One Winter's Night Read online

  He slipped his arms around her and gave her a long deep kiss. “I won’t screw this up again,” he promised.

  “You couldn’t if you tried. We know each other a lot better now than we did then.”

  “But the one thing I’ve always felt is that you’re the only woman who’s right for me.”

  She pulled back and blinked. “Mr. Right. My Christmas wish to that weird Santa Claus was for me to find Mr. Right.”

  Nick laughed. “And I asked him for my dream girl.”

  “This is weird.” The man’s words came back to her. “He’d told me that if I looked inside my heart, I’d realize Mr. Right was there in front of me.”

  “And here I am.”

  She sank against his chest and rested her head on his shoulder, her heart warmed with the comfortable ease of their embrace. This embrace, this understanding between them and their confessions of the heart—it was like putting the square peg in the square hole and feeling the ease of the two sliding in place as they were meant to be. And it felt absolutely wonderful.

  “And here I was trying to convince myself that Mr. Right could be Mike Holden.” She stopped and gaped. “Mike! Oh, my, I left him down at the party.”

  Nick shrugged. “Something came up.”

  “But we should go down there. He could still be waiting.”

  “I’m in the mood for some champagne, anyway.”

  Hand in hand, they made their way back down to the party, and as she feared, the table was empty. Only the drink Mike must have fetched her sat there watered and warm.

  “Uh, I don’t think you need to worry about Mike,” Nick said.

  Allie followed Nick’s gaze to a corner of the room where Mike was engaged in an intimate conversation with Jodi Hall.

  Very intimate.

  Allie wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or offended. After all, she and Mike had been talking about getting together for dinner and a movie. Now, he was in the corner with Jodi, sharing sips of a drink and whispering seductively in her ear.

  Then Allie remembered where she’d just been.

  “I don’t think I should interrupt. Do you?”

  “Usually when a guy has his hands on a woman’s ass, he’d like to be left alone.” Nick took Allie’s hand and led her to the dance floor, where the old fifties tune “You’re All I Want for Christmas” played. “Besides, they’re playing our song.”

  She grinned as he held her in his arms and began a slow sway. “We have a song.”

  Overhead, paper snowflakes sparkled in the light while real snow began to fall over Chicago. Out the windows, the twinkling skyline shone like candlelight for as far as the eye could see. And in her arms, Allie held the greatest gift of all.

  “We have more than a song,” Nick said. “We finally have each other.”

  You’re All I Want for Christmas

  1

  ONLY SEVEN MORE SHOPPING days until Christmas. Staring at the pittance that was her check from the temp agency, it was obvious Anna Cole wouldn’t be spending those shopping days at Saks or Neiman Marcus. Her final paycheck would barely cover the gas money to take her back home to Twin Falls, Idaho.

  For good.

  The thought put a damper on what, up until now, had been a pretty good day. An hour ago, she’d still been holding out hope that she’d find a way to stay in Chicago. She’d spent half her life pining to be here. Having to go back home stung deeply, but she had no choice. The job she’d been promised fell through, and what work she could find hadn’t been enough to cover her college tuition and living expenses. After six months in the Windy City, she’d wound her options down to two choices: start living in her car, or stick her tail between her legs and go crawling back home.

  She could already hear her family saying “I told you so.” They’d all balked at her lofty goals to go off to college in the big city all by herself. Her mom had argued that there was a perfectly good school in Boise she could attend while living with Aunt Kate. Daddy didn’t understand why she wanted to be a nurse when she’d just been promoted to cashier at Sam’s Grocery Outlet. He’d told her union jobs were scarce these days and she should keep the good fortune she had. Besides, nobody went off to college at her age, he’d say, as though twenty-five was halfway to the grave.

  Worst of all were her brothers Mark and Dean, who reminded her as often as possible that she was too stupid for medicine and that if she did manage to graduate from nursing school and get an actual job, she’d end up killing more people than she helped.

