“Hey! I shoplifted this from Nordstrom’s when I was like fifteen. I wondered what happened to it.”
“You’re not a great person, are you?” Ellery asked as she led Criminal Ryan away.
“Not really,” he agreed.
“Oh my God,” Sammy breathed. She’d been wearing a stolen scarf for fifteen years.
“I paid for this one after I saw it and it reminded me of your eyes,” Ryan said, reaching into his coat and yanking out a deep blue scarf. She buried her face in the yarn and breathed in his scent.
He cleared his throat. “Now it’s time to get a few things straight. Number One, I won’t tolerate you making out with anyone who isn’t me from here on out.”
Her butterflies had exploded into a glorious, golden glow that filled her chest.
“Is that so?”
“That’s right, and you’d better get used to it. Because Number Two, I’m sticking around. One night with you wasn’t enough for me. I want more of you. All of you.”
“Even though it doesn’t make sense? Even though this isn’t part of your life plan?” she pressed.
“Somehow you make more sense than any other decision I’ve ever made,” he insisted, sliding his hand up her jaw to her neck and into her hair.
Sammy’s blood felt thick in her veins. The night air was chilly, but in the moment, she felt like she’d never be cold again. She slid her hands up his chest and was surprised by the heat pumping through his sexy thermal shirt under the flannel coat.
He didn’t look like a snooty accounting robot.
He looked like a man who wanted something. And that something was her.
His hand fisted in her hair, tugging hard enough that she opened her mouth on the softest moan. Something like triumph lit up his gray eyes, and she felt rather than heard the rumble in his chest as he took her lips again.
He’d barely touched her, and she was reacting like an orgasm was on its way.
His other hand slipped under her jacket to her waist, where it curled into the curve of her hip and drew her against him in one swift pull.
Oh. God.
Her chest pressed against his torso, hips to his denim-clad thighs, and her stomach up against the erection demanding full attention.
She wanted. Was wanted. Craved. Was craved.
She wanted to wrap her legs around his waist. Wanted to run away. Wanted to stay right here in this exact moment of anticipation for the rest of eternity.
He leaned in, nuzzling his nose against her cheek. “I like when you look at me like that,” he whispered darkly in her ear.
“Like what?” she asked breathlessly.
“Like this isn’t just a kiss. Like this is forever.”
She made some kind of unintelligible moan.
“What was that, Sam?” he asked smugly.
She could feel the hardness of his erection where it pressed into her, and she wanted more. Friction. Skin. Sweat. She wanted to taste him and be tasted. He lowered his forehead to hers.
“How is this going to work?” she whispered.
“I’m going to take you home and strip off every piece of your clothing in front of the fireplace.”
She sucked in a breath. “I mean, you staying. What does it mean?”
“It means Number Three, we’re together,” he said firmly. “This isn’t a marriage proposal, but it’s a notice of monogamy.”
“If you were proposing right now, I’d be concerned about head trauma or hypothermia.”
“I am moving in with you,” he informed her.
“Are you feeling feverish? Did Bruce Oakleigh come near you with a comically large mallet?”
“I’m feeling alive. And I’m not moving the whole way across the country unless it means I can see your face every morning, Sparkle.”
Swoon.
“Besides, we need to figure out how annoying the other is on a day-to-day basis. We’ll start with a one-year probationary period,” he continued.
“How romantic,” she teased.
“I punched a guy in the face for you after selling fucking Christmas trees in a small town. I’m the master of romance,” Ryan insisted.
“So one year. What happens during that year?” she asked.
“I make love to you on every flat surface in the house until I know your body better than you do. We renovate that God-awful kitchen. I buy into Mason’s practice. We launch the sanctuary. I wait a respectable amount of time before I tell you that I am so in love with you that it hurts to look at you because I’m afraid you’ll disappear and this whole thing will be a dream.”
“Ryan,” she whispered. Her heart was soaring.
“Then you’ll tell me you’ve loved me since I tried to abandon a sheep.”
“And then what?”
“Then after twenty-four months we get engaged. Get married. Live happily ever after.”
A single fat snowflake fell from the sky and landed on her cheek.
She could feel herself nodding as if it was all perfectly logical. “I like this plan. How do we seal this deal?”
He looked above them at the mistletoe. A few more fat flakes drifted toward the ground. “I’ve got a few ideas.”
“How many of them are family festival friendly?” she teased.
He nuzzled into her neck, then bit her earlobe. “Zero.”
“Take me home, Wrong Ryan.”
29
Magic really did happen. And this time it was happening to her, Sammy thought as Ryan kissed her across the threshold of her front door. Their front door. That would take a little getting used to. She couldn’t wait.
“Mmm, wait,” she said, breaking away from the kiss. “Why is it so clean in here—Oh my God! There’s a Christmas tree!”
Her little farmhouse was immaculate. The crafting supplies, laundry, and dishes were gone. There was a garland draped over the mantel above the warm glow of a fire. A Christmas tree topped with mistletoe stood in the corner, strands of colored lights casting a soft glow.
There were candles in her windows. Instrumental holiday music played softly in the background. Die Hard was cued up on the TV screen.
It smelled like sugar cookies and happiness.
“How did you do this?” she asked, bringing her fingers to her mouth.
He stroked a hand over her hair. “I asked for help.”
“I can’t believe you did this for me.” She blinked back tears that blurred the lights into starbursts.
“I didn’t do it alone. You have a whole town of people who love you, Sam.”
McClane padded by, a plaid bowtie on his collar. Stan the sheep let out a snore from a dog bed next to the fireplace. “What’s that under the tree?” she asked, spying a small, flat box wrapped with a red ribbon.
“Go find out,” Ryan suggested. “But lose some layers first.”
With a grin, she shrugged out of her vest and handed it to him. When he wasn’t looking, she pressed her face to the scarf and took a breath.
While he hung up their coats, she toed off her boots and pounced on the package.
Ryan sauntered over to her and joined her on the rug. As she worked the ribbon free, he pulled off both her socks.
When she started to lift the lid, he stripped her sweater off over her head.