Christmas Therapy

She gave a soft smile.

He smiled back only to clasp the plant from her palm. “Let me guess, your first kiss was under the mistletoe.”

Heather rubbed at her forehead.

“That bad?”

“No.”

“No, what?” he asked.

“I’ve never been kissed under the mistletoe.”

“Why do I find that hard to believe?”

She squinted her eyes at him. “Believe what you want. It’s never happened.”

He licked his lips. “Maybe… that’ll change for you this year.”

“I doubt that.”

“Never say never.”

The smile on her lips grew. “You’re not offering to help with that are you?”

“You said you’re working on accepting help, right?”

Her mouth fell open.

“Allen? They need the rest of the boxes,” Desmond said.

Allen cleared his throat and left Heather at the table. He blew out his cheeks. Did he offer to kiss her? He ran a hand down his face as he followed his cousin back to the hallway.

Chapter 12

“You can’t be serious,” Allen said.

Heather didn’t blink. “Ice cream, please?”

He gestured to her to sit on a nearby bench. She watched as he jogged to the ice cream truck. A few kids and adults already gathered around but Allen stuffed his hands in his pockets as he waited in line.

Heather tucked a loose curl underneath her cap, while Tinsel wagged his tail. She unhooked his leash as he dug his paws into the snow. They wouldn’t stay out long but she needed this break from home. She also got to hang around Allen.

She ran a gloved hand across her cheek. This “outing” was for therapy. She repeated it in her mind but when he showed to pick her and Tinsel up, a shiver crept down her spine. His helping her in and out of his truck only made things worse. Suddenly her beanie felt too tight on her head. It wasn’t.

So what if the man was handsome. So what if she liked the fresh scent of his cologne or the deep velvet sounds of his voice. His touch didn’t matter as he made sure she didn’t slip when they exited his truck.

Perhaps it was a crush; it didn’t mean she had to act on it. She’d had them before; not like this. She refused to watch him from the corner of her eye. Heather wanted to get through the healing process anyway before considering Allen Richards.

“Here we go,” he said, sitting next to her.

She grabbed her small cup of cookies and cream. Why did this feel like a date? She blinked to dismiss her ludicrous thought. “Thank you.” She did a double-take at his cup. “Did you get cookies and cream too?”

He shrugged. “I wanted to see what the hype was about.” He then winked at her.

Heather’s mouth flooded with moisture. “Well… um… what do you think?”

Allen took a spoonful in his mouth. Tilting his head to the side, he faced her again. “I think… it’s good.”