Sweet Temptation

|3| 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒐𝒎

She pulled the stepladder over to the doorway and climbed up to pin a ribbon of mistletoe to the frame. Again, he let his gazze slim over her body, lingering on the pale seam of skin exposed to her midriff where her T-shirt rode up slightly.

"I'm thinking one sprig of mistletow is enough this year," she remarked. "Or Tyler will catch Kate in every doorway just so he can plant one of her."

She tossed Warren a smile and climbed off the ladder.

"She's the best thing that ever happened to him," he said.

"Like Jupiter to Josh. And Isabelle to Evan."

And you to me.

Julia was unquestionably the beat thing that happened to Warren the past thirteen years.

She studied the mistletoe hanging right over her head. "Is it centered?"

"Looks great." He was suddenly seized with the desire to close the distance and plant one on her. The mistletoe was a great excuse.

He smothered the urge, unsurprised by the strength of it. Knowing she's been hurt had all his jealous, protective instincts clawing to the surface. Where Julia was concerned those instincts were always there, but usually Warren kept them somewhat contained.

The mention of her ex-husband Sam had also pushed Warren's thoughtz in a direction he never let them go—to a Christmas Eve night when he'd had a sudden, shocking taste of Julia Bennett and sicovered that was wild honeysuckle and ripe cherries.

He clamped down on that memory, pushing it back into the box where it needed to stay. Seeking a distraction, he tiled his head toward the kitchen.

"Come on, let's make mulled wine."

"What for?"

"To see what it's like. I'll help you."

Julia gave him a wry smile. "You mean you'll make it while I watch."

"I'm good with you watching."

She raised an eyebrow but picked up her wineglass and followed him into the kitchen. Warren searched on his phone for an "authentic" recipe, then went to the wine cellar to retire a few good bottles of cabernet.

"Hot wine with spices sounds rather awful." Julia hitched herself onto a stool at the counter. "If you take it to Candy King, no one will drink it."

"I'm not doing this for Candy King," Warren said. "I'm doing it for you."

She blinked, her cheeks appealingly pink. Warren poured the wine into a clean pot, and added measured amounts of brandy, cinnamon, orange zest, honey, cloves, and ginger. He lowered the heat to a simmer and ladled some of the brew into her glass.

"Try it." He set the glass in front of Julia. "It needs to simmer for a while to reach its full flavor, but this is a start."

She took a sip and lifted her eyebrows. "Not bad. Wierd and a waste of excellent wine, but not bad."

"It's called glögg in Nordic nations and Glühwein in Germany."

"How do you know that?" Julia asked.