Million Dollar Christmas Bride - Holly Rayner Page 0,14

up and dessert arrived, her anxiety about Jackson’s wealth had completely disappeared. She was warming to him, slowly and surely, even as the night air cooled around her.

“Come on, let’s sit closer to the water,” Jackson suggested, motioning to a bench by the boat’s slatted railing.

Bianca picked up her espresso cup and followed Jackson to the bench. He carried two plates of chocolate truffle cake with him, and once she was seated, he handed one to her. She balanced it on her lap, sipped her espresso, and looked out over the moonlit water.

“I have to admit,” she said with a happy sigh, “I don’t go out very often. This is a real treat.”

He was close to her on the bench, and she could smell his cologne mingling with the earthy scent of river plants.

She felt so content. The moon was a sliver of silver above. With each passing second, more and more stars peeked out from the veil of darkness that covered the city.

“I tend to avoid first dates,” she said, while still looking out over the water. “It’s just so much work, you know? Getting to know someone? It can be so awkward. But this has been really nice, Jackson.”

She wondered briefly if she’d be opening up like this if she’d not had two glasses of wine with dinner. Probably not. She didn’t like being vulnerable. But something about the starry sky, Jackson’s smile, the way he made her feel appreciated… It was all swirling together to create the perfect storm. She wanted to tell him how she felt.

She turned slightly, angling her body toward him.

His features looked more chiseled in the dramatic light at the edge of the cruise boat. The little lights that surrounded the canopy over the dining area just barely reached his profile, creating a stunning effect. His tan was deep and rich, his blue eyes luminous as he eyed her thoughtfully.

What is he thinking? she wondered.

Beneath the dark dress shirt he wore, she could sense the mass of his biceps, his pecks, his strong shoulders. She longed for him to put an arm around her and hold her closer.

She felt herself pulled toward him, almost as though he was a gravitational force. Her eyes roved over his lips, which seemed to beg for contact. They were the most kissable lips she’d ever seen.

Her voice lowered slightly as she spoke again. “I’m glad you asked me out. I really didn’t expect it. After all, I banged up your car and I haven’t paid for it yet.”

“Actually,” Jackson said, his voice soft, too, to match the gentle lapping sound of the wave below hitting the first deck. “I have a thought about that, if you’d be willing to hear it.”

Bianca felt her defenses go up.

The yearning to be vulnerable with the man beside her dropped away. She bristled. Has this whole evening been set up, so that we can discuss our car accident?

“Oh?” she said, hearing the skepticism in her own voice. “And what’s that?”

Chapter 5

Jackson

Bianca sounded upset. She shifted her legs, which were crossed at the knee, then she smoothed the hemline of her skirt nervously and set her plate aside so that it sat on the bench between them.

Jackson didn’t want to upset her.

He’d sensed that she was into him. When he’d first picked her up, she’d seemed slightly flighty and on edge. But as the evening wore on, he’d felt her opening up to him, like a flower unfurling curled petals when warmed by the sun.

He was used to having that effect on people, but what he wasn’t used to was enjoying it with as much intensity as he experienced with Bianca. Each time he saw her smile, he felt an expansive sensation in his chest. He felt lighter, happier, and more eager than before to make her smile again.

It wasn’t only her smile that was lovely, either. When she’d first greeted him at the door of her little bungalow, he’d been taken by surprise by how stunning she really was. Without the camouflage of baggy scrubs, a bulky windbreaker, or a mask of exhaustion due to working all night, she was breathtaking. Her auburn curls fell in loose waves around her face. Her green eyes were bright, lively, and playful. The dress she wore clung to her curves in all the right places, giving Jackson a new impression of her figure. Those legs… that waist. And her lips! They looked so soft and plump, covered in a shiny gloss that he longed