Praise for Janice Lynn:

‘Fun, witty and sexy…A heartfelt, sensual, and compelling read.’

—Goodreads Review on

NYC ANGELS: HEIRESS’S BABY SCANDAL

‘A sweet and beautiful romance that will steal your heart.’

—HarlequinJunkie.com on

NYC ANGELS: HEIRESS’S BABY SCANDAL

JANICE LYNN has a Masters in Nursing from Vanderbilt University, and works as a nurse practitioner in a family practice. She lives in the southern United States with her husband, their four children, their Jack Russell—appropriately named Trouble—and a lot of unnamed dust bunnies that have moved in since she started her writing career. To find out more about Janice and her writing visit www.janicelynn.com

After the
Christmas Party…
Janice Lynn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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Dear Reader

I am so blessed in that I come from a family where Christmas is always a special time and always has been. My family didn’t necessarily get a lot material-wise, but the love and memories we have are worth more than anything a shiny package could ever hold. Sadly, I’ve run across people who have had a tragedy around the holidays, or who haven’t been so blessed, and I think how terrible the holidays must be when there are reminders everywhere one looks.

Nurse Trinity Warren is just such a person. She’s good-hearted, but grew up in a household where Christmas not only wasn’t celebrated, but also became an embarrassment for her because her home life was so different from that of her peers. And getting dumped by her ex in a very public way at her hospital Christmas party sure didn’t do anything to pump up her Christmas joy.

His name might not be St Nicholas, but Dr Riley Williams loves Christmas just about as much as the jolly red-suited man. Not used to being ignored by the opposite sex, Riley finds his interest piqued by Trinity’s seeming indifference to him and her professed dislike of the most wonderful time of year. Showing her the magic of the season is the challenge his bored heart has been searching for, but can he really fall in love with someone whose life motto is bah-humbug?

I hope you enjoy reading Trinity and Riley’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Drop me an e-mail at Janice@janicelynn.net to share your thoughts about their romance, Christmas, or just to say hello.

Merry Christmas!

Janice

Dedication

To my parents, James and Brenda Green, for making all my Christmases so full of good times, good food, and lots of love. Love you both very much!

Table of Contents

Cover

Praise for Janice Lynn

About the Author

Title Page

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

IF THE PRETTY little blonde were a chameleon, Dr. Riley Williams was positive she’d have blended into the hotel ballroom wall long ago.

Who was she? Obviously not someone’s date as only a fool would have left her alone. She had to be a hospital employee he just hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting.

She sipped on a glass of what appeared to be rum punch and nervously surveyed the room as if she’d rather be anywhere than at the Pensacola Memorial Hospital Christmas party.

He took a sip of his soda and continued to listen to Dr. Sanders discuss an upcoming heart program the hospital was sponsoring while Riley’s attention was really on the blonde.

Never had he seen a less likely wallflower. Although she did seem as delicate as one of the orchids his mother loved to grow. Fragile even.

Every bit as beautiful.

Looking almost hopeful, she smiled at a group of women that passed by but they never paused in their hee-hawing to say hello. If anything, she seemed to wilt further. A pity because he’d liked that brief glimpse of a smile.

The need to see that smile again hit hard. Surprisingly hard. He liked women. A lot. Always had. He imagined he always would but he didn’t envision himself ever settling down. The long hours and demands of his career would keep him from ever tying a woman to him. A family deserved time and attention.

A plump pink lower lip disappeared between white teeth. Every muscle in Riley’s stomach contracted and he’d swear the air in the room had thinned.

Never had he had such an instant, strong reaction to a woman.

He placed his half-full glass on a passing waiter’s tray. “Excuse me, gentlemen, but I just spotted what I want for Christmas.”

Several of his colleagues followed his line of vision and grinned.

“Trinity Warren. She just started last week,” a cardiologist who was one of his partners informed him. “On the cardiac unit. I’m surprised you haven’t already noticed her.”

With the way his insides were stirring, so was he. Then again, he hadn’t been around the hospital much this week. He’d taken a few days off work to spend some time helping his mother with odds and ends of Christmas decorations and shopping. For too long since his father’s heart attack sadness had filled her at the holidays. Seeing her renewed joy in the festivities did Riley’s heart good.

“Trinity Warren…” He let the blonde’s name roll off his tongue, wondering at the way his pulse pounded at his throat. “She works on our unit?”

He didn’t usually become involved with women he worked with. Too messy.

“She’s been in orientation with Karen this past week. Quirky sense of humor, great smile, patients like her, seems to really know her stuff.”

Yeah, well, he’d really like to know her stuff too. Up close and personal. Plus, that glimpse of her smile had been great. He could only imagine what her full-blown one would be like. His imagination was working overtime at the moment.

He studied her, watching as she cast her big brown eyes downward to stare into her glass before taking another sip. Her tongue darted out to lick punch from her full lips. He swallowed. Oh, hell. Without even trying, she was sending his blood pressure through the roof.

How much he wanted to see her pretty mouth curved into a smile stunned him, to see her eyes dancing with pleasure. Want was the wrong word. He needed to see her smile, her pleasure.

“You want me to introduce you?”

He glanced at his best friend and one of the several partners in their cardiology group. “Have you ever known me to need you to introduce me to a beautiful woman?”

“Figured you needed all the help you could get,” Trey teased.

“Besides, I’m onto you,” Riley continued, hesitating just a little longer, feeling his friend’s interest in the woman too. “You’re just looking for an excuse to talk to her yourself.”

Trey grinned. “If I’d spotted her first tonight, I wouldn’t have needed an excuse to talk to her. I’d be over there now, rather than talking to your ugly mug.”

“But now?”

“Now I’ve seen the determined look on your face.” Trey shrugged. “She doesn’t stand a chance and neither does any other man in this room. Go for it.”

