The Holiday Hoax (3 page)

“But—”

Isabella squeezed her friend’s arm in reassurance. “He’s okay, Liz. I’ll speak with Robert in a minute and say good-bye.”

Liz turned to him with the fierceness of a lioness protecting her cub. “If you do anything funny, I promise to find you.”

Aidan laughed. He respected Liz as much as Izzy in that moment, noticing the strong bond of friendship. “I’ll keep her safe. Come on, let me introduce you to my friend, who can vouch for my honor. Then I’ll give you my actual cell phone so you can confirm my number.”

They spent the last minutes saying good-byes and making sure Liz felt comfortable. Aidan fought back laughter when she dragged over her other girlfriend and he faced more threats on retribution if he touched Izzy out of her comfortable boundaries. The heat on Izzy’s cheeks at the overprotectiveness warmed him. This was a woman who was obviously well loved. Then Aidan finally settled Izzy into the passenger seat, cranked up the heat, and pulled carefully away from the house.

“How did Robert take it?” he asked.

Izzy shrugged. “Wasn’t thrilled but I explained you were an old friend. Took the sting out of it. He’s a lovely man.”

“Hmmm. A dentist, huh?”

She swung her head around to look at him in surprise. Her silky blonde curls slid over her shoulder. “How did you know?”

“Word travels.”

Isabella looked amused. “Yes, a local dentist.”

“Sounds like a great guy. Stable. Nice. Solid career.” He paused. “So, why are you with me and not him?

He gave her credit. She took the jab nicely and thrust right back. “Well, that’s right to the point. I’m not crazy about dentists.”

“They make good money.”

“Hmm, you seem to be obsessed over the money part. I’m not looking for a man with money. Most rich men I know are too arrogant. I want a man who knows who he is and doesn’t apologize for it. And I don’t like anyone examining my teeth.”

Aidan burst out laughing. “Looks like you have perfect teeth to me.”

“I have a junk food habit. He wouldn’t approve.”

“I knew you were the perfect woman for me.”

They rode in comfortable silence, easing through snow banks and slick country roads. Her home was located on a small residential block, with a postage stamp lawn and pretty colored yellow shingles. He pulled in her driveway and turned to her. “I can pick you up tomorrow, if you’d like, so you can get your car.”

“That’d be nice.” The silence grew with an unnamed finely tuned sexual tension, spinning its way around them in a tight web. Aidan tried like hell not to focus on the edge of those thigh high leather boots. Tried not to think of how snug they wrapped around her legs, and how she’d look if he knelt before her to peel the boots off one by one. Would her naked skin quiver against his tongue? Would she taste like strawberries and be as sweet? The erotic image hit him square in the face. He hardened immediately and prayed she wouldn’t notice.

“Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee? And see Charlie Brown?”

The invitation caused his heart to pound like a teenager with his first woman. “I’d love to.”

****

Maybe she was crazy.

Isabella busied herself with brewing coffee and peeked through the kitchen to study the man prowling through her living room. She’d just met him a few days ago. They’d had one previous conversation, which ended in her certainty she didn’t like him. Now he was in her house, had held her hand, and called her the perfect woman.

Why did it feel so right?

Isabella pushed away her uneasy thoughts and decided to trust her gut. She’d seen the movie
Serendipity
a million times. She certainly didn’t want to end up constantly wondering why she’d let her soul mate go and spend the rest of her life trying to meet him again. Fate had stepped in and given her one chance. She wasn’t stupid enough to waste it.

She brought in two steaming mugs and stood behind him. Feet propped apart in a wide legged stance, he symbolized a mass of hard, lean muscle towering over six feet. He stared at her tiny Christmas tree, strung with delicate colored lights, pieces of silver tinsel, and a tiny star on top. The branches were pruned back, and the trunk was wrapped tight in a flannel holiday blanket. The tree looked tired, but happier, as if it could now rest in its forever home.

“What do you think?” she asked, setting the mugs down on the table.

“You saved it.” He turned to look at her. Those amber eyes glowed with a fierce intent as his gaze roved carefully over her face. “I knew you would.”

She tilted her chin up in a slight challenge. “If you wanted me to save the tree, why did you give me such a hard time about the price?”

