Romancing the Holidays: Twelve Christmas Romances - Benefits Breast Cancer Research

by Crista McHugh

“Oh, I don’t know. Kevin seems to be on the hunt.” The red-haired man had attempted to hit on every woman in the bar.

  “The sod. He’s had too much to drink. Excuse me.”

  The group reminded her of Sara and her brothers’ bickering around the dinner table. Her smile soon faded at the reminder of the inn and its occupants.

  She had not been able to put Luke out of her mind. Even a continent away, he was driving her crazy. Time would erase the hold he had on her, wouldn’t it? She’d never felt like this about a man, so she had nothing to compare it to. Still, it had to pass. It had been a passing fancy, that’s all.

  Excusing herself, she caught a cab back to the corporate flat the company had put her in for the duration of her stay. Christmas was just two days away. She guessed she’d relax, catch up on files, and review the itinerary for the next month.

  The next morning at the food distribution warehouse, children were running rampant. Santa was coming, and they were so excited. He was not only handing out food boxes but a toy to each boy and girl.

  Their innocent, glee-filled faces touched her. Such pure delight. The volunteers worked endless hours to organize the boxes and collect toys to give the children. They were true angels.

  Lindsay snapped pictures of the children waiting in line for Santa. She captured the smiles of the volunteers as they gave the boxes away to grateful parents needing help to feed their children. She turned to snap additional pictures and stopped in her tracks as a red and black flannel shirt came into view. Luke? Luke was here? Her knees felt weak. Her insides exploded with tension and excitement.

  He'd come for her? She quickly weaved her way through the crowd trying to get to him. Placing her hand on his arm, she cried out, “Luke.”

  The startled man turned in her direction. It wasn’t Luke.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I thought you were someone else. So sorry.” Heat rose up her neck and spread across her face.

  A crushing sensation in her chest made it feel as though it was caving in. She backed up against a wall for support. She couldn’t breathe. Of course, he hadn’t come for me. I pushed him away. I chose my job over him. Why would he follow me across the world when I’d rejected him? Tears streamed down her face. She missed him so much she felt like she was dying. The compartment she’d hid her feelings in cracked open and spilled its contents, filling her up with love like she’d never felt before. She knew it was love because it was warm. It made her feel secure. It made her feel wanted and needed. It didn’t make her feel claustrophobic like she thought it would.

  She loved him. With all her heart. And she’d thrown it away by leaving. He had never asked her to choose. He’d asked her to share herself with him, and she’d been too afraid to let him in…afraid he wouldn’t stay like everyone else in her life.

  My, God! She had been a coward when it had mattered most. She wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks away. She had to go back. She had to try and explain. If he turned her away, at least he would know the truth.

  She ran from the food bank and hailed a cab. She called the airport on the way to the flat. God willing, she’d be there for Christmas.

  * * * * *

  “Sara, I can’t believe you made me a cookbook. I love it! Thank you,” Cheryl gushed to her sister-in-law.

  “You’re very welcome. Now Danny can’t complain that you don’t have Mom’s recipes.”

  “Here. Open this one.” Nate handed her a small package the size of a shoebox.

  She sat down excitedly. Luke watched as Nate seemed antsy for her to open it.

  She ripped of the paper and opened the lid. Inside was a piece of paper. She looked up at him questioning. Underneath the paper was a jeweler’s box.

  “Read the note first.”

  “Okay.” Her hands shook as she opened it. Her fingers covered her lips as she read it. Tears sprang to her eyes.

  “Are you sure? You don’t have to do this.”

  “I know I don’t, but do you think I’m going to be on the road and leave you and baby at home alone. I don’t think so. The kid might end up thinking Luke is his or her daddy.”

  Two things happened. The room realized Nate was not going back on tour, and that Sara was pregnant.

  An uproar ensued. Luke smiled from his corner of the room, happy for his friends. He sipped his whiskey, and let them enjoy their moment. In the recesses of his mind, he wondered what a certain dark-haired stubborn woman was doing half-way around the world.

  Amid the ruckus, the front door was blown open by the wind…or a whirlwind.

  The crowd was blocking his view of the door, but he’d recognize that voice anywhere.

  “Am I too late for dessert?”

  She’d come back.

  It seemed this Christmas was full of surprises.

  “Lindsay, oh, my goodness. You couldn’t have gotten here at a better time. I’m going to have a baby, and Nate isn’t going back on the road. He wants to write music and stay home with us. Isn’t that amazing?”

  “A baby?” They hugged and cried at the same time.

  The crowd parted like the Red Sea as Sara released Lindsay.

  He stood, walking toward her slowly, each step feeling like a mile.

  “Am I too late?” she was speaking directly to him.

  “I’m pretty sure there is some form of dessert left.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

  “Then maybe you should be clearer about what it is that you do want.” He wasn’t letting her off the hook that easily. His insides were raw from the pain he’d dealt with since she'd left him.

  “I love you. I should have told you that before, but I wasn’t ready to face it. I’m not sure I even knew it, until I left and…”

  “I’m sorry. I thought I had to choose between my career and you. I felt if I gave myself to you, I wouldn’t be me anymore, but what I realized is I’ve never felt more whole than when I am with you. You’re it, Luke. You’re my other half. Without you, I’m broken. You got under my skin and into my heart.”

