by Debbie Mason
“Skye, Lily said she saw you running over here. Are you okay? Do you need help?”
“I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute. You can go…” She gagged again before she got back to the bakery out.
“You don’t sound fine, and we’re not going anywhere until we know you’re all right,” Ethan said, his voice whiskey smooth and deep.
“I am. It’s the door.” She rattled it for effect. “It’s stuck, and I can’t get out. So if you could go and get someone… if all of you could go and get someone, that’d be great. Thanks.” And when they did, she’d escape to the woods. The sweat trickling down her chest and back had turned the sparkly purple fabric to shrink-wrap, while the humidity had turned her long, wavy hair into a frizz ball. There was no way she was going to face Mr. and Ms. Perfect looking like something the dog had dragged in and shaken a couple of times before he did.
“Okay, I’ll try and get it to open,” she heard Ethan say.
“No, that’s not a good idea.” The door handle moved, and a metallic scraping sound came from the other side. “What are you doing?”
“Picking the lock.”
“You can’t pick locks,” she blurted in desperation, swiping her arm across her damp forehead. “You’re a lawyer, and you’re running for political office.”
“Appreciate the concern for my reputation, cupcake. But it’s a port-a-potty, and I’m rescuing a damsel in distress.” She heard the amusement in his voice.
“I don’t need rescuing. Go away.” She stupidly took a deep breath to calm herself and started retching again. She sounded like she was horking up a hairball. Covering her mouth and nose with both hands, she turned away, hoping to muffle the noise.
“Hang in there, sweetheart. Just a little bit… There, got it.”
Her eyes widened, and she whipped her head around, reaching for the handle just as it turned. She dug her heels in the damp floorboard, holding on to the handle with both hands.
“Huh, the lock released, how come…” He pulled on the door, a sliver of light entering the space.
They played a silent game of tug-of-war; she leaned back, he inched her forward, she leaned back, he inched her forward. Then, with one last yank from his side, she went flying out the door. Landing hard on her hands and knees at his feet, her tiara askew, Skye threw up on Ethan’s Italian leather shoes.
* * *
The last thing Ethan expected was for Skylar Davis to come flying out of the port-a-potty and land on her hands and knees at his feet. Considering how any interaction he’d ever had with her ended in some kind of drama, he shouldn’t have been surprised.
Moving his shoes out of the line of fire, he crouched beside her and gathered the thick mass of sweat-dampened butterscotch curls in his hand, holding them back from her face. It reminded him of that night a few months ago when he’d had those long locks wrapped around his fist. Unlike now, she’d been making soft, sexy sounds in her throat, her incredible body moving in a sensual rhythm beneath his.
Caught up in the memories, it took Ethan a minute to realize Skye was looking at him from under her ridiculously long lashes. “Sorry, I—” She nudged her chin at his shoes before being overcome by a dry heave.
He grimaced. “Don’t worry about it.” At a loss as how to help her, he went to rub her back, but the lilac wings attached to the sparkly purple fabric got in the way, and rubbing any lower would only get him in trouble. Eight hours after she’d rocked his world that night in April, she’d made it clear she didn’t want him to touch her again. Oh yeah, he had enough experience with a ticked-off Skylar Davis to know better and dropped his hand to his side.
Behind him, Claudia Stevens, his campaign manager, choked out, “Oh, my God, I’ve never smelled anything that bad. I think I’m going to throw up.”
Skye’s cheeks went from pasty white to hot pink. “It wasn’t me. There was a man…” She sighed, pushing herself upright. “It’s a port-a-potty. What do you expect?”
Given the squinty-eyed look Skye aimed at Claudia, Ethan figured he could do both women a favor. He’d seen Skye’s face when Claudia had recognized her at the ceremony earlier today. Added to his campaign manager’s comments, it was obvious the two women had a history. In Skye’s case, it didn’t appear to be a happy one. Then again, she hadn’t been happy to see him, either. Too bad—he didn’t plan on going anywhere until he knew she was all right.
