Red Hot Christmas (Pride Series Romance Novels)

by Jill Sanders

  She stopped by the restaurant often and had even taken a notepad once to write down some things she wanted to find out. She still hadn't met Lacey. It seemed every time Amber was there, Lacey had just left at Iian's request.

  It wasn't until the night before she was supposed to start working that she finally met Lacey Stevens. Amber had walked into the grocery store to get some more eggs for her morning omelet when a very small, but very pregnant woman walked in pushing a cart with a little dark-haired girl in the seat. The whole store seemed to hush when the woman entered. The shoppers went around making their purchases without all the chatter Amber had witnessed several times before.

  Amber decided to step forward and say something, but Lacey had already spotted her and had headed in her direction.

  “Amber?” Amber noticed that the little girl Lacey was pushing squealed happily when they approached.

  Amber nodded her head. “You must be Lacey Stevens.”

  “Yes, and this little one is my daughter, Lillian.” The little girl waved her hands and said, “I'm three,” over and over again. “Yes, Lilly is three,” Lacey said laughing.

  “I've been wondering when I'd run into you. It seems every time I stop by the restaurant, you've just left.”

  “Yes, well, you can thank my brother and husband for that. They keep ganging up on me. I've heard wonderful things about you. I'm sorry I wasn't able to interview you and greet you myself. My brother decided to take the reins on all this since I've got a little one who likes to interrupt phone conversations.”

  “That's alright. Iian and some of the staff have shown me around. I'm feeling pretty confident about my first day tomorrow.”

  “Good, if there is anything—”

  “I'm two,” Lilly broke in holding up five chubby fingers. They both laughed.

  It had been almost a week since he'd seen

  Amber around. It wasn't that he was ignoring her or trying to avoid her, it was that he had a big project going that demanded all his time and attention. The first night he was free, he got dressed up and took his favorite girl out for a fancy restaurant dinner.

  “Gran, do you want a booth or a table?” he asked, walking next to his grandmother, holding onto her arm.

  “Oh, let's see.” She glanced around. “A table would be nice. Maybe one over there.” She pointed to the section overlooking the water, right by the fireplace.

  The hostess walked them to a cleared table and they sat down as his eyes scanned the dining area. Finally, after they ordered, he saw Amber come out of the back doors with a large tray in hand. She helped another waitress hand out the dinner plates for a large group. He noticed her movements were smooth, and her smile was always in place. She looked totally at ease doing the job. Once the table was served, she walked over to the hostess and talked with several people who had just come in. It took her almost five minutes to finally see and acknowledge him.

  When she did, she walked over to their table, smile still in place.

  “This must be your grandmother. I haven't gotten a chance to thank you personally for the wonderful brownies.” She shook his gran's frail hand.

  “Oh, well, aren't you a sweetie.” He watched his grandmother smile at him across the table. He wanted to roll his eyes at her, but he knew better. She had that sparkle in her eye that told him she was up to her matchmaking ways. His gran was part of the town group that had setup so many other young couples in town. At least they liked to think they’d had a hand in pairing them up. There was no way he was going to fall for her tricks. He knew them all.

  “How's work going?” He smiled and decided a quick change of subject was in order.

  “Well,” she said, looking around, “I can't wait for this training period to be over. I know it's standard to allow me to get familiar with everything, but what I really want to do is get my hands dirty and start making some improvements.” She smiled. “But you don't want to hear about my boring job. Oh, look, here's your food now. You two enjoy your meal. It was nice meeting you Mrs. Crawford.”

  With that she walked off smoothly as their food arrived. He smiled at her backside as he watched her hips sway.

  “The last time someone looked at me like that... Well, let's just say it was a very long time ago. Now, get your eyes off that pretty girl and on your food and eat up.” His gran smiled across the table at him. He thought he saw a hint of sadness in her eyes.

  Reaching across the table, he squeezed her hand lightly as he smiled at her. “What are you talking about? Men still look at you like that.”

  She laughed and swatted his hand, then they started enjoying their dinner.

  When he arrived home later, there was a slew of messages on his opened chat session. It seemed the new deadline for his current project was in two days. Now, instead of taking his time, he'd have to pull an all-nighter and cram for the next two days to get it all done. He loved his job and working for himself, but at times he wondered why he did it. Then he would sit down and start to create his worlds, and he would remember why he did what he did. Not only was he good at it, he really enjoyed it.

  If you would have asked him in high school what he wanted to be, the last thing he would have said was a graphic designer and programmer. Not only did the job not exist fifteen years ago, but there was no way he would have said he could sit still long enough to create anything.

  ADHD had been a huge hindrance in his school work, not to mention the dyslexia that ran in his family. His grandfather and father had struggled with it their whole lives. Sometimes he had to step away from the computer screen and run around the block, just to stay focused.

