Sweet Christmas Kisses (157 page)

“I don’t think I can move,” she said, shaking her head with enough force to send hair whipping across her face.

“Sure you can,” he said, keeping his tone reassuring. “It’s not that far.”

“I’m scared.”

Scared and probably turning into an icicle. She wouldn’t be coaxed down. He swung one leg over the top of the ladder and vaulted onto the roof.

Her eyes went even wider, if possible. “What are you doing?”

“Coming to get you,” he said, making his way toward her.

“You shouldn’t be on here. What if
you
fall? How would I explain that to your parents?”

“I won’t fall. Remember, I climb mountains.”

“And you have the body to prove it… oh!” She clamped a hand over her mouth. “Did I say that out loud?”

Oh yeah, she had.

“Thank you.” He crouched down next to her. “So you think I’m hot?”

“Get real,” she said, managing to roll her eyes despite her fear. “I’ve seen better.”

Had she? Had there been other guys besides Doug? There must have been. Noelle was gorgeous. Michael suddenly wanted to pummel every imaginary boyfriend.

Not good, and not the time to realize he’d become possessive. He needed to talk her down. Fast.

“Noelle… look at me.”

Once more, huge eyes swung toward him.

“We need to go back down now,” he said, putting out his hand again.

“I can’t.” She caught her bottom lip with her teeth. “Every time I move, I imagine tumbling off the edge.”

“You won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

He touched her cheek and then slid his palm to cradle her neck. “Do you trust me?”

An electric arc seemed to stretch between them, flowing from her soft skin to his fingers and traveling through every nerve in his body.

“Yes…”

He could feel the vibration as she spoke and the rapid beat of her pulse beneath his thumbs. “Then take my hand. I will not let you fall.”

A shaky breath emerged as she gathered herself. “Okay.”

Once he had her hand, he coaxed her to stand. Together, they started inching back toward the ladder.

“That’s right,” he said, keeping up a steady stream of encouragement. “Don’t stop and don’t look down. Keep your eyes on me.”

“I bet Alicia wasn’t scared of heights,” she said on a huff of air.

Now she wanted to talk about his ex? Michael would rather discuss anything else. Like having a colonoscopy. Or a root canal. Although distracting Noelle would be a good thing.

“Alicia loved heights, as long as it meant a penthouse,” he said, even as he kept them moving. “As for climbing up a mountain, I wouldn’t know. She never wanted to come on any of my outdoor adventures. I think she might have been allergic to the sun and sweat.”

“How did you wind up married to her anyway?” she asked, moving with him now.

“Lust, pride, and stupidity.”

“Because she was so beautiful,” Noelle murmured. “You probably never noticed she was a total bit…” she caught her lip again. “Not a nice person.”

“I did mention stupidity,” he said, grinning at her in the dark. “Alicia was the perfect woman for a big-shot corporate executive who was looking to become even bigger. Took me a long time to realize her beauty was all surface. About the time I found out, she’d hooked a bigger corporate fish who could move her up the social ladder faster.”

“She was an idiot.”

“Alicia did me a favor in the end.”

Outrage stamped across her features. “How is having an affair a favor?”

Michael was in favor of righteous indignation as long as it made her forget they were on the edge of the roof. All he had to do was get her to step onto the ladder.

“Put your foot here,” he said, guiding her leg around until her shoe touched the rung. “The minute Alicia left, I realized my whole life had become all surface. I’d gotten so caught up in the money and everything that came with it that I lost myself. I decided to come home and do what I love. Starting Good Sport with Doug seemed like the perfect plan.”

With gentle pressure, he turned Noelle around and guided her second foot into place. She went without protest. Michael then swung himself around so he was on the ladder behind her.

“We’re going to start climbing down now.”

Since he was pressed up against her back, Michael felt the sharp inhale as awareness returned. He gritted his teeth at the sensation, fought closing his eyes so he could enjoy it. Seemed he’d found another way for Noelle to torture him.

“Sneaky,” she said. “How’d you do that?”

