Puppy Wishes & Candy Kisses (Kringle Falls #1)

16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

H e’d freaked out.

There was no other explanation for it.

Later that day, Michael couldn’t stop thinking about kissing Candi. He tried to tell himself it was an accident—that he’d been intending to kiss her cheek—but he couldn’t sell that lie to himself. The truth was that he’d wanted to kiss her.

This acknowledgment was causing him to freak out. It didn’t help that when their lips met, he’d felt as though the world had slipped off its axis. He felt as though his life was in free fall.

Candi was the first woman he’d kissed since his wife had passed. And she would be the last. He wasn’t going to start over with anyone. He wasn’t going to risk his heart again.

Ever since the kiss, he’d noticed that she hadn’t spoken much. And now that they were home, she was still quiet. Was it the kiss that had her so quiet? Or was she upset about leaving the puppies?

Not able to take the silence any longer, he’d suggested they watch a holiday movie. She declined the offer. He gave it some more thought and then mentioned working on the Christmas ornaments. She told him maybe later. He assumed that was her polite way of saying no.

He knew he should just go his own way and let her be, but he couldn’t just walk away. He felt bad for her. Nothing about this holiday was going right for her. She’d been trying to help a friend by driving the puppies to Maine. She’d never expected to get lost in a snowstorm. And then there was the wreck… It still bothered him to think how close she’d come to freezing to death out there. Thank goodness he’d found her and the pups when he did.

Now, she was stuck here with him. It wasn’t fair to her that he was severely lacking the holiday spirit. Maybe he should do something to cheer her up—something to put the sunny smile back on her beautiful face. But how?

It took him a few minutes, then he got an idea. He didn’t take time to consider if it was a wise move. He just went with his gut.

He stepped into the kitchen where Candi was sitting at the kitchen island, staring at her phone. “Do you want to get a Christmas tree?”

She turned to him with her eyes widened in surprise. “Do you normally get one?”

He hesitated. Then he shook his head. “Not since Evelyn and Noah.” He noticed that the more he spoke of them, the easier it was getting to talk about them. “Evelyn always took charge of the decorating. I just did what she told me. And with it just being me, there was no point in putting up a tree.”

“We don’t have to get a tree.”

He noticed she didn’t say she didn’t want one. “Come on. It’ll be fun. Besides, what else are you going to do this afternoon?”

“Michael, really, you don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do.” He moved to grab his coat but then hesitated. “I’m going to get one. You might want to come help me. Otherwise, I can’t promise it’ll be a nice tree.”

She rolled her eyes before she smiled. “You aren’t going to give up, are you?”

“Nope.” He grabbed her hand and gave a gentle tug. “Come on. You know you want to.”

“Fine. If I have to…”

He let out a laugh. “Yes, you have to.”

He liked that they’d regained their ease with each other after that unexpected kiss. He still couldn’t get it out of his mind. When she stepped into the small mudroom, she leaned past him to grab her coat. In that moment, he was tempted to kiss her again. She was only inches away. It’d be so easy to reach out and draw her to him.

And it would ruin the easiness they’d just achieved. It took everything within him to resist the temptation. What was it about her that drew him to her? Whatever it was, he knew he was in trouble. Big trouble.

It wasn’t pretty. Not exactly.

It wasn’t lush. Not really.

But it was so ugly it was cute.

A couple hours later, Candi stood in the living room and stared at their Christmas tree. They’d cut it down not far from Michael’s house. It’d looked better when it was surrounded by other pine trees.

Still, it had promise. Didn’t it? She looked at it from this angle and that angle. Perhaps. A few ornaments here and a few there would help fill in the empty spots.

She couldn’t believe Michael had suggested putting up a tree. She wanted to believe this was another sign of him coming out of his shell, but she cautioned herself not to read too much into his actions.

Michael brought some boxes down from upstairs. They were filled with Christmas decorations. As she peered into box after box, she felt as though she were overstepping, even if he was the one offering up the decorations.

She hesitated. “Are you sure you want me to use these ornaments?”

His gaze didn’t quite meet hers as he nodded his head. “They aren’t doing any good up there collecting dust.”

She found a couple of strings of lights. She plugged them in and was relieved when they lit up. She moved to one side of the tree while Michael stood on the other side.

She knelt down to string the lights along the lower branches of the tree. When she went to pass the lights to Michael, their fingers touched. Her fingers tingled. The sensation zinged up her arm and settled in her chest. It sent her heart racing. She wondered if he’d felt it too. She didn’t have the nerve to ask him. In fact, it was best to just pretend it hadn’t happened.

They continued wrapping the tree in lights until they made it to the top. She stepped back and surveyed their efforts. “See. It already looks better.”

“If you say so,” he mumbled.

“I do.” She stepped back, and her foot landed on something.

It let out a squeaky sound. She bent down and picked up Tank’s favorite squeaker toy. In that moment, she was hit with another wave of sadness. She knew asking Merry to find homes for the pups was in their best interest, but why did it have to hurt so much?

As she stared at the toy, her eyes grew misty. Had she made the right decision? Would Merry find them a loving home?

Michael approached her. “They’re going to be okay.”

“I know.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “I just didn’t expect to get so attached to them.” A tear rolled down her cheek.

He reached out and drew her to him. His arms wrapped around her. She rested her head against his muscular chest. She wrapped her arms around his trim waist. His comfort was the balm to her aching heart. She could stay there in his embrace forever.

The thought startled her. When she pulled back, she lifted her head to look up at him. He looked down at her at the same time. As she stared into his eyes, it was like a spell was cast over her. Her heart pitter-pattered.

His gaze slipped down to her lips before returning to gaze into her eyes. Was he thinking of kissing her again?

