Mistletoe Kisses & Christmas Wishes: A Christmas Romance Boxed Set Book Bundle Collection

by Leah Atwood

  That wasn’t going to happen. The only way she’d be able to give it to him was by leaving it at his office, and he’d already made it clear he didn’t want her there.

  She flung the pillow away from her. How was she going to get over the man? It didn’t seem possible.

  The phone rang and went on ringing. It seemed like a lot of trouble to answer it, but she peeled herself off the couch. The caller ID showed a familiar name, and she picked up the receiver. “Hi, Izzy.”

  “Are you alone?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are you wearing right now?”

  “Sweats.”

  “Hmm. Are they clean?”

  “Yes, but why on earth would you care?”

  “Good. Any make up?”

  “What’s this about?”

  Sweet music floated to her from outside. It sounded like…

  “Never mind. Just trust me. You want to brush your teeth.”

  …the love song from Romeo and Juliet.

  She dropped the phone and rushed to the door.

  Matt was standing on the porch, playing his violin. He wore ragged clothing and a lock of dark hair fell across his forehead, completing the gypsy image. The music ended, and he lowered his bow, slanting a yearning look at her from his cobalt eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” She sounded breathless.

  He smiled “Can I come in?”

  She opened the door wider, stepping back to allow him inside. “Do you like eggnog?”

  “Can’t stand the stuff.” He laid his violin on the coffee table.

  “How about peppermint hot chocolate?”

  “I don’t want any.”

  “Mulled cider?”

  “Hailey.”

  She was running out of beverages.

  He took her hands. “I regret hurting you very much.”

  “Thanks. That means a lot.”

  “You aren’t the only one who had to get over a past love.”

  Corey had never been more than a crush, but she didn’t want to interrupt.

  “Amy threw me over for a richer guy, and that made me worry about your interest in money. It’s stupid, but I lied to you because I was afraid of losing you. I hope you can forgive me for the awful things I said the other night.”

  “You weren’t the only one at fault. I was so worried about keeping my home that I focused on the wrong things. I’m afraid I didn’t treat you very well.”

  “That doesn’t matter now.” He squeezed her hands. “I love you, Hailey.”

  Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away.

  His thumb caught a silver droplet as it fell. “I hope you’ll let me replace every one of your tears with laughter.”

  “I love you, too, Matt.” She spoke the words without embarrassment this time.

  He put his arms around her and pulled her close. She rested her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. Being in his arms felt like coming home. Contentment settled over herm and for a long time they stayed like that.

  She lifted her head, and he lowered his to capture her lips in a lingering caress. Sparks ignited, and she melted into him. He ended the kiss and set her away from him with a gleam in his eyes, then dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring box.

  Panic shot through her. “What are you doing?”

  “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m giving you your Christmas present.” He opened the box and lifted a ring with small diamonds swirling around a large one glinting at its center. “That is, if you want it.”

  “Oh, Matt…“ She bit her lip.

  His eyes widened. “Don’t you want it?”

  “This is a little too fast.”

  He stood up and pocketed the ring. “I should have realized that.”

  “I mean, I’ve only just begun sorting myself out…”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “…and learning how to love someone else.

  “I won’t rush you.”

  “Ask me in a year?”

  He kissed her nose. “That can be arranged. Meanwhile, I took the liberty of finding a local candle light service. I’d be honored to have your company.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  A choir’s singing spilled from the entrance to a tall building that looked like it had been standing in place for at least a century. The service had already started, with the lower seats filled, so they took carpeted stairs to the balcony.

  The choir seemed to be singing in Latin. Matt was frowning. Maybe listening to imperfect music bothered him, because the choir was pretty bad. To his credit, he didn’t wince.

  The pastor began speaking in a foreign language. Portugese? Spanish? Hailey sent Matt a puzzled look.

  The corners of his mouth quirked, and a smile broke loose. He leaned close. “Do you speak Spanish?”

  “No.”

  “Neither do I.”

