Leona Sharp and Ryan Lee have been
friends forever, it seems. Although there’s an attraction between them, they've
never acted on it. On New Year’s Eve, Leona finally allows herself to give into
the temptation, but she vows that it will only be for one night and as soon as
the clock strikes midnight they will put it in the past and go on as if it
never happened. Ryan, however, has other plans…
* * * *
“Curiosity killed the cat, you know.”
Leo dropped the folder onto the desk and gaped at Rye. He slouched back
in the executive chair, arms folded and legs crossed with that damn eyebrow
quirked. He got her all hot and bothered, and it was the middle of winter!
“You know how I like to make sure Hair
and Other is a cut above the rest.” Leo smirked and Rye grinned, flashing
white, straight teeth.
“No one touches you, Leo.”
His words made her blood heat and her heart quicken. He’s on about the store, you plonker, not
you! Leo mentally slapped herself and plastered a polite smile on her face.
“Thank you for saving me from The Jed Meister.” She shivered and Rye
chuckled. “I dread to think what kind of party he had in mind.”
Rye bent down to a bag by his chair and she raised off hers a little,
curiosity getting the better of her. He pulled a large box from House of Fraser
out, followed by an unmarked shoebox. Leo’s heartbeat spiked. Goodness, how she
loved shoes.
He slid both boxes across his mahogany desk. “For tonight.”
Leo frowned, but tore into the House of Fraser box first. An Emerald
designer dress—sans price tag—was folded neatly in the box. The color took her
breath away. She pulled it out and inspected the floor length, silk number with
awe. Oh. My. Goodness. It was to die for!
“What do you mean?” she asked breathlessly.
Rye chuckled again. “For the party at the Med.”
Leo let the silk creation slip from her fingers and ripple onto the box.
“I thought you were just giving me an excuse to say no to Jed.”
“I was, but I want you to come with me. I’ve missed you, Leona.” His shy
grin melted her resistance and made her heart all gooey, like caramel sauce.
“Oh.”
“Here.” Rye lifted the lid from the shoe box, exposing the sexiest pair
of black stilettos she’d ever seen.
The silver spiked heel made her mouth water, in a way that Rye’s chest
often did. Like now, when it was covered in nothing but a crisp white shirt, a
dark smattering of hair visible through the thin material. Leo shook away the
thought and focused her attention on the glorious contents of the box. Where
did he learn to shop like this?
“I took Eileen to the sales, she helped pick these out. Do you like
them?” Rye asked.
Oh. His sister helped. Leo couldn’t stop the huge grin spreading across
her face. “Love them,” she whispered. What’s
not to love?
Rye rose, made his way around the desk, then scooped her up in a hug.
She froze in his arms. He never hugged
her, not even at Will’s funeral. What was going on?
“You should have come home for Christmas, Leo. Your parents missed you,”
he whispered into her ear, but it sounded like he wanted to say something else.
Maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part.
The tingles making their way through her body at his touch subsided as
guilt hit her like a sucker punch to the stomach. Tears burned her eyes and her
limbs unfroze. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled her nose
against his spicy scented chest. She would not cry. She wouldn’t.
“I missed them too.” Her voice, barely a whisper, broke, and Rye hugged
her tighter.
Oh, why couldn’t he be the man she needed, the man who wanted to marry
her, stand by her side, and give her lots of babies? This question alone was
enough to make the tears pour from her eyes, soiling his crisp white shirt.
* * * *
Ryan felt her tears dampen his shirt. His heart squeezed. “Leo, don’t
cry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He ran his hand up and down her
spine.
She tightened her vise-like grip. Christ, his body reacted to hers in a
way that one’s body shouldn’t react to a friend. But when said friend was stuck
to him like a limpet, he couldn’t deny his attraction.
He cupped her head to his chest and thought of football, his gran, the
accounts on his desk. Anything to get his mind off the petite redhead stuck to
him like she’d been glued. If the desire heating his blood darted to his groin,
he’d embarrass them both.
“Leo,” he whispered and slid his arms down to her hips. “They missed
you, but they knew you were booked up with appointments here.”
She removed her hands from his neck and backed away, swiping at her
eyes. “I know. Sorry. I’m a mess this year. Spending Christmas alone sucked.”
His heart melted to mush.
Leaning back against his desk, he folded his arms in fear that he might
pull her close again. “I know. I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
She blinked. “I’m not your responsibility, Rye. I’m not having this
conversation again.”
As her eyes burned green fire, he guessed this wasn’t the right time to
tell her she was—or at least that he wanted her to be. But it wasn’t just that.
They spent Christmas together every year, and he’d noticed her absence this
week more than he cared to admit. For years he’d treated her like his little
sister, and it wasn’t because she felt like that to him. In fact, it was
because he had thoughts about doing things to her that one didn’t do with a friend’s
sister.
He sighed. “I don’t want to argue, Leo. How about I pick you up around
eight?”
That would give them both time to finish up and get changed. Not to
mention time to pull his sissy-self together in case he blew his ploy for the
evening straight out of the water. He’d purposely waited to give Leo her
Christmas present until he got home, and planned to give it to her tonight.
* * * *
Make sure you pop over to
Kaylie Newell’s Blog tomorrow for the second installment of her story, Winter
Break. You can find Kaylie’s Blog here.
And Lacey Wolfe's also
posting part two of her story, The Gift Beneath The Tree, tomorrow. You can
find her Blog here.
I'll be back Wednesday 14th
November for the third installment of Believe in Me!
xoxo
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