Ottavia’s mouth fell open. “How in the world do you know so much about him?”
Her mother shrugged. “As I said, word gets around Wayne. I feel sorry for him though. There are few floozies still in the town that won’t let the past die. They insist on trying to make it seem as though he’s still a playboy. But it’s not true. From what I understand, he hardly even dates.”
The hot chocolate Ottavia had drank settled in the pit of her stomach like a lead brick. She’d screwed up royally. Her chest ached at the thought she might not be able to fix the mistake she’d made two nights ago, but she’d try her best.
She rose abruptly from the table. “I have to go, Mom. Thanks for the hot chocolate.”
She placed a kiss on her mother’s cheek.
“Ottavia, what in the world—”
“I’ll explain it to you tomorrow at the Christmas party. It will all make sense then. I swear.”
With that said, she rushed from her parents’ home, her mind racing a mile a minute. She had to figure out a way to correct the grave error she’d committed with Julian and truly hoped he would give her the ability to do so.
Chapter Eleven
Ottavia looked around nervously as she studied the room. So far the Christmas party was a big hit. Like it usually was. She spotted Yves over in the corner having an intense conversation with the mayor. Trinity stood by the spiked punch bowl, scooping some into a cup.
Ottavia shook her head. When she really thought about it, she and her friends were in sad shape. She’d spent most of the evening with them so far, but her mind had been elsewhere, on one person in particular. She hoped Julian would show up soon. But if he didn’t, she’d already resolved to go to his place after the party died down a little.
Scanning the room again, she smiled and waved at some of the local residents as her gaze met theirs. But still no Julian.
Where was he?
A moment later she spotted him. She was startled to find his intense gaze focused on her. As if he’d been watching her for a while. She allowed hers to roam over him, taking in his green Oxford shirt and khaki pants. Somehow he managed to make casual look debonair.
Taking a deep breath, she made her way over to him.
“Hi,” she murmured as she stopped in front of him.
“Hey.”
His bland response bothered her, but she’d earned it.
“Can I talk to you somewhere a little quieter?”
One of his brown eyebrows rose high on his forehead. “Are you sure you want to risk being seen with me considering my reputation?”
She deserved the sarcastic response, but she wasn’t going to let it stop her from moving ahead. After her brief conversation with her mother, she’d gone home and done some serious thinking. Hopefully, Julian would not only hear her out but agree to her plan.
She had to show him she was serious though. Before she could talk herself out of it, she went up on tip-toe and pressed her mouth to his. She felt how stiff and unresponsive he was when she wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled closer.
Just as she was getting ready to pull back in disappointment, his arms circled her waist and he dragged her even closer as his mouth opened and he took over the kiss.
Wild, swirling sensations formed in her belly and traveled to the aching spot between her legs. She breathed him in, tasted him, holding on for dear life to all his hardness and strength as she was swept away.
A wolf whistle penetrating her foggy brain, and once she realized it was a fellow partygoer she pulled back. This kiss had gone on a lot longer than she’d planned and she couldn’t afford to let herself get distracted.
She cupped his face between the palms of her hands. “I’m sorry, Julian. I said some pretty stupid things the last time we were together.”
He stared at her for a few moments before he released her from his embrace. She felt relieved when he took her hand in his before leading her from the crowded room. There were several pairs of eyes on them and even though she couldn’t stop the flush from creeping up her neck into her cheeks, she kept her head erect and a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
Julian stopped walking when he found a semi-private spot near the entrance of the recreation center. His intense gaze fell upon her and her mouth dried up.
“Okay, sweetheart. Start talking. Begin with what just made you kiss me in crowded room of people.”
She took a deep breath, not at all surprised at the way it wheezed out of her chest shakily. “First, let me start by saying, I’m sorry. I said some very hurtful things to you the last time we were together. The only excuse I can offer up is that I was scared. When I approached you exploring something casual between us two weeks ago, it was because I was willing to admit physically I was attracted to you. What I didn’t expect was for there to be something more underneath the surface. That frightened the heck out of me.”
She paused to take a steadying breath. “You didn’t make it any better by trying to force me to acknowledge it. I know what you were trying to do though, at least now I do. In the beginning I couldn’t see past the blinders I had on. I know you’re a good guy. You’ve done well with yourself. You went off to college, earned a bachelor’s degree and now successfully manage one of the largest banks in town. Other than the occasional catfight that breaks out between some of the women still chasing after you or when you’re roaring through town on your motorcycle in the summer, you’re rather tame. Well, if you don’t take your hair into consideration.”
She closed her eyes briefly. “I wouldn’t have even suggested getting involved with you on any level if that weren’t the case. I just didn’t want to face all the emotions that started to bubble up to the surface. My defense mechanism was to try to hold you accountable for something that hasn’t been true in a long time because of my fears. For that I’m truly sorry and I hope you can forgive me.”
