The Holiday Hoax

She nodded. “I respect that. I think too many people are scared to find their true niche in life, so they settle for some limiting job that pays well, but find themselves miserable in a mid-life crisis. Nothing’s worth regret.”

And in that moment, after a few hours in her company, Aidan fell in love with Isabella Summers.

The sudden, shocking realization was cut short when Liz appeared beside them. “Izzy, Robert’s looking for you. I’m sorry, I don’t think we met?” Isabella quickly made introductions, while Liz gazed at him curiously.

Isabella spoke up in the awkward silence. “Liz, I’m sorry, but I have to get home. My car will never make the drive.”

“Just stay over. A lot of people are. Plenty of space.”

Izzy shook her head. “No, I really want to get home. I have a long list of things to do tomorrow and I’m exhausted.”

“Iz, your car is old as dirt. It’s not safe.” Liz bit down on her bottom lip, her dark eyes worried. “I’ll take you home. I can crash at your place tonight—it’ll be like a slumber party.”

“No way!” Isabella leaned over and hissed near her friend’s ear. “You’ve been staking out Nick Parker for months and he’s bunking down for the night. This is your perfect opportunity. I will not let you ruin it to babysit me.”

Aidan became fascinated by the push and pull of female conversation. Lots of stubbornness. Emotion. And heat. His presence didn’t even disarm them, as if they were past such boundaries within their perfect circle of friendship.

Liz shrugged with fake nonchalance “Big deal. They’ll be other times. I rather watch old movies with you.”

“Bull. You’re staying.”

“I’m driving you home. I have four wheel drive.”

“Liz, there’s no way on the face of this earth I’m letting you out of this house tonight.”

“I’ll drive you home,” he interrupted.

The words fell onto sharp silence. Isabella turned and looked at him questioningly. “What about you? Maybe you shouldn’t be driving in this either.”

Aidan pointed to the line of cars in the winding driveway and off the side of the road. “I have a Hummer. Can cut through anything.”

Liz’s mouth dropped open. Isabella looked surprised that a man who did odd jobs for a living had a Hummer, but she didn’t pause. “Okay, if it wouldn’t be any trouble.”

Liz shot out her hand and grabbed her friend’s arm. “Umm, Iz, I don’t feel comfortable with this. Maybe Robert can drive you home?” she suggested. “I know he’s safe.”

Aidan gave Liz a reassuring smile. “I swear I’m not a serial killer. I’ll give you my cell phone number so you have it. You can write down my license plate number too. And my friend is here who can vouch for me.”

“But—”

Isabella squeezed her friend’s arm in reassurance. “He’s okay, Liz. I’ll speak with Robert in a minute and say good-bye.”

Liz turned to him with the fierceness of a lioness protecting her cub. “If you do anything funny, I promise to find you.”

Aidan laughed. He respected Liz as much as Izzy in that moment, noticing the strong bond of friendship. “I’ll keep her safe. Come on, let me introduce you to my friend, who can vouch for my honor. Then I’ll give you my actual cell phone so you can confirm my number.”

They spent the last minutes saying good-byes and making sure Liz felt comfortable. Aidan fought back laughter when she dragged over her other girlfriend and he faced more threats on retribution if he touched Izzy out of her comfortable boundaries. The heat on Izzy’s cheeks at the overprotectiveness warmed him. This was a woman who was obviously well loved. Then Aidan finally settled Izzy into the passenger seat, cranked up the heat, and pulled carefully away from the house.

“How did Robert take it?” he asked.

Izzy shrugged. “Wasn’t thrilled but I explained you were an old friend. Took the sting out of it. He’s a lovely man.”

“Hmmm. A dentist, huh?”

She swung her head around to look at him in surprise. Her silky blonde curls slid over her shoulder. “How did you know?”

“Word travels.”

Isabella looked amused. “Yes, a local dentist.”

“Sounds like a great guy. Stable. Nice. Solid career.” He paused. “So, why are you with me and not him?

He gave her credit. She took the jab nicely and thrust right back. “Well, that’s right to the point. I’m not crazy about dentists.”

“They make good money.”

“Hmm, you seem to be obsessed over the money part. I’m not looking for a man with money. Most rich men I know are too arrogant. I want a man who knows who he is and doesn’t apologize for it. And I don’t like anyone examining my teeth.”

Aidan burst out laughing. “Looks like you have perfect teeth to me.”

“I have a junk food habit. He wouldn’t approve.”

“I knew you were the perfect woman for me.”

They rode in comfortable silence, easing through snow banks and slick country roads. Her home was located on a small residential block, with a postage stamp lawn and pretty colored yellow shingles. He pulled in her driveway and turned to her. “I can pick you up tomorrow, if you’d like, so you can get your car.”

