Wrapped In Red: Mistletoe Mantra / White Hot Holiday

Nomi slumped in her chair. If she was going home, then she’d need some reinforcements. And she’d have to make some arrangements. Ella was good at her job, but she didn’t know Faith. They embraced the Christmas holiday like no place she’d ever seen. If there wasn’t snow, they brought in snow machines to make sure it was a white Christmas. Every year, without fail. Tourists started pouring into the town right after Thanksgiving and didn’t let up till the New Year. It made hotels and car rentals a nightmare.

As soon as the meeting was over, she trudged to her office and made a phone call she never thought she’d be making. At the same time she started an online search for a rental car and hotel. The Resplendence Inn seemed to have rooms, so she sent the link to Ella to book.

After three rings, a harried Jilly Porter answered the phone. “This is Jilly.”

Nomi exhaled slowly. There was something comforting about her best friend’s voice. “Hey, girl, it’s Nomi.”

“Nomi! Honey, it’s been two months since we talked. Why is that? I wish I could chat, but I’m getting stuff ready for a shipment.”

“Oh, sorry to catch you at a bad time. Real quick though, I’m coming home. Do you think you could swing a pickup from the train station tomorrow evening?” Faith was so small it didn’t even have an airport, so she’d have to fly into Dulles, then take the train from there. Planes, trains and automobiles.

If possible, Jilly’s voice went up an octave. “Home? Why? Holy shit, for how long? Are you going to see Brad? Are you going to tell your parents you’re coming? Oh my God, of course you would call with news like this when I can’t properly discuss.”

Nomi couldn’t help but smile. Jilly owned her own art gallery, and she also did private buying for select clients. “Short answers: yes, home, for work, hopefully no more than two days, hell to the no, and haven’t decided yet. Now, can you pick me up from the train station or what?”

Jilly mumbled something and Nomi could only guess she was using her mouth to hold something while she did something with her hands. “I don’t think I can do tomorrow night, but you know what? Linc probably can. He’s here. You work out the deets with him and I’ll see you as soon as you get in.”

“Jilly, wait—” Nomi sighed. Jilly was notorious for delegating tasks without asking. Especially to her twin brother, Linc.

“This is Linc.”

Nomi’s brain stuttered; the voice she remembered wasn’t the one on the line now. When had his voice gotten so deep? From the time she moved to Faith, she and Jilly had been inseparable. Which meant that everywhere they went, Linc hadn’t been far behind. He and Jilly ran in the same circles at school, but Nomi could never say she knew him that well. He’d always been so quiet. More watchful than anything. He’d never needed to be the center of attention. And he’d helped get them out of more than a few scrapes thanks to her big mouth and Jilly’s impulsive nature.

“Uh, Linc, hi. It’s Nomi. Nomi Adams, from Faith.”

There was a beat of silence. Then another beat. When he spoke again, his voice was low and raspy. “You honestly think I’d forgotten you? Without you, Jilly probably would have ended up as a rock star groupie or worse.”

He had no idea how close he was with his teasing guess. She and Jilly had once snuck out to go to a Foo Fighters concert and Jilly had been hell bent on getting backstage by any means necessary, including flashing the bouncers her boobs if she had to. Nomi had managed to talk her out of it.

“Listen, I’m sorry to impose, but Jilly volunteered you to pick me up at the train station tomorrow night. I know it’s a huge inconvenience, but I can’t seem to get a single rental car in the area.”

“Yeah, the holiday rush is in full swing.” His voice was warm and mellow, like melting chocolate. “Not to worry. It’s cool. Just text Jilly the details and I’ll be there.”

Good ol’ Linc. “Thank you. It’s much appreciated. I’ll owe you one.”

“I’ll hold you to it.” There was a beat of silence, then he said, “Last time I saw you, you said you were never coming back to Faith, Virginia.”

Yeah, she had said that. And she’d meant it. “Apparently, never say never. I need to come back for work.”

“You work for a magazine now, right?”

Nomi had no idea why, but just talking to him made her a little nervous, her skin heating. It must be the voice. It made it easy to forget she was talking to Jilly’s brother.

“Yeah. They’re sending me back to find Nolan Polk. He’s supposed to live in Faith.”

There was a long beat of silence. “What do you need him for?”

“Well, it’s our twentieth-anniversary edition and we’re looking for some of his photos for a spread.”

“I don’t get it. Wouldn’t you normally call his agent or something? I assume a guy like that has an agent.”

“Yeah, tried that. No luck. He isn’t responding to our requests. So anyway, it appears I’m headed home to try and find him.”

Linc’s voice was soft, quiet. “Well, if anyone can find him, it’s probably you. You always had a way of coming out on top.”

Nomi swallowed hard as her brain conjured up an image of her on top of Linc, back arched in bliss. What the hell was wrong with her? Just because his voice was all grown and sexy didn’t mean he’d grown with it.

“I hope you’re right, Linc. I’ve got a lot riding on this.”

Chapter 2 (#ulink_d9133b31-48fe-5a69-948e-0573a933a432)

Nomi Adams was coming home. When Lincoln Porter hung up, he leaned his head back against the wall and shut his eyes tight. Caught somewhere between elation and dread, his brain tried to make sense of what she’d said. He’d had a thing for Nomi since she’d moved to Faith, but she’d never noticed him. She’d always treated him like a brother.

“You should look happier. Why don’t you look happier?”

Linc peeled an eye open to glare at his twin sister. She matched him in coloring, from her inky black hair to her jade green eyes. Her features were softer, more feminine versions of his, down to the slight dimple in her chin. The only dissimilarity was the foot difference in height. She liked to tease that he’d stolen all her height genes. “That was low, Jilly. You should have given me some warning.”

“Now, why would I want to do that? Besides, are you going to pretend that you don’t want to see Nomi?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He handed her back her phone. At times like this, he regretted the two of them being so close. It was impossible to hide anything from her.

“Bull. Five years is a long time to hold a torch for someone, little brother.”

“Only by a minute, Jilly.”

She slid him a sideways glance. “What? You thought you were slick back then? Come on, for the most part you were pretty shy, but the moment Nomi was around, you had to peek out of your little shell and hang around.”

Linc pinned a narrow-eyed gaze on his sister. Lucky for him, he’d outgrown that shy awkwardness and he’d filled out. No one would call him awkward and skinny now. But five years was a long time. The last time he’d seen Nomi, she’d been running for the first train out of town after her dumb-ass boyfriend had chosen Lila Banks, or rather the Banks money and connections, over Nomi.

“Did you tell her?”

His sister’s brow furrowed. “What? No! I was hoping you would get the balls and do it yourself. But I guess you never did.”

The night she’d run away, Nomi had turned up at his house looking for Jilly to give her a ride. But his sister hadn’t been there. Nomi had walked the two miles over from the country club in the rain after Brad had dumped her, and she had been soaked through.

When she’d asked him to swing by her house so she could grab her stuff and then take her to the train station, he hadn’t tried to talk her out of it. Maybe because it hadn’t hit him till they were on the platform that she was actually leaving. His stomach still knotted whenever he remembered what he’d said to her then. “You always deserved better than him.”

Her smile had been sad, wistful, and she’d kissed him on the cheek. And that was it. He’d never seen her again.

Jilly snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. “Earth to Linc. Did you hear me?”

He’d been too lost in his last memory of Nomi. “No. Sorry.”

His sister rolled her eyes. “Focus. She’s coming back, so what are you going to do about it?”

“Pick her up from the train station.”

“Please don’t be obtuse. This is your chance.”