When he was out of sight, she sighed and went back inside. At least he’d talked to her.
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Bella asked.
She smiled to reassure her. “Nothing. Want to get your presents wrapped so we can bake those cookies?”
Grace helped Bella wrap the gifts she’d bought for her to give her Dad and grandparents when she went for her Christmas visit. But if the weather continued like this, Bella might not be going anywhere. Maybe it made her a terrible person, but she hoped that would be the case.
They were decorating sugar cookies with red and green icing and sprinkles when she heard Sam’s truck pull into the parking lot. All the worry she’d felt over his safety eased away, but she was also just glad that he was close by again. The way her heart responded just at the sound of his footsteps outside told her everything she needed to know about the state of that unpredictable organ. Somehow, in the space of only a couple of weeks, she’d begun slipping into love with him. She needed to find a way to let him know. And then hope that he’d be willing to forgive her once again.
All these thoughts passed through her mind in only a few seconds, but it engrossed her to the point that she jumped like a startled rabbit when he knocked on her door. Bella ran over and answered it while she tried to gather her composure.
Sam smiled at Bella. “Hey there, little miss. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas!” Bella hugged his legs. “We’re making cookies. Do you want one?”
“Maybe later, thanks.” He looked up at Grace then, who was frozen behind the kitchen counter. “I just wanted to make sure you two are staying put. It’s really bad out there—accidents all over the place, trees coming down. And it’s just going to get worse because the rain isn’t going to stop for a few more hours.”
Grace shook her head. “We aren’t going anywhere.”
“Good.” Then, without another word, he left.
Grace called Bella over to finish the cookies, but in the back of her mind, she focused on figuring out how to get Sam to spend Christmas with them.
At five o’clock, she sent Bella across the landing with a note. Maybe she was a chicken, but she didn’t want to be rejected on Christmas. No one could reject a doll like Bella though. She watched from the safety of her apartment. It was dark earlier than usual because of the rain clouds covering the moon, but the security lights in the parking lot were covered in icicles and so was everything they illuminated.
Bella’s knock was soft, but it didn’t take Sam long to answer. He towered over Bella, but she was only paying attention to Fluffy anyway.
“Fluffy! Come have Christmas with us!”
Fluffy yipped and licked her face so Bella turned and came back, the little white fur-ball right behind her. She took the dog inside, leaving Grace to face Sam alone. He watched her with a serious expression, but she swore there was humor lurking in his eyes.
“So, you’ll invite my dog but not me?”
“Trust me. The abominable snow ball wasn’t the guest I had in mind.”
“Who do you want, Grace?”
“You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?”
Sam shook his head and opened his mouth to say something, something smart she was sure, when dark silence descended on them.
“Mommy?” called Bella in a panicked voice.
“Bella? It’s okay, baby. The power went out. Come to my voice.”
Fluffy barked, and Bella cried. Grace tried to picture her living room in her mind as she groped her way inside to find her. She brushed against the tree and stepped on a present, but finally managed to find Bella. She wrapped her in her arms and sat down on the carpet to hold her.
“It’s so dark,” Bella said in a quavering voice. “I’m scared.”
“Don’t worry, baby.”
Then a beam of light came through the door, and Grace looked up to see Sam holding an electric lantern. It lit up most of the living room. “I’ve been wondering if that was going to happen.”
Grace smiled and shook her head. “You’re always ready to help, aren’t you?”
He shrugged and sat next to them on the floor. “I’m ready to do more than that, Grace. I want to love you, if you’ll let me.”
With her heart fluttering like a partridge in a pear tree, Grace took a deep breath. “I’ll do more than that. I’ll love you back. I think I already do. I didn’t know how to make things better after last night, so I—”
Sam’s kiss cut her off. With his lips moving over hers, he took her face in his hands and tilted her head so he could deepen the kiss. Bella squirmed out from between them, giggling, and took the lantern from Sam’s hand. Taking advantage of Grace’s free arms, he pulled her close against him, wrapping his strong arms around her.
“That’s enough kissing, Mommy,” Bella said.
Grace did not agree, but Sam laughed and pulled back. He kissed her cheek, her ear, and her forehead, then sat back. “Well, I got what I wanted for Christmas.”
“Me too,” Grace said. “Even though I didn’t know that’s what I wanted until a few days ago. I was afraid I’d messed everything up.”
Sam smiled. “Nah. I was frustrated and hurt, but it didn’t stop me from wanting you. I figured that if I just stayed close, this ice storm and a little Christmas magic would somehow bring us together. And they did.”
“It’s not going to be much of a Christmas with no electricity.”
“I disagree. This will be the best Christmas ever.”
“I can’t even cook,” Grace said, laughing at his enthusiasm.
“We’ll live on milk and cookies. Santa does it every year. And we can sit here while Bella plays with Fluffy and make plans for Christmas next year.”
“Next year?”
Sam nodded and moved back to lean against the couch, pulling Grace along with him. “And the next one, and every one after that.”
“It sounds amazing,” Grace said, settling down against his chest. “But I don’t deserve it.”
