'Tis the Season: A Collection of Mimi's Christmas Books by Mimi Barbour Page B

When the dog rushed him, he bravely pushed him away and ruffled the fur around his ears—exactly the same way as Kale.
    When Cesar ran to Leilani, she bent over to pat him and had her face washed too. “Why Kale, he’s a big beautiful baby.”
    “But trained to guard. It was brave of you to run past him to get to Mano. Cesar can be frightening.” Kale took Mano’s hand and held his other out to her. “Mia has our lunch ready. What say we go and have a picnic?”
    “Can Cesar come?” Mano still had an arm around the dog’s neck, while the animal gazed back at him with adoration.
    “Leilani, would this be okay with you?” Kale watched her reaction closely.
    “He’s more than welcome, as long as he doesn’t try and steal my food. Don’t know about you guys but when I get the…um poop scared out of me, it makes me kinda hungry.”
    Kale roared, even Mano giggled, and Leilani felt as if she’d made headway with both these prickly males. Her heart sang.

Chapter Fourteen
    “Are you sure he’s okay with Mia? She’s trying to bake, and Mano has a thousand questions,” Leilani’s nervousness showed.
    That afternoon, Kale discovered that Leilani’s new ward had a voracious appetite for knowledge. Not only did the half-pint ask questions, he demanded explanations and wasn’t at all satisfied with one-word answers.
    “Mia is in her glory, trust me. She loved it when I would bake with her as a boy and I only did so because I knew I’d get to eat all the misshaped cookies.” He grinned evilly, and she knew his secret.
    “And you made very sure there would be a number of those, right?”
    “Who, me? Are you accusing me of being naughty?”
    “Yep.”
    “Poor Mano. He hasn’t a hope in hell of getting anything past you, does he?”
    “Nope.” She laughed at his disgust, and then followed when he beckoned her to come. “Where are you taking me?”
    “I haven’t shown you the entire house. There’s a private studio off-limits to most of my guests. Somehow, I feel as if you would appreciate it, and for the life of me, I don’t know why, but I want to share it with you.”
    From the minute he’d stepped into his private sanctuary earlier, he’d felt an overwhelming need to bring Leilani to see his treasures. Maybe to feed his ego, who knows?
    All morning he’d fought the urge to rush to the beach, throw her over his shoulder, and haul the loveable creature into his paradise. Now that the moment had come, nervous streaks of fear pumped through his stomach and left him experiencing a reaction that he hated.
    Sensitivity unmanned him and he’d always hated how much he cared. Still reeling from the power of his emotions, he remembered as a young lad when he’d first shown his mother his secret hobby. How letdown he’d felt when he saw her struggle to show an interest, begrudging him the time he spent here dabbling rather than at the hotels. Dabbling!
    He stopped for a minute to catch his breath, and decide once and for all if he trusted Leilani to understand. Could he handle it if she didn’t get it…get him?
    Meanwhile, she stood with him at the entrance to the covered courtyard where he often lunched. A gasp made him study her rapt face. Then he looked to see the familiar setting through her eyes.
    Graced with a warm, oak-colored patio set, chairs to match covered with white and blue typical island materials, and many larger shade trees, the spacious area was indeed quite a feature. A multitude of poinsettias planted in fancy urns of various sizes embellished the gleaming white walls, as did the garlands that Mia insisted on using to decorate for the Christmas season.
    He supposed to one unfamiliar with the room, the area showed pleasantly, but being used to luxurious surroundings all his life, he’d become immune. After hearing her gasps of admiration, the villa-like setting presented him with a completely new perspective—an awakening. Kale swung his gaze in every direction, copying Leilani and