His Holiday Bride

by Elaine Overton

  The elevator doors parted in front of him and there stood an angel. Paul tilted his head to the side as if considering what his eyes were seeing. She wiped at her nose with the balled-up tissue in her hand, and blew loudly into it. The uncouth gesture was enough to make her real.

  Paul watched as she stepped forward out of the elevator with slumped shoulders and fresh tears in her eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to drop the phone and take her into his arms. She looked around the large lobby as if surprised to find herself there.

  Her golden eyes settled on him and ran the length of his long body in quick assessment, before returning to his face and moving away. She sniffed again, and Paul frowned, wondering what kind of monster would make an angel cry.

  She just stood there holding shopping bags in each hand and looking so lost and forlorn, it touched his heart. The penthouse phone had rung several times. Paul was tempted to hang it up and go offer his assistance to the angel. But he’d promised Luther he would find Amber, and that had to come first.

  Seeming to finally get her bearings, she began moving away from the elevators. Just then, the doors on another elevator opened, and out stepped Dashuan Kennedy. Paul only recognized him from sports clips on ESPN and newspaper write-ups. Paul himself wasn’t exactly a Chargers fan.

  Dashuan raced across the lobby and headed straight for the angel. Paul twisted his mouth. Of course the angel would be with the pro athlete. He slammed the phone down on the receiver and followed Dashuan Kennedy. By the time he reached them, Dashuan had the woman’s arm in a vise grip and they were arguing loudly enough that people were beginning to stare.

  “Just come back upstairs and let’s talk about this!” Dashuan was hissing at her.

  The woman’s golden eyes were wide with anger and some other unreadable emotion. “Let me go! There is nothing to talk about. I saw what I saw!”

  “What do you think you saw, Amber? What are you going to tell people?” Dashuan was holding both her arms so tightly, he was slowly lifting her off the ground.

  “Let her go.” Paul’s deep baritone seemed to ripple on the air.

  Still holding Amber tight, Dashuan spun around to confront whoever would dare to get in his business. “Keep walking, man. This doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

  Ignoring Dashuan, Paul looked directly into Amber’s startled eyes. “If that’s Amber Lockhart you’re holding, then I’m afraid you’re wrong.”

  Her thin sandy brown eyebrows crinkled and she tilted her head. Paul realized that a confused angel was as adorable as a sad one.

  “Do I know you?” she asked. Her soft voice cracked on the tears that continued to form no matter how she wiped them away.

  “I’m a friend of Luther Biggens.” Paul paused, realizing this was going to play out a lot differently than he had first assumed. “He sent me to get you. That is…if you are ready to leave.”

  She nodded her head frantically.

  It was all the authorization Paul needed. His attention swiveled back to Dashuan. “I’m only going to say this once more. Let her go.”

  “I don’t give a damn who sent you. This has nothing to do with you.” He turned his attention back to Amber. “We need to talk about this.”

  “There is nothing to talk about, Dashuan. It’s over! You’ve made your preference perfectly clear!” Her mouth twisted in disgust. “And to think…I thought you were the one.”

  Something like hope came into Dashuan’s light brown eyes. “Baby, don’t you see? Now that you know the truth, I can be the one. We can give each other just what we need. I’ll take care of you, Amber, I swear—”

  Dashuan’s oath was cut short when Paul karate-chopped him on the shoulder. He released Amber and turned on Paul.

  Paul stood in a battle stance, his muscular legs solidly placed. Even as his hand reached out for Amber, his eyes narrowed on Dashuan’s face.

  Amber saw the large hand being lifted toward her and apparently needed no further coaxing. She rushed past Dashuan right into the arms of the stranger.

  Paul’s strong arm closed around her waist as he pulled her close to his chest. He watched Dashuan Kennedy transform into some mad animal right before his eyes.

  Dashuan reached behind him and pulled out a small handgun from the waistband of his slacks.

  Paul huffed, looking at the small cap gun. Someone’s been watching too many movies. Still holding Amber against his side and trying to ignore how good her soft body felt nestled against his own, Paul lifted his jacket to reveal the long-barreled Magnum tucked neatly at his side. There was no mistaking the message. My gun could eat your gun for breakfast.

  He glanced around at all the people who’d stopped to watch the confrontation, including several of the hotel staff. He wondered if 911 had been called yet. Probably so.

  Paul quickly regretted letting his temper get the better of him and striking Dashuan. Now he realized this thing could get real ugly. He had to try and reason with the man before someone got shot. Given the way Dashuan was shaking, he hadn’t ever used the weapon. Probably just a showpiece, Paul thought.

  “Now come on, Kennedy. Think about it. Do you really want to get into a shootout in a hotel lobby? Your face will be on the cover of every gossip rag in L.A. by morning. From what I hear your career is struggling as it is. Is this really the kind of publicity you want?”

  Dashuan looked around, as if noticing for the first time that they had drawn a crowd. He quickly tucked the gun back in his pants but it was too late. Everyone had already seen him with it.

  “Amber, please!” Dashuan pleaded. “Stay and talk to me. It’s not what you think.”

