Midnight Under the Mistletoe (9 page)

“Emma, come here,” he coaxed in a velvet tone.

“Zach,” she said, sauntering toward him while thinking about
his past, “I’ll come there if you’ll go somewhere with me either this week or
next.”

“Deal,” he said, clearly not giving that much thought.

With her pulse racing, she stopped inches away from him.

He took her wrist to draw her to him. “Now we’ll test this
one,” he said, framing her face with his hands as he placed his mouth on hers to
kiss her again.

He tasted of mint while his aftershave held that hint of woods.
She slipped her arms around his waist and kissed him. His arm banded her,
pulling her close against him while he leaned over her and his kiss
deepened.

When they paused, she took deep breaths, trying to get back to
normal.

“We have a deal,” she said. “Come home with me for the weekend
and see what it’s like to be with a family who wants to be together.” She wanted
him to see what a joy a loving family could be. Billionaire or not, she felt
incredibly sorry for Zach, certain he was missing the best part of life and
maybe with her family, he would see it. “When you see what you’re missing,
you’ll want to start accepting your brothers’ invitations to join them.” Her
last words tumbled out and she expected that curt tone and coolness he’d had
earlier.

“You took advantage of me.”

“Oh, please,” she said in exasperation.

“Besides, I’m supposed to stay home to stay off my foot,” he
said. “I shouldn’t be going anywhere for the weekend. That’s the whole point of
being stuck on the ranch.” His voice held the husky rasp. His breathing was
still ragged and his lips were red. His expression conveyed a blatant need that
he made no effort to hide. Even though he argued, she suspected he was giving
little thought to their deal.

“I’ll drive and you can put your foot up in the car. At my
folks’ house, you can keep your foot elevated all the time you’re there. We’ll
all wait on you. You’ll have a good time.”

“Emma, I don’t want to go to my brothers’ homes for holidays.
Why would I go to your parents’ when I don’t know anyone except you?” he
asked.

“Because you just agreed to do so.”

He stared at her and she could feel a clash of wills and
imagine the debate raging in his mind. “If I go home with you, won’t your whole
family think there’s something serious between you and me?”

She smiled at him. “No. We all bring friends home a lot.
Growing up, I’d say we often had at least one person eating with us who wasn’t a
family member.”

“So how many men have you brought home?”

“None until now,” she admitted. “It still doesn’t mean anything
other than you’re my boss and I would like you to meet my family.”

“Who takes her boss home to meet the family?” he asked and she
was sure she blushed with embarrassment, but she wasn’t giving up. Zach needed
to see some real family life.

“As long as you’re coming this weekend, you might as well come
for Thanksgiving.”

“Oh, hell, Emma, that’s an extra two days.”

“You said you would and you’ll enjoy yourself and you can sit
off in a room alone whenever you want and prop your foot up all you want.”

“Dammit.” He stared at her again with his jaw clamped shut and
she was certain he would refuse. She felt silly for trying to get him to come.
Her world-traveler billionaire boss was light-years away from her ordinary
family.

“All right. If I’m going home with you for Thanksgiving, I get
more than that one kiss,” he said, pulling her back into his embrace and kissing
her hard while he pulled her up against him. “A lot more,” he added.

Startled, she was frozen with surprise for a few seconds and
then her arms wrapped around his neck and she kissed him in return. His hand
slipped down her back over her bottom, a long, slow caress, scalding even
through the thick denim of her jeans.

His fingers traveled up again, slipping beneath her shirt,
cupping her breast lightly, a faint touch causing streaks of pleasure. He pushed
away the lacy bra, his warm fingers on her bare skin.

She moaned in delight, spreading her fingers wide and slipping
her hand beneath his T-shirt to stroke his smooth, muscled back. Pleasure and
need escalated swiftly.

Taking his wrist to hold his hand, she looked up. “Zach, we
have to stop this for now. I can’t—”

“Yes, you can” he said, showering kisses on her temple, her
cheek, her throat. Protests faded into oblivion. She kissed and caressed him
until he carried her to a bedroom where they made love for the next hour.

