The Nurse's Christmas Temptation / A Mistletoe Kiss For The Single Dad. Ann McIntosh

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      Cam climbed with the ease of familiarity, but made sure to look back often and make sure Harmony wasn’t having any difficulties.

      They didn’t talk, except when he warned her of a longer step, or a spot where there was a crack to watch out for. She was obviously inexperienced, hesitating in places, searching for a good hand or foothold in areas where, to him, it was obvious. But he had to admit she was game, and she grew even higher in his estimation.

      He’d been sure she’d refuse to go to the top of Ada Tor. In fact, he would swear she’d been petrified when he’d suggested it. Yet here she was, more than halfway to the top, soldiering on. Hard not to admire her grit.

      When he got to the top he reached back to help her up the last little bit, but she ignored his hand and scrambled up by herself. As she stood beside him, dusting her hands off on her jeans, he watched her look around, and he saw the dawning pleasure on her face at the vista laid out before her.

      The land fell away in dips and swirls, the contours and colors reminding him of a Van Gogh painting, and in the distance lay the sea, a smooth blue expanse so far away. Just visible to the southeast were the roofs of the town, and to the west the little crescent of buildings making up the fishing village. Sheep and a few horses dotted the fields, but it was the quality of the air and the perfect height of the sun that really brought out the island’s splendor.

      “How lovely…” she breathed, turning to look back toward where the mainland was just a smudge on the horizon above the trees along the northern coast.

      “I told you it was the best view,” he said, and found himself taking in the familiar sight and appreciating it even more than usual. Something in her awestruck expression made him see it through fresh eyes.

      “Is this rock formation natural?” she asked, still turning slowly to see everything all over again.

      “I think it is,” he replied. “Although there isn’t another like it on the island. Legend has it that there’s a Celtic princess buried under it, but I don’t think it’s true.”

      “Hence the name Ada Tor?”

      “Yes.”

      He sat down on a handy rock, still gazing out. After a moment she joined him, and he shuffled over to give her more room. Her fresh, sweet scent wafted over him and stirred something deep inside.

      In the distance a truck rumbled along the road, and she pointed to it briefly. “I can’t get used to seeing so many vehicles here all of a sudden. It’s surprising after hardly seeing any at all.”

      “They’re probably delivering Christmas trees to Angus’s farm. He always gets his early because he has so much work to do. The rest will come later in the week.”

      Harmony sighed quietly, and he somehow knew she was thinking of her family and all she’d miss this year.

      “Will you tell me what you used to do with your gran and your mum for Christmas? I’m curious to know about some of your customs.”

      She gave him a sideways glance, before staring out at where the truck had disappeared into a dip in the land.

      “It wasn’t much different from other English families, I guess,” she said, but then proceeded to prove herself wrong.

      It was as if a dam had broken, and Cam could only listen as she listed all the things she’d be missing this year. There were things he’d never heard of—what on earth was a gizzada, or jonkanoo?—but other things he completely understood. Lots of poinsettias, since they were such a popular tradition in the Caribbean. Watching favorite movies, listening to beloved songs. Decorating the tree together and inviting everyone they knew to come by to exchange gifts and have drinks.

      It wasn’t so different from what happened here, he thought as she fell silent. Some different cultural traditions, of course, but the picture she painted of family and friends, of a community sharing laughter and joy, labor and company, was the same.

      Without thought he looped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze. When she stiffened he almost let his arm drop, but then she turned her face to look at him and he froze, captivated and enticed by her solemn eyes, her soft lips.

      The wind had died, and their faces were so close together her breath rushed warm across his mouth. Cam inhaled, wanting to take it into his lungs, hold on to it just for a moment.

      Want spiked through his veins, so strong it wrapped around СКАЧАТЬ