Julianna Morris - Meet Me under the Mistletoe

Innocent things.

Such as…did he sleep nude at night?

Yeah, that was innocent.

Perfectly innocent.

It had been awhile since she’d thought about a man that way. Her last relationship had turned into such a disaster that she’d become frozen. Now she was thawing, and it was just her luck that a guaranteed heartbreak was the reason.

“You’re still on vacation,” Kane said calmly. He rubbed the baby’s back and smiled at Shannon’s frustrated expression.

“You can’t be so arbitrary just because I’m your sister.”

“I’d do the same for any executive with signs of burn-out. You’re still getting paid, so what’s the big deal?”

“I am not burned-out.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

Shannon swallowed.

After their father had died, she’d decided she would be the tough one, the one who teased and laughed and smiled when she didn’t feel like smiling. If she had trouble at school, she braved things out. If her heart got broken, she turned it into a joke—just so long as nobody found her crying in bed and upsetting her family. Over the years she’d perfected a breezy veneer that made everyone think she was impervious to the usual hurts and disappointments. She was an expert on putting on a good face; now was the time to prove it.

“Nothing is wrong,” Shannon said, waving her hand. “It’s the holiday season and people slack off. I must have gone overboard trying to keep my staff geared up for any problems that might happen.”

Kane nodded, his gaze searching her face. He didn’t seem entirely convinced, though he appeared less concerned than before. “All right. But I promised everyone they’d have another few days without the dragon lady, so you’ll have to stay away longer.”

She wrinkled her nose, making certain none of her frustration showed. “Dragon lady? Thanks a bunch. Is it too late for me to cancel a few Christmas bonuses?”

He chuckled. “Way too late.”

Shannon kept things light through lunch, working to get her mother, brother and sister-in-law laughing. But it was a relief when she pulled out of her mother’s driveway, escaping their watchful gazes. She drove for a long time, up into the hills, finally swinging by Neil’s house.

She frowned as she tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and gazed at the modern log structure. She would have sworn that Neil, of all her brothers, would never get married and live outside the city, but he’d fallen for Libby like a ton of bricks. Two tons.

Sighing, Shannon headed home, deciding not to call Neil and his wife.

A winter sunset burned pink and gold on the western horizon as she finally pulled into her driveway, but she didn’t have time to appreciate it before Jeremy flew across the yard, waving madly with one arm, the other clutching Mr. Tibbles.

An involuntary smile curved her mouth.

“Hey, Jeremy,” she said, opening the car door.

“Hey, Shannon.”

They had exchanged a few hellos and good-byes over the past few days, with Alex then hustling his son away with insulting speed. Of course, the speed might have been due to Washington’s beastly winter weather, but it was still a little insulting.

“What have you been up to?” she asked as she got out.

“Daddy ’n’ me are putting up Christmas lights,” Jeremy said solemnly.

She noticed an expandable ladder leaning against the McKenzies’ condo. “That’s nice.”

“But he got hurted and said a bad word.”

Alex had followed his son across the yard, and Shannon glanced at him, trying not to laugh at his chagrined expression. She guessed his injury was relatively minor since there wasn’t any visible blood and no bones were sticking out.

“He did?”

“Uh-huh. He said—”

“Jeremy,” Alex interrupted hastily, “I was wrong to say that in the first place, and it certainly isn’t something to repeat in front of a lady.”

The youngster quieted and clutched Mr. Tibbles even tighter, mumbling an apology, so Shannon smiled and ruffled his hair.

“That’s okay. I’m lucky, I have five brothers to help put up my Christmas lights.” Five brothers with the same sort of old-fashioned views about a “lady’s” delicate ears and sensibilities—all part of the O’Rourke Code they’d been taught by their father. The “Code” was sacred to the male members of the family, much to the frequent frustration of the female members.

“I wish I had a brother,” Jeremy said, sounding wistful.

Oh dear.

Wasn’t wishing he had a brother just one step away from talking about getting a new mommy? Presuming he understood the relationship between the two events.

“I also have three sisters,” Shannon said quickly. “Miranda, Kelly and Kathleen. Miranda and Kelly are twins.”

“Do they like dodgeball?”

Dodgeball? She searched through her memory and vaguely recalled kids standing in a circle, with others in the middle dodging a large red ball.

“Uh, they haven’t played for a while. They’re all grown up.”

Jeremy sighed. “I wanna play dodgeball, but the big kids say I’m too small.”

“That’s too bad, but they probably want to be sure you don’t get hurt accidentally.”

Alex stuck his throbbing thumb in his pocket and watched Shannon O’Rourke charm his son all over again. Jeremy’s gaze was fixed on her adoringly, and he was talking like a normal little boy, rather than a traumatized child.

He’d asked around and learned a great deal about the O’Rourkes since meeting Shannon. People in all walks of life counted them as friends. They were highly respected, were active in church and charity work, and gave generously of both their time and their money. Shannon served on the boards of three foundations and was personally credited with saving an inner-city homeless mission.

No wonder, he thought, staring at her stunning beauty and trademark smile—a smile that said she was ready to take on the world single-handedly. The force of her personality alone was probably enough to save a hundred homeless missions, much less one. She was so…electric.

He smothered a half laugh, remembering the way people had described Shannon as cool and sophisticated. They were blind if they couldn’t see the wildfire beneath that polished surface.

“Hello, Shannon,” he murmured, illogically annoyed that she’d barely noticed him. Once upon a time the opposite sex had found him reasonably attractive.

Yet even as Alex formed the thought, he stomped on it. Shannon O’Rourke might be a beautiful woman, but he’d rather appreciate her beauty from a distance. He didn’t have to own Botticelli’s Birth of Venus to admire the painting.

“Hello.” Shannon smiled. “Are you having trouble putting up your Christmas lights?”

“Some.” Alex flexed his thumb and a sharp throb went through it. He’d been distracted, thinking about Jeremy and the day-care center’s third request for the name and phone number of a backup person to call in case of emergency. He had a babysitter for when the daycare was closed, but except for Shannon, there wasn’t a single person in Washington with whom Jeremy would willingly go if his father wasn’t available. That was the problem. Shannon was good with Jeremy and had an excellent reputation so there wasn’t any reason not to ask…besides wanting to keep that precious distance between them.

Damn.

Around Shannon he felt as if he was being sucked into a whirlpool with no bottom. The sensation reminded him too much of when he was a kid and had no control over his life, or the crazy people masquerading as his parents.

“If you’re hungry, I was going to order some Thai food for dinner,” she said, breaking into his thoughts. “You’re welcome to join me.”