His head lowered. Her body leaned toward him as though by magnetic force. Her heart nearly beat so loud it echoed in her ears. Could he hear it? Did he have any clue what his closeness did to her?

His lips hovered ever so close to hers. Her eyes drifted closed as she waited for his mouth to touch hers…

Ding.

For a moment, neither of them moved. It was though neither of them wanted this moment to end. She felt a connection to him that she’d never felt with anyone else.

And then reality sent them jumping back. Heat rushed from her chest up her neck and set her cheeks aflame.

Ding.

“Sorry,” he said. “It’s my phone.”

And the spell was irretrievably broken. When he stepped away to check his messages, she let out a pent-up breath. She was disappointed that the tender moment had ended so quickly. She wanted to feel his lips pressed to hers once more. Because surely his kiss hadn’t been as good as she remembered.

When he slipped his phone back into his pocket, she asked, “Do you have to leave?”

He shook his head. “It was just an update on the ice situation. They have everything under control.”

“That’s good.”

“Now about that food...”

“I can make something,” she said.

“No. You’ve done a lot of the cooking. It’s my turn. You just stay here and continue decorating the tree. Or watch a movie. I can’t promise anything as delicious as you can make, but at least you won’t have to cook this evening.” And then he walked away.

She’d never had a guy cook her dinner. They had either taken her out to eat or ordered takeout. She didn’t know what he was going to make, but she knew whatever it was, it would be memorable. He was definitely raising the bar for any guys that came after him.

What was he doing?

Almost an hour later, Michael stood at the stove, filling two plates with spaghetti and meatballs. He hadn’t cooked for anyone since Evelyn and Noah were alive. And to his surprise, it felt good to be doing something for someone else. But then again, Candi wasn’t just anyone. She was like a force of nature, who had happened into his life and turned it upside down.

As he grabbed the grated parmesan, his gaze strayed across the now-empty dog bowls. His thoughts turned to Tank. He knew Candi wanted him to keep Tank, but it just wouldn’t work—not with his job and everything. He was certain some nice family would adopt him. Instead of the thought making him feel better, it made him feel worse. Because he missed that dog, even if he was a bed hog.

Michael shoved aside the thought. Dinner was ready, and he wanted to eat it before it grew cold. He carried the plates to the living room, where Candi had Christmas music playing as she hung an ornament on the tree.

He placed the plates on the coffee table and joined Candi next to the tree. “Wow. I didn’t think I was gone that long.”

She turned to him with a puzzled look. “What are you talking about?”

“The tree. You have it all decorated.”

She looked at the tree and then back at him. “Not quite.”

“It looks really nice.”

“Thanks. I wasn’t sure which ornaments you would want on it.”

“I like what you picked out.” As he continued perusing the tree, he noticed three specific ornaments. They were grouped together near the top of the tree.

He continued to stare at the three white ball ornaments. They were personalized with the names of his wife, son, and himself. He was touched that Candi would think to add them to the tree. There was something so special about Candi. She had such a big, caring heart. And if he wasn’t careful, he was going to fall for her.

“I couldn’t reach to do the top of the tree.” Her voice drew him from his thoughts.

“We can do that after we eat. I hope you’re hungry, because I made a lot.” He ran to the kitchen to grab the napkins and two cans of pop. After they sat down, he handed her a plate. “I hope you like it.”

She smiled. “Thank you. It smells delicious. I can’t believe you made this so quickly.”

“It helps when the sauce comes in a jar, and the meatballs are out of the freezer.”

“It doesn’t matter how you created the meal. It’s the gesture that counts. And I appreciate you making me something to eat.” After taking a bite, she said, “I love it. If you hadn’t told me this was jarred sauce, I wouldn’t have known.”

“Well, I did add a bit of this and that to the sauce.” He liked to give his food his own little touches. Remembering the cheese, he held it out to her. “Do you want some parmesan?”

She took it and sprinkled some on her pasta.

“How about we watch a movie while we eat?” he asked.

“Sounds good.” She reached for her phone. “Just let me turn off the music.” She pressed a button, and silence descended over the room.

“And I’ll turn off the lights.” He moved to the wall and pressed the switch.

Now the only light in the room was the warm glow from the Christmas tree and the fireplace. Perhaps this was cozier than he’d intended, but it was too late to do anything about it—not without making a big deal out of the romantic setting.

He glanced over at Candi as she took another bite of spaghetti. She didn’t seem bothered by the intimate setting.

So, he settled back on the couch and used the remote control to turn on the big screen television. “What do you want to watch?”

“A Christmas movie.”

Why wasn’t he surprised? “I know. We’ll watch Die Hard .”

“I already told you that’s not a Christmas movie.”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, it isn’t.” She frowned at him. “There’s nothing Christmassy about it.”

“There’s a Christmas tree in it.”

She rolled her eyes. “I have veto power, and I say pick another movie.”

He sighed. “You’re no fun.”

“That isn’t what you said when I climbed on the back of your snowmobile earlier today.”

She did have a good point. “Fine. You’re fun sometimes.”

She smiled at him. “Better sometimes than never.”

“I suppose so.” He turned his focus to scrolling through what was on television.

At last, they settled on a royal Christmas movie. He wasn’t sure it would be interesting, but the way Candi had gone on about it, he knew it would make her happy, and that was good enough for him.

As the movie played, the fire started to go down, and a chill came over the room, so he grabbed a blanket and draped it over both of them.

The next thing he knew, Candi’s head was resting on his shoulder. And by the sound of her deep breathing, he knew she’d fallen asleep. He smiled. Someone had worn themselves out that day. No sooner had the thought come to him than he yawned.