by Elisabeth Naughton, Alexandra Ivy, Cynthia Eden, Katie Reus, Laura Wright, Skye Jordan
My point? Oh boy, she’d love to stab this guy in the hand with a fork. “They need help. Not scorn. Not disregard. Help.”
Mandy laughed as she put down her useless fork. “What they need is another bottle of cheap liquor. Am I right? And I refuse to pay for someone else’s addiction.”
Gobsmacked, Carol turned once again to Gabriel. He was still watching her, still zero emotion. How could he sit there and say nothing? Didn’t he care? Didn’t it bother him? Or was this who he was now? A rich asshole who could care less about anyone?
As her nostrils flared and her breathing went shallow again, the catering staff placed dessert in front of everyone. Carol forced a smile. “Thank you.”
The luscious chocolate confection would’ve normally had her stomach in happy, happy, joy, joy mode. But she’d completely lost her appetite. Forget sledding. The last thing she wanted was to spend another second with these douchenozzles. Hell, she’d grab an Entenmann’s and some Ben & Jerry’s on the way home, and have herself a little party.
For one brief second, she warred with herself about getting up and walking out on both her host and the staff. But then Dawn’s father-figure-slash-fiancé stuck his hand in the air and snapped his fingers, demanding coffee.
Okay, done.
So. Done.
She placed her napkin on her plate and declared, “I’m not feeling well. Thank you for the very…enlightening evening. Goodnight.”
Without waiting for a response, she headed out of the room and made a beeline for the foyer. What a waste of time. She could’ve been enjoying a bubble bath, homemade chili and “Elf” for the fourth time this month. Hey, maybe she still could. Just substitute the Entenmann’s for the chili and BOOM!
Grabbing her keys from the bottom of her purse, she headed out the front door. She was just hitting the steps when she heard someone behind her. Maybe if she ignored him, he’d go away.
“Carol, hold on.”
Guess not. She stopped and whirled around. “What do you want?”
“You forgot this.” He held up her coat.
“Oh.” She took it from him and held it to her chest. “Well, thank you. Goodnight.”
She was about to turn around to go when he said, “If you’re sick, why don’t you let me drive you home?”
“I’m fine. Goodnight, Mr. Fox.”
“If you’re fine, why are you leaving?”
She stared at him for a moment, brows knit together, lips pursed. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not serious?”
“Carol.”
She pointed past him, to the house. “Those people…”
“My guests? What about them?”
“They’re horrible!”
“Okay.”
What was he doing? Agreeing with her? This whole night was turning batshit. “Are those really your friends, Gabriel? Bitsy, Dippy and Mopey?”
“Brock, Dawn and Mandy.”
“I know their names.”
He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure.” His lips twitched.
“Are you making fun of me? Of what went on in there? What those people were saying?”
The humor in his expression died. “Look. They’re acquaintances. Business acquaintances. Do I care about what bullshit they espouse? No. The twisted way they view the world is none of my affair. Their eleven hotels, however, are. I want those properties.”
Carol couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Business.” She stared at him, then shook her head. “It’s almost Christmas.”
“Yes.”
“Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve.”
“What point are you making, Carol?”
“Well, why would you be hanging around with business people? Especially those business people. It’s a time for close, personal relationships. Good friends, fam—” She froze, instantly realizing what she’d nearly said.
“Family?” he asked tightly. “Is that what you were going to say?”
She didn’t answer at first because she felt like a real shit. “Yes.”
His jaw tightened. “Some of us weren’t fortunate enough to have a family.”
Her heart stuttered. Granted, the pair of jerks he was placed with here in Holly didn’t qualify as family. But she was really hoping he’d have found some after he’d left. “Did you not…weren’t there people who,” she struggled. When he didn’t answer, her stuttering heart broke. So he’d never been adopted. Never had the family he deserved. Under the dome of overcast sky, she looked up into his eyes. Bitterness…is that what she was seeing there? And something else. Something that was all about her. Heat, maybe. Attraction, definitely. The combination unnerved her.
“I’m going now,” she said before turning around. “Goodnight.”
She hurried down the steps and over to her car. Which was unfortunately sandwiched between a Hummer and something black and sleek that probably cost as much as her family’s house. She was going to have to do some fancy maneuvering to get out of this.
“Wait,” he called out.
She had her car door open and one foot inside.
“Carol, wait, please.”
This time when she looked into his eyes, she saw something different. No anger. No heat. No humor. Just honest vulnerability. “What, Gabriel?”
“I want you to stay.”
Her heart pinged, but she refused to acknowledge it. “Why?” she asked. “Why do you want me to stay, and why did you even invite me?”
“Why did you come?”
Her shoulders drooped and she sighed. “Answer a question with a question, huh?”
“Okay.” He inhaled sharply, his hip pressed against the front of her car. “I was curious about you. Have been, all this time. I knew about your shop. But whenever I came to town, I never went in. Today, when I went in…when I saw you.” His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Let’s just say that I wanted to see you again.”
Heat rushed into her belly. That she couldn’t ignore. “Oh.”
“Yes, oh.” Amusement lit his eyes. “Now you tell me. Why did you come?”
