“Would you…” The whisper trailed off. Clark moved a tiny bit closer. “Would you like…” Another trail off. Another bit closer. “Would you like to…” She trailed off a third time. He was so close he could count the tiny wrinkles in her lips. Another breath closer, and their souls would collide as they fell into a tender, sweet kiss.

“Yes.” He saved her from asking as he tightened his grip on her waist. “Yes, I would.”

RIIIIINNNG! RIIIIINNNNGG!!!

The moment shattered. The possibility of a kiss died. Kate fled Clark’s arms, diving across the room to collect her cell phone from the nearest table.

He never knew two hands could feel as empty as his did when Kate left him like that.

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Shaking so violently she almost dropped the phone twice, Kate scrambled to answer the call while trying to brush the stardust from her eyes. She almost kissed Clark Woodward. She wanted to kiss Clark Woodward.

“Hello?”

“Kate!”

Her lifelong friend Michael’s voice couldn’t possibly be mistaken for anyone else’s, even when it was dominated by loud background noise. In the split second of his greeting, Kate picked out bits of sound with surgical precision. Laughter. A Santa going ho-ho-ho. Music. So much music and conversation everything mixed into a chaotic, cacophonous mud of sound.

“Michael? Where are you?” Kate pressed her free ear with a finger, hoping the closeness would help her hear his shouting voice.

“Are you still with Public Enemy Number One?”

“Yeah, he’s in here with me. And don’t call him that.”

Kate didn’t dare look at him. He’d wanted to kiss her, too. The very thought weakened her knees and blew on the embers inside her heart.

“Great. Get into the car and have him drive out to the location I’m texting you, okay? You should be able to get there if the roads in his backwoods are clear.”

A ding from her phone alerted Kate to a text message. She glanced at the GPS signal Michael sent and furrowed her brow. A random spot in a random field.

“Why are we going there?” she asked, not fully convinced Michael would even tell her if murder was in the plans for tonight.

“Just do it, okay? You’ll see. Trust me.”

“Okay… If you say so.”

“Don’t sound so glum! If this doesn’t make him fall in love with Christmas, nothing will!”

“I’ll ask him if he wants to go.”

Fingers still shaking, Kate ended the call. They’d planned something, a secret kept even from her…what could they be up to?

“What’s up?”

“Do you want to go on a little drive?”