  The weekly basketball games with Iian, Aaron, and a few other guys helped center his mind. Lately, they had added a few new members, since some of the old school buddies had moved away. Since the Coast Guard had set up shop in Pride a few years ago, they’d had their pick of new comers who wanted to take part in a high-impact game of basketball, where you would usually walk away with a bloody nose or fat lip.

  He smiled remembering the last game and how he'd taken Allen, one of Pride’s newest residents and one of the toughest coast guard pilots and ex-Navy SEALS Luke had ever met, to his knees. Yeah, the games were a great way to blow off some steam.

  But this week he'd have to work extra hard if he was going to make the standard Wednesday game at the Boys and Girls Club. He had his room all setup for the long haul and got to work. He surfaced a few times when his gran called him downstairs to eat, and he showered to refresh himself once. But for the most part, he spent two straight days working his butt off. When the project was done, he slept for twenty-four hours and woke a few hours before his game with the guys.

  Knowing he had a whole month off before his next project was due made him smile. Yeah, this was the reason he worked for himself. That and the money that sat in the bank, untouched for the most part since his return home. When he’d moved back home, he'd started paying his gran's bills, but she’d gotten wind of it and he hadn't heard the end of it for weeks. He knew she was financially stable, even after his grandfather's passing, but that didn't stop him from trying to help her out. Instead, he did little things around the house that needed to be taken care of. He even took on the bigger jobs like the roof and staining the back deck. She was always there watching over him with a plate of cookies or—god willing—brownies.

  He looked down as his stomach growled. “No brownies for you. How about we stop by the Golden Oar for a sandwich before the game?” He rubbed his stomach as he walked out the door and thought about seeing Amber again.

  Chapter Five

  Amber was covered in garbage. Well, not covered, but she certainly had bits of trash in her hair and on her clothes. She'd never been more embarrassed in her life as when she’d walked back into the back door of the restaurant and everyone in the kitchen had started laughing at her. When she saw Iian's face, she knew she had just been accepted into the family at the Golden Oar.

  She couldn't help it, she smiled
and took her bow.

  “I'm sorry, we couldn't resist.” Iian smiled and handed her a clean uniform top. “You can go clean up in my office. There's a sink and towels in there.” He chuckled.

  She squinted her eyes at him, realizing she would have to pay more attention to him and making a mental note to be leery of any “extra” tasks he asked of her in the future.

  Walking past him, she grabbed her bag and went into his office to start changing, mentally checking off the task of taking the trash out on a very windy day, especially on a dock right on the ocean.

  It had been a little over a week since she'd first moved to Pride and she’d known that the initiation was coming, just as with any restaurant. She'd enjoyed the job and the people so far and knew that most of them were kind and fun to be around. At least this time she hadn't gotten locked in the freezer for ten minutes like she had at her last job.

  She set the extra shirt down and took off her dirty one which was covered in god knows what. She smelled and wanted a shower very badly, but she still had three hours left in her shift. So she walked over to the large countertop and looked at herself in the large mirror. Yup, she needed a shower. There were bits of trash and food in her hair. Taking a towel down, she decided to dunk her whole head under the sink to try and remove the smell and debris. As she washed her hair, she thought about how her apartment was coming together. She really enjoyed living in the small town. Being above the only grocery store had its perks. She found herself sitting in the living room looking out the large windows, watching people come and go. It helped her in her job, seeing those faces come into the restaurant. It almost made it feel like she knew everyone. She would go out of her way at work to ask names and remember them. She'd finally unpacked the last of her boxes the night before and was thankful that the place finally felt like her home.

  Amber was bent over the sink and had gotten most of the junk from her hair when she heard the door open and close. Twisting, she saw Luke leaning against the door, his arms crossed, a large smile on his face.

  “Got hit with the trash trick, huh?”

  She went back to washing her hair with the liquid hand soap. “Do they do that to everyone?”

  She heard him laugh and walk closer. “No, just those who are new to town. Most locals know better than to try and do anything during high winds.”

  She was having a hard time getting her whole head under the running water. She twisted her neck around, trying to let the water run down her left side, moving her body at an odd angle.

  “Here,” he said and she felt him stand behind her. His hands started to gently rub her scalp. “Let me help you get it all.” She felt him picking something out of her hair and closed her eyes. Then his hands were massaging soap in her hair, and she thought she'd died and gone to heaven.

  She stood there, her hands braced on the edge of the countertop, dreaming of how it would feel to have his hands run all over her. The clean smell of the soap mixed with his scent, almost sent her over the edge. It had been months since she'd been touched by a man and just the thought of it had her squirming. She tried to move her mind in a different direction, but then he moved ever so slightly so that his thigh brushed up against hers.