He turned to Claudia, who stood a few feet away in a conservative red dress with a handkerchief pressed to her nose. “Why don’t you head to the booth? I’ll be there shortly.”
Her glossy red lips pursed as she looked from Skye to the port-a-potty. “All right, but you’re scheduled to take part in the hamburger-eating contest in fifteen minutes.”
As a weak groan escaped from Skye, Ethan stood up and offered her a hand. “Might help to settle your stomach if we move away from here.”
“There’s your mother.” Claudia waved. “Over here, Liz.”
Skye groaned louder this time, her gaze shooting to the trees. “Don’t even think about it,” Ethan said, helping her to her feet. “You’re too weak to make a run for it.”
“I wasn’t going to make a run for it,” she scoffed, tugging her hand from his, but he didn’t miss the way her eyes darted from his mother back to the woodland path.
Raising a skeptical brow as he grabbed his bottle of water from the trampled grass, he moved her upwind of the port-a-potty. She rolled her eyes at him, but he wasn’t buying it. His mother, Liz O’Connor, and Skye weren’t exactly on speaking terms. Three months ago, Liz had threatened to have her arrested.
Ethan offered Skye his bottled water. She gave him an as-if look. “I’ll take some gum if you have any.”
He should’ve known better. In their brief time together, Skye, an environmental activist, had lectured him about the damage bottled water did to the environment and the amount of chemicals contained in the plastic. Handing her a stick of gum, he said to Claudia, “Do me a favor and cut my mother off at the pass. I need to speak to Skye for a sec… in private.”
“Skye? Oh right, I keep forgetting that you changed your name, Kendall. Don’t be long, Ethan. We don’t want to keep people waiting. Kendall, come find me later. We have lots to catch up on, and I have to get a picture of you in your adorable costume.”
He heard Skye mutter “Not if I can help it” under her breath before she forced a smile and said, “Sure.”
Claudia bent down to tug her red-spiked heel from the grass, then gingerly made her way down the incline to meet his mother.
“So,” Ethan said, returning his attention to Skye, “how do you know Claudia?”
Head bowed, she yanked on the low-cut bodice. He imagined the effort was intended to keep her full breasts from practically falling out of her dress. Other than distracting him, it wasn’t working. With one last frustrated tug, she blew out a breath and looked up at him. “Our fathers are friends. Richard helped get my dad elected. How did you end up with Claudia as your campaign manager?”
“Richard and my dad were both aides in the Ford White House. They stayed in touch. He advised my parents on their breeding stock, sold them a couple of horses. When my mother told him I was running for the state senate, he suggested I hire Claudia.”
“Small world.”
“Yeah, it is.” He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and asked her the question that had been bugging him since he’d discovered who she was. “How come you never told me your dad was William Davis or that your real name is Kendall?”
She gave him a bewildered look. “Why would I?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Skye. Maybe because we spent the night together.”
“I…” she began, then frowned. “You’re serious.” She shrugged. “We slept together, Ethan. It’s not like we had a relationship.”
She was right, of course. But that didn’t stop the slow burn building in his gut. Because the thing was, she had rocked his world that night. He moved closer, leaning int
o her. “Yeah, well, when I’m deep inside a woman and shouting her name, I’d like to know it’s the right one.”
“Quid pro quo, Ethan. It would’ve been nice to know before we made love that you thought I was some flighty, spoiled rich girl who needed to grow up, and that the causes I supported were nothing more than a joke to you. For that matter, everything I believe in, everything I feel strongly about, you—”
It was kind of hard to take her seriously when she was standing in front of him wearing wings, her cupcake crown sliding onto her forehead. He reached out to straighten it while fighting back a grin. “That’s not what I said. You didn’t give me a chance to explain before—”
Her eyes widened, and she pushed his hand away, shoving the crown back on her head. “You’re doing it again. You think I’m a—”
At the sound of someone approaching, Ethan looked up to see his mother marching toward him with Claudia in tow. “Uh, Skye,” he went to interrupt her, but she was off on a tangent and didn’t stop to take a breath.
