sure to slow her already elevated breathing.
She looked through the peephole and had to stop herself from giving in to a happy dance. Gabe leaned against the rail with his thumbs tucked into his jean pockets, looking finger-licking good.
She opened the door and her heart caught. And not in a good way. Mr. Easygoing was looking anything but. In fact, his hair looked like he’d done a lot of raking his hands through it, and his expression was almost sad.
Then he took in her ice cream, the deadly spoon, and by the time he got to her hair a small smile was spreading across his face. He stepped close to her and ruffled her ponytail. Little bits of ice scattered to the ground.
“Holly wants a white Christmas. Still working out the details,” she explained. She didn’t know what was more embarrassing, the ice shard dripping down her right cheek or her Abominable Snowman slippers.
His smile widened. Then he said, “We need to talk.”
And hers faded.
Gabe was thankful that Regan was still wearing her sweats and tee. It had taken him so long to get rid of the grannies, he was afraid he’d find her asleep—or worse, in her nightie. He was going to have a hard enough time sleeping without adding the image of what she slept in to the mix.
“Okay, what do you want to talk about?” Her words came out breathy and her eyes were sending him all kinds of mixed signals. Almost as mixed up as he felt at the moment.
He wanted nothing more than to pick up where they’d left off, but she had a sleeping kid fifteen feet away, and he had to ask her something he didn’t want to. Because seeing her tonight, surrounded by his grandma and Holly, had reminded him that family, even if they were sometimes a gigantic pain in the ass, were important. And his family needed some answers.
Her face flushed. She stepped onto the stoop and quietly pulled the door closed. “Actually, you don’t have to answer that. I know why you’re here and you’re right, we need to talk.”
“Is that right?” He knew full well that she hadn’t a rat’s-ass clue why he was there, and he bet he knew exactly what she wanted to talk about. So he raised a brow and waited for her to talk herself in circles.
“Every time we’re together, stuff gets out of hand.”
“What stuff?”
“You know exactly what stuff I’m talking about.”
Yeah, he did. But he wanted to hear her say it. When she pressed her lips tight and shook her head, sending melted ice drops splattering on his arm, he took a step closer. Close enough to hear her breath pick up and see her eyes go heavy.
He didn’t kiss her or even touch her. He just invaded her space as much as possible without actually initiating contact.
“See, Vixen,” he whispered, watching the pulse at the base of her neck skyrocket. “When you refer to stuff, I can only imagine you’re talking about how whenever we’re together we can’t seem to keep our hands off each other. And when we do touch it’s so damn combustive it’s hard to breathe.”
Her throat worked hard to swallow, but when she finally managed it her chin hitched up, her lips tightened into a thin line and her stubborn side took over. “Which is why I think we should avoid each other.”
“Is that right?” He reached out and traced a finger over her mouth, loving how those lips relaxed and instantly went pliant under his touch. He knew he should be asking her about Richard, about her run-in with Abby, but she was ready to kick him to the curb and he needed to give her a reason to keep him around.
Not to mention, there was no way he was walking away now. Not before he got a chance to figure out what this insane chemistry was about.
“Most of your family hates me. My daughter is falling in love with you. And you’re not looking for anything permanent. I could go on.”
She had a point. A good one. But he still found himself stepping closer. Found his hand settling on her waist. Found that there was no way in hell he was going to be able to walk away.
She was quiet for a moment, her eyes studying him. “Why did you come here tonight?”
“Because my brothers were at my house, I wanted to help you set up your tree, and I needed to see you,” he