Unexpected Angel: Unexpected Angel / Undercover Elf

“You can’t change the past by punishing me. I’m not her, Alex, and when I leave after Christmas and all the decorations are put away and all the cookies are eaten, you won’t be able to blame me. I won’t be abandoning you. I’ll just be going back to my life.”

He cursed softly, then turned away from her. The heat from his body suddenly disappeared and Holly shivered. “Well, I guess that answers all my questions,” he said. He rubbed his hands together, then glanced around the room. “Do you need any help cleaning up here? If not, I’ve got work to do in the barn.”

“That’s it?” Holly asked.

He forced a smile. “Don’t worry, Miss Bennett. I won’t be kissing you anytime soon. Unless, of course, you beg me to.” With that, he grabbed his jacket and strode to the back door.

The sharp sound of it slamming made her jump and she pressed her palm to her chest, only to find her heart beating like an overwound clock. “Good,” she murmured, “I’m glad that’s all cleared up.” She took in a shaky breath, then turned to finish tidying up the family room. But her body trembled so uncontrollably that she finally had to sit down.

This was good, wasn’t it? Alex didn’t want her anymore. No more lustful looks, no more passionate longing. No more kisses? Holly groaned and put her face in her hands. Now, if she could just convince herself that this was what she wanted, she might be able to concentrate on the job at hand. And not on the breathless, reckless, wanton way Alex Marrin made her feel.

“GET PACKED AND TAKE the first train up here,” Holly ordered, trying to keep the edge of hysteria from her voice. “There’s a train at 8:20 that arrives here just before noon.”

“Mom?”

“No! It’s Holly.”

For a long moment, there was no sound on the other end of the line. Then a groan and a dramatic yawn from Meg. “Holly? It’s five in the morning!”

“I know what time it is,” Holly said, pacing back and forth alongside her bed. “I want you up here today. At the latest, tomorrow morning. You’re taking over this assignment.”

Meg’s astonished gasp was audible through the phone lines, but that didn’t sway Holly. She’d spent a sleepless night scarfing down Christmas cookies and weighing the consequences of remaining at Stony Creek Farm. While waiting for the sun to rise, she’d decided that leaving was the only option she had. Even though Alex had vowed to keep his distance, Holly was convinced, sooner or later, she’d go begging. And when she did, it wouldn’t be for mere kisses. No, she’d want more from Alex Marrin.

Her mind wandered back to the kiss they’d shared, the unbridled desire he’d ignited inside her. The moment his lips had touched hers, Holly knew she wanted him. But a tiny corner of her brain blared out a warning she couldn’t ignore. She’d known Alex for less than a week and she was ready to toss aside her inhibitions!

How could she possibly know what she wanted? It had taken her almost a year to decide she wanted Stephan and look how badly that turned out! No, Holly Bennett never made spur-of-the-moment decisions. She always weighed all her options carefully, made a plan, considered every angle.

Though an affair with Alex could be wonderfully exciting, it was also a dangerous proposition. She already knew he wasn’t the type of man to give his heart freely. His divorce had obviously left scars, deep and painful. And he’d already made his feelings quite clear. He was attracted to her, but there’d be no proposals of marriage, no happily ever after. Whatever she might imagine between them, it would only be sex to him.

“What’s this all about?” Meg asked, her voice ragged with sleep.

“I just think you’d be better suited to this assignment.”

“Why?”

“Well, you’re much—” Holly searched for a plausible reason “—much stronger than I am.”

“If there’s heavy lifting to be done, why don’t you hire someone?” Meg suggested. “We certainly have the budget.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Holly said, dragging her overnight bag from beneath the bed.

Meg paused. “What do you mean? Has something happened? You sound upset.”

“I’m fine,” she said, throwing the bag open.

“You’re lying,” Meg countered. “I can always tell when you’re lying, even over the phone. What’s up?”

Holly paused, wondering if she should tell Meg the entire story or just the bare facts. “All right. There’s this man. Actually, Eric Marrin’s father, Alex. And we have a—a thing between us.”

“A thing? Did you get all prissy with him? You know how men hate that. I’m always telling you, you have to be more flexible and more—”

“I wasn’t prissy!” She sat down on the edge of the bed. “Just the opposite. Whenever I’m around him, we end up kissing. Or almost kissing.”

