Her Christmas Surprise

Behind her, a jingling signaled the entry of a customer. With a sigh of resignation, Keely turned.

Only to see Lex Alexander.

Suddenly, abruptly, the shop felt very small. And very empty. He didn’t hesitate, didn’t look around at any of the arrangements. Just headed straight for her.

Keely met him at the door to the refrigerator. The shallow space in front of the tiers of flowers was far too small for two. “Looking for some flowers?” she asked.

“Looking for you.”

He was taller than she’d realized the day before, topping her five ten so that she found herself staring at his chin. In defense, she raised her own. “I’m working.”

“The shop’s empty. We need to talk.”

His eyes were dark, turbulent as he stared down at her. She felt that same stir of awareness she had before. Her pulse thudded in her ears. He was too big, too strong. Too there. She took a breath and pushed past him. “I have things to do,” she said without turning.

“Fine. I’ll talk with you while you do them.”

Keely made a noise of frustration and walked to the counter. “I don’t see what we’ve got to talk about.”

“How about this little scheme you’ve got going with Bradley, for a start.”

She did look at him, then. “I don’t have any scheme going with Bradley.”

“The feds say you do.”

“The feds don’t have a shred of evidence.” Because there was none.

“They’ve got your name on the boards of some LLCs.”

“They’ve got your mother’s name on those boards, too,” she countered.

“Why do you think I’m here? I need to know what you know.”

“I don’t know anything. I already told you, I’m not a part of this. Bradley was on his own.” She walked into the back and told herself she wasn’t fleeing.

It didn’t matter. He followed her. “Oh, come on. You’re his fiancée, you’re an accountant. You know as well as I do he couldn’t figure this out alone.”

“Nice that you have such a high opinion of him.” She didn’t look at him, just picked up some scarlet-berried holly off the counter and jammed it into a small vase to get it out of the way. Lex still made her as uneasy as he had when she was a teen, only now it was overlaid with something else, a humming tension she didn’t want to think too much about.

“My opinion doesn’t matter,” Lex said. “What matters is that my mother could lose everything because of what he’s done. I need to get her out of this and to do that, I need you.”

Keely snatched up one of the branches of mistletoe that lay on the worktable and began snipping off sprigs. “What you need is Bradley, and no, before you start in on it again, I don’t know where he is.” The snap of the clippers punctuated her words. “I don’t know anything about any of it.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“And I don’t really give a damn.” She slapped down the clippers. “I’ve got the feds on my tail, a boss who told me to get lost and an apartment that’s been torn apart, thanks to your brother. I could give a hang what you believe.” Jaw clamped, she snatched up the scissors and began chopping off hanks of red ribbon to bind the mistletoe. “Now, either buy something or get out of this store.”

Lex studied her for a minute, arms folded. “All right, let’s say you didn’t have any part of it. If that’s true, then it’s in your interest as much as ours to get to the bottom of this thing.”

“Sure, I’ll get right on that. Let me just find my magic wand.”

“Look, you’re an accountant. Even if you didn’t have anything to do with it, you should still be able to follow the trail. Maybe you’ll find something the big boys missed. Clear your name and my mother’s. As his fiancée, I’d think you’d want to get to the bottom of it.”

“He’s not my fiancé,” she said tightly. “I told you, we broke up the morning of the raid.”

“Perfect timing.”

“No, perfect timing would have been two years ago when we first started dating,” she snapped. “Forget it, okay? If I want to play detective, I can do it on my own.”

“Not if you want access to my mother’s papers.”

“What for?”

He shrugged, toying with a piece of mistletoe. “He used her accounts as part of his scheme. You might just find the key to something.”

“Your mother is never going to give me access to her papers. From what I hear, she blames me for the whole thing. First her, then you. What could possibly make me want to work with people who don’t even believe me?”

“Change her mind,” Lex suggested. “Change mine.”

“Why should I? Why should I care what either of you think?” Keely reached over for a sprig of mistletoe.

And his hand landed on hers, stopping her dead. “It’s in both of our interests.”

Heat bloomed up her arm. For an instant, she didn’t move, couldn’t. His fingers were warm, his palm hard. And all she could do for a helpless instant was wonder what it would feel like on her naked body.

“Think about it,” he suggested.

For a bewildered second, Keely wondered how he could possibly know what was in her mind. Then she realized what he meant, and swallowed. “Thanks, but no thanks. And like I said, it’s time for you to go.”

He removed his hand. “Let me know when you change your mind.”

“If,” she corrected.

“When.”

“Try never,” she retorted.

He laughed, his teeth very white against his dark skin. “I’ll be around when you’re looking for me.”

Chapter Four

Lex stepped out onto the sidewalk into the late afternoon. The last bits of snow from the nor’easter crunched underfoot. The setting sun stained the sky ruddy.

And he could still feel the softness of Keely’s skin against his palm.

She hadn’t told him anything he needed, he reminded himself. What she’d told him was to take a hike. He should have been frustrated, but somehow all he kept focusing on was how she’d felt, fragile yet strong.

And the way that mouth of hers might taste.