Jack stared down at her, condensation from her cup beading on his fingers and the bags dangling from his fingertips. Her dinner slapped him in the gut.
She reached for the sub sandwich bag. “Thanks for rescuing my sandwich. It looks like it’s gonna be a long night.”
As she attempted to disentangle his fingers, he murmured, “We should get you a hotel room.”
“Can’t,” she said shortly. “I checked my luggage. I can’t leave the terminal. Some security thing….”
He tensed, his fingers closing around the bags again. “You mean you’re stuck here all night?”
“Yes, and I’m going to need my dinner,” she said pointedly.
“Oh! Sorry,” he mumbled.
He shook his fingers free, handing her the sack holding her sub. He stared down at her clutching the drink and sandwich to her chest. His forehead creased into a frown and a scowl pulled at his mouth. “It’s not safe.”
“What? The sandwich? It hasn’t been that long….”
“Sleeping here. Alone.”
Ellie shrugged. “I doubt I’ll sleep much anyway.” She turned and scanned the crowded waiting area. “I suppose I should stake out a spot.”
He glanced at his watch, his jaw tensing when he noted that time was quickly slipping away from him. Jack grasped the handle on her roller bag and jerked his head. “Let’s go down to the gates at the other end. They’re never as crowded.”
The cubes in Ellie’s drink rattled in the cup as she hurried to catch up with him. “How do you know?”
“I fly through here a lot.”
“Wouldn’t it be safer to stay with the crowd?”
Her question made him stop short and cast a worried glance at the throng of people setting up camp near her gate. “I don’t know.”
She gave him a tired smile. “Maybe somewhere in the middle?”
He squinted at the milling crowd. “Down there,” he said, nodding to the gate directly across from the security area.
He led her to some empty seats at the end of the row by the windows and let his laptop slide to the floor beside her bag. Ellie flopped into a seat and dove for her sandwich.
“Is your phone charged?” he asked.
“What? Oh, almost. I’m pretty sure I have at least two bars.”
Her negligent shrug set his teeth on edge. “There’s a plug right there. You should make sure it’s charged.”
Ellie took a hefty bite of her sandwich and nodded, catching a glob of mayo with her fingertip. “Can I eat first, Agent Mulder?”
He dropped into the seat next to her and shot her a sidelong glance. “That’s Special Agent Mulder.”
She snickered. “What about your flight?”
“Showing on time, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
“When will you know if you’ll get a seat?”
He shrugged. “Soon, I guess.”
Ellie nodded, tucking one leg beneath her as she took another bite. “So, FBI, huh?” she said through stuffed cheeks.
Jack turned to face her and smiled. “You impressed?”
“Should I be?”
“Yes.”
“Take down any bad guys lately?”
He chuckled and ducked his head. “Yeah, but not in the way you’re thinking.”
She raised an eyebrow. “No tackling? Two hand touch only?”
He was sorely tempted to let her cling to her illusions. Then she looked up at him with that wide evergreen gaze and the truth spilled from his lips. “I’m an accountant.”
Ellie reared back with a laugh. “An accountant? For the FBI?”
“Forensic accounting. I hunt buried treasure,” he added with a grin.
“And hit the bad guys where it hurts,” she concluded with a thoughtful nod.
“I guess you can say that.”
She rearranged the bean sprouts spilling from her sandwich. “You should have let me believe you were Elliott Ness.”
“Elliott Ness nailed Capone on tax evasion.”
“True….”
They both looked up when they heard ‘Tampa’ echo through the loudspeaker. A gate attendant reeled off the list of stand-by passenger names, including his. Jack’s fingers clenched, rumpling the newsstand bag in his fist.
“You should get going,” Ellie said as the last syllables of the announcement trailed away.
He bit his lip and nodded, forcing his arms and legs to uncoil. “You’ll make sure your phone is charged?”
She nodded. “Thanks for rescuing my dinner.”
Jack pulled his wallet from his hip pocket and extracted a business card. “Call me if you have any trouble.”
Ellie smiled. “What are you going to do about it if I do?”
“I have connections,” he grumbled, stooping to catch the strap on his computer case.
