God, she loved them.
“So, anyone want more eggnog?” The sound of her sister’s voice emanating from the kitchen sent the room into a frenzy. Her dad nearly threw his eggnog to the floor as he vaulted over the coffee table and sprinted for the kitchen while the rest of the crew erupted into animated exclamations. Her cousin Maxine grabbed Angie’s arm and hauled her off to the den, muttering something about a Christmas tree.
“No fucking way!” Heidi’s shocked exclamation had Angie whirling around to see what was going on.
She made the about-face just in time to see Roger remove his hand from her sister’s waist…or rather, in time to see her dad yank him away from Sheila, who was standing there with a tray of eggnog, donning a politically correct look of surprise to see Angie there.
Heidi grabbed her Rudolph nose and hurled it at Roger. “You are a pig.”
Angie just stared. At Roger, who was looking sheepish in a brand new tie. At her sister, whose cleavage was barely contained in her skin-tight dress that was hardly appropriate for a family holiday party. The smug look on her sister’s face left no doubt as to the nature of her relationship with Roger. None at all.
Roger had left her for Sheila. Suddenly, everyone’s reaction to her entrance made sense. They’d all known that Roger had dumped her for Sheila, and they’d thought they could celebrate the new relationship without Angie finding out.
Dear God. They’d all known.
Angie was going to be sick.
The room was totally silent, with the only movement being Heidi as she retrieved her nose off the floor. “Since it hit Roger, I have to go disinfect it before I can put it back on my face,” she announced.
Someone cleared their throat. “Um, Angie? Can I talk to you?”
Angie turned to find Kyle standing in the doorway behind her. “Did you know too?” she asked him. “And what are you doing here? Did you come by to observe my fall of shame?”
He blinked. “Did I know what? What are you talking about?”
His look of surprise made her immediately regret her words. It wasn’t his fault. It was Roger and Sheila’s. Not Kyle’s. She bit her lip. “Sorry,” she said quietly, just for him.
He eyed her carefully before he glanced around the silent room. “I need your help with the article,” he said. “I’m very sorry to drag you away from your family party, but I can’t do it without you.”
Come to think of it, he did look a little disheveled, and his hair was askew, as if he’d been raking his hands through it in aggravation.
His gaze landed on Roger and Sheila, and Angie saw him stiffen. He glanced quickly at Angie, then back at Roger, and his eyes narrowed. “This is your new woman? Sheila?” His voice was cold, his eyes flashing.
In fact, he looked pissed. On her behalf? Something fluttered in Angie’s belly, something soft that she’d never associated with Kyle before. He was angry in her defense? Really? Suddenly, the world didn’t seem so overwhelming.
Sheila flipped Kyle a smile. “Now, Kyle, don’t be getting all possessive. We broke up eons ago. I’m not yours.”
Oh, crap. That was why Kyle looked upset? Because he still loved Sheila? Great. The only two men she’d ever loved were infatuated with her sister. Suddenly, she felt like a complete fool for thinking that Kyle had been protecting her.
“Kiss him,” Heidi whispered in her ear.
Angie glanced over her shoulder. “What?”
Heidi gestured impatiently, pointing to the mistletoe hanging above the door. “Kiss Kyle,” she repeated, her voice so quiet that even Kyle wouldn’t be able to hear her. “Show everyone you don’t care because you’re already shacking up with your sister’s ex.”
“I can’t kiss Kyle.” Just the thought of it was starting to make Angie’s heart race and her brow sweat, because she’d dreamed of kissing him far too many times way back when. She knew exactly how to fantasize it, and it was more than she could handle right now.
“He won’t stop you. Look how pissed he is. Do it.” Heidi elbowed her in the back. “Just do it.”
Her mom trilled a fake, nervous laugh. “Well, I guess it’s good that it’s out in the open.” She turned to Angie. “We thought you would be too upset, so we decided not to tell you right away.”
“Not to tell me?” Angie frowned. “How long have you known?”