Relieved his friend didn’t have a vested interest, Riley didn’t deny his claim. Besides, Trey was right. Trinity Warren didn’t stand a chance when he turned on the charm. Before long she’d be smiling and enjoying her evening—with him.

Nurse Trinity Warren was smart enough to know that facing her fears was the best way to move on, to put her ho-ho-ho hang-ups to rest. But, seriously, had she really had to come to this Christmas party?

Leaning against the hotel ballroom wall, she took a sip of her third cup of fruit punch. Was she nuts or what? By coming here, she was sticking her neck under the proverbial guillotine. Two years ago she’d vowed to never attend another Christmas party, to ban Christmas for ever. Bah, humbug! That had been her motto.

Only she’d relocated two weeks ago and her new nursing director had said she needed to attend. So here she was, pretending she was having a good time and that she wasn’t contemplating a dash to the ladies’ room to toss the liquid-only contents of her fluttery stomach.

She smiled at a group of women who worked in the billing department as they paused near where she held the wall up. She didn’t personally know them. She knew very few people outside the cardiac care unit. But she had seen the trio around. Waving their hands with animation and talking a mile a minute, they didn’t notice her.

“He is so hot,” one of the women said, fanning her face with a bejeweled hand decked out with rakish long manicured fingernails and a sparkly ring so big it had to be fake.

“He’s yummy in his scrubs, but in those dress slacks and fitted button-down open just right at his collar…” a heavy-chested blonde gave an exaggerated sigh “…he’s outright lickable.”

Trinity followed their line of sight to see who had their tongues wagging. Oh, my. Um, yeah, they were right.

He was hot.

And lickable.

And a lot of other things that had her looking away really fast so her retinas didn’t start smoking.

Startled at her tongue-slurping reaction, she glanced back toward the object of their admiration. Her gaze collided with his. Wow. Something about him made her burn. Probably because he looked as if he’d walked straight out of every woman’s fantasy. The mischievous gleam present in his blue eyes said he was well aware of his many manly charms and that she threatened to spontaneously combust any moment just from his visual perusal. He knew he was that hot.

She gulped back another sip of punch, hoping it would cool the burn. It didn’t.

Which didn’t make sense because she’d banned men right along with Christmas two years ago. Especially a man like the one grinning at her. A man like that one would incinerate the already shattered bits of her heart.

“Oh! Shh! He’s coming this way,” one of the women squealed, slapping the other’s arm and sloshing a little of her Cosmopolitan onto the ballroom floor. All three of the women struck we-weren’t-just-talking-about-you poses and one gave a fake laugh as if whatever they were discussing was of the utmost interest and batted her lashes flirtatiously.

Really? Trinity wanted to roll her eyes. She glanced Mr. Lickable’s way again to see if he’d caught onto the women fan-girling him.

Yet again her gaze collided with electric blue and this time didn’t let go, couldn’t let go, as if there was some magnetic force at play that held her eyes in place.

She forgot how to inhale. Literally and figuratively. She couldn’t breathe.

Wow. He really was a beautiful man. Dark brown hair that had just a touch of golden curl and looked invitingly soft. Tanned skin that hinted he spent a lot of his time outdoors and, living next to the Gulf of Mexico, he probably did. He had a face and body gorgeous enough to give any movie-star hunk a complex.

Then there were those eyes.

So intensely blue that they had to be contact lenses, because no one’s eyes could really be that blue. Or that full of mischief. No doubt he’d been one of those kids who’d stayed on Santa’s naughty list.

Yes, the women were right. He was hot, so hot her mouth felt like the Sahara but the rest of her rivaled a rainforest and was probably putting damp spots on her dress. Great. Managing to shift her eyes, she took another sip of her punch, draining the clear plastic cup. Oops. Now what was she going to do with her nervous hands?

“Do you want something else to drink?” Mr. Hotness himself asked, walking past the we-weren’t-just-talking-about-you women and planting himself right in front of Trinity.

She glanced to either side, expecting to see some parched Delilah close by. He couldn’t be talking to Plain Jane her, right? And if he was, why?

The trio was staring at her in dropped-jaw surprise. She was surprised herself. She wasn’t chopped liver, but she didn’t kid herself that she was the model type this guy most likely dated either.

The last swig of punch had done nothing to help her dry mouth, which was problematic. Her tongue stuck to her palate, refusing to budge. She was positive anything she attempted to say could and would be held against her.

“I’ll be happy to get you more punch,” he added, causing a wave of eyebrow rises from their spectators. “Or anything else you might want.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a sexy grin. “I’m a man who aims to please.”

If the heavy-chested blonde had fallen into a fit of vapors right then and there, Trinity wouldn’t have been surprised. She was about to need resuscitation herself.

He was flirting.

With her.

Eyes narrowing suspiciously, brain reeling, she peeled her dry tongue free of the roof of her mouth. “Then perhaps you should aim elsewhere.”

Because, really, what would be the point of encouraging him? She wasn’t interested in a relationship, or anything else.

Rather than take the hint and move on, his devilish grin widened, digging dimples into his cheeks. “You don’t like to be pleased?”

Darn it. He was quick tongued and she’d set herself up for that one. No matter how she answered, he’d twist her words. The mischievous gleam in his eyes assured that.

She shoved her empty cup toward him. “Punch.”

Fantastic. She sounded as if she had a mouthful of peanut butter and the IQ of a rock, but at least letting him get her punch would give her a reprieve.

Taking her cup, he laughed. “Then punch it is, but don’t think I’m letting you off the hook. We’ll discuss what gives you pleasure when I get back.” His eyes sparkled. “I could make a few suggestions even.”

Heat washed over her body, melting her from the inside out at the thought of just what those suggestions might be.

Not that it mattered. She so wasn’t having that conversation with him.

“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you,” she mumbled.

She didn’t meet his gaze and earn another laugh from him and an “Is she crazy?” from one of their billing-department eavesdroppers.

