One Winter's Day: A Diamond in Her Stocking / Christmas Where They Belong / Snowed in at the Ranch

‘Of course I am.’ Again he was struck by how a smile brought such light to her face. She’d been so warm and vivacious at the wedding that he’d found it hard to leave her side for even a minute.

‘Okaaay...’ He drew out the word in mock reluctance. ‘I guess I can do that for you.’

It wouldn’t be a hardship to show her around, if he kept his distance from anything too personal. Trying to be friends—that was all. It would also be a chance to catch up with people he hadn’t seen for ages. His job meant he’d lost touch with more friends from the area than he’d like.

‘Does that count in your daily two hours of rationed help?’ she asked.

His immediate impulse was to say of course not. But then he thought twice.

On meeting Lizzie again, he’d thought he’d only be able to endure two hours of her chilly, stand-offish company. Now the Lizzie he’d first fallen for was starting to reveal herself. Warm. Funny. With a touch of snark that challenged him. He didn’t want his initial attraction to her to be reignited. That meant seeing as little of her as possible. Now that two-hour limit would be not because he didn’t like her—rather because he didn’t want to get to like her too much.

Lizzie could never be a casual encounter. An it’s been nice but I don’t want to get serious type of thing. No. Anything with Lizzie would be serious with a capital S. She was a mother with a child, making the relationship equation two-plus-one, rather than the one-plus-one he was used to. She was also his brother’s sister-in-law. If they started something and it broke up, the repercussions would be endless.

There were many reasons to steer clear—not least that he saw in her the same kind of spirited, challenging personality that had drawn him to Camilla with such disastrous results. His life was on track with the prospect of a new start in America. He didn’t want any awkward emotional confrontations to derail him if he again fell for the wrong woman.

Six months ago he’d been very taken with Lizzie, had seen the possibility of something more than a casual hook-up at a wedding. Looking back, he could see he’d been raw from his recent encounter with Camilla. Lovely Lizzie’s laughter and passionate kisses had been affirmation of his appeal as a man, balm to his shattered heart and bruised ego. But her inexplicable cold treatment of him had plunged him back into his resolve to stay clear of women with the power to wound him.

Now this job offer had further strengthened his resolve to avoid anything remotely connected to commitment to a woman. He needed to remain unencumbered if he were to move up to this new stage in his career. The CEO of the Houston company had pretty much spelled out it was a job for a single man—travelling, lots of overtime and weekend work.

That two-hour restriction on time with Lizzie would stay—he couldn’t let himself get to like her too much. He genuinely wanted to try and become friends, though. After all, she’d be part of his life for as long as her sister was married to his brother and that looked likely to be for ever. Two hours a day was more than enough to develop the kind of superficial friendship that didn’t make any demands on him—or, in fact, on her. He couldn’t deny his attraction to Lizzie—but he could stop himself from acting on it.

‘Yes, two hours is all I can spare,’ he said. ‘None of the farms we’ll be going to is far from here.’

He could tell she was perplexed by the time restriction but he had no intention of explaining it to her.

‘Okay,’ she said. Starting tomorrow, please. I don’t have time to waste.’

* * *

Lizzie was grateful that Jesse was able to help her with her dilemma. She was about to tell him so when Sandy swept into the shop, all exclamations of delight at how the café was shaping up.

Lizzie silently implored Jesse with her eyes to please not say anything of their conversation about the supplies. Thankfully, he indicated with a slight incline of his head that he would keep her confidence. Not in a million years would she want to cause offence to Sandy or Ben. At the same time, she had to have the best for the café.

Brown-haired, hazel-eyed Sandy swept her into a big hug and she squeezed her sister back hard. The wonderful thing about being in Dolphin Bay was it meant more time with her.

‘I am so glad you got here okay,’ Sandy said. She then looked to Jesse. ‘I’m still pinching myself that I got a chef of my sister’s calibre to run Bay Bites for us. Aren’t we fortunate?’

