His eyes narrowed. “I’m having an argument over Christmas decorations. Caroline’s house in Dallas and the house in Colorado will probably be decorated from top to bottom. She doesn’t need more here.”
“You don’t think she’ll see you as Scrooge?”
“No, she won’t. I’ll have presents for her and she’s so excited over the baby, she won’t care what’s happening here. Caroline has reverted back to a very happy child, which is what she was before she lost her dad. These decorations won’t matter to her. When she’s older, she’ll accept me the way I am. Maybe view me as her eccentric uncle.”
“Very well,” Emma said quietly.
“I’m fine about Christmas and the holiday isn’t about decorations. Stop looking at me as if I’ve lost my fortune or some other disaster has befallen me.”
“I don’t think losing your fortune would be as disastrous as what you are losing. And I know Christmas isn’t about decorations. You childhood doesn’t have to carry over in the same way now.”
“Stop worrying about me being alone,” he said, smiling, his voice growing lighter as he stepped closer and placed his hands on her shoulders. His blue eyes were as riveting as ever. Her heart thudded and longing for his kisses taunted her.
He glanced around and walked to the big box of decorations to rummage in it.
“What are you doing?”
“What you wanted. I’ll observe one old Christmas custom. There are some decorations I want.”
Smiling, wondering what he searched for, she stepped closer.
“Here’s one,” he said, pulling out a decorative hanging cage filled with sprigs of artificial mistletoe. “I’ll put mistletoe up all over this part of the house. Let’s see if we can follow one Christmas tradition,” he added, his tone lowering another notch, strumming over her nerves. “You can help with this.”
“I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” she whispered.
“I think it’s fantastic.” He attached the ornament to the hook on the top of the door, then stood beneath it. “You want some Christmas traditions in my life. Well, here’s one,” he said, winding his arm around her waist to draw her closer as he leaned forward.
His mouth was warm, his lips firm on hers. She opened to him, melting against him while her unspoken protests crashed and burned.
Wrapping her arm around his narrow waist, she held him tightly. Her heart thudded and she could feel his heart pounding. Desire fanned heat as an inner storm built.
Her moan sounded distant. Longing strummed over every nerve. She had intended to avoid moments like this, stay coolly removed from anything personal with him. Instead, she was tumbling into fires that consumed her. Need became a throbbing ache, more demanding than before.
Their passionate kiss lengthened, became urgent. She wound her fingers in the tight curls at the back of his neck. Time vanished and the world around them disappeared. Zach’s kisses were all she wanted.
How could it seem so right to be in his arms? To kiss him? They were far too different in every way that counted for it to seem like the best place to be when he held her. His kisses had become essential to her, yet their lifestyles clashed. She held him tightly as if his kisses were as necessary to her as the air in the room.
One hand wound in her hair while he kissed her, his other hand caressing her nape.
Finally, she leaned away. “Zach, this isn’t what I planned.”
He raised his head, his blue eyes filled with hunger. He glanced overhead. “I’m surprised the mistletoe hasn’t burst into flames. Now I’m glad you got out the Christmas box. Let me see if there’s more mistletoe in there.” His husky voice conveyed lust as much as the flames in his crystal eyes. He turned to rummage in the box again. “Here are three more bunches. I have just the places. Come help me hang these.”
“I still don’t think I should. Zach, we’re sinking deeper into something we were going to avoid.”
“You started this. You can’t back out now. C’mon.” He left the family room and headed for the office, stopping in the doorway to hand her two of the bunches. “This is perfect,” he said, giving her a long look that shivered through her. “You wait while I get a hammer.”
He disappeared into the hall. Common sense urged restraint. Now she wished she had left Christmas decorations alone. In minutes he was back. She watched him reach up to push a tack into the wood to hold a sprig of mistletoe tied with a red ribbon. He tapped it lightly with the hammer. She passed him, crossing the office to her desk. She wanted space between them.
She could hear him hanging the mistletoe, but she didn’t want to watch. She straightened her desk and wondered if she could tell him to take the last sprig and go. She would put the box of decorations away when Zach wasn’t around. She had never thought about mistletoe, never expected to even see him tonight.
She thought about the sharp tone in his voice when he had first spotted the Christmas decorations. Was he all bottled up over old hurts? When it came to interacting with other people, from what she had seen, Zach was warm and friendly. Were old hurts still keeping part of him locked away from sharing life with those closest to him?
After he hung the mistletoe, he turned to her as he stood beneath it. “Emma, come here a minute.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, wanting to laugh, yet feeling her insides clinch over his invitation.
“Emma, come here,” he coaxed in a velvet tone.
“Zach,” she said, sauntering toward him while thinking about his past, “I’ll come there if you’ll go somewhere with me either this week or next.”
“Deal,” he said, clearly not giving that much thought.
With her pulse racing, she stopped inches away from him.
He took her wrist to draw her to him. “Now we’ll test this one,” he said, framing her face with his hands as he placed his mouth on hers to kiss her again.
He tasted of mint while his aftershave held that hint of woods. She slipped her arms around his waist and kissed him. His arm banded her, pulling her close against him while he leaned over her and his kiss deepened.
When they paused, she took deep breaths, trying to get back to normal.
“We have a deal,” she said. “Come home with me for the weekend and see what it’s like to be with a family who wants to be together.” She wanted him to see what a joy a loving family could be. Billionaire or not, she felt incredibly sorry for Zach, certain he was missing the best part of life and maybe with her family, he would see it. “When you see what you’re missing, you’ll want to start accepting your brothers’ invitations to join them.” Her last words tumbled out and she expected that curt tone and coolness he’d had earlier.
“You took advantage of me.”
“Oh, please,” she said in exasperation.
“Besides, I’m supposed to stay home to stay off my foot,” he said. “I shouldn’t be going anywhere for the weekend. That’s the whole point of being stuck on the ranch.” His voice held the husky rasp. His breathing was still ragged and his lips were red. His expression conveyed a blatant need that he made no effort to hide. Even though he argued, she suspected he was giving little thought to their deal.
“I’ll drive and you can put your foot up in the car. At my folks’ house, you can keep your foot elevated all the time you’re there. We’ll all wait on you. You’ll have a good time.”
“Emma, I don’t want to go to my brothers’ homes for holidays. Why would I go to your parents’ when I don’t know anyone except you?” he asked.
“Because you just agreed