Look What Santa Brought Page 6
Exactly what a man found funny about seeing another man getting his balls crushed Lori would never understand. Perhaps they were simply glad it was Dean and not one of them.
With a grin, Will retrieved the cue ball and positioned it behind the invisible boundary on the table. With ease, he stretched his tall frame over the ocean of green felt, then slid his pool stick through his fingers. “Mitch, your sister’s been back, what—two hours? Already the men in Safford have to watch their gonads.”
Lori restrained the urge to chuck the eight ball at his crotch. Instead, despite the warning in her head, she went to Dean’s side.
Crouched down next to him, she inhaled the warm scent of Old Spice. A tremor visibly shook him. Her hand wavered awkwardly above his shoulder as she fought the need to touch him. “Anything I can do?”
He yanked his head up, tossing back locks of wavy, black hair from his face. Blue eyes watered with the effort it took for him to breathe. “Get away from me,” he growled.
She flinched.
Those were the exact words he had spoken to her the last time she’d seen him. Funny they would be the first ones she heard returning home.
She left everything familiar behind—but love found her anyway.
Home for Christmas
© 2007 Kate Davies
Sophia is determined to spend Christmas on her own terms this year. Her daughter will be spending the holidays with her boyfriend's family, and Sophia has no intention of staying home alone with her memories.
She knows Ethan would be more than happy to keep her company. But he's her business partner—and her late husband's best friend. It's past time to stop leaning on him and learn to stand on her own two feet. A cruise to the Caribbean might be just the ticket to discovering who she is now, and what she really wants.
Ethan is stunned to discover that Sophia has decided to go on a cruise for Christmas—alone. He'd thought something more was finally developing between the two of them. If she's ready to move on after the loss of her husband, he'll be damned if he lets her move on without him!
On the spur of the moment, Ethan books a stateroom, determined to prove to Sophia that what they have goes far beyond friendship. The romantic atmosphere of the cruise sparks a passion the two had only dreamed of before—but can their fledgling relationship survive beyond the vacation of a lifetime?
Enjoy the following excerpt for Home for Christmas.
Ethan hefted the evergreen wreath out of the back of the SUV, grimacing a little at the unexpected weight. The guy at the tree lot had tossed it in there like it was made of tissue paper. How in the heck was this monstrosity supposed to stay put? He’d lay even money that it would fall right off the door hanger from the sheer bulk of it.
Oh, well. It still looked nice, and Sophia would be able to figure out what to do with it. She was a genius at those things.
A smile softened the line of his mouth. He could just see her, soft wavy brown hair bundled up on the top of her head, little bits of it curling down around her face like she’d completely forgotten it was up there. Her hazel eyes would light up with surprise when she saw the wreath, and she’d say—
“What are you doing here?”
Ethan looked up. He wasn’t even to the porch yet, still wrestling the decoration up her walkway, but she’d already opened the door.
“Merry Christmas.” He heaved the wreath another foot or two. “Brought you an early present.”
“Uh, thank you.” Her eyes darted from side to side. “You really shouldn’t have.”
Concentrating on the wreath, Ethan almost missed the tone of her voice. She sounded—upset. Distracted. Not at all like the sweet, positive Sophia he knew.
“You okay?” Finally at the porch, he leaned the wreath against the railing and climbed the steps. He brushed a curl away from her face. “You don’t seem like yourself.”
“I, uh—”
A thud resounded from inside the door, and Sophia’s daughter poked her head out. “That’s the last of them—hey!” She rushed over to give him a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here!”
“Thanks,” he said. “What are you doing here? I thought you were on your way across state with lover boy.”
She smacked him on the shoulder, just as she did every time he called Robert that. “We’re heading out in a few minutes. In fact, I have to get going. Maybe you can talk some sense into Mom.”
“What?” His head swiveled from daughter to mother. “What are you talking about?”
Samantha glared at her mother. “You haven’t told him yet?”
“Samantha,” Sophia said, shooting her a look that was full of warning.
Sam let out a huge gust of a sigh, then gave her mom a hug. “Can’t say I didn’t try.”
“I love you. Be safe,” Sophia said.
“You too,” Samantha said, which made no sense. How much trouble could Sophia get into here at home?
Especially when he’d be keeping an eye on things, like always?
Sam gave him another hug, pausing long enough to whisper “call my cell” in his ear when Sophia wasn’t looking. Then she was off the porch and in her car before he could ask her why the hell she was acting like a double agent.
Shaking his head, he turned back to Sophia. “Tell me what?”
“Hmm?” She was fussing with the red velvet bow at the top of the wreath.
“Sophia.” He waited until she looked up. “Samantha asked if you’d told me yet. Told me what?”
“Oh, nothing.” She bit her lip. Then, squaring her shoulders, she said, “No, that’s not true. Samantha is mad at me for making some plans for the holidays.”
“She’s going to be gone, anyway. Why would she have any say in it?”
“Exactly what I said!” Sophia smiled at him. “I knew you’d understand.”
She’d been smiling at him for over a decade now, since he and Dan started their property management business together. It was only in the last six months or so that it had started knocking him on his ass.
Even now, his breath hitched when she turned the full wattage of her smile on him.
He cleared his throat. “So what kind of plans?”
“Oh, you know.” She waved one hand, as if that explained everything. “Just wanted to do something…different this year.”
Ethan nodded. Last Christmas had been hellish for all concerned.
“So I—”
A honking horn interrupted whatever she was going to say. A flash of—was it relief?—washed across Sophia’s face.
“There’s my ride!”
Ethan turned, confused, to see the airport courtesy van idling in the driveway behind his SUV. “Your ride?”
By the time he looked back, Sophia was already locking the front door, several suitcases piled around her feet. “With the new check-in procedures, I want to be sure to get there in plenty of time.”
“Check in? Get where? Where are you going?”
She hesitated. “On an adventure,” she said finally.
“And adven— Sophia, have you lost your mind?”
“Probably,” she said, a dimple appearing in her left cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.”
“Get back from where?” He couldn’t seem to do much more than repeat what she’d just said, but damned if she hadn’t completely pulled the rug out from under him. “What about Christmas?”
Her gaze softened and she placed one gloved hand on his cheek. “I’m sorry to do this in this way,” she said. “I know it’s not very fair of me.”
The driver beeped his horn again. Didn’t the jerk understand this was important?
Sophia was busy gathering her suitcases, though it was obvious she wouldn’t be able to carry all of them in one trip. With a mounting sense of dread, Ethan picked up the last two and followed her to the van.
The driver got out to stow the bags. Sophia started to climb into the van, but Ethan stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“Can
’t you at least tell me where you’re going?”
She shook her head, tears shining in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I can’t. This is something I have to do on my own.”
Ethan just stared at her. It was as if she’d turned into a stranger overnight. Who was this woman, and what had she done with his Sophia?
She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll explain everything when I get back.” Then she vanished into the van.
He watched in disbelief as the van pulled out of the driveway and trundled down the road. His Sophia. Who was he kidding? She was as much a mystery to him now as she’d ever been. Probably more.
Eyes narrowed, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed Samantha.
She answered in one ring.
“Okay, kiddo, I think it’s time someone told me what the hell is going on.”
Look What Santa Brought
Annmarie McKenna
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
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Look What Santa Brought
Copyright © 2007 by Annmarie McKenna
Cover by Anne Cain
ISBN: 1-59998-708-2
www.samhainpublishing.com
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: December 2007
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