Under the Mistletoe with John Doe by JUDY DUARTE Page B

touched him in the same reckless way that it had her.
    But someone had to be strong, had to consider the repercussions. And as she gave a gentle push against him, as she pulled her mouth from his, she grieved for what she was denying them.
    He sucked in a breath and raked a hand through his hair, as though taken aback by the heat of what they’d just shared.
    â€œI’m sorry,” she said.
    â€œDon’t be.”
    It had only been a kiss, a small voice inside her argued. But it had been so much more than a kiss. It had been a sexual prelude to something she could only imagine.
    â€œI shouldn’t have let that happen,” she said. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”
    â€œThe wrong idea about what? The fact that we’re attracted to each other? That kissing you again could lead to a whole lot more?”
    All she had left was her honesty. “It was good to say the least. But a physical relationship isn’t a good idea for either one of us at this point in time.”
    She’d already made one mistake in her life: she’d fallen for a man who wasn’t the person she’d thought he was. And she was on the verge of repeating the same mistake.
    If she hadn’t already.

Chapter Six
    B etsy was in trouble.
    Big trouble.
    With her mind spinning, her senses reeling and her knees struggling to keep her body upright, she left John on the porch of Doc’s house and returned home, determined to put the kiss they’d shared behind her. But she couldn’t seem to get it out of her mind.
    Had another man’s kiss ever rocked her to the core like John’s had? If so, she couldn’t remember who the accomplished kisser could have been.
    Certainly not Doug.
    Once she let herself into the privacy of her cozy living room, she tried all of her old tricks for relaxing—a warm bubble bath and a cup of chamomile tea—but she didn’t sleep a wink that night.
    She finally picked up a book she’d been meaning to read, something she’d borrowed from Doc a few weeksago and had set on her nightstand. But the opening pages of the mystery couldn’t compete with the memory that still simmered in her mind, and she couldn’t seem to lose herself in a fictional story. Not when she was so caught up in the reality of what had just happened.
    By the time dawn broke over the ranch, she finally dozed off for a couple of hours. But she was up again by nine and decided to take a shower and start her day.
    As she looked into the bathroom mirror, she saw those dark crescents under her eyes that Doc always managed to spot. She’d have to use makeup today or risk having him say something again.
    All she needed was for Doc—or worse, John —to realize that she’d hardly slept a wink last night and to assume the kiss had anything to do with it. Trouble was, it had knocked her world off its axis. And she didn’t want anyone to suspect that she was the least bit unbalanced by it.
    So she showered and shampooed her hair. After drying off, she dressed quickly, choosing a pair of comfortable blue jeans and a green sweater. Next she applied a light coat of foundation, taking care to conceal the circles under her eyes, and topped it off with a bit of lipstick and mascara. Then she blow-dried her hair.
    She didn’t take time to do anything to it, other than pull it back in a rubber band. She had to get out of here. There was no way she could hang out at the ranch today and risk running into John.
    What would she say to him? How would she act?
    Sure, she’d told him last night that a relationship between them wasn’t going anywhere. And it wasn’t. She couldn’t allow anything like that to happen until sheknew more about him, about the values and personal ethics that drove him.
    And whether he had a family waiting for him somewhere.
    So, eager to disappear for the day, she called her parents and asked if they wanted to get a bite