St. Nick's Christmas Wish (Holiday Hunks Book 7)

by Tamara Ferguson

  As the remainder of the wedding party began to go their separate ways, Ethan stood waiting, wearing an inquisitive smile.

  She hesitated. “I’ve got a couple of things I need to do first, Ethan. How about I meet back up with you once I’m finished?”

  She could see that he was disappointed.

  “Okay, Kelly.” He sighed. “You are gonna hang around with me later tonight–aren’t ya? Except for a couple of my brother’s friends, I don’t really recognize too many people here.

  “Sure–I’d like that. I’d be glad to introduce you to a few of my sister’s single friends, too.” Despite their age difference, Kelly knew that there was interest on his side. It was always better to let guys down easily, she’d discovered, and she was getting to be very good at it. “You’re the only one in the wedding party to get stuck with someone who’s a whole, lot younger than you.” Ethan was in his late-twenties and was an eighth-grade science teacher.

  Ethan snorted. “Ouch–talk about letting someone down easily.” He gave her a rueful smile. “Don’t worry–I’ve got the message. It’s just that I can’t help being interested in you, Kelly – and not just because you’re so hot.”

  Startled, Kelly blinked, as she stared at Ethan.

  “You’re one of the most mature college students that I’ve ever met. Although, how you can put aside, what could be, a very lucrative career in modeling, is beyond me.”

  “Well, I’ve set a lot of goals for myself.” Kelly shrugged. “The money I’ve been making is great–and it’s allowed me to do a lot of traveling–I’ve seen a lot of places I wouldn’t have otherwise. But…” She grimaced.

  Ethan grinned. “Your knack with numbers is pretty unusual, too–you know?”

  Kelly smiled. “Yeah. I think Mom and Dad are still in shock about the fact that I’m considering becoming an accountant. But they also understand. It took me less than six months to get Callahan Construction back on track, when they let me take over the books a few years ago.”

  “Yep–like I said–you’re pretty damned amazing.” Ethan sighed, lifting a brow. “’Speaking of parents–I haven’t seen mine for a while. Maybe I’ll go check up on them during our break.” He didn’t appear to be very anxious to leave her side. “Are we meeting back up at the reception for pictures, then?”

  Kelly nodded, as she pointed out the solarium of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn. “Your parents will probably be hanging out in there, along with mine.”

  Reaching out, Ethan gave Kelly’s hand a squeeze. “Alright. I’ll see you back inside–in about an hour, then.”

  Kelly kept her eyes on Ethan as he strolled along the cobblestone pathway. After reaching the entrance, he glanced back at her with a smile and a wave of his hand before stepping inside.

  Turning her eyes out toward the lake, Kelly drew in a deep steadying breath. She felt a little guilty about brushing Ethan off. But it’d already been a really long day, and it promised to be an even longer night. What she really wanted right now was some time alone.

  Frowning down at her heels, Kelly began strolling along the cobblestone pathway leading away from the inn. She sighed, easing down onto a bench. Slipping off her heels, Kelly peeked behind her—no one seemed to be hanging around nearby. “What the heck,” she muttered. After standing up, she lifted the hem of her gown and began slipping down her hose. She folded the hose and stuffed them discreetly into one of her shoes, before sliding the shoes underneath the bench.

  She needed to take a walk–and to have a little get away time from the noise and confusion of the wedding.

  “Ah, free at last,” she mumbled under her breath. She began to hurry, nearly skipping along the path that turned into a nature walk, as it led away from the inn.

  Despite the darkness settling in, small beams of light lit up the path. Bird feeders hung from the lower branches of several of the trees, while squirrel feeders were mounted into the trunks of a few of the old solid oaks. Although the landscape along the trail was occasionally broken up by the placement of a bench, surrounded by plantings of coleus, impatiens and hostas, ferns and natural foliage lined the edges of the scenic walkway, that ran alongside the shoreline of Crystal Rock Lake.

  It was crazy to think about how many times she’d actually followed this trail that led to the beach. As a kid, Kelly and her twin brother Jeff had tagged along with her father when he’d driven back and forth to Dragonfly Pointe. Mike Callahan had been the contractor in charge of renovating the Dragonfly Pointe Inn, and was still coordinating the additional construction projects taking place periodically along the point.

