Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Joann Durgin

steadying her. She felt good in his arms. The perfect height. What are you thinking? Walk her to the door and say good night. The concept seemed so simple in theory, but his emotions were jumbled. He couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that she was leaving Starlight in less than forty-eight hours.
    Julia pulled out of his embrace but didn’t appear flustered or in a hurry. “Thank you. It’s so beautiful out here, isn’t it?” she asked a minute later, inhaling a deep breath. They moved slowly up the front walkway, the snow crunching beneath their boots. Wood burning in a stove somewhere nearby filled the air. She lifted her head, tilting it to one side. “Do you hear that? Carolers in the distance. I think they’re singing ‘Away in a Manger.’ It’s one of my favorite Christmas hymns.”
    All Jake could focus on was her hair, her profile, her luminous skin. Promise or not, he should take her in his arms and plant a kiss on her for the ages. But no. First of all, he’d made that promise to the Lord. Second of all, Julia belonged with another man. Besides, if he acted on his impulse, it’d probably turn out to be a disaster. All his pent-up emotions—not to mention yearnings—would topple them both, and he’d slobber over her like Bailey did on him all the time. For all he knew, he wouldn’t even do it right. That would be the ultimate humiliation.
    “Earth to Jake?” Julia laughed and waved her hand. “May I ask a question?”
    She’d reached the front door, but he’d halted in the middle of the walkway, caught up in his daydreaming. Since she’d come to town, he’d done more than his share of it. He rocked on his heels, stopping when he realized he was acting like a ten-year-old. “Shoot.”
    “What were you like as a kid? Something the town gossips might not know.”
    Turning, he scooped up a snowball and with careful aim, threw it so that it skimmed her right earlobe.
    Julia put her hand up to the side of her face. “Wow.”
    “I was aiming for the earlobe, you know. I didn’t think you’d appreciate being hit full-on in the face.”
    She laughed. “Always the gentleman. In any case, I’m impressed.”
    “Told you I’d retaliate.” Jake took a few steps so that only a few inches separated them.
    Her eyes widened, but she stood her ground. “That you did. But, considering you were the quarterback, I figured you had pretty decent aim. Tell me something else.”
    Julia seemed to like hearing about him. He wanted to hear more about her , but didn’t feel comfortable asking since it would only make him want to spend even more time in her company. “It’s kind of cold out here.” He shifted from one foot to the other and pushed his hands deep into his pockets. “Don’t you want to go inside?” Not that he wanted to depart her company, but he was beginning to wonder if he could trust himself with her. Her eyes, those lips, her voice…
    Julia’s eyes locked with his. “Is it cold? I hadn’t noticed.”
    That comment started his heart pumping overtime. Say something quick. “I take it you want to know something else about my wayward past.” Tearing his gaze away from hers, Jake focused on his boots, wet with snow. If she kept looking at him like that, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. Although he’d learned the difference between wants and needs a long time ago, it didn’t make it any easier standing so close to Julia Sinclair now.
    She giggled. “I don’t believe for a minute that you were a juvenile delinquent.”
    He grinned and ran his glove-covered hand over his jaw while he tried to think of what to say. “OK, here you go. You asked for it. I didn’t catch on with reading in school and was stuck in the brown bird group—the lowest level—for a few months before it finally clicked. I hid under the finger-painting table a couple of times in first grade to hold hands with Kristin Picasso. I hit my one-and-only grand slam in fifth grade, and our Little League team went to