“That’d be nice.” The silence grew with an unnamed finely tuned sexual tension, spinning its way around them in a tight web. Aidan tried like hell not to focus on the edge of those thigh high leather boots. Tried not to think of how snug they wrapped around her legs, and how she’d look if he knelt before her to peel the boots off one by one. Would her naked skin quiver against his tongue? Would she taste like strawberries and be as sweet? The erotic image hit him square in the face. He hardened immediately and prayed she wouldn’t notice.

“Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee? And see Charlie Brown?”

The invitation caused his heart to pound like a teenager with his first woman. “I’d love to.”

Maybe she was crazy.

Isabella busied herself with brewing coffee and peeked through the kitchen to study the man prowling through her living room. She’d just met him a few days ago. They’d had one previous conversation, which ended in her certainty she didn’t like him. Now he was in her house, had held her hand, and called her the perfect woman.

Why did it feel so right?

Isabella pushed away her uneasy thoughts and decided to trust her gut. She’d seen the movie Serendipity a million times. She certainly didn’t want to end up constantly wondering why she’d let her soul mate go and spend the rest of her life trying to meet him again. Fate had stepped in and given her one chance. She wasn’t stupid enough to waste it.

She brought in two steaming mugs and stood behind him. Feet propped apart in a wide legged stance, he symbolized a mass of hard, lean muscle towering over six feet. He stared at her tiny Christmas tree, strung with delicate colored lights, pieces of silver tinsel, and a tiny star on top. The branches were pruned back, and the trunk was wrapped tight in a flannel holiday blanket. The tree looked tired, but happier, as if it could now rest in its forever home.

“What do you think?” she asked, setting the mugs down on the table.

“You saved it.” He turned to look at her. Those amber eyes glowed with a fierce intent as his gaze roved carefully over her face. “I knew you would.”

She tilted her chin up in a slight challenge. “If you wanted me to save the tree, why did you give me such a hard time about the price?”

Aidan took a step forward. “I needed to know how badly you wanted it.”

The sexual current between them lit and fused. “A test?” she asked.

“Sort of.”

“I don’t like tests.”

“You’re a teacher. You must have a knack for them because you keep passing.”

Temper, and a hot, sensual awareness simmered through her. “Well, you failed yours. I thought you were a chauvinistic, bad-tempered Scrooge.”

“Maybe I’ll pass the second test.”

“What second test?”

He stopped before her. Reached out to wrap a wayward curl tightly around his finger. His breath rushed over her lips as he leaned in and spoke. “To see if my kiss lives up to your expectations. I already know you’ll pass.”

A beat went by. She didn’t move. Then he lowered his mouth. His lips moved sweetly over hers, gentle and firm as he learned her texture and taste with a leisurely motion that relaxed her immediately. His hands cupped her cheeks to hold her still, sipping, nibbling, tempting her lips to open for him. Isabella swallowed a moan of pure lust. Aidan dove in.

His tongue thrust against hers in hot male hunger. She clung to his shoulders as she hung on for the ride. The raw tension between them pulled and burned. Her head spun as she let go, giving it all back to him, everything she had, everything she was, and everything she’d been holding back.

He pulled away, whispered her name, then seized her mouth again. He drank deeply until she shook with the need for more.

Aidan stepped back, looking equally shaken. The knowledge he felt the same made a strangled laugh rise to her lips. “Wow,” she said.

Her tongue snaked out to lick her swollen bottom lip. Tiger eyes darkened with need and hunger as he watched the movement.

“I’m glad you came up with something because that left me speechless.”

“Yeah, I’m a real Shakespeare.”

He laughed and took his mug of coffee. “I’m going to hang on to this cup a while so I can keep my hands off of you. Wouldn’t want to piss off Liz. I’m afraid of her.”

She laughed back and settled with him on the overstuffed cream color couch. “You should see the kids. And she teaches kindergarten.”

He winced in mock horror. “Now I am scared.” He took a sip of the brew and murmured his approval. “Did you always know you wanted to teach?”

Isabella considered the question. “I tried a couple of other careers on for size before I settled. I lived in Manhattan for a while. I liked the idea of being in the fast lane. But after a while, I burnt out. I lived in a studio with a bunch of roommates, partied at the clubs, and worked low end jobs.” The memory of her betrayal flashed before her vision, but the accompanying cut of pain barely registered now. “Something happened that made me reconsider my options. I realized I wanted more, so I went back to school. Teaching was a good fit. I missed the mountains and small town life.”

His gaze sharpened as he snagged on her brief hesitation. “What made you reconsider?”

A smile tugged at her lips. “You don’t miss a thing, do you?” she murmured. “Do you really want to hear my backstory on our first night?”

“Yes.”

His simple admission and the gleam in his eyes urged her forward. Isabella took a sip of the hot brew and let herself go back. “Remember your questions in the car regarding my interest in men with money?” He nodded. “Well, let’s just say I got a firsthand experience of that lifestyle, and I’ll never go back. I met someone at a bar while I was waitressing one night. Seemed like a nice guy, well dressed, polite. We had a connection so when he asked me out, I agreed.”