Mistletoe and Mayhem by Kate Kingsbury

gray eyes were pure ice. “I had no idea you were so enamored of that pompous ass.”
    Cecily smiled. “Actually I find him rather charming. His manners are impeccable.” Her tone suggested that she found her husband’s manners, on the other hand, somewhat wanting. “Besides,” she added, as he made way for her to mount the stairs, “his wife is rather pretty. Since you will be forced to reciprocate and invite her to dance, no doubt you will enjoy the exchange.”
    Baxter’s snort assured her otherwise, and still smiling, she climbed the stairs.
     
    Gertie’s afternoon walk with Dan was not turning out as she’d envisioned. For one thing, he flatly refused to walk on the pier. “Why the hell would you want to walk out over the ocean in a wind that could cut you in half?” he complained, when she suggested it.
    “It will do you good.” She took his arm and began to pull him toward the jetty. “Blow the cobwebs out of your head.”
    “That wind would blow my ears off.” He shook her off. “Why don’t we go back to my cottage where it’s warm.”
    She felt her heart thump. So far she’d resisted his efforts to take her back to his home. She knew where that might very well lead. That’s how she’d ended up with the twins, thank you very much. Wild horses wouldn’t drag her into that situation again.
    Still, she couldn’t help remembering what she’d told Pansy just that morning.
If you want a man you have to grab every opportunity he gives you.
After all, she was big enough and old enough to take care of herself, wasn’t she? Besides, she trusted Dan. He wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want him to do.
    She ignored the little voice that warned her she might want more than was good for her. She was a big girl. She knew what she was doing. “All right,” she heard herself saying, before she had time to really think about it. “If that’s what you want, we’ll go to your cottage.”
    Dan looked at her as if she had invited him to fly to the moon. “Really? You sure?”
    No, she wasn’t sure. She studied his face. He was the best-looking man she’d ever set eyes on, and she’d spent many sleepless nights wondering what it was he saw in her. She loved him as she’d never loved anyone before, and all she wanted was to be his wife and make him happy for the rest of their lives.
    The trouble was, Dan didn’t seem to want to settle down. He was happy the way things were, he’d told her, though she knew by the way he kissed her good night that he wanted more than she could give him.
    “It’s not as if it’s your first time,” he’d told her once. That had made her angry. He just didn’t understand. She’d made that mistake once before, and she wasn’t about to make it again. This time she wanted a ring on her finger before she did anything like that again. And much as she adored him, nothing Dan could say or do would ever change her mind about that.
    Still, she’d told him she’d go to the cottage and she could hardly take it back now. “Of course I’m sure,” she said, and inwardly prayed that she wasn’t making a big mistake.
     
    In spite of her depleted appetite, Cecily managed to enjoy a light lunch of cheeses, fruit, and pickles, and even succeeded in reviving her husband’s good humor. In fact, he seemed so much more cheerful than previously, she felt compelled to question him about it.
    “I assume that whatever was worrying you earlier has been resolved?”
    To her dismay, he avoided her gaze as he reached for another slice of Gorgonzola cheese. “What gave you that assumption?”
    She hesitated, before replying, “You just seem a little more lighthearted. You’ve been walking around with a ferocious scowl for the last two days.”
    “Ah.” He broke off a piece of cheese and popped it in his mouth. “As a matter of fact, I would like to talk to you about that.”
    She felt an uneasy thump of her heart. “I hope it’s not bad news?”
    “That depends on how you look