The Valentine Grinch by Sheila Seabrook Read Free Book Online Page B

her
mid-section and spread.
    He chucked her under the chin. “Up here,
princess.”
    “Huh?” She raised her gaze past all that delicious
male anatomy until she finally looked into his eyes and blinked.
He’d been her best friend forever and right now, she felt small and
mean and sad. “Please, Dane, forgive me. I can’t stand it when
you’re mad at me.”
    He sighed, and turned his back on her and walked
away, leaving her alone and uncertain of whether she should leave
or stay. But a few moments later, he returned and shoved a cup of
steaming coffee into her hands. “You look like you need this.”
    She let her gaze drop from his familiar face to the
cup in her hands. And as the warmth seeped through her gloves and
infused her body, she thought of what her mom had said.
    Your dad just knows me. He gets me. He understands
what I want or need, sometimes even before I’ve figured it out
myself.
    Amanda speared Dane with a narrow eyed look. “How
did you know?”
    With one finger, he gently touched the spot between
her eyes. “Because you look grinchy and grumpy, and it’s not even
noon yet. Which means you missed your morning caffeine fix.”
    “Oh.” As she mulled over his words, he grabbed her
by the shoulders and tried to turn her toward the door. But there
was too much at stake to let him out of her sight, so she held her
ground.
    Obviously coming to the conclusion that she wasn’t
about to budge, he released her and headed down the hallway toward
the bathroom, whipping the towel off before he was even halfway
there. “If you go away now, I promise to be there in fifteen
minutes.”
    Amanda sucked in her breath at the sight of his bare
backside. Maybe she should get Dane naked in the backseat of a
car.
    She set the coffee cup on the divider near the front
door, slipped off her boots and followed him down the hallway to
the bathroom door. Leaning one shoulder against the door jamb, she
watched as he pulled on jeans over his boxer shorts.
    When he turned and noticed her in the doorway, he
frowned, his jeans unzipped, his chest still bare, looking like a
yummy half-dressed centerfold shot. “Are you still here?”
    Amanda let her gaze sweep over his hunky physique.
“It’s okay. I’ve seen you naked before.”
    “Not since we were six.”
    She grinned at the pained tone in his voice, and
dragged her attention from his abs and chest, back up to his face.
Best she leave before her hormones got out of hand. Besides, as
long as he remained shirtless, she wouldn’t be able to think
coherently and they had things to discuss. Like the note.
    She smoothed the paper out and held it up so he
could see. “You better show up, Dane, because if you don’t, I’ll
hunt you down so we can talk about this.”
    Pushing away from the door jamb, she retraced her
steps to the front porch, slipped on her boots and grabbed the
coffee cup just in case she needed an excuse to return.
    “There’s nothing to talk about,” he called out after
her, his voice tight, controlled. “I just thought your grinchness
would get a kick out of it.”
    Amanda headed back across the street to the garage,
where she waited for Dane, sipped at the coffee and let her
thoughts fill with images of him naked. And feelings. Feelings that
went back to their childhood. She’d always felt right when she was
with him, content, fulfilled.
    Special.
    Un-grinch-like.
    Did she dare take advantage of him? If it didn’t
work out, could they return to the way things were now?
    “What’s wrong, bumpkin?”
    She jumped. Coffee sloshed out of the cup and it ran
down the front of her jacket. She set down the cup and tried to
brush the liquid away. “Why do you do that?”
    Grandpa floated around the car and stopped in front
of the workbench to examine the wedding decorations. “Do what?”
    She huffed out a sigh. “Sneak up on me.”
    “I don’t sneak.”
    “You’re a ghost. It’s not like you come through the
door like a normal person.” Amanda