During the night she eased off the bed and slipped away from
him, gathering her clothes as she went. She returned to her room, thankful for
the space and the haven where she could be alone to think. In her own room, she
fell into bed, her mind on Zach. Their lovemaking was binding her heart to him
with chains that would hurt to break. Zach was becoming more important, more
appealing and exciting. Was she tumbling headfirst, falling in love with him? A
love that would never be returned. This past weekend, Zach had just become a
bigger danger to her well-being and her heart. A weekend of love, three nights
of passion, now another night. How long would it take her to get over what she
already felt for him?

She fell asleep to dream about Zach and awoke early the next
morning. Longing to go find him, kiss him awake and love again was strong. She
slipped out of bed and looked at the clock, knowing she would follow a sensible
course and get ready for a workday.

They both needed to step back and get things under control
again. Just thinking about Zach, she wanted to be in his arms. Surprise lingered
that she had asked him to go home with her and that he had accepted.

What had seemed a good idea at first, began to look like
complication after complication. She had to let her family know. She thought
about the family letters she had read and how little Zach cared and decided to
hold him to his acceptance. She wanted him to see a family who relished being
together and made the most of their moments. Maybe he would join his brothers
more on holidays and participate with his own family.

Touching her lips lightly with her fingertips, she remembered
his kisses. After Christmas she would return to her job in Dallas, and Zach
would disappear from her life. She would be with him less than a month more.
Despite her earlier worry, she
could
keep from
falling in love with him because they had nothing between them except physical
attraction. She didn’t like his lifestyle, his attitude toward family, his
disregard for all the things she loved so much. Maybe her heart was safe in
spite of the attraction that was pure lust. She pulled out her phone to text her
mother that company was coming. Company with an injured foot.

* * *

By Thanksgiving afternoon Zach wondered how he had
gotten himself into this. Since he was twelve years old, he had been able to say
no or get out of most things he didn’t want to do unless it involved his father.
Even with his father, by age twenty-one, he had become adept at escaping his
father’s plans for him.

He was in the center of a whirlwind. He had met four
generations of Hillmans. They encompassed ages two to ninety-something. Brody,
Emma’s father, had made him feel welcome, as well as her mother, Camilla.

Zach tried to keep the names straight, learning her parents and
siblings quickly. Connor, the married older brother, his wife, Lynne, Sierra,
Emma’s oldest sister, and Mary Kate, the youngest, both sisters married, Bobby,
the younger brother. Zach mentally ran over the names of people seated around
him while they ate the Thanksgiving turkey. He received curious glances from
Connor and could feel Connor being the protective big brother even though they
were far across the long table from each other.

The dining room table seated eighteen and other tables held
more of the family with grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews
gathering together today.

Until the subject came up during the Thanksgiving feast, Emma
had neglected to warn him that it was family tradition to decorate for Christmas
after Thanksgiving dinner, which was eaten early in the afternoon. After dinner
everybody under eighty years of age changed to jeans and T-shirts or
sweatshirts. Also, the decorations didn’t come out until the men had set up the
Christmas trees in various rooms in the house, which they did while others
cleared the tables.

Once trees and lights were up with an angel or a star at the
top of each tree, the women and children took over with the decorations while
the men decorated the porch.

As soon as Zach started to join the men, Emma took his arm to
lightly tug him toward the living room. “You sit and elevate your foot. You can
help the kids with the decorations. The little kids can’t put the hooks on the
balls and that sort of thing.”

“Emma, I can do a few things outside.”

“We need you in here and you know you should stay off your
foot. The more you don’t walk on it, the sooner you’ll heal,” she lectured,
looking up at him with wide green eyes. His gaze lowered to her mouth and he
longed to be alone with her and saw absolutely no hope until they left
Dallas.

