by Kat Mizera
“That’s a nice idea for a gift.”
“Speaking of nice gifts—what’s this about you paying for my parents’ and Gran’s plane tickets?”
“It’s the one thing you needed.” Her eyes burned into mine. “And watching you and your parents hug like that made it worth every penny.”
“I should give you back some of that money.”
“Don’t be silly. This right here—” She looked around at our two families in the big, horse-drawn sleigh. “—is literally everything I could want for Christmas. The cost of three plane tickets was cheap for what I’m getting.”
“How did I ever get so lucky to find you, lass?” I whispered against her lips.
“Same way I did.” She smiled. “Kiss me, Mr. Killorn.”
“Any time, Ms. Sager.” I touched my lips to hers just as fireworks went off somewhere in the distance. She was right. This was truly everything we could ever ask for.
Thank you for reading Stuart and Lindsay’s story. Want more from the guy in Nobody’s Fool? Check out an excerpt from the next book in the series on the next page.
Excerpt from “Rewind”
This is an unedited excerpt from the next book in the Rock Hard series, Rewind. Some details may be subject to change…
Chapter One
Bash
There was nothing worse than a toothache on tour. You didn’t have a familiar dentist, or time to go to one, but you could only go so long relying on Tylenol and Anbesol. We were in New York, playing a gig in Albany tonight, and it was colder than a witch’s tit, but I’d made the appointment online for first thing in the morning because I couldn’t take the pain anymore. I’d let it go far too long but it was hard to go to doctors when you were a touring musician.
It wasn’t about money—I had plenty—but time and familiarity made a difference because I hated the freakin’ dentist. When I was home in Las Vegas, I forced myself to go every six months like you were supposed to, but we’d been on tour since June and it was January now. I hadn’t been to a dentist since last February and there had been a tooth they wanted to watch; apparently, it needed more than watching now.
I got out of the Uber, gave the driver a cash tip, and walked into the building with my leather jacket zipped up tight and a baseball hat on my head. I was cold, hungry, and in a significant amount of pain, so I wasn’t paying attention to anything except the elevator and hopefully the relief awaiting me on the third floor.
“Wait! Please hold the elevator!” The panicked woman’s voice penetrated my haze of misery and I instinctively reached out to put my hand on the door of the elevator to stop it from closing. I looked up just in time to see a cascade of red-kissed hair blanketing a woman’s face as the tip of one of her stiletto heels caught in the carpet and a tray of four coffee drinks flew through the air.
I reached out a hand to try and catch her but wasn’t fast enough and both the young woman and an explosion of coffee landed all over me, sending us backward onto the elevator floor just as the doors closed behind her.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”
I couldn’t see her face with all that hair draped all over us, but she wiggled free and attempted to stand up as I looked down at my coffee- and whipped cream-drenched jacket and jeans.
“Yeah, I think so. Other than the fact that I now get to sit in the dentist’s chair soaking wet and smelling like a vanilla venti organic something-or-other macchiato.”
A pair of the greenest eyes I’d ever seen peered up at me through miles of dark red hair, but despite my teasing tone, they were filled with regret.
“I’m really sorry. I can pay for your dry cleaning.”
“It’s all right.” I got to my feet and held out a hand to help her up.
“Thanks.” She stood up and attempted to slide her shoe back on, cursing a blue streak under her breath. “Son of a no-good fucking whore. The heel is broken. Motherfucker! What in hell am I supposed to do now?”
“Go home and get new shoes?”
She grimaced, squatting down to pick up the four now empty coffee cups. “We have a huge client coming in exactly sixteen minutes and I live forty minutes away.” She sighed. “Damn. I could get fired over this.”
“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
She gave me the saddest, sweetest, prettiest smile as she shook her head. “I should be the one asking you what I can do because now you’re as much of a mess as I am.”
“Accidents happen.” I smiled and then winced as pain shot through my mouth.
“You okay?”
“Toothache,” I muttered. “I’m on my way to the dentist.”
“Dr. Morgan?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I’m only in town until tomorrow so I just had to randomly pick someone with good ratings online.”
“In town on business or pleasure?” she asked.
