Never Christmas Without You

by Nana Malone

  “You were such a menace.”

  “Whatever you want to call it. I knew in that second you were extraordinary. I’ve tried to compare other women to you and it never worked out for me. And I’m sorry I put you through this last week. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right. But it helped me see that I’ve been completely in love with you since the day I met you. You’re funny and smart and kind, and I know you don’t really do displays of affection, but I want to tell you today and every day for the rest of my life that I love you. I’ve been in love with you. It took me a while to figure it out but now that I have, I’m not letting you go. Ever.”

  Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked rapidly to try to dissipate them. “You love me?”

  “Yes. I’ve been trying to tell you all week.”

  “But you said that we’d just come home and we’d go back to being friends.”

  He chuckled. “Because I’m an idiot. And I thought that was what you needed to hear from me. I know emotion isn’t really your strong point. And I didn’t want to spook you. I thought if you thought we could go back to the way things were, you would be more comfortable until you could figure out that you love me, too.”

  “Well, I didn’t need to figure that out. I’ve known it. For years. Which is why this week was so hard.”

  He tugged her to standing and pulled her into his arms. “I love you, Alex Winters. And I want you to be mine forever. You can manage that?”

  Alex laughed even as the tears fell down her cheeks. “Yeah, Justin Morrison, I can manage that.”

  * * * * *

  Check out these other sizzling novella titles by USA TODAY Bestselling Author Nana Malone:

  CITY OF SIN featured in TONIGHT

  HOT CODED CHRISTMAS featured in UNWRAPPING THE HOLIDAYS

  HOT NIGHT IN THE HAMPTONS featured in A VOW OF SEDUCTION

  ILLUSION OF LOVE featured in THIS IS LOVE

  Available now from Harlequin Kimani Romance!

  His Holiday Gift

  Reese Ryan

  For Micah and Caleb—my very special gifts.

  Acknowledgments

  To Shannon Criss, Keyla Hernandez and the rest of the Kimani Romance editorial team: thank you, as always, for helping to make this story stronger while preserving my vision.

  Dear Reader,

  No small-town series would be complete without a holiday novella and a story of the prodigal son who returns home. His Holiday Gift delivers both.

  Despite his reputation as the town bad boy and her unrequited crush on him, Dashon Williams and Mikayla Mitchell were once best friends. Their friendship imploded when Dash fell for her stepsister.

  It’s been seven years since Dash and Mikayla have seen each other or returned to Pleasure Cove, but one determined little girl prompts their holiday reunion.

  Dash and Mikayla must heal old wounds, for Maddie’s sake. But as their relationship heats up, the secrets they’re harboring could destroy everything, leaving them in a battle over the little girl they both adore.

  Enjoy Dash and Mikayla’s story of love, friendship and family. For series news, reader giveaways and more, join my VIP reader list at bit.ly/ReeseRyanVIPReaders.

  Bonne lecture!

  Reese Ryan

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Tempted at Twilight by Jamie Pope

  Chapter 1

  Dashon Williams entered the bustling coffee shop and scanned the crowd twice.

  No sign of Mikayla.

  Dash checked his watch, a rock settling in the pit of his stomach.

  He hadn’t seen or spoken with Mikayla Mitchell in nearly seven years. She’d called out of the blue and asked him to meet her for coffee.

  Thrilled to hear from Mikayla after all these years, his heart nearly beat out of his chest when his assistant announced she was on the phone.

  Yet, Mikayla’s tone was measured and formal. Laced with resentment. Ill will he deserved.

  “Two caramel macchiatos with extra whipped cream, please.”

  The familiar, throaty voice sent a chill down his spine. Dash studied the shapely legs bookended by Mikayla’s trademark black army boots and a short, black skirt that hugged her impressive bottom.

  He blinked. “Mick?”

  Time had been good to the girl who hadn’t been big as a minute in middle school. She was stacked like a brick house.

  Is this what she was hiding beneath those baggy clothes in college?

  “It’s Mikayla.” The Coke-bottle glasses and mousy demeanor were gone. Arms folded, she narrowed her dark eyes, shielded by long, thick lashes. Her smooth brown skin glowed in the midday sunlight streaming through the window.

  Dash snapped his mouth shut and loosened his tie.

  “You look amazing.” He wrapped Mikayla in an awkward hug she didn’t return. “Good to see you.”

  She clearly didn’t feel the same, and he couldn’t blame her.

  Ten years of tight friendship unraveled during the three years he’d dated Mikayla’s stepsister. As insecure as she was beautiful, Jess’s envy was a cancer that slowly eroded his relationship with Mikayla. And he’d let it happen, losing his best friend in the process.

  Allowing Jess’s jealousy to destroy his friendship with Mikayla was his biggest regret.

  “Been a long time, old friend.”

  “It has.” The resentment in Mikayla’s brown eyes was unmistakable. “But this isn’t a social call.”