  Okay, so Mark and Dean were only teasing like big brothers did, but that wouldn’t lessen the pain when she had to walk back into the old sprawling ranch house and announce that she wouldn’t be going back after Christmas break. For the most part, they’d all been right. She’d set off for the thrill of the big city and instead of offering her the exciting opportunities she’d sought, it only chewed her up and spit her out. And now, with only two semesters under her belt and her savings drained, she’d be heading back home without ever having done one single adventurous thing.

  She sighed as she thought about all the things she’d wanted to do. She’d never made it to the ballet or the symphony. She’d never strolled down Michigan Avenue and gone into Tiffany’s. Heck, here she was picking up her paycheck in the world-famous Willis Tower and she’d never even gone up to the Skydeck. She’d been too focused on settling into school, grabbing what work she could find and job hunting for more in all her spare time. She’d put the sightseeing aside for the day she was settled, but that day never came.

  Forcing a smile on her face, she thanked the receptionist and walked out of the agency, tucking the check into her purse as she made her way out. When she stepped into the elevator and hit the ground-floor button, she was struck with an impulse. Next week, she’d be on her way home. She had to do at least one fun thing while she was here. Even if she couldn’t afford it, she really couldn’t go back to Twin Falls without a solitary story to tell her friends and family. So on her way down, she decided to splurge on a going-away present and tour the Skydeck while she was here. She’d heard that even after dark the view was amazing at 103 stories up, and a tour of the Skydeck museum sounded way better than packing up to leave.

  Maybe she’d even dare to step out onto the Ledge, those new all-glass enclosures that projected out from the building’s edge and gave most people vertigo. Anna wasn’t crazy about heights, but for the sake of saying she’d done something thrilling, she’d overcome the nausea and take a step out over the busy streets. As the elevator whipped down, she smiled, her happiness resumed temporarily as she contemplated an evening of fun.

  The car came to a stop halfway down and she stepped aside expecting company. But when the doors opened, no one was there. She pushed the ground-floor button again and waited, but after too long nothing happened. The elevator just sat there with its doors open.

  She pressed more buttons. Still nothing. Evidently, the thing was stuck. She stepped out and mused that at least it hadn’t stranded her inside between floors. She’d wanted a thrill, but not that kind.

  Shrugging it off, she pushed the button to hail another elevator and waited. Off in the distance she could hear Christmas music coming from a room down the hall and what sounded like a holiday party going on.

  It took her back to her years at Sam’s and the annual holiday parties they always threw. Oh, that was always a fun night. The food was marvelous, the mood was bright. Couples danced and people gossiped about who was drinking too much or who was lusting over whom. They all dressed up, offering a rare sight of themselves in suits and dresses instead of Sam’s red-and-black uniforms. As she waited for another elevator, she reflected with longing about those parties and that she’d missed it this year.

  The familiar bursts of laughter from the room down the hall brought back memories. The thought of food made her stomach growl. She’d skipped lunch and it was past the dinner hour. Anxious to get home, she pressed the button again, but still nothing happened. T
he elevator she’d departed still sat there with its doors open and none of the others were coming to her rescue. So instead of waiting there indefinitely, she went off in search of the stairs, thinking maybe she’d have better luck on another floor.

  Instinctively, she moved in the direction of the party toward a corridor she thought might lead to a stairway. And when she found herself in front of the noisy party room, the door suddenly flew open. An older man with olive skin stepped through and when he saw her, he held the door, apparently thinking she’d been on her way in. She began to speak, to excuse herself, when her eye caught the activity inside.

  The room looked like a Christmas wonderland, with its lights turned low and decorative snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. Music played from the stage and crowds of people were mulling around, dancing, chatting and nibbling on food. Tables circled the perimeter of the room, which was informally decorated in green and red. But what really grabbed her attention was the mile-long buffet table packed with meats and salads and desserts.