  He didn’t make her wait any longer. He couldn’t wait any longer.

  With a whoop and a holler that rattled the rafters, he swung her into his arms and circled her around, making her dizzy.

  “Careful. I just got off a 15-hour flight and am surviving on cocktails and peanuts. I’m not feeling so great.”

  He looked at her then, closely. He could see the dark circles under her eyes, see that she had lost a few pounds. She had suffered as much as he had. That was done with. They were together again, and he was never letting go, well…

  “Here’s the deal, just so we are clear. I want you here with me, but I understand your commitment to your work. I won’t stand in your way, but we will not go more than three weeks without seeing each other. If your job requires longer than that, then I’ll go with you. Deal?”

  “You would do that for me?” Shock registered across her face.

  “And so much more.” His lips met hers as she melted into him.

  “This is the best Christmas ever,” Lindsay cried.

  “Picture perfect,” Luke declared as Sara snapped a photo of them with her phone for prosperity.

  ~ The End ~

  Website: www.authorsavannagrey.com

  Reader: If you enjoyed this story, please leave a review, no matter how brief, on the site where you bought this book.

  We are attempting to sell thousands of books to benefit CANCER AWARENESS and your review helps more than you can imagine, even if you only read one or two of the books.

  Thank you and Happy Holidays!

  ~The 13 Authors of Romancing the Holidays~

  BOOK 10

  Tinseled Up In Texas

  Book Five of the Halos & Horns Series

  A Novella by

  Lori Leger

  After burying both her parents within months of each other, Niki Reeves needs a change. She takes the first opening her employer offers and transfers from Missouri to San Antonio, Texas. Her fi
rst night in a strange city, an old love interest makes a surprise appearance at her door. Grateful for the sight of a friendly face, she somehow manages to resist the blue eyes, sexy grin, and rock-hard body of the former Marine-turned-rancher who has disappointed her in the past.

  Matthew “Tex” Broussard leads a solitary life on his ranch in Blanco, just north of San Antonio. He’s got plenty of time to contemplate past mistakes, his greatest being his treatment of Niki. He’s never been able to forget the green-eyed, buxom blond he’d once ditched in order to spend time with a pole dancer.

  Will Tex’s southern boy charm be enough to convince her he’s a changed man? And will Niki find enough Christmas spirit to grant Tex the gift of a second chance?

  Copyright © 2017 by Lori Leger

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product

  of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to

  actual persons, living or dead, events, locales, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

  retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,

  mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission

  of the publisher.

  Dedication

  To Ms. Patsy and Mr. Ronald Sedtal … I appreciate your support and I hope you don’t mind me borrowing your names for purely fictitious purposes only.

  Also, to any person who has ever had to put up with any kind of sexual harassment on the job or off of it, by any member of any gender—you don’t have to take that. Not from anyone. This happens between opposite genders and same genders and is just as wrong in all situations. Be proactive. Believe in yourself. Believe in your right to speak out.

  Finally, to any US Marine who has seen things that can’t be unseen and lost members of his or her Marine family they’ll never see again, you have my deepest appreciation. “Ooh rah” and God bless you all.

  In closing, although I did address a couple of serious issues, this is a light hearted romance, with just enough heat to warm you up on a cold winter night. I enjoyed revisiting the Niki and Tex storyline and I’m glad I got this opportunity to give them some closure—I’d left them out in limbo long enough. I’m sure they’ll continue to pop up in future volumes of my Halos & Horns series.

  Prologue

  February 25th

  She should have known he’d show up looking like a poster boy for Man Whores of America.

  Matthew “Tex” Broussard looked mighty fine in his best man attire—a supersized order of broad-shouldered sexy with a healthy side serving of testosterone. He'd paired a tailored black tuxedo jacket with a pressed white dress shirt, and tight-in-all-the-right-places black jeans. Tex removed his black felt Stetson upon entering the church, revealing a modified version of a military haircut, only with a bit more length on the sides and back. A becoming change from the longer length he’d worn the last time Niki had seen him—the neatly trimmed goatee he’d adopted since retiring from the Marines still adorned his handsome face, accentuating the masculine square jaw. His high quality black western boots were polished and shined, and a black bolo type tie with some type of silver medallion completed the look. The man had impeccable taste in clothing, down to the tiniest detail.

  Nicole "Niki" Reeves couldn’t say the same for his taste in company. He and his walking cliché of a ‘date’ entered the church—Tex’s hand pressed intimately at the woman’s completely bare backside down to barely concealed butt cleavage. As an extra insult, his “plus-one” faced Niki briefly, giving her a far too clear view of front cleavage pouring out of the skin-tight, leopard print dress. She'd accessorized the ensemble with spiked heels, flashy jewelry, and register-as-a-deadly-weapon grade fingernails. For some reason, Niki's mind flashed to a mental image, an often-seen memory of her Irish grandmother, twenty years dead now, making the sign of the cross while muttering a “Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph!”

