He shrugged the shoulder closest to her. “Just being with family. That’s always been at the core of the Woolcotts’ holidays. Although I do like the idea of an ornament collection,” he said. “Maybe I should start one for him.”
Vicki looked over her shoulder at the baby. He was engrossed in a colorful plastic centipede with antennae that rattled.
“You should,” she said. “He’ll cherish them for the rest of his life.”
She twisted back in her seat and caught Jordan staring at her, his gaze probing, penetrating. Once again, the air pulsed with energy, a tangible force that provoked all manner of interesting ideas to blossom in her head.
“You, uh, should probably pay attention to the road,” Vicki said.
“Oh,” Jordan said, quickly turning his head forward.
The flutter that had previously traveled around her belly returned with a vengeance. The awareness that had been a faint suggestion just a few moments earlier now saturated the air around them, flooding the space with a potent mix of something Vicki couldn’t quite describe.
She’d thought about the spark of desire that had flashed between them Tuesday night at least a million times over the past couple of days, trying to decide whether it was real or just a figment of her wishful imagination. But she had not imagined the look in Jordan’s eyes just a few moments ago, when his piercing gaze had captured hers and held it. He’d looked at her as if he was seeing the real her for the first time.
There was just one problem: she had yet to decide if this really was the real her.
As much as she loved her new wardrobe and haircut, she was still the same Vicki Ahlfors she’d always been on the inside. Quiet, sensible, reliable Vicki. How could she be sure Jordan was interested in more than just the aesthetics?
They arrived at a parking lot jam-packed with cars as the residents of Wintersage and its surrounding towns scoped out Christmas trees. Vicki unstrapped Mason from his car seat and waited while Jordan unfolded the stroller he’d just taken out of the trunk. The minute she tried to sit him in the stroller, Mason started to wail.
“I don’t know what’s up with him today,” Jordan said. He took the baby from her and held him over his shoulder, patting him gently on the back. “Something has him fussier than usual. Hopefully the walk will calm him down.”
They started for the entrance to the tree lot. Vicki pushed the empty stroller, just in case they were able to cajole Mason into sitting in it a bit later.
“Is this the only tree lot around?” Jordan remarked. “This place is packed.”
“It’s definitely the biggest for several counties,” she said. “And they have the widest selection. Let’s just hope people haven’t picked over all the good ones.”
Vicki felt a familiar excitement building as they traveled along the rows of freshly cut trees. Christmas carols floated from speakers nestled throughout the vast lot, and the scent of pine and evergreen hung in the air. It encompassed everything she loved about this time of the year.
She was having a hard time keeping her active imagination at bay. It was all too easy to let her mind wander into the cozy yet dangerous territory of this being the real thing. She, Jordan and Mason strolling through the crowd of other young families made her long for things that were not a guarantee.
After contemplating several choices, they chose a balsam fir because of the low maintenance and its tendency to retain its needles.
After Jordan paid for the tree and for home delivery, he turned to her and said, “That was relatively painless. Now I guess the next thing I need to do is get some ornaments.”
“You don’t have ornaments from last year?”
“I wasn’t really in the spirit last year,” he said.
“Oh, right,” Vicki said, feeling a bit like an idiot. His ex-wife had just left him to raise their young baby on his own around Christmastime last year. That would take the holiday spirit out of anyone.
“To be honest, this will be my first time putting up a tree,” Jordan said.
Vicki’s mouth fell open in horrified shock.
“Hey.” His palms shot up in mock surrender. “I didn’t kill an elf or anything. Not everyone gets into the whole stocking-and-tree rigmarole. My mom has always done more than enough at Christmas to make up for my lack of decorating.” He shrugged. “I just never found it necessary.”
“Well, you do realize that’s changed now, right?”
He looked down at Mason, who had finally allowed Jordan to put him into his stroller about ten minutes ago.
“Yes. Like so many other things, he’s changed the way I celebrate the holidays. He’s changed everything.”
“For the better,” Vicki said.
“Absolutely,” he said, his eyes still focused on his son.
Once they were in the car again, they headed back toward Wintersage.
“The guy at the lot said they would have the tree delivered no later than six o’clock. That will give me time to bring you back to the Victorian.” He looked over at her. “Unless you want to help pick out some ornaments?”
His tone, the look in his eyes, the way his voice dipped ever so slightly... It all gave her the impression that his question was more than just an invitation to go ornament shopping.
“I don’t think you need help picking out ornaments,” Vicki said. “But if you don’t mind the company, I would love to join you.”
“You’re right. Your decorating expertise isn’t exactly what I’m interested in.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “This is new territory for me, Vicki.”
Her heart started to pound in her chest.
“What’s new territory?” she asked.
“This uncertainty, the awkwardness.” He blew out a heavy breath. “I’m not used to questioning myself—questioning my feelings—and that’s all I’ve done since Tuesday night.” He paused, and then he looked over at her, his eyes full of intent. “I don’t want to question it anymore.”
The pounding intensified, to the point that she thought her heart would burst right out of her chest.
