An Unexpected Christmas

by Shannon Richard

  He came up there to get away from everything and now he was starting to rethink that decision. The problem was, according to the current warning scrolling across the TV screen, a massive snowstorm was almost on top of him. It had been fifty-nine degrees the night before, had dropped below thirty by noon, and was now hovering somewhere in the low twenties. Whatever was rolling in promised to be intense. So unless he wanted to get stuck on the side of the road, his ass wasn’t going anywhere.

  Jace looked up from where he was making his afternoon snack—a big old bowl of Life cereal—when he heard tires crunching against the gravel drive.

  “Who in the world?” He asked no one as he crossed to the front door. But he knew who it was before he even got there, spotting the black Subaru Outback through one of the windows. A loud bark rent the air and, as Jace opened the door, a fifty-pound Dalmatian charged up the front steps and right to him.

  “Hey, Katie girl,” Jace said as he knelt down to give her head and neck a good scratch. She licked his face before she excitedly started to circle around him, letting out a few more barks before she tore off the porch and began sniffing around the house giving it her full canine inspection.

  It was then that Jace focused on the woman who was currently standing in front of the driver’s side of her car.

  Adele James was a force to be reckoned with on any given day, always entirely put together with whatever she was wearing. Jace had learned long ago that her clothing was her armor, and that particular day armor was very much the operative word.

  She was dressed in black from head to toe. Black scarf, black leather jacket, black jeans, black motorcycle boots with big silver buckles and zippers. Her hair was sleeked back into a ponytail, the purple streaks she’d had the last time he’d seen her were gone. She had rich, dark brown hair, and while half of it was still that color, the other half slowly transitioned to golden brown and then to honey blonde. He was long since used to her ever-changing hair colors and styles. It was the norm with her.

  The rest of her armor was her big silver earrings that looked like spikes, and the diamond stud of her nose ring that glinted in the remaining light. Everything from her ramrod posture, her arms crossed over her chest, and the frown twisting her bright red lips said don’t fuck with me.

  “What are you doing here?” She asked.

  “Well, hello to you too.” Jace leaned against the wooden post of the porch, folding his arms across his chest.

  Adele took a deep breath through her nose, nostrils flaring as her mouth got tighter. “Hello, Jace.”

  “No need to ask what you’re doing here.”

  The last time Jace had seen Adele had been during Thanksgiving when she brought her jackass boyfriend to meet her family. Well, he was guessing Troy was now her former jackass boyfriend.

  Only a person living under a rock for the last forty-eight hours would’ve missed the blowjob seen round the world. It had been reported in almost every single news cycle Jace had watched, not to mention it was absolutely everywhere on social media.

  “I told you that guy was a dick.”

  “Well, congratulations, Jace,” she threw her arms in the air. “You were right. You want that engraved on a plaque or something?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “You admitting I was right is reward enough.”

  “Speaking of dicks…” Her golden brown eyes narrowed on him. “You still haven’t said what you’re doing up here.”

  “I decided to spend the holidays by myself, or that was the plan until about three minutes ago.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. Katie and I will be gone first thing in the morning.”

  Jace’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead. “Del, you two aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.”

  “Says who?”

  “Mother Nature.”

  And as if on cue, snowflakes started to fall from the sky.

  Chapter Two

  Snowed In

  Mother Nature was a bitch.

  As Adele hadn’t listened to any radio stations during her drive—both to avoid hearing her name and any holiday cheer—she’d missed the updates on the snowstorm blowing in.

  Rookie mistake. She always checked the weather. She knew better, but clearly she wasn’t with it the last couple of days. She’d been so focused on getting away from everything that she’d gotten tunnel vision on her escape and hadn’t planned for anything else…like being snowed in with Jace.

  But, come on, how the hell was she supposed to know he was going to be there? She’d purposely not told her family about where she was going because she hadn’t wanted to be talked out of it. They would’ve all vetoed her plan to be alone for Christmas, and quite vocally at that.

  Well, there was no alone now. She was stuck there…with Jace.

  As hard as she’d tried over the years to not be affected by this man, she’d never been successful. It wasn’t an easy thing to be attracted to someone who never really looked at her, not as anything besides his best friend’s little sister anyway. And it was made all the worse by the fact that she’d gotten a front row seat to the parade of women going in and out of his life…and his bed.

  Jace Kilpatrick was a ladies’ man if ever there was one. He didn’t do commitment. In fact, in all the time she’d known him, none of his flings had ever gone beyond a month. The man was Exhibit A when it came to proof that Adele’s taste in men was terrible.

  But knowledge wasn’t always power, because in her case, it in no way changed how she felt about him. Over the last six years, he’d become a fixture in her family. He was usually always around. During those random times when he wasn’t there, it just didn’t feel right.

  Her only saving grace was that she hadn’t fallen in love with him. At least she had that going for her.

  It had been like a punch to the gut when he’d walked out onto that porch wearing faded blue jeans and a dark gray Henley that made his aquamarine eyes pop. He had a pretty decent amount of scruff on his face, like he hadn’t had a clean shave in a few days. And then there was his dark blond hair, at that perfect length that made her fingertips twitchy to sink into it.