She bit her lip. “I don’t know…”
His eyes narrowed playfully. “Carol.”
“Fine. I felt something too, okay? In my store.” She shrugged and looked away. “I wanted to see if it was real.”
“And is it?”
“It wasn’t up there in your dining room,” she tossed out, turning back to face him. Why was he so good-looking?
“What about down here?”
She avoided the question with another round of, “Your friends suck.”
He grinned, knowing exactly what she was doing. “I told you they’re not my friends.”
“They still suck.”
His eyes were pinned to hers. “How about I get rid of them?”
Another ping to the heart. Dammit. “Really?”
“For you.” He nodded.
“How are you going to do that?”
“Maybe I’ll tell them I used to be homeless.”
Carol stared at him, as above them white, fat flakes began to fall. “You weren’t homeless.” He didn’t say anything to that. “Were you?”
He inhaled deeply. “I was before I came to live in Holly.” He reached out and brushed a few snowflakes off her cold cheek. “Come back inside. You can change into your sledding gear while I pack up my sucky non-friends and boot their asses out into the snow.”
Carol tried really hard to both quell her smile and not feel like sighing at his gentle touch. But it was impossible. This was the Gabriel she was hoping she’d get to spend time with tonight. “I am itching to try out those toboggans.”
His eyes flashed with victory. “Well, then,” he reached out and took her hand.
Warmth and strength passed from his palm to hers as Carol let him lead her up the stairs. “Plus, I never got to have my dessert.”
“We can’t have that.” He opened the front door and ushered her inside. “And to show you what a true gentleman I
am, I’ll let you eat mine, too.”
* * *
“You are one seriously competitive woman, Carol Cardini.” His ass cold and wet from the many wipeouts he’d had in the past hour, Gabriel eyed her as they stood on top of the hill once again. “I’m a little afraid.”
“You should be.” She dropped down on her toboggan and tossed him a devilish grin. “My amazing sledding skills are intimidating to many.”
“You can’t tell because I’m wearing shit that’s at least five inches thick, but I’m shaking.”
She laughed.
Damn, she had an amazing laugh. Carol Cardini was one of those people who were layered with joy. They’d had it since the womb, kind of thing. And since he’d never had it, he had this dark, almost evil urge to strip it from her. Like he’d wanted to strip that cherry red dress from her earlier.
“I think you’re in too deep,” she told him.
He lifted a brow, grinned sardonically. “I shouldn’t go deep?”
She laughed again and shook her head. “What I’m saying, Dirty-Minded One, is keep the blades above the snow. You’re burying yourself in there.” Realizing what she’d just said and how it sounded, she shook her head again. “You know what I mean.”
He cocked his head. “I’m not sure. Maybe you need to show me.”
She rolled her eyes at his false ineptness. “Fine.” She scooted forward on the sled. “Get behind me, Gabriel.”
His mouth dropped open, and every inch of him flexed.
She laughed. Great. Laugh. “It’s no wonder you keep losing,” she said. “Your focus is for shit.”
“True that,” he uttered.
“Come on. Get behind me and hold on tight. I’m going to show you how it feels to fly.”
Gabriel did as she commanded. Dropping down behind her and wrapping his arms around her. She gasped slightly and pressed into his hold. His nostrils filled with her clean, Christmas-y scent, and his heart stuttered almost painfully. Damn, she smelled like…what was that? Holly. Granted, he’d lived in the town for only a few years, and those years were riddled with pain and abuse. But he’d had a home, and a family, despite its dysfunction. And you never forget what home smells like.
“You ready?” she called a little breathlessly.
So ready. Painfully ready. “Let’s do this.”
With a shocking amount of strength, the kind that develops only in people who’ve grown up in deep snow, Carol kicked off and propelled them forward. Down they went, flew, darkness enveloping them. Snow, too. The only light from the moon, weaving in and out of the clouds. Carol was a master, Mario Andretti of the slope. No fear, and yet Gabriel gripped her tighter as they neared the bottom.
Unfortunately, their weight sent them farther then anticipated. Crashing into a small snow drift, they both tumbled off the toboggan. Carol first, and Gabriel landing on his ass next to her.
She turned to him, breathing heavy. “You okay?”
Even in the hazy light of the moon, he could see how beautiful she was. Her cheeks pink from the cold. “My ass is never going to dry out. But other than that I’m good.”
She laughed, her warm breath fanning his face. “Flying is serious business.”
Very serious, he thought. If he tipped his chin up an inch he could kiss her. Graze that full bottom lip. Find out what she tasted like. What she sounded like. But he couldn’t, could he? That wasn’t part of the plan. Shit, none of this was. Dinners and sledding. Laughing and wanting to hang out again tomorrow.
“Lie back,” she said suddenly.
His body erupted with heat. And need. Christ, what if she kissed him, or tried to? He’d have to shut things down. It was the last goddamned thing he wanted to do. “Why?”
She didn’t answer him, just scooted away from him a few feet.
“What are you doing?”
She dropped back in the snow and started fanning her arms and legs. Up and down. Flakes falling over her like flower petals.
“Are you snow-angeling on my property, Cardini?” he demanded.
“Damn right. And you are, too.”