“I’m enjoying your company,” he continued. “And you can tell me if I’m way off base here, but I get the feeling you’re enjoying this, too.”
She swallowed deeply, then shook her head. “You’re not off base,” she managed to get out.
The slow smile that drew across his lips sent a swarm of tingles skittering along Vicki’s spine.
“Then what do you say we do a little ornament shopping?” Jordan said.
As they browsed the department store shelves stacked high with glittering hanging ornaments, fake fur-trimmed stockings and tree toppers, Vicki came to her most shocking realization of the night.
Jordan Woolcott was utterly charming. And funny.
To hear Sandra talk about her brother, one would think he was an oaf with zero personality. He’s an attorney, Sandra would always say, as if that explained it all.
But Jordan had no problem making a fool of himself in the middle of a crowded store, especially when it came to trying to get Mason to laugh. He grabbed a Santa hat from the shelf and plopped it atop his head. He put on a plastic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer nose that blinked like a beacon, then did an awful rendition of the beloved Christmas song, mixing up the words and skipping some lines entirely.
Vicki laughed until her eyes watered, but Mason’s crabbiness only grew.
Jordan’s shoulders sagged with defeat. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He woke up irritable and it’s just gotten worse as the day’s gone on.”
Frowning, Vicki took the baby out of the stroller and pressed her lips to his forehead. “He’s a little warm, but I can’t tell if it’s a fever. You wouldn’t happen to carry his thermometer in his diaper bag, would you?”
He shook his head. “It’s at the house, but I can get one from the pharmacy department.”
“Do it. It doesn’t hurt to have a spare, especially at his age. I’m going to bring him to the car and away from al
l this noise.”
Jordan gave her the keys before going off in search of a thermometer. Less than ten minutes later, Vicki spotted him exiting the store’s sliding doors, both hands burdened by several bags. He walked up to the passenger side and handed her a bag through the window.
“Can you open this up while I put these in the trunk?”
She hadn’t bothered to put Mason in his car seat, so the task of opening the ear thermometer’s hard plastic packaging wasn’t the easiest. By the time she got it open, Jordan had slid behind the wheel. Vicki held the squirming baby in her arms as Jordan placed the thermometer in his ear. A second later it beeped.
“Ninety-nine point one,” he said, looking at the readout.
“That’s not bad as far as fevers go, but apparently that’s enough to make him irritable,” Vicki said. “Do you have a fever reducer at home, or do you need to go back in and get one?”
“I have some at home from the summer cold he caught back in August.”
“I remember when he had that cold,” Vicki said, pressing a kiss to the side of Mason’s head. “I think he’ll be okay in a bit, once we get a little medicine in him.”
Jordan got out of the car and came around to her side. “Let me get him strapped into his car seat, then we can get out of this cold.”
He drove Vicki to the Victorian so she could pick up her car, but she insisted on following him back to his place to make sure all was well with Mason. When they arrived at his house, a Christmas tree wrapped in blue netting was leaning against the front door.
The tree, along with all of the ornaments, remained exactly where they were until after Jordan had given Mason some cherry-flavored syrup. Vicki carried Mason over to the sofa in the great room and watched while Jordan carted the bags of ornaments into the house.
Cuddling Mason to her chest, she folded her legs beneath her and pulled an afghan over the both of them. A satisfied sigh escaped her lips as she relished in the feel of the baby’s soft weight against her, so close to her heart. She murmured a soothing lullaby into Mason’s ear as she watched Jordan bring in the stand that had also been delivered with the tree. He set it up in the corner of the great room, and then he walked over to where she sat.
“Vicki, I don’t want to keep you here any longer than you need to be,” he said. “I’ll hold Mason until he falls asleep, then I’ll finish getting the tree up.”
“Jordan?”
“Yeah?”
“Get the tree,” she said.
His forehead creased in a frown. “Vicki, you don’t have—”
“As someone whose job calls on you to read people for a living, you should be able to tell that I am perfectly content right where I am.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“I’m sure, Jordan.” With a brazenness the old Vicki never would have even contemplated displaying, she finished, “I can’t think of anywhere else I would rather be right now.”
That surge of electricity, the one she’d felt before leaving here Tuesday night, pulsed between them again.
“I can’t think of anyone else I would want to be here,” Jordan said in a voice so soft she could barely hear it, as if the admission both surprised and thrilled him as much as it surprised and thrilled her.
His eyes slid closed and he dropped his head, releasing a weary breath. He brought a hand up to massage the back of his neck before lifting his head and looking at her.
“What’s happening here?” he asked.
“You tell me, Jordan.”
She knew he was questioning his feelings again. She could tell by the confusion clouding his face.
He held his hands out, as if in a plea for her to understand. “I know what I’m feeling,” he said. “I just don’t know what to do about it. I don’t want to give you mixed signals.”
“Good, because I don’t want them.”
“I just need...” He shook his head again. “Can I take some time to figure this out? I feel what’s happening, but I need to be sure.”
“This doesn’t have to be complicated, Jordan.”
“That’s the thing. From here on out, it will always be complicated.”
Now it was her turn to look confused.
