“So,” he said when he was settled in close beside her. “This is a little unexpected.”

  Juniper’s face heated up and she tucked her hair behind her ears. “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it. I’m really sorry to impose –”

  He put a hand on her leg and shook his head vehemently. “No, I mean it’s unexpected in a good way. I’m glad you’re here. I didn’t want you to leave in the first place.”

  “Oh,” Juniper said quietly. “Well, good. It makes me happy to hear that.” She placed a tentative hand on top of his. “If I’m being completely honest, the teenaged version of me would be totally freaking out right now.”

  It was an embarrassing confession, but Alex looked delighted. “Oh yeah? Tell me more.”

  She took a sip of her nog for courage and dived in. “I had kind of a huge crush on you when we were younger.”

  His eyes got comically wide. “Wow. I really had no idea. That probably makes me kind of dense, huh?”

  “No!” she protested softly. “I’m actually glad to hear it. My goal was to keep those feelings in the dark, and it looks like I succeeded.”

  He scooted closer to her, taking both of her hands in his. “I always kind of thought you and Will had a thing. You guys were thick as thieves.”

  “No,” she said in a burst of muffled laughter. “Sorry, Will is wonderful, but he was—still is—like a brother to me. My only crush was you. I wrote about you in my journal all the time.”

  “Hmm, any chance of me seeing those journals?” Alex teased.

  “Absolutely not. They don’t even exist anymore. I got rid of them years ago,” she lied. “Along with the—” She cut herself off abruptly, realizing just in time what she’d almost admitted.

  To her horror, Alex perked up, clearly realizing she was hiding something juicy. He ran his thumb gently over the back of her hand, and she felt the warmth of his touch send little tingles all over her body. “Along with what? Did you write me love letters? Oh, or draw pictures of me? What else was there? You can’t leave me hanging on a line like that. I might never sleep again.”

  There had been drawings, actually, though none of those were the most ridiculous memento that she still—yes, still—had tucked away in a closet to remind her of that period. “Ugh,” she groaned, shaking her head. “Okay, but it’s embarrassing. About a week after you left for college, I was here at the house, and when Will went to the kitchen for snacks, I kind of snuck into your room and took one of the t-shirts you left behind. I wanted something to remind me of your smell. Do you think I’m insane?”

  Juniper stared down into her cup. She couldn’t believe she had just told him that. Now he would think she was completely off her rocker.

  When Alex gently pried the cup away from her, she finally looked up. His face was close enough that she would hardly have to move to kiss him. “No, Juniper, I don’t think you’re insane. I think you’re wonderful.” And then, a moment later, his lips met hers again.

  This kiss was just as wonderful as the ones they’d shared earlier, in the barn. This time, though, he didn’t pull away. There was no fear of them being interrupted, no need to rush, nowhere either of them needed to be. He let the kiss deepen, and the knowledge that there was nothing to stop them was one hell of an aphrodisiac. It must have been for her, too, because her lips parted, and she let out a little moan of pleasure when he slipped his tongue past her lips.

  Gone was every ounce of tentativeness. He groped for her blindly, his hands finding the soft cashmere of her sweater and pulling her closer until she was practically in his lap. Her hands found his hair, the feel of her fingers moving up the back of his neck giving him a full-body shiver. Suddenly, his jeans felt too tight in all of the right places. With a gasp, he broke away from her, cupping her face with his hands.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, panting and looking uncertain. “I didn’t mean to get so carried away.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t want you to be sorry, Juniper. I want you in my bed.”

  It was sweet torture to creep quietly upstairs. He wanted to hold her close, to kiss her and press up against her with every step they took. But with three sleeping girls and a grumpy father under the same roof, they had to be cautious and quiet. Alex led her down the hallway, keeping her fingers intertwined with his. The only thing he wanted in the world right now was to have her. By the time he had his door safely shut, he felt like he would go insane if he didn’t get his hands on her again.

  He kissed her again, and they picked up right where they had left off on the couch. He slid his hands underneath her sweater and she gasped, arching her back as he moved the material up the length of her body, revealing her inch by inch. When he came to rest on her perfect breasts, she let out a little cry.

  “Please,” she said softly, speaking against his parted lips. “Oh, please.”

  That was all he needed to hear. The sweater was quickly pulled off all the way and discarded. Once his hands were free, he gripped her hips and lifted her into the air, carrying her to the bed. He sat her down on the edge and she lay back, looking up at him with sparkling eyes.

  “Are you sure?” He thought he might go insane if she said no, but it felt like the right thing to ask.

  “Oh, I’m sure,” she purred, a flirtatious challenge in her voice. “Unless you’re worried you can’t handle me.”

  As it turned out, he could. Accepting her challenge, he took his time—driving both of them crazy as he licked and stroked every inch of her, until she had to shove her face in a pillow to muffle her screams. When he couldn’t hold out a moment longer, he stepped out of his own clothes, grabbed a condom from the dresser drawer, and joined her on the bed. He wanted her so badly that he ached for her, but before anything else, he kissed her again, not able to get enough of her. When he entered her at last, they both gasped with pleasure and relief.

