“No, not yet. I was waiting until I finished my classes for the semester. I’ll hit the malls next week.”
“Are you going to put up a tree this year?”
She smiled and nodded. “I believe I will. I’ve never had a tree of my own before. Last year I was still using crutches and living with Brynn. Now that I have a place of my own, I’d like a tree.”
“Real or artificial?”
“I’d like to buy a real tree. A small one. I love the smell,” she confided.
“Be careful not to let it get dry. And make sure you don’t leave the tree lights on when you aren’t around to keep an eye on them. And don’t...”
“Shane, I know how to take care of a Christmas tree.”
“Sorry. Like you, I like the look and smell of a real tree, but I worry about the fire potential.”
“I never realized you were the worrying kind,” she teased.
“I just believe in being cautious,” he answered repressively. “Christmas trees cause a lot of fires every year.”
“Are you saying I shouldn’t have a Christmas tree?”
Spotting a brightly lit Christmas tree lot ahead, Shane changed lanes and turned into the drive. “Let’s pick one out.”
He’d obviously caught her by surprise. “Now?”
“Why not? We’re here. We’re in the truck. You want a tree, right?”
“Right,” she agreed cautiously.
He parked and turned off the engine. “So let’s get a tree.”
Her eyes lighting with interest, she reached for her door handle. “Okay. Why not?”
“I have never seen anyone take longer to pick out a tree.”
“It’s my very first Christmas tree. I wanted it to be right.”
“What was wrong with the first couple of hundred you looked at?”
Unperturbed by Shane’s teasing, Kelly stood back to admire the small spruce he had just carried in and set up for her. It really was a pretty little tree, she thought in satisfaction. Exactly what she had wanted.
When he moved to stand beside her and draped an arm around her shoulders, she smiled up at him, forgetting for the moment that things were different between them now. “Don’t you agree that it’s a nice tree?”
“It’s beautiful,” he assured her with a smile. “Are you going to decorate it, or do you like it just the way it is?”
“Of course I’m going to decorate it. Just as soon as I buy some decorations.”
He tightened his arm a little, drawing her more closely against his side. “It really is a great tree, Kelly.”
“Thank you for helping me with it.”
“You’re welcome.” He brushed a kiss against her temple. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Her voice sounded a bit more breathless when she replied. “Even when I had to look at every tree on the lot?”
“Even then,” he assured her. “While you were looking at trees, I was looking at you.”
She went very still when he cupped her face with his free hand. It was obvious that he intended to kiss her. This was the time when she had to decide whether she wanted this experiment to proceed, or to end right now, before it went any further.