“A while.” Her mom grimaced, took her aside and lowered her voice. “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry you had to find out this way, but I really believe this is a gift. Roger would never have settled down with you. I’ve been so worried that he was going to propose, and your dad and I both knew that it would never last. He’s Sheila’s type, not yours, and I know you’ll find the right man. One who will give you what you want.”
Angie barely heard anything past her mother’s first two words. Whoa. A while? Her boyfriend had been having liaisons with her sister, and her whole family had known about it? She and Roger hadn’t even broken up until Thursday. Had he and Sheila been dating before then? And her family had known?
Humiliation burned in Angie’s cheeks. The entire clan had been waiting for Roger to drop the bomb five days ago? No wonder her mom hadn’t tried to talk her into attending tonight when she’d declined. She’d probably been delighted at the opportunity to invite their beloved Roger and celebrate his liaison with Sheila.
Heidi hissed in her ear. “If you have any pride, you will march over there and lay one on Kyle right now.”
She saw Kyle glance over at her. Had he heard what Heidi had said? He lifted a brow.
What was that about? Could he read her mind and know she was dissecting his mouth piece by piece, wondering what it would be like to have his lips on hers?
His gaze still tight on hers, he walked toward her. Oh, good Lord almighty. Was he going to kiss her? Take Heidi’s advice and kiss her into oblivion?
Angie’s heart began hammering, and she lifted her chin and met his gaze as he approached. Kiss me, you big hunk. I’m all the woman you’ll ever need.
He stopped right in front of her, then lowered his head.
Yes! Take that Roger and Sheila! Kyle wants me!
“We need to work on that article,” he said.
Angie opened her eyes. “What?”
“The article. We need to work.” He shot her an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
“Sorry?” For not kissing her and saving her reputation and sanity? There would be no forgiveness for that. Not ever!
Kyle tucked his hand under her arm and turned to the still silent room. “Angie and I have work to do,” he said loudly, as if making sure that everyone in the room heard him. “Sorry to cut short the festivities, but it looks like you all will have a fine time without us.” He began directing her out of the condo. “Happy Holidays to everyone. The condo looks gorgeous as usual, Mrs. Miller.”
Okay, so he wasn’t throwing her on the ground for a good shagging in front of everyone, but he was giving her a totally legit excuse for leaving. No one could say that she’d snuck out with tears streaming down her face. Aware of his unyielding grip on her arm and the hard set to his jaw, Angie wagered that he wasn’t going to back down. “Can’t we do it in the morning, Kyle?” she challenged. “I’d really like to stay.” She had to make it look like she was brave enough to stay and face Roger and Sheila, even if she wanted nothing more than to get away from them, the party and the charade of her family.
“In the morning? No way. The deadline is tonight.” Kyle shot her a look like she was totally insane to want to stay at the party, and she almost grinned. If he believed her protest, then maybe other people would too. Then she’d be the talk of the holiday season, how she was faced with the betrayal of her longtime love, and she hadn’t even batted an eye. How she’d even wanted to blow off work to hang out and bask in the good fortune of two people so dear to her.
She shot Heidi a glance, and Heidi pointed to the eggnog and gave her a thumbs-up. So good to know Heidi was going to put something nasty in the punch. A true
friend.
Angie released a resigned sigh. “Well, if I must go. I know the entire company is relying on the success of this project that I’m working on, right Kyle?”
“Hell, yes, it is,” he muttered as he pulled her through the open door. “Have a nice evening, everyone.”
Angie waved cheerfully and let Kyle haul her out the door and down the hall.
A low murmuring of conversation erupted the moment they were out of sight of the party. She heard her name and knew they were talking about her.
Her courage suddenly faded, and the grim reality of her life descended upon her. How much worse were things going to get? Seriously.
Talk about good humor fading fast.
*
Kyle punched the elevator button and watched Angie warily. Her shoulders were back, her eyes bright, but he could see the tight press of her lips and the tension of her jaw as she fought for composure. So much for his hope that an evening with her family would cheer her up. Roger, you are a true bastard. “You okay, Angie?”
