him.”
Nola gave her another gentle push, sending her off in Jarrett’s direction.
Mia hadn’t seen much of him, so there hadn’t been a chance to invite him to the impromptu party. She couldn’t blame him for keeping his distance. He was probably tired of taking care of her.
Besides, why would a man like Jarrett McKane be interested in her? Why would he want to take on a woman with a baby? Yet he’d done so many things for her. He’d been there when she’d needed him the most. How could she not care about a man like that?
Mia discreetly moved around the back of the crowd as Nola watched over BJ. Heart pounding in her ears, she walked up behind him. “You’re expected to sing along,” she managed to say.
Jarrett turned around to face her. Immediately, she caught the sadness in his eyes before he could mask it. “Everyone will be sorry if I do. My voice is so bad I don’t even sing in the shower.”
“I can’t imagine you doing anything badly.” Great. She was acting like an infatuated teenager, and she had never been any good at flirting.
“You’d be surprised at all the things I’ve messed up.” His dark gaze held hers. “Did you get enough sleep last night?”
“Yes, thanks to you,” she said, wondering if he’d thought about their kiss. Her gaze went to his mouth, then she quickly glanced away. “And thank you for not bringing up my meltdown.”
Jarrett couldn’t stop looking at Mia. Blue was definitely her color, bringing out the richness of her eyes.
“What meltdown?” he said, trying hard to focus on what she was saying. “You were just exhausted from lack of sleep and worried about your baby.”
He couldn’t help but remember how, during the night, he’d kept going in to watch her sleep. How strange was that? “I hope you got enough rest.”
She nodded. “Plenty. And you’re a good neighbor for coming to my rescue.”
He tensed. Neighbor? What neighbor kisses you like I did? “That’s me, just the full-service landlord,” he said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He started to leave, but she put her hand on his arm.
“Jarrett, what I meant was you went beyond helping me.” Her eyes searched his face. “I’ve asked far too much of you. BJ and I weren’t part of the deal when you were ordered to move in here.”
“Did you hear me complain?”
She shook her head. “You should. I feel like I’ve taken advantage.”
“Like I said, I haven’t minded.”
“And I’m grateful for everything—”
Grasping her hand on his arm, Jarrett leaned forward. The memory of last night’s kiss had him aching for another. “I didn’t do it for your gratitude, Mia.”
He watched her swallow quickly, but before she could speak, the singing stopped and someone called to him.
“Unca Jay! Unca Jay!” Jenna came running toward him. “You’re here.”
He swung the child up in his arms. She had on a pretty sweater with snowflakes and dark pants.
“I have to go to work,” he told her. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s a Christmas party, silly. We got invited to come and sing.” Her big blue eyes rounded. “You know what else?”
He played along. “No, what else?”
“It’s only two more days ‘til Christmas, and Mommy and Daddy asked everybody to come to our house for Christmas dinner. Even Mia and her new baby, BJ. And I got to hold him.”
Jarrett looked across the room and saw his brother and Kira walking toward them. “How nice.”
He got a hug from Kira and a handshake from Trace. “So, the festivities are at your house?”
Trace nodded. “Same as every year, but with Jody and Nathan gone, Kira’s a little lonely. So why not have a big crowd?”
Jarrett looked at his sister-in-law.
“I love to cook,” Kira said. “Besides, Nola and the others are bringing food, too. It’s not much different than the group we had at your house on Thanksgiving.”
“And now we have baby BJ,” Jenna added as she patted her own chest and looked at Jarrett. “Unca Jay, did you know that BJ drinks milk from Mia’s breasts?”
“Jenna…” her mother said with a warning look.
Everyone bit back a chuckle while Jarrett exchanged a look with Mia that felt far too intimate. Oh, yeah, he knew that.
His niece drew his attention back to her. “Look, Unca Jay.” She pointed up to the sprig of greenery hanging overhead in the doorway. “Mistletoe.”
Great. “It sure is.” He leaned forward and placed a noisy kiss on the girl’s cheek.
That wasn’t the end of it; Jenna wiggled to be put down. “Now, you gotta kiss Mia.”
Jarrett looked at a blushing Mia. “Sure.” He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. Their eyes met as he pulled back.
“No, not like that,” Jenna insisted. “Like Mommy and Daddy do it. Put your arms around her and you have to touch lips for a long time.”
Jarrett eyed his brother as Trace shrugged, trying not to smile. He got no help as he turned back to Mia. Without giving her a chance to protest, he reached for her and pulled her into his arms. His gaze locked onto her mesmerizing eyes, and, once his mouth closed over hers, everything and everyone else in the room faded away. It was all Mia and how she made him feel. How she tasted, how her scent drifted around him, how he was barely keeping himself in control.
Finally cheers broke out, and he tore his mouth away. “Did I do it okay?” he asked his niece.
A smiling Jenna nodded her head. He turned back to the woman in his arms. “Suddenly, I’m getting into the Christmas spirit.”
Mia glanced at her kitchen clock and debated whether to attend the services tonight. For the first time in ten years, it wouldn’t be Reverend Bradley Saunders standing at the pulpit delivering her Christmas Eve sermon. The last three years he’d been the pastor here in Winchester Ridge.
Mia had only been nineteen when Bradley had rescued her from self-destruction and got her on the road to recovery. From then on she’d sat in the front pew, grateful she had the love of family, and a future.
She glanced down at her son in the carrier. BJ would have the same; she would make sure of that.
“It’s just us now, kid.” She smiled as BJ, dressed in his dark-green holiday outfit, reacted to her voice with a cooing sound. “I might be new at this mother stuff, but no one could love you more.” She wished she could give him a traditional family. Every kid deserved a mother and a father.