The bag containing the cheesy souvenir smacked against his shin. He straightened, looped the strap onto his shoulder, and peered down at her. “It was nice to meet you, Elfie,” he said softly.
“Same here, Rudolph. Fly safe.”
Jack reached into the bag and pulled out the snow globe. “Here,” he said, offering her the trinket. “Merry Christmas, Ellie.”
A delighted smile lit her face. She gave it a shake to set the snow awhirl. “Merry Christmas, Jack.”
He gave her a single nod and backed up two steps before turning away, picking up his pace as he approached the concourse.
“Jack?”
Her voice cut through the holiday hubbub. When he turned back, she smiled, clutching the snow globe to her chest with both hands.
“Little Rock’s not too far,” she called, giving him a sheepish shrug.
A surge of holiday happiness smacked him in the chest. Jack shook his head and grinned like a fool. “No, it’s not.”
Ellie nodded. “See ya.”
“Yeah, see ya, Ellie.”
****
The thick, embossed cardstock pressed a deep furrow into the pad of her finger. She slid the edge along the top of her thigh, letting it rasp against her leggings as she stared at the falling snow. Halogen lights glowed gold against a gunmetal sky. Heavy, snow-laden clouds dipped close to the ground. A seven-thirty-seven pushed back from a gate and crept along the tarmac behind a flotilla of snowplows. The flashing amber, red, and blue lights backlit the falling flakes in a rainbow of color.
It really is a beautiful pain in the ass, she was forced to admit. She stared after the plane, loneliness humming in her ears.
A heavy plastic bag landed in her lap and she jumped. A black nylon computer case almost squashed her toes. The entire row of seats rocked when a man plopped down beside her.
She looked up and gasped when she recognized the intruder’s wicked dimple.
“This seat taken?”
“You didn’t get a seat?”
Jack shook his head and offered up a helpless shrug. “Keep a guy company? My flight isn’t till nine tomorrow.”
She smiled. “Mine’s at eight-fifty.”
He nodded to the bag in her lap. “I hit the newsstand for provisions before the guy could close.”
Ellie opened the bag and gaped at the jumbled assortment of bottled water, sodas, chips, and candy. “It’s a Christmas feast!”
Stretching his long legs toward the window, Jack leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head. “I’m thinking Tulsa for New Year’s.”
“Tulsa?”
“Too far?”
“Too far from what?”
“Little Rock.”
She sputtered a laugh. “We throw a big party at the hotel on New Year’s Eve. I have to work.”
Jack nodded, snagged the bag of treats, and began rummaging through it. “Okay. I’ll come to Little Rock.”
When he glanced up, she quirked an eyebrow. “What if I already have a date?”
His lips thinned into a line. “Not possible.”
She laughed again. “Wow! Thanks. It’s entirely possible.”
He shook his he
ad and extracted a package of snack cakes. “Fate wouldn’t be that cruel.” Those rich dark eyes fixed on her, alight with hope. “I just gave up the last seat on the last flight out of St. Louis to spend Christmas with an elf.”
Ellie’s jaw dropped as he ripped into the package. She turned to stare out the window, her heart pounding. Her mind raced past the sleek silver jet streaking down the runway. The red lights on the tips of its wings twinkled and the butterflies in her stomach took flight.
“I can’t believe you did that, Rudolph,” she whispered.
“Must have been the mistletoe.” Jack waved the open package under her nose. “Want a Ho Ho, Ms. Saint Nick?”
New Year, New Expectations
He was staring at her again. Big brown eyes narrowed into that penetrating G-Man stare and Ellie glanced down at the emerald shantung sheath she wore to be sure she hadn’t actually been stripped bare. A waiter carrying a decimated tray of canapés had the misfortune of passing too close. She lunged, anxious to have something to occupy her hands.
“Here, I’ll take this to the kitchen,” she said, prying the half-depleted tray from the startled college student’s grip. “Collect some of the glasses from the tables.”
She barely registered his mumbled, “Yes, Ms. Nichols,” as she beat a path for the safety of the kitchen.
