Gina Wilkins - Make-Believe Mistletoe

It was that last thought that made him even more convinced she had done them both a favor by walking out the way she had.

“I think it's time for plan B.”

Even though the woman on the other end of the telephone line couldn't see her, Lucy shook her head adamantly. “No. Not yet.”

“It's been more than a month. He's not going to call you.”

“He might.”

“I don't think so, Lucy. He's too guarded. Too shy.”

Lucy sighed. “Maybe he's not interested.”

“No way,” Joan said, sounding absolutely positive. “He was in love with you before Christmas Eve ended. He just needs some pushing.”

“Any suggestions?”

“Maybe I should call him. You know, thank him again for taking us in at Christmas. Ask him if he's heard from you. Casually mention that you would love to hear from him.”

“Too subtle. It's going to take something far more direct.”

“Such as…?”

“I'll probably have to go to him again. I'm thinking about hitting him over the head with a club and dragging him off by the hair.”

Joan laughed. “I don't think I'll try that with Bobby Ray-even though he certainly has enough hair to get a good hold on. But he's much too heavy for me to drag anywhere.”

“As if you'd have to,” Lucy said a bit enviously. “Bobby Ray has no trouble at all making his feelings for you known.”

Joan giggled a bit self-consciously. “No, I suppose he doesn't.”

“Oh, there's someone at the door. I'll call you later, okay?”

“Sure. In the meantime, maybe you should be buffing your club.”

Chuckling, Lucy disconnected the call and headed for the door. She pushed a hand through her tumbled hair on the way, but that was the extent of her primping. She figured her fitted gray T-shirt and gray-piped, black yoga pants looked respectable enough for the delivery guy or friendly neighbor or whoever she would find on the other side of her door.

Of course, if she had known she would find Banner standing there, she might have spent a few more moments in front of the mirror.

“You're here,” she said blankly, gaping up at him.

He leaned against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his chest, the very picture of handsome nonchalance. “You might have mentioned that you have an unlisted telephone number. And that your home address is a well-kept secret. You never told me your aunt and uncle's last name. And the people at the university gave me your office number, but since you didn't work today, that wasn't particularly helpful.”

Her heart was doing a frantic tap dance inside her chest, but she managed to speak fairly evenly. “So how did you find me?”

“I had to make a few dozen phone calls. I ended up tracking down your father in Texas.”

“You talked to my father?” she said, finding it hard to get past that tidbit.

“Yeah. You mentioned that he was stationed at Fort Hood. He seemed like a nice guy. A little suspicious, maybe, but I guess I can't blame him for that.”

She had deliberately left without giving him her number or address, figuring that if he wanted to talk to her badly enough, he should have to work for it a bit. But she had assumed he would call her at her job, since he knew where she worked. She hadn't expected him to just show up at her home on a Saturday afternoon, five whole weeks after she slipped out of his bed.

“It's so good to see you,” she said, almost afraid to look away from him, just in case he disappeared.

He straightened and dropped his arms, letting a glimpse of emotion show in his eyes now. “Maybe you could ask me in?”

Quickly moving out of the doorway, she motioned him inside. “Please.”

He closed the door behind him, then reached into his jacket pocket. “I brought something with me.”

She tilted her head in curiosity. “What is it?”

He pulled out a sprig of greenery. “Does mistletoe still work after Christmas?”

She felt her smile turn radiant. “Absolutely.”

She didn't give him a chance to hold the mistletoe over her head. Throwing herself at him, she lifted her face to his to kiss him with all the emotion that had been building in her during the long weeks she had been away from him.

Tossing the sprig to one side, he gathered her into his arms, holding her so tightly she could hardly breathe-not that she would have even considered complaining. This was exactly the way she had dreamed of him holding her.

“I think I like your apartment.”

Lucy laughed softly and propped herself on one elbow to study Banner's face. “You think?”

His hard mouth softened with a faint smile. “I didn't get a chance to see much of it.”

“Are you saying I dragged you into bed?”

“Something like that.”

She gave a satisfied nod. “Plan B,” she murmured. “And I didn't even need a club.”

He didn't even bother to ask for an explanation. Instead he pulled her face back down to his and kissed her again.

They had a lot of lost time to make up for, she thought, wrapping her arms around him again.

Lucy and Banner didn't leave her apartment for the rest of the weekend. Letting the answering machine take all her calls, she concentrated fully on Banner, so delighted that he had come to her that she didn't want to think of anything else just yet.

When hunger finally drove them from the bedroom, they cooked steaks in her tiny kitchen. Lucy did most of the talking, of course, chattering to Banner about her job and her friends, catching him up on news of Joan and Bobby Ray and the Carters-all of whom she had spoken to since returning home from the Christmas holiday.

Banner seemed content to listen to her chattering without saying a lot, himself, but she was accustomed to that. He did tell her that he'd finished the big furniture order he'd been working on when she'd visited him and that his friend Polston had agreed to look in on Hulk until Banner returned.

“You could have brought him with you-the dog, not Polston,” Lucy clarified.

“I wasn't sure you could have pets in your apartment.”

“Officially I'm not supposed to, but it probably would have been okay for a visit. Actually, I've been thinking about buying a house so I could get a dog or a cat.”

“Buying a house sounds pretty permanent. You thinking about staying here for a while? Not in any hurry to move to a bigger city or a more impressive university position?”