They probably thought she was, but the reality was that she didn’t want to attract a man like him. Chase had been as high octane as she went and look where that had gotten her. Burnt. Burnt. Burnt.

“Who needs to hold their breath when you’ve already stolen mine?” he quipped with another flash of his perfectly straight pearly whites, sending her up in a puff of smoke. Then, in a decent imitation of a famous movie line, he added, “I’ll be back.”

The women sighed then giggled as if he’d said something super-romantic then brilliantly funny. Trinity just stared. Her gaze zeroed in on his retreating figure.

“You go, girl,” the heavy-chested woman told her, stepping closer and giving a thumbs up. “I’m pea green with envy. You’re tonight’s lucky girl.”

She winced that the women had obviously overheard his pleasure comment. Great. She didn’t want gossip. Lord knew, she’d dealt with enough of that during her lifetime already. Especially at work. And, seriously, although he was the hottest man she’d ever set eyes on, she didn’t want a man in her life. Not ever again. Maybe she should leave before he returned. If her director got upset that she’d left too early, she could always claim she hadn’t felt well. With her nervous stomach, she’d be telling the truth.

Glancing around, she easily spotted him in line to refill her punch and chatting with a few people whose faces she recognized but didn’t recall which hospital department they hailed from.

Who was he and why had he sought her out?

What did it matter?

She was not getting involved. Especially not with someone who worked at the hospital or had anything to do with the hospital. Been there, done that, had the gaping hole in her chest to prove it.

A sick feeling took hold in her stomach, like she might really lose its contents. Time to go. Fast.

Eyes locked on the exit, she made a beeline for the ballroom door, intent on making her escape. Just after She stepped into the long hallway that would lead her to the hotel’s over-decorated foyer, a hand grabbed her elbow. She jumped.

“You okay?”

Him. Great. No doubt there would be scorch marks where his fingers burned into her skin. She grimaced and started to say she was heading to the ladies’ room, but why lie?

She turned, faced him, felt her breath hitch again at just how lickable he really was, then inhaled deeply because she was strong. “Look, I appreciate the offer of more punch and boring conversation, but I’ve had enough and I’m headed home.”

His forehead creased. “You’re leaving? Because of me?”

“No.” Heat infused her face. Hadn’t she just asked herself why she should lie? “Look, I’m not a party girl. You should go talk to someone else.”

Understatement of the year.

“I don’t want to talk to someone else. I want to talk with you. Besides, you’re problem is that you’ve been partying with all the wrong people.” His wink told her exactly who she should be partying with.

Determined not to be swayed by his outrageous charm and the way him saying he wanted to talk to her warmed her insides, she arched a brow. “I suppose you’re my right person?”

A full-blown smile slashed across his handsome face. “I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but I’m not sure Mr. Right is one of them.”

She started to correct him, to let him know that she hadn’t been implying that he was calling himself Mr. Right, but before she could, he reached out and ran a tingle-inducing fingertip across her cheek. Hello, lightning bolt!

“There’s always a first so, sure, I am the right person for you to be partying with tonight. I’m Riley, by the way.” His smile cut dimples into his cheeks again and he stared straight into her eyes. “I don’t want you to go.”

Not offering him her name, she closed her eyes. It was all she could do not to lean towards him, be seduced by the appeal in his voice. Was he like the Pied Piper of women or what, because she just wanted to follow him wherever he led.

“Stay. Dance with me,” he whispered near her ear in an enchanting tone that made her want to dance to his tune in more ways than one.

Mesmerized, she stepped towards him, her body almost pressing to his.

He inhaled. “You smell amazing. Good enough to eat.”

Um, no. She was not going to let her mind go where his words threatened to take her. Not going to happen. Only her mind went exactly where it wasn’t supposed to go. Bad mind.

Keeping her eyes squeezed shut, she parted her lips to say no, that she was leaving and couldn’t be tempted by visions of sugar plums and whatever else he dangled in front of her. Apparently, he took her movement and open mouth as an invitation. Without hesitation his lips covered hers.

Shocked at the unexpected kiss, Trinity’s eyelids flew apart, startled to find his intent blue eyes open, watching her, as his lips gently brushed over her mouth. Tasting. Tempting. Teasing. Rocking her world to the very core. Wow.

Shockwaves rippled to the tips of her toes and she questioned if time was standing still because the hotel seemed to fade away to just the two of them, just his eyes searching hers, his lips branding hers.

When he pulled away, reality immediately sank in. Hospital Christmas party. Surrounded by new coworkers. The most gorgeous man ever had just kissed her. Hello, had she lost her mind?

“Why did you do that?” She took a step back, wiping her lips as if trying to clear away his kiss. Sandpaper couldn’t have erased his kiss. Riley. Riley’s kiss. He’d permanently branded her lips, her entire body. The man started fires.

He pointed up to the doorway she’d stepped beneath.

“Had to.” He shrugged nonchalantly, as if the kiss had been no big deal. To him it probably hadn’t been. His knees weren’t the ones shaking. “Tradition.”

She glanced up, eyed the large clump of mistletoe tied with a red ribbon that hung over the doorway. Her gaze dropped back to him suspiciously. “You’re a traditional kind of guy and just couldn’t resist?”

“Absolutely, just ask my mom. She’ll tell you I’m the apple of her eye.” He grinned. “Now that we know I’m a traditional kind of guy, that you smell and taste like the sweetest candy, and the pressure of our first kiss is out of the way, let’s go party. I guarantee a good time. Plus, you can tell me all about you while I hold you in my arms on the dance floor, Trinity.” His eyes sparkled with devilment.

Feeling oddly out of sorts that he knew her name despite the fact she’d purposely not told him, that he was piling on the charm, she felt what little resistance she had to him ebbing away. “Do you always get what you want?”

One side of his mouth curved upward. “Not always, but it is Christmastime and I’ve been a very good boy.”

