What Happens at Christmas…

by Yvonne Lindsay

  “I need to be on my way...

  “No need to get up. I’ll see myself out.”

  “No, no. I’ll see you out,” Kristin protested.

  But her feet tangled up in the hem of her dress and she pitched forward. Jackson moved swiftly, catching her in his arms before she pitched face-first onto the carpet.

  Her breasts crushed against him and his arms wrapped tight around her body. Through the satin of her gown, she felt the imprint of his fingers, the heat of his palms against her back. And, darn her, she liked it.

  Kristin looked up into Jackson’s fiercely glittering blue eyes, shocked by what she saw there. Passion. Heat.

  A groan ripped from Jackson’s throat before he lowered his face to hers and captured her lips. Shock coursed through her body at the long-missed and all-too-familiar touch of his mouth on hers.

  Shock and desire and a need to kiss him back...with all the pent-up frustration and sorrow she’d borne alone for far too long.

  * * *

  What Happens at Christmas... by Yvonne Lindsay

  is part of the Clashing Birthrights series.

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome to book three in my Clashing Birthrights series—What Happens at Christmas.... I love a reunion story, especially when I’m writing it. So many angles to cover and utilize as my couple find their way back to love.

  Trust doesn’t come easily to Kristin Richmond, especially after discovering her adored father had deceived his whole family by leading a double life. She can be intense, but she’s also deeply loyal and when her trust is broken, she doesn’t hesitate to move on. Discovering she was duped by her lover, who turned out to be a spy in her finance department, has rocked her confidence in everyone.

  When the family lawyer announces his imminent retirement and the appointment of a new lawyer in his place, she’s skeptical about their suitability—especially when the new lawyer turns out to be none other than her first love from her college days. A man who promised her forever, then left her without a word.

  Jackson Jones keeps his past deeply under wraps, but he quickly recognizes that he’s going to have to open old wounds if he is to earn Kristin’s trust and remain in his role as her family’s lawyer. Getting this right is important to him, but realizing that his attraction to Kristin never went away makes working closely with her a new level of torture. Can he earn her trust without ruining the fragile friendship they manage to rebuild, or will their mutual attraction and his secrets eventually drive a permanent wedge between them?

  Will Jackson be able to prove that he is the kind of man Kristin can rely on, or will he let her down again? Read on to find out!

  Best wishes,

  Yvonne Lindsay

  YvonneLindsay.com

  Yvonne Lindsay

  What Happens at Christmas...

  Award-winning USA TODAY bestselling author Yvonne Lindsay has always preferred the stories in her head to the real world. Married to her blind-date sweetheart and with two adult children, she spends her days crafting the stories of her heart. In her spare time she can be found with her nose firmly in someone else’s book.

  Books by Yvonne Lindsay

  Harlequin Desire

  Marriage at First Sight

  Tangled Vows

  Inconveniently Wed

  Vengeful Vows

  Clashing Birthrights

  Seducing the Lost Heir

  Scandalizing the CEO

  What Happens at Christmas...

  Visit her Author Profile page at Harlequin.com, or yvonnelindsay.com, for more titles.

  You can find Yvonne Lindsay on Facebook, along with other Harlequin Desire authors, at Facebook.com/harlequindesireauthors!

  I dedicate this to my editor Charles and the

  behind-the-scenes team that helps bring

  my books to my readers.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Excerpt from Christmas in Rose Bend by Naima Simone

  Excerpt from Rancher’s Christmas Storm by Maisey Yates

  One

  “Mom, I’m sorry. I won’t be able to make it tonight. I have too much work on my plate.”

  Kristin eyed the Christmas decorations that festooned her office, with a baleful eye. She wasn’t lying, exactly. She did have a ton of work to get through, but she wasn’t in the mood for yet another happy family gathering where everyone except her was paired up with a significant other. Normally, it didn’t bother her, but lately she’d been more unsettled than usual.

  “Kristin, I won’t take no for an answer. I’m done with your excuses. Tonight is important to me and I expect you to be here at seven sharp.”

  Kristin’s mom, Nancy, abruptly ended the call, leaving her daughter staring at the phone on her office desk with a mixture of frustration and curiosity. Kristin rolled her chair from her desk, pushed her hands through her long hair and massaged her scalp with her fingertips. It didn’t ease the perpetual headache she’d had for the past several months.

  Her identical twin brothers, Keaton and Logan, had been putting pressure on her to cut her workload, citing their father’s massive fatal stroke almost a year ago as a fine example of why you shouldn’t burn the candle at both ends. She was doing the work of two people at the moment since she hadn’t yet been able to bring herself to replace the man she’d trusted as her right hand here at work, and as her lover in the bedroom.