“You kissed a man?” Meg took a moment to digest the startling news. “You kissed a man! We are talking about on the lips, aren’t we?”

“Once. He almost kissed me in the snow and in the kitchen. And then, there was the time he kissed my finger, but that doesn’t count.”

“It doesn’t?” Meg asked.

“Well, I don’t think kissing a girl’s hurt finger can qualify as a sexual overture.”

“Honey, just because I haven’t had a date in six months, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself.”

“I have a reputation to protect,” Holly replied.

“Now you are being prissy.”

“I can’t allow myself to have personal feelings for a client.” She held her breath, hoping that Meg wouldn’t realize that Alex Marrin wasn’t exactly a client. Since he wasn’t footing the bill for her time and effort, then she was completely free to strip naked and dance around his kitchen in her apron and oven mitts if she felt so inclined. “Please, Meg, you have to help me. If I stay here, I’m not sure what I’ll do.”

“Gee, you might just go crazy and make wild, passionate love to the guy. And that might be exactly what you need!” Meg cried. “Holly, you have your life so perfectly planned right down to the underwear you’re going to wear next Thursday. Maybe it’s time you tried a little spontaneity.”

“This is not about my character flaws, Meg! This is about sex! Sex with a man who’s probably really, really good at it. Needless to say, I’m very bad at it. Now, if you want to be hanging tinsel with me next Christmas, you better pack your bags and take the first train north.”

“I’ve got work to finish here,” Meg protested. “The soonest I can get on a train is tomorrow morning.”

Holly wasn’t in the mood to argue any longer. It would require her to convince Meg that her business reputation was more precious to her than a few nights of torrid sex with Alex Marrin. And right now, even she knew that would be a lie.

She gave Meg a few more instructions, listened to a recitation of her phone messages, then hung up, placing the phone softly in the cradle. With a quiet moan, Holly buried her face in her hands and flopped back onto the bed. How could she have made such a mess of this all? Perhaps if she’d just been firm that first time he almost kissed her.

But it went back farther than that. From the moment they’d met in the horse barn, she felt it. A force drawing them together, magnetic, powerful and completely uncontrollable. As if all her carefully cultivated reserve had suddenly vanished, Holly felt like a woman driven by impulse rather than good common sense.

Rolling over on her stomach, she grabbed the phone book from the bedside table and flipped through it, looking for a cab company, desperate to do something sensible. Though the train didn’t leave until that afternoon, the sooner she made her escape, the easier it would be on all of them.

The owner of Schuyler Falls’ only cab company answered after seven or eight rings and sounded as if he’d just crawled out of bed. She made arrangements for him to pick her up at the end of the driveway in a half hour. That would give her enough time to finish packing and write a quick note to Eric explaining her sudden departure.

When she had finally stuffed the last bit of clothing into her suitcase, she quickly snapped it shut then grabbed her coat. Holly took one last look around the room, then walked out of the tack house. The sun wasn’t even up, but the yard lights lit the way up to the house. She hurried across the porch, eager to avoid the barns, also brightly blazing with light.

But as she turned the corner on the tack house porch, she ran face first into a lean, hard, finely muscled chest, clothed in a familiar canvas jacket. Her bag slipped out of her hand and landed squarely on the toe of her shoe. Holly yelped in pain, then hopped around on one foot. When the pain subsided, she managed to look up into Alex’s face.

His eyes darted to her bag. “What’s this?” he asked with a frown.

Wincing with pain, Holly snatched up her suitcase and moved around him. “I’m leaving,” she said, limping as fast as she could.

“Today?”

“You can finish the other trees and put up the garland around the door and the mantels. You only wanted me to stay for three days and I did.”

He fell into step beside her as she started down the porch steps. “That was then,” he said. “We discussed this and I told you I—”

“It doesn’t make a difference. I think it would be best if I left. I’ve called my assistant, Meghan O’Malley. She’ll be arriving here tomorrow to tie up any loose ends.”

“But Eric wants you,” Alex said, placing his hand on her elbow. “You’re his Christmas angel.” He drew a long breath, then sighed. “This isn’t because I kissed you, is it?”