She doubted that. Besides which there was nothing boyish about his broad shoulders and testosterone-laden aura.

“I’m hopeful there will be something sweet under my Christmas tree this year. An angel.” He raised his brows. “You have plans? We could start a new holiday tradition.”

She should go. She knew that. Her tattered heart was no match for this man’s charisma. But the thought of going back to her lonely apartment just didn’t appeal. Not even with Casper there, waiting for her. Her cat might love her but, whether Trinity wanted to admit it or not, she craved the temptation Riley waved in front of her.

An escape, albeit temporary, from the deeply embedded loneliness that had taken hold of her soul from the moment Chase Langworthy had dumped her publicly at their hospital Christmas party two years ago and plunged her into depression and Scrooge-dom.

Darn him for doing that. Darn her for letting him.

She took the punch glass Riley still held and downed half the contents as if she were chugging a shot of whiskey. Ha, she never drank alcohol, but she needed something to give her the push to do what she suddenly wanted to. She’d pretend the punch was liquid courage. She’d pretend that she was the kind of girl used to men like him flirting and wanting to dance with her. She’d pretend she was the life of the party.

“Okay, Riley…” She drawled his name out. She would do this, would have fun. “I’ll dance with you, but I should warn you that I dance much better than I kiss so you might struggle to keep up.”

She had no clue how she managed the confident words, the brilliant smile, or where they had even come from. The only time she ever danced confidently was around her living room with only Casper around to yawn at her antics. Still, head high, she headed back into the ballroom.

Riley’s pleased laughter behind her warmed parts of her insides that hadn’t felt sunshine in a long, long time.

CHAPTER TWO

WHAT A PLEASANT enigma, Riley thought of the woman he held loosely in his arms. She really did dance like an angel. But she was crazy if she thought she danced better than she kissed.

No one danced better than this woman’s lips had felt against his. A meeting of their lips that hadn’t been an angelic kiss but one that lit hot fires all along his nerve endings. He still burned. of course, that might be because her curvy little body swayed next to his and every cell in him had an apparent surge of testosterone.

What other excuse could there be for that brief brushing of his mouth against hers to have set him on fire the way it had?

If he didn’t quit thinking about how much he’d wanted to deepen that kiss, about how he wanted to take her somewhere private and kiss her again and again and on places other than her juicy mouth, she was going to know exactly what he was thinking. He was intuitive enough to recognize she wasn’t the kind of girl who went for one-night stands.

And he wasn’t the kind of man who sweet-talked a woman into doing something she’d regret.

Exactly what he did want wasn’t entirely clear, but he sure wanted something.

Her.

He brushed his cheek across the top of her head, the light touch sending shockwaves of awareness through him. Yes, he wanted to know her in every sense. He’d always been the kind of person who’d known what he wanted and had gone after whatever that might be. He wanted Trinity with an intensity that made his head spin.

“How long have you been a nurse?”

Tilting her head back, she blinked her big brown eyes at him. Most of the women he knew would have had make-up accenting their large almond shape, would have made the most of the naturally thick lashes rimming her lids to lure some unsuspecting man into her snare. Not Trinity. As best he could tell, Trinity had nothing on Her face except the light sprinkling of freckles across her nose and a little mascara coating those already long lashes. Her hair was clipped back with loose springs, framing her heart-shaped face. She looked as if she could be sweet sixteen.

“Trinity?”

Her beautiful face had become pinched, as if she were troubled by his question. “Long enough that I know about men like you.”

Her instant defensiveness confused him. “Men like me?”

“You shouldn’t get ideas about me.” Her face flushed a pretty shade of pink, but she held his gaze. “I’m just here to dance, nothing more.”

Riley liked the spunk shining on her upward-tilted face and had to fight the urge to kiss her mouth again. “You shouldn’t get ideas about me,” he warned. “I’m simply making conversation with the beautiful woman I’m dancing with. Nothing more.”

Her gaze narrowed. He grinned. After a moment she sighed in resignation. “Fine. You win.” A sly smile slid onto her mouth. “This round.”

He looked forward to future rounds. “And?”

“I’ve been a nurse for four years,” she admitted, as if giving away some top secret. That would likely make her around twenty-six.

“Where did you nurse prior to coming to work for Pensacola?”

She tensed in his arms and stopped moving. “You don’t have to play Twenty Questions or even make conversation at all. For the record, I’m a girl who appreciates silence in a man.”

Riley chuckled. Oh, yeah, he liked this woman. “Shut up and dance, eh?”

She nodded.

“Problem is, I want to know more about you.” Lots more. “Where did you nurse prior to coming to Pensacola?”

She sighed. “How about I save us a lot of time and send you a copy of my résumé?”

He stared at her stubborn expression.

“Oh, all right,” she relented, and pushed his chest, motioning for him to start dancing again. “I went to school at University of Tennessee in Memphis and went straight to work at one of the hospitals there. I worked in the cardiac unit until I took the job here in Pensacola.”

“Now, was that really so painful?”

“Excruciating.” But a smile played on her lips. He really liked her smile. And the sparkle of gold in her brown eyes.

“Now, be quiet and dance.”

He laughed at her order. Talking with her was like a breath of fresh air. Stimulating. Fun.

“I have a friend who went to medical school in Memphis. He says it’s a great place. What brought you to Pensacola? Family?”

With a look of what he hoped was feigned annoyance that he hadn’t taken her order of silence seriously, she shook her head.

“Friends?” he persisted, despite her glare.

“Nope,” she answered after a moment’s hesitation.

The music picked up tempo. When she went to pull back he tightened his hold. “Boyfriend?”

“Ha. Exact opposite.”

No hesitation there. He frowned. “You have someone in Memphis?”

“Not any more.”

There was enough sadness—or was it regret?—in her voice that he felt a little guilty at just how much relief flowed through him at her denial.