In minutes he began to help the little kids with ornaments
while he sat with his foot resting on a footstool. Boxes of shiny trimmings were
spread around him and on the table in front of him. Emma and her mother had a
table over his propped-up foot to keep the kids from bumping his injury. The
living room held what Emma had called the real Christmas tree. It was a huge
live balsam pine that touched the ceiling. Spread around him were boxes of a
family history of decorations with shiny ornaments mixed with clay and paper
trimmings made by kids. Once Emma stopped beside him. “How are you doing?”

“You owe me,” he said. “I intend to collect.”

Her cheeks turned pink and he wondered what she was thinking.
He remembered their lovemaking and wished with all his being he could be back at
his ranch and alone with her. Instead, what seemed like a hundred people and
kids were buzzing around him like busy bees. He had to admit she had a fun
family and he’d had a good time through dinner. What he knew he would remember
most, was when she had come down for Thanksgiving dinner. The whole family
dressed for the occasion, which she had warned him about just before they had
left the ranch.

He had been standing in the front hall and looked up as she
came down the stairs. She wore an emerald green dress that came only to her
knees and her red hair was caught up in a clip with locks falling free in the
back. She looked stunning. The sight of her had taken his breath and he longed
to be able to hold her and kiss her.

After a time Emma took away the table that sheltered his
injured foot. “You’re excused now to go watch football. They’ve finished
decorating the porch and the guys turned on a game. We’ll help the kids decorate
and then clean up the Christmas tree mess. I’ll take over your job.”

“I don’t mind doing this.”

“Go watch football with the guys in the family room.”

“You won’t have to tell me again,” he said, smiling at her and
still wanting to kiss her. He stood and she slipped into his chair while he
limped away.

During the second half of the game, his cell rang and he
excused himself to answer Will’s call.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Zach.”

“Happy Thanksgiving to you and Ava and Caroline. Let me talk to
Caroline,” Zach said as he stepped farther into the hall so his conversation
wouldn’t interfere with everyone listening and watching football. He talked
briefly to his niece and then Will came back on the line.

A touchdown was scored and the family members watching the game
cheered and applauded.

“Where are you?” Will asked. “You sound as if you’re at a
game.”

“I’m at Emma’s house in Dallas,” Zach admitted, certain there
was too much background noise for him to convince Will he was home alone at the
ranch. He braced for what he knew was coming.

“You’re where?” Will asked.

“You heard me. I sort of got finagled into this,” he tried to
say quietly.

“I can’t hear you. You’re at your secretary’s house with her
family?”

“That’s right, Will. And I need to go. Happy Thanksgiving to
you.” As he ended the call, he was certain he had not heard the last from Will.
Returning to his seat, he looked at the room filled with Hillman men and the
older boys. This room held a huge white Christmas tree. Their attic had been
filled to the brim with all the decorations that now covered the various trees
in the house. With a deep sigh he settled to watch the game. The evening
promised to be incredibly long, but he had to admit, the Hillmans had fun and
obviously loved being together. To his surprise, he’d had a good time with them.
They were nice people and her brothers were great to be around, actually making
him miss seeing his own, which gave him a shock when he realized he was thinking
about calling both of them, even though he’d just spoken to Will. He had to
admit, Emma had been right about the weekend with her family versus his staying
at the ranch by himself. He looked at her laughing at something her sister said
to her. His insides knotted and he wanted badly to be alone with her and to hold
her in his arms.

* * *

It took several hours to get the decorations up and the
empty boxes put away. A sweeper was run. Finally the entire bunch of people
settled in the family room, sitting on the floor, chairs, sofas. When the
football game ended, Emma’s sister, Mary Kate, sat at the piano to play
Christmas carols and they all joined in singing. Emma came to sit beside him and
to his amazement, the kids found him interesting, so they had squeezed onto the
sofa beside Emma and him. Being crowded together suited him because he could put
his arm around Emma’s shoulders without it seeming a personal gesture. He had an
arm around two of the little kids on the other side of him, but he enjoyed
having Emma pressed against him.