Chapter Eleven
The last delivery completed, we sat in his truck, the emotional exhaustion tugged on my heartstrings.
“Do you feel up for one more activity?”
Deep down, I was tuckered out and debated saying no, but it was Jesse. So far everything he suggested had been fun, if not a bit life changing.
“What did you have in mind?”
“It’s not a long activity, but it comes with food, drinks, and a healthy dose of Christmas cheer.”
“Hmm.” My stomach rumbled at the thought of a bite to eat, and my mouth was a little dry too. “Sure. Should I keep the Santa hat on?”
“Yeah.” A large grin parked on his face, refusing to move. “You look cute in it.”
“Thanks.” My cheeks heated and my body thrummed from the compliment. “And thanks… For today.”
“Thanks for tagging along. It was nice having someone join me for this.”
I sat up straighter. “Your ex-wife never came with you?”
“Not once.” The truck rumbled to life, and he put it into gear.
“Well, she truly missed out. I want to do this next year.”
Although it wasn’t me doing the giving as all the toys had been donated, it warmed my heart to be a part of this experience. To see the smiles on stranger’s faces and the light in their eyes. If only for a little bit, these deliveries eased a bit of burden and helped the families believe in the magic of Christmas.
If Mom were around and knew about this, I could imagine her going from place to place, likely toting a wrapped package of homemade goodies to add to each delivery and inviting them over for dinner. Yeah, Mom would’ve loved this.
“Come back next year and it’s a date.”
A date. A future date. With Jesse. Even if it was a year from now, I wasn’t going to forget. Guess my next Christmas was already planned.
The ride to wherever this final activity was went by quickly, and before I knew it, we were back at the skating rink. “Didn’t we do this activity yesterday?”
However, the area was different. Food trucks were in abundance around the edges of the rink and at the far side, a small bonfire was lit. But what caught my eye most of all was the giant tree in the centre of the field.
“It’s the tree lighting ceremony tonight.”
“Let me guess? You never miss it.” I kept my tone playful. No doubt, based on everything else I’d learned about Jesse, he’d be all over this activity.
“Not once.” He tipped his head to the side, the pom-pom from his Santa hat rubbing against his cheek. “Come on, let’s check it out, but I’m hungry, you?”
“Yeah.” In fact, my stomach rumbled at the thought. “Anything you’d recommend?”
Slowly, he checked out the five food trucks. “Do you like spicy food?”
My eyes widened. “Absolutely.”
“Then I suggest Mexilente.” He said it with a straight face, but I didn’t hold back my giggle.
Nudging each other like we were old friends, we bumped our way over to the food truck and placed a tomato-free order.
Dinner over, which we both gobbled down without many words spoken, we ambled through the growing crowd. People congregated around the main part of the field where the tree stood as electricians fiddled with a plethora of black cables.
“Do they bring in a tree each year, like Rockefeller Center?”
His brows pinched together. “You don’t remember the tree yesterday?”
The undecorated, plain-Jane tree had not captured my attention the way the charming man beside me did. Jesse was proving to be unlike any guy I’d ever met, which is horribly cliché, but true.
In high school, I’d started dating Charlie because he gave me the time of day and was interested. But after all those years together, I had finally washed my hands of him. It was time to move on.
“Hey, Jesse?” A ball of nervous energy gathered in the pit of my stomach, and I shoved my hands deep into my pockets.
“Yeah?”
Opening up to another human being had always been a weak spot of mine, and although I’d shared more with Jesse in the past two days than I had with many people, it still unnerved me. I was grateful for his attentiveness and warmth of spirit, and I needed to tell him, but I didn’t know how.
“What’s on your mind?” He stopped in front of me and brushed away a strand of hair.
I tore my gaze away to the tree twenty feet behind him. We were close enough to see the strings of lights and thousands of golden feet of garland. Somewhere off in the distance, likely on the other side of the tree, carollers sang out.
“Oh look.” I tilted my head back as giant snowflakes danced to the ground. “It’s so pretty.”
“Yes, it is.” But he wasn’t watching the falling flakes, he was locked onto me.
A warmth spread through my core and radiated out to the tips of my fingers. It had been a long time since I’d seen an expression filled with so much desire. His dark eyes searched right into my soul, and the best part was, it didn’t frighten me.
Around us, voices broke through, chanting out a countdown. As the ‘one’ faded into the background, the tree lit, washed in pinpoints of golden lights, reflecting off the strands of garland and tinsel. A giant star at the top danced as the colours faded from white to gold to silver and back again.
“Oh wow.” The sight took my breath away, and I returned my focus back to Jesse. “It’s breathtaking. Thank you for bringing me here. Thank you for today. I’ve really enjoyed myself.”
I searched his dark eyes and allowed my gaze to float lower over his nose, across his whiskery cheeks and chin until it settled on his perfect pair of kissable-looking lips. My whole body was on fire and if I didn’t make a move soon, I was bound to implode.
“Thank you for being a part of this. I’ve never had anyone to share it with.”
Right, because his ex-wife wasn’t into it. The gifts, sure, but the magic of it all? No interest. And really, until a couple of days ago, I had never really experienced the magic of the holiday either. It had been trying to find the perfect gift, ignore the noise, and pretty much treat it as any other day.
However, I was starting to understand the holiday. The fascination with it. The time of year where people gave more of themselves than they ever expected back, if they even expected anything back. People like Jesse, who didn’t have two nickels to rub together, and yet delivered toys to underprivileged children and handed out his own money to help a starving mother. Jesse, the guy who didn’t need to spend money to have a blast and enjoy life whether it was skating or going tobogganing, and yet, who enjoyed the calm of the evening, listening to the waves from the back deck of his house. Guys like him were one in a million. Or rarer.
My gaze danced over his, and I leaned a little closer, parting my lips in breathless anticipation. I wanted him. To taste him. To feel his arms holding me tight. And as I searched his eyes, I was sure he wanted the same thing.
He inched himself closer, and with his finger, tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “You’re beautiful.”
Breathable air was long gone.
“All day long, I’ve wanted to touch you.” His gaze flittered between my eyes. “Am I overstepping? Am I reading too much into this?”
It was the faintest of head shakes to roll out of me, but he accepted my answer and cupped his hand on my cheek, replacing the cool with a burst of heat that radiated across my face and down over my chest.
“You’re not.” My words were but a faint whisper.
“I want to kiss you. I’ve been fighting it all day.”
“You don’t need to fight anymore.” Because I wanted him too. I pushed up on the balls of my feet and leveled myself to him, taking in the wanton desire building in his eyes.
Without another word, he brushed his lips across mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him in closer and tighter. Jesse’s kiss had incredible strength and power as I suddenly felt like I was floating, and we’d been transported to another world. His hands slipped to the small of my back, instantly electrifying me, and I pushed deeper into a kiss I never knew was possible.
The world around us faded out of sight, a blur of twinkling lights, muted carollers, and fuzzy snowflakes wrapping around us. I kissed him and welcomed him into a place long deserted. Kissing Jesse gave me new life and the swirling butterflies in my gut launched themselves, lifting me into the heavens.
“Mona Baker Jones! What the hell is wrong with you?”
That’s when I crashed to the ground.