  Her mouth watered. She’d eaten little more than ramen noodles and fast food for the past six months. And as she eyed the display, the absurd notion of stepping in for a bite crossed her mind.

  Go in, the little voice said. You’re on an adventure, right? You wanted a story to tell your friends. Go in and have a bite. What’s the worst that could happen?

  She blinked off the ludicrous thought of crashing someone’s party. Though as the man held the door for her expectantly, she noted he, at least, had no idea she didn’t belong there. And judging from the number of people inside, she questioned whether anyone else would, either.

  “You coming or going?” he asked.

  She had to think fast. Do it, the little voice kept urging. Step inside. If someone asks, just say you’re lost. There could be a hundred holiday parties going on in this building tonight. So you showed up for the wrong one.

  “I, uh…” she stammered.

  Are you on an adventure or not?

  “Thank you,” she said, quickly darting into the room while she had the nerve.

  She shrugged out of her coat and moved toward the food where the largest crowd of people gathered. She’d intended to simply hang out for a moment and see how well she blended in, but as soon as she stepped near the tables a young man in Dockers and a green striped shirt casually turned to her and said, “The pork buns are going fast. Get them while you can.”

  “Pork buns?”

  She watched as he shoved what looked like a buttery dinner roll in his mouth. Then he rolled his eyes in apparent bliss. “Alan Chan brought them from Chinatown. They don’t make them like this in the burbs.”

  “Galen, your wife’s chicken salad is wonderful,” said a woman to their left. She turned to Anna. “Have you tried it?”

  “I, uh, just got here,” Anna muttered.

  Galen pointed a finger. “You’re the new girl in Controller’s right?”

  She opened her mouth, not sure how to respond. She didn’t have much practice crashing parties and lying through her teeth, but taking on someone else’s identity didn’t seem like the best idea.

  “I’m just temping for a few days. They told me to stop in if I wanted.”

  There. That seemed as close to the truth as possible. And as her heart pounded she eyed the two and waited for signs of a problem.

  The woman simply smiled and held out a hand. “I’m LaRhonda.” She gestured to the plate in her hand. “Galen’s in-laws own a deli. At every potluck function we insist he bring their famous chicken salad, but you better grab a plate. It won’t last.”

  And just that easily, Anna was officially on her adventure.

  “ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER TRIP to Maui.” John Stryker Jr. patted the back of his friend, Nick Castle. “Congratulations on the top sales award.”

  Nick stepped away from the group of men he’d been chatting with. “Thanks, John.”

  “I don’t know how you do it. Everyone had their money on Daryl this year after he hit it big with Jackson Pharmaceuticals.”

  “Not big enough, I guess.”

  “In my opinion, you deserved it anyway. You work harder.”

  “I do,” Nick agreed. He took a sip of his drink and added, “To me it’s not work. When you love what you do it’s like playtime.”

  John smiled and nodded despite the fact that Nick’s comment struck a sore nerve. He’d give anything to know what it was like to love his job. Not that being second in command of Stryker & Associates exactly sucked. He’d been born into a gift plenty of people would kill for, and John would always be thankful for his fortune. But it seemed the more time he spent learning the ropes and priming his skills to someday inherit his father’s company, the more he realized he didn’t want it. Finance, numbers, risk management—insurance could be a risky business but not the kind of risk that got John’s blood pumping. Despite his father’s efforts to sell him on the business, John simply couldn’t get excited about life behind a desk. And the closer he got to thirty, the more anxious he felt about the path he was on.

  “Must be nice,” he muttered.

  Nick gaped. “Dude, it doesn’t get nicer than being John Stryker Jr.”

  John eyed Nick then confessed, “White-collar work has never interested me.”

  “So what? You’re rolling in dough.”

