A Mistletoe Proposal: Marry Me under the Mistletoe / A Little Bit of Holiday Magic / Christmas Magic in Heatherdale

His mouth thinned. “What interests?”

“You both fight fires. It’s who you are and what you do.”

“If I’d been interested in Susie, I would have taken her to the party.” His voice grated.

“Fine. All I’m saying is, there’s a whole world of wonderful women out there who, given the chance, would love you and your daughter and want to start a new family with you.”

“But you’re not one of them.”

“I can’t be.”

His dark expression grew forbidding. “You’re keeping something from me, and I mean to find out what it is.”

“Yoo-hoo, Rick.”

Mrs. Milne couldn’t have chosen a better moment to return. “I have to leave now.” Andrea started down the hall to the living room. Rick was right behind her.

“If you want me to fix you and Andrea something to eat, just tell me,” his housekeeper called from the kitchen.

“Thanks, Sharon, but we’re fine right now.”

Andrea hurried over to the couch to get her purse. Just as she pulled out the gift-wrapped book to give to him, Tessa came running into the house straight past Andrea. “Do you feel better now, Daddy?”

“I sure do.” He lifted her in the air and kissed her. “Where’s your grandmother?”

“She had to go to the dentist.”

“Did you have a nice time?”

“Yes, but I wanted to stay home with you. You slept a long time,” she said. Then her glance fastened on the Christmas present in Andrea’s hand and she looked at her. “Did you bring that to Daddy?”

Finally a connection. Since her talk with Rick, Andrea felt she had permission to do what came next, but her heart was pounding too fast. “No. I brought it for you.”

“But it’s not Christmas yet.”

“I thought you might like it now.” She handed it to her.

“What is it?”

Rick lowered her to the floor. “Why don’t you open it and find out?”

Tessa quickly tore off the paper. “Look, Daddy—it’s the gingerbread man!” she cried. For the first time since the disaster at the shop, Rick’s daughter looked up at her with a smile.

“I promise that Santa will bring you your gingerbread man. But while you’re waiting for Christmas morning, this will be fun to read. It was one of my favorite stories growing up.”

“Mine is Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.”

Andrea’s heart melted. “I loved those stories, too.”

“My favorite’s about the boy who wouldn’t clean up his room.”

“That’s a really good one. My mother used to read them to me. I think my favorite was the Slow-Eater-Tiny-Bite-Taker Cure. But the really funny one was about the Radish Cure.”

A giggle escaped. “I know. Will you read the gingerbread man to me?”

Andrea’s gaze darted to Rick, whose eyes glowed with a warmth she could feel permeate her body. “I’d love to. Come and sit down on the couch by me.”

Together they went through every page identifying all the characters while she read the story. Tessa was totally engrossed.

Andrea would always treasure this moment, but now it was time to go while she could leave with a good feeling. She closed the book and put it in Tessa’s hands. “That was fun. Thank you for letting me read it to you. Now I have to leave.”

“You do?” Andrea heard a slightly wistful tone. Well, what do you know? she thought.

“Yes, but I bet your daddy would love to read it to you. He’s been waiting for you to come home and needs to get back to bed.” Andrea’s gaze flew to Rick’s. “Get better soon. I’ll see myself out.”

To her shocked surprise, Tessa followed her to the door. “I love my book.”

“I’m glad, darling. Bye.” She left the house, closing the door behind her. This was the best way to end things. Cold turkey.

Before long she pulled into her mother’s driveway. “Mom?” she called out when she entered the house.

“In the kitchen.”

Andrea found her making the fondant for the pecan rolls she gave to her friends at Christmas. “How soon will Rex be over?”

“Not for a couple of hours. I want to hear more about you and Tessa’s father.”

“I left the party early to get home because of Dad. Rick insisted on doing an inspection of the shop and the loft. He said there’s a firebug on the loose. On his suggestion I bought some dowels and put them in the windows.”

“That’s a good idea, honey. I’m worried about you staying there.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom.”

“Then why are you so tense?”

“Is it that obvious?” She averted her eyes.

“I’m your mother.”

“I made a huge mistake. He...kissed me and I let him.”

“Was it a terrible experience?”

Andrea could hardly swallow remembering the rapture she’d felt. “No, of course not.”

“But?”

“I didn’t want it to happen.”