Aidan took a step forward. “I needed to know how badly you wanted it.”

The sexual current between them lit and fused. “A test?” she asked.

“Sort of.”

“I don’t like tests.”

“You’re a teacher. You must have a knack for them because you keep passing.”

Temper, and a hot, sensual awareness simmered through her. “Well, you failed yours. I thought you were a chauvinistic, bad-tempered Scrooge.”

“Maybe I’ll pass the second test.”

“What second test?”

He stopped before her. Reached out to wrap a wayward curl tightly around his finger. His breath rushed over her lips as he leaned in and spoke. “To see if my kiss lives up to your expectations. I already know you’ll pass.”

A beat went by. She didn’t move. Then he lowered his mouth. His lips moved sweetly over hers, gentle and firm as he learned her texture and taste with a leisurely motion that relaxed her immediately. His hands cupped her cheeks to hold her still, sipping, nibbling, tempting her lips to open for him. Isabella swallowed a moan of pure lust. Aidan dove in.

His tongue thrust against hers in hot male hunger. She clung to his shoulders as she hung on for the ride. The raw tension between them pulled and burned. Her head spun as she let go, giving it all back to him, everything she had, everything she was, and everything she’d been holding back.

He pulled away, whispered her name, then seized her mouth again. He drank deeply until she shook with the need for more.

Aidan stepped back, looking equally shaken. The knowledge he felt the same made a strangled laugh rise to her lips. “Wow,” she said.

Her tongue snaked out to lick her swollen bottom lip. Tiger eyes darkened with need and hunger as he watched the movement.

“I’m glad you came up with something because that left me speechless.”

“Yeah, I’m a real Shakespeare.”

He laughed and took his mug of coffee. “I’m going to hang on to this cup a while so I can keep my hands off of you. Wouldn’t want to piss off Liz. I’m afraid of her.”

She laughed back and settled with him on the overstuffed cream color couch. “You should see the kids. And she teaches kindergarten.”

He winced in mock horror. “Now I am scared.” He took a sip of the brew and murmured his approval. “Did you always know you wanted to teach?”

Isabella considered the question. “I tried a couple of other careers on for size before I settled. I lived in Manhattan for a while. I liked the idea of being in the fast lane. But after a while, I burnt out. I lived in a studio with a bunch of roommates, partied at the clubs, and worked low end jobs.” The memory of her betrayal flashed before her vision, but the accompanying cut of pain barely registered now. “Something happened that made me reconsider my options. I realized I wanted more, so I went back to school. Teaching was a good fit. I missed the mountains and small town life.”

His gaze sharpened as he snagged on her brief hesitation. “What made you reconsider?”

A smile tugged at her lips. “You don’t miss a thing, do you?” she murmured. “Do you really want to hear my backstory on our first night?”

“Yes.”

His simple admission and the gleam in his eyes urged her forward. Isabella took a sip of the hot brew and let herself go back. “Remember your questions in the car regarding my interest in men with money?” He nodded. “Well, let’s just say I got a firsthand experience of that lifestyle, and I’ll never go back. I met someone at a bar while I was waitressing one night. Seemed like a nice guy, well dressed, polite. We had a connection so when he asked me out, I agreed.”

Aidan remained quiet, but his fingers reached out to snag hers. The comforting warmth settled the memories and she pushed on. “We began to seriously date. His name was Mike, and I fell pretty hard for him. I was fine with taking it slow for the first few months, but then I realized he still hadn’t introduced me to his family. Kept me away from most of his friends. He’d whisk me away for romantic weekends, or late evening dinners, but we never did the ordinary things that couples usually do when they’re building a relationship. So, I began getting suspicious. Thought maybe he was cheating on me. Even asked if he had a wife.”

Isabella shook her head. “He denied it all. One evening, he made excuses why he couldn’t go out and said he was sick. Said he didn’t want me to come over, just wanted to sleep. I decided to drive over to his house. Imagine my surprise when he came out dressed in a tuxedo.”

Aidan winced. “This doesn’t sound very good.”

“Gets better. I followed him to an extremely lush country club. Hell, I couldn’t even get through the gates. I ended up spying through the bushes like a cheap tramp while I watched him mingle with his family and close friends. When I left, I realized there was a huge part of him I hadn’t even known existed.”