Julian brought his right hand up and cradled her face in his palm. “Of course I can forgive you, sweetheart. Even though the things you said were hurtful, I could see the panic in your expression every time you experienced something with me you didn’t expect to. To be honest, I predicted you would put up a fight. I just didn’t think the rejection would hurt as much as it did.” He stepped closer. “But I have to be completely honest with you, Ottavia. Right now I want all or nothing. When I’m with you my day is a lot brighter. I won’t settle for a sexual relationship with you because you deserve much better. So do I.”
She smiled as his words warmed her heart. “You’re right. But promise me you’ll be patient with me. I can almost guarantee you, I’m going to have my moments of doubt, but I swear I’ll come to you when I do.”
“That’s all I ask,” Julian whispered as he pulled her into his embrace.
She laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist in response. Everything felt so right. She’d been a fool to try to deny the connection between them. Thankfully, she’d come to her senses before she ruined what could turn out to be a good thing.
They pulled apart slowly as they heard a boisterous, “Ho, Ho, Ho,” from Santa. The corners of Julian’s mouth curved upward.
“I noticed you haven’t visited with Santa tonight to tell him what you what for Christmas.”
She shook her head. “No need to. I’ve already received the best gift ever.”
The End
Continue the All I Want series in book two, A Christmas Wish Seduction.
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About the Author
Stephanie Morris enjoys creating a story that combines a sensual energy with a captivating storyline. Sometimes her heroines have an edgier persona to them and sometimes they are of a softer essence. But all the time, her heroines are like real women, just trying to make a living and keep on going no matter what challenges life brings them. She believes in romance and happy-ever-afters. In Stephanie’s opinion, there is nothing like curling up with a good book that you can’t put down, and she
is addicted to writing them.
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Luca’s Little Christmas Cracker
Caitlyn Lynch
About the Story
Working as Santa’s little helper in a shopping mall is the most exhausting job photographer Amy’s ever taken on. Wrangling kids all day and getting the little darlings to smile instead of scream on Santa’s knee takes its toll. The whole thing might be unbearable apart from the eye candy... ahem, the mall security manager, that is, Luca Rossetti.
Late on Christmas Eve, Luca finds Amy fast asleep, exhausted, in Santa’s chair. To the hardworking ex-Marine, she looks like all his Christmas wishes come true. Will a little Christmas magic bring love to both of them this year?
Chapter One
“Where shall I put this, Amy?”
“Just over by the chair, please, Gramps,” Amy huffed as she crouched down to set down the heavy box she was carrying. Her grandfather set down the large black bag she’d asked him to carry with great care, conscious of her expensive camera inside. Amy gave him a sideways smile of thanks, and he smiled back.
“I’ll go find the bathroom and get into my suit, it’s a quarter to ten.”
“Ack, already!” Amy tried not to freak out. While she’d scouted the mall a few weeks earlier when she and her grandfather got the gig as mall Santa and photographer, it had been a lot less busy then and she’d had no trouble parking. Now, it seemed everyone was here doing their Christmas shopping and it had taken them almost half an hour to find a parking space, which of course was then miles from the mall entrance. She’d fully expected to be in the mall’s Christmas Grotto setting up by nine in preparation for Santa’s first official appearance at ten.
There was already a line starting to form, she saw with a desperate glance over her shoulder as Gramps took himself off to change, mothers with tots too young to be in school hoping to get in before the school holidays started, no doubt. She gave a hopeful-looking woman a harried smile and returned her attention to unpacking her photo printer, an expensive piece of specialized gear which had cost her a pretty penny.
She just hoped that Santa photography paid as well as she’d been told. The prices she’d been advised to charge when she asked around seemed astronomical, but then so was the rental on the space.
“Hi,” a deep voice said behind her. “Can I help?”
Suddenly aware that she was bending right over and the only view whoever had spoken would have was of her ass in slightly-too-tight jeans, Amy shot upright and spun around, plastering on a smile.
And nearly fell over again, because the owner of the deep voice looked like he’d stepped straight out out of the pages of a magazine.
The quintessential tall, dark and handsome, he had short black hair, dark brown eyes and olive skin, cheekbones that could cut glass, and broad shoulders filling out the dark suit jacket he wore over a crisp white shirt and navy-striped tie. Her gaze trailed helplessly downward, taking in the strong, feet-apart stance, the highly polished black shoes at the end of long legs in suit pants that matched his jacket.
How the hell am I supposed to concentrate with THAT standing in front of me?
“Hi,” the sex god said again, holding out a large hand and smiling down at her. “I’m Luca Rossetti, the mall security manager. Give you a hand there?”
“Amy Gallagher,” she said, still utterly dazed by his good looks, fighting valiantly to suppress the urge to fuss with her hair. “I, um. Yeah. Running a bit late, I’m afraid, but my grandfather’s just getting ready now and I promise we’ll be ready to go by ten, I just have to get the printer unpacked and plugged in and my camera and tripod up…”
“How about I get that for you?” He stooped to lift the heavy printer out of its box with effortless ease, setting it on the sturdy table the mall had provided for her use and she’d just thrown a Christmas-patterned tablecloth over. Uncoiling the cable, he plugged it in and stepped back to smile at her as the machine whirred to life. “Next?”