  Tex faced her then, nodded in her direction. “Nicole . . .”

  Her name, coming from those lips—it always sent shivers down her spine. “Matthew . . .” she returned, sending him the slightest of nods. She shifted her gaze to the woman, whose over-applied makeup and false eyelashes had Niki wanting to attack her with a washcloth and a bar of soap. She reigned in the urge to scoff, or at least give the woman a single eyebrow-lift of disapproval, instead smiled politely before retreating into the room where the bride and her little boy were hidden away from curious gazes. In just minutes her best friend, Megan, would marry Mitchell Hebert, Tex's Marine brother. Mitch would be a great dad to Buck, Meagan's son from a previous relationship. As happy as she was for all three of them, this day couldn’t end soon enough.

  Once the ceremony began, Niki tried to concentrate as Meagan and Mitch exchanged their vows in the small church in Lake Coburn. She attempted to slow the pounding of her heart, no easy feat with Tex standing too damn close to her. Of course, she’d known Tex would be Mitchell’s best man. The two former Marines had been friends for twenty years. No surprise there.

  The truth was that even after all these months she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Tex, even though they’d only shared two nights of unbelievably hot sex. Niki shook her head, chastising herself for thinking such a thing in a church. At some point, she’d decided that whatever attraction they shared may be an underlying sign of something deeper, something worth pursuing. She’d devised a brilliant plan: pull him aside at some point during the private party for the bride and groom at Red’s club and tell him that if he wanted to try again, she’d be willing.

  She stood stiffly beside Tex, amazed at her own naiveté. In true Tex fashion—he’d arrived at the church with a woman who, judging from her attire and blatant stares at every male in the room, could very well be charging him an hourly rate. It amazed her that even after the infamous poll dancer incident years earlier, Tex still possessed such shock and awe capabilities. She cast a furtive glance at the six and half foot tall mountain of a man who exuded sex appeal, cringed when he caught her in the act. He gave her the classic one-sided, dimpled grin, his blue eyes sparkling with—what—amusement? Some twisted desire for revenge? Or did he possess some unfortunate need to flaunt his poor judgement in front of her? Damn him, anyway.

  She squared her shoulders and faced the front of the church, making her final decision on the matter. She wouldn’t waste another second thinking about the past, or a future, or anything else that concerned Tex Broussard.

  * * * *

  He hadn't expected Niki to come alone.

  Tex had expected her to show up on the arm of some asshole with an MBA ready to discuss hedge fund strategies and investment opportunities. He’d debated with himself over whether or not to come alone, finally deciding to pad his own ego with a little preventative measure. He'd met “Star” last night at a new strip club in Beaumont. Like a last second impulse buy of beef jerky or gum at a cash register, he'd asked her to come along to the wedding as his 'plus one'. She hadn’t needed much convincing, her only request being that she be allowed to use her stage name in hopes of drumming up a little business. A girl could never have a long enough list of clients.

  The newlyweds had been less than enthusiastic once introductions were made. The “she’s working her way through college” line had zero effect on his best friend’s new bride. Meagan had simply shaken her head and walked away with a low grumble—one of those ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say, ignore the idiotic best man’ moments. She had taken the time to toss one last “He’s your friend—you deal with him,” at her new husband. Mitch had given him a good reaming about it, telling him Niki had come solo—and rumor had it she’d wanted to speak to Tex about something.

  Less than an hour into the reception, he made a lame excuse to Star and left to bring her back to Orange, a thirty-five-minute drive just over the Texas line. He dropped her off a
nd exceeded several speed limits during the drive back to the reception. He made it back in under an hour, ready to throw himself at Niki’s feet and beg forgiveness—only to discover she’d been called away for a family emergency. Her father had a stroke at her parents' home in St. Louis, Missouri.

  He drove home that night, slightly depressed and more than a little disappointed at the turn of events. Just one more round of bad timing to ruin what might have been.

  Chapter 1

  Mid-November

  One quick glance at the curvy blond behind the cash register called for a double-take. With her head lowered just for a few seconds he could have sworn she was someone else. All hope faded the instant she glanced his way.

  “Yes sir, what can I help you with today?”

  He tossed the bag of beef jerky on the counter along with a six-pack of Mexican beer, momentarily shocked at the “sir” tag she’d attached to him. She couldn’t have been much older than twenty-one, and he was far from interested. Damn if it didn’t sting anyway.

  She studied his items, her pouty pink lips curving inward to hide a grin. “Looks like you’re partying solo tonight.”

  He answered with a non-committal grunt, ready to go home and lubricate his wounded pride with a bottle of beer.

  She smiled, baring perfect white teeth. “You betcha. Come again.”

  He turned, shoved the door with his shoulder, managed to keep walking after she threw in one last comment.

  “And come often, cowboy.”

  Tex approached his bright red, three-quarter ton Ford Diesel and climbed inside, the resulting tightness across his chest a strange mixture of pride and regret—strange for him, anyway. He looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror, gave himself a cocky grin. “At least you still got it.” He started the truck to the rumble of four hundred and forty horses raring to go.