by Elle Linder
It was then she decided to enjoy what little time she had with Duke. After all, she had no intention of falling in love. Love often led to marriage, and marriage often led to babies. Cherish wanted nothing to do with getting pregnant.
A wild stirring inside her nudged her forward. “Would you like to come to dinner at Hart Ranch tomorrow?” She tilted her head to see his handsome face. “I mean if you’re free and want to see me again.”
“Cupcake, I most definitely want to see you again. I’d love to have dinner with you and the Hart clan.”
She was taking a liking to him calling her cupcake. It made her feel special, something she never felt before. “Wonderful. Dinner is at six. I don’t think it will be a full house, but there will be enough people to make it interesting.”
He closed in for another kiss. “I look forward to it.”
So did Cherish.
Five
CHERISH ROUNDED THE long dining table after placing the last plate on it. Grandma Peggy, Auntie Elise, Tori, and Sofie were watching her with curious eyes. Their burning gazes were unnerving. It was only a matter of time before one of them broached the subject of Duke.
“Don’t hold out on us.” Tori was the brave one who pushed for the dirty deets about Cherish’s night with Duke.
“We just talked and drank cocoa.” Cherish shrugged, darting her gaze from woman to woman. “Really, it was nice.” More than nice. It was cathartic in a way. Duke’s lips also had healing powers.
“And you like Duke?” Grandma Peggy asked, as if she couldn’t read Cherish like a book. All day, Grandma had been watching her like a hawk. Cherish felt foolish for changing her clothes three times. She never did such silly things. Of course Grandma Peggy had noticed but said nothing.
Cherish leaned against the back of a chair and clasped her hands together. She prayed she didn’t give her very guarded feelings away. “He’s a sweet man. A friend.”
Sofie gasped, her mouth dropping open. “You friend-zoned Duke Landon. Mercy, woman, are you feeling all right?”
A male’s throat cleared. “Yeah, cuz, it sucks to be in the friend-zone.” Dylan cut his eyes to Sofie. “You ladies leave Cherish alone. Why would she want to start anything with Duke if she lives in Nebraska and he’s in Idaho?”
“Long-distance relationship.” Tori set two baskets of dinner rolls on the set table.
“Nope, according to Sofie, those never work. Ain’t that right, friend?” Dylan elbowed Sofie, whose face was beet red.
Ooh, what was this? Go, Dylan. It was about time her cousin went after what he so obviously wanted… Sofie Steele.
Cherish was thrilled to have all the attention off her and on Dylan and Sofie. Even she noticed the chemistry between them when she was around, which wasn’t often over the years but enough that she wondered why they never got together.
Sofie crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you need something, Dylan? You’re in our”—she circled her hand between the women—“territory. The men are in the den.”
Dylan snorted, hip-bumping her. “You’re adorable when embarrassed. I just came in to grab a few beers for us men. You ladies can get back to grilling Cherish.”
Great, just what I wanted.
The doorbell rang and Cherish jumped. “I’ll get it.” Excitement bloomed inside her. She dashed out of the kitchen, leaving the women giggling and whispering. She didn’t care so long as they minded their Ps and Qs while Duke was here.
“Hi,” she greeted, swinging the door open.
“Cupcake, you look beautiful.” Duke reeled her out of the house and into his arms. His lips were on her, devouring her like she was the appetizer before dinner. She happily obliged. “I’ve been counting the minutes until I could see you again.” His expression was genuine.
“You’re sweet, but we better get inside before people start assuming stuff about us.” She pulled away.
Duke followed and closed the door. Taking off his coat, he said, “Maybe what they assume is the truth.”
She waved him off. Silly man. “After one day, even I don’t know what this is.” She took his jacket and hung it on the coat tree.
Duke took her hand and kissed it. “Two people discovering each other. Two people with an undeniable attraction. I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship.”
Relationship? Was he serious? Dylan’s words flashed in her head. Long-distance relationships never work. Well, they were Sofie’s words Dylan had repeated, but Cherish agreed with Sofie. Instead of pointing it out to Duke, she ignored his comment.