“I disagree. But regardless, love isn’t about what you deserve. It’s about who you want to be with. And I choose you, Grace. I always have, even when you didn’t choose me.”
Grace’s heart nearly broke apart from the love and happiness that swelled up inside. She disagreed with him a little. If anyone deserved to be loved, it was Sam. And she was going to make sure that he knew it the rest of his life. “I’m choosing you now, Sam. I’m choosing you for forever.”
Also by Michelle Pennigton
If you loved “A Second-Chance for Christmas” be sure to check out:
Sawdust and Mistletoe
Book 1 in the Christmas in Willow Falls Series
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http://www.michelle-pennington.com
About the Author
Michelle Pennington writes clean, heart-pounding, sigh-inducing romance across multiple genres. Her books include Young Adult, Contemporary, Regency, and Fantasy. The genre might change, but her characters will always be falling in love.
She spends her days quoting movies with her husband and making messes faster than her four kids. She also has a cat her kids call Boots, but is really Hessian Boots, the perfect Regency gentleman, complete with a snowy white cravat. She loves to make magic by stringing words together, but she also creates designer sugar cookies, sings loud in church, and kills too many house plants.
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The Billionaire’s Perfect Match
Annie Houston
Chapter 1
The plane jolted as it hit an unseen air pocket. Aurelia stiffened in her seat, clenching the armrests as tight as she could. Her vivid imagination got away from her. Flames spewed out of the engines, the tilt of the plane took a sharp nose dive towards the ground and oxygen masks fell out of the ceiling. She could feel her muscles start to shake in anticipation and
fear as the terrible scene kept playing out in her mind’s eye over and over again.
She was pulled back to reality when her thoughts were interrupted by a hot towel offered to her with a pair of tongs. “Can I get you a drink?” The stewardess had been very attentive to her during the flight. Maybe a little too attentive.
“No, I’m okay, thank you. I just need to get my mind off of the flight.” She looked down at the laptop that sat open before her, needing to work on a match that had been particularly difficult.
After a few minutes of staring at the screen, she realized the flight attendant was still standing next to her. Sighing, she closed her laptop and looked up at her. “Yes?”
The tall blonde woman flushed and ducked in embarrassment before she spoke. “It’s just that… umm… are you the Matchmaker?”
Aurelia nodded and tried to contain the eyeroll that was almost automatic at this point.
“Oh wow. So you are the Aurelia James? I can’t believe I got to meet a celebrity. Sorry, I’m new at this job and everyone told me I would see some celebrities, but I never thought I would meet one on my first flight.” She rambled without taking a breath and followed up with a nervous giggle.
“It’s a pleasure.” Aurelia tried to sound sincere. The truth was she rarely had a moment’s peace since she made the cover of Success Magazine, unless she hid out in her apartment. She abhorred the attention and desperately wished she could turn back time and undo the decision to interview with the nation’s most popular news magazine. She didn’t know she would be on the cover with the phrase Best Matchmaker of All Time next to her photo. The whole ordeal was rather embarrassing.
“Would you mind? Can I take a picture with you?” The brazen stewardess pulled out her phone and flipped the camera on.
“Of course.” Aurelia didn’t want to sound unkind.
The woman put her face next to Aurelia, snapped a picture quickly, and then retreated to the front of the plane.
Aurelia took a deep breath to center herself again and closed her eyes. Justin Barrington was one of the most difficult cases she had taken on so far, and she had to find him a match to maintain her streak. She hadn’t failed to find a successful match for any of the high end, celebrity or privately wealthy clients who sought out her services.
He shouldn’t be that difficult to match. He was extremely wealthy and wildly attractive. Not only was he athletic, but he was in his mid thirties—a great age for matching. He had a good personality, but tended to be a bit reserved and was ridiculously picky. She had presented him with two possible matches, and he had turned them down before he even met them. She hadn’t ever been wrong with her matches. Had he met these girls, he would have clicked with either of them, but he had this idea of the perfect woman in his head. She just had to figure out what exactly that looked like in real life.
She scrolled through her database—calculating and reading as she went. Nobody else for Justin jumped out at her. After thirty minutes reading profiles that matched his, but just weren’t the right fit, she closed her laptop and pulled out a book to read.
She had only been reading a few minutes when she felt an eerie feeling on the back of her neck. That feeling like someone was staring at you. She glanced up and noticed the man across the aisle ogling her without reserve. She was sick of all the attention she had garnered from that stupid article.
She tried to read again, but she could feel his eyes boring into her like two lasers. Couldn’t she have a moment’s peace? And why didn’t they have privacy curtains in first class? “Can I help you?” She tried not to snap at him, but the words sounded sharp, even to her.
His eyes went wide. “Aurelia?”
A flash of irritation tore through her like electricity. “Yes, yes. I’m Aurelia James. What can I do for you?”
“Aurie, it’s been forever!”
The use of her oldest nickname made her pause. She squinted her eyes at the handsome man across the aisle and scrutinized him closely. He was good-looking—tousled blond hair and a chiseled chin. The feature that gave him away however, was his vivid green eyes. She knew him. “Lander?”
