Free The Homespun Holiday by Sarah O'Rourke Page B

beside
the front door, Mack slowly made his way to his favorite recliner.
    Sitting down, he released a long
breath as he leaned his head back and focused his stare on the dog sitting at
his feet, staring at him with something Mack could have sworn was amusement. 
“Don’t look at me like that, Nug.  So what if I’m falling for her.  You try to
bite everybody that walks through the door, but you fell in love with Millie
the second she came over the threshold.  You’ve got no room to judge me,” he
admonished his judgmental dog.  Grinning while Nugget stretched his massive
body out at his feet, Mack silently went back over the last few hours in his
mind.
    As far as first dates went (and
yeah, he wasn’t going to try fooling himself any longer… this had definitely
been a date), this one had, without a doubt, been the best first date he’d ever
had.  Maybe it was because he’d known Millie for several months and knew they
had things in common.  Perhaps, it was great because he’d made up his mind to
be himself and not try to disguise the gruff, surly asshole he knew he could
be.  Millie knew what he was like, anyway.  She’d have known if he was putting
on an act for her, so he didn’t bother.  Crazily enough, she seemed to enjoy
his company in whatever form it came.
    The bottom line was they’d had a
great time together tonight, and it was undeniable that they shared an insanely
hot chemistry when they were together.  He could still taste her kiss on his
lips.  Millie’s unique flavor of strawberries and wine was branded on his
tongue, and he knew that no matter how many women he kissed, it would be her
sweet addictive taste he craved until the day he died.      
    “Fuck,” Mack groaned.  “I’m waxing
poetic like a damn girl with her first crush,” he said out loud, chuckling at
his plight as he shook his head in amazement.  He couldn’t help how he felt,
though.  Hell, if he was honest, he was a little relieved that he could feel
this way at all.  He’d honestly thought that his ex-wife had killed his ability
to feel anything beyond the most basic of emotions for anyone. 
    Luckily, however, Tiff had only
soured him against women.  She hadn’t completely ruined him.  If she had, he
wouldn’t be able to feel this way about Millie.
    Now, he wasn’t a man that would say
he believed in love at first sight, insta-love, or any of that other bullshit
(he did still have his balls, after all), but he could say – without the worry
of losing a single man point -  that the way Millie had made him feel tonight
was pretty damn close.  He’d been seeing her for months around the office, but
tonight he’d really seen her.  He’d seen all of her.  The beauty… the
maturity… the shy girl that lurked just behind the eyes of the stunning woman
he already knew.  And all of it – every single bit – he liked.  No, fuck it. 
He loved. 
    God, his sister would have a field
day with these budding feelings he was having when she arrived in a little over
twenty-four hours.  Yeah, his sibling was gonna give him hell.  Bree had told
him love would creep up on his ass again when he was least expecting it, and
damn if the little brat hadn’t been right.  Again.
    He gave brief consideration to the
idea of trying to hide his changing feelings for Millie from his family, but
just as quickly dismissed the notion.  Pretending that he didn’t feel anything
for her when he very much did would only drive him nuts and potentially
alienate her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.  Millie wasn’t a
dirty, little secret, and he’d be damned if he treated her like one.  No, he’d
endure his sister’s endless teasing and “I-told-you-so”s if it meant he could
be with the beautiful woman that worked for him.
    He’d wasted enough time trying to
ignore the gifts that fate had put right in front of him.  He’d spent way too many
years wallowing in self-pity, avoiding relationships in a