Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses: A feel good Christmas romance novel by Jenny Hale

to look at him, and he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at the floor, but clearly he was thinking about something, and the smile on his face told her that she’d done something right. His expression surprised her. She’d thought that he would be annoyed with her ridiculous piano playing after she’d said she could play, but instead, he seemed amused. His affectionate grin sent a wave of excitement through her.
    He shook his head, that grin still playing at his lips, and then looked up at her. “Richard says you never ate lunch. I was just checking that you were okay.”
    “Oh,” she said, only just realizing that she hadn’t stopped, and it was nearly dinnertime. Perhaps it was adrenaline from having such a large project in front of her over such a short span of time and the need to impress him, or maybe it was her creative juices flowing, but she hadn’t noticed the time.
    “I’m having something prepared for you. I have a chef who cooks for me every evening. I’ve taken the liberty of having him make you an early dinner. You can have it here at the house, or he can box it up for you. Whatever you prefer.”
    Abbey figured she’d better eat there since it would be terribly rude of her to bring her own dinner to her mother’s without having something for them. “Thank you,” she said, surprised again by his thoughtfulness. “I’ll have it here, if that’s okay.”
    “Certainly. Why don’t I have him serve you in the dining room?”
    “Will you be eating?” She couldn’t imagine the thought of sitting at the end of his long, empty dining room table all alone.
    He stared at her a moment, as if he were trying to decipher her motives. The idea of eating with Nick Sinclair was a little stressful—she hoped her manners were up to par—but eating alone was just as terrifying. She never ate by herself; even when she was at her apartment with Max, she always made sure they ate together. The thought occurred to her that Nick probably ate alone every night.
    Nick still hadn’t said anything, so she filled the silence with an explanation. “I don’t like to eat by myself,” she said.
    His eyes were unstill, that curiosity seeping out through his features. He smiled a little. She thought about the fact that she could be imposing on him. He’d only offered her food because she hadn’t eaten. He wasn’t necessarily offering his companionship for dinner. But she’d already asked him, so the damage was done. He was a big boy; he could get out of it if he wanted to.
    “I’ll have the chef serve us both in the dining room.” He walked through the door and turned around. “It’ll be ready in about twenty minutes. I’ll see you then.”

Chapter Five
    W hat in the world was she about to eat? Was it pasta? Vegetables? It smelled delicious. Abbey draped her napkin in her lap and eyed Nick for strategies on how to eat the dish in front of her. Her natural inclination was to spin it around her fork, but she was worried that she’d break some kind of dining etiquette that she wasn’t even aware of. Nick dipped his fork into the dish and began to turn it around in circles. Thank goodness!
    “I forgot to ask,” he said suddenly, abandoning his fork and setting his hand on the white tablecloth that hadn’t been there before the meal. “Are you allergic to anything?” He nodded toward the pasta-like dish. “It’s shrimp and zucchini noodles.”
    “No, I’m not allergic to anything.”
    He looked visibly relieved. “I’m not used to thinking about someone else. I just told the chef to make two, not even considering your preferences. I apologize. Do you even like shrimp and zucchini?”
    “Yes,” she said, although she’d never had a dish quite like this one before.“You just looked a little unsure.”
    She smiled despite herself. “I didn’t know how I was supposed to eat it,” she said honestly.
    His brows pulled together in that handsome way of his, his lips turned down in confusion.