All I Want for Christmas Is You by Lisa Mondello Read Free Book Online Page A

topped off her mug with milk before joining Kyle on the sofa.
     
    This is so ridiculous. She was a grown woman acting like a school girl with her first crush. All she needed was pompoms and a pony tail to complete the picture.
     
    "Your family seems so nice," she commented. Anything to keep him from staring at her like he was about to swallow her whole. She wasn't sure if the thought frightened or excited her.
     
    He smiled in response and his eyes lit up with such affection it made her heart ache.
     
    "I noticed the pictures on the television." Kyle pointed to the picture frame.
     
    "Krissy loves the jungle gym. She was just four years old then." Lauren clenched the hot mug in her hand and felt her sweaty palms burn against the ceramic.
     
    "The couple with you, are they your parents?" he asked as he got up and retrieved the frame.
     
    "Yes."
     
    He sat down on the sofa next to her and smiled warmly as he stared at the faces behind the glass. "They must spoil Kristen rotten. Most grandparents do."
     
    She dropped her mug on the table with more force than was necessary and regretted her gut reaction immediately. "She doesn't know them."
     
    His expression fell and his eyebrows furrowed. "You don't see them?"
     
    "No." She wasn't about to tell him it wasn't by her choice, but theirs. She couldn't stand the thought of his pity, nor did she welcome it.
     
    "For God's sakes, why not?" He genuinely looked aghast. His clear blue eyes were darker in color, and his mouth agape.
     
    "Not everyone has a close-knit family," she said softly, taking the frame from his hand and returning it to its rightful place.
     
    She could feel his eyes probed her, seeking the answer to his questions. It made her insides churn.
     
    "What could they have possibly done to make you leave?"
     
    She straightened her spine and swung around to face him. "It was a mutual thing, Kyle. I'd prefer not to dredge up the past. Can we talk about something else, please?"
     
    He drew in a deep breath and for the first time Lauren saw the muscles of his chest expand against the hunter green cotton shirt he wore. He was strong in form where she had always considered herself strong in will. Why did the man make her insides crazy? She had an unfamiliar feeling of longing to touch him coupled with the terror of wanting to fly like a bat out of hell.
     
    He smiled wickedly. "Okay, dinner on Sunday."
     
    "What about it?" she asked as if she didn't already know what he was getting at.
     
    "I've already spilled the beans and told my parents you were coming. To be perfectly honest, your presence there could help me redeem myself after the Thanksgiving fiasco."
     
    She laughed, remembering Judy's mention of a perfectly basted turkey and decided to tease him. "Kyle, don't tell me you ate all the turkey. You're a grown man-"
     
    "I wasn't the one who ate all the turkey. Anyway, you're never grown as far as your parents are concerned. Mine still think of me as the twelve year old dirty-faced kid that got deposited on their doorstep." His smile was wide and did wonders to help dissipate the tension caused by the mention of her parents.
     
    Her mouth dropped open. "You were twelve?"
     
    "Yeah. Here my folks were praying for a baby. You can imagine their surprise when all they got was a juvenile delinquent." He rubbed his face with his hand and shook his head as if in remembrance.
     
    "I'm sure you weren't that bad or you wouldn't have ended up as successful as you are now," she suggested.
     
    "Oh, success was a long time coming. The road getting to today has been pretty rocky." He dropped his gaze from her and circled the rim of his mug with the edge of his thumb.
     
    "Tell me about it," she urged, suddenly intrigued.
     
    He gave a quick smile. "Maybe someday."
     
    "How am I going to help you redeem yourself if I don't know your story?"
     
    "Does that mean you're coming?"
     
    She'd backed herself into a corner with that one. "You know, I hadn't planned on