The Mistletoe Affair

somersault, and she inhaled and exhaled slowly. The leg of the table blocked her on the right side. That left no room to move away from him. She chose to ignore the warmth of his thigh rather than reveal how much his touch bothered her.

“Your mother told me you brought the potato salad. It's delicious. I love pimentos and green olives.” He popped some into his mouth and turned to inspect her plate. “Did you get any of the crabmeat triangles?” He placed a bite on his fork. “Here, try it,” he said waving it temptingly beneath her nose.

The smell of cheese, garlic and crabmeat proved irresistible. His gaze captured hers as Katherine opened her mouth then closed it around the warm, succulent morsel. She saw desire flame in his eyes as he watched the provocative motion. Withdrawing his fork from her mouth, he brought it into his own, as if to lick off her essence, before he stabbed another piece of quiche. She blushed at the intimate act they'd shared without even a moment's hesitation. He smiled warmly, but quickly moved his attention to her son, leaving her wishing the sensual contact they experienced had continued.

“Matt, you still want to learn to ride a horse?” Jared asked. He turned and whispered into Katherine's ear, “He'll be riding a pony.'

Puffs of air from his warm breath hit the inside of her ear causing chills to run along the base of her spine.

Matt's eyes lit with excitement. “Yes, sir.'

She placed her hand on Jared's arm. “Even if it's a pony, I'll worry about him.'

He smiled, his white teeth flashing in the candlelight. “I know, so you're invited, too.” He gazed toward Matt. “I'll call your mom, and we'll make a day of it.'

Katherine's heart skipped a beat. It's all right. It's a day with Matt. What could possibly happen on a horse?

“Have you ever been horseback riding, Katherine?'

She swallowed hard. “No.'

“In that case, you'll ride with me the first time.'

Her fork dropped and clanged against her glass.

Jared gave her a roguish smile, and from the look in his eyes he knew the effect he had on her. “Are you through eating?'

Looking at her plate, she knew she'd eaten very little but she couldn't get another bite past the butterfly wings flapping in her throat and chest. She nodded.

The DJ changed from romantic ballads to a 1920s Charleston, and Jared stood, lifting her hand. “Since you're done eating, let's work off some of this meal.'

Katherine stared past Jared, watching the people on the dance floor energetically kick their heels. “I've seen the dance, but I don't actually know how to do the Charleston.” She put her hand palm up. “I'll pass.'

“Oh, no.” He pulled her out of the chair. “Where's your sense of adventure? I don't know how to Charleston either, but we'll fake it.” He pointed to the couples. “It doesn't look that difficult.'

Within five minutes, they looked like chickens taking flight. Their arms thrashed back and forth slicing through the air. Knees bent, heels kicking, they moved energetically to the syncopated jazz rhythm. They couldn't stop laughing. “Hey, I think we're pretty good together,” Jared yelled over the noise. He pointed to a white-haired couple in the corner of the dance floor. “Think we can try that fancy move?'

Katherine giggled, stuck her hip out in an exaggerated pose mimicking the couple, pranced around, and slapped her bottom while making a full circle. They stood side by side, knees bent and hands crossing their knees. He winked at her. “It's always scary when you try something new for the first time.'

She breathed deeply and blushed at his implication.

Twenty minutes later, they staggered off the dance floor, both breathing heavily, just in time for the main event. People applauded as candles were lit on the enormous multi-tiered cake. The lights dimmed and everyone sang. An inferno of seventy-five candles flickered in the semi-darkness. Mrs. Taylor and her friends blew out candles amidst more applause. The lights were turned back up and everyone got served a generous helping of chocolate cake, making Matt ecstatic.

Jared went to the refreshment table for more punch and cups of coffee. He returned with a tray full and set it down. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out large paper towels and tucked them in Matt's shirt collar. “Dig in, pal.'

Her mother held a forkful of cake to her nose and sniffed. “Chocolate mint.” She devoured the first bite. “Light, fluffy and very good. Remind me to get Mildred's recipe. She took one of those leisure classes in cake decorating.” Her mother waved across the room at Mildred, who smiled and waved back. “It's delicious,” her mother yelled.

Although everyone devoured the cake with enthusiasm, Matt finished his huge chunk first. He looked like he'd been mud wrestling and lost. “Matt, how in the world did you manage to get it in your ears and hair?” Jared asked, laughing with Matt.

Katherine glanced at Matt and shook her head. “That's how five-year-olds eat.'

Matt held up chocolate fingers. “I'll be six soon.'

“Gracious, you look like you swam in it,” Katherine said.

“It's easy to get messy when you're having a good time. Isn't it, pal?'

Matt tugged on Jared's hand. “I need to go potty,” Matt said, lifting his arms up to him.

“Katherine is it all right if I take Matt to the bathroom? He can wash up, too.'

She blushed when Matt whispered, “I don't want to potty in a girl's bathroom.'

Katherine nodded, her head spinning with the fact that Jared had shown more affection to Matt in three minutes than Paul had in three years.

The DJ started a romantic waltz as Jared returned to the table. He placed Matt in the chair, turned and took Katherine's hand in his. “Don't tell me you don't know how to waltz either.'

“At the price I paid for ballroom dance classes, she better,” her mother said.

“Well, let's prove your mom didn't waste her hard earned money.'

Jared led Katherine to the dance floor and folded her in his arms. Every time she breathed, his woodsy scent filled her lungs, her thoughts and her head. She felt his strong hands touch the ends of her hair that flowed down her back. The smell, feel and touch of this man intoxicated her. She lifted her chin, mentally chiding herself, but he intoxicates a lot of women, none of them mean anything to him except sexual gratification. And what's wrong with sexual gratification? screamed her body as his leg moved closer to her thigh.

“You're too quiet,” Jared whispered.

She lifted her head and gazed up at him, moving her body to a more traditional waltz pose, placing more distance between them. He twirled her away from him and brought her to him again, pulling her closer against his body. Her eyes closed, she relaxed, savoring his warmth and the feel of his hands moving over her back. She rested her head against his chest, lulled by his steady heartbeat and hearing her own echoing reply.

“I was thinking,” she said.

“What about?” he whispered against her hair. “I hope it's the same thing I'm thinking about.” His lips pressed into her hair. He moved her away from him, turned her and brought her into his warm arms again.

She knew exactly what lurked in Jared's mind, but to her the act of making love had to mean a whole lot more than a fleeting, sexual conquest. And from what she'd heard and seen of Jared, that's all it meant to him. All she would be to him. The thought made her reply tight and strained. “I doubt we're thinking about the same thing. We don't think alike on a lot of things.” She stiffened. Jared held her in his arms and they waltzed across the dance floor.

* * * *

Jared felt Katherine's body tense again while they danced. He replayed tonight's events as he held her, wondering where he'd gone wrong. Once they'd gotten past Laura Brown's attempt to wreck their evening, he'd felt the sensual pull of their mutual desire all during the night.

When she'd first relaxed and leaned into him on the dance floor, he thought his worries were over. During the party, she'd responded to his jokes, his smiles and he suddenly knew he didn't want to date her for Matt alone. He felt relieved they wanted each other, because he'd started to feel like a heel for using Matt to get to Katherine.

He thought she wanted him too, when her cheek rested on his chest and he felt her warm breath through his