Mistletoe in Maine Read Online Free PDF

beside her, taking her hand. “You, Mama Bear, have nothing to worry about.”
    “No?” she asked, lines creasing her face.
    “Do you know who I fell in love with?” he asked, turning toward her.
    “A cougar?” she asked, dark eyes widening.
    Zach gave a low chuckle, then brushed his lips to hers. “I fell in love with the woman in here,” he said, laying a hand on her heart. “And that woman,” he said with another kiss, “is the best-looking babe in all of Maine. I’m talking about at any age.”
    She sighed and smiled up at him. “You really are the cat’s pajamas, you know that?”
    “Meow,” he said, closing in for another kiss.
    “Zach?” she asked a moment later. “How do you think things are going with Beth and Paul?”
    “She just got here!”
    “I know, but still… Do you think there’s a chance?”
    “I think there’s a good one,” he said with a wink.
    She playfully tugged him toward her. “It’s a shame Pauly put us in separate rooms.”
    “Probably because there are kids here.”
    “No, it’s because my son’s an old stick-in-the-mud.”
    He thumbed her nose. “Be nice now, and get dressed for dinner.”
     
    Carol exited the Rabbit Room all freshened up. Unsure of the protocol in a place like this, she’d worn a short black dress, leather boots, and a suede jacket. Something a little dressed up, but casual just the same. She shut her door firmly, then turned, nearly colliding with Paul. He was dapperly handsome, well turned-out in a sports coat and tie. It was hard to say which way he looked best, like this, the preppie sophisticate, or like he had earlier this evening, dressed down in a flannel shirt and jeans. He quickly shut the door behind him, but not in time to conceal his room’s marvelous moose theme. When she’d checked in, Carol hadn’t realized her room was straight across the hall from his. All at once she felt like she’d shacked up with the Huntsman in some wild wilderness tale. He was so rugged and easily in charge, in a faraway land like this one. She found herself wondering briefly if she should have worn a red hooded cape. Then she realized with a jolt she was already bathed in that color from head to toe from blushing so hard.
    He smiled warmly, brown eyes twinkling.
    “After you,” he said, motioning for her to move ahead.
    “I uh…” Very…married, she told herself, counting to three. And an innkeeper merely looking after his guests, besides. His pretty wife was likely in their Moose Room, still getting ready. “I’m just going to check on the kids! We’ll see you downstairs.” Carol made a vow to investigate online dating the moment she and the kids got home. Things really had gotten out of hand if she couldn’t take a simple New England holiday without crushing on the first handsome face she came across. Maybe her coworkers were right and enough time had gone by for her to stick her big toe in the dating waters. She didn’t have to get into anything heavy. She might even find a friend to enjoy some casual outings with. But even that seemed scary when she couldn’t be certain what kind of friend that person might be. Maybe a lunatic or a psychopath, or some sort of sick predator after her children! Carol drew a breath, deciding Internet dating didn’t sound right for her. Maybe she should wait until the kids were grown and had gone off to college before she started thinking about herself.
    She was just outside Ashley’s room when another door opened down the hall, and Paul walked by. “Don’t you look lovely,” he said to the beautiful blonde who—wait a minute—was staying in another room? Carol hoped they hadn’t caught her glancing their way as they exchanged amiable chatter and headed down the stairs together. If the blonde was a guest rather than Paul’s wife, they still seemed awfully familiar with each other. Perhaps she was a regular here, and maybe Paul wasn’t married at all. But what did that matter to Carol? She had