‘We’re very lucky,’ he agreed.

Sandy hugged Jesse, too, and it gave Lizzie pleasure to see the depth of affection between her sister and her brother-in-law.

She and Sandy had both been so emotionally damaged by their controlling cheater of a father that for a while it had looked as if neither of them would find happiness with a man. But Sandy was now blissfully married to Ben and had been lovingly welcomed into the close-knit Morgan family.

One out of two sisters sorted with a happy-ever-after wasn’t bad, Lizzie thought. Philippe had done such a good job of destroying any trust she’d had left in men she doubted there’d ever be a second chance of happiness for her. And certainly not if she kept getting attracted to gorgeous love-’em-and-leave-’em guys like Jesse. She didn’t regret kissing him at the wedding. Could never forget how wonderful her time with him had been. But it would never happen again.

‘I’m so glad to be here,’ she said to Sandy. ‘It’s the new start I need.’

‘I see you two have reacquainted yourselves,’ Sandy said, waving to Jesse.

With an emphasis on acquaintance Lizzie wanted to say, but knew it would come out sounding ill-mannered.

‘Yes,’ she murmured, avoiding Jesse’s gaze. He just nodded.

Lizzie did not fail to detect the speculation in her sister’s eyes as Sandy looked from her to Jesse and back again.

Guess she’d better get used to seeing that look in other people’s eyes, too, when they saw her and Jesse together—until it became obvious the incident at the wedding was all there ever was going to be between them.

Sandy spun around to the wall behind her. ‘The paintings look amazing the way you’ve hung them.’

‘I have to give credit where credit is due,’ said Lizzie, indicating Jesse with a sweep of her hand. ‘He put them all up.’

‘The boss is the one who chose them,’ said Jesse.

‘The boss?’ asked Lizzie.

‘That’s you,’ he said. ‘I jump to your command.’ His words were light-hearted but his already deep voice dropped an octave or two as he spoke.

She had to disguise her gasp of awareness with a cough. Oh, she could think of lots of commands she could give to beautiful Jesse, alone and behind closed doors. But not when they were ‘just friends’. Not when he was her sister’s brother-in-law. Not when he was a man who had a reputation for toying with women’s hearts.

She was spared making any kind of smart reply by Jesse himself. He glanced at his watch. ‘I didn’t realise it was that late. Gotta go.’

‘Your two hours are up?’ she said, still intrigued by the limit he had given her on his time.

‘What two hours?’ asked Sandy.

‘Something to do with his shoulder,’ said Lizzie.

‘Yeah, my shoulder, that’s it,’ said Jesse gruffly. ‘I’ll pick you up at ten tomorrow,’ he said to Lizzie. ‘Bye, Sandy.’

Lizzie watched in silent admiration as Jesse strode out of Bay Bites with a masculine loping grace. His back view really was something to see. Broad shoulders tapered to a tight behind. Worn denim jeans hugged muscular legs. And those tanned brown arms rippled with muscle. If he were any other gorgeous guy than Jesse Morgan she’d want to give him a wolf whistle. ‘No!’ said her sister, once Jesse was out of earshot.

‘What do you mean “no”?’

‘I saw the way you were looking at Jesse.’

‘And you weren’t too?’

‘Of course I wasn’t,’ Sandy said primly. ‘He’s my brother-in-law.’

‘And that doesn’t stop you appreciating what a finely crafted specimen of masculinity he is?’

‘Of course it does,’ Sandy said. ‘I’m a married woman.’ But then the giggles she was suppressing pealed out. ‘I wouldn’t be female if I didn’t appreciate how hot Jesse is. And he’s a nice guy too. But he’s a commitment-phobe of the first order.’

‘I know, I know. If you told me once you told me a million times.’

‘And at the wedding you totally ignored my warnings.’

‘That was different. Cut me a break, Sandy. I was lonely. Starved for male company. Heck, starved for adult company outside of a commercial kitchen. And Jesse was...was irresistible.’