  After the pastor finished his sermon, the choir sang again. An older woman stepped forward for a solo. Her voice wavered on and off pitch, but the joy that radiated from her face made her song beautiful. And then the church grew hushed.

  “What’s happening?” She whispered the question.

  “I think we’re waiting for midnight to arrive.” Matt gave her hand a squeeze. “It’s almost Christmas.”

  The church bell tolled midnight, echoing the joy in her heart.

  Deceptive Tide

  Sample Chapter

  Islands of Intrigue: San Juans

  Piper let her eyelids drift shut as the fresh island breeze caressed her face and the tide lapped the dock under her feet. A motor throbbed on the edge of hearing, a deep counterpoint to the shrilling of gulls. The curious sensation that all points in her life now converged in this one place and time quickened her pulse.

  How long had it been since she'd felt this alive?

  The remote engine kicked into gear, and she opened her eyes. A speedboat arrowed across East Sound toward several pleasure boats anchored beyond the marina's fuel dock. She frowned at the intruder.

  A light flashed from among the boats riding at anchor.

  What had that been?

  The tiny mystery piqued her curiosity, and she lifted a hand to shield her eyes, squinting to see better. Pristine white, the boats rocked in the swell created by the newcomer. The engine cut, and the speedboat slid through the water in silence.

  The awareness of someone watching her prickled the skin at the back of her neck. The flash came again, and she identified its source as something held by a dark-haired man at the helm of one of the boats. Could he be watching her through binoculars or was that a camera in his hands? She couldn't tell from this distance. Either way, he had no right to invade her privacy. The heat of indignation crept up her neck, but she reminded herself that she couldn't know for certain what had attracted his attention. For all she knew, he could have spotted an interesting bird or be looking ashore for some other reason.

  The speedboat dragged to a stop, but its wash kept coming.

  Water sloshed below the pier, rocking the planks beneath her feet as the vessels in the marina creaked and groaned. The surface smoothed over again as the small tempest passed. Why should the dock continue to pitch beneath her feet?

  "Prince!" A high-pitched voice called as she turned to scan the marina.

  Panting and the scrabble of claws on wood warned her, too late. A hairy monster leaped upward, filling her vision as its paws thumped her shoulders, shoving her off balance. The dock slammed her, knocking the wind from her lungs. The beast stood over her in triumph, tongue lolling as drool dripped from its fanged mouth.

  "Prince! Stop that this minute."

  Ignoring this suggestion, the hairy monster slathered Piper's face with saliva.

  "Ooomph! You…great big…oaf. Get off!" A girl in her teens yanked at Prince's collar. "Sit!"

  Prince whined but removed his paws from Piper's shoulders. He crouched on his haunches next to her.

  Piper finally managed to
draw air into her aching lungs.

  "I'm so sorry. Prince is a good dog, really." The girl snatched up his leash, her blond hair swinging in its ponytail. Wearing faded jeans, sneakers, and a blue t-shirt, she looked far too light to handle such a brute.

  Piper rolled to her knees while keeping close watch on Prince. "Dog? I took him for a small bear."

  "You're all right, aren't you?" The girl extended the hand not clutching the dog's leash.

  "I'll be okay." Hesitant to touch Prince's owner in his presence, Piper scrambled to her feet without help and smoothed her fleece jacket with shaking hands.

  The girl's smile lit her whole face. "I'm glad you're not hurt. My aunt almost didn't let me bring my dog with us. She said that if I can't keep him out of trouble, he'll have to go to a kennel." She spoke in an indignant tone.

  Her aunt probably had a point, but Piper kept her opinion to herself.

  "My name's Lindy Carlisle, by the way. That's my aunt's boat, the Lady Serena." She waved a hand at the yacht moored farther down the dock. "This is my first visit to Orcas Island."

  "I'm Piper Harrington, and I'm new to the San Juan Islands, too."

  "Are you a boater?"

