A Mummy for Christmas. Cathy Gillen Thacker

watched her spoon fragrant decaf French roast coffee into a paper filter. Like their kids, he found himself wishing the evening would never end.

      Aware that Holly had paused, waiting for an answer, he said adamantly, “No. I don’t think our lives are too enmeshed.” In fact, there were nights—long, lonely evenings like the night before, when they each did their own thing with their own kids—when he wished they were more entwined.

      Holly set the coffee on to brew, then turned around. She lounged against the edge of the granite counter, her hands braced on either side of her, and searched his face. “You never wonder what will happen if one of us moves away?”

      Travis moved so they were a foot apart, and his arms folded in front of him. “I’m not going anywhere.” He thought of Cliff’s sudden reappearance in her and the twins’ lives. Uncertainty made him tense. “Are you?”

      Her expression said that was a ridiculous question. “Well, no…”

      Travis shrugged and held his ground. “Then it isn’t an issue,” he said flatly, wondering when things had gotten so personal between the two of them.

      A pulse throbbed in Holly’s throat. “It could be if you started dating someone.”

      “I’m not interested in remarrying. You know that.” Or at least, Travis amended silently, he hadn’t been until he’d kissed her. That had opened up such a realm of possibilities he no longer knew what the future held. Except for one thing. The woman next door. His best friend. “Are you?” he persisted.

      “No,” Holly answered, just as quickly and resolutely. Her soft lips compressed stubbornly. “I decided long ago that’s not in the cards for me, either.”

      “Then what’s the problem?” Travis asked softly, wondering what suddenly had her so on edge.

      Holly winced and rubbed her temples. “I don’t know.”

      Travis was pretty sure she did know—but didn’t feel comfortable sharing all her concerns with him.

      Looking as if she wished the conversation had never started, Holly shrugged off her melancholy mood and moved away from him toward the family room, where the TV was flickering. Her tender smile turned into a quiet laugh and a shake of her head. She put a finger to her lips, then motioned for him to join her.

      He walked over. From where they stood, they could see over the top of the sectional sofa. The video had barely gotten started, but all four kids were sound asleep, lying snuggled up to each other like a pile of snoozing puppies.

      Travis chuckled, too. “I’ll have to carry them home and put them to bed,” he said.

      Holly tipped her face up to his. Once again, she looked so content. His heart filled with admiration and something else—something sweet and satisfying—he wasn’t sure he was quite ready to identify.

      She propped her hands on her hips, obviously as reluctant to spend another Saturday night alone as he was. “Want to have a cup of decaf first?”

      He liked the spark coming back into her aquamarine eyes, the generous, easygoing attitude she exhibited whenever they hung out together. A wave of tenderness swept through him, as potent as it was unexpected. “Sure.”

      She fell into step beside him as they moved toward the kitchen, both of them reveling in the peace and quiet after a very noisy, tumultuous, busy day. She reached the coffeemaker, then paused to look into his eyes. “By the way, thank you for everything. It was a great day,” she told him softly. “A really great day.”

      Happiness warmed his soul. “I thought so, too,” he admitted. And it could be even better if they said to heck with what had been till now, and followed their instincts.

      Holly started to speak. Travis didn’t know what she was about to say—all he knew for sure was that it was going to have to wait.

      HOLLY SAW THE KISS coming and knew she could have stopped it. All she had to do was put a hand to his chest, keeping distance between them, or turn her head and step back. She did none of those things. Instead, for once in her life, she followed her deepest impulses, which led her straight into Travis’s arms.

      When his mouth descended, she wreathed her arms about his neck and went up on tiptoe to meet his lips. Before she knew it, she was lost in a storm of heat and need, tenderness and yearning. He caught her upper lip between the two of his, rubbing it softly, then did the same to her lower lip. Holly responded. Together, they found all the ways their lips could fit together, torment and caress. Until that wasn’t enough, and his tongue slipped inside her mouth, to stroke and play with hers. Warmth swept through her; tingles centered in her middle and spread outward. Lower still, she felt the pressure of his need against her. And the desire welling up inside her, unchecked.

      “I thought we weren’t going to do this,” she reminded him, trembling.

      “So did I.” He smiled down at her with lazy familiarity. “We thought wrong.”

      Travis wrapped his arms around her again, hauled her close and kissed her once more, really kissed her. And this time, when the embrace finally ended, Holly didn’t want to list all the reasons why they shouldn’t be giving in to recklessness and pure, unadulterated physical need.

      It was Christmas.

      This was a gift.

      They really didn’t need to know more.

      Except…

      A self-conscious flush moved from her neck to her cheeks. “I want you to promise me that if we go down this road, embark on something…casual…that fits our situation…we’ll just go with it, without worrying about all the implications.”

      His eyes turned serious and he shifted her closer once again. “Sounds good.”

      Panicking a little at the fierceness of her emotions, she pushed him away, drew in a shuddering breath. “But if for some reason it doesn’t work out…” Acutely aware how much was on the line here, she gripped the hard muscles of his biceps urgently. “I can’t lose you.” Her voice caught. “I can’t lose all this…and if our going down this path brings up even the possibility of that…then I can’t.”

      Nor could he.

      Travis held her eyes with his. Sifting his hands through her hair, he vowed, “Nothing will come between us—I promise you that.”