Under the Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis Read Free Book Online Page B

He put the mistletoe in his pocket and pulled her in closer. “And here’s three more…I love you.”
    “I’ve waited a long time to hear you say that.” She stared up at him. “I love you, too, Nick. So much. But—”
    “No. No buts,” he said, dropping his forehead to hers. “Not tonight.”
    She relaxed slightly in his arms, and as the beat of the music flowed over them, he wished the song wouldn’t end. As if she felt the same, her hands tightened around his neck. Again she pressed her face into the curve of his throat, but this time his heart dropped in his chest when he felt the wetness of her tears against his skin.
    “Mia,” he said, devastated. “Don’t cry. I’m sorry.” He wasn’t exactly sure what he was sorry for, but he’d be sorry for breathing if that was the problem.
    “No, they’re happy tears,” she said, and sniffed. “It’s Christmas Eve, it’s Chloe’s wedding, and it’s all been wonderful.” She lifted her head and met his gaze, her own drenched. “And you’re still here.”
    “I’m not going anywhere.”
    *  *  *
    Her mom and aunts cut in then, and the women all danced together for a while, laughing and sharing a few happy tears. Afterward, Mia went looking for Nick, and had a moment’s panic when she couldn’t find him. She didn’t think he and Carlos would fight again. Earlier she’d actually seen them hauling in cases of beer and wine together. They’d even been laughing at Jax’s brown Lab, Izzy, who was napping in the center of the aisle all sprawled out, forcing everyone to literally take a flying leap to get past her.
    Watching Nick interact here with her family, with the people who mattered so deeply to her, had been a jump start to her aching heart.
    “I know that smile,” Chloe said, coming up beside Mia, slinging an arm around her shoulder and nearly drowning Mia in white silk. “It’s the smile of a woman in love.”
    “How do you tell the difference between lust and love?” Mia asked.
    “If you can wear your laundry panties on a date with him, you know it’s true love.”
    Mia put her hands to her butt and tried to remember what panties she was wearing.
    Chloe laughed softly and hugged her. “Baby, you’re so lovable you don’t have to worry about it. Your heart will talk to you.”
    Her heart was talking to her plenty. “How do I know it’s not just heartburn?” she asked. “Is there a magic handshake?”
    Chloe smiled. “Yes. You don’t marry the first guy you can see yourself living with.”
    “I don’t?”
    “No. You marry the first guy you can’t live without.”
    Mia smiled. “Says the woman who strung along the town sheriff for five years before caving and marrying him.”
    “Hey, some things take time,” Chloe said unapologetically. “The best things take time.”
    And one thing Mia did have was time. “Have you seen Nick?”
    Her aunt turned and pointed across the dance floor to the bar—where she could see her dad and her uncles talking to a tall, handsome Nick.
    He looked relaxed enough, even perfectly at ease. “He’s handling it,” she said, relieved.
    “Handling what?” Chloe asked. “Looking fine? You got that right.”
    Mia smiled. He did look especially fine. If fine was hot as hell. “He doesn’t have family, you know. He doesn’t come from roots and ties. He never had anyone teach him loyalty and unconditional love.”
    “Some things you don’t have to be taught,” Chloe said.
    “He was uncertain about my big family, and how he might feel out of place, but he came anyway.”
    Chloe squeezed her gently. “We’re a bunch of misfits ourselves, aren’t we? All of us. But we fit together. Including Nick.”
    Mia’s throat tightened, and she turned into Chloe. They hugged for a long moment, then Mia pulled back. “I have to go.”
    “You’re going to go eavesdrop on them,” Chloe said.
    “Hell, yeah.”
    Chloe grinned. “Me too.”
    They skirted around the dance floor and made their