  It was like they had been made to do this together. Her skin was soft, her legs pulled up and gripping his sides tightly, and he knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. He felt the heat building inside of him, delicious and desperate. When she suddenly stiffened, her back arching so hard she came up off of the bed, it sent him over the edge. They came together, Juniper biting down on his shoulder this time to keep from being too loud. He didn’t mind—the sting felt good. Everything felt good right now.

  He quickly disposed of the condom and then for a while, they lay next to each other in comfortable silence. Alex couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this sated. His entire body was relaxed, and the warmth of Juniper nestled close beside him was a warm comfort.

  Finally, she stretched and propped herself up on one elbow. “So. That just happened.”

  “Yes,” he chuckled, lightly caressing her shoulder. “It did indeed. Was it okay?”

  She bit her lip, a devious gleam in her eyes. “Oh, it was more than okay, mister. A whole lot more.”

  He couldn’t keep the smile of satisfaction off of his face. “I mean, I thought so. And, for the record, I’m very glad you’re here. Not just for this.” He cupped her cheek and leaned in to brush his lips against hers. “This was amazing, but I loved spending the afternoon with you, too. Aside from that heart attack moment when I saw your car in the ditch, I can’t remember the last time I had a better day.”

  “Me too,” she sighed, running her fingers lightly over his chest. “I didn’t realize how lonely it was, me in my little apartment, always on my own. It’s nice to be around a family. I never really had that with my aunt and uncle—always thought that maybe it just wasn’t for me. But there’s something special about it. It must be so different for you, having a family that’s such a big part of your life. Your girls are lucky to have a father who cares about them so much.”

  Alex’s jaw tightened a little. He loved the way Juniper saw him as a father, and he was reluctant to dispute that. At the same time, he wanted to be honest with her. Letting her go on believing he deserved some kind of father of the year award didn’t feel right.

  He shifted so he could look at her more head-on. “I’m flattered that you see me that way, but if I’m being honest, it wasn’t always so great. I wasn’t always so great.”

  “Nobody is all of the time.” She brushed a lock of hair off of his forehead.

  “That’s true. But for a while, things here got really bad. After my wife died, I wasn’t sure I could do it. Be their only parent, I mean. There was one night…” It was hard to get the words out, but he knew he needed to say it. “There was a night when I got really close to bailing. I’m still ashamed of myself for that.”

  He had never told anyone about that dark night when he had actually packed a bag and climbed into his truck. Something about Juniper made it so easy to be vulnerable with her. But now that the words were out, he worried that they might drive her away. What would she think of him now?

  “Oh, Alex, no.” To his shock, her voice was warm and full of compassion he definitely hadn’t expected. “You don’t need to be ashamed. You’re looking at the wrong part of that story.”

  Skeptical, he raised his eyebrows. “Am I?”

  “You are,” she answered immediately. “The important part isn’t whether or not you were tempted to go. It’s that you chose to stay. That means everything.”

  Alex couldn’t find the words to tell her how much that meant to him, so he settled for another kiss…and then another. He couldn’t get enough of her, and he wasn’t sure how he was ever going to let her go.

  11

  Alex woke to sunlight streaming through the blinds of his bedroom window. For a moment, he was completely disoriented. It was rare for him to be in bed when the sun came up. Normally, he was already hard at work. Then he felt the warmth of Juniper still sleeping beside him, and the previous night came back to him all at once. He grinned to himself and kissed her forehead lightly, not wanting to wake her up.

  As it turned out, that wasn’t something he needed to worry about. His girls did that just fine on their own. They were never quiet in the mornings, and now that they were off of school for the winter holidays, their morning energy was taken up a notch.

  Juniper’s eyes flew open and for a second, she looked just as confused as he had felt moments earlier. “Oh, wow. I didn’t really think about the girls being up before me. I’m guessing it’s not ideal for them to see me coming out of your room…”

  “Oh. Oh, crap.” Why hadn’t he considered that? He was the father. He was supposed to be the one to think about things like that. Especially since she was right, of course. Lizzie and Thora probably wouldn’t understand what it meant for a woman to spend the night in his room, but it might be different with Sophia. Alex wasn’t sure how she would take it, but he definitely wasn’t ready to find out.

  “Right,” she said, jumping out of bed and shimmying into her clothes. “I think it’s about time I sneak out to that guestroom, don’t you?”

  Alex listened closely as she went, his heart thudding as he waited to see if they would be found out. When he heard the door creak shut without any exclamations from his daughters, he breathed a sigh of relief and hopped into the shower. A minute later, he felt the water pressure shift in a way that meant the other shower was being used. While he felt a little sad to think of the traces of their night together washing away, he knew it needed to be done.

  He met Juniper again in the hallway, all clean and lovely with her fresh, makeup-free face. He kissed the tip of her nose quickly then took a comically deep breath.

  “What do you think? Are you ready for this?”

  She gave him a saucy salute. “Yes, sir. This morning, I feel like I’m ready for just about anything.”

  He felt the same way, and it was hard to keep a goofy grin from spreading across his face as he and Juniper moved toward the living room, where all of the noise was coming from. He was sure the girls would be happy to see Juniper, if surprised and a little confused, maybe.