“Guess you like hearing about someone else’s sad story for a change,” he said, moving down one rung. If he didn’t get them to the ground in the next thirty seconds, he wouldn’t be responsible for what happened. “Come on. Lower one foot at a time. I’m right here.”

Together, they climbed, and soon Michael’s foot touched the grass. Noelle did the same, but before he had a chance to step away, she launched herself at him.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”

A muffled curse rumbled through his chest when her body pressed against him. As if being plastered to her backside wasn’t enough temptation. “Noelle.”

“You saved my life.”

“You were never really in danger.”

He lied, of course. Panic could cause a person to do something stupid. If anything had happened to Noelle…

A shudder worked its way up his spine.

She must have felt the subtle reaction because she pulled back to study him. “Michael? Are you all right?”

“No.” He tugged her close.

Since Noelle was trapped between his body and the ladder, there was no escape. Not that he would have let her.

“What are you doing?” she squeaked out.

“What I should have done in that shed, sister or no sister.”

He lowered his head and kissed her. Dived into her. Taking and tasting and drowning. Noelle made another sound, but it wasn’t a protest. She rose on her toes, pressing even closer. Cradling her face in one hand, he angled her lips for more.

From somewhere on the block, Christmas lights turned off, plunging them into even more darkness.

The sudden loss of illumination made him remember they were in the yard. Anyone driving by might see them. It took every ounce of willpower to lift his head.

Her hands came up to pull him back. “Wait…”

“Noelle, we have to stop.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a few seconds away from dragging you into your parents’ house and getting into the kind of trouble neither of us is ready for.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Are you?”

Even with the lack of light, Michael detected the flush staining her cheeks. “Sorry. Don’t know what happened.”

“You were scared.
We
were scared,” he corrected

Noelle’s eyes widened. “You were?”

“I was scared for you.”

“I couldn’t tell. You even told stories about your stupid ex-wife to distract me.”

“That was desperation,” he said, willing his racing heart to ease back into a normal rhythm. “Don’t ever climb up a ladder again.”

“I promise. My feet will never leave the ground.”

Even though he shouldn’t touch her, Michael brushed his fingers across Noelle’s cheek. She leaned into his touch. He realized the moments up on the roof when she’d trusted him to get her down had been the most intimate he’d experienced in years.

Which nearly sent
him
into a panic. He stepped back to avoid temptation and his own awakening emotions.

“You’ll be all right?” he asked.

“Thanks to you.”

Michael let out one more blistering curse and gathered her close once more. A brief, hungry sampling that did nothing but make him want more. Then he set her away and bolted.

“Gotta go,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Trouble
, his mind and conscience chanted as he hurried to his car. He was in so much trouble.

Noelle greeted the next day with bleary eyes and a confused mind… not to mention a frayed temper.

How dare Michael Campbell kiss the daylights out of her and then sprint across the lawn to get away. How dare he act so charming and white-knight-like, coaxing her off the roof with his mesmerizing gaze and
I-will-not-let-you-fall
promises. He’d shown a glimpse of his soul, too. The confession about his ex and the life he’d fled had haunted her all night long.

Along with the kiss. The amazing, earth-shattering, time-stopping kiss. Who would have ever guessed quiet, staid Michael Campbell could deliver such a punch?

The only thing keeping her from racing across town to confront him was her father’s homecoming. Nicholas Robinson had finally been cleared to leave the hospital. 

Holly showed up at the door five minutes after nine in the morning, three kids, one husband, and about a hundred grocery bags in tow.

“We don’t have much time,” Holly said, thrusting two of the bags in Noelle’s direction and then proceeding down the hall without even a good morning. “Dad will be home in a couple hours.”

“What is all this?” Noelle asked, following behind her sister and the rest of the parade.

“Cleaning supplies so we can get this house shipshape. And the kids made a welcome home banner. That’s in your bag, along with streamers and balloons. Oh, and the heart-smart cookbooks. Low salt, low fat, low sugar, low cholesterol—”

“Low taste,” Drew muttered under his breath.

Holly aimed a furious glare at her husband. “Don’t make fun of me,” she said. “I’m serious. Dad is going to eat healthier from now on, and we’re going to get him started. I brought enough food to make a couple weeks’ worth of meals. Mom won’t feel like cooking.”