  Seeing the desperation in his eyes, Paul could almost feel sorry for the guy. He looked down at the top of the golden head of the woman in his arms, feeling her soft breasts rise and fall with every heartbeat. Okay, he did feel sorry for the guy.

  “I know what I saw, Dashuan. No amount of conversation is going to change that.”

  Paul saw the elevator doors open again and a group of burly men step out. They came up behind Dashuan, and Paul took them for the basketball player’s bodyguards.

  He looked into the faces of the men, sizing them up and knowing he might have to fight his way out of here. “We’re leaving. If you try to stop us this could get ugly, Kennedy. Just let us go.”

  Dashuan was glaring at Amber. “Keep your mouth shut, bitch,” he said under his breath, but he never moved.

  Paul felt Amber’s small, fisted hand dig deeper into his shirt. Don’t worry, I won’t let you go. He resisted the urge to kiss the top of her head in reassurance. Taking her hand, he turned and headed toward the door.

  Halfway there he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. With lightning fast reflexes, he pushed Amber to the side. Paul swung around and saw Dashuan charging toward him. He was holding the small gun backward with the butt extended high over his head.

  Paul heard someone scream “Look out.” He went in low tackling Dashuan right in his midsection. The ball player let out a whiff of air and collapsed on his side. In a second, Paul was back on his feet in a defensive posture as he watched Dashuan’s boys slowly moving in, determined to finish what he’d started.

  He reached in his pocket and tossed Amber the car keys. “Get in the blue Focus parked out front.”

  “What about you?”

  “Don’t worry about me. Just go!” Paul watched the guys closing in on each side. There were six of them and one of him. He would have to take out the ones standing between him and the door first. Then…

  The six men stopped moving. Their attention had been drawn to something over his shoulder.

  “Is there a problem here, Paul?”

  Paul recognized the voice of his friend, LAPD detective Keith Montfield. He glanced back to see Keith and the four uniformed officers who had quietly come up behind him.

  “Nothing I can’t handle, Keith.” He relaxed his stance.

  Keith chuckled. “I know, but how about you let us
lend a hand anyway?”

  Paul stepped back, and gestured in front of him. “Help yourself.”

  The officers closed in on the six bodyguards, and one stopped to pick Dashuan up off the floor.

  Paul patted Keith on the shoulder before he turned to leave. “Can I give you a call tomorrow to explain?”

  Keith nodded and looked his friend over. “Sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. I’ll fill you in tomorrow.”

  As Paul headed toward the exit he heard one of the bodyguards ask, “Why does he get to go?”

  He heard Keith’s laughter. “Who, that guy? He’s harmless.”

  Paul couldn’t help smiling. He turned and winked at Keith, seeing the humor in the detective’s eyes. Everyone in L.A. knew that statement was the furthest thing from the truth.

  Paul hurried out to the car he’d double-parked in the luggage loading area. Try as he may he could not stem the growing excitement he felt remembering the beautiful woman who would be there waiting for him.

  Feeling ridiculous even as he did it, he checked to make sure his shirt was tucked neatly in his slacks. He ran his hand over his short, curly hair. What the hell am I doing?

  He should be thinking about reassuring the girl. He wasn’t sure what had happened between her and Kennedy, but whatever it was apparently upset her a great deal.

  He reached the car and stopped short realizing the passenger seat was empty except for the small key ring lying in plain sight. He looked in both directions but did not see her. His mind quickly calculated the possibilities that one of Dashuan’s guys had gotten by him when he wasn’t looking. But no, he was fairly certain there were only six of them and they were all accounted for inside.

  A young valet was standing not far from where he was parked. Paul approached him with a description of Amber and asked if he’d seen her.

  “Yeah, she went walking that way.” He gestured toward West Sunset Boulevard. “I offered to get her a cab, but she said no thanks.”

  Paul quickly tipped the guy for his help before climbing into his car. Taking the keys from the passenger side, he started the engine. Amber was distraught, Paul thought. In her current state of mind who knew what she might do.

  He caught up with her within three blocks. “Amber! Amber!” He rolled along slowly, ignoring the horns blaring behind him and the foul language of those that managed to get by him. “Amber, get in the car!”

  She glanced at him. The golden eyes that had pleaded for help in the hotel were now glaring with cold intensity. She was an angry angel, Paul thought, unable to stop himself from making the comparison.

  “Where are you going?” he called out the passenger-side window.

  “Somewhere away from you and my meddling family!”

  Paul forced his way out of traffic and pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store several feet in front of her. He hopped out of the car and came around to wait for her to catch up.

  Amber just ignored him and continued to walk right past, as if she didn’t even see him.

  Paul fell into step beside her. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but when I asked you if you wanted to leave did you not nod your head?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I did. But that doesn’t mean I wanted to leave with you.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “What is your name anyway?”

  Paul closed his eyes and shook his head, realizing in the mist of all the confusion he’d never introduced himself. “Paul Gutierrez.” He extended his hand but she ignored it.

  “Look, Amber, I know you’ve been through a lot tonight, but if you would just—”

  She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly swiveled around to face him. Her golden eyes were dark with some unidentifiable emotion. “You have no idea what I’ve been through this evening. So don’t even stand there and pretend like you understand!”

