Love Under the Mistletoe: A Small Town Christmas Love Story

She looked up at him, her face still saying she was unsure about accepting his offer. He could understand her hesitance. It was a lot of money to her, but hardly anything to him. She didn’t know how much he made.

“Are you really sure? Because I’m impressed enough already. You don’t have to spend two weeks’ pay on lunch.”

Nathan’s eyes widened slightly. Two weeks’ pay? Just how little money did she make? How was she skiing at Blue Aspen? She’d said she was a teacher, but he’d assumed she worked for a college or maybe as a private tutor.

A private tutor made sense. She would come with the family on a trip like this, but wouldn’t have much money of her own.

“It’s no problem,” he assured her. “I can take it as a business expense. Please, let me buy lunch.”

She sighed, chewing on the inside of her cheek for a moment. “Okay. I just don’t want you to regret it later.”

He chuckled. There was no way he would regret this lunch. The only thing he would regret is that he didn’t offer to pay for it in the first place. He found himself wanting to give Holly everything. It felt good to give her things.

“It’s my pleasure,” he told her. He pushed his untouched drink in front of her. “Here, try it.”

She checked his face once more before hesitantly reaching for the drink. She checked in again with him before taking a sip.

“Oh, wow.” She took a deeper sip, sighing with pleasure. “You weren’t kidding. That’s amazing.”

Nathan grinned, leaning back in his chair. He liked seeing her smile and sigh like that. Her shoulders relaxed and she no longer looked like she might be sick. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Thank you.” Her green eyes met his and he felt a sizzle of desire sweep through him. Her smile warmed him. It made him wonder what she would look like in his bed. Would she blush just like she was now?

But a restaurant was not an appropriate place for a thought like that. Despite the storm, there were still a few other guests enjoying their lunches. Luckily, the waitress returned with a cup of hot chocolate for him. He sipped at it, trying to steer his thoughts away from the way her curves would feel under his fingers.

“Have you ever been to New York at Christmas time?” Nathan asked her. “You said you love Christmas. New York is famous for their Christmas spirit.”

“I’ve actually never been to New York,” she admitted. “I’ve seen a lot of the Midwest, Disneyland and Disney World, and I went to Mexico during college.”

“Spring break?” He liked the idea of her in a bikini drinking to much tequila.

“An immersion class,” she replied. “Although I did get some beach time. But, mostly I just walked around trying to get my verb tenses right.”

“Do you speak Spanish?”

“Not as well as I’d like. I can sort of hold a conversation, but I’m working on it. Do you speak any other languages?”

“I’m trying to work on Mandarin,” he said. “It’s a tonal language, which makes it hard.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, leaning in and looking interested.

“In English, you indicate that you’re asking a question by raising your pitch at the end of the sentence,” he explained.

“Like this?” She exaggerated the pitch change.

He nodded. “Exactly. In Chinese, that’s part of the words themselves. It’s not just the sounds, but the way the sounds are heard that's the language.”

“Give me an example.”

“If you say ‘ma,’ flat like in English, it means ‘scold.’ But, if you say ‘ma?’ Like you’re looking for your mom, then that means ‘rough.’ But, if you say it up and down like you’re whining, ma-a-a, that means horse. If you say it ‘ma-a,’ dropping pitch on the second part, it means mother.”

“That sounds confusing,” Holly said, shaking her head. “I would end up calling my mother a horse. A lot.”

“You don’t even want to know some of the things I’ve accidentally said.” He chuckled. “I’m just glad my investors found it amusing that I tried. Luckily, the grammar is very easy.”

“So how do you ask a question?” She smiled. “I ask, using the rising question tone. You wouldn’t be able to use the upwards tone to ask, since that would mean a different word.”

“You simply add the question sound to the end.” He grinned at her. “It’s ma.”