“You know what? I don’t care. What happened between us was a mistake, and one I have no intention of repeating. I will never sleep with you again, Ethan O’Connor.”
Because Skye’s voice got increasingly louder the more agitated she became, his mother heard her and shot him an accusatory stare. Claudia shot him a disbelieving one. And Skye, who’d just then realized she had an audience, looked like she wanted to turn him into a toad.
“Mom, you remember Skye, Madison’s best friend?” He gave Liz a warning look, one he hoped she wouldn’t ignore.
“Ms. Davis.” His mother directed a tight nod at Skye and looped her arm through his. “Darling, they’re waiting for you to start the hamburger-eating contest.”
“Hi, Mrs. O’Connor,” Skye said politely. “I have to get going, too. Cake Fairy duties, you know. Have fun eating all those cows… I mean burgers.” She started to walk away, then turned and took the bottle of water from his hand. “We can’t have the senator-to-be looking less than his best, now can we?” Before he realized what she was up to, Skye unscrewed the cap and doused his shoes with water.
Ethan raised his eyes from his now-clean but soaked shoes. With a withering smile, Skye handed him the empty bottle. “When you get tired of killing poor, defenseless animals to adorn your feet, let me know. Target has a great deal on pleather ones.”
Her mouth hanging open, his mother stared after Skye. “I can’t believe she just did that. What is wrong with that girl?” She pinched his arm. “And what is wrong with you? I can’t believe you slept—”
“I’m thirty-six years old, Mom, who I… spend time with is none of your business.” He watched Skye, wings flapping, flounce toward Madison, who was jogging up the path with a man in a blue uniform shirt.
“It most certainly is my business. You’re running for state senate. Being involved with a woman like Skylar Davis would destroy your chances.”
“We’re not involved. But I think you’re being overly dramatic.” And he’d had about all the drama he could take for one day.
Claudia looped her arm through his. “I’m happy to hear that, Ethan, because Liz is right. She’s a campaign manager’s worst nightmare. Well, the manager of a Republican candidate’s worst nightmare, at least,” Claudia said with a laugh, then tilted her head to study him. “I’m surprised you were involved with her. You two have nothing in common.”
Ethan was only half-listening to Claudia. He was too busy watching a group of kids swarm Skye. They wrapped their arms around her legs and waist, tugging on her hands. She laughed, playfully spinning in a circle as they hung off her.
“Ethan O’Connor, get that smile off your face and stop looking at that girl,” his mother snapped. “You’re like a dog in heat.”
“Nice, Mom, real nice,” he said, as they headed in the direction of the sign-up booth. Both women clung to his arms as if they didn’t trust him not to go chasing after Skye with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging.
A distinct possibility.
Because from the first time he’d laid eyes on Skylar Davis, he’d wanted her with an intensity that nearly knocked him on his ass. And once he got her in his bed, he didn’t want to let her go. But he was smart enough to realize that both Claudia and his mother were right. Any involvement with Skylar Davis would kill his chances in the election.
She was a bleeding-heart liberal who believed in same-sex marriage and gun control and could turn a simple difference of opinion into a reason for all-out war. And there was nothing Ethan wanted more than to win a seat in the state senate. He’d made a promise to his father, and he planned to keep it.
ALSO BY DEBBIE MASON
The Trouble with Christmas
Christmas in July
It Happened at Christmas
Wedding Bells in Christmas
Acclaim for
The Christmas, Colorado Series
WEDDING BELLS IN CHRISTMAS
“Romance readers will absolutely love this story of matchmaking and passion rekindled. Wedding Bells in Christmas is the very definition of a well-fought-for HEA.”
—RT Book Reviews
“I loved this book. For me, it was the perfect example of small-town contemporary done right. It’s definitely going on my Top Ten Books of 2015 list.”