“I’m glad there’s not someone waiting for you in Memphis. Or anywhere else, for that matter.” Because he hadn’t liked the thought that she might belong to someone else. “Very glad.”

For the first time since they’d started dancing she mis-stepped and caught his toe. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” he assured her, thinking that as petite as she was she could stand on his toes and not hurt him. She was like a pixie. A curvy pixie. He couldn’t recall ever having the urges that rushed through him when he looked at Trinity. There was something about her. Something intriguing that had him hooked. Was it just that she wasn’t the type of yes-girl he was used to? “Recent break-up?”

She gave an ironic laugh and shook her head. “Forever ago. If you insist on talking, let’s talk about something else. Anything else.”

As much as he’d like to know more so he could understand what made her tick, Riley didn’t push. Instead, he loosened his hold and caught her unawares by spinning her out and back to him. “Fine, we’ll save the talking for later and dance now,” he told her as he caught her.

Looking more than a little relieved, she smiled, then caught him unawares by dipping backwards in his arms and laughed as if she’d been set free. “Deal.”

Trinity felt light-headed. Giddy almost. Despite her boisterous claim about her dancing skills, she stepped on Riley’s toes more than once. He didn’t seem to mind, just kept smiling at her and making silly little comments that made her laugh.

For once she relaxed enough to just enjoy the music, to let loose and move to the beat even if she looked ridiculous. Something about the way Riley looked at her, the way every bit of his attention was focused solely on her, boosted her confidence and let free her love of music.

Riley. He smelled so good. Spicy. Musky. Heavenly.

Her gaze dropped to his lips.

Somewhere in her brain she registered that something was wrong with her thought processes, that she wasn’t thinking clearly. Still, she licked her lips, wondering if the flavor of him lingered there from his impromptu kiss. She wanted to taste him again.

“You’re killing me, princess.”

“Princess?” Had anyone ever called her princess?

And had she really just giggled?

A kiss under the mistletoe and a few fancy steps to one of their coworker’s karaoke singing “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” and she’d morphed into someone she didn’t even recognize. Who knew that pretending to be the life of the party could be so much fun?

“Well, you have me royally torn up so, yeah, princess.” He grinned, his gaze going to her just-moistened lips. “Don’t tease me, Trinity.”

He’d said her name. She liked him saying her name. Her cloudy mind registered that she hadn’t officially introduced herself. “I’m Trinity, by the way.” Which seemed a really dumb thing to say as he’d called her by her name repeatedly. She grimaced at her lapse and wondered what was wrong with her brain.

He smiled indulgently at her. “Trinity Warren. I know.”

“How?”

“I asked about you before I came over.”

She blinked, wondering if she’d misheard. “You did? Why?”

His hand pressed against her lower back. “I wanted to know more. I’ve never dated a woman who works at the hospital. Too messy.”

“Dated a woman who works…” Was he saying he wanted to date her? Or just letting her know that he didn’t date women at the hospital so she wouldn’t take any of tonight the wrong way?

“Messy?” she prompted, then added, “Not that I’d date you.”

He grinned at her comment. “I am going to prove you wrong but, yes, messy. If things don’t work out, there’s a mess to deal with when the two people involved work at the same place.”

“Ha. Tell me something I don’t know.” She was an expert on that particular mess. Chase had worked as the IT manager for the hospital where she’d worked in Memphis. She knew all about dealing with messes. Especially when he’d made their break-up so public.

“You’ll have to explain that comment,” Riley commented close to her ear.

“Not likely.” Because she had no intention of ever telling anyone in Pensacola of her humiliation. She’d come to forget things, not to rehash them.

His hold at her waist tightened a fraction. “You’re a really private person, aren’t you?”

None of her personal business had been private in Memphis. Chase had dumped her for another woman in front of the whole Christmas party. He’d been drunk and had…She grimaced, not letting the memories take hold. “Generally, I prefer to blend in than be center stage. If that means I’m a really private person, you’re right.”

He pulled back enough to stare into her face. “Funny, because when I look at you I can’t picture you anywhere but center stage.”

His kind words sounded so sincere that her knees threatened to buckle. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and…actually, her arms were around his neck. She leaned closer, breathed in his musky scent.

He pulled back, stared into her eyes. “You’re a leading lady, Trinity. You could never blend into the background.”

Heat infused her face and she started to point out that earlier tonight she’d blended in quite well until he’d made an entrance into her life. Now lots of people were looking at her and trying to figure out why he was dancing with her. Didn’t they know? Tonight she was the life of the party. Tomorrow she’d go back to the real world.

“You’re smooth with the lines, Casanova.”

His hand moved across her lower back, holding her close. “No Casanova and no lines. Honest. I’m just telling you the truth. You’re a beautiful woman.”

“I think you’re a player.”

“You think wrong.”

The woman’s comment about her being tonight’s lucky pick ran through her mind. “You’re telling me you’re as pure as snow?” She gave him a skeptical look. “I’m not buying it.”

“Not sure how pure snow is these days but no one would label me as pure anyway other than my mother, who thinks I hung the moon, of course.” He winked.

Trinity rolled her eyes. “Okay, snowflake.”

Her nickname obviously caught him off guard and he stared at her a moment then shook his head, laughter shining in his eyes. “I enjoy spending time with the opposite sex and I’m no saint, but you can call me ‘Snowflake’ if you want to. But for the record, I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“No red-blooded man ever does.”

“Suspicious little thing, aren’t you?” He grinned. “Fortunately, I’m an open book and you don’t have a quiz in the morning. So how about for the rest of the night you don’t analyze this and just enjoy yourself?”

“With you?”

He tightened his hold at her waist. “That was the idea. I’d be very disappointed if you left me to enjoy yourself with someone else.”

Despite her uncertainty, the giddy feeling was still inside her so she just shrugged as if she couldn’t care less one way or the other. “So long as you don’t suggest we sing karaoke.”

