Katherine Garbera - Cinderella's Christmas Affair

“Tad, go away.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not the girl you want.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Because I like the same Christmas tree you do.”

He gave her a half smile that took her breath away. “No, because you’re beautiful and sexy and you’ve haunted my dreams since the last time I saw you.”

She took the tray and left the living room. She couldn’t think when he said things like that. When he made her believe that forever and happily ever after might still exist. It was as if everything her ex-lover and ex-boss had taught her disappeared. But she knew better.

“I’m not your dream woman, Tad. I’m no man’s.”

Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing Silhouette Desire—where passion is guaranteed in every read. Things sure are heating up with our continuing series DYNASTIES: THE BARONES. Eileen Wilks’s With Private Eyes is a powerful romance that helps set the stage for the daring conclusion next month. And if it’s more continuing stories that you want—we have them. TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB: THE STOLEN BABY launches this month with Sara Orwig’s Entangled with a Texan.

The wonderful Peggy Moreland is on hand to dish up her share of Texas humor and heat with Baby, You’re Mine, the next installment of her TANNERS OF TEXAS series. Be sure to catch Peggy’s Silhouette Single Title, Tanner’s Millions, on sale January 2004. Award-winning author Jennifer Greene marks her much-anticipated return to Silhouette Desire with Wild in the Field, the first book in her series THE SCENT OF LAVENDER.

Also for your enjoyment this month, we offer Katherine Garbera’s second book in the KING OF HEARTS series. Cinderella’s Christmas Affair is a fabulous “it could happen to you” plot guaranteed to leave her fans extremely satisfied. And rounding out our selection of delectable stories is Awakening Beauty by Amy J. Fetzer, a steamy, sensational tale.

More passion to you!

Melissa Jeglinski

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

www.millsandboon.co.uk

lives in central Florida with her husband and two children. They are all happy to be back in their native state after a two-year absence. Her favorite things are spending time with her family, writing, reading and talking about reading. Readers can visit her on the Web at katherinegarbera.com.

To Courtney, Lucas and Matt—

thanks for making everything worthwhile.

Special thanks to Julie Wachowski

for suggesting Gejas as a romantic place for dinner.

Also, thanks to the entire Windy City chapter

for being so knowledgeable about everything and for making me feel like one of your own even it was only for a short time.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Dying had not been what I’d expected and after successfully matching together one couple I felt a little more confident about this afterlife gig. But this body disappearing thing still freaked me out. I was back in that in-between land that Father Dom had called purgatory.

I’d been a capo in the mob before being betrayed by one of my lieutenants. Five shots to the chest and a dying request for forgiveness had brought me here.

The deal I’d cut was essentially to unite in love as many couples as enemies I’d murdered in hate. So I knew I’d be dealing with this angel broad for a while. Matchmaker to the lovelorn wasn’t exactly something I’d been dying to do but life was full of surprises. Come to think of it so was death.

In front of me was a large mahogany desk with a library lamp and a jar of Baci chocolates. I’d been here before. The angel broad was there, still looking like she’d just attended a funeral but her dress this time was puke-green.

She was making notes in a file folder. She didn’t glance up and I knew she was playing a game with me. I’d done the same thing a time or two when I’d been a capo. It made me feel like a cugine instead of the boss of bosses, which I’d essentially been. I didn’t like it.

“What’s up next, babe?” I asked.

“Mr. Mandetti, unless you want me to stop this whole exercise now, you will refrain from calling me babe.”

I still wasn’t used to being called by my real name. I’d been Il Re when I was alive. The King. Yeah, I had an ego and the attitude to carry off that name. “I don’t know your name.”

“Didiero. I’m one of the seraphim.”

“The what?”

“One of the highest angels of God.”

“Oh.” She made me feel stupid which wasn’t a feeling I liked. But she held all the cards and if I’d learned one thing from my time back on earth it was that I didn’t want to go to hell.

And I’d never admit this to anyone but I liked the feeling that came with doing something good. It was the first time I’d ever experienced it.

“Didi?” I asked.

“Are you talking to me?” She didn’t look up from the papers in front of her.

“Didiero is a mouthful.”

She glanced at me from under her lashes. This one would drive me crazy if I let her.

“So who’s next?” I asked.

“You still want to go in order?” she asked.

“Nah, give me that green one halfway down.” Maybe the middle of the pile would be easier. I wasn’t trusting her to pull out a couple. I’m sure she’d fixed it so I’d had to work hard on my first assignment.

She handed me the folder. I opened it up and groaned. CJ Terrence and Tad Randolph. “Aren’t there any couples who can do this on their own?”

“Sure, there are Mandetti, but they don’t need your help. There is one thing I should warn you about,” Didi said.

“Yeah?” I was leery. Why was she suddenly being all helpful?

“You won’t take the same human form each time.”

It was like she knew how to push my buttons. “Babe, get to the point.”

“That is my point, Mandetti.”

She disappeared and I felt my body dissolve. I found myself on the streets of Chicago. My kind of town. This assignment was looking up by the moment. I was in front of the Michigan Building on Michigan Ave. In the mirrored glass I saw an old lady and two sharp-looking guys.

Not bad. I could definitely handle being a young hip guy. Both of them were taller than I’d been. I walked toward the glass and noticed only the old lady was moving.

Madon’ that couldn’t be me, could it? I gave the reflection the finger. Christ, I was an old broad with a frumpy dress on. Didi was probably up in Heaven laughing. Just wait until I saw her again.

Of course the first man she’d had a crush on would be the only thing standing between her and her promotion. CJ Terrence smiled with a confidence she was far from feeling and shook Tad Randolph’s hand.

Ten years had passed since they’d last seen each other and she knew she’d changed a lot. She’d dyed her mousy brown hair a sassy auburn, she’d swapped her horn-rimmed glasses for aqua-colored contacts that masked her natural brown color. And the biggest thing of all, she’d lost twenty pounds.

But in that moment she felt like her former self—the chubby girl next door. She reached for the bridge of her nose to push up the glasses she’d always worn back then. Dropping her hand, she reminded herself that she’d changed.