Holly laughed dryly, ignoring the tiny tremor that raced through her body as his fingers clutched her arm. “Don’t flatter yourself,” she lied. She pulled out of his grasp, but as soon as her foot hit the walk, it skidded out from under her. She bumped down onto the icy walk, rebruising her already bruised backside.

What was it with this place? When Alex wasn’t sweeping her off her feet and kissing her, she managed to sweep herself off her own feet at every turn! Intent on putting some distance between them, she struggled to stand. “I don’t want to be anyone’s angel,” she said.

Alex reached out to help her up, but she slapped his hand away, knowing precisely what his touch could do to her. She brushed the snow off the back of her coat, then hoisted up her bag again and set off at a quicker pace. This time he didn’t bother to follow her. “Eric will like Meg. She’s really much better with children than I am.”

“You’re pretty damn good with kids yourself.”

Holly stopped, stunned by the unsolicited compliment. She slowly turned to find him staring at her, his gaze fierce, unwavering. “Do you really think so?” she asked.

His expression softened. “Don’t go. Eric will miss you. I don’t want him to pay for my mistakes.”

“Then you admit kissing me was a mistake?” Holly asked, not really ready to hear his answer.

“No. That’s not what I meant.”

“What is it you want from me?”

Alex’s jaw tightened and he shook his head, his mood darkening in the blink of an eye. “Am I supposed to know? I don’t know how I feel about you, Holly. Or what I want. I don’t think you do, either. But we’re never going to find out if you run back to New York like some scared little rabbit.”

“I came here to do a job,” she said. “But I can’t do my job if you’re trying to kiss me at every turn.”

“And you feel like you’re betraying your fiancé?”

Holly frowned. “My fian—oh, yes. My fiancé. That’s exactly how I feel,” she murmured, nearly forgetting the lie she’d told him the night before.

“An engaged woman doesn’t just go around kissing other men,” he said.

Holly gasped. “I—I don’t kiss at all! You’re the one who kissed me. And you don’t kiss like a gentleman!”

A sardonic grin touched his lips. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Exactly my point. You are no gentleman.” She spun on her heel and started back down the walk, this time avoiding the icy patches. But her progress was stopped when his hand grasped her arm. To fend him off, she swung her suitcase at him. But in her haste to pack, she’d neglected to secure the latches firmly and it flew open, sending her clothes flying over the snow.

Lacy black panties fell at his feet and he bent down to pick them up. He held them out, hooked on one finger and when she reached for them, he snatched them away. “You accuse me of being no gentleman. I’d say these prove you’re not the lady you claim to be.”

Holly glared at him, her anger bubbling inside. But beneath the anger, there was something else, something more powerful. An impulse, an urge to walk right up to him and kiss him again, to prove what he already knew. To make him feel exactly the way he made her feel. She took a step toward him, grabbed his face between her hands and gave him a punishing kiss, her tongue invading his mouth, her teeth grazing his lower lip. When she was quite positive she’d gotten the desired reaction, she stepped back and shrugged nonchalantly. “Keep the panties then. You can use them to decorate the other Christmas tree.”

With that, she turned on her heel, leaving her possessions scattered in the snow. Her heart threatened to pound right out of her chest, and for a moment, she felt a little dizzy. Though it wasn’t the most dignified of exits, it would have to do. Because Holly Bennett was through feeling anything at all—including uncontrollable desire—for Alex Marrin. And that kiss proved it!

THE FIRST TRAIN BACK to New York that day was scheduled to leave Schuyler Falls at three o’clock in the afternoon. Since Kenny hung around the train station a lot, he knew all the schedules by heart, even all the stops between home and New York City. Eric had rushed from the bus stop a half block away, hoping and praying that his watch was a few minutes slow. He paused outside the doors with Kenny to catch his breath, just as the speaker above their heads crackled.

“Ladies and gentlemen, passengers with tickets for the three o’clock train to New York City’s Penn Station, with stops in Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Albany, Hudson, Poughkeepsie, and Yonkers, may begin boarding on track one.”

“We’re too late!” he cried.

“Naw,” Kenny replied. “They always board fifteen minutes before the train leaves.”