That naughty look twinkled as brightly as the colored lights adorning the Christmas tree in the corner of the ballroom. “Too bad, because my number is coming up two songs from now and I plan on you joining me.”

“You plan wrong.”

He reached into his dress pants pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. “Due to the time constraints, the Christmas committee had interested parties draw numbers earlier this evening.” He waggled his brows. “This interested party got a winning number.”

“I’d ask if you ever don’t win, but having to get up in front of all these people and sing doesn’t sound like a prize.” Grimacing, she glanced at the duo currently belting out a number. “Not a good one, at any rate.”

He laughed and touched his finger to her nose. “You’re funny, Trinity. I like that.”

“Not really.” She wasn’t funny. She hadn’t been since…since Chase had broken her heart and she’d withdrawn into her shell, trying to protect her tender inside.

Why had she done that? Why had she let him steal so much from her? Why was she still letting him steal so much of her life? For goodness’ sake, she had moved to a beach town because she’d assumed the locals wouldn’t put so much emphasis on a holiday associated with snow. Pathetic.

“Fine, I’ll sing with you, but just to warn you, I’m an even better singer than I am dancer and we both know how I excel at that.” She stepped on his toes, hard, to prove her point.

“My ears can hardly wait.” He grinned down at her. “Like I said, fun girl.”

CHAPTER THREE

TRINITY’S HEAD HURT. Not just a little. Her mouth felt as if something had crawled inside and died. Her stomach warned she might just upchuck.

She rarely ever got full-blown, miserable sick, but this morning she just felt bleh. Thank goodness she wasn’t scheduled to go into work today, just to take call. Maybe she’d get lucky and her phone wouldn’t ring.

Digging deeper beneath her covers, she groaned and snuggled up next to the warm body beside her.

Warm body? Hello. There wasn’t supposed to be a warm body in her bed!

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” an unexpected voice broke into her haze.

An unexpected and very male voice.

A voice she immediately recognized, even though she’d only met him the night before. Why was he rambling on about sleeping beauty being a princess and her looking like one? Right. Because, like all fairy princesses, her hair and make-up remained perfect while she slept. Not.

She twisted to look at him. “Riley.”

“You were expecting someone else?” A lazy brow rose beneath sleep-tousled hair and he looked way too sexy for first thing in the morning. Apparently fairy princes really did remain perfect while sleeping.

She was in bed. Her bed. Between the covers. With Riley. Her heart pounded against her ribcage. Not good. She scooted away from his warmth until she reached a cold spot on the sheet. Too bad half her butt was now hanging off the edge of the bed.

“I wasn’t expecting anyone.” Her words came out half-croak, half-cry.

Pulling the covers tighter around her, she tried to register the fact that she was in bed with Dr. Riley Williams. Even more confusing, she tried to remember how she’d gotten there. How he’d gotten there.

“What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here.”

He shouldn’t. She barely knew him. She didn’t do one-nighters. Not ever. She didn’t do anything. Not before or after Chase.

At her accusing tone, Riley’s grin slipped. “You asked me to stay.”

That threw her. “I did?”

“You did.” His confident tone and coolly assessing blue gaze brooked no denial.

She’d asked him to stay. They were in her bed. Although her black dress was gone, as were her hose, she still wore her panties. But no bra.

In bed with a sexy cardiologist with nothing on but her granny panties. Awesome.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and asked the twenty-million dollar question that kept echoing through her throbbing head.

“What did we do?” She sounded accusatory again, but she wasn’t able to control the rising panic within her.

What had she done? She’d finally broken away from the chains that had bound her to Memphis, had moved to Pensacola to make a fresh start, and she’d ended up in bed with the first man she’d stood under mistletoe with? How could she?

Christmas.

It was the blasted holiday that wreaked havoc in her life. Always had. Always would. She really should go to some remote location every December and not come home until well after New Year. If only.

Riley had the nerve to look offended. “You don’t remember last night? Our coming here? What we did after we got here?”

“If I remembered, would I be asking?” Really, she’d thought him smarter than that. Or maybe she was just cranky because a thousand things were running through her mind and not one of them good. “Did we have sex?” she demanded, while her throat still worked because, seriously, the tissue threatened to swell shut any moment.

From where Riley lay next to her, he stared, not saying anything at first, just watching, making her wish she could pull the covers over her head, making her wish her stomach didn’t churn.

“I can assure you—” confidence and perhaps annoyance oozed from his words “—that had we had sex, you’d not only remember, you’d have woken up with a smile on your face and not that look of horror.”

Face aflame, relief flooded her, as did curiosity because sex up to that point in her life hadn’t been that memorable. There had just been Chase but, still, she had been practically engaged to the man. Sadly, she had never woken up with a smile on her face. Quite the opposite. So maybe Riley thought she’d remember if they’d had sex, but maybe she wouldn’t have remembered. Maybe she just hadn’t been impressed and had blocked the experience from her mind.

“You’re saying we didn’t, um, you know?”

Cool amusement at her lack of ability to say the actual words shone in his eyes. “We didn’t have sexual intercourse last night, if that’s what you are attempting to ask.”

No sexual intercourse. His tone mocked her question but, come on, they were in bed and she was only in her skivvies. Which meant that they had done something, right? The way he was looking at her said they’d done something. But what?

Letting her gaze run over his face, his lips, the strong line of his jaw, his throat, his bare shoulders, his chest, his…She gulped. Had she touched him? Kissed him? Run her fingers over those broad shoulders? Those washboard abs? Had she seen him naked? Face afire, she glanced back up, met his gaze, and winced. He so knew what she was thinking and he liked it.

An inferno burned her cheeks.

