Read Online That Christmas Feeling by Catherine Palmer, Gail Gaymer Martin - Free Book Online
Authors: Catherine Palmer, Gail Gaymer Martin
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me.”
“No, but I can do this.”
He kissed her on the lips. Hard. Once. And then again—softer, damper and sweeter.
Claire went weak as shock gave way to pleasure.Melting against him, she drifted into the kiss, aware of nothing but the delicious pressure of his mouth against hers, the rough graze of his chin, the tightness of his hands as his fingers threaded through hers. When he pulled away, she hung breathless for a moment, suspended in the vacuum his presence had just filled so completely.
“Oh…Rob…” She leaned against the brick side of the booth, the back of her hand to her mouth. Struggling for air now, she realized she was clutching his sleeve and staring into his blue eyes and wishing with every fiber of her being that he would kiss her again.
“Excuse me, sir.” A young waiter stepped up to the booth. “Umm…hey, Chief West. How are things in Buffalo?”
“Hey, Andrew.” Rob turned away from Claire and cleared his throat as he shook the young man’s hand. “Andrew Rodman, this is Claire Ross. Andrew’s been working at Dandy’s for a couple years now.”
“Three years, sir. Started when I was sixteen. Now I’m a freshman in college.”
“Is that right?” Rob raked a hand through his hair. “Time sure does fly. Miss Ross teaches history over at the high school in Buffalo. We had to deliver some stray cats to the humane shelter here in Bolivar and thought we’d get a bite of pizza. Nothing like Dandy’s after a long day.”
The waiter nodded, his eyes glancing back and forth between the police chief and the schoolteacher. “Well, I hate to bother you, Chief, but the manager asked me to tell you that we’re closing down for the night.”
“No problem.” Rob scooted out from the booth. “We’ve got to get back to Buffalo anyhow.”
Claire pulled on her coat and grabbed her purse and gloves. As she slid out of the booth, she felt as though she were exiting a time machine—a place where time had stopped, the past melded with the present and nothing made sense. Rob West couldn’t have just kissed her. That hadn’t happened. Impossible.
She didn’t want a man in her life again. Not that way. Not for a long, long time. Stephen had practically abandoned her at the altar, and she wasn’t about to give away her heart so soon. Certainly not to Rob West. They knew each other well, but they were just buddies. Pals.
As Rob paid the bill, Claire rooted around in her purse on the pretense of needing her lip salve. There was no way she could look at the man ever again. The whole thing was just embarrassing and silly. An accident.
He started for the door, and she hurried after him. Don’t look at him, she told herself. Don’t look. Don’t say anything. Just get in the car.
She climbed into the squad car, and Rob shut the door behind her. They would have to talk, she realized. Two people who had just bared their souls and then kissed each other couldn’t sit for twenty minutes in silence.
It felt like high school, but it wasn’t. They were adults. She had been engaged. He’d been married.
But the kiss hadn’t been any big deal, really. A crazy, impulsive, meaningless thing, that’s all.
“So, methamphetamines,” she blurted out as he startedthe engine. “Wow, that’s a big deal for Buffalo, isn’t it? How did you learn someone was running a ring in town?”
He drove without speaking for a moment. She could see his jaw working.
“Traffic stop,” he said finally. “Female ran a stop sign on the square. One of my patrolmen thought she was acting suspicious, so he searched her car. She’d hidden the meth in a pill bottle in her glove compartment. I questioned her at the station, and she told me she’d bought the drug locally. I got a few names out of her. Supposedly her suppliers.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Nope. Then we started running across the stuff on a regular basis—traffic stops, domestics. Not just kids, either. Adults. Even some older folks. A
“No, but I can do this.”
He kissed her on the lips. Hard. Once. And then again—softer, damper and sweeter.
Claire went weak as shock gave way to pleasure.Melting against him, she drifted into the kiss, aware of nothing but the delicious pressure of his mouth against hers, the rough graze of his chin, the tightness of his hands as his fingers threaded through hers. When he pulled away, she hung breathless for a moment, suspended in the vacuum his presence had just filled so completely.
“Oh…Rob…” She leaned against the brick side of the booth, the back of her hand to her mouth. Struggling for air now, she realized she was clutching his sleeve and staring into his blue eyes and wishing with every fiber of her being that he would kiss her again.
“Excuse me, sir.” A young waiter stepped up to the booth. “Umm…hey, Chief West. How are things in Buffalo?”
“Hey, Andrew.” Rob turned away from Claire and cleared his throat as he shook the young man’s hand. “Andrew Rodman, this is Claire Ross. Andrew’s been working at Dandy’s for a couple years now.”
“Three years, sir. Started when I was sixteen. Now I’m a freshman in college.”
“Is that right?” Rob raked a hand through his hair. “Time sure does fly. Miss Ross teaches history over at the high school in Buffalo. We had to deliver some stray cats to the humane shelter here in Bolivar and thought we’d get a bite of pizza. Nothing like Dandy’s after a long day.”
The waiter nodded, his eyes glancing back and forth between the police chief and the schoolteacher. “Well, I hate to bother you, Chief, but the manager asked me to tell you that we’re closing down for the night.”
“No problem.” Rob scooted out from the booth. “We’ve got to get back to Buffalo anyhow.”
Claire pulled on her coat and grabbed her purse and gloves. As she slid out of the booth, she felt as though she were exiting a time machine—a place where time had stopped, the past melded with the present and nothing made sense. Rob West couldn’t have just kissed her. That hadn’t happened. Impossible.
She didn’t want a man in her life again. Not that way. Not for a long, long time. Stephen had practically abandoned her at the altar, and she wasn’t about to give away her heart so soon. Certainly not to Rob West. They knew each other well, but they were just buddies. Pals.
As Rob paid the bill, Claire rooted around in her purse on the pretense of needing her lip salve. There was no way she could look at the man ever again. The whole thing was just embarrassing and silly. An accident.
He started for the door, and she hurried after him. Don’t look at him, she told herself. Don’t look. Don’t say anything. Just get in the car.
She climbed into the squad car, and Rob shut the door behind her. They would have to talk, she realized. Two people who had just bared their souls and then kissed each other couldn’t sit for twenty minutes in silence.
It felt like high school, but it wasn’t. They were adults. She had been engaged. He’d been married.
But the kiss hadn’t been any big deal, really. A crazy, impulsive, meaningless thing, that’s all.
“So, methamphetamines,” she blurted out as he startedthe engine. “Wow, that’s a big deal for Buffalo, isn’t it? How did you learn someone was running a ring in town?”
He drove without speaking for a moment. She could see his jaw working.
“Traffic stop,” he said finally. “Female ran a stop sign on the square. One of my patrolmen thought she was acting suspicious, so he searched her car. She’d hidden the meth in a pill bottle in her glove compartment. I questioned her at the station, and she told me she’d bought the drug locally. I got a few names out of her. Supposedly her suppliers.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Nope. Then we started running across the stuff on a regular basis—traffic stops, domestics. Not just kids, either. Adults. Even some older folks. A
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