“Business.” Although in my line of work, there was a lot of pleasure too.
“Well, Dr. Morgan has been my dentist since I was a teenager and he’s amazing. He’ll take good care of you.”
“I hope so because this tooth hurts like a sonofabitch.”
We were just standing there looking at each other when I realized the elevator hadn’t gone anywhere.
“Did either of us hit a button?” I asked, looking over at the panel.
She bit her lip for a second and then we both burst out laughing.
“By the way, I’m Declan,” I said, holding out a wet, sticky hand.
“Brynne.” She shook it anyway.
Our eyes met again and I was momentarily overwhelmed by how striking she was. She wasn’t classically beautiful, but breathtakingly, gorgeously exotic. Her nose was a little long, her makeup didn’t quite hide her freckles, and her hair was a wild frizzy halo around her head, but her eyes were breathtaking and the tight knee-length skirt and silky blouse she wore showed off a smokin’ hot body. For the first time in a week, I forgot all about my toothache and everything else.
I’ll go up to Dr. Morgan’s with you,” she said after a minute. “My friend Chloe is the receptionist there and I might be able to squeeze into a pair of her flats. She usually keeps a pair under her desk.”
“Okay, great. And maybe they’ll let me clean up a little in the bathroom.”
She glanced down at my soaking wet crotch and bit her lip again, which was truly adorable. “I’m, uh, not sure there’s much you can do about that.”
“I know.” I looked down too and made a face. “You’ve got good aim.”
She laughed. A rich, delightful sound that belied how apologetic she’d been a minute ago. “I’m really sorry. And I’ll absolutely pay your dry-cleaning bill if you send it to me when you get home.”
“Not necessary. I’ll do laundry at the hotel tonight. I think they have an overnight service.”
“Here we are.” I followed her into a generic dentist’s office and a pretty brunette looked up at her in amusement.
“Why are you barefoot, B?” she asked her. “Don’t you have that big client coming in today?”
“Yeah, well, you know my luck. I fell, broke my heel, and proceeded to drench your nine thirty with four vanilla venti organic something-or-other macchiatos.” She turned and winked at me as I chuckled.
“Oh, geez. Are you Mr. James?” The receptionist got up.
I nodded. “Guilty.”
“Hang on. Let me get you a T-shirt. We do giveaways and I think there are a few big ones that would hang over your jeans and cover your, uh, wet spot.” She tried not to giggle but I made a motion with my hand.
“Go ahead,” I said. “I know I look ridiculous, but you can laugh all you want as long as you get this damn tooth to stop hurting.”
“Dr. Morgan will take care of you. Be right back.” She disappeared in the back and I watched as Brynne went behind the desk and dug around.
“I’m in luck!” she said, standing up and holding out a pair of flat back shoes. They were pretty basic and bor
ing compared to the high heels she’d been wearing, but definitely more professional than going barefoot.
“What kind of work do you do?” I asked her curiously.
“I’m part of a graphic design team at the advertising agency on the top floor.”
“Good luck with your big client.”
“Thanks.” She put the shoes on and looked up as Chloe came back in. “I took your flats,” she told her. “I’ll bring them back to you tomorrow, okay?”
Chloe nodded at her as she handed me a purple T-shirt that said “Morgan’s Molars are Molecular” and I barely glanced at it as she directed me to the restroom. “You can change and clean up in there. If you give me your insurance card, I’ll check you in while you do that.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“I have to go.” Brynne smiled at me as she headed for the door. “It was really nice meeting you, Declan, and I’m sorry I drenched you in overpriced macchiato’s.”
“If I had to start my day drenched in overpriced organic venti whatchamacallits, I can’t think of anyone lovelier to deliver them.”
Her eyes twinkled even though her cheeks turned pink. “Safe travels tomorrow.”
“Bye, Brynne.”
Our eyes met one last time and then she was gone.
I handed Chloe my insurance card, went into the restroom and cleaned up as much as I could. I was still a disaster, but I didn’t care as long as they took care of my tooth. Luckily, my phone had been in my back pocket so it hadn’t been covered in coffee, which would have been much worse.