Before she could question him, he continued, “I accepted months ago that the choice to bring another woman into my life will never be an easy one. I’m more cautious now than I’ve ever been in the past. I have to be. I have Mason to consider.” He put a hand up before she could say anything. “I’m not suggesting that you would ever treat Mason unfairly in any way. The way you are with my son, the care you take with him, I can’t tell you how much that means to me, Vicki.”
He paused for a moment. “But it’s hard for me to drop my guard where he’s concerned. His own mother refuses to put him first. I have to make sure I’m with someone who will.”
“What makes you think I wouldn’t?” she asked.
“I know you would,” Jordan said. He shook his head. “But I still can’t help but feel cautious when it comes to him.”
“Here’s the thing, Jordan.” With the hand that wasn’t cradling Mason, she reached out and captured his wrist. “Whether or not you decide that you have romantic feelings for me, I would still do exactly what I’ve been doing as far as Mason is concerned. This little guy wormed his way into my heart from his very first visit to the Silk Sisters.” She paused for a moment before continuing in a softer voice. “But it’s my heart that I’m thinking about right now. I don’t want to be hurt.”
“I won’t hurt you. But I’ll be honest. This scares me, Vicki. I trusted my heart the last time, and look what happened.”
“Don’t make me pay for her mistakes,” Vicki said. “I’m nothing like Allison.”
“No, you’re not. I know that. But you also said you weren’t looking for casual, that you want serious. A part of me thinks I’m ready, but another part—”
“I have an idea,” Vicki said, cutting him off. Nothing good could come of him continuing to overanalyze his feelings like this. “Why don’t we just enjoy the time-honored tradition of putting up a Christmas tree? We can think about casual versus serious and just what all of that means later.” She pressed a kiss to Mason’s soft head, then looked up at Jordan. “Right now, I just want to enjoy this time with you and Mason.”
He shook his head, a grateful smile spreading across his face. “You have to be the most understanding woman I know,” he said. “I promise I’m going to figure this out—”
“Jordan, get the tree.”
He smiled again, then nodded. “I’ll get the tree.”
Chapter 6
The moment Jordan left the room, Vicki exhaled the unsteady breath she’d been holding in. Not too long ago, she would have shied away from what was happening between them, too afraid to take a chance.
But things were different now. She was different. She was no longer willing to sit on her feelings. She was putting it all out there, and whatever happened, happened.
Vicki didn’t even try to hide her amusement as Jordan struggled to get the eight-foot tree through the door. Back at the tree lot, she’d told him that he would be just fine with a small five-footer, but he had proclaimed that if he was going to get a tree, it would be a real tree.
He set it up in the corner of the great room and filled the stand with water, then turned to her. “This feels more significant than I thought it would,” he said.
“Having a tree?”
He nodded. “It’s yet another of those milestones, you know? House, kid, Christmas tree. I’m gradually moving into this new phase of my life. At one time it scared me, but I’m beginning to realize that I’ve been ready for this for a long time now. I’m enjoying all of these new experiences.”
She had been insanely attracted to him well before fatherhood had turned him into this insightful person who actually took the time to appreciate something as simple as decorating for the holidays. To see him embracing life’s simple pleasures made him a thousand times sexier
.
He clapped his hands together. “Now that I have the tree, I guess it’s time to put stuff on it.” He reached over and lifted Mason from her arms. “Let’s see if my little man is feeling well enough to help out.”
Vicki looked on as Jordan showed Mason how to hang the ornaments. Her chest swelled with emotion every time he put his hand up for a high five and Mason responded with an awkward little slap of his palm. This was all beginning to feel too domestic for her own good.
Instead of shying away from it in an attempt to shield her heart—just in case Jordan decided he really didn’t feel the same way about her as she felt about him—Vicki decided to hold on tighter. She would enjoy this while she had the chance and deal with the consequences later.
“You know what this calls for?” she said, pushing up from the sofa. “Hot chocolate.”
“That sounds great,” he said.
“Will I find everything I need in the kitchen?”
He nodded and she turned toward the kitchen.
Vicki felt his eyes on her, following her as she walked out of the great room. Once in the kitchen, she had to brace herself on the counter and catch her breath. She was still getting used to dealing with the consequences of this new Vicki’s boldness. Inviting herself into a man’s kitchen to make hot chocolate was something she never would have done before.
A smile drew across her face.
She liked this new Vicki a hell of a lot more than the old one.
She searched around for the things she needed, grimacing when all she found was a box of instant hot chocolate mix. She should have known a man who had never bothered to put up a Christmas tree wouldn’t have the real stuff. She was able to doctor it up with vanilla extract and cinnamon sticks; both were surprise findings in the pantry.
She carried two mugs of hot chocolate back into the great room, but stopped short when she discovered Jordan taking the ornaments off the tree. Mason sat on the floor a few yards away, playing with the packaging the glittery reindeer ornaments had come in.
“What happened?” Vicki asked.
A Mistletoe Affair (Mills & Boon Kimani) (Wintersage Weddings - Book 3) Page 8
