The Scrooge of Loon Lake by Carrie Nichols

Author:Carrie Nichols
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-08-13T14:56:00+00:00

* * *

Des stepped into the doorway to the dining room and glanced down the hall. Standing at the front door, Natalie was tracing the stained glass insert he’d installed as soon as it was finished. Her fingers lingered on the depiction of the loon rising from the lake. It may have taken him numerous tries to get it perfect, but seeing her reaction made it all worthwhile. After all, she’d been his muse. She’d made him want to make what had started as a simple piece more complex, like her. And as close to perfection as he could get.

Des went through the dining room and into the hall to stand behind her. With his limp he wasn’t exactly Mr. Stealth, but she hadn’t turned around at his approach. Was she that engrossed in the piece?

“Like it?” Des asked from behind her.

She startled and turned to face him. “It’s stunning. I’m going to assume you made it.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged, but pride made him puff his chest out. “Finished it recently and decided to keep it.”

“Do you keep a lot of what you make?” She touched his arm as she spoke.

Her hand on his arm made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. In a good way. A very good way. “No. Very few, actually.”

“But you kept this one. Why? I mean, it’s beautiful, but so are the ones Tavie sells in the General Store. That’s where I first noticed them.” She dropped her hand.

“I have my reasons.” He wasn’t about to admit that he’d feared he’d lost his muse until the day she showed up with her crooked-tooth smile and tin of candy. She’d inspired this piece and he couldn’t part with it. No matter what happened between them, the piece would always hold special meaning for him.

“Are you always this mysterious?”

He lifted his chin as he contemplated her. “Wow, I’ve graduated from conundrum to mysterious? Is this a good thing? A step in the right direction?”

She crossed her arms. “What do you mean?”

This time he reached out to touch her. “Are women more apt to be attracted to mysterious as opposed to flat-out grumpy?”

She gave him a side eye. “Depends.”

“On what?” He scowled, but was enjoying the verbal sparring. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d liked being with someone as much as he did with her.

“On how well they entertain their company?”

The fact that she posed it as a question had him laughing. He couldn’t help himself. She was charming and she had succeeded in charming him. No doubt about it. He was smitten.

She pointed at him. “You should do that more often.”

“Entertain?” He didn’t think that was what she meant, but he needed to know what she meant, hear her say it.

She shook her head. “Laugh. It makes you more...more...”

“More what?” He held his breath, waiting for her answer. Her opinion mattered to him. His gut clenched. What was he getting himself into? Did he want to leave himself open to the possibility of getting hurt? Again.

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