Chloe handed me my card back when I came out of the restroom and told me the dentist would see me in just a few minutes. I’d filled out a bunch of paperwork online to save time so it was nice not to have to do it now.
“Poor Brynne,” Chloe mused, more to herself than to me.
“How come?” I asked curiously.
“She’s so sweet and funny, and a really talented graphic artist, but also clumsy and a little socially awkward, and her boss is a dick. I get the feeling she’s going to have a rough day.”
I grimaced. “I hope not. I mean, having four cups of coffee dumped on me isn’t my favorite way to start the day, but it was an accident.”
“Her boss is her ex-boyfriend. He keeps trying, but he can’t fire her because everyone knows they were a couple before he was brought on at this firm and the managers warned him about it. Ironically, neither of them worked there while they were dating, and then she got a job there and he got hired a month later. He picks on her all the time, but it’s a prestigious advertising agency and she keeps hoping he’ll move on and leave her alone.”
“That sucks,” I said, feeling sorry for sweet, green-eyed Brynne, even though I wasn’t sure why she was telling me all this. “So, uh, does that mean she’s single now?”
Chloe’s eyes narrowed slightly before she smiled. “She is very single. Are you?”
“One hundred percent.”
“Let me give you her number.”
I thought about it for a second and decided that wasn’t cool, especially since I was only going to be in town for one night. But I had another idea that might make her smile while giving me the opportunity to potentially see her again. “Actually, get me the name and address of her work.”
“Mr. James?” Someone came out from the back calling my name.
“Yes.” I looked over at Chloe. “I’ll get it from you before I leave, okay?”
“I’ll have it ready.”
I walked in the back equal parts excited and terrified. I was looking forward to not being in pain anymore, but I really hated the dentist. Luckily, I had an adorable redhead to occupy my thoughts.
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author Kat Mizera was born in Miami Beach with a healthy dose of wanderlust. She's lived from coast to coast, and everywhere in between, but home is wherever her family is.
A devoted mom and wife to her wonderful and supportive husband (Kevin) and two amazing boys (Nick and Max), Kat loves to travel the globe with her adventurous, hockey loving family. Greece is at the top of that list. She hopes to one day retire there, spending her days writing books on the beach.
Kat is former freelance sports writer who now writes steamy hockey romance about her favorite fictional teams, the Las Vegas Sidewinders and the Alaska Blizzard. The library of novels she's penned also include sexy contemporary stories about baseball stars, alpha sex club owners, special forces heroes, rock stars and royalty. Regardless of genre, her books about bad boys with hearts of gold will steal your breath, rock your world and melt your heart.
WHERE TO FOLLOW KAT:
WEBSITE
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Also by Kat Mizera
Las Vegas Sidewinders:
Dominic
Cody’s Christmas Surprise
Drake
Karl
Anatoli
Zakk
Toli & Tessa
Brock
Vladimir
Royce
Nate
Sidewinders: Ever After
Jared
Dmitri’s Christmas Angel
Ian
Sidewinders: Generations:
Zaan
Tore
Alaska Blizzard:
Defending Dani
Holding Hailey
Winning Whitney
Losing Laurel
Saving Sara
Chasing Charli
A Very Blizzard Christmas
Tending Tara
The Royal Trilogy:
Nowhere Left to Fall
Nowhere Left to Run
Nowhere Left to Hide
Royal Protectors:
Sandor
Cocky Protector (book 1.5, part of the Cocky Heroes Club series)
Xander
Axel
Dax (A Royal Protectors/Sidewinders crossover novel)
Rock Hard:
Play
Pause
Rewind
Fast Forward
Inferno:
Salvation’s Inferno
Temptation’s Inferno
Redemption’s Inferno
Tropical Inferno (formerly “Tropical Ice”)
Romancing Europe:
Adonis in Athens
Smitten in Santorini
Lucky in Lugano
Other Books:
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Bobbi (Susan Stoker’s Special Forces World)
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Delilah (Susan Stoker’s Special Forces World)
Brotherhood Protectors: Catching Lana (Elle James’s Brotherhood Protectors World)
View Kat’s entire collection of books at www.KatMizera.com