  “Okay.” The uneasy feeling in Dash’s gut was in full effect again. He tried to pay for her order, but she declined. “What brings you to New York?”

  “We need to talk about what happened between you and Jess.” She pursed her luscious, pink lips.

  She can’t be serious.

  “I tried to tell you my side of the story almost seven years ago, but you wouldn’t take my calls. You changed your number and moved with no forwarding address. I know, because I flew out to San Diego to find you.” Dash kneaded the tension building in his neck. “Now you suddenly have a burning need to discuss what went wrong between me and Jess. Why?”

  “Because I need to know.”

  Jess. Of course. She’d put Mikayla up to this.

  “You want to know what happened between me and Jess? Fine.” They moved to a table in the corner that became available. He leaned across the table, lowering his voice. “I had one hard, fast rule, and she broke it. Don’t blame me because she wasn’t prepared to deal with the consequences of her selfishness.”

  Mikayla looked appalled.

  Clearly he was missing something.

  “She betrayed me.” Dash dragged a hand across his forehead. “It’s just like Jess to find a way to make me the bad guy.”

  Pain and anger flashed in Mikayla’s eyes. “Jess died in a car accident three years ago.”

  “I didn’t know.” Dash swallowed hard. He felt about three inches tall. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not the one who deserves an apology,” Mikayla seethe
d.

  “I’m sorry to hear about Jess. I really am, but my reasons for ending our relationship are personal. I don’t owe you an explanation.”

  Dash retrieved their order and handed Mikayla her coffee. Maybe she’d be more mellow after a shot of caffeine.

  “And what about your daughter? Don’t you think she has a right to know why you abandoned her?”

  Wait...what?

  The sound of a record scratch echoed in Dash’s head, and he nearly shot coffee out of his nose. “Daughter? Mick, what the hell are you talking about?”

  “You expect me to believe you had no idea Jess was eight weeks pregnant when you broke up with her?” Mikayla cocked a brow.

  The entire building was swaying. He was sure of it. “I don’t believe it.”

  He sifted through the memories of those final weeks with Jess.

  Was it possible she was pregnant?

  “No.” He answered the silent question aloud. “It’s just another lie.”

  “What do you mean another lie?” Mikayla raised an eyebrow.

  His grandmother had always taught him never to speak ill of the dead, but Jess had left him in an impossible position.

  He had to tell Mikayla the truth.

  “Jess hooked up with her old boyfriend.” His temples throbbed with the fury he’d felt when he’d first discovered the damning text message. “That’s why I ended it.”

  The anger blazing in Mikayla’s eyes dissipated like clouds at sunset. She looked stunned.

  “Jess claimed I broke up with her because she was pregnant, and you believed her?”

  “The timing made sense. She’s pregnant and suddenly you two break up?”

  Mikayla’s words tore through his chest like a dull, rusty blade.

  “We were best friends for ten years, Mick. How could you believe I’d be that cruel to my own kid?”

  “I swear I didn’t know.”

  “Jess was a manipulative liar who burned me once, so without indisputable evidence, I refuse to believe that—”

  “Are you my daddy?”

  A small voice drew their attention as a little girl approached their table.

  She was the prettiest little thing he’d ever seen. Deep brown skin, a button nose and inquisitive brown eyes.

  His eyes.

  Something in his chest shifted, making it difficult to breathe.

  “Are you my daddy?” the girl asked again.

  Yes. No. Maybe?

  His tongue, cemented to the roof of his mouth, rendered him speechless. Yet he couldn’t stop cataloging her features, so much like his own.

  Chapter 2

  Mikayla wrapped an arm around the little girl who meant everything to her. She hadn’t intended for Maddie to see her father. Not yet. Not until she knew how he’d react to her request that he spend the Christmas holiday with her and Maddie back in Pleasure Cove. The little coastal North Carolina town they’d both grown up in.

  But Maddie was bright, inquisitive and determined. She’d given Mikayla’s friend Lana the slip and made her way to their table.

  “I promise you’ll get to meet your dad, but right now you need to go with Auntie Lana. After we’re done, I’ll take you to that toy store I was telling you about. Okay?”

  Maddie nodded, staring at Dash as she took Lana’s hand and returned to their table tucked at the back of the coffee shop.

  Mikayla turned to Dash, who was still staring at the little girl, his large hands clenched into fists on the table.

  The hurt and anger in his expression tore a hole in her chest.

  What have I done?

  Mikayla placed a gentle hand on Dash’s forearm, but he withdrew from her touch. The full brows she’d always admired formed angry slashes that highlighted the deep furrows in his forehead.

  “I know we lost touch because of Jess, but we were best friends, Mikayla. You know me, and you know how I feel about my father. How could you believe I’d disown my own kid?” Dash’s voice vibrated with hurt and anger.

  “I’m so sorry.” She’d been duped by Jess, but no excuse in the world could make up for what she’d done. “I should’ve known better.”