At that precise moment, however, the radio attached to his belt crackled to life.
‘Code nine-five, outside Hot Topic.’
“Darn it.” Luca scowled. “I’m sorry, Amy, I have to attend that call. I’ll stop back a bit later and see that you have everything you need, okay?”
“Sure, thanks.” She spared a few seconds to gaze after him as he walked away, noting in passing that not a few of the women waiting in line at the Grotto were watching him go too.
“Hot damn,” Amy muttered, before shaking off her trance. She had less than ten minutes to get her tripod and camera set up and plugged into her laptop and the printer, find her cash box and float, and be ready to charm small children into smiling for the camera. Right now, she really didn’t have time to swoon over a man, no matter how panty-droopingly gorgeous he might be.
“Looks like every thing’s going well,” Luca’s deep voice said in her ear about an hour later. Amy smiled as she lowered her camera, nodding to the harried mother whose twins she’d just coaxed into smiling at the same time.
“It’s going great. Luckily my grandfather is absolutely amazing with kids.” Amy gestured to the next mother in line to step forward to her table. A small girl in a winged fairy tutu clutching a sparkling wand was already making her way over to Gramps, a determined expression on her tiny face.
“Santa, I want a pony,” the girl announced, making her mother groan as she filled in Amy’s photo-disclaimer form.
“A pony! We live on the ninth floor!”
Amy caught Luca’s eye, saw the mirth he was trying very hard to suppress, and choked on laughter herself. “Okay!” she shoved the form into the box she kept on the desk. “Well, I’ll take some shots and we’ll see what we get. Let your daughter talk to Santa for a moment and I’ll be right with you.” Tapping a couple of keys on her laptop, she brought up the images she’d just taken of the twins and showed them to the mother.
“Five dollars each for a standard size print which I can run off while you wait,” Amy recited her standard spiel for the twentieth time, “or fill in this order form for a larger print and I’ll have them here for you tomorrow. I’ll let you choose while I just take the photos for this next lady…”
“I can see you’ve got everything under control,” Luca said, and she turned to give him a smile, hoping that he might stay. But he must be busy too, with the mall so full, and really she didn’t have a moment to talk, wouldn’t until she and Gramps took a half-hour break at one.
“See you later. Thanks for stopping by!”
“I walk by regularly,” he said with a nod. “I’ll see you again later.”
Amy felt suddenly deflated as he walked away and she had to turn around to take a photo of the pony-wanting little girl, who was now sitting on Gramps’ lap detailing what color the pony should be. Luca was just doing his job, not flirting with her. A guy who looked like him could have his pick of girls - hell, he was probably already married, she hadn’t even thought to look and see if he was wearing a wedding ring! Though lots of guys didn’t…
Pony Princess giggled, and Amy snapped the perfect shot, forcing herself to put Luca out of her mind. He wouldn’t fancy her anyway, too-plump Amy Gallagher with her red hair all over the place. Ordering herself sternly to forget about him and get on with her work so she could earn back the cost of that printer, she smiled at the mother of the twins. “Made your selection? Three shots… yes, of course! And a large one for pick up tomorrow? That’ll be twenty-five dollars…”
Pony Princess’ mother was so delighted she ordered three large prints, and Amy suddenly felt like she might actually do all right out of this gig after all, even despite the huge costs involved. She might not get a date out of Luca, but at the very leas
t, she was going to cover her costs. Gramps had tried to refuse payment, but in the end they’d agreed that if she turned a profit, he’d take twenty-five per cent.
Over the next couple of weeks, she worked her butt off — quite literally, she always ended up spending her lunch break catching up on printing orders, and by the time she’d picked up the large-print orders to deliver the following day from the print shop she emailed them to, dropped Gramps off and arrived home, she was too exhausted to do more than make some grilled cheese for supper and fall into bed.
By Christmas Eve, she’d lost six pounds and was feeling quite good about herself, and especially her paid-off credit card.
Especially since Luca had stopped by more often than she’d expected, he definitely didn’t have a wedding ring, and he’d given her quite a few looks she could only call flirtatious.
Thoroughly behind on her laundry, she couldn’t find a pair of jeans fit to wear. Rifling through her wardrobe, she pulled out a dress she hadn’t been able to fit into for the last couple of years and thought she might as well give it a go. It was the right color, anyway, a festive emerald green, and she’d always enjoyed wearing it — when she could still fit into it, anyway.
“Well would you look at that.” Amy did a little spin in front of the mirror, admiring the way the dress’s skirt swirled around her knees. “It fits!” She smiled happily at her reflection. She’d need pantyhose though, she thought, looking at her pale bare legs. She rarely wore skirts, preferring jeans for the most part, and she couldn’t find a single pair of tights without ladders in them.
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