  Yup, had she mentioned that he affected her? Not that he was aware of it or anything.

  Since the very start, she’d done everything in her power to hide it. She’d put up walls and treated him like she did her brothers. She knew that sometimes her guard had slipped and there were a few family members and friends who knew the truth, but she was almost positive that Jace was still in the dark. A place he needed to stay.

  But continuing to keep him oblivious was going to be that much harder now…with just the two of them…alone together…in a two-thousand square foot cabin that now felt like the size of a shoe box.

  Perfect, just perfect.

  After getting her car unloaded—which he’d annoyingly helped her with—Jace went and moved both of their cars beneath the overhang at the side of the house while Adele went to the kitchen to put her food away. She started prepping the chicken and vegetable stew for her dinner when Jace came in and retreated to the living room with Katie. It was times like this that had Adele wondering if her dog loved Jace more than her.

  Though, really, this was nothing new or different. From the time she was a puppy, Katie had always followed Jace around. Like owner, like dog. They were both hopeless suckers.

  The cabin had an open floor plan and the flat-screen TV was clearly visible from the spot where Adele was chopping vegetables, so she got to hear all about this massive storm that she’d naively not known about. Really, she was beyond lucky to have gotten to the cabin when she did.

  Jace had been accurate when he said she and Katie weren’t leaving anytime soon. The man standing in front of the map of the US was predicting a foot of snow by the following morning. Not only that, but it was likely going to be more than two feet by tomorrow night, and close to three by the time the storm passed.

  The news just kept getting better and better.

  It took about thi
rty minutes for Adele to get everything going in the pot for her stew. Once it came to a boil, she turned it on low, covered it with the lid, and grabbed the glass of Cabernet Sauvignon she poured to accompany her bath.

  She said nothing as she walked through the living room, ignoring man and beast. Katie was sprawled on her back between Jace’s legs getting a belly rub.

  Four-legged traitor.

  Adele headed for the room she’d claimed. As Jace was staying in the master at the back of the cabin, she picked the one that was the furthest away…which put her pretty much at the center. So really there was no escaping him. He would constantly be in her orbit no matter where she was.

  As soon as this damn storm passed, and she could get through the snow, she was going to have to get the hell out of there. But until that moment, she was just going to have to deal. And deal she would.

  Closing her bedroom door behind her with an audible snap, she headed for the ensuite bathroom. She set her glass of wine on the edge of the bathtub before turning on the water. Once the water got to the right temperature, she put the stopper in for it to fill and headed back to the bedroom.

  On an impulse, she’d bought a set of almond-scented bath products that morning—bubble bath included—and she was going to indulge to her heart’s content. Not only that, but she was going to blast more of her angry breakup music whilst she did it.

  After syncing her phone up to the Bluetooth speakers in the bathroom, she pulled up her Bad at Love playlist on Spotify and turned up the volume. The bass of the first song filled the room, surrounding her as it echoed off the tiles. As she waited for the water level in the tub to rise, she lit a few candles, poured in the bubble bath, and stripped down to nothing. Her feet were protected from the cold tiles by the piled bathmat, but the air around her was cold enough to cause goosebumps to break out all across her skin.

  Moving to the side of the tub, she tested the water, barely dipping her toe below the surface. Happy with the temp, the rest of her body followed as she slid into the steaming bath, the water almost immediately chasing the chill away. There was nothing quite like the feeling of sinking into a bubble bath and she hoped the water would be as effective at washing the last two days from her skin.

  Grabbing the wine glass next to her, she took a sip and let the deep flavor fill her mouth and linger on her tongue. She tried to let the last thirty plus hours go, and really, where was a better place than surrounded by hot, foamy water and with almond-scented air filling her lungs? She should be able to relax, it was the perfect place, perfect ambiance, perfect circumstances, perfect except…Jace.

  It wasn’t like this was the first time they’d been in this cabin together, but it was the first time they’d been completely and entirely alone together, alone for what was looking like days on end. There was always the buffer of other people around before, whether it was her family or if they were in public. But this was different. Very different.

  They were going to be stranded…together…nowhere to escape…nowhere to get away. It hadn’t even been an hour and she was already feeling the pressure. That’s why she couldn’t relax, even with all of the things she’d done to prep the bubble bath. There would be no relaxing, not until she was able to leave. And who knew when that would be.

  Not soon enough.

  She was snowed in, alone in a cabin, with Jace. No matter how many times she told herself this, she couldn’t believe her rotten luck.

  Hadn’t her heart already been trampled enough in the last couple of days? She was already vulnerable and raw. She didn’t need to deal with anything more, like the unrequited crush she’d had for six years. Six loooooong years.

  Adele’s brain took a stroll down memory lane, thinking about where she’d been in her life when she’d met him. She’d just finished up at Parsons, and during those four years in school, she hadn’t dated much. She’d been more focused on her studies than on guys. She hadn’t come across someone who’d been worth getting distracted for. So she’d put her head down, and worked hard. It paid off too.

