Jason tried to block out the image of his once strong dad, now sick and needy. Uneasiness laced with guilt churned in his gut. No. He refused to let that man steal this wonderful evening from him—he’d already missed so much....
Kara was in charge of rolling out the already made and chilled cookie dough, as well as working the oven. That left him and Samantha to do the decorating. Bowls of various colors of icing lined the table. In addition, there were red, green and white sprinkles of varying shapes and sizes. Kara certainly seemed to think of everything.
“What’s that?” he asked, gesturing to the cookie Samantha was about to decorate. “A pony?”
She giggled. “Mommy, he doesn’t know what a reindeer looks like.”
“He doesn’t. Well, I guess you’ll just have to teach him these things.”
“See? These are the antlers.” Samantha grew serious and pointed to the cookie. “And if I put this red ball on its nose, then it’s Rudolph.”
Every time the child smiled it was like warm sunbeams hitting Jason’s chest. He couldn’t resist a bit more teasing. “I don’t know. Still looks like a pony with a bad cold.”
The sweet chimes of Samantha’s laughter pealed through the kitchen. Even Kara was smiling and shaking her head. He had no idea until that moment how rewarding he found the sound of laughter from these two special ladies. So why was he hesitant to lay the whole truth on the line with Kara? Why couldn’t he take the next step necessary to ensure he didn’t lose her, now that he’d broken through her stony barrier?
“What’s that?” Samantha scrunched up her button nose and pointed at the cookie he was currently smearing icing on.
“It’s Santa Claus.”
She shook her head. “Santa doesn’t wear green.”
He glanced down and realized his thoughts had meandered, and he’d accidentally grabbed the bowl of green icing. “Well, my Santa wants to be different.”
“But Santa can’t be green.”
“He can’t, huh?” Without thinking about the trouble he’d be in with Kara, he dipped his finger in the green icing and dabbed his fingertip on Samantha’s nose.
Her mouth gaped open. Her eyes rounded with surprise. It took only a second for the shock to subside. She dunked her finger in the same bowl and reached out, giving him a matching green nose. They both started to laugh.
“What are you two up to?” Kara turned and he braced himself for a stern lecture. “You’re supposed to decorate the cookies, not each other.” With a smile tugging at her very kissable lips, she turned to check the oven. It appeared he and Samantha weren’t the only ones enjoying this evening.
By eleven o’clock, Samantha was asleep in bed and they had just finished wrapping the cookie trays. Kara walked him to the door. “Thank you for all the help. We couldn’t have gotten so much done tonight without you.”
“I’m glad I could help. Samantha is a great kid. And her mother isn’t so bad, either.” Thoughts of kissing her bombarded his mind.
“She isn’t, huh?” Kara smiled up at him and that was all the encouragement he needed.
He pulled her to him. With their lips a hair apart, he paused. When she didn’t move, he brushed his mouth over hers. She tasted sugary and delectable. It surprised him when she didn’t resist his advances. In fact, she sidled up against him, chest to chest, lip to lip. He moaned. This was the sweetest torture he’d ever experienced. He’d been wrong—kissing Kara wasn’t enough to appease his mounting desires. In fact, it just made him want her even more.
“Let’s go back inside,” he murmured.
Kara’s hands pressed against his chest. She tilted up her chin. “Are you ready to talk about the past?”
Part of him was willing to say anything just so this moment wouldn’t end. It’d been so many years since he’d made love to her...but tonight wasn’t the right time.
If he was to stay here and make love to her, it would be tantamount to declaring that he was ready to spend forever with her, and he just wasn’t there yet. Kara and Samantha were a package deal, and until he was ready for all that it entailed, he’d be left with nothing but sweet kisses at the door.
“I should go.”
“You know you could stop by tomorrow and we could deliver the cookie trays to the care home—”
“I can’t.” He just couldn’t go, knowing his father was there. Not even for Kara. “I still have a ton of stuff to do before the resort’s grand reopening.”
Her smile faltered. “I understand.”
“But I’d like a rain check. How about Friday I take you and Samantha out to see a holiday movie?”
The smile came back and lit up her eyes. “You have yourself a date.”