The double doors swung shut behind her and she sucked in the first deep breath she’d taken in thirty minutes. She flung the tray onto the nearest counter and hung her head.
He was here. Live, in-person, and larger than life, Jack Rudolph was here in Little Rock. Here to see her. One, two, five breaths later, she still couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
Yeah, she wanted to see him again. From the moment he brushed his lips across hers Christmas morning, she’d thought of little else. But he’d called only once—a quick hello to confirm she’d arrived home from her holiday trip to Chicago safely. He hadn’t mentioned his intention to spend New Year’s Eve with her again, and she didn’t dare bring it up.
After all, she wasn’t desperate. She wasn’t expecting anything to come of the night they’d spent stranded in the St. Louis airport. Ellie wasn’t waiting at home for her date to show up like some prom night washout. She had other things to think about. A ballroom filled with revelers. A booked to capacity hotel to run. A balloon drop to coordinate with a countdown. Trays of canapés and cases of champagne to manage. She didn’t have time for a wayward FBI agent…accountant…whatever he was…from Oklahoma City.
Oh, but God he looked good. Mouthwateringly good. His wavy toast-colored hair curled slightly behind his ear. A well-cut suit the same bittersweet color as his eyes draped from broad shoulders and clung to narrow hips. As if that wasn’t enough, he stared right at her and smiled. That penetrating dark gaze locked on her. He’d come for her. It was all too much and so not enough.
A pointed cough made her jump. Ellie straightened and stepped away from the door, allowing a stream of servers to hustle in and out of the bustling kitchen. Ducking behind a towering rack of pots and pans, she finally gave in to her nerves and smoothed the seams of her dress.
She wet her parched lips and wondered how a room awash in sparkling wine could be devoid of moisture. Just a short time ago, she thought she had only another ninety minutes of nail biting until she could relax. Ellie spotted him mere seconds before he found her. Long enough to convince herself he wasn’t a mirage brought on by a terrible thirst. If the tightly wound nerves clenching her stomach were any indication, Ellie doubted ninety hours would be enough time to unwind if Jack hung around. She was also beginning to think her decision to avoid the bubbly was a mistake. One glass couldn’t hurt.
Straightening her shoulders, she tiptoed out from behind the rack and pressed her fingertips to the swinging door. Ellie peered through the narrow crack, scanning the opulent ballroom for a waiter bearing a tray of liquid relief. Her gaze swept from left to right and landed squarely on Jack. He stood just five feet away, his arms crossed over his chest, a small smile playing at his lips, and his dark gaze fixed on the door.
Busted. She drew a shaky breath and plowed ahead, meeting those semi-sweet eyes directly. “Hello, Jack,” she said as she approached.
“Ellie,” he replied with a lazy nod.
A laugh bubbled from her lips. “You’re here.” The inane statement made her cringe, but his answering smile smoothed away the rough edges of embarrassment. The fact that his warm hand closed securely around hers didn’t hurt either.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t get here earlier. I got hung up at work, and then…Well, long drive.”
A hot flush prickled her cheeks. Ellie didn’t dare glance down. She could tell by the heat coursing through her veins the skin exposed by the scoop neckline of her dress would be pink and splotchy. Six hours. He’d driven six hours to see her. Not that she looked it up or anything.
“You came.”
“I told you I would.” That penetrating gaze scanned her from her toes up. “You look beautiful.”
“You do too,” she blurted. His fingers tightened on hers and Ellie licked her lips, too weak to pull her hand from his sizzling palm and just weak enough to squeeze his hand in return. “I, uh…I’m working” She darted a glance at the DJ station.
Jack nodded, but the movement wasn’t enough to loosen his hold on her hand. “I know, but you still look beautiful.”
Ellie’s teeth sank into her bottom lip. She stared at their clasped hands for a moment, trying to tamp down the conflagration of nerves that seared her stomach. Her blood simmered. The aching need to say something scorched her throat. She made the mistake of tipping her head to meet his dark gaze.
“How long can you stay?” she asked without thinking.