Eric yanked the door open, clutching the special gifts he was carrying, then raced inside. But a quick search of the waiting area found no sign of his Christmas angel. He caught sight of the conductor standing at the door to the tracks. He’d come to meet his mom at the train a few times when she visited, so he knew he could get out on the platform to look for Holly. But what if she’d already boarded?

“Just be cool,” Kenny said. “Act casual, like we’re going to get on the train.” They pulled their hoods up, like the guys in the spy movies did, then strolled outside to the platform.

“I can’t see anything! The windows are all dark!” Eric cried.

Kenny shrugged. “Then you’re just going to have to go on board. You won’t need a ticket. Just tell ’em your mom already got on while you were in the can.”

Eric’s heart beat at a lickety-split speed and he felt as if he might lose the lunch he’d eaten at Kenny’s house. He slowly gathered his courage. This was his angel and he’d do anything to keep her! When he got close enough to the car’s steps, he nearly turned back. But the conductor spoke first, startling Eric.

“Are your folks on the train already, boys?” the conductor asked.

“No!” Eric said at the same time Kenny said, “Yes!”

“His mom is,” Kenny said. “I’m just here to say goodbye.”

Eric gave Kenny the elbow. Though he was a good liar, he was a real chicken when it came to the hard stuff, like getting on a train without a ticket. Eric nodded in agreement. Though he usually tried not to lie, this was important. If he didn’t say yes out loud, maybe it wouldn’t be such a big lie.

“Go on, then. Hop aboard.”

He couldn’t believe his luck! The guy was just letting him walk onto the train! Without a ticket, even. He gave Kenny one last look, then scrambled up the steps and walked into the car on his left. He found Holly just a few seats away. She sat with her head against the back of the seat, her eyes closed.

“You can’t leave,” he said as he plopped down in the seat next to her. When she opened her eyes, Eric shoved a fistful of plastic flowers under her nose, then followed it with a Snickers bar. He’d found the flowers in Kenny’s garage and the Snickers was left over from lunch. But it was the best he could do.

“Eric! What are you doing here?” Holly asked, straightening in her seat.

“I came to bring you back,” he said. “I don’t know why you’re mad at me, but—”

She smiled in that soft way that she always did, the way that made him feel all safe inside. “Oh, Eric, I’m not mad at you. I just have some important business in the city.”

“Well, if you are mad, I brought you flowers and candy. Kenny says his dad is always bringing his mom flowers and candy when she’s mad and it makes it all better.”

“How did you get here?” Holly asked.

“I took the bus. Kenny knows all the schedules. He’s like a genius when it comes to buses and trains.”

“Then you got my letter?”

“I wanted to come and get you this morning, but Dad told me no. So I went over to Kenny’s to play and then we just kind of walked to the bus stop and here I am. Kenny’s outside.” Eric leaned over Holly’s lap and pounded on the window, then waved at Kenny. He glanced around the train car. “You know, they don’t even ask for your ticket when you get on the train.”

“You have to get off,” Holly said. “Before the train leaves the station.”

He shook his head. “Nope. I’m going to New York with you. I’m going to have Christmas at your house.”

He could imagine what Christmas was like at Holly’s house. She’d have a huge tree with billions of presents underneath, all wrapped up in paper and ribbons until no one could guess what was inside. She’d have a special plate and cup to leave out for Santa, one with his name on it. She’d let him get up as early as he wanted on Christmas morning. And after he opened all his presents, she’d make waffles with chocolate chips and bacon fried crispy. And fresh squeezed orange juice without the schnibbles.

“What about your dad? And Kenny’s parents? They’ll be worried about you.”

“Kenny knows where I’m going. He’ll tell Dad and Gramps. When do we leave? Can we go sit in the car with the glass top?”

Holly groaned, then grabbed Eric by the hand. “You’re not going anywhere. And I guess I’m not, either. We’re going to get off this train and I’m going to take you home before your dad misses you and blames me.”

Eric grinned and jumped up from his seat. “I knew I could get you back. So what was it? The candy or the flowers?”

She climbed down the steps, then reached back for Eric and swung him down behind her. “It was that smile of yours,” she said, tweaking his nose. “You’re a very charming young man.”

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