“Beef stew is on the menu.” She jerked her head for him to follow.
“You’re deflecting.” He lightly swatted her bottom.
She turned toward him, smiling. “Mind your manners, Mr. Landon.”
He stopped her before entering the den. “Will you come home with me after dinner?”
She bit her bottom lip, staring into his heated blue eyes. “Yes, so long as you behave.”
He stole a quick kiss. “I’ll be perfect.”
He already was in her mind. It might be harder to say good-bye after Christmas than she realized.
The moment Cherish’s family saw Duke, she was pretty much forgotten. Just how she liked it, flying under the radar. It made things easier for Cherish that the Hart clan all knew Duke. There wasn’t one single minute of awkwardness during dinner.
“So how did you two hook up?” Dylan asked, amusement in his voice. He always was the brat in the pack.
Cherish had just taken a sip of wine and coughed.
“Are you okay, cupcake?” Duke rubbed her back. He did not just call her cupcake in front of her family. What was he thinking? “I’ll get you some water.” He went to get up, but she grabbed his hand.
“No.” She cleared her throat, shaking her head. “I’m okay. Thanks.”
He nodded, moving in to kiss her. She knew the look, loved the look of desire in his blue orbs, but not here.
“Duke,” she whispered.
A throat cleared. Uncle Conway. “No PDA at the dinner table. Please.” His gruff tone made Cherish straighten in her chair as if she were a child.
“Sorry.” She issued a sheepish smile. Dang it. Everything was awkward.
“We met outside the armory.” Duke put his hand on her knee under the table, giving it a little squeeze. “I startled Cherish. She dropped one of the mistletoe balls. I picked it up, raised it over her head, and kissed her.”
Awws came on all sides of Cherish. She held her breath, trying to act unaffected. This was just how her relatives were. Back home in Nebraska, her family didn’t meddle. They certainly weren’t jokesters like her cousin Dylan. Her daddy wouldn’t tolerate it. When she was a little girl, she’d gone through a phase of dropping under the table when she felt anxious or sad. Her grandparents and daddy never chided her for it. It would probably be really, really awkward if she attempted it now.
Duke turned toward her. “It was the best damn kiss of my life.”
She melted, staring into his eyes. Could he be any more charming? And romantic?
“Reenact it.” Dylan tossed a roll to Duke and he caught it. “Pretend it’s the mistletoe ball.” It was official: her cousin was the biggest ass in the world.
Duke didn’t skip a beat, raising the dinner roll above her head. “Happy to.” His hand went to her cheek, his lips on hers. The room fell silent as Duke gave them quite a show.
Could the ground swallow her up now?
Nope, it appeared Duke was doing that just fine on his own.
Duke gripped the steering wheel of his truck. They were almost to his house. Cherish hadn’t said two words to him. “You’re awfully quiet over there, cupcake.”
Cherish scowled at Duke. “Did you really have to kiss me like that in front of everyone? At the dinner table no less.”
Just as Duke had suspected, she was angry he reenacted their first kiss. He was well aware he took it too far, but he couldn’t help himself when it came to Cherish Hart.
When the chance to kiss her presented itself, he couldn’t let it pass him by. Plus, Duke rather liked how they had met.
And he wanted her family to see how much he liked her.
“Dylan asked for a reenactment.” He shrugged unapologetically. “I’ll never pass up an opportunity to kiss you.” He parked his truck in the driveway of his small three-bedroom cottage. The Christmas lights shined on Cherish’s beautiful face, illuminating the irritation on it.
“He goaded you.” She hopped out of the truck and turned toward him. “He threw a dinner roll across the table for you to use as a prop above my head.” She rolled her eyes and slammed the door.
Whoa, the woman didn’t take kindly to him playing along with her cousin. Duke felt like a chump. Cherish appeared embarrassed. Was this what the term “in the doghouse” meant with a woman? He’d heard about it. Never experienced it until now.
Duke got out of the truck and strode to the front door where Cherish waited. At least she hadn’t asked him to take her back to the ranch.