—SimplyAngelaRenee.blogspot.com
“I completely enjoyed visiting Christmas again. This novel is full of rich, full-flavored characters with a story line that never lets up and keeps you turning page after page to discover what happens next. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who wants an intense, involved story that brings in the entire town for the celebration of two people falling in love.”
—KeeperBookshelf.com
IT HAPPENED AT CHRISTMAS
“4 Stars! Take another trip to Christmas, Colorado, and you’ll be guaranteed a wonderful time.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Debbie Mason gives the reader an excellent love story that can be read all year long… You must pick up It Happened at Christmas.”
—NightOwlRomance.com
“A passionate, liberal environmental activist and a straight-arrow conservative lawyer looking to the senate set the sparks flying in this nonstop, beautifully crafted adventure that skillfully unwraps a multilayered plot, adds an abundance of colorful characters and a familiar setting, and proves in no uncertain terms that opposites do attract.”
—Library Journal
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
“A heartwarming, feel-good story. I have not read anything written by Debbie Mason before, but now I have to read more of her books because I enjoyed Christmas in July so much.”
—HarlequinJunkie.com
“Debbie Mason’s books are the type of books that leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling… Christmas in July is a great read.”
—FreshFiction.com
“4 Stars! A quintessential romance with everything readers love: familiar and likable characters, clever dialogue, and a juicy plot.”
—RT Book Reviews
THE TROUBLE WITH CHRISTMAS
“A fun and festive tale, flush with small-town warmth and tongue-in-cheek charm. The main characters are well worth rooting for, their conflicts solid and riveting.”
—USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog
“4 Stars! This is a wonderful story to read this holiday season, and the romance is timeless… This is one of those novels readers will enjoy each and every page of and tell friends about.”
—RT Book Reviews
“The lovers are sympathetic and well drawn… Mason will please fans of zippy small-town stories.”
—Publishers Weekly
“I’m very impressed by [Mason’s] character development, sense of humor, and plotting… Ms. Mason wraps this book up as if it were a very prettily wrapped package. Why not open the pages and have a Christmas present early?”
—LongandShortReviews.com
“Debbie Mason has created a humorous,
heartwarming tale that tugged at my heartstrings while tickling my funny bone… a community that I enjoyed visiting and hope to visit again.”
—TheRomanceDish.com
Fall in Love with Forever Romance
A BAD BOY FOR CHRISTMAS
by Jessica Lemmon
Connor McClain knows what he wants, but getting Faith Garrett into his arms this holiday is going to require more than mistletoe…
SNOWBOUND AT CHRISTMAS
by Debbie Mason
Grayson Alexander never thought being snowbound in Christmas, Colorado, for the holiday would get so hot. But between working with sexy, tough Cat O’Connor and keeping his real reason for being there under wraps, he’s definitely feeling the heat. And if there’s one thing they’ll learn as they bring out the mistletoe, it’s that in this town, true love is always in season…
UNWRAPPED
by Katie Lane
Contractor Patrick McPherson is deeply committed to his bachelor lifestyle. But as the Christmas season approaches, he still can’t quite forget his curvalicious onenight stand. Then Jacqueline shows up unexpectedly, and all holiday hell breaks loose. Because this year, Patrick is getting the biggest Christmas surprise of his life…
PLAYING DIRTY
by Tiffany Snow
In the second book in Tiffany Snow’s Risky Business series, Sage Reece must choose between bad-boy detective Dean Ryker and sexy power-player Parker Anderson. Caught between a mobster out for revenge and two men who were once best friends, Sage must play to win—even if it means getting dirty…
THE TAMING OF MALCOLM GRANT
by Paula Quinn
The beautiful and blind Emmaline Grey risks everything to nurse the mysterious Malcolm Grant back to health. But can she heal his broken heart too? Fans of Lynsay Sands, Karen Hawkins, and Monica McCarty will love the next book in Paula Quinn’s sinfully sexy Scottish Highlander series.