  The summer after her senior year, Adele had a chance encounter with Jojo Cole at an industry party. The woman was an absolute legend in the costume design industry. She’d won four Emmys, two Oscars, and a Tony. She was also one of Adele’s idols. Something about their conversation must’ve stuck with Jojo, because four months later, at the ripe old age of twenty-two, Adele was interviewing for the position of assistant costume designer for the already much-buzzed-about Ponce.

  And then she’d gotten the job.

  Not only was being hired for the show the opportunity of a lifetime, but it put her in the same town as her eldest brother. Logan was just starting his third season with the Jacksonville Stampede.

  She’d always been incredibly close to her parents and her older brothers, and being so far away hadn’t been the easiest. And yes, it wasn’t lost on her that even though they were all incredibly tight-knit she was running away from them this Christmas. It was what it was. She did have self-preservation instincts, and sometimes it was necessary to avoid things that caused her pain. Case in point, never letting herself go over the edge with Jace.

  Adele had never been one for love at first sight, she didn’t believe in it. For her, love involved the heart, not the eyes. Don’t get her wrong, the man was attractive as sin, but his reputation had preceded him. Adele had heard all about Jace Kilpatrick from her brother. He’d been the new hotshot player on the team who always had a rink bunny on his arm or in his bed. But then, somewhere along the way in that first year, Logan and Jace had become friends. So when Adele was moving into her new beachside bungalow in St. Augustine, guess who showed up to help unpack the moving truck?

  Yup. Jace.

  Now Adele wasn’t tiny, at five-feet-ten she generally wasn’t the shortest person in the room. She typically had to hold off on heels when it came to dates, because heaven forbid she be taller than a man she went out with. So it wasn’t all that surprising that the first thing she noticed about Jace was that he was tall, a whopping six-feet-four inches tall. He also had thick, corded biceps, strong thighs, and the best freaking hands. All of those lovely attributes were on full display as he and Logan carried her floral sofa, antique dresser, upholstered headboard, dining room table and chairs, drafting board, sewing machine, rugs, books, and boxes upon boxes into the house.

  It had been beyond distracting.

  He also had a deep, rich laugh, one that perfectly matched the low timbre of his voice. It was really unfortunate for her that his laugh and his voice somehow managed to vibrate in her bones…something that hadn’t changed to this day. He also had the kind of panty-dropping smile that almost—almost—worked on her. It had taken sheer force of will to master that impulse…one that she’d never had before with any man. Then there were his aquamarine eyes—eyes that no matter how cliché it sounded—were beyond easy to get lost in.

  And, fine, it might not have been love at first sight, but it sure had been lust at first sight. It didn’t matter that Adele had vowed not to like Jace on principle. He’d somehow gotten under her skin. And it wasn’t just because he was attractive, he was charming and funny and kind. Hell, he’d volunteered to help Logan unload all of her stuff…in the August heat…in Florida.

  Before she even knew what had happened, she was spending many evenings with Logan and Jace. Cooking dinner, going to the movies, sitting rink side during home games and cheering them both on as loudly as possible. Then, six years ago, that first Christmas rolled around, and Jace had been invited to spend it with the entire James family.

  Her crush—oh-so-aptly named—on him hadn’t happened immediately. It was subtle, very subtle. She was in the middle of it before she even knew what had happened. Slowly getting deeper and deeper. And there’d been no preparing her for the crash when she did finally figure it out. That had been an incredibly hard blow.

  When it came to Jace’s reputation with the ladies, knowing wasn’t the same as seeing. As they say, seeing was
believing. In those first nine months that Adele had known Jace, she’d never seen his playboy skills in action. The opportunity hadn’t presented itself when she’d been around…or maybe he just hadn’t wanted any of those opportunities.

  It was a Tuesday night in May, and she’d gone out for dinner and drinks with Logan, Jace, and a few other guys from the team along with their girlfriends and wives. Most of them stayed at the bar until close to midnight, watching a playoff game. The Stampede hadn’t made it past the first round, losing to the New Jersey Devils.

  The bartender was a beautiful blonde woman, with big blue eyes. Jace shamelessly flirted with her all night. There were a number of stragglers who stayed until closing which was when Jace went home with the beautiful blonde. It had been like a punch to the gut, a feeling Adele would come to know very well over the years when it came to him. Too well.

  Adele had lost count of how many women there’d been; all she knew was that she’d vowed not to be another one of the many. Besides, she’d already taken a chance on a lying manwhore who’d broken her heart. She wouldn’t do it again.

  The thought of Troy at that moment had the corners of her eyes burning, and a familiar tightening constricting her throat. But she forced herself to push it aside and took another sip of her wine. She set the glass down on the edge of the tub before sinking down further into the water. Closing her stinging eyes, she breathed in slowly before letting it out, trying to think of what to do.

  She’d figure something out. She had too.

  Chapter Three

  Misery Loves Company

  It had been a solid hour since Adele disappeared, and for most of that hour, there’d been a steady beat of music coming from her bedroom. As Jace guessed she was taking a bath (a usual routine of hers after a long trip) he knew that music was making its way through two rooms and a closed door. She must’ve been listening to it at a pretty loud level (a usual routine of hers when she was upset).