Stella Bagwell - The Best Christmas Ever

Needed: the perfect wedding date!

Trying to move on from a disastrous engagement, Sophie Morgan needs a date for her best friend’s wedding…and fast! And what quicker way to find a man than speed dating? Only, it’s bar manager, Dan Halliday, who catches Sophie’s eye.

Dan can’t resist helping a damsel in distress, so he offers her a deal—a few shifts in the bar in exchange for the date—no strings attached. But when pretence leads to passion, they both get more than they bargained for. And it’s too late to have any secrets between them….

“Dance with me.”

Nick moved closer and touched Allison’s hair.

His voice sent shivers down her spine. She drew a long breath. “I—I don’t dance.”

“No? Come here.”

Nick took her hand and drew her up against him.

They began to move in a slow, lazy circle. Allison tried to hold back, but it was impossible. He felt so hard and strong. She could feel his arms, his chest, his legs, all moving against hers, muddling her senses.

“I hope you’ve enjoyed the evening.”

Allison felt cocooned in his embrace. “I haven’t had an evening this nice in a long time,” she said truthfully as he moved his hand over her back.

Neither had Nick. He couldn’t ever remember feeling this way. It made him realize he didn’t want the evening to end. In fact, he could see them like this forever. And that was a scary thought for a bachelor.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Stella Bagwell has written more than seventy novels for Harlequin and Silhouette Books. She credits her loyal readers and hopes her stories have brightened their lives in some small way. A cowgirl through and through, she loves to watch old Westerns, and has recently learned how to rope a steer. Her days begin and end helping her husband care for a beloved herd of horses on their little ranch located on the south Texas coast. When she’s not ropin’ and ridin’, you’ll find her at her desk, creating her next tale of love.

The couple have a son, who is a high school math teacher and athletic coach. Stella loves to hear from readers and invites them to contact her at stellabagwell@gmail.com.

To the miracle of Christmas and the gift of true love.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 1

Nicholas Gallagher slowed his sports car as the blacktop gave way to dirt and the road took another sharp bend. To his right was the wide Arkansas River. Yet before he could catch a glimpse of the barges and towboats traveling the waterway, the road began to veer sharply away from the river and into wide, open fields. At the moment the land lay fallow. But Nick knew exactly how rich and fertile it would look come spring. He was on Gallagher land now—his family’s farm.

Ahead of him, a county road grader was moving slowly, its slanted blade rolling the damp earth to one side of the road. Since the turn to the farm was only a half mile away, Nick downshifted and hung impatiently behind the vehicle.

Bright sunshine glinted off the red hood of his car, making it seem more like an early spring day instead of late December. Yesterday, when he’d left Fort Sill in western Oklahoma, the weather had been cold and wet. But the drive east had left the clouds and rain behind him.

It was a beautiful day, and he was almost home. Home for Christmas. It was a tradition for the Gallagher family to spend the holiday together. To eat, laugh, reminisce and generally make merry. Nick had always made it a point to return home and join in the celebration. But this year coming home for Christmas had taken on new meaning. His brother Sam was getting married and Nick was going to be the best man. He’d had a month to get used to the idea, but Nick still found it difficult to imagine his quiet, hardworking brother in love and about to get married.

While the grader continued to creep along in front of him, Nick looked things over. It was easy to see that Sam had been busy this past harvesting season. Even the land around the old Lee house showed signs of being worked. Nick remembered that particular section of land used to be farmed in watermelon and cantaloupe, but for the past few years it had lain dormant—mainly because Old Lady Lee had been in ill health and his father hadn’t wanted to disturb her with the loud sound of tractors and the boiling dust plowing created.

Maybe the old woman had passed away, Nick thought. Although he couldn’t remember his mother mentioning it in her letters.

Nick studied the square, wood-framed house sitting a hundred feet or so south of the road. The old Lee place was still unpainted and the tin roof was just as rusty as it had been when he’d come home last Easter. Still, it looked as though someone lived there. Curtains hung in the windows and wood was stacked neatly on the east end of the front porch.

However, Old Lady Lee swiftly left his mind as the cattle guard leading to the Gallagher farmhouse appeared on the right. With the road grader finally out of his path, Nick crossed the slatted entrance, then stepped hard on the accelerator. The sports car shot forward like a little red arrow. Dust roiled behind him and Nick chuckled as he pictured his mother’s expression when she spotted him coming down the road. She’d scold him for driving recklessly, then scold him again for not letting the family know that he was coming home today.

At the back of the house, Nick jammed on the brakes, making gravel spray from the tires as the car skidded to a stop just short of the yard fence.

Inside the kitchen Ella glanced out the window, then darted an incredulous look at Kathleen. “My God, it’s Nick! I’m going to thrash him! Did you see that? I’ll bet that car isn’t more than five inches from the fence!”

Before Kathleen could utter a word in defense of her brother, Ella dashed out the door to greet her son.

“Nicholas Gallagher! If I had your daddy’s razor strop with me right now, I’d use it on you,” she shouted as she ran down the steps.

Nick threw back his head and roared with laughter as he held his arms out to his mother. She ran straight into them and clutched her youngest child to her breast.

“Hello, Mom. Glad to see me?” he asked, bending his head to kiss her cheek.

Ella thrust him from her, then wagged her finger in his grinning face. “I’m glad to see you in one piece. Is that the way you drove coming home? Lord help us, it’s a wonder you’re alive! And what are you doing home today? It’s two days before Christmas Eve!”

Laughing again, Nick threw his arm around his mother’s shoulder and held her close. “Well, if I’m too early I can always leave and come back later.”

“Not on your life!” Ella cried. “Sam’s probably going to chain you to the bedpost as it is! He’s tried to get through to you on the telephone all week.”

“So,” Nick said with a wicked grin, “I’ve had my brother a little worried that I wouldn’t show up for the big event?”

“Nicholas!” Ella scolded. “Be serious! You know how much your brother is looking forward to you standing up with him.”

The door on the porch slammed, and Nick turned his head in time to see Kathleen scurrying down the steps toward him.

“Nick!” she squealed happily.

With his free arm, he reached out and pulled his sister against him. “Hi, sis! Don’t tell me you knew I was coming?”

“Of course I didn’t know! None of us did. Why didn’t you call and tell us?” she asked, pinching his lean waist. “Sam’s been out of his mind thinking you’d been shipped off to parts unknown.”