Christmas Kisses Collection. Louise Allen

flushed her face. “You did not do mouth-to-mouth on me in the lab.”

      He arched a brow. “You sure? You are still alive.”

      Very alive. Intensely alive. Feeling more alive by the second beneath his gaze.

      “You owe me.” His eyes locked with hers. “Say yes.”

      Needing to break the contact, she rolled her eyes. “I don’t owe you.”

      He let out an exaggerated sigh. “You’re right. I’m the one who owes you. Let me make it up to you by taking you out for frozen yogurt.”

      Her brows made a V. “What do you owe me for?”

      “That kiss.”

      Her cheeks flushed hot and she stared at the durable medical equipment form again, still not able to focus on it. “You don’t owe me.”

      “Sure I do.”

      “Why?” She refused to glance up at him.

      “Because it was an amazing kiss.”

      It had been an amazing kiss.

      “If you said yes to going with me for frozen yogurt, I could repay you.”

      “With another kiss?”

      “Well, I had frozen yogurt in mind, but I like how you think a lot better.”

      When she didn’t immediately answer, he sat down on the edge of her desk and grinned down at her. “But I’m a compromising kind of guy. If you ask nicely, we could do both frozen yogurt and mouth-to-mouth.”

      McKenzie bit her lower lip. She wanted to say yes.

      Way more than she should.

      It was only frozen yogurt.

      And his lips against hers.

      Not giving her breath but stealing hers away.

      “You think threatening me with more mouth-to-mouth is going to convince me to say yes?” She made the mistake of looking directly at him.

      He stared into her eyes for long moments, that intensity back, then he nodded. “I know it is.”

      Her eyes widened at his confidence.

      “You want me as much as I want you, McKenzie. I’m not sure why you feel you need to say no or not date me, but I’m one hundred percent positive that it’s not because you don’t want to be with me or that you didn’t enjoy that kiss as much as I did.”

      “That’s cocky of you.”

      “Honesty isn’t cockiness.”

      “Why should I want to be with you?”

      He frowned. “We get along well at the clinic and hospital. You make me smile and I make you smile. We have a lot in common, including that neither of us is looking for a long-term relationship,” he pointed out. “I’m basically a nice guy.”

      “Who I work with,” she reminded.

      “That’s really your hang-up? That we work together?”

      Sinking her teeth into her lower lip again, McKenzie nodded. It was, wasn’t it? It wasn’t because he scared her emotionally, that the way she reacted to him emotionally scared her silly, that she was afraid she’d get too attached to him and end up reminding herself of her man-needing mother?

      Was fear what was really holding her back?

      His gaze bored into her. “If we didn’t work together, you’d go out with me? Admit that there was something between us?”

      “We do work together so it’s a moot point,” she said, as much to herself as to him, because she wasn’t chicken. She wasn’t afraid to become involved with Lance. If she were, that would mean admitting she really was like her mother.

      She wasn’t.

      “But if we didn’t work together, you’d go have frozen yogurt with me tonight?”

      She closed her eyes then nodded. Lord help her, she would. Probably take some more of that mouth-to-mouth, too. She squeezed her eyes tighter to try to block out the image.

      See, she wasn’t afraid of Lance. Her reservations were because of their jobs. She heard Lance stir, wondered if he was moving toward her, if he was going to go for more mouth-to-mouth, and, when she opened her eyes, was surprised to see that he was leaving her office.

      Seriously, she’d essentially just admitted that she wanted to date him, to share kisses with him, and he was leaving? Not cool.

      “Where are you going?” she asked, instantly wishing she could take her question back as she didn’t want him to know it bothered her he’d been leaving. Why had he been leaving?

      “To leave you alone. We’re both adults, neither of whom wants a long-term relationship. When we’d both be going in with no long-term expectations and there’s no company policy against dating, that you’d use that as your reason doesn’t make sense unless the truth is that I’ve misread the signs that you return my attraction or you’re scared. Either way doesn’t work for me. Sorry I’ve bothered you, McKenzie.”

       CHAPTER FIVE

      MCKENZIE BOLTED OUT of her office chair and took off after Lance. She grabbed hold of his white lab coat and pulled him back into her office.

      He couldn’t just leave like that.

      She pushed her office door closed and leaned against it, blocking his access to leave until she was ready to let him go.

      “Does that mean we aren’t going to be friends anymore?” Did she sound as ridiculous as she felt? He’d asked her out. She’d turned him down. Repeatedly. He’d told her he’d leave her alone. She’d stopped him. What did that say about her?

      Dear Lord, she was an emotional mess where this man was concerned. She should have let him go. Why hadn’t she?

      “You want to just be my friend?” His blue eyes glittered with steeliness. “I’m sorry, McKenzie, but I want more than that. After our kiss, it’s going to take time before I can rewire my brain to think of you as just a friend. We can’t be ‘just friends.’ At least, I can’t think of you that way.”

      “Stop this,” she ordered, lifting her chin in defiance at him and the plethora of emotions assailing her. “All this because I won’t go get frozen yogurt with you? This is ridiculous.”

      “Not just frozen yogurt, McKenzie, and you know it. I want to date you. As in you and me acknowledging and embracing the attraction between us. As in multiple episodes of mouth-to-mouth and wherever that takes us. I’ve been honest with you that although I’m not interested in something long term, I’m attracted to you. Isn’t it time you’re honest with yourself and me? Because to say our working in the same building is why you won’t date me is what I find ridiculous.”

      “But…” She trailed off, not sure what to say. Way beyond her excuse of not wanting to date a coworker, McKenzie was forced to face some truths.

      She liked Lance.

      She liked seeing glimpses of him every day, seeing his smile, hearing his voice, his laughter, even when it was from a distance and had nothing to do with her. She liked catching sight of him from time to time and seeing his expression brighten when he caught sight of her. She liked the way his eyes ate her up, the way his lips curved upward. She didn’t want him to avoid her or not be happy when he saw her. She didn’t want to stop grabbing a meal with him at the hospital or hanging out with him at group functions. She enjoyed his quick wit, his easy smile, the way he made her feel inside, even if she’d never admitted that to herself. If he shut her out of his life, she’d miss him. She’d miss everything about him.