A Winter Sabbatical (Books We Love holiday romance) Read Free Page B

not easy for you to hide your emotions, is it?”
    Marissa stared down at the ground, kicking
the dirt around with her shoe.
    “That’s good,” he added hastily. “I like
that!”
    “Really?” Marissa smiled, and this time the hesitancy had gone.
    “So tell me about the house,” she said.
“It’s not your ordinary run of the mill home. It’s huge. I mean, it’s more like
a mansion.”
    Travis looked at Marissa. How much should
he tell her? “It was the Eaglehawk
Hotel, and was built in 1906 after the original weatherboard one burned down,
presumably not long before that. Maldon was a rich gold-mining town back in the
1800’s, and the Eaglehawk was the first pub in the area.”
    He suddenly stopped talking. Marissa was
probably bored out of her brain by now.
    “Come on – tell me the rest!” she demanded.
    He shrugged his shoulders. Maybe not. “My
grandfather bought the building and renovated it to live in after the pub
closed down several years earlier. When he died a few years ago, I inherited
it.”
    He opened the door, motioning her inside.
“Jonah simply loves visitors.”
    Marissa looked quite puzzled. “You share
the house?”
    “Oh yes,” Travis laughed, “but this
housemate is very lazy, and won’t even help with the chores!”
    Walking through the laundry, Travis looked
about. “Jonah, where are you?” Stopping in his tracks, and looking toward the
far wall, he spoke again. “Oh, there you are. Come and meet Marissa.”
    He was laughing. Couldn’t help himself . It was so easy to tease Marissa, and she was such a
good sport about it. And it wasn’t as though she couldn’t use some fun and
laughter.
    Looking around for the mysterious
housemate, Marissa finally spotted him. “A cat? Jonah’s a cat!” She had her hands on her hips, but she was laughing. Lucky for
him!
    “He’s really beautiful, Travis. In case you
hadn’t noticed, I love cats!” Marissa squatted down and patted Jonah.
    Travis stood and watched as Marissa stroked
Jonah’s fluffy white fur. The affectionate feline rubbed himself against Marissa’s legs. Leave it to Jonah, he knew a cat person when he met
one.
    “Can I hold him? Will he mind?” Sucked in,
that’s what she was. Jonah and his big eyes. He could
turn his purring on and off as it pleased him. And it usually got him
everything he wanted. Lucky guy!
    “Mind? No way, he’ll lap it up; spoilt rotten, that’s what he is. You play
with Jonah while I get some plates for the pizza.” Travis sat the box on a
nearby counter. “Are you hungry? You seem more interested in my cat than the
pizza.”
    Marissa pulled a face as Travis walked
away. “Well, he’s beautiful. And I’ll bet you don’t spoil him.”
    “He gets enough attention,” Travis
answered. “What’s more, he demands it.”
    Travis reached out to pat Jonah, but got
more than he bargained for. His fingers touched Marissa’s. Skin met skin, and
they looked up in unison. She pulled her hand back and averted her eyes as
though she had no intention of acknowledging what happened.
    So he reached out and touched her again. She
felt it too, he was sure she did.
    What was it about this woman? Why did she
affect him like this?
    “I—” She began to speak, but he covered her
lips with his fingers and leaned in closer.
    He pulled himself up without a moment to
spare. This was wrong, totally wrong.
    She’d been hurt, and was still hurting. It
was obvious she was running from something or someone.
    Until she sorted it out, Travis needed to
keep his distance.

 
    Marissa barely touched her food, and she
reflected , that had been the pattern since that last
night with Jeremy.
    “...mainly stocks and
bonds – investments. Occasionally, very
occasionally, I dish out financial advice.” Her head snapped up – she’d been
off in a dream-world again.
    What was it going to take to get her life
back on track?
    “Marissa? Are you with me?” He reached
across the table, and covered her hand.
    It was