“Riley, I…” She pulled the covers even tighter around her, holding on in case the material got a sudden urge to slip below her neck and put her chest and abs on display for his inspection. No washboard anywhere in sight at her midsection. More like a laundry basket. Taking a deep breath, she tried to pull her thoughts together and away from their bodies. “I don’t do this.”

“This?” His face was unreadable, his eyes dark. She didn’t like the look and found herself wishing things were different. That she was different. That she could have woken up in bed with him and not freaked out but reveled in a night full of passion. That she really had woken up with a smile. That she could have been good enough that he could have woken up with a smile. That instead of lashing out at him with accusatory questions she could have teased him awake with kisses and had a morning full of passion.

A morning she’d remember always.

A morning he’d always remember.

A morning that would leave them both exhausted and smiling.

But that wasn’t her. She was a woman who disliked Christmas, disliked men, was terrible at sex, and although she’d come to Pensacola to forget her past, she could only handle confronting one hang-up at a time. She seriously had her work cut out for her even with that.

“What is it that you don’t do?” Riley prompted when she failed to elaborate.

Everything. She sighed, took a deep breath and went for broke.

“Wake up in bed with a man and not remember how I got here and what we did while here.” She grimaced. She sounded horrible. Waking up next to him was horrible. He probably thought she was horrible—in bed and out of it. “I don’t do that. Ever.”

“I just told you, we didn’t do anything, not really. We ended up here because I drove you home from the Christmas party and you invited me in. And, although there’s another bedroom, there is no bed.”

Which meant he must have at least considered sleeping elsewhere.

“I wasn’t doing the floor,” he said matter-of-factly, “and I’m too tall to comfortably sleep on your girly sofa.”

She did have a girly sofa. A plush Victorian piece that she loved because it had been the first piece of furniture she’d ever bought for herself, but it really wasn’t that comfy. Not that comfort mattered so much, because she never had company or spent much time there.

Trying to recall the previous night’s events, she closed her eyes, thought back. The Christmas party. She’d danced with Riley, sung one silly reindeer song with him, celebrated that he’d won one of the door prizes when random names had been drawn from a stocking, then they’d left. He’d driven her home. They’d walked into her house and then he’d kissed her. No mistletoe required. Just a simple good-night kiss that had somehow morphed into something more, something hotter, something that hadn’t been simple at all.

Wow, if his kiss had been that amazing she might have really woken up with a smile had they had sex. Then again, had they had sex he’d know how lame her lovemaking actually was.

Her panties weren’t the only thing she was wearing.

She reached up, touched the door prize he’d won and given to her. “You won this.”

He shrugged, causing the covers to slip a little lower at his waist. “I gave it to you.”

He’d taken the pearl necklace out of the velvet box and fastened it around her neck. There had been something mesmerizing about him putting the necklace on her. Something erotic and gentle and totally captivating.

Kind of like his abs.

No wonder she’d asked him to stay. He’d been the perfect date.

Only they hadn’t been on a date.

“You can have it back if you want it,” she offered, in case he regretted having given her the piece. Maybe he’d expected bodily payment for the beads. Ha, had they been out of a gumball machine he might have gotten his money’s worth, but that’s about it if Chase’s claims about her skills could be believed.

Riley’s brows formed a V. “Why would I want them back? Don’t you like the necklace?”

“It’s lovely.”

“Not nearly as lovely as you are.”

He was smooth with the lines. Too smooth perhaps. She swallowed.

“You told me I was beautiful last night.”

Actually, he’d repeated the compliment several times.

“You were.” His eyes bored into hers. She didn’t have to be looking directly at him to feel his stare. He stirred beneath the covers, but he didn’t reach for her. Somehow she knew he wanted to.

“You are,” he continued. “Very beautiful.”

Last night, in her haze, he’d made her feel beautiful. Like the most beautiful woman in the world. This morning she felt like a woman who’d gone to bed without washing her face or brushing her teeth. She was rank and knew it.

“Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s true.”

The sincerity in his voice told her that he was either the world’s greatest liar or he believed what he said. Maybe he really did have fantastic blue contact lenses and they were blurred with sleep, leaving him blinded to the truth.

Making sure to keep the covers pulled over her almost bare body, she rolled over to face him directly. She could feel his body heat, could feel the magnetic pull of him. She wanted to touch. Really really wanted to touch. His sheer physical perfection robbed her of thought. Or maybe it was his bare chest that made her brain waves frazzle. He was the one who was beautiful. Eye-poppingly, mouth-wateringly, finger-itchingly, body-twitchingly beautiful.

It occurred to her that the happy trail leading beneath the covers didn’t appear to have anything material impeding its path. At least she was wearing underwear.

No sexual intercourse, he’d said. That left a lot of possibilities. Oh, my.

“What happened to your clothes?” she choked out, more and more flustered that he was naked in her bed.

Although she recalled the removal of her clothes, she didn’t recall how he’d gone from fully dressed to whatever he still wore beneath her covers.

He was wearing something. Wasn’t he? Just because she couldn’t see any outlines, it didn’t mean boxers or cotton briefs weren’t there, right?

His eyes glittered. “You don’t recall ripping them off me with your teeth, princess?”

She’d taken them off him? With her teeth? Her jaw dropped then clamped shut in case her teeth got any fresh ideas.

“Okay, it was bad of me to tease you.” His grin turned devilish. “You didn’t use your teeth.”

She’d…She closed her eyes and tried to recall the events of the night before. “We had sex, didn’t we?”

“I already told you that we didn’t have sex.” He sounded annoyed that she’d asked again, that she hadn’t taken him at his word.

Unable to resist a moment longer, she reached out beneath the covers to touch his chest. His bare chest. To see if the feel of his skin was familiar, to see if touching him would cause a rush of memories.

“Then why are we naked in my bed?”

“I wasn’t planning to spend the night anywhere so I hadn’t packed any pajamas…not that I normally wear anything to bed. But I’m not naked. I’m wearing boxers and would be happy to show you if you’d like proof.” He covered her hand with his, brushed his thumb across her skin. “Besides, you looked as if you needed me to stay. My guess is that you don’t drink often.”

