Read Online The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection by Patricia Kiyono - Free Book Online Page B

totally empty. I’ve got
to have something to keep paying the bills from January until
wedding season begins.”
    The thought of weddings
made her heart skip a beat. She closed her eyes, needing to block
out the view of the man who’d invaded far more of her thoughts than
she’d be willing to admit. But she couldn’t keep them closed for
long without looking silly. She opened them to find him staring at
her. Not just at her, but into her. Deep into her soul. Could he tell what she
was thinking?
    She looked into his eyes for a signal, a
sign, anything to tell her what to do. He swallowed, his Adam’s
apple bobbing as his face drew closer, and closer… she closed her
eyes and waited.
    The first touch of his lips on hers was
gentle, like a caress, and Sophie wondered if she had imagined it.
She ran her tongue across her lower lip and gasped when he wrapped
his arms around her and captured her mouth in a soul-searing kiss.
But the shock was soon replaced with a yearning for more. Her arms
went around him and she melted into him.
    His lips touched every inch of her face, and
as his fingers threaded her hair, she realized her fantasies hadn’t
come close to the intense reality of being kissed by Mitch Carson.
She rose on tiptoe and caressed the back of his head, matching him
kiss for kiss.
    A car door slammed shut outside. The sound
was like a slap, a douse of cold water, and they broke apart just
before the back door burst open.
    “ Miss Sophie! You came to
visit us! Yay! Daddy, did you invite her over? Look at what I
got.”
    Sophie cast a glance at Mitch and noted his
dazed expression.
    The little girl eagerly showed her party
favors to the adults, oblivious of the tension between them. “Wanna
see my room? Daddy let me decorate it just the way I wanted. Come
on!” Angie tugged at Sophie’s arm. There was nothing to do but
follow.
    The room was relatively plain. The walls
were painted a pale shade of lavender with white trim. White lace
curtains with purple trim covered the windows. A white four-poster
bed graced the middle, and a matching dresser and chest of drawers
flanked the window on the opposite wall. A small toy box was tucked
next to the bed, and stuffed animals spilled out of it.
    “ I like purple, so I told
Daddy I wanted everything to be purple. But he told me if everything was
purple I wouldn’t be able to find anything. So I got white stuff
too. Do you like my room, Miss Sophie?”
    The little girl looked so earnest. “Yes,
Angie. You did a wonderful job decorating your room. Purple is one
of my favorite colors, too.”
    Angie beamed. “Daddy said I could choose
anything I wanted, because it’s my room. And ‘cuz he can’t see
colors very well.”
    “ I can see some colors,
kiddo,” Mitch argued from his post at the doorway.
    Angie giggled. “I know, Daddy. But sometimes
you get them mixed up. So this way, you can always get things right
in my room ‘cuz everything is either purple or white!”
    He grimaced then looked over at Sophie. “My
daughter takes such good care of me.”
    “ Yes, she does.” So the man
was color blind. That might explain the lack of decorations.
Actually, there wasn’t much of anything on the walls, anywhere. No
photos, which seemed odd for a photographer. No portraits of
family, or vacations. Just one large school picture of Angie,
showing her wide smile, missing teeth and uneven pigtails. That
picture rested in a place of honor on the fireplace mantle, still
in the cardboard frame from the school. Sophie’s imagination went
into overdrive, thinking of all the ways she would decorate the
house, even though she knew she’d never have the opportunity to put
them into practice. She’d start with enlargements of the outdoor
scenes he’d taken that afternoon. Best to go, before she got too
comfortable there. “Well, I should head back to Joanie’s
house—”
    “ Aww, can’t you stay and
eat lunch with us? Please, Daddy, can she stay?”
    “ Oh,