  She knew it was silly, but even though the technics of the lighting had been explained to her a bunch of years before, Kelly still liked to think of it as magic. And that aura of enchantment was beginning to kick in for her, as she followed the old familiar path. She’d invented some pretty ridiculous stories here at Dragonfly Pointe when she’d been a kid. The festive atmosphere of the wedding today had reminded her of her favorite–about finding her prince, and living happily-ever-after.

  Kelly snorted. Yeah, well–she’d had a pretty vivid imagination. And almost every little girl in the world had, most likely, had that same–kind of stupid, identical fantasy.

  Her nickname of ‘Princess’ had been well-deserved, though. Nearly as far back as she could remember, Kelly had been interested in fashion–beginning first with her fascination in dressing-up, and then continuing on with the stylish details, she’d insisted on, in her every day look as she grew older.

  She’d nearly driven her mom crazy.

  But it was funny how, once her mom had become proficient with using a computer, that that pair of shoes that Kelly had asked for, or that lovely jean jacket had appeared under the tree at Christmas, or in a shiny gift bag on Kelly’s birthday. Kelly had a feeling that she was spoiled, compared to her older siblings. But it’d been different when her older sisters and brother had been growing up–their family hadn’t attained financial security until after the Dragonfly Pointe Inn had been renovated by her father’s company, Callahan Construction.

  It’d been Kelly’s interest in fashion that’d drawn the attention of Danielle Loughlin, Jake Loughlin’s wife. The Loughlins were owners of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn. After Kelly had modeled in one of the inn’s yearly charity events, Danielle had referred Kelly to her former agency.

  And the rest was history.

  Or, as in her case, Kelly would’ve really liked for it to become history. Even now, she was still getting calls about additional work. But, occasionally, she still accepted a job because she couldn’t resist the exorbitant amount of money that the agency offered her.

  Reaching the final curve of the pathway leading down to the beach, Kelly glanced over at the park and froze.

  His eyes met hers as he drew on his lit cigarette, one last time. Letting the butt drop unconsciously to the ground, he stamped it out with his boot.

  When Kelly, accusingly, held Luke Bryant’s gaze, mumbling unintelligibly, he quickly bent down, and snatched up the butt from the ground.

  Hiking up her skirt, Kelly left the path determinedly to join him. “Damn it, Luke Bryant–you know better than to just drop a lit cigarette, out here in the woods. Besides—I thought you quit?”

  “I did, Princess.” He sighed. “But sometimes, it helps steady my nerves.”

  Kelly hesitated, taking a long, hard look at Luke. Even with his dark brown hair cropped short, and that shadow of stubble appearing along his chin, he was still the sexiest man alive. And tall and lean, but incredibly muscular, he had a body to die for. His facial features were ruggedly cut, and sometimes appeared severe and harsh, since he rarely smiled–which was probably the reason so many kids had been scared of him when they were growing up. Well, that nasty scar along the side of his face might’ve had something to do with it too. But he was thinner—and his face appeared to be incredibly pale—against the deep dark blue of his uniform. “This Air Force stuff looks like it’s taking its toll on y
ou, Luke.”

  Luke smiled sheepishly. “Ah, but the flying part is great. I wanted to be a pilot, and I’ve become a pretty damned good one, at that.”

  That gravelly voice sent shivers down her spine. But there was something he still wasn’t telling her. She could see it in his eyes, as she continued to study him with concern. “But?”

  He hesitated, staring her down, before seeming to come to a decision. He finally shrugged. “But, nothing. I’m here for the wedding–and to hook back up with a few of my friends.” He suddenly smiled and winked. “I wanted to enjoy the last couple days of my leave.”

  Kelly nodded her understanding. “I’ve got about thirty-five minutes before I need to get back to the reception for pictures.” She hesitated. “How about taking a walk with me?”

  He grinned, and her stomach did a flip-flop. “Sure, Princess.”

  She gave him a rueful smile, and reached for his hand.

  Kelly’s eyes shot to Luke’s, as the shock from his touch sent an electrifying jolt shooting straight through her entire body.