Once Upon a Christmas Family by Susan Carlisle

Author:Susan Carlisle [Carlisle, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christmas, Holidays, Contemporary Romance
Published: 2023-11-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

Justin woke to the smell of coffee the next morning. Pulling on a pair of jeans, he walked toward the kitchen. He found Lizzie sitting at the dining table with paperback books spread out across it. A mug sat off to the side.

The night before she had put away the dirty dishes in the dishwasher despite his assurances he would take care of them. All the while she worked, she kept up a stream of nervous talk of all the new things she had seen and done that day. With the kitchen spotless, she said goodnight, gone to her room, and closed the door.

He had watched her walk across the living room and down the hallway without a word despite wanting to call her back, to ask her to stay and talk to him some more. But he hadn’t. What if he had appeared needy? After all, they were just friends. He wanted her to feel comfortable around him, not obligated to him.

Lizzie glanced up as he approached. Her eyes widened as they remained on his bare chest. He wanted coffee so badly he’d not thought to pull on a shirt. Her reaction certainly bolstered his ego.

Her “Uh, good morning. I fixed you coffee,” came out a little garbled.

Justin grinned. He liked the idea of Lizzie admiring him. “Thanks.”

She looked fresh as the new morning. The sun streaming in through the window created a warm glow around Lizzie. Her hair bounced at her shoulders. She wore a T-shirt that fit tight across her breasts and a pair of jeans.

Coming from snowy weather, this was the first time he’d seen her with so few clothes on. As he had suspected, Lizzie had a delicious body hidden under all those sweaters and coats. Another thing to like about being in LA. In an effort to control his mind and body, he refocused, “How did you sleep?”

“Just fine.” She smiled then returned her attention to a book.

He wanted her to talk to him. “You’re up early.”

“I’m excited about sightseeing today. With the time change I had plenty of time to do a little reading up on where I want to go.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be your tour guide today but this evening we’ll have some dinner. How does that sound?”

“It’s not necessary to see about me. I appreciate you giving me a place to stay and a chance to see part of California.” She flipped to another page in the book.

Was she trying to put distance between them? “Lizzie, I want to take you to dinner. To show you around.” He poured himself a cup of coffee. “Can I warm yours up?”

“No, thanks. I’m having tea.”

He joined her at the table. “What’s all this?”

“Travel books.” Lizzie made it sound as if they were an amazing gift.

“How did you come across these? You didn’t have enough luggage to have brought them with you.” He moved a few of the books around and looked at the titles.

“I found them on the bookshelf over there.” She pointed toward the sunken living room.

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