Free Ask Her at Christmas by Christi Barth Page B

to give up this one chance at mending fences with his father. As his best friend in the world, she could never ask him to choose between her and his family. No matter who he chose, he’d always resent it, and come to resent her. Sucking in a breath, the scent of pine filled her nose and stung her eyes. From now on, she’d always equate the smell of a Christmas tree with the enormous, agonizing heartbreak of this moment.
    “Mistletoe’s pretty powerful,” she agreed. If Kyle wanted to sweep their whole, amazing kiss under the carpet, then she’d play along. “The druids called it sacred, even using it in human sacrifices.”
    He pretended to chuckle. She could tell because it was his fake-hearty work chuckle. The kind he never, ever used with her. “Sort of a morbid story. You should definitely strike mistletoe from the list of proposal possibilities.”
    “Got it. No poisonous plants at the proposal. Of course, that cuts out poinsettias and holly, too.”
    “Well, I guess I can’t have everything I want, can I?”
    Neither could she, apparently. Not even close.

Chapter Six
    Why did the women in his life insist on meeting him outside in the middle of winter? Kyle tightened the scarf around his neck and bent his head against the wind. The weekend storm had blown through, but another one nipped at its heels. Chicago was knee-deep in the white stuff, with no end in sight. Six days to Christmas, and he was the only idiot on the Magnificent Mile, Chicago’s most famous shopping destination. He checked the address on his phone one last time, then tucked it into his pocket.
    Monica had called in a lather, insisting he drop everything and meet her. Kyle almost hung up on her. After Saturday’s no-show for the LTS Christmas party, he wasn’t inclined to do her any favors. Not until he cooled off. But she swore it was an emergency. Well, this was his future wife, so he slammed shut his laptop and sprinted to the El. If he’d tried to drive in this snow, he’d have tacked on an extra half hour. His boots and parka kept him warm enough, but his pants were soaked from fighting his way through the drifts on the sidewalk. The city cleared the streets—sort of—by pushing most of the snow right up to the edge of the buildings.
    As he trudged past Water Tower Place, he thought of Caitlin. He knew she wasn’t inside at the gift-wrap booth, because today was her graduation day. They hadn’t spoken since the party. After the earth-shattering kiss they shared, she’d hung in there for an hour of awkward conversation with him. She charmed the pants off everyone else in the room. Her natural sunny disposition captivated all the stodgy bigwigs his father had invited. Dad even made a point of thanking Caitlin right before she left. Right before she pinned him with those eyes as dull as an old penny and slipped away without saying goodbye.
    Kyle didn’t blame her. No matter how he tried to come up with an explanation for what happened that night, his mind dumped him back at the same place every time. He was a first class prick. He had no right to give in to the feelings he’d spent years tamping down. Caitlin didn’t deserve to be toyed with like that.
    Sure, for those few minutes when he kissed her and time stopped, it had been heaven. If heaven came with enough firecrackers to light up the sky forever. He’d been a selfish bastard to give in to his lust. But something about the combination of the yearning in her eyes and his raw emotional state had melted the shields he maintained against her. All he’d seen was a beautiful woman who understood him. Who wanted to be with him. She’d been irresistible.
    But now everything was messed up. Without his daily dose of Caitlin, he’d been in a foul mood. After two days of this, his entire team had opted to work from home today. They hadn’t even bothered to fake a cough, or sniffle a couple of times. Kyle knew he’d been uncharacteristically sharp. Critical. A fucking jerk to a