Merrily Suited
Part One
by Donna Michaels
She'd never seen a Santa suit used in quite that way.
On a horse…pulling a red wagon decorated to resemble a sleigh with green
garland, twinkling white lights, and silver bells. Because that was normal. Lauren
Brewster smiled. It was for her bosses. Her three handsome bosses who owned a
chain of feed stores throughout southern Texas.
The free Santa-horse wagon rides the guys started
today were a big hit with the customers. A brilliant idea from three equally
brilliant brothers. Born with good looks and brains, the Callahan boys also
inherited their father’s sense of business and keen knowledge of their
customer’s needs. It was never a dull moment at the store, and she enjoyed her
job.
Hired right out of high school seven years ago by
their late father, Lauren was lucky to work for the fun, smart, sexy cowboys. Her
extended family. Brothers. Well, two of them. The third one, the middle one…not
so much. Six-foot-one with powerful shoulders, dark brown hair, quiver-inducing
chocolate brown eyes—milk chocolate, her favorite—Trent Callahan elicited
absolutely no sisterly feelings from her whatsoever. Nada. Zilch.
He was hot.
She was sunk.
Especially now. They were both single. At the same
time. Something that had never happened in all the years she’d known the
charismatic man. And the fact she was accompanying him to Texas City for two
nights to help oversee the big, outdoor, holiday charity bash the store
sponsored every year was going to test her resolve.
And confirm her stupidity.
Spending two days in close proximity to the
irresistible cowboy without his brothers around…yeah, not smart.
Inhaling, she parked in her usual spot behind Callahan
Feed, and blew out the breath. Everything was going to be fine. Just fine. She’d
managed not to act on her attraction to Trent for years now. This weekend would
be no different.
Feeling better, she got out of the car as the handsome
cowboy lumbered from the back door of the main building, worn jeans sitting low on
his lean hips, black T-shirt stretched across the drool-worthy broad shoulders
and muscled pecs not so hidden beneath an opened green and black flannel shirt.
“Hey, Brew.” He smiled, revealing dimples capable of
reducing grown women into giggling schoolgirls.
She ought to know.
Her heart rocked hard in her chest then fluttered back
into place. “Hi, Cal,” she replied in kind, using a variant of his surname.
Not once had either of them ever called each other by
their first name. An unspoken rule. A smart one because, given her attraction
to the cowboy, saying his first name aloud made it personal, and hearing her
name on his lips would surely do her in.
“Ready for this weekend?”
No. Not really.
“Yep.” She lied through her smile. Reigning in her feelings was crucial to the
success of their trip—and her future—if she wanted to continue managing their main
store. And she did. Very much.
“Good,” he replied, taking the initiative to grab her
suitcase from the back seat, gaze sparkling with life as he straightened and
shut the car door. “Because we’re going to have a memorable time. Trust me.”
***
Like now.
He glanced sideways at his silent passenger. A curtain
of silky, golden brown hair obscured a face he knew to be beautiful with high
cheekbones, mesmerizing green eyes, and full lips always ready with a smile.
Except for today. No smile. No friendly chit-chat. Nothing. In fact, the woman
who’d worked for the company since graduating high school, the one who’d touched his heart and didn't know it, was unusually quiet, and hugging the door as if he carried the
plague.
“Everything all right, Brew?”
She turned to him and blinked. “Yeah, why?”
“You’re getting awfully comfortable with that door.”
Color crept into her delicate face, turning her eyes a
deep, emerald, which never failed to take his breath. “I-I’m just sitting.”
He grinned. “Yeah, far away, as if I bite.”
Lord have mercy, her gaze dropped to his mouth and
lingered, tempting, teasing, trying to pull the rest of the air from his lungs
and force him to reveal his feelings, the ones he’d hidden for awhile now.
Feelings he hadn’t recognized as more than friendship until they’d danced at a
company Christmas party two years ago. The connection, the chemistry, had
zinged through him with an unexpected wave of energy and heat he hadn’t been
able to forget, or find with anyone else.
Not for lack of trying. He’d been in a relationship at
the time, but when it had ended, Lauren had already started to see some college
professor, and Trent had remained tight-lipped about his attraction.