“What happened?”

Isabella sighed. “I confronted him the next day with the truth. He looked devastated, and finally confessed. He was an up-and-coming executive in his father’s business, and his family owned half of Wall Street. Seems there were only certain women good enough to be his wife. Women of breeding, power, elegance, money.” She fought the dark spot on her heart that still ached at not being good enough for someone she loved. “But not me. My family was poor and I didn’t even have a real job.” She shrugged. “I just wasn’t worth the fight to him. My heart was broken, and in a way, I understood. So, I came home.”

The comforting warmth of his hand on hers suddenly turned. Fire simmered along her nerve endings as his grip tightened. She caught her breath as her belly dipped, then his hands slid into the heavy length of her hair to gently tug her head back. Her neck arched. The delicious scents of coffee and male hunger rose to her nostrils, and Isabella realized she wanted him.

“He was an asshole,” he growled against her lips. “I’d fight for you.”

Then his lips took hers.

This time, he claimed her mouth like a marauding warrior bent on capture. His tongue swept in and took over, stroking every dark, wet crevice. The hard length of him pressed against her thigh, and his obvious arousal caused a fierce satisfaction to course through her, urging her on. She met him stroke for stroke as her arms wrapped around his shoulders and hung on. Her nipples rose and tightened against her sweater, and with a low groan, he slipped one hand out of her hair and under the soft fabric.

The breath hissed through her lips as his fingers tugged down her bra to cup her bare breast, his thumb urging her nipple to tighten further. Isabella fought the drowning waves of heat and dug her nails into his shoulders. Mindless pleasure drove her on, and she offered herself up to him, moaning as he stroked her breast with knowledgeable fingers.

His teeth nipped at her swollen lower lip as his thumb teased the turgid nub. Round and round he circled her nipple, then carefully grasped the peak between his fingers.

And tugged.

Fire speared straight down to, and burned between, her thighs. “Aidan!”

He shuddered in her arms. Then with slow, deliberate movements, he removed his hand and eased down her sweater. Amber eyes burned with lust and determination as he stared into her face. “I want you, Isabella. But it’s too soon. I want you to trust me.”

She realized in that moment she would have regret sleeping with him this first night. Who was this incredible man who knew more about her in a few hours than most men she dated? He could have swept her into the bedroom and she wouldn’t have denied him. Instead, he delayed his own pleasure for her trust.

Isabella reached up and traced the strong line of his jaw. The words ripped from her throat. “Thank you.”

A smile touched carved lips. “Welcome. But I don’t think I could do it again.”

She laughed and tried to change the subject. “You heard my sob story. What about you? Where did you grow up?”

His face drained of emotion. She blinked at the sudden change and he shifted in discomfort. “I grew up in the city,” he said carefully. “I never had a choice, though. I finished college and went straight into the family business.”

“What does your family do?”

Another uncomfortable pause. “They own a restaurant.”

Isabella wondered why he seemed a bit nervous. “There’s much more pressure on kids when their parents already have their life set up for them.” Her gaze probed his, searching for answers. “Did you leave the business? Is that why you’re now doing odd jobs, trying to find what you really want?”

He opened his mouth and Isabella felt like he was going to say something important. Instead, a flash of grief shone in his eyes, then was quickly gone. “I can never leave the business. I’m only taking a break for a while.”

She let his words settle, then reached out and took his hand again. His warm skin closed around hers and chased away the cold. For some reason, he battled some demons and needed time. Isabella went with her gut that told her he’d tell her the truth when he was ready. “Then you’ll just find your way.”

He pulled her close. Tucking her body against his, he put his arm around her and they watched the lights on Charlie Brown twinkle as the snow fell outside.

Isabella knew something had happened tonight. Something wonderful.

She hugged the thought tight and gave herself up to his embrace.

****

Isabella glanced at the door nervously, then chastised herself for even thinking he’d come. The few men she’d dated in her past steered clear of anything to do with her classroom or extracurricular activities. This included, but was not limited to, tricky trays, penny auctions, and recitals. But the number one event to avoid at all costs occurred once a year. Tonight.