He opened the door, letting Cherish enter first like a proper gentleman. It might be a little late for chivalry, but he’d try nonetheless.
“Can I help you with your coat?” He tilted his head, hoping she’d forgive him.
“Thank you.” She turned around, letting him remove it along with her scarf.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was a big deal after Dylan’s challenge.” He hung their jackets in the closet.
Cherish furrowed her brow. “Dylan is nothing but a troublemaker. Uncle Conway specifically said no PDA and you kissed me anyway.”
Duke winced, recalling her uncle’s request. “Cupcake, I’m incredibly sorry for disrespecting your uncle’s wishes. I was wrong. I just got caught up in the moment.” It was no wonder she was so upset. He’d acted wholly inappropriate. He saw that now.
“My family takes things like kissing at the dinner table seriously.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “It means something to them, Duke. They’ll think something more is going on with us when that’s not the case.”
Well, he might have a better understanding of why she was upset. And it wasn’t entirely because he’d kissed her at the dinner table. Nope, there was more to it.
“Cupcake, kissing you in front of your relatives meant something to me too. I wasn’t goofing off.”
She arched her eyebrow. “You weren’t?”
“Maybe I was a little.” He went to her, encircled her waist with his hands, and pulled her body flush with his. “But it had nothing to do with how I feel about you.” He sure liked having her in his arms. Would love it if she never left them. “In fact, I wanted them to see how much I liked you.”
She placed her hands on his chest. “You gave them false hope, Duke.”
He lowered his mouth toward hers. “Cupcake, there isn’t anything false about my intentions.” He sealed his words on her lips in a passionate kiss.
Cherish melted into him, making sweet hums as she welcomed his tongue. Relief washed over Duke. He may have dodged a bullet. It was clear Cherish thought they were having a meaningless fling.
He intended to show her differently.
Six
THE DAY AFTER his dinner at Hart Ranch, Duke had Cherish out playing in the snow with the Medina family. He wanted his best friend, Zeke, to meet Cherish, and he wanted Cherish to meet his favorite family. He may have also wanted to feel her out on the whole marriage and kids side of it. Sure, he was getting ahead of himself. He wouldn’t be Duke Landon if he didn’t go full steam ahead after what he wanted.
Every second he spent with the gorgeous brunette strengthened his feelings that she was the one. Duke owed the little kissing ball big time. He would have never discovered the woman of his dreams if it weren’t for the mistletoe.
Squeals and laughter pulled Duke from his thoughts. He couldn’t help belly laughing as Cherish made snow angels with four-year-old Ashlynn. Their giggles alone melted his heart. Seeing the two together confirmed his hidden desire. He wanted a family of his own.
Cherish Hart was who he saw in his future from the moment their lips connected for the first time. But after last night, he could tell she believed their time together was fleeting. It put an ache in his chest.
“I think we’re done, right, Ashlynn?” Cherish raised her mitten in the air for assistance, something Duke happily gave. A pink nose and rosy cheeks were adorable on her.
He carefully launched Cherish to her feet so as to not ruin her masterpiece and stole a kiss in the process. He savored the warmth of her lips, then released her to help Ashlynn next.
“Well, I think you girls are expert snow angel makers.” He nodded, studying the designs as if he specialized in snow art. “Zeke, check out these snow angels,” he shouted over his shoulder.
Zeke and Zoey were building a snowman. Little Phoenix was strapped to his momma’s chest in a bright red snowsuit. There was no way Zoey could get on the ground with her little lug, as she called the infant. Cherish had volunteered without hesitation when Ashlynn asked for someone to make angels with her in the snow.
“Wow, guys! You did a great job,” Zeke said, clapping.
Zoey joined him. “I’m so impressed. Now that you’re finished, we should go home. We can have cookies and cocoa,” she sang the words like a song to entice Ashlynn. Duke had seen the little girl melt down a time or ten when it was time for her to go home. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
With Cherish in his life, a screaming preschooler didn’t scare the bejeezus out of him.
“Cocoa and cookies sound wonderful.” Cherish smiled at Ashlynn. “What do you say?” It was like his girl knew to head off a disaster. She was awesome.