He snorted. “Pass. I’m no angel, and I won’t pretend to be.”
“Fine. Then you can be a snow devil.” She rolled onto her side and gave him a smile.
It was damn intoxicating. “You’re always smiling,” he said, totally forgetting about his wet ass, and maybe even the plan he’d spent years devising. “You know that? Back then, today. Now.”
“There’s a lot to smile about. Life is good.” She knocked her chin in the direction of his house. “You should know.”
Yes. He had a beautiful house. Several of them, in fact. He had security. Control.
“You must be proud, Gabriel. You’ve made an incredible life for yourself. I’m glad…” She didn’t finish. And her smile faltered.
“What were you going to say?”
She shook her head. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter.”
Of course it mattered. Not only because he wanted to know what was going on inside her head. But also because it was relevant to his plan. What was she going to say? That she was glad she told her parents what had happened to him that Christmas Eve? Glad he and his foster brother and sister were taken out of the Diamants’ house? Opinions about someone else’s life, their future, were so easily made. Gabriel vacillated about saying so, telling her he could pretty much guess what she was thinking—and that she had no clue what she’d wrought that night.
But he wasn’t ready to have her walk away from him.
Or pity him.
“Getting cold?” he asked her, not liking the thread of awareness in his voice.
Her eyes glowed in the hazy moonlight. “A little.”
I could warm you up right here. Right now.
“Dessert?” he asked her, pushing back the images in his brain. Sex was the last thing he could bring into this equation. No matter how desperately his body was craving it. “The offer to eat mine too is still on the table.”
That smile touched her lips once again, and behind her incredible hazel eyes, warring thoughts were taking place. “You know, I’d love to. But I have an early day tomorrow.”
Yes. Probably the smart decision. Chocolate and cold, wet bodies led to all sorts of hot and heavy mischief. His brain was imagining it right now, in fact. “It’s Christmas Eve.”
She got to her feet and dusted off her clothes. “Busy day at the store. I hope, anyway.”
“Of course.” What was that? That thing tugging behind his ribs? Just when she’d said the word hope? Gabriel knew what it had better not be. His heart was black and cold and broken. Not sympathetic. He’d do well to remember that.
Carol looked down at him and offered him her hand. “Come on, Fox.” Her brow lifted. “One more ride before I take off?”
Heat slammed into him, and not the kind that came with undeniable attraction. This was the feeling he’d gotten as a kid, when he knew he was going to be cast aside, rejected. When he knew that his time with a family was nearing the end.
He took her hand, warm and soft, and stood. For one second, he studied her. This beautiful, ever-smiling woman who believed in happy endings for people who were never intended to have them. Then he picked up the toboggan and said, “Let’s fly.”
He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree.
–Unknown
Chapter 4
Carol walked out of Frosty’s Fitness into cold sunshine, feeling ready to do battle. Of the best kind, that is. After all, it was Christmas Eve day, and the shop, if last year was any indication, would be crazy busy. Albeit a little tired from last night, she was ready.
Last night.
As she pulled her coat tighter around herself, she let her mind go backward. Again. In the bath last night and on the treadmill this morning, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. About him. Granted, the evening hadn’t started off well. But after those douchenozzles were booted from the house and it was just her and Gabriel, sh
e’d had one of the best times she’d had in a long time. He was so fun, so game for anything. And of course, there was the hotness factor. Her gut clenched and her lips tingled. She wondered how long he was staying in town. Was it just a vacation thing? Clearly, he owned that incredible property on the mountain. But did he have plans to actually live there full-time?
She crossed the street and headed for Nora’s bookstore to grab a coffee. Her instincts told her to stop mooning and chalk the night up to a one-time thing, a bit of pre-Christmas fun. It was why she’d said no to the dessert last night. Emotions had started to commingle with the sexual needs she was feeling as they lay there in the snow. She’d wanted him to get on top of her and kiss her senseless. She’d wanted him to toss her over his shoulder, carry her back to his house and make love to her in front of a blazing fireplace.
Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, she entered the bookstore, which doubled as a fabulous coffee bar. Glancing around, she took in all the Christmas-y goodness, but didn’t spot her friend. Maybe Nora was occupied with that gorgeous former SEAL, Jackson O’Connor. Carol hoped so. The two of them had been dancing around that potential relationship for way too long. Nora was so lucky. She had a man who she at least knew was sticking around. That a future was possible.
She went to the counter and gave the woman behind it a smile. “Morning, Kelsey,” she said.
“Morning,” Kelsey replied. “What can I get you, Carol?”
“Coffee with cream, please.”
“You want the candy cane coffee?” The woman grinned as she took out a to-go cup. “It comes with a peppermint stick.”
“Of course she does,” came a voice behind her. “In fact, make that two peppermint sticks. She’s got a busy day today.”
Carol turned just as Gabriel Fox came to stand beside her. “Hi,” she said, sounding a little breathy. But was it any wonder? He looked gorgeous—Scary Cute. Maybe it was Sexy Cute now. Her eyes moved over him. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a thick gray sweater with brown leather around the collar. His thick black hair was tousled from a shower and his face held a night’s worth of stubble.