Still reeling from his offer to show her his underwear and just how tempted she was to take him up on that offer, she focused on the other part of what he’d said. “I don’t drink at all and I didn’t drink anything last night except fruit punch.”

“That was rum punch you were drinking, Trinity. It had alcohol in it.”

“The punch was…but…” Hadn’t she felt funny? Hadn’t she noticed that the more she’d drunk the less nervous she’d been? Dear Lord. “I was punch drunk.”

Looking as if he wanted to laugh, he just grinned. “You were a bit inebriated but no worries, you were a cute drunk.”

A cute drunk. As if such a creature existed. No one was a cute drunk. At least no one Trinity had ever had the misfortune of seeing drunk. Her mother had certainly never been cute. Chase had not been cute.

“I didn’t know there was alcohol in the punch.”

“It’s okay, princess.” His thumb paused and he gave her a sympathetic smile. “I figured out that you weren’t at a hundred percent. That’s why nothing happened.”

She tried again to remember the events of the night before, but only bits and pieces came back to her. “You wanted something to happen?”

He gave her a look that questioned if she had really asked that. “Of course I wanted something to happen.”

“Why?”

He laughed but the sound came out a little stilted. “That’s a question with a very obvious answer.”

“Because you’re a guy?”

“Despite what the female population may believe, not every guy wants sex to the point of doing so with any willing woman.”

Which meant she’d been willing but he hadn’t been. Urgh. What was she thinking? Of course she’d been willing. The man was hot and got under her skin to probe places she’d rather keep locked away. She’d been under the influence to where her fears wouldn’t have come into play to remind her of yet another reason why she should keep her legs closed.

“I’m confused. You wanted something to happen, but even though I was willing, nothing happened?” Even as she said the words, the reality that they were almost naked, lying in her bed, hit her. That he could have taken advantage of her and he hadn’t. She liked that. A lot. Possibly because most of the men in her life had taken advantage at every opportunity presented. Not sexually, necessarily, but in any other way they could.

Riley made a sound that she wasn’t sure was a low laugh or a growl. “Yes, princess, I wanted something to happen. A lot of somethings. Had you been sober, this morning would have been very different.”

She didn’t doubt that the morning would have been different. Had they had sex, he probably would have snuck out at some point during the night. Or perhaps he wouldn’t have bothered to sneak, he’d have just gone, and left her to her non-sexual self. She knew her strengths and weaknesses and if she hadn’t, Chase had done a really bang-up job of pointing them out to her and anyone else who had cared to listen. Sexual prowess wasn’t in her bag of tricks.

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry,” he surprised her by saying. “What I want is to see you smile.”

She bared her teeth in a semblance of a smile because, really, he deserved a smile. He was unlike any man she’d ever known and that made her want to know more…and terrified her, too.

“Not exactly what I had in mind, but it’s a start.” He smiled so warmly at her that the nausea within her actually eased. “Now, the most pressing question is whether you have any food in this joint so I can cook us something or would you like to go out for breakfast? I’m starved.”

In reality they did neither. Not long after she’d draped the comforter around her shoulders and rushed into her bathroom to clean up her mess of a face, he tapped on the door.

She cracked the door open to peer at him. He was fully dressed in his clothes from the night before.

“I’ve got to head to the hospital. I’m on call today, and they’ve had several chest pains come into the emergency room. Apparently the cath lab is a madhouse. Dr. Stanley is going to be tied up there for some time and there are two more chest pains on their way by ambulance.”

Trying not to look too disappointed that whatever their morning had been going to bring had been interrupted, she nodded. “I understand.”

Apparently she didn’t do such a good job at hiding her doubts.

He tilted her chin toward him so he could fully see her face. “For whatever it’s worth, I don’t want to go.”

His fingers on her face were so warm, so tender that she sucked in her breath. “What is it you want?”

“To spend the day with you. Maybe help you drag out your Christmas decorations because your apartment is sadly lacking in Christmas spirit. Or, for that matter, we could decorate my tree. It’s been delivered, but I haven’t had a chance to trim and decorate it.”

He had a live Christmas tree? Who did that in these days of commercialized Christmas? Not that she’d be doing either of his suggestions. She’d had her fill of Christmas spirit the night before and preferred to stick her head in the ground until the season passed. Just look what happened when she tried to get into the spirit of things. She’d ended up drunk and waking in bed with a man she barely knew. No, thank you.

“Honestly, what we did wouldn’t matter so much just as long as I got to spend some time with you.”

From somewhere in her bedroom her cellphone started buzzing.

“If that’s who I think it is, you’ll probably get your wish. I’m on call today, too, and if you’ve been called in, I’m likely to be as well,” she mused, pulling her robe tight around her while she dashed toward where her phone had ended up the night before.

“The hospital?” he asked the moment she disconnected the call.

She nodded.

“Maybe the chest pains will end up gastro related rather than cardiac and we won’t have to stay long. We could grab lunch,” he suggested.

“Maybe,” she replied, dropping the phone back into the small black evening bag she’d carried the night before.

“Trinity?”

She glanced towards him.

“I like you.”

She wasn’t sure what to say.

“I’d like to see you again.”

Was he a glutton for punishment or what?

“Despite whatever impression I gave you last night, I’m really quite boring,” she said, wondering if she should also warn him about how much baggage she carried. The airport’s claim area had nothing on her.

“I don’t believe you.”

“You should,” she warned. “I’ve known me a lot longer than you have.”

He laughed then glanced at his watch. “I could never be bored around you, funny girl. Unfortunately, I have to get moving and your car is still at the hotel where the Christmas party was held. You’ll have to ride with me to the hospital so get hopping. We have lives to save.”

“Sure thing, snowflake.”

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