Until now.
He was single.
She was single.
The time had come to test their chemistry and this
trip was the perfect opportunity.
“How about we listen to some music?” He
flipped on the radio and a jolly holiday tune filled the cab.
She smiled and settled back in her seat, not so close
to the door, relief easing the tightness from her full lips. “Oh, I love this
one,” she said, and began to sing along with Alan Jackson.
Sweet and warm, her voice surrounded him like a soft blanket,
tugging a grin onto his lips, making him happy to be in her presence. He was
always happy around her, but should he try to take that a step further? A
relationship was risky, very risky. Lauren was a fantastic asset to the
company.
Handpicked by his late father. She loved Callahan Feed
as much as he and his brothers, Sam and Cordell. The last thing he wanted was
to jeopardize their working relationship. But, the attraction was already
getting in the way of work…for both of them, as his siblings had taken delight
in pointing it out at their recent monthly meeting, all because he’d handed
them October’s spreadsheet instead of November’s.
How his brothers had connected the mistake to his
feelings for Lauren was still a mystery, but they were correct. She’d breezed
into his office to hand him the day’s receipts, smelling of fresh apples with a
hint of vanilla. He must’ve clicked on the wrong file to print when he’d leaned
closer to her hair and inhaled deep, because, yeah, he was that far gone.
So, here he was on his way to the Gulf to do something
about it. Trent just hoped to God he wasn’t misreading Lauren’s blushes and
lingering glances. He’d hate to be in the off-kilter vortex on his own, or
worse. Make the woman uncomfortable enough to quit. His father would roll over
in his grave, and his brothers would skin him alive.
***
She knew it. Lauren knew going to Texas City with
Trent—alone—was a bad idea. It was a small miracle she hadn’t made more of an
idiot of herself during the short drive down to the Gulf earlier that day. But
the handsome man had a powerful presence. All consuming. His broad shoulders
and solid frame evaporated space in the cab as rapidly as his warm gaze had
zapped her brain cells. And what was with his friendly open expression? Darn
thing sucked her in, upping her temperature and pulse. She had to cling to the
door in order to keep from scooting over to him. The sexy cowboy was like a
magnet, and she was a piece of trembling sheet metal.
A weak-kneed idiot.
Exiting the hotel elevator on her way to meet her boss
in a lobby decorated in red and green for the holidays, she silently commended
herself for having the foresight to book their stay weeks in advance. The place
was nearly sold out, and if they’d had to share a room, she would’ve caved to
the man’s charm in an instant.
That would’ve been bad.
Sandy bad.
Lauren was determined not to end up like her friend Sandy. The poor woman had
gotten involved with her boss, and seven months later, was single and
unemployed.
Not her. No way.
She weaved through a throng of people waiting in line
to check in and passed a group of carolers happily singing in the corner by a
brightly decorated, ten foot Christmas tree. Their beautiful voices helped
sooth her frazzled nerves, but she nearly stopped dead when she caught sight of
Trent pushing from the far wall, staring straight at her, lazy smile tugging
his lips. Her heart kicked her ribs then did that flutter in her chest thing.
Why did he have to be so dang good-looking? And why
did she have to have this type of reaction to the man? Her pulse never leapt
for his brothers. Why him? Was there a cure?
She needed a cure. Pronto.
And a miracle.
Her fluttering heart dropped to her feet when her gaze
encountered a bigger problem.
Hanging in the doorway—a doorway they had to pass—sat a
huge sprig of mistletoe. Not good. Lauren glanced at the other door. More
mistletoe. She hadn’t noticed the twigs when they’d check in, but she couldn’t
miss them now.
She was trapped. No matter which door she exited with
the cowboy, they’d walk underneath the holiday’s excuse-to-kiss decoration.
Maybe he won’t
notice.
~ ~♥~ ~
7 comments:
And we're off! Great start, Donna. Best of luck with the new release.
I'm loving this, Donna! Great opening to your story and our month. Best of luck with your new release. You're on a roll!
What a fun beginning, Donna!
Thank you, Margo, Jannine, and Diane!
Great start! I love these holiday stories!!
Thanks, Christine!
I'll be back...
Post a Comment