She was leaning against the wall, fiddling with her mittens. “Did you know?” she asked quietly. “About them?”
“No.”
She looked up, vulnerability stark in her eyes. “Really? You didn’t?”
Damn Roger. How was he supposed to get Angie to write something good about love now? He hated the look of pain in her eyes. Where was the Angie he knew? Spunky, bold and unrepentant. That’s who she was, and she needed to reclaim that. “Angie, I swear I didn’t know.”
“Okay.” The elevator door opened, and they stepped inside. “So, are you mad?”
He watched the numbers flick by. “About what?”
“Roger dating Sheila.”
His hands curled into fists, and he shoved them into his jacket pocket. “Yes.”
“Because you love her.”
“Love her? You’ve got to be kidding.” Kyle snorted and glanced at her. “I’m mad because he screwed you over. I don’t care about Sheila.”
She looked up from picking the fuzz off her coat and studied him. Her face was so expressive now. She looked like the Angie he’d fallen for so long ago, with her big eyes, her naked emotions scrawled across her face. “Why do you care what he does to me?” Her question was genuine, and he felt the urgency of the question, as if more was riding on his answer than simple words.
“Because you deserve better than to be treated like that,” he said, swearing under his breath when her eyes widened. He’d meant to tell her that it was because of the article for Swift, but even as he thought it, he realized that wouldn’t have been what she needed to hear tonight.
Tonight, she needed to find a way to reclaim her value. But how the hell was he supposed to help her do that? His brief tangle with trying to write the article had convinced him that there was no way he could do it without Angie. He had to find a way to bring her back into the fold. “Have you had dinner?”
She eyed him warily. “No.”
“Let’s do a working dinner. It’ll be good to get out of the office.” He frantically searched his brain for a fun place that would get her mind off the night. Someplace that would cheer her up. “What are you in the mood for?”
“Murder.”
He grinned at the matter-of-fact tone in her voice. “Not on the menu for this evening. How about we get takeout and go to Rockefeller Center? We can watch people skate while we work. Check out the Christmas tree.”
The elevator hit the ground floor, and Angie grimaced. “I hate Rockefeller Center. It reminds me of bastards who I used to go there with.”
He laughed at her obvious reference to Roger. Swearing at him was definitely a step up from tears. “Then you’ll have to get a new association for it, because that’s where we’re going.” The only solution was to throw her in the middle of the holiday season and get her out of this funk. He needed to make her forget about Roger. Who knew? Maybe there’d be some guy there she’d take a liking to long enough to get her through the holiday season.
He scowled as he hailed a cab. Or maybe not. Another guy might be more than her psyche could bear. It would probably be best if she stayed single. For the good of the company. She was under his protection now. He would take care of her. There wasn’t room for another man. Not right now.
Right now, she was his.
Chapter Four
Stuck in a volatile relationship? Diamonds soothe and cajole, and they might even get your teenager to stop swearing.
–Angie Miller
“Angie!”
She snapped out of her fantasy of Roger getting run over by rogue reindeer and looked at Kyle. “What?”
“Did you hear anything I just said?”
“No.” She glanced around at the crowds of holiday ice skaters, realizing that she’d totally forgotten where they were. Or maybe she’d shut it out to avoid facing the reality of her life, and the fact that the Miller holiday party was going on at that very moment in a celebration of Roger and Sheila, while she sat out in the cold, freezing her butt off. “I’m really sorry. I’ll try to focus.”
“Angie.” Kyle looked so aggravated it was almost cute. Should she clue him in that she was a hopeless cause? They’d been arguing over her story for an hour, and she knew there was no way she could give him what he wanted. Passion. Fire. Excitement.
There was simply no way to turn the story she’d written into that kind of experience. But it was the couple she’d interviewed, not her inability to perform. Surely if she found an inspirational couple, that would jettison her back to her usual level of performance…wouldn’t it? There had to be something she could do.
