Bring Me A Maverick For Christmas!

He nodded. “Because I do.”

“Of course, most people don’t make it through life without a few bumps and bruises.”

“Bumps and bruises usually heal pretty easily,” he said.

Bailey’s matter-of-fact statement told Serena that the heartbreak he’d experienced had left some pretty significant scars. She also suspected that the romance gone wrong had reopened wounds caused by the loss of his parents and the separation from his family when he was barely more than a teenager.

“Usually,” she agreed.

“I’m sorry,” he said, after another moment had passed.

The spontaneous and unexpected apology surprised her. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because I obviously said something that upset you at lunch today.”

“I can be overly sensitive at times,” she admitted.

“Does that mean I’m forgiven?” he asked hopefully.

She nodded. “You’re forgiven.”

“That’s a relief,” he told her. “We wouldn’t want the kids of Rust Creek Falls Elementary School to worry about any obvious tension between Santa and Mrs. Claus.”

“I’m not sure they care about Santa’s marital status so long as he delivers their presents on Christmas Eve.”

“Which he wouldn’t be able to do if the missus got possession of the sleigh and custody of the reindeer in the divorce,” Bailey pointed out.

“Then he better do everything he can to keep her happy,” she suggested.

“If Santa had a secret formula for keeping a woman happy, it would top every man’s Christmas list,” he said.

“Ha ha.”

“I’m not joking,” he assured her. “But in the interests of keeping you happy, can I buy you a drink?”

“No, thanks. I had a glass of wine with dinner and that’s my limit.”

“One glass?”

She nodded.

“Okay, how about a dance?”

“The words sound like an invitation,” she remarked. “But the tone suggests that you’re hoping the offer will be declined.”

“Maybe, for your sake, I’m hoping it will,” he said. “Because I’m not a very good dancer.”

“Then why did you ask?”

He shrugged. “Because it might seem like everyone else is paired off, but I have noticed that there are a few single guys in attendance and I know they’re just waiting for me to turn my back for a second so they can move in on you.”

“Should I be flattered? Or should I get out my pepper spray?”

“Maybe you should just dance with me,” he suggested.

So Serena took the hand he proffered and let him lead her to the dance floor. But the minute he took her in his arms, she knew that her acquiescence had been a mistake. Being close to him, she felt those unwanted feelings stir again.

She’d had a few boyfriends in her twenty-five years, and even a couple of lovers, but she’d never really been in love. And though she didn’t know much about Bailey, the intensity of the attraction she felt for him warned her that he might be the man she finally and completely fell for.

But she also knew that he didn’t want to be that man, and his brief and blunt comments about his marriage gone wrong should serve as a warning to her. Which was too bad, because she really liked being in his arms. And notwithstanding his claim that he wasn’t a good dancer, he moved well.

As the last notes of the song trailed away, she tipped her head back to look at him.

The heels she wore added three inches to her height, so that if he lowered his head just a little, his mouth would brush against hers.

She really wanted him to kiss her.

But they were barely more than strangers and in a very public setting. And yet, in that moment, everyone and everything else faded into the background so that there was only the two of them.

Then he did tip his head, so that his mouth hovered a fraction of an inch above hers. And she held her breath, waiting...

A guitar riff blasted through the air—an abrupt change of tempo for the couples on the dance floor—and the moment was lost.

Serena stepped back. “I—I’m going to check out the auction items.”

So Bailey returned to the table without her.

“Watching you and Serena on the dance floor, I could see why Brenna thought that you guys were together,” Luke commented.

“Why were you watching us instead of dancing with your wife?” Bailey asked his brother.

“Because I was working at Daisy’s at 4:00 a.m.,” Eva responded to the question. “And my feet are very happy to not be dancing right now. But he’s right,” she continued. “You and Serena look good together.”

“Except that we’re not together,” he reminded his brother and sister-in-law.

They exchanged a glance.

“Denial,” Eva said.

Luke nodded.

“Look, it’s great that the two of you found one another and happiness together, but not everyone else in the world wants the same thing,” Bailey told them.

“You mean they’re not ready to admit that they want the same thing,” Eva said.

Bailey just shook his head.

“A year ago, I was a skeptic, too,” Luke said. “And then I met Eva.”