Free The Christmas Bride - A Western Romance Novella (Book 4, Burnett Brides Series) by Sylvia McDaniel Page B

kissed—”
    “You kissed Eugenia Burnett?”
    Wyatt smiled. “It’s usually what you do with a woman you’re attracted to. You start off kissing, and then later, much later, it builds to something more.”
    Those kisses were what sustained him. If those kisses weren’t real, then nothing he’d ever believed about love was true.
    Gus started laughing. “Wow, I never thought she’d let you kiss her.”
    “You know, Gus, how when Beatrice used to bake those apple-cinnamon pies you loved, you’d go in the kitchen and you’d smell the aroma of the pie, and you couldn’t wait to taste it just as soon as it came out of the oven? You’d savor the thought of that pie all day.”
    Eugenia would either be the best apple pie he’d ever experienced, or Wyatt would find himself eating crow. One of the two.
    “So Eugenia smells like apple pie.”
    “No. But it’s the anticipation. It’s the chase, the thrill of the hunt. The knowing that when she gives in, it could be the best apple pie I’ve ever tasted.”
    “And what if she doesn’t give in?”
    “Then you’re stuck with me telling you stories of Beatrice’s apple pies and how wonderful they were.”
    Gus picked up the spoon and filled his plate with the casserole. He took a bite, and Wyatt watched him lick his lips and take a second bite. “Damn, this is good. Forget Eugenia and marry Myrtle.”
    Wyatt took a bite of the casserole. “That woman can cook.”
    “We don’t even know what Eugenia’s cooking tastes like. She could be a terrible cook.”
    “Her cooking skills don’t matter.” Hopefully tomorrow at church, Myrtle and he together would motivate Eugenia, make her see that she was denying them a chance. If not, it was time to move on.
    #
    Sunday morning after the church service, Eugenia glanced around the congregation looking for Myrtle. She had to know if she’d delivered the casserole to Wyatt. As she looked toward the doorway of the church, she saw them.
    For a moment her stomach plummeted, and her heart started galloping faster than a wild stallion as she watched Wyatt hand over an empty casserole dish to Myrtle. She smiled up at him, and he seemed to thank her for the dish. She turned her back to Eugenia and took Wyatt by the arm, and then the two of them strolled from the church.
    Eugenia sank down on the nearest bench. Her chest squeezed painfully tight, and tears pricked her eyelids.
    What was wrong with her? This was exactly what she wanted. She didn’t want Wyatt in her life. She didn’t need him. She’d said so over and over.
    Yet there she was wanting to blubber on like a heartsick calf, crying out in distress because she’d matched up Myrtle and Wyatt.
    “Mom, you okay?” Travis asked. “Rose is ready to go. I think we’re going to go to the café for lunch.”
    For a moment, she sat there as the realization came to her that she’d been enjoying Wyatt’s flirtation. She’d been enjoying his attention. She’d miss his kisses.
    “Huh?” Eugenia said as she stared up at her son. He looked so much like his father that she often thought it was Thomas she was staring at.
    “Lunch. We’re going to go to the café. Are you all right?”
    She glanced at the entryway of the church, happy to see that Wyatt and Myrtle had moved out the door. There was no reason for her to be upset. They’d only done what she set in motion. She’d given up Wyatt Jones to another woman because of her own stupid pride.
    “Mom!” Travis said again, this time more urgently.
    She waved her hand at him. “I’m fine.”
    “Well, you’re not acting like yourself, or maybe you are.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “It means can we please go so that I can take Rose and the baby to the café,” he said, putting his hands on his hips.
    “I can’t go to that café,” she said adamantly.
    “Then you’re going to have to wait outside, because I’m taking my wife and daughter out to lunch,” Travis said, staring at her as if she were