The Spirit of Christmas by Liz Talley

Author:Liz Talley
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-12-16T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

BRENNAN COULDN’T STOP laughing—his stomach felt sucked against the seat of the tilt-a-whirl car and the world whipped by in a blur of color and twinkling lights. The only thing clear at that moment was the giggling woman next to him and the thrill of remembering a time when life was worry-free.

“Oh, my goodness,” Mary Paige shrieked, clinging to the metal handrail as the car took a sudden hard spin.

“This is awesome,” he said, laughing at the way she squeezed those pretty brown eyes closed and braced herself for the next spin, which came quick and hard, twisting his gut and making him laugh.

Finally, after several minutes, the ride slowed and their car rocked from side to side before settling.

Mary Paige opened her eyes.

“You’re not going to hurl, are you?”

She shook her head. “Though it would serve you right. Everyone thinks we’re nuts climbing on this ride in these clothes.”

Glancing around the new car with the purple, green and gold Mardi Gras colors, Brennan was reminded of an aged car with cracked red vinyl seats and black spots of ancient gum on the plate-metal floor—one he’d ridden with his father and Brielle. This time the memory didn’t hurt, it merely gave him a warm glow as if his impish, silly sister would have approved of climbing aboard in dress-up clothes. “I like irony.”

“Do you?” Mary Paige cocked her head. “Because this seems way outside your comfort zone. Never in a million years would I have expected a fuddy-dud like you to like carnival rides. Spur of the moment, too, I might add.”

An older man wearing stained khakis and a T-shirt, with an unlit cigarette dangling between his lips, lifted the metal bar. “If I’d known there was a party, I’d a worn my tux,” he drawled in a heavy New Orleans accent.

Mary Paige smiled. “Who needs a good reason to dress up, right?”

The guy didn’t say anything. She shrugged as she hitched up her dress and tried to climb from the still swinging car.

“Here.” Brennan extended a hand toward her, eyeing the greased axle beneath her shoes. Mary Paige wasn’t the most graceful of women, and she needed that dress to stay intact and her bottom to remain grease-free.

“Thanks,” she said, taking his hand as he tugged her a little too hard. Her heel caught on the edge and she stumbled into him. But he was ready—or maybe he’d subconsciously planned it—and caught her against his chest.

She raised those pretty eyes and there was nothing left to do but kiss her.

So he did.

“Don’t mess up my hair,” she said as his lips captured hers. Her demand made him smile, so the kiss that could have been passionate ended up tame by his standards.

A tap on his shoulder put a stop to anything more. Brennan released Mary Paige and turned to the carnival ride operator, who removed the cigarette from his lips, tucked it behind his ear and said, “My turn?”

The man laughed good-naturedly, which made Mary Paige laugh. Again, something he hadn’t felt in a long time came over him.

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