  She shook her head. "Not any more." Not with Able gone. She hadn't set foot on a boat since her husband's death. "I came out to explore and stopped to admire the boats. I'm renting one of the condo units." Piper waved a hand in the general direction of her vacation residence.

  "We're neighbors, then. My aunt and I are staying at the Rosario resort, too. We keep Prince on the yacht, though. Behave yourself!"

  Piper stared at Lindy, a little startled.

  Prince, thumping the pier with repeated blows from his tail had wriggled ever closer to them. He plopped down and divided mournful glances between them.

  Piper laughed. "What a character! Your Prince doesn't look quite so scary now."

  Lindy's forehead creased. "I'm sorry he gave you a scare. He's only a puppy and doesn't know his own strength."

  "That's a puppy?"

  Lindy nodded. "Prince is an Irish wolfhound, one of the largest dog breeds in the world."

  "He seems like a lot of dog for you."

  "Oh, once he learns to behave, we'll be fine." Her brow puckered. "I wish my aunt understood that."

  How odd. The girl spoke of her aunt by title, not by name. If they weren't close, why were they traveling together? Such questions had nothing to do with her, she reminded herself.

  "Come on, boy." Lindy flicked the leash and Prince lumbered to his feet, dwarfing his mistress. "I'd better go back before she has a meltdown."

  The casual remark might have passed Piper by, except for the look of bewildered pain that crossed Lindy's face. Able had teased her about her tendency to take in stray animals, champion lost causes, and rush in where angels feared to tread. He'd listed for her all the reasons she shouldn't interfere in other people's lives. And yet, a young girl should never have to look like that. She drew in a breath. "What about your parents? Will they be joining you and your aunt?"

  Lindy's eyes widened. "They can't. My mother is dead, and my father, well he…" Her voice trailed away to nothing.

  "Forgive me. I shouldn't have asked." Able had been right, as usual, and she needed to stop meddling in other people's lives.

  "Lindy!" A woman with red hair wearing sunglasses and a black pantsuit called from the end of the dock. "How long does it take, exactly, to walk a dog?"

  The girl rolled her eyes. "I have to go now." Holding Prince on a short leash, she started down the pier. The girl and her aunt moved off toward the condos with the dog pulling his leash and his tail waving like a flag.

  Piper glanced across Cascade Bay to the small fleet of boats still riding at anchor beyond the fuel dock. The man with the binoculars no longer stood at the helm. Beyond the bay the waters of East Sound, the inlet that divided Orcas Island nearly in two, shifted beneath the morning sun. In the background, the emerald folds of Blakely Island plunged into the sea. She walked along the dock to the Lady Serena. Light reflecting from the water made rippling patterns up the hull. A familiar yearning stirred within her. She'd once dreamed of sailing the seven seas with Able. They'd had the means to carry off such a trip, and he'd loved the idea, but they'd never gone. It had taken her a while to figure out that writing, networking, and maintaining his public persona kept her husband too busy for him to break away long. Their dream had died a slow death.

  If she'd pressed her husband to make their dream a reality, he would be alive today.

  Moisture misted her vision, but she blinked it away. She would not cry with the air fresh and the day new. The encounter with the dog and his puzzling owner had turned her mood, and dwelling on painful memories didn't help at all.

  At a time like this, she needed a distraction.

  Piper pulled off her jacket, which smelled a lot like wet dog, and dropped it in the hamper.

  Time for a shower.

  The morning hadn't started well, but changing into worn jeans and a comfortable sweatshirt brought immediate improvement. A glance in the mirror showed her a woman on the high side of twenty-five gazing back with eyes as dark as her hair. She'd cleaned up pretty well for someone who had just been knocked down, terrorized, and slavered upon. If a touch of vulnerability made her mouth tremble, there was no one to know.

  She pulled her hair into a simple ponytail at the back of her head. It had been a long while since she'd ridden a bike, but the one that came with the condo tempted her. Going the eight miles to Doe Bay might be more than she could manage, but it would be fun to try. According to the Orcas Island visitor's guide, the Doe Bay resort offered soaking tubs and a sauna. After taking an extra shower today, she'd pass on both, but dining in the restaurant could be her reward. Of course, to do that, she'd have to make it that far.

