Holiday Sparks Read Online Free
Author: Shannon Stacey
the owner’s manual.”
“Technologically outsmarted by the next generation. How old is she?”
He threw a sour look in her direction. “Six.”
“Smart girl.” She did her best not to laugh at him. “Do you want me to fix it for you?”
“No, but thanks. As annoying as it, Bethany loves it. She laughs and claps every time she hears my phone ring. I’ll make her change it after Christmas and then I’ll for damn sure keep my phone out of her reach before Valentine’s Day.”
“That’s very sweet.” So sweet, in fact, she thought maybe her heart fluttered a little, and that wouldn’t do. There were parts of her body she could handle reacting to Scott Quinn. Her heart wasn’t one of them.
“Sweet. Great.” He rolled his eyes at the unmanly adjective. “Just a head’s up, I’ll be cutting the power in a few minutes and it’ll be an hour and a half or maybe two hours before it’s back on. Are you sure you don’t want to leave?”
Since sitting at the diner with her laptop didn’t appeal to her and the library closed early on Mondays, she really didn’t have anywhere else to go. “I’m all set. Battery’s charged. I’ve got a water bottle for when my coffee’s gone and Kojak to keep my feet warm.”
An hour later, she was starting to regret being stubborn. Her feet might be warm, but her hands weren’t. With the well pump off, she could only flush the toilet once, so she was trying desperately not to think about how much water she’d drunk. And every time she thought about being chilly, her thoughts naturally turned to all the ways Scott could warm her up.
Just about the time she’d made up her mind to throw the laptop in her car and head to the diner, her cellphone rang. And, big surprise, it was her mother.
“I hear Scott Quinn’s truck has been spending a lot of time in our driveway,” Anna said when the hellos had been dispensed with.
“Yeah, he’s…” Crap. She wanted the rewiring to be a surprise, not only because it was a Christmas gift, but because there was a good chance her father would jump overboard and swim back to Maine if he thought his do-it-yourself manhood was being questioned. “He’s visiting me, Mom.”
“Oh?” That same oh that had elicited many a confession in Chloe’s youth.
But not today. “Yes, oh. We’re spending a little time with each other. You know, seeing each other…a bit. That’s all.”
“That’s wonderful!” Her mother’s excited undertone triggered the guilt, but it was too late now.
It wasn’t until they’d chatted a few minutes and said their goodbyes, including Chloe promising to give Scott her best, that she realized he was leaning against the doorjam, watching her.
He gave her a slow but somehow very naughty smile. “Only very bad girls lie to their mothers.”
She was in so much trouble.
* * *
Even though he knew she’d only lied to protect her Christmas surprise, hearing Chloe tell her mother they were seeing each other wiped out a frustrating day of changing out a service by himself and put him in the mood for seeing a little more of her.
“Yup, that’s me,” Chloe said, her cheeks burning pink. “Bad girl to the bone.”
He laughed, but cut it short when she wouldn’t meet his gaze. Interesting. “Power’s back on. And the heat.”
“Thank goodness. I was going to head to the diner before the hypothermia set in, but then my mom called.”
“You know what would warm you up?” Besides sex. Sex so hot, sweaty and sticky we’d both be warm for days. “Beef stew.”
“You said you aim to please, but you didn’t tell me you cooked too.”
She didn’t want any part of him cooking, that’s for sure. His own mother had given up on him in the kitchen department. “I don’t, but Monday nights are beef stew night down at the diner.”
Reaching down to scratch the top of Kojak’s head, she finally looked at him. “You mean, like a date?”
Maybe? “Usually I try to show a girl a better time than
“Technologically outsmarted by the next generation. How old is she?”
He threw a sour look in her direction. “Six.”
“Smart girl.” She did her best not to laugh at him. “Do you want me to fix it for you?”
“No, but thanks. As annoying as it, Bethany loves it. She laughs and claps every time she hears my phone ring. I’ll make her change it after Christmas and then I’ll for damn sure keep my phone out of her reach before Valentine’s Day.”
“That’s very sweet.” So sweet, in fact, she thought maybe her heart fluttered a little, and that wouldn’t do. There were parts of her body she could handle reacting to Scott Quinn. Her heart wasn’t one of them.
“Sweet. Great.” He rolled his eyes at the unmanly adjective. “Just a head’s up, I’ll be cutting the power in a few minutes and it’ll be an hour and a half or maybe two hours before it’s back on. Are you sure you don’t want to leave?”
Since sitting at the diner with her laptop didn’t appeal to her and the library closed early on Mondays, she really didn’t have anywhere else to go. “I’m all set. Battery’s charged. I’ve got a water bottle for when my coffee’s gone and Kojak to keep my feet warm.”
An hour later, she was starting to regret being stubborn. Her feet might be warm, but her hands weren’t. With the well pump off, she could only flush the toilet once, so she was trying desperately not to think about how much water she’d drunk. And every time she thought about being chilly, her thoughts naturally turned to all the ways Scott could warm her up.
Just about the time she’d made up her mind to throw the laptop in her car and head to the diner, her cellphone rang. And, big surprise, it was her mother.
“I hear Scott Quinn’s truck has been spending a lot of time in our driveway,” Anna said when the hellos had been dispensed with.
“Yeah, he’s…” Crap. She wanted the rewiring to be a surprise, not only because it was a Christmas gift, but because there was a good chance her father would jump overboard and swim back to Maine if he thought his do-it-yourself manhood was being questioned. “He’s visiting me, Mom.”
“Oh?” That same oh that had elicited many a confession in Chloe’s youth.
But not today. “Yes, oh. We’re spending a little time with each other. You know, seeing each other…a bit. That’s all.”
“That’s wonderful!” Her mother’s excited undertone triggered the guilt, but it was too late now.
It wasn’t until they’d chatted a few minutes and said their goodbyes, including Chloe promising to give Scott her best, that she realized he was leaning against the doorjam, watching her.
He gave her a slow but somehow very naughty smile. “Only very bad girls lie to their mothers.”
She was in so much trouble.
* * *
Even though he knew she’d only lied to protect her Christmas surprise, hearing Chloe tell her mother they were seeing each other wiped out a frustrating day of changing out a service by himself and put him in the mood for seeing a little more of her.
“Yup, that’s me,” Chloe said, her cheeks burning pink. “Bad girl to the bone.”
He laughed, but cut it short when she wouldn’t meet his gaze. Interesting. “Power’s back on. And the heat.”
“Thank goodness. I was going to head to the diner before the hypothermia set in, but then my mom called.”
“You know what would warm you up?” Besides sex. Sex so hot, sweaty and sticky we’d both be warm for days. “Beef stew.”
“You said you aim to please, but you didn’t tell me you cooked too.”
She didn’t want any part of him cooking, that’s for sure. His own mother had given up on him in the kitchen department. “I don’t, but Monday nights are beef stew night down at the diner.”
Reaching down to scratch the top of Kojak’s head, she finally looked at him. “You mean, like a date?”
Maybe? “Usually I try to show a girl a better time than