The cookbooks and the meals Noelle understood. “Don’t you think a party might be a bit much?”

“We have to celebrate Dad’s homecoming, and it’ll just be us,” Holly said. “Now come on, let’s get started. Like I said, he should be released in a couple hours. You’re in charge of cleaning. Katie, Bethany and Ivy go help Auntie Noelle. Drew and I will take kitchen detail.”

Holly should have been a drill sergeant. Or a despot dictator. She absolutely should have been the one running the holiday festivities. Fred the donkey would never step on
her
foot.

Little unborn Davy Junior didn’t seem to slow Holly down in the kitchen, even if he precluded Holly from full involvement in Operation: Save Christmas. Before long, delicious smells permeated the entire house, along with the scent of pine needles and lemon wax from a top-to-bottom cleaning.

As Holly was pulling the last casserole out of the oven, car doors slammed outside.

“They’re here,” Noelle said.

Aunt Violet and Uncle Irving had gone to the hospital to help bring Dad home. Everyone in the kitchen raced to the foyer, eventually spilling out onto the yard.

“Pop-Pop!” Holly’s girls rushed to him, but a sharp word from her had them slowing the pace.

“No, don’t stop,” Nicolas Robinson said, opening his arms. “I need hugs from my little princesses.”

Noelle reached for her sister’s hand as the girls converged around him. A lump rose in her throat as she remembered how close they’d come to never seeing their father walk up the drive again.

“Thank you, God, for today,” Noelle said.

“Amen,” Holly seconded, wiping a tear away from the corner of her eye.

Their father’s progress was slow but steady as he disentangled himself from the girls. Noelle and Holly met him at the porch.

“Welcome home, Daddy,” Noelle said, taking his arm.

Holly came to his other side. “You have no idea what it means to see you here,” she said, kissing his cheek.

He touched a hand to each of them. “You have no idea what it means to be here and see all of you.”

A very quiet sort of party ensued once they were all inside. Her father exclaimed over the banners and balloons. Declaring that healthy eating could wait a few hours, Holly served Dad a very small piece of the cake she’d made along with some sparkling grape juice. They all toasted his homecoming.

When he began showing signs of tiring, Aunt Violet and Uncle Irving left.

“You should rest now, dear,” Rose Robinson said, already helping her husband to his feet. “You must be exhausted.”

The journey to her parents’ bedroom at the back of the house was painfully slow. For as long as Noelle could remember, her father had been a tower of strength. Now he hobbled along like a child learning how to walk. She bit her lip and angled her head away so he wouldn’t see the dismay. A glance at Holly revealed a similar haunted expression.

Once he was settled, Noelle and her sister retreated to the kitchen. A few minutes later, their mother appeared.

“Thank you for everything, girls,” she said, giving each a strong hug. “The house looks wonderful, and your father enjoyed the party.”

“There are prepared meals in the freezer,” Holly said. “All you have to do is heat them up.”

“Not a gram of fat or salt to be found in any of them,” Noelle added.

“I hope I can get him to eat it,” their mother said. “He does enjoy his meat and fried catfish.”

“Thus the heart attack,” Holly said. “I should hope that would convince him to change his diet.”

“One would think.”

With their dad settled, Holly took her brood home, leaving Noelle alone with her mother. Rose Robinson immediately went to the sink and began loading dishes into the washer.

Noelle eased her away. “Why don’t you go lie down, too? I can finish up in here.”

“Oh, I couldn’t sleep. Too keyed up.”

“Then sit down and watch.”

She acquiesced without protest, a testament to her state of mind. The running water, along with the mindless ritual of rinsing and placing dirty dishes in the machine calmed Noelle’s frazzled nerves.

“What did Dad’s doctor say about his recovery?”

“Please, dear, can we talk about something else?” her mother asked. “I have done nothing but think about your father’s condition for so long. Let’s talk about something normal and relaxing.”

Noelle understood the sentiment. She didn’t want to think about what might have happened either. “All right, what do you want to talk about?”