  And all along Isaac had been a spy working for their biggest rival, Warren Everard. While everyone involved in the corporate espionage was now facing charges, it still galled her, even all these months later, that she’d never suspected—not even for a moment—that he was capable of such subterfuge. And it made her doubly wary of replacing him—in the office, or at home. Business was hard enough right now, without worrying about having to second-guess everyone around you. It had been the easier option to simply assimilate Isaac’s workload into her own. After all, it wasn’t as if she had any reason to rush home.

  Isaac’s betrayal was doubly cruel because she hadn’t shared with her family how intimate she and Isaac had become. They’d kept their relationship under wraps. Not a single person in the office had ever suspected that they were more than boss and employee. She’d technically been in a position of power over him. Forming a relationship would have been frowned upon, so when he’d suggested they initially keep things quiet, she’d been in full agreement. But all along his plan had been to abuse her trust, which was, in her book, far more damaging. And she’d borne the pain of that betrayal and her broken heart alone.

  Kristin rose from her seat and turned to face the darkening sky outside her office window. The Richmond Tower commanded exceptional views of the Seattle cityscape, but she rarely took the time to appreciate it. Christmas was only a little over three weeks away but her gaze remained oblivious to the glittering outlook spread before her like a pirate’s jewel casket.

  Instead, her thoughts turned inward. So much had changed in the past year. Courtesy of the double life her father had successfully lived, right up until the moment he’d droppe
d dead in his office, she’d gained not just one brother—Logan had been kidnapped as a child and was now reunited with the family—but two half brothers, and a half sister to boot.

  And while it had been a joy to watch her full brothers both find love with amazing women whom she respected and adored, seeing her brothers’ happiness only made Isaac’s duplicity all the more painful.

  Was it too much to expect to be able to build a relationship founded on mutual attraction, affection and trust? Kristin shook her head. Apparently, for her, it was. And now she had to present a cheerful face at another family dinner. Ah, well, she thought as she returned to her computer and backed up her work, at least she could depend on a better meal than the microwave instant dinner option in her apartment’s freezer. She chuckled ruefully. She sounded like a total loser.

  Kristin checked that the backup was complete, grabbed her bag and coat and locked her office door behind her. She fingered her car keys, wondering if she should drive to her mom’s place in Bellevue. No, she decided. She’d order a driver and leave her car in its secure parking space below the building. The way she was feeling right now, she might indulge in a glass or two of wine tonight.

  Half an hour later, Kristin let herself into the large two-story mansion that had been her parents’ home for as long as she could remember and shrugged off her coat. She loved coming here. There was a sense of stability about the place that she desperately craved now. The clipped sound of heels on the parquet floor alerted her to the arrival of the family housekeeper, Martha.

  “Ah, Kristin. It’s good to see you. Your mom and the others are in the main salon having drinks before dinner. Here, let me take your coat.”

  “The main salon? I thought this was a casual thing,” Kristin commented as she passed her coat to the older woman.

  Martha had been in her parents’ employ since Kristin had been a baby and, since Kristin’s father’s death last year, had become more of a companion to her mom.

  “Mrs. Richmond asked that I send you through when you arrived,” the housekeeper continued smoothly without actually answering Kristin’s question.

  A sense of unease filled her. Her mom only used the main sitting room for formal occasions. What was going on? Realizing it would be useless to press Martha, who was already walking away to hang up her coat, Kristin made her way across the foyer to the double wooden doors that led to the rest of her family. A murmur of voices came through the door and she hesitated—reluctant, for some reason, to join them. A burst of laughter from inside the room motivated her to reach for the handle and join her family.

  She scanned the room as she entered, noting the beautifully decorated Christmas tree her mom had erected immediately after Thanksgiving, and relaxed as she identified her brothers and their partners, her mom and Hector Ramirez. Hector was the family’s attorney and had been an absolute rock of support for her mom since Douglas Richmond’s sudden death. So much so, the two of them had vacationed together in Palm Springs a few months ago.

  As Kristin entered the room, her mom rose from Hector’s side and crossed toward her daughter to welcome her.

  “I made it,” Kristin said with a smile as her mom enveloped her in a loving embrace.

  “Thank you, my darling girl. It’s always so good to see you.”

  “You know, if you came back to the office we’d see each other every day.”

  Nancy had worked side by side with her husband until his death nearly a year ago and had been heavily involved in the family’s charitable foundation. But now she rarely entered the building where he’d died and had established a base here at home to manage the Richmond Foundation remotely.

  “What can I get you to drink?” Nancy asked, ignoring Kristin’s not-so-subtle comment.

  “My usual white wine would be great, thanks.”

  Kristin turned to say hi to her brothers and their partners. Logan and Honor had married in the summer and, last week at Thanksgiving, announced they were expecting a baby. While Honor wasn’t showing yet, there was a glow about her that inspired a prick of envy in Kristin’s heart. And the way Logan looked at Honor these days? Well, his love for her and their child was tangible. More than anything Kristin ached to have that level of commitment with someone else.