Lander Perry smiled at her with perfectly even, white teeth, and his green eyes crinkled at the corners. Time had been kind to her childhood friend. More than kind.
“Aurie James, I can’t believe we ended up on the same flight. I knew I recognized you when I sat down. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Sorry for staring at you so long.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I’m used to it by now,” she replied with a dismissive wave.
“How are you? What have you been up to?”
It had been a long time. The last time Aurelia had seen Lander, he still had braces, acne and hadn’t quite grown into his feet. Even in high school, though, she could tell he would be a catch. She just hadn’t realized quite how much of one.
“You know, this and that. Mostly just working on my business. It takes a lot out of me.” She knew she was being vague, but she hated talking about work.
“Oh really? What business? Do you own it?” He seemed genuinely curious, and that was when Aurelia realized something important. Lander didn’t know she was the Matchmaker. She wondered though, could he really not know? She had been all over the Internet, all over the news. She decided to play along. Maybe he was trying to be kind.
“I work with couples and try to help their relationships work.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.
“Oh, like a counselor?” He put his phone in the satchel on the floor.
“Kind of like a counselor, yeah. But I’m not a licensed counselor. I’m more of a consultant than anything.” She didn’t like to deceive anyone, but it would be so nice to have one person in the world who didn’t only see her money and position when they looked at her.
“That must be very fulfilling,” he replied.
She shrugged, nonchalantly. “What do you do?” Last she knew he was off to school to become a professional basketball player.
“I work in sports advertising. Didn’t quite make a professional basketball team, but I get to work with players every day. It’s a dream come true.” He looked wistful and genuinely happy.
“That’s fantastic, Lander. I’m so glad you found something you’re passionate about. So I’m guessing you’re headed home for Christmas?”
He chuckled. “Yes, I didn’t think I’d ever go back to Montana, but I guess I missed it a little bit.”
She knew the feeling. “I haven’t been back at all either. My parents always meet me somewhere for the holidays. They’ve been traveling a lot, apparently, and can’t seem to stay in one place.”
“That’s funny. My parents have been the same way. Traveling like crazy. I’m just glad they’re going to be in town for a while.”
“I kind of figured, seeing as how they are off traveling together with my parents.” She could tell after she said it that she had surprised him.
His eyes scrunched up and his mouth twisted into a smile. “Well, now that is something else. I guess I didn’t realize they were traveling together. How funny.”
She laughed. “So why are you headed out this early? You’ve got a good four weeks until Christmas time. Are you planning on staying?”
He nodded and Aurelia felt a fluttering feeling in her stomach. He would be in town for as long as she was. They would probably be seeing a lot of each other. Her mind wandered off, thinking of how she would like to be seeing more of this handsome stud in front of her. She tried to focus on what he was saying, pushing aside thoughts she really shouldn’t be having about her oldest friend.
“I need to take some time off work. What better time to do that than the holidays?”
She was surprised he could take that much time off. Of course she could do her work from anywhere in the world, and at this point her company pretty much ran itself. As the figurehead and the majority shareholder, she’d delegated all but the highest cases to her team. Still, she hated to be away, just in case she was needed.
He c
ontinued, oblivious to the internal dialogue playing out in her head. “I haven’t had a vacation in five years, so everyone was basically cheering me out the door. They’ve been riding me to take some time off, telling me I work too hard. I just enjoy what I do.”
“Sounds ideal.”
“It is.”
They both fell silent and Aurelia pulled out her book. She tried to focus on the words, but every few minutes she found herself glancing over at Lander. His perfectly tailored suit did little to hide the muscle definition in his arms and legs. At one point he glanced up just as she had. She felt her face heat up and was sure she looked like a ripe cherry. Aurelia buried her nose in her book, finally getting into the story line, and didn’t make the mistake of looking over at him again anytime soon.
Lander fidgeted with the zipper on his bag while the car flew silently down the windy back roads that led to his childhood home. He couldn’t believe his luck in seeing Aurelia on the plane. He had just been thinking about her before his trip—reminiscing about their friendship. Aurie had been his best friend growing up. Unfortunately, as with most childhood friendships, they’d lost contact over the years and grown apart.
He’d have to make a point of visiting her within the next week or so. Despite the thirty minute drive separating their parents’ houses, he was more than willing to make the effort to see her and catch up on old times.
The car arrived in front of the house that he’d called home for the majority of his life. It looked the same as it always had. He took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air and pulled his thick wool coat a little tighter around himself to stave off the brisk chill in the air.
“Thank you for the ride.” He took the small suitcase he had brought with him and grabbed his satchel. The driver nodded and got back in his car. The company had spared no expense on his vacation, paying for everything. His best friend, Craig, had made all the arrangements. It was unnecessary, but Craig really wanted him to go. That’s what best friends did. They watched out for each other, and Craig had sworn that Lander needed some time away to “clear his head.”
Love, Snow and Mistletoe: Four Sweet Christmas Romance Novellas Page 17