Read Online Christmas In Silver Bell Falls by Samantha Chase - Free Book Online

serious as he swallowed hard and mentally high-fived herself. 
    “So…uh…sure,” he said, his eyes locking on her lips.  “Dinner sounds good.”
    Feeling a little wicked, she leaned in even closer until her body brushed his and then slowly moved away.  “Good,” she said.  “That’s good.”  A breathy little sigh escaped before she took a full step back.  “So I’ll see you at seven.  Will that work for you?”
    A muscle ticked in Josiah’s jaw as he slowly shook his head. “No.  No I don’t think it will.”
    Her eyes widened slightly.  “Oh?”
    Lightning quick, Josiah reached out and grabbed her hand and gently tugged her against him.  “What’s going on here, Melanie?” he asked lowly.
    She could have played dumb, but what was the point? 
    “Like I said, you gave me a lot to think about earlier.  And I have.  I thought we’d have dinner together and…see where it led.”  Her heart was hammering in her chest at her bold confession.  This so wasn’t like her and yet with Josiah, it seemed natural.  Scary, but natural.
    His expression was still serious as his eyes scanned her face.  “What changed your mind?”
    “It wasn’t a matter of changing my mind, it was a matter of taking a step back and making sure we weren’t making a mistake.”
    He quirked a dark brow at her.  “And what makes you so sure we’re not?”
    She gave a slight shrug.  “I’m still not sure.  But I know I want to try.”  Swallowing, she moved against him.  “We’re on borrowed time here and I think we’d both regret it if we wasted time pretending to think about it.”
    “We?”
    A low laugh was her first response.  “Okay, me.  I knew I’d regret it if I sat around pretending to think about it.  I know it’s only been twenty-four hours but it’s all I’ve thought about.  I could stand here and play the ‘I don’t really know you’ game, but you took me all around town today and everywhere we went, people knew you.  Everyone talked to you.  Hell, it’s like you have your own fan club around here so it’s not like I can’t trust you since obviously everyone does.”
    “I wouldn’t call them a fan club.  Not exactly…”
    And just like that, the tension between them was broken.  “Oh please…I was beginning to think they all had t-shirts with your picture on it.  Maybe there was a parade in your honor during one of those ridiculous Christmas festivals.”
    He joined in her teasing.  “It’s not a particularly huge parade…normally me just driving down Main Street waving to people.”
    “Does the high school marching band follow you?”
    “Only on Saturdays.”
    Melanie rested her head against his chest as she laughed.  She could feel him laughing with her, felt his arms band around her waist as he slowly pulled her against him.  When she lifted her head and looked up at his face, humor was suddenly the last thing on her mind.  His name was a whisper on her lips.
    “As much as I love talking with you and laughing with you, Melanie, right now all I really want is to kiss you.”
    Her hands skimmed up his chest and up and over his shoulders.  “So what are you waiting for?”  And much to her surprise, Josiah didn’t move.  The confusion she felt surely must have been obvious on her face.
    With his forehead gently touching hers, he sighed.  “I can’t believe I’m saying this but…”
    “But…?”
    “I don’t think we should do this.”
    “Oh.”  Melanie felt like she had been kicked in the gut and she wished the floor would just open up and swallow her.  She was mortified.  She’d never been the aggressor in a relationship and on her first time out of the gate she was shot down. 
    Dammit.
    Not wanting to let him see how his words affected her, she carefully tried to disengage from his arms.  When she realized he wasn’t letting her go, she looked at him questioningly. 
    “I meant right now,” he said quickly.  “I just…I think if I