“Angie, we’ve been here for an hour,” Kyle said, managing to keep his voice calm, despite the frustration she knew he had to be feeling. “What can I do to help you focus?”
“Um…” Ravage me with wild, passionate sex for forty-eight hours straight. Whoa. Where had that thought come from?
Rebound sex.
When faced with public humiliation and betrayal, it was a natural tendency to want to revert to something safe and familiar. Lord only knew that her attraction to Kyle was familiar. Sure, she’d suppressed it when she’d been dating Roger, even though she was totally over Kyle. But now that she was single and sniffing his aftershave?
Rebound sex on the brain. There was no way to deny it. Kyle was igniting all sorts of thoughts in her mind, thoughts she never thought she’d have again about anyone after Roger had dumped her.
And it wasn’t simply hot, raw sex she was thinking about. She knew Kyle too well for that. She wanted intimacy with him, and she longed for it every bit as much as she had three years ago when they’d spent all that time together. How was it possible for those feelings to resurrect so completely after so long?
Kyle shot her a wary look, and she was suddenly certain he knew exactly what she’d just been thinking. Adrenaline raced through her. What if he really did know what she was thinking? Would he be horrified or so delighted that he’d throw her down and ravish her right on the spot? Her skin began to heat up, and the cold December air seemed to steam off her cheeks.
Kyle’s eyes narrowed, and she swallowed. Perhaps having a poker face wasn’t her forte. Or maybe he was a mind reader.
Damn.
That would be totally inconvenient.
Or maybe not. Maybe if he knew she was salivating for the touch of his skin against hers that would be enough to overcome his residual desire for her sister.
Sheila. Sheila. Her energy deflated with a brutal whoosh. Okay, there went the happy, gooey feeling that the thought of Kyle and sex had brought on.
Maybe Heidi had successfully contaminated the punch? That at least would be something to feel positive about—
A loud shrieking caught her attention, and Angie looked around. Two teenagers were screaming at each other, and the girl threw her skate at the boy. Only his quick duck kept him from being sliced open. Oh, now, that was interesting. She sat up, leaning forward to watch the interplay. “Now
, this is what I’m talking about.”
Inspiration raced through her, the glorious, wonderful feeling of an idea. Immediately, she grabbed her glitter pen and notepad out of Kyle’s hand and jogged across the asphalt. “Excuse me,” she called out. “Can I talk to you guys for a moment?”
“Angie!” Kyle grabbed her arm, but she shrugged him off and plopped herself down on the bench between the screaming couple.
“Hi, guys.”
They ignored her and kept shouting at each other. She was immediately impressed by the creative use of obscenities. “So, love increases creativity. Good to know.” She pulled out her notebook and started writing. Maybe that was why her creativity had gone out the window. Roger had pulled the plug on love, and there went all her great ideas for stories. An interesting thing to note.
“Angie. What are you doing?” Kyle was standing in front of her, glowering.
“Getting inspiration. Have a seat.” She moved over, giving the girl a shove. “Make some room for my boss.” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “He’s hot, isn’t he? I’m totally having sex fantasies about him.”
The girl stopped shouting at her boyfriend long enough to stick her pierced tongue out at Angie and flip her off.
“Mmm…good point. Non-verbal communication is key to a successful relationship.” Angle patted the bench next to her. “Sit, Kyle. Watch genius at work.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to be watching you get beat up.” He glanced warily at the boy, who was brandishing a skate guard like a baseball bat. “Um, Angie, wouldn’t it be better to do this from afar?”
“And lose the emotion of the moment? Not at all.” She turned to the girl. “So, did he cheat on you? Check out another girl? Get your sister knocked up? Why are you yelling at him?”
“None of your business, bitch.” The girl directed a hostile glare at her, and Angie noted none of her six eyebrow rings were holiday related. The girl was obviously not in the holiday mood.
Jingle This! Page 5