His smile lit his eyes. Her knees wobbled. Surely she’d be trembling if he didn’t hold her secure in his palm. The warmth of his smile made the fire that blazed a moment before seem like the flame of a single match. The Chernobyl-inspired meltdown taking place inside her set off a cacophony of internal alarms. Ellie spared the patterned carpet beneath their feet a quick glance to be sure she hadn’t melted into a puddle.
“I’ll have to head back Sunday afternoon.”
“Where are you staying?”
He winced and ducked his head. “I was hoping you could help me with that. I called the reservations number a couple of days ago, but they said the place was booked up.”
“We are,” she confirmed with a nod.
His grimace turned into a smile. “I was hoping you might have a room or two held back, and maybe you could use your pull with the manager to score one for me?”
Oh, he was trouble. Big trouble. This was a man who only needed to make that wicked dimple wink, and the world would fall at his feet. She was in trouble. Capital ‘T’ trouble. The kind of trouble that makes smart women do stupid things. A sly wink and charming smile, that’s all a guy like Jack needed to win him just about anything.
“A room?” She was stalling, buying time, trying desperately to stave off the stupid.
Jack’s smile widened, only to falter a moment later. A flash of boyish vulnerability shone through the slicked-up lady-killer exterior, and she was a goner.
Damn, she’d forgotten about that. She wasn’t ready for those cocker-spaniel eyes. What living, breathing woman could steel herself against the pearly pink blush licking the tips of his ears? Ellie didn’t have a prayer of holding out against him when all she’d thought about for the past six days was being held against him. She smothered a sigh and lowered her head, knowing she was being stupid, certain she’d probably regret it, and powerless to resist. Yep, he was trouble. The kind of guy who can blow into town twenty-six minutes before midnight on New Year’s Eve, bat his lashes, and secure himself the last available room in the Chatham Hotel-Little Rock.
“I have to… It’s almost time….”
Jack nodded and took a step back. “I’ll be here. Whenever you’re ready.”
Ellie blinked, smoothing her d
amp palms over her hips and wetting her lips. “I’m, uh…I’m happy you came.”
His answering smile outshone the crystal chandelier above their heads. Champagne-colored sparks of pleasure lit his dark eyes. His fingers closed around hers for a split second, and Ellie knew that being smart was severely overrated.
“Save me a dance?”
His softly spoken question was almost lost in the driving beat pulsing from the DJ’s speakers. Her voice failed her as she tried to muster up the strength to withstand the hammering of her heart. Ellie stared into those bottomless eyes and her once-parched mouth watered. He smiled and his dimple deepened.
The whole idea was impossible. They lived hundreds of miles apart. They both had demanding careers. She didn’t do flings, and Ellie would be willing to bet all the champagne in the ballroom Jack wasn’t big on relationships.
But this had to be fate, right?
A snowstorm that came out of nowhere and brought the entire Midwest to a standstill. The handsome, extremely persistent man who insisted on joining her for dinner. Her flight was canceled. Jack gave up the last stand-by seat to spend Christmas Eve trapped in an airport with her. They passed the time talking about anything and everything. His easy laughter eased her mortification once she realized she’d not only been using his thigh as a pillow but had left a tiny patch of drool darkening the faded denim. When it was time to board at last, his hand closed around her arm, keeping her at the gate a moment longer. Long enough to brush his warm, soft lips across hers. Now, he was standing here staring at her like she was the only woman in the room.
I want this. I want him. Oh, God, I want to be flung….
She didn’t know if she was stupid or smart. Jack just seemed somehow…inevitable. Ellie gave herself over to fate. Sliding her fingers from his grasp, she returned his smile.
“Find me after the balloons drop.”
****
Expectations were a dangerous thing. Jack learned that lesson the hard way. Two years ago, he and his team expected to make a nice, easy arrest in an embezzlement case. He never anticipated a namby-pamby Wharton graduate wearing an Armani suit would try to go out in a blaze of gunfire. The blank look on Ellie’s face when he mentioned needing a room reminded Jack of his suspect’s face just after he flashed his credentials and seconds before he pulled a shiny, new gun from his desk drawer.
Unforgettable Heroes Boxed Set Page 103