  She was wearing a pair of black leggings, so she could almost feel the heat coming off his legs. She thought about him moving more so he would stand between her legs, how it would feel to have him holding her hips as he moved behind her. She almost moaned, but caught herself. His fingers were moving gently over her hair, and she could hear her heart beating erratically as she imagined what she wanted him to do to her.

  When he was done scrubbing her scalp clean, he cupped his hands and started to rinse the soap from her hair. She tried to steady her breathing, to slow it down and think of something different, anything but how wonderful it would feel to have him touch her.

  Then he turned off the water and handed her a towel. She dried her hair and wrapped the towel around her head. When she stood up he was smiling at her, and then he chuckled.

  “What?” She looked at him; he looked sexy in a pair of old jeans that were torn on one knee. He had on an old MIT sweatshirt that had seen better days. She wondered if he'd visited the campus to get it. “What's so funny?” She took the towel off her head since it was making her feel a little weird. She tossed it on the countertop and started finger combing her hair, trying to get her mind off the fact that she had almost had an orgasm a second earlier.

  “You. You're standing there trying to act like you're not as affected as I am.” He was still standing close, and when she went to cross her arms over her chest, she realized that she was standing there in her black, almost see-through bra and her skin tight leggings. She was practically naked. Her face turned red, and she moved to grab the uniform shirt that Iian had given her.

  “Oh, no.” He blocked her by taking hold of her arm and standing between her and the shirt. “Don't get all shy on me now.” He brushed a strand of her wet hair away from her face. Then he cupped her face and pulled her closer. When their lips met, she swore her eyes crossed and she could feel goose bumps rise all over her skin. His fingertips lightly ran down her neck as his hot mouth took her breath away. Slowly he backed her up until she was against the marble countertop. He took her hips and pulled her up so she sat, legs spread, on the counter. Then he pulled her close as he stood between her legs, all the while his hands roaming slowly over her exposed skin.

  She hadn't known a man could kiss like this. Every thought in her head disappeared. Every question she had about him was gone. Only the feeling of his lips, the taste of him, mattered. She arched her body into his and felt his arousal tight up against his jeans, against her core as he pulled her closer.

  She'd never wanted something so badly as to be able to let him take her here, now. But then there was a loud crash in the kitchen, and she realized where they were. What they were doing. It was worse than having cold water dumped over the both of them. He stood back and blinked a few times. His hands went to his pockets as he looked down at his feet.

  “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...”

  She jumped from the countertop and quickly put on the extra shirt, which was a few sizes too big for her. Trying to do everything she could to avoid eye contact, she walked over to the mirror and started to braid her long wet hair.

  “Thank you for helping me. Were you here to see Iian?” She tried to regain some of her composure.

  He cleared his throat. “Yes and no. I was just having a sandwich before the game.”

  “Game?” She turned and looked at him.

  “Yeah,” he smiled as he walked forward and ran the long braid between his fingers. “Iian and I and a bunch of other guys have played basketball down at the B&G club ever since I can remember. That's how I got this.” He smiled and held up his arm showing her a scar that ran down the side of his elbow.

  “Oh, how terrible.” She was shocked that he'd still play after such a bad injury.

  “No.” He smiled again, “It's wonderful. Like a battle scare. All the other guys are jealous.”

  She decided then that there was no way she would ever understand men.

  Luke took the elbow to the face and twisted a little so he could put his elbow into Aaron Steven's ribs. Both men smiled as they scuffled for the ball. Finally, Luke twisted away, victorious, until Iian materialized right behind him and snagged the ball out of his hands.

  Of course, it didn't help that Luke couldn't keep the thought and taste of Amber out of his head. He found himself daydreaming through the game and knew that it was all his fault that his team was now ten points behind Iian's. But at this point he didn't care. He'd purposely chosen not to wager on this game, knowing his mind was somewhere else.

  How was he supposed to stay focused when he could still taste her on his lips? He missed a pass from Allen and almost ended up with a ball to the face. Shaking his head, he decided to put all thoughts of the soft, tasty woman he wanted in his bed out of his mind. Which worked for
all of five minutes.

  When the game was done, Allen walked over to him and grabbed him in a neck hold.

  “Okay, who is she?” He rubbed his knuckles over Luke's hair, efficiently giving him a noogie that burned his scalp.

  “I don't know what you're talking about, bro.” Luke tried to get out of the ex-Navy sEAL’s grip, but the man had arms like vices.

  “Yeah, who is she?” Aaron walked over holding the ball and grinning. Aaron was the local doctor in town, but it didn't stop him from playing rough on the court.

  Iian walked over with a questioning look on his face. Since no one was signing the conversation, he had no clue what was going on. Finally, Aaron set the ball down and explained, which allowed Iian to get in on the harassment.

  “Oh, it has to be Amber Kennedy. You should have seen the two of them sneaking out of my office earlier today. He looked just like you did, Aaron, when I caught you and my sister necking on the couch.”