Ashlynn looked at her parents, then at Cherish. Duke waited with bated breath for her answer. “Okay.”
Crisis averted.
As Duke liked to call it, Casa de Medina was a lot warmer than outside and smelled heavenly. Zeke and Zoey’s home screamed Christmas, decorated from floor to ceiling. It was a bit much for Duke’s simple, country-boy taste, but he might change his mind and go nuts with twinkling lights once kids were in the picture.
He gazed at his cupcake. He’d bet she was a twinkling lights kind of girl just like his mom.
“You baked all these cookies on your own?” Cherish nibbled on a sugar cookie, hereyes wide at Zoey.
Zoey nodded, brushing cookie crumbs off her hands over her napkin. “Three dozen sugar and wedding cookies and four dozen iced molasses, Zeke’s favorite.”
“That’s ten dozen cookies!” Cherish exclaimed. “You’re a rockstar cookie baker. I can barely boil water.” She cut her eyes to Duke and grimaced. “I’m an awful cook and an even worse baker.”
“That’s all right, cupcake. I’m a great cook.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll make sure we don’t starve.”
Cherish blushed and nuzzled into his side. She was more relaxed around his friends than her family. Throughout the day, she sought him out for hugs and kisses. It made for a fantastic day—one of his best.
“You two are adorable.” Zoey elbowed Zeke. “Aren’t they?”
Zeke hiked a dark brow and stared at Duke. “Sure. Adorable,” he agreed with his wife, popping what was left of his iced molasses cookie into his mouth.
“So you plan to eat all these on your own?” Cherish asked, steering the discussion back around to the perfectly decorated treats and off Duke and her. Avoiding the topic of them didn’t sit well with him.
What if he was more into her than she was into him? Not possible. The chemistry between them was undeniable. Wasn’t it?
Zoey shook her head as she set her mug on the table. “Oh golly, they aren’t all for us. We’re heading up to Faithful Falls in the morning to spend Christmas with my cousin Julia and her family. My parents will be up there too. It’ll be a huge family gathering.” Zoey turned to Zeke, making a pouty expression. “Zeke will leave us there while the band is gone for a week in Seattle.”
“I�
��ll be back in time to kiss you at midnight on New Year’s, Z. I promise.” Zeke kissed his wife.
Duke’s chest squeezed the air right out of his lungs. He wouldn’t be able to kiss Cherish into the new year. It suddenly hit him. When the band returned from their gig, Cherish would be in Nebraska.
How could they make a relationship work? Between the band’s full schedule after the holidays and the distance between them, he didn’t imagine he’d see the beautiful woman snuggled into his side often. It put an ache in his chest like he’d never felt before.
Cherish reached for another cookie. “It sounds like you’ll have a grand Christmas. I love spending the holidays with my Uncle Conway’s family. This visit is only the third time in thirty years I’ve been here for Christmas.”
The third time in thirty years? It was a punch to Duke’s gut.
Well, he wouldn’t let a little distance stand between him and his girl. He’d just have to make it work… somehow.
Later that evening, cozied up on the sofa at his place, Duke breathed in Cherish. Not her perfume or shampoo, but Cherish, her sweet essence. He wanted it seared into his memory.
After leaving Zeke’s, he hadn’t been able to shake an uneasiness in his heart. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and she was spending it with her family. He’d be with Jamison, Ashton, and Kelly.
Would he see her at all?
Did she want to see him?
Why did he feel insecure? It totally came out of left field. Duke Landon didn’t have an insecure bone in his body.
Maybe it was fear he felt. When he thought about never seeing this incredible woman who had stolen his heart in only three days, he felt anxious. Almost unhinged and possessive. Were these emotions normal? He didn’t know, having never felt anything like this before.
Duke pressed his lips to her temple. She wiggled closer to him, rubbing her hand up and down his chest. Bing Crosby softly played in the background with a roaring fire in front of them. It was heaven.
“Today was great. I had fun,” she said in a quiet voice. “I liked the Medina family.”