  As it turned out, though, the biggest surprise wasn’t for Sophia, Thora, and Lizzie because there, on the couch, sat Will. He looked tired, but he was grinning from ear to ear and the girls were hovering around him.

  “Will!” Juniper exclaimed, practically running to the couch and throwing her arms around his neck. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it! I didn’t know you were coming into town so soon!”

  Will laughed, but he gave Alex a questioning look over the top of Juniper’s head that made Alex feel uneasy. “Yeah, I got things sorted out faster than expected, so I thought I would show up unannounced and give the girls a little surprise. And, speaking of surprises, I had no idea you were going to be here!”

  “Neither did I,” Juniper said with a laugh. “But that storm got the best of me, and my car landed in a ditch. Your brother was kind enough to come to my rescue.”

  Will looked at Alex a little more closely than he liked. “Is that so? Who knew you were so chivalrous?”

  “Oh, stop,” Juniper said, swatting his upper arm. “Quick, tell me how you are before I have to get to work.”

  “How are you planning on getting there if your car’s still in a ditch?”

  Juniper shrugged. “I was going to call Ernie, have him tow my car and give me a lift back into town. Though I suppose it’s out of his way to come out here and pick me up first. You don’t think he’ll say no, do you?”

  Alex opened his mouth, ready to offer her a ride so she wouldn’t have to wait—or sweet-talk a ride out of the perpetually grumpy Ernie.

  Before he could say anything, though, Will got to his feet. “Well, come on then. I’ve got some pretty fantastic snow tires, and that way we can do some catching up.”

  “Perfect!” Juniper’s voice was bright and excited.

  Will came over to Alex and gave him an awkward bro hug, which made Sophia smile and Thora groan theatrically.

  “I’ll be back soon, brother,” said Will when Juniper joined them with coat on and purse over her arm. “And we can talk about the holidays. Sound good?”

  Alex nodded. “Sounds like a plan. And have a good day at work, Juniper.”

  “Thanks,” she said, just a hint of softness coming into her voice. “I’m sure I will. And thank you again for rescuing me last night.”

  Alex told her it was no problem and watched Will and Juniper say goodbye to the girls and then walk out the door. His heart sank a little when she didn’t even look back. Her focus was already squarely on Will, her long-lost best friend, and he was part of the background.

  She and Will had always been so close—closer, in truth, than Alex was with his brother. This holiday was supposed to be about the family coming together. Would his romance with Juniper get in the way of that? If things didn’t work out between them and Juniper ended up getting hurt, it might really upset Will. And it would definitely upset his girls. Maybe he hadn’t thought this through enough after all.

  Juniper looked dreamily at the scenery as it passed outside the window of Will’s car. The combination of her night with Alex, followed by the surprise of seeing her old friend, had her feeling positively giddy. She had been totally prepared for a holiday season spent mostly alone, but she was beyond grateful to be proven wrong.

  “So,” Will said after a couple of minutes of easy, comfortable silence. “Want to tell me what that was all about?”

  Juniper gave him a sideways glance, suddenly nervous. “What do you mean?”

  Will rolled his eyes. “Come on, Juniper, don’t play dumb. What were you doing spending the night at my brother’s house?”

  “I told you. My car went into the ditch and Alex came and bailed me out.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

  He gave a snort of laughter. “Yeah, I got that part. But what were you doing in the area in the first place? I can’t imagine you would have been out at your aunt and uncle’s place—especially since you told me that they were going out of town for the holidays, right? And there’s nowhere else you could have been coming from on that road except for our ranch. So, what were you doing there? And why would Alex be the one to go looking for you when you didn’t make it home? I didn’t think the two of you had even spoken in years.”

  “We hadn’t—not until recently,” she admitted. “Last week, he came into the shop with the girls for an ornament painting workshop I was giving.” She was trying to keep her voice light, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t buying her attempt at nonchalance. “And we got to talking about what he wanted for them for Christmas—how he was really going to try this year because of Thora’s letter. You know about that, right?”

  He nodded slowly, his eyes on the road. “Right. I’m with you so far.”

  “So, the girls really liked the class and got excited about decorating the house. Alex came by the store to buy some new decorations, and I happened to mention that my wood supplier was coming up short. Alex offered to trade me some old wood in exchange for helping the girls decorate. Which I did. That’s really all.” She sounded defensive to herself, and she was sure Will heard it, too.

  There was another bout of silence, and Juniper waited to see what he would say. She was curious to see if Will might have already heard something about this. She wasn’t entirely sure how much he and Alex spoke, but she liked the idea of Alex talking about her. It would be a sign that she meant something to him, that he liked her in a serious way. She wasn’t sure where things with him were going, but she knew she didn’t want it to be a one-time thing.

  “Huh, I had no idea,” Will said, and Juniper struggled not to feel let down. What she and Alex had was very new—and Alex knew that Will would be there soon in person. Maybe he was waiting to talk with his brother until they could do so face to face.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Will asked a minute later. She shrugged her agreement. “I’m just wondering,” he continued, “are you sure it’s only Christmas decorating that’s bringing you to the house? There’s nothing more to it than that? I know about that massive crush you had on him when we were younger.”