.

“I can't sleep, thinking about you,” he said, his voice gruff and impatient. “You were on my mind when I finally went to sleep last night, and then this morning you were the first thing I thought about when the alarm went off. I couldn't wait to see you, to sit and have coffee with you, and I'm already worrying how long it will be until I have a chance to be with you again.”

No one had ever said anything more romantic to her, and she pressed her hand over her heart.

“Almost overnight, I find that you've invaded every corner of my well-protected world,” he continued. “I don't like it. I don't want to need you and I find that I do and it unsettles me.”

“I'm unsettled, too,” she told him. “I never thought I'd feel this way, either.” Especially about him. Only a few days earlier she'd barely been able to tolerate being in the same elevator with him.

To her disappointment, the bus pulled to a stop out front of Starbucks and she groaned. “I have to go, otherwise I'll be late for work.”

“Go,” he said impatiently, as if eager to be rid of her, as if sending her on her way would somehow help.

Julia couldn't do it.

“No,” she said, making a sudden decision. “I don't care; I'll be late. This is important. You're important.”

“Julia, go. It's fine. We'll talk later.”