“How long will it take you to get there?” She turned and froze at the sight of him in a brown turtleneck sweater and jeans—with no holes—that hugged all the right places. His hair was still wet, his handsome face smooth after a shave. Holy cow.

He held her gaze with green eyes that danced with amusement and desire. “About four hours.”

Clare swallowed hard. “I made you some sandwiches and coffee.”

He looked pleased and surprised at the same time. “Once a mom, always a mom?”

She shrugged as she handed him the bag and caught a whiff of cologne that made her want to drool.

He took the bag from her and rested it next to his duffel on the floor. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You’re sure you’ll be okay by yourself?”

Touched by his concern, she smiled. “I’m sure.”

“Well…” He started to turn toward the door but changed his mind so quickly that Clare had no time to gauge his intent before his lips were on hers and she was enveloped in his strong arms. To her great relief, the kiss didn’t match the flash of desire she’d seen in his eyes, almost as if he knew he needed to go easy with her. When he finally pulled away from her, he looked stricken. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t wait another minute to do that.”

She looked up at him. “I’m glad you didn’t,” she said, going up on tiptoes to kiss him again. “You’d better go. It’s getting late.”

With great reluctance, he picked up his bag. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

“Remember—no crack-of-dawn mornings when the girls are here. They’re late sleepers.”

“Got it. Have a Merry Christmas.”

She walked him to the door. “You, too.”

With one last quick kiss, he was gone.

Clare watched him get into the truck and waved as he drove away. She flipped off the porch light, closed the door, locked it, and leaned back against it, willing her heart beat back to a normal pace. “Well,” she said to herself, “that was a surprise.” With a giggle, she added, “A very lovely surprise.”

Aidan called his mother from the road to let her know he’d gotten a late start. The last thing he wanted was to irritate everyone at Christmas by making Colleen O’Malley worry unnecessarily. For two hours after he’d finished working for the day, he kept himself busy with menial chores at Clare’s house while he waited for her to get home from the store. He’d wanted to be sure she was really okay before he left her alone for Christmas.