  Paul frowned, seeing the tears begin to form in her eyes again. What did Kennedy do to you? He knew he could not ask the question no matter how it ate at him. As far as she was concerned he was just a meddlesome friend of a friend.

  “Fair enough,” he said softly. “So, where are you heading?”

  Amber looked at the endless sidewalk ahead of her and realized she really didn’t know. When she’d left the hotel all she wanted to do was get away from Dashuan, the handsome stranger whose name she now knew was Paul, her family and anyone else who knew her. She wanted to go off by herself and cry into a pillow. She felt like a complete fool and that was not something she wanted to share with anyone.

  How could he? It was the question she’d been asking herself repeatedly for the past hour. How could Dashuan betray her like that? He was supposed to be the one. Mr. Right. When, in fact, he was Mr. Incredibly Wrong.

  She sighed. “I’m just going to check in to another hotel.” She glanced up into his concerned brown eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll call my family as soon as I check in and let them know I’m okay.”

  “What hotel? I’ll give you a ride.”

  She frowned, getting a little irritated by the man’s insistence to help where none was wanted. “Really, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

  “You’re kidding, right? Two o’clock on a Saturday morning and you’re out walking the streets of downtown L.A. You’re lucky if you don’t get picked up for prostitution.”

  “You son of a—” Without a thought of the consequences, Amber took a swing at the man and it felt good. She put into it all the anger and frustration she was feeling and still missed by a mile as he ducked neatly out of the way of her arm.

  “I’m sorry. That came out wrong.” He grabbed her arms to hold her still. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

  She struggled for a few moments more, before realizing it was getting her nowhere.

  He whispered her name close to her ear and she felt her whole body melt. “Let me help you.”

  “You can help me by taking me to a nearby hotel.”

  Paul was sure Luther would not appreciate him dumping the girl at some anonymous hotel and abandoning her to her fate. But if she was determined, there was nothing he could do to stop her. “All right.” Reluctantly he released her. “I’m parked right over here.”

  He led her back to the car and watched her pretty little nose twitch as if she suddenly smelled something bad.

  She studied the modest car as if seeking some secret message. “What exactly do you do for a living?” she asked. Accepting the open door he offered, she climbed into the passenger seat.

  Paul quirked an eyebrow, suddenly remembering that this was a girl who chased a wealthy basketball player all the way from Detroit. Just another gold digger.

  “I’m in security,” he answered vaguely, having no desire to replace Dashuan Kennedy’s checkbook with his own. She was beautiful, there was no denying that. And probably as shallow as a saucer, he thought, as he pulled away from the curb.

  “So, where do you want me to take you?” he asked, pulling back out into traffic.

  “I don’t care, just somewhere nice and…reasonably priced.” She yawned, relaxing back into the seat of the small car.

  Paul headed in the direction of the airport, thinking to drop her someplace that had shuttle service to the airport terminals, so she wouldn’t have far to go later that morning. He still didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone in a hotel, but he didn’t want to stay in her line of vision too long, either.

  He’d met women like Amber Lockhart many times. Women who used their pretty faces to manipulate men. He glanced at her again and wondered what man would be strong enough to resist an angel. Certainly not himself. No, it was best to leave her at an airport hotel and wish her a safe flight home.

  He glanced at the shopping bags and purse she’d tossed in the backseat and wondered where her luggage was. She’d probably left it behind at Kennedy’s penthouse. What had upset her so badly that she would leave without her luggage?

  “I know it’s not my business, but what exactly happened between you and Kennedy
?”

  She snuggled into the car seat and yawned again. “I caught him in bed with someone else,” she said drowsily.

  Paul knew the confession was a sign of just how exhausted she really was. The woman he’d met earlier would’ve never revealed that embarrassing information. Paul knew she was too tired to edit out what she was saying, and he ruthlessly took advantage of it.

  Of course, finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman would be devastating to a woman like Amber, a woman so sure of her appeal. But something about the whole thing just felt more intense than a casual one-night stand. “Did you know her?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She yawned and he could tell she was fading away.

  “Was she a close friend of yours?” he asked, sure he was on the right track. Nothing hurt worse than a close friend sleeping with your mate.

  “No.” She yawned one final time. “It was his personal trainer, Kelvin Landy.”

  Kelvin? Paul’s eyes widened, realizing the implications of the statement. Dashuan Kennedy, the famous basketball player, caught in bed with another man! His mind quickly sifted through everything that happened earlier. It explained the fear Paul had seen in Kennedy’s eyes. Something like this would ruin the guy’s reputation and possibly his career.

  Keep your mouth shut, bitch. Dashuan’s last words to Amber kept replaying in his head. He glanced over at his passenger, who was now asleep, She was so helpless, alone in an unfamiliar city, and yet her pride refused to accept his help.

  With one final glance at the vulnerable form, he made his decision. He pulled all the way over into the right lane and took the next exit. They were no longer headed toward the airport. Plans had changed. He wondered briefly what she would say when she woke up and realized what he’d done. He was not looking forward to it.

  Chapter 3