Sherelle Green - Wrapped In Red - Mistletoe Mantra / White Hot Holiday

She would never forget his last words to her. “You always deserved better than him.”

Then he’d given her a hug and his phone number and told her to call him if she ever needed anything. And that was that. Before that, they’d only been peripheral friends. She’d always seen him just as Jilly’s brother. But she’d always liked him. Unlike most of the other kids at her school, he’d talked to her when Brad wasn’t around. Nothing heavy, but he always went out of his way to make her feel comfortable. She’d always assumed it was because her mom worked for his father, but given that he was braving the cold to come pick her up now, maybe he was just a nice guy.

When she didn’t see him, she shuffled to the baggage claim wishing she’d worn her Uggs instead of her Cole Haan stiletto boots. She’d opted to check her bag instead of lugging it from car to car. Her train from Dulles had carried the usual commuter crowd, so the claims area was practically empty even though there were plenty of people waiting for their passengers.

For the most part, no one paid her any attention, but after several minutes the hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention. Nervously, she whipped around, expecting to see someone behind her. There was no one there. But at the far corner of the arrivals area, a man stared at her. He was tall, maybe around six feet or so. And he had one of those thin, rangy builds that screamed soccer player or some sort of athlete. His dark hair curled over his forehead and framed one hell of a face. Holy hell . There were men that hot in Faith? Maybe she’d been missing out.

Nervously she turned back and dragged her roll along off the luggage carousel.

Her neck still prickled with awareness. Oh jeez, was he staring? She hazarded another glance over her shoulder. This time when their eyes met, the corner of his lips tipped up in a hint of a smile and her insides flipped.

No. No. No. She was not getting distracted by some hottie. She had a job to do. Tall-dark-and-rip-your-clothes-off over there was a dime a dozen in Los Angeles. Granted, the ones in LA were also pompous ass hats for the most part.

She turned back around to keep from staring some more, pulled up Linc’s contact info on her phone and sent a quick text. Hey, are you still okay to pick me up?

His reply came quickly. Yeah. I’m already here.

Her brows snapped down. Had she missed him? The station was slowly thinning out. Despite her brain’s commands to not look at the guy in the corner, she couldn’t help a furtive glance. He smiled at her then and something pulled low in her belly, making her ache.

Oh hell . She’d never been the one-night-stand type, but for that smile, she’d give it some serious considerations. Focus, Nomi . She turned her attention back to her phone. Where are you? What are you wearing?

The suggestive nature of the text didn’t hit her until she’d already hit send. Aww hell. She’d been home all of five minutes and she was already a hot mess.

He was slower to respond now. Dark jeans. Dark jacket. And I’m waving.

This time she looked up and her jaw went slack. Tall-dark-and-turns-good-girls-bad was waving.

Pushing off the wall, he sauntered over with one of those panty-dropping smiles. As he got closer, Nomi’s heart hammered faster and faster; she was certain she’d have a heart attack.

He paused just in front of her. “I guess you didn’t recognize me.”

Still slack jawed, she stared up at him and catalogued his face. His jade green eyes were dark and reminded her of the forest after a heavy rainfall. The cleft in the chin that had only been hinted at when they were kids was more defined. His angled jaw and chiseled cheekbones, combined with full sensual lips, meant Lincoln Porter had turned into a full-blown hottie.

Speak. Close your mouth, swallow and then find some intelligent words. The brain’s commands were sound, but all she managed was, “Linc?”

He chuckled. “Yeah.” He ran a hand over his hair. “It’s me. I guess I look a little different.”

“Understatement of the year.”

The smile was back. “How about we get out of here and get you settled?”

Chapter 4

Nomi hadn’t recognized him. What the hell was he supposed to make of that? Okay, fair enough—the summer before college he’d added three inches to his frame and packed on some muscle finally when he’d started doing parkour. His mother always said he’d grow into his looks. But he never expected Nomi to walk right by him.

More dangerously, he wanted to know what she thought. He’d seen her appraising gaze as it slid over him, but from a distance it was hard to tell.

She swallowed hard. “Sorry. You just look so...” Her voice trailed, but even in the bad lighting of the station, he could see her pupils dilate. With her lips parted ever so slightly, he wanted to take her photograph.

Yeah, not gonna happen . The moment she found out he was Nolan Polk, she’d take what she needed and bolt. And he didn’t want to go through that again. “It’s good to see you, Nomi. You look good.”

She wore her hair in slim braids that hung down her back. Her smile, now, that was the same. Her lips naturally curved upward, making her look as if she was always on the verge of laughter or mischief. She hadn’t changed at all. Still slim, but her curves had filled in, making him itch to touch. Her cinnamon skin gleamed. And her wide, dark, almond-shaped eyes missed nothing.

She was still beautiful. And likely still hung up on Brad Lennox, so get your mind right, Linc.

He cleared his throat. “C’mon, let’s go get you settled.” She’d only packed a carry on so it was easy enough to take that from her and pull it along.

“Must we?” she mumbled under her breath.

Linc chuckled. Her acerbic wit was still intact. “I see you’re no more fond of this place than when you left it.”

Nomi shrugged. “I always knew you were astute.”

Oh yeah, she hadn’t changed. Problem was, he hadn’t changed either, so she still had the power to make him a little nervous. “So if you hate it so much, then what are you doing back here? At Christmastime no less. Surely someone else could have come. I seem to recall you saying you’d rather have your fingernails torn out.”

“Hey, the night is still young.” With a small laugh she added, “Hopefully, I’ll be in and out. If my career trajectory didn’t depend on it, I wouldn’t be here encroaching on your Christmas holiday.”

Once at his BMW, he unlocked and opened the passenger door for her, then deposited her bag in the trunk before sliding behind the wheel.

“You’re not encroaching, Nomi. I’m happy to help. And since you won’t be able to rent a car anywhere in a thirty-mile radius, I can take you anywhere you need to go.” This situation wasn’t ideal. The last thing he wanted her to do was find out he was Nolan Polk, at least until he was sure he could trust her. This way he could find out what she was really after.

She turned in her seat to study him. As her gaze slid over his face, he bit back the sudden compulsion to kiss her. She always had that unnerving way of looking at someone directly, clear to the soul.

“You seriously don’t need to do that. I can manage.”

“Independent to the bone. But be reasonable. You’ll need help. I’m offering.”

“I—” Nomi shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m looking for. You’d be signing up for what amounts to a wild-goose chase.”

There was no way he was letting her roam around asking questions. Not so much that he feared she’d actually find anything, but more that he wanted to keep her close. Maybe Jilly was right, and she was the same old Nomi, and he could trust her. But then maybe she cared more about her bottom line than anything else. The only way to know was to keep her close.