  Her first objective was to reach Olga Road, part of the Horseshoe Highway curving around Orcas Island. The road to the resort had seemed so much less steep in the rental car. At least she could count on traveling downhill on the way back. Midweek traffic was light, thankfully, since that meant fewer witnesses to her humiliation whenever she had to walk the bike uphill.

  Reaching the highway at last, she stopped to drink from her water bottle. The day had warmed, making her wish she'd layered her clothing so she could continue riding in something lighter. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea, after all. She perched on the bike, undecided. Going back to the condo would be an easy ride, but the highway didn't seem too bad, at least as far as she could see, and the guidebook claimed the ride to Doe Bay wasn't difficult.

  Across the road, a doe appeared on the grassy embankment, and she caught her breath at the creature's beauty. The deer lowered her head to graze while two spotted fawns darted with ears twitching into the sunshine nearby. Piper went as still as possible, but the doe lifted her head and pinpointed her. Liquid eyes stared at her as the deer stood without moving, but then the deer lowered her head to the grass again.

  The episode seemed God's signature on a perfect day, and it helped her make up her mind. As long as she paced herself, she should make it to Doe Bay and back. On such a pleasant day, what could go wrong?

  The doe's head came up, and the creature bounded into the protection of the forest, with her fawns keeping pace. An engine's droning reached Piper, and a truck thundered by on the highway.

  She started off, peddling in the direction of Doe Bay. The unexpected sighting of the deer had opened possibilities. What other discoveries might the day bring? She'd forgotten the simple joy of riding a bicycle. After her wedding, she'd left her own bike without a backward glance at her mother's house in California. What had Mom done with it? It hadn't been there when she and her brother had gone through her things after the funeral. Had she held onto it for a while, remembering the daughter who was grown and gone to live across the continent? She should have made the trip home more often, especially after Dad died.

  The tang of road dust and evergreen needles kept h
er company all the way to Cascade Lake, where a breeze skimming the surface brought the scent of water. She refilled her water bottle at the day-use area near its shore. Hunger gnawed at her, and she slipped into the shade of the cedar-roofed picnic shelter with walls of stone, a remnant from the past. She managed to find a spot and settled down for lunch among the families gathered around wooden benches. She bit into the apple she'd brought, not surprised to find it crisp and sweet. She was, after all, on an island archipelago in Washington, a state famous for its apples. She pulled her cell phone out of the bag she'd strapped to her bicycle. Checking her emails helped her feel less awkward when eating alone in a crowd. The no-service message came up, so she put her phone away. One of the families packed up and another took its place. Voices echoed from the trail around the lake and boats idled on the surface of the water.

  She ripped open her bag of potato chips and crunched a mouthful but stopped mid-chew as a gorgeous man came to stand in front of her table. Light eyes of a shade between green and brown were all the more striking because of the tanned skin and dark hair of their owner. In a button-down shirt and blue jeans so dark they might have just come from the store, he came across a trifle nerdy. With his hiking boots scuffed and a rucksack on his back, however, it all worked out. His smile nudged her memory. Had she met him before?

  "May I join you? The other tables are full."

  A glance around the shelter confirmed this. Cascade Lake must be popular on sunny days. "Yes, of course." She could hardly refuse without seeming selfish, but the situation felt awkward.

  "Thanks." He slung his rucksack onto the bench across from her and sat down. At his look of polite inquiry, she dragged her gaze away with heat flaring in her cheeks. She'd been staring at him without realizing. Hopefully, he wouldn't mistake her interest, although she hadn't been all that neutral. But honestly, any woman with eyes couldn't help but notice his good looks. She was paying more attention to this man than felt comfortable. Her stomach tightened, and she stood up without looking at him. "Actually, I was just leaving."