  Keaton and Tami were equally tightly knit. They’d originally started as an office romance at Richmond Developments, but Tami now worked as a project manager and liaison between the Richmond Foundation and other charities on special ventures. Tami rose from her seat and hugged Kristin in greeting.

  “I was hoping you would make it,” Tami said with a welcoming smile. “We hardly get to see you outside of work these days.”

  “Do you know what this is all about?” Kristin whispered to her.

  “Not a clue. It doesn’t quite feel like Nancy’s regular family dinner vibe, does it?”

  “True,” Kristin conceded. She couldn’t quite shake the apprehension that niggled at the back of her mind.

  Her mom returned with Kristin’s glass of wine and then turned and faced the room. Some silent communication must have passed between her and Hector, because he rose and stood next to her, one arm casually draped around Nancy’s waist.

  “If I could have all your attention, please,” Nancy started, sounding a little nervous.

  That niggle in the back of Kristin’s mind grew stronger.

  “Hector and I have an announcement to make. As you know, we’ve been friends for many years and he’s been an incredible support to me since Douglas passed away. In fact, he’s become so important to me that I can’t see my future without him...and I’m very proud to tell you that he has consented to be my husband.”

  There was a sudden murmur in the room and Kristin felt her stomach twist in a knot.

  “You asked Hector to marry you?” she blurted.

  “He was too much of a gentleman to do it so soon after your father’s death. But if Douglas’s passing taught me anything, it was to grab hold of what’s important and keep it close to you. I didn’t want to waste any more time following other people’s expectations or beating around the bush.” Nancy turned and faced Hector and beamed at him, her love for him radiating from her. “I love him and that’s why I asked him to marry me. He said yes and I couldn’t be happier.”

  The others rose from their seats, offering their congratulations and hugging Nancy and shaking Hector’s hand, but Kristin stood on the periphery. Nancy extricated herself from the rest of the family and came over to Kristin.

  “Kristin? Aren’t you happy for us?” she asked, a worried frown pulling at her brows.

  “Isn’t it a bit soon, Mom? Dad hasn’t even been dead a year. I mean, I have nothing against Hector and I know how much he’s come to mean to you, but don’t you think you’re rushing things?”

  Nancy laughed and patted Kristin’s arm. “Oh, my darling. We’re both nearing sixty. We want to spend the rest of our lives together, properly, as husband and wife. It’s important to us both and I trust Hector. He would never let me down the way your father did. Seriously, Kristin, you wouldn’t stand in the way of our happiness, would you?”

  Kristin hesitated. Of course she wanted her mom to be happy.

  Hector joined them. “Everything okay, ladies?” he asked.

  “Everything is fine,” Nancy assured him and gave Kristin a look that brooked no argument. “Isn’t it, Kristin?”

  “Yes, absolutely,” Kristin said, forcing a smile to her face. She still couldn’t put a finger on why she felt uncomfortable. Sour grapes because everyone around her was paired up and living their happily-ever-afters and she wasn’t? She raised her glass. “Congratulations to you both. May you be exceptionally happy together.”

  “Thank you, Kristin,” Hector said, his eyes glistening with moisture. “It means a great deal to us to hear you say that. We understand how close you were to your father and how much you miss him. H
e was my best friend but I can’t deny that I’ve loved Nancy for many years and I feel privileged to be able to plan the rest of our lives as one.”

  His words struck Kristin to her core. There was no doubt Hector’s feelings for Nancy were genuine.

  “And what about your work for us, Hector? Will you remain our family attorney?” she asked.

  “I’m glad you asked.” He smiled. “It leads us to our second announcement for this evening. I’ve decided to take early retirement—I sold my practice to a longtime friend and colleague. To facilitate a smooth takeover, I will remain on in an advisory capacity for the next six months.”

  “A longtime friend? Who?” Kristin pressed. “Have we met him before?”

  “I don’t believe so,” Hector replied.

  “Then how can we be sure he’ll be a good fit for us? How can we trust him?”

  She spoke the words without thinking. Hector was saved from answering by the echoing tones of the front doorbell.

  “Well, it sounds as if he’s arrived to join us, so you can find out the answers to those questions yourself,” Hector said with a confident smile.

  Kristin helped herself to a generous swig of her wine. While the fine vintage was like a kiss of velvet on her tongue, it burned all the way to her stomach, reminding her she hadn’t eaten much today. She didn’t like the sound of any of this. What if the new person wasn’t good enough? Their family had been through hell and back these past several months, first with Logan popping out of the woodwork thirty-four years after his abduction as a baby, then her dad dying, then the discovery that he had a another family and business mirroring theirs on the other side of the country. After that there’d been the corporate espionage, of which Isaac had been an integral part.

  How could they be expected to trust a stranger?

  “Darling, don’t worry so much. Hector’s friend has an exceptional reputation,” her mom murmured in her ear.

  “He’d better have,” Kristin muttered before taking another sip of her wine.