  John laughed, recalling the days when that very thought drove his plans for his future. As a young teen fueled by his father’s urging to go into the family business, John hadn’t argued. At the time, he’d only been thinking about the hefty salary, and for a kid only interested in fast cars and high-rise condos, taking over Stryker & Associates was a no-brainer. But it had been a while now since his interest in such luxuries had worn off, and being at the tail end of his youth he couldn’t shake the idea that this career was a big mistake. He didn’t share his father’s interest in insurance, didn’t have Nick’s passion for sales, and as time kept ticking along his dissension had built.

  “There’s more to life than money,” he said.

  “Says the guy who’s always had it.” Nick pointed a finger. “Take it from the one who didn’t. Money can buy a lot of happiness. Anyone who says otherwise didn’t grow up on my street.”

  John smiled, knowing his friend was right. He did appreciate what he had, and if he was truly considering stepping down from his position, he knew he’d face more than the disappointment of his parents. Depending on what he ended up doing, he could be facing a serious lifestyle adjustment, too.

  “All right. I suppose I can’t argue with that.”

  He sipped his drink and watched the crowded room. So many people in this room had ambitious goals and dreams of success. Some of them had spent decades climbing the corporate ladder, but John was cutting straight to the top and wishing he were anywhere but here.

  It didn’t seem right. But at the same time, the thought of leaving this comfort zone wasn’t exactly pleasant, either.

  “So who are you taking to Maui this year?” he asked, feeling the need to change the subject. He had to remind himself that tonight wasn’t the night to be stirring up doubts and worries. It was a time to celebrate a long year of hard work and give thanks to people who’d earned it.

  Nick shrugged. “I’ve got no idea.”

  “What about the woman you’re dating?”

  “Pam? That ended ages ago.”

  John blinked. Had it been that long since he and Nick had shared a drink? “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “Don’t be. It was fun for a minute but there was nothing lasting there.”

  John opened his mouth to reply when a woman caught his eye.

  No, not a woman, more like an angel.

  She stood across the room near the buffet table, and was tapping her foot to the music and swaying her sexy hips the tiniest bit. She was beautiful, with curly brown hair, a petite turned-up nose and wide eyes filled with cheer. The prettiest thing he’d ever seen, though it wasn’t just her looks that had him in rapture
. It was the spirit she emitted, the bright expression on her face and a smile that seemed to light up the space around her. Just looking at her was like spotting a ray of sunshine cutting through the clouds, and as he stood and gaped, he was overcome with the urge to go strike up a conversation.

  “What about you?” Nick asked.

  “Me what?”

  He wondered if she was married. Squinting, he tried to catch a glimpse of her ring finger from the distance but had no luck. The light was too dim and her left hand was wrapped around a fruity-looking drink that hid the view of her fingers.

  “Maui, you and me and whatever island babes we meet along the way.”

  “Island…right.” John gestured across the room. “Do you know her?”

  Nick followed his gaze. “The woman in the pale blue blouse?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Never seen her before. You?”

  “No.” But he intended to see her now.

  He couldn’t explain the instant pull. Over the years, he’d heard people talk about love at first sight and he’d always balked. Like anyone, he could appreciate an attractive woman from across a room, and he’d always assumed that was what they’d been talking about. Stretching simple admiration to actual love at first sight had always seemed pretty far-fetched. But now he had to wonder. The magnetism of this woman went beyond standard attraction, and while he certainly wasn’t claiming love, he was no doubt consumed with the need to go talk to her. He wanted to hear her voice, to find out who she was and where she’d come from. He wanted to see the color of those sunny eyes and catch the scent of her hair. And judging by the itch in his jaw, he wasn’t going to rest until he did.

  As if she’d felt him staring she turned her head and met his gaze, and when she did, her sunny expression colored with interest. She’d already been smiling, but now the smile turned sultry, almost a little bashful, and sexy as hell.

  Without switching her gaze from his, she took a sip of her drink. He could almost taste the sweetness on his lips, could practically feel those long slim fingers snaking down his chest. It was an odd sensation, one he’d never experienced before. And in the heat of it, he muttered a few absent words to Nick and set off across the room.