  “Dammit, Mick, I know Jess was your stepsister, but you and I...we go way back. Long before your mom married her dad.”

  Mikayla gripped her coffee cup, her stomach tightening in a knot. The pain she’d caused Dash and Maddie...she could never undo that.

  “I was honoring what I honestly believed were your wishes and hers. I wanted to protect Maddie from the rejection that...” Mikayla lowered her eyes when Dash’s widened with recognition. “I didn’t want her to get hurt.”

  “You did this to get back at me?” His expression morphed from anger to pain.

  “Do you honestly think I’m petty enough to keep you from your daughter to punish you for choosing Jess over me?” She’d been hurt by Dash’s rejection all those years ago, but she wasn’t a vindictive monster.

  “I didn’t choose Jess over you, Mick.” His tone, laced with pity, hurt more than his anger had. “But I did let Jess drive us apart. And I’ve spent nearly seven years regretting that.”

  “Doesn’t matter anymore.” Mikayla glanced over her shoulder at the little girl who kept stealing looks at them. “All that matters now is that we do right by Maddie.”

  “I appreciate everything you’ve done, but let’s not forget you’re raising her because you and Jess shut me out of her life. I wasn’t given a choice, so excuse me if I’m not applauding your self-sacrifice.”

  Struck by a possibility she hadn’t contemplated, a bone-chilling iciness spread down her spine.

  Will he try to take Maddie away?

  “I was there when Maddie was born, and I’ve taken care of her most of her life, even while Jess was still alive. I love her as much as any mother could. More importantly, legally I’m her mother.”

  Mikayla sat taller, thankful Jess had had the presence of mind to execute a will that named her as Maddie’s designated guardian, facilitating her formal adoption of the child.

  “If she really is my daughter, I was denied my parental rights.” Dash stared at her intently. “That brings the entire adoption into question.”

  Mikayla’s heart thumped. She wouldn’t let Dash take Maddie away. They could go to Ecuador where her mother and stepfather ran their charity, or maybe Costa Rica.

  “Relax.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and released a heavy sigh. “We both need to take a deep breath. Let’s talk about this like civilized adults who have her best interest at heart.”

  She sat across from him, neither of them speaking for several torturous moments.

  “How old is she?” Dash asked finally.

  “Almost six.”

  “Maddie’s a nickname, I suppose.”

  “Her full name is Madison Lisette Mitchell.” Mikayla shifted in her seat as Dash studied her.

  “Jess has been gone three years. In all that time, you didn’t think telling me about Maddie was the right thing to do?”

  Mikayla shrunk in her seat. “I wanted to confront you from the beginning. To tell you how hurt I was by what I thought you’d done.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Jess insisted you didn’t want to be involved. She was determined to prove she could raise Maddie without you. She begged me not to contact you.”

  “What about the messages I left you?”

  Mikayla thought back to Dash’s frantic messages. “They confirmed what I believed.”

  “What are you talking about?” He glared at her, a razor-sharp edge to his voice.

  “You said you hoped I wouldn’t blame you when it was Jess who made the wrong choice.” Mikayla tugged on the sleeve of her hooded sweater. “It lined up with her stor
y about you dumping her because she chose to keep the baby.”

  Dash furrowed his brows. “Ten years of friendship, Mick, and suddenly you believe I’m the kind of guy who’d do something so trifling?”

  “Why not?” Mikayla clenched her fists beneath the table. “You were my best friend, Dash. A pretty face and a pair of double Ds came along and suddenly I didn’t exist.”

  “It wasn’t like that.”

  “It was exactly like that. Maybe you’ve convinced yourself otherwise, but I was there, and I’m the one who got the short end of the stick. So I think I’d remember.”

  “If you believed I was such a horrible person, why’d you bring Maddie here? What’s your end game?”

  Mikayla tried to shake off the pain of his underlying accusation that she was there because she wanted something from him.

  “Maddie’s class is having a daddy-daughter Valentine’s Day dance. She’s been asking to meet you since she saw it on the schedule at the start of the school year. We’re here because the only gift Maddie wants for Christmas is to meet her dad.”

  “If you believed Jess’s story then, why believe me now?”

  “You’ve never lied to me before. Also...I remember Jess meeting her ex for lunch.”

  She’d warned her stepsister that having lunch with the ex who was her personal kryptonite was a colossally bad idea. But Jess was stubborn and determined. Telling her not to do it only compelled her to prove Mikayla wrong.

  “You knew about them?” Dash narrowed his eyes.

  “I had no idea that she’d...” She lowered her gaze, unable to say the words. “I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am. I know I can never make this up to you but—”

  “Then let’s focus on what needs to happen next.” His words were laced with controlled anger. “Starting with a DNA test.”

  “You don’t believe me?”

  “I don’t believe Jess. Then there’s the matter of her ex.”

  Maddie bore no resemblance to the man. Still, Dash made a valid point. Besides, she’d come prepared to prove his paternity beyond a shadow of a doubt.