He had asked the question very casually, but Lucy knew he was intensely interested in her answer. “I like it here very much,” she said. “I like the school and the students and the central Arkansas area. I think I could be quite happy here for a long time.”

“You make it sound as though you're pretty content with your life.”

“I am,” she agreed. “For the most part.”

“Oh? Something missing?”

“Yes. Someone to share it with.”

She watched him swallow. Hard. He toyed with the food remaining on his plate, though his appetite was obviously gone. “And if that someone lets you down? Or hurts you, even without meaning to? Or doesn't live up to what you had hoped for?”

“I've never expected to find anyone who was perfect,” she answered gently, her throat tight. “Heaven knows I'm far from perfect, myself. The trick is to find someone who can love and accept me, flaws and all. I've always believed that when I found my match, I would know right away. And that I would be willing to risk a great deal to make it work.”

Banner kept his gaze focused fiercely on his plate. “I've tried the relationship thing before, you know. It didn't work out.”

“How much did you really risk for that relationship?” she countered. “How much of yourself did you really invest in it?”

“Very little,” he admitted grimly. “Not nearly enough.”

Her hands were shaking when she clasped them tightly in her lap. “And how much are you willing to risk this time?” she asked in a whisper.

He hesitated long enough to almost stop her heart. And then he looked up at her, his expression wrenching. “Everything,” he said simply.

Her eyes flooded. “So am I.”

He cleared his throat. “You want another glass of tea?”

She didn't switch emotional gears quite as quickly as he did, but she was able to catch up after only a moment. “Sure,” she said, her voice still husky. “Another glass of tea sounds good.”

“I'll get it.” He jumped to his feet with a haste that revealed his eagerness to move away from the emotions that had threatened to overwhelm them.

Smiling through her tears, Lucy figured she still had a long way to go in teaching Banner how to open up to her. But, no matter what challenges lay ahead for them, the potential rewards were most definitely worth any risks.

Lucy made one last check of her dining room, admiring the festive holiday dinnerware, set for six, along with the creamy candles and masses of red and white flowers that decorated the center of the long table. Satisfied that everything looked perfect for the guests she was expecting at any time, she moved into the den, one hand resting on the slight bulge of her tummy.

A fire burned in the fireplace, and Hulk curled lazily in front of it, his snores rumbling softly through the otherwise quiet room. Lucy's requirements for a house had included a big fireplace, a dining room for family dinners, a detached workshop, and plenty of privacy-assuring acreage, yet still within a half-hour drive to the university. This two-story Victorian farmhouse set on five wooded acres in the hills outside of Conway met all her wishes and more.

She smiled when she spotted the man kneeling beneath the lavishly decorated Christmas tree in one corner of the big room. She loved seeing Banner under the tree, she mused, admiring the way his loden-green shirt clung to his wide, strong shoulders. She could never ask for a more precious gift, she thought as she patted her tummy again.

“Are you still rearranging presents?” she asked, hiding her rush of emotion behind a lightly teasing tone.

“I wanted to make sure the gifts for Tyler and Tricia were at the front where they could find them easily,” Banner replied, straightening. “You think they'll like the toys I made them?”

He still needed occasional reassurances, but she never minded providing them. “The wooden motorcycle for Tyler is incredibly cool-or 'sweet,' as he would say. And Tricia's going to love the little high chair for her dolls. I can't wait until they get here. It seems like forever since we've seen them.”

“We just saw them at Joan and Bobby Ray's wedding in November. They've been busy since moving into their new home in Little Rock. And speaking of being busy, shouldn't you get off your feet for a while before they arrive? You shouldn't try to do so much.”

“I'm not even six months pregnant yet,” she reminded him indulgently. “I'm not quite ready to take to my bed.”

“Oh, I don't know. Going to bed seems like a pretty good idea to me,” he murmured, catching her around the waist for a quick, heated kiss.

“Behave yourself,” she said when she emerged, breathless, from the embrace.

“Yes, ma'am. But sit down, anyway.”

She moved obligingly to the couch. “Did I hear you talking to Tim while I was changing my clothes?”

“Yeah. He said he's looking forward to seeing us on New Year's Day. He and Brenda both seemed to be pleased that we invited them to spend a couple of days here with us.”

Family had become a big part of their lives together, Lucy reflected happily. She and Banner had spent Thanksgiving with his mother's family, who had accepted Lucy quite warmly into their midst, seeming to give her credit for helping Banner feel more comfortable among them.

She had met his father and stepmother, of course, and while that relationship would never be particularly close, they had managed to be cordial. Maybe, in time, some of the old rifts could be repaired, though not even Lucy expected miracles all the time. At least Banner had grown closer to Tim and Brenda, both of whom Lucy liked very much.

As for her family, they had made Banner feel welcome from the beginning. She and Banner would be traveling to Springfield on Christmas Eve, the day after tomorrow, to spend the holidays with her father, aunt, uncles and cousins. It proved how far he had come in the past year that Banner hardly seemed to dread spending so much time among so many people, though she knew he would be glad to come back home when it was over.

Home. The word made her look around again with another misty smile. Maybe it was hormones affecting her, or maybe the holidays, but she'd felt on the verge of tears all day today. She had never been happier in her life.

She and Banner had been married in May, after he had grown impatient with weekend visits and occasional week nights together and abruptly declared that they might as well get married and save the travel time. It hadn't been the most romantic proposal in history, but it had made Lucy cry, anyway. Especially when he had added gruffly that he loved her and that he didn't want to spend another night away from her for the rest of his life.