12 Gifts for Christmas. Джулия Кеннер

added some snacks and drinks and a few Spanish sports magazines. She’d thought of everything.

      She saw where his eyes had wandered. “Those are meant to help with the withdrawal.”

      He couldn’t hold off any longer and he reached for her, gripping her arms to bring her close. Her eyes were like warm brandy, but they were conflicted. He could see fear in them, but he also found the emotion he was looking for. Desire.

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      HOLDING Ally in his arms, Des whispered into her ear, “Happy Christmas Eve day, Allison Bonner. I thought I never wanted to celebrate another one, but you’ve managed to cure me.”

      With or without her permission, he covered her heart-shaped mouth with his own and kissed her the way he’d dreamed of doing all night long.

      After a brief hesitation, she returned his kiss with a passionate response that thrilled him to his core. He began to draw her over to the bed, needing to hold her closer in his arms. But when she sensed his direction, she tore her lips from his and eased out of his embrace. In the firelight her cheeks were flushed.

      “What’s wrong? Why did you pull away from me?”

      “The children have been watching for us. They’ll be down any second with their present.”

      The Scrabble game. He’d forgotten about it—and everything else.

      She’d brought him alive, and he loved this new feeling like he’d never loved anything in his life. But for some reason he sensed that she was still keeping him at a distance.

      “Where shall we play?”

      “On your king-size bed. That’s where you should be. The priest who lived here should have been so lucky.” The words were barely out of her delectable mouth before there was a knock on the door.

      “Allee? Desidiero? Is it all right to come in?”

      Des took the initiative and opened the door. “Make yourselves at home, niños. We’ve been waiting for you.”

      Nuncio carried the game under his arm. He scrutinized Des. “I thought you were sick, but you don’t look it.”

      “That’s because Ally helped me make a magical recovery.”

      “Papa said she saved your life.”

      “Your papa is right,” he said, staring at Ally.

      “Mama’s going to bring you some soup and bread.”

      Des smiled and tousled the boy’s head. “I can’t wait.”

      “Ooh,” Maricela crooned, walking over to the tree. “I love it.”

      Ally busied herself offering the children some candy. “If the three of you have any hope to beat me at this game, you’ll need some sugar for your brains.”

      Nuncio frowned. “Brains? I do not understand. What is that?”

      “Cerebro,” Des translated. “And after my fall, I don’t think mine is working so well. You two will have to help me.”

      The children laughed with excitement as Ally told everyone to get on the bed and explained the point of the game. “There’s a prize for the winner.”

      Des forced her to look at him. “If we lose, is there a consolation prize?”

      She chuckled. “I’ll think of one.”

      “How about if I lose, I get to decide what my prize is?” he answered back. “I know exactly what I want.”

      Ally couldn’t hold Des’s gaze when she knew exactly what was on his mind. He wasn’t going to let her get away with not explaining her remarks for much longer. She was putting it off because she was enjoying this time with him so much, and she wanted it to last.

      And right now she owed it to the children to get into this game.

      Des was a tough competitor and tutored the children with surprising patience. In the end, she won three matches and they won two. The kids would have continued trying to beat her for the rest of the day if it weren’t for Inez, who brought food on a tray and told the children she needed them upstairs.

      Ally rewarded each of them with a big peppermint candy cane. Since they’d never seen anything quite like them, they were delighted.

      After they left, she and Des ate the delicious food Inez had prepared. He sat against the headboard with his long legs extended. He looked relaxed, but she could feel his tension growing—right along with her own sense of impending doom.

      She knew their time together was short—in a few days he’d be off on his planned campout and she’d be back in Wyoming. But in the meantime, as she delayed telling him the truth, their relationship was progressing, making a liar out of her.

      Before he could pounce and claim his consolation prize, she put down her coffee cup and took the initiative, not able to stand it any longer.

      “You want to know my secret? The reason I’ve been keeping my distance? For the last year I’ve told no one, not even Miguel and Inez. But that was before I met you.”

      He sat forward. “Go on.”

      “I wanted to say something that morning we went climbing. But you were—are—such an attractive man, and I feared alienating you by seeming … forward. You know. A strange woman suddenly baring her soul to you. I’m sure there’ve been plenty of women who’ve come up with some pretty inventive ways to get close to you. I … I didn’t want you to think I was one of them. If I’d blurted out what was on my mind, I was afraid you would think it seemed desperate. I hated the idea that you would consider me pathetic.”

      His features hardened. “I know I acted resentful of you, and I’ve apologized for that, but did I seem that much of a monster to you when we were introduced?”

      “No!” she cried. “No, Des.” She jumped off the bed, too agitated to sit still. “After you told me about your fiancée, I understood your disdain.”

      She paced the floor for a minute. “What I’m trying to say is that this whole situation is about me and my hang-ups. I’m sorry you ever got involved. When I came to the Pyrenees, I didn’t expect …” She faltered for a second. “I didn’t expect to find what I did. To find you,” she mumbled.

      He launched himself off the bed and came to stand in front of her with his hands on his hips. “You think I did?”

      With that question she realized she wasn’t the only one feeling anxious about how quickly things had changed. “No.” She shook her head. “Of course not.”

      He softened his stance. “Just tell me, Ally.”

      She struggled for breath then lifted her head to look at him. “After Rex died, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a full mastectomy.” She smiled at him through the tears. “A woman gets used to her own body parts. But until I met you, I didn’t know how much it affected me that they were gone.”

      Though he stood stock-still, as soon as the words left her lips, she saw his eyes widen in shock and his compelling mouth press into a thin line.

      “I’m in remission for now and I’ve been working out to get in the best shape possible, both physically and mentally. But every time I go in for testing, I could find out it’s come back. Then again it might never come back.”

      Ally heard his sharp intake of breath. “You think that makes you the Ugly Duckling?”

      Des looked and sounded furious.

      “In the physical sense, yes. When you kissed me a little while ago, it made me realize h-how much I wanted to be like I was before.” She looked down. “Desirable. Sexy.”

      Ally was so embarrassed for having exposed herself to this degree,