Sarah Morgan - Sleigh Bells in the Snow

“Won’t your family be upset you’re not coming home this year?”

“They’re understanding.” Now it wasn’t just her stomach and her head, it was her heart and her throat. Damn . She’d thought she was tougher than this. “Thanks to Jackson O’Neil, I now have enough work to keep me going through the next five holiday seasons, so if you wouldn’t mind—”

“Brett should have gone.”

“Brett has a wife and four kids, although when he had time to make four kids I have no idea given that he’s always in the office. Anyway, O’Neil asked for me—he’s going to get me.”

Stacy’s eyebrows lifted and Kayla rolled her eyes.

“Not in that way. He’s going to get the working, professional me.” She tried not to think about those blue eyes or the width of his shoulders.

“Is there any other version? Kayla, you should not be spending the holidays alone.”

“I won’t be alone. There will be moose, raccoons and—and—” she racked her brains “—other lovely, cute Christmassy furry things.”

“Have you actually ever seen a moose?”

“Not in the flesh, no.” Thank goodness . “But I’m sure they’re adorable. Why do you ask?”

“Because a moose is not a cute furry thing. I’m checking, so you know what you’re getting into.” Leaning across the desk, Stacy tapped Kayla’s keyboard and a moment later a large image of a moose appeared, its elongated bony face filling her screen.

“Dear God—” Kayla recoiled. “That is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“I rest my case.” Stacy straightened. “Still keen to spend Christmas there?”

“I won’t be spending it with a moose, that’s for sure. It will be fun. I’ve always thought log fires were romantic.”

“Not by yourself.”

“I won’t be by myself. I’ll take a pile of DVDs. My gift to myself is a boxed set called The Ultimate Horror.”

“Kayla, that’s terrible. Who spends Christmas Day watching horror movies?”

“I do.” She picked up a stack of papers destined to be her bedtime reading.

“What about food?”

“According to Brett I feast on work, but I’ll probably take popcorn.”

“Christmas Day is about sharing good food with people you love, not microwaving popcorn.”

“I love watching horror movies. It will be a treat. Now, kindly remove that moose from my desktop. I have work to do, and I can’t do it with that thing watching me.”

HE SAW HER before She saw him, striding purposefully through the airport, her shiny blond hair drawn into a ponytail that swung across her neck and drew glances from the men around her. She wore a long cashmere coat in a pale shade of caramel that brushed the tops of soft leather boots the color of dark chocolate. Over her shoulder was her laptop bag, and behind her she dragged a medium-sized suitcase.

Walking through the crush of tourists in their colorful ski jackets, she stood out like a gazelle in a shopping mall.

Eyeing the cashmere coat, Jackson hoped she’d packed something suitable in that suitcase.

Kayla Green might be an expert in integrated marketing, but she clearly knew sweet nothing about dressing for Vermont in December.

“Kayla!”

Seeing him, she lifted her hand in acknowledgment.

And then she smiled and the smile was sweet and genuine, as if she was really excited to be here.

It kicked at his ribs and lower. Heat shot through him. Every thought in his brain went up in smoke. Gripped by raw lust, he strode to meet her, reminding himself he had enough complications in his life without adding another one. “You were lucky. The flight after yours is grounded in Newark.” Surprised his voice sounded even vaguely normal, he reached for her case but she gripped it tightly.

“I can manage, thanks.”

“Right.” Jackson decided the case would give her something to hang on to once those soft leather boots hit the snow outside and sent her spinning to the ground. “Then let’s get going.”

“I appreciate you meeting me.” She was brisk and businesslike and he wondered how long she’d keep that up once she met his family. They had a way of sucking the professional from a person.

“You’re welcome. As a matter of interest, did you pack any winter gear in those bags?”

She glanced down at herself. “Exhibit A. Warm coat. Boots. Scarf. What am I missing?”

He thought about pointing out she might be missing fingers and toes if she didn’t find herself a few more layers, but decided she had brain enough to work it out for herself soon enough. She was dressed for Manhattan not Mount Mansfield.

“You look great.” Truthfully she looked better than great. “You might need to add some thicker layers. The snow is pretty deep at the moment. We had a big storm a few days ago and another is forecast.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. What a nuisance.”

Her comment confirmed everything he already suspected about her relationship with snow. “We’re a winter sports resort, Kayla. Snow is good. In fact it’s essential.”

“Of course it is.” Her gaze didn’t shift from his. “I knew that. I just meant, what a nuisance I didn’t bring my other boots.”

“You own a pair that doesn’t have a four-inch heel?” He tried not to look at her legs and then decided what the hell . He hadn’t seen anything that good in Vermont in a long time, and he was going to make the most of it.

“Actually, no. But it will be fine. I’m developing a public relations strategy for you, not skiing downhill.”

He refrained from pointing out she was going to be skiing downhill the moment those heels touched the ice. “We’ll find you something when we get to Snow Crystal.”

He unlocked the car and stowed her bags.

Kayla sprang into the passenger seat and her coat parted, giving Jackson another glimpse of those incredible legs.

Lust slammed into him, and he was just recovering his balance when she turned and hit him with her smile.

Christ .

Felled by that smile, Jackson wondered how the hell he was supposed to focus on the words that came out of that mouth when all he wanted to do was kiss it.

He slid into the driver’s seat and tried to erase those lips and legs from his brain. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this attracted to a woman. Lately he’d been working too hard to notice the sex of the person he was talking to.

But not this time.

Deciding that employing Kayla Green might just have made his situation more complicated, not less, he picked a neutral topic. “Have you seen much of the U.S. since you’ve been here?”

“I travel quite a bit meeting journalists and clients, but I mostly see the inside of an airplane and a hotel. You know how it is.” She settled in her seat and her perfume wafted over him, swamping his senses.

Jackson kept his hands firmly on the wheel. It was that or grab her and haul her onto his lap. He was shocked by how badly he wanted to mess up that hair and ravage that soft mouth. Eighteen months at Snow Crystal and he’d obviously lost his grip on professional. “So you’ve never been to Vermont?”

“Never. But I’ve read extensively since our last meeting. You were born here?”

So she had the facts about the place, but not the feel. “Yes, but my mother is British. She came over to work in the hotel for a winter season and met my father. Married him and stayed.”