TWELVE

Bella wrestled her hair into a braid and adjusted a wide wool headband to cover her ears and keep the flyaways at bay. She tugged on her ski jacket in a matching red and white and stepped into her warm black Uggs, tucking her jeans inside against the elements. It was cooler than it had been last night, but the sun would help make it a perfect shopping day.

Her doorbell rang and she glanced up at the antique clock she had inherited from her Gramps. “Right on time,” she said with a little bit of wonder. In her career of dating, it was a rarity for a guy to actually be exactly on time. She opened the door, “Hi.”

“Hello yourself,” he said and leaned in for a soft, uncomplicated kiss. “Ready to shop?”

“Yeah,” she murmured as her hormones revved. Get a hold of yourself. “Uh, just let me grab my sunglasses. I’ll be right back.”

Jon stepped across the threshold and shut the door behind him. Her house was a mix of the traditional and the modern, with little female fuss. No lace and doilies, no explosion of pillows, just a pretty tiled entry way and a few antiques leading to a spacious living room with a couple of huge couches and, he smiled, one helluva giant widescreen TV. “Woman after my own heart,” he said and gestured to the TV.

Bella smiled. “I do love my TV. From chick flicks to Hockey and all in between.”

His eyebrow quirked, “Hockey?”

“Yup and football.”

“Oh man, I’m marrying you tomorrow if you tell me you’re a Giants fan.”

“Should I wear white or cream?”

Laughing he held the door open for her. Her quick wit was relevant in her everyday speaking and filled up the pages of the three books he’d found at the bookstore. He’d spent the better part of the evening reading her first book when he got home. And that was saying something for him. He’d learned to enjoy reading, but he wasn’t an avid reader by any means.

And while a slice of her story was romantic, the whole of it was pulse pounding excitement, with a touch of the paranormal. The whimsy had been a surprise. He’d never have pegged her as having such a twist to the tale. And the other two books were part of the same series.

“Any preference on food?” he asked.

“Large quantities,” she said simply.

“My kinda girl.”

She gave a surprised start when she saw the Lexus SUV sitting in her driveway. “Luxury Soccer Mom car, Jon?”

“Nah, she got the Mercedes, I like the Lexus better. And hey, there’s equipment in the trunk eight months out of the year between soccer and football.”

She let him open the door for her and slid in. Waiting until he pulled down the drive, she kissed his cheek before he put it in drive. “You certainly are a surprise.”

“Do I get a real kiss if I tell you that I go to the games too?” His blue eyes twinkled.

“Maybe,” she hedged as his mouth dipped closer, but the blare of a horn succeeded in putting an end to that.

He slammed it into drive and shot forward as the high end engine caught and surged down the street. “I thought we’d start at one of the diners I go to first and then head into Red Bank.”

She nodded, “Sounds good.” They spoke of gifts and past Christmases and their current plans. “My folks are in Boston, so I’ll be heading out there on Sunday afternoon.”

“So, you’re mine until then, huh?”

“Maybe,” she said again.

“Baby, by the time this week is over, you’ll be all mine.”

“Well aren’t you sure of yourself, buddy.”

He reached over and took her hand, lacing his fingers between hers and brushing his lips over the knuckles before setting them on his thigh. “Pretty sure.”

Unwilling to even discuss the fleet of Monarchs in her belly she blew out a breath. “How far’s that diner again?”

He just laughed and turned a corner. “I started reading your Vampire series last night.” He felt her hand twitch beneath his hand and tightened his grip so she couldn’t let go. “It’s very engaging.”

Shrinking down in her seat a little Bella tried to twist free. “Does that mean you liked it? Or you’re trying to be nice and still get in my pants?”

He lifted their still joined hands and scraped his teeth over her wrist, biting down on the fleshy part of her palm. “Don’t be an idiot. If I didn’t like it I simply wouldn’t have mentioned it.”

Trying to swim upstream from the half insult, half praise she tugged at their joined hands again. “A smart man would say it was good just to butter me up.”

“And a really smart man, would read it to get to know the woman he wants, whether naked is involved or not.”

Since it was the first time she’d been so successfully put in her place, she simply shut up. What the hell could she say against that? And for the love of God, how much of herself was wrapped up in McKenzie’s character in her books? Well, she wasn’t a Vamp, but her smart mouth had more Bella in it than she’d care to admit to the general public.

“Do I need to mark my calendar? Is there no flippant rebuttal coming from that pretty pink mouth of yours?”

“I have a spare Sharpie in my purse,” she said dryly.