Decidedly With Mistletoe Read online

  So why had I agreed to marry Chris? Let’s call it a moment of insanity. Or maybe I thought it was a good idea after I went against family tradition and became a teacher. I thought it would make my family happy.

  I thought it would make me happy.

  I also foolishly believed that I loved him and he loved me.

  Yep, the winner of the idiot contest went to yours truly. The prize? A divorce certificate to hang on the living room wall.

  “He decided that his lover on the side was a better choice,” I finally said. “Once I discovered that, I kicked him out.”

  “Good for you.”

  “Good for me…except because of the prenup I had signed, I didn’t get to stay in our house for long. He got to keep it. I got to keep the wedding photos.” Go me.

  “Ouch.” Liam turned into a small parking lot at the side of a chalet-style building. It was quaint and adorable and nothing like the resort I’d be staying at…once I got there. The vacancy sign glowed red.

  “What about you?” I asked as he pulled into the only empty spot available. “Did you ever get married?” He wasn’t wearing a ring, but that didn’t mean anything.

  What the heck are you doing? I belatedly asked myself.

  My heart clenched, waiting to hear his reply. It doesn’t matter if he’s married or not, I reminded it. He didn’t want me. End of story. And as soon as I was checked into the inn for the night, he could go on his merry way, and I’d never have to see him again.

  He shook his head. “I was still with the SEALs until recently and figured there was no point settling down and having a family while I was serving my country. It wouldn’t be fair to my wife and our kids. I didn’t want her always wondering if I would be returning home to them and if I would be returning home the same man.”

  Those words sounded very familiar. He’d used similar ones when he broke off our engagement—along with telling me that he no longer loved me.

  But those weren’t the only reasons he’d ended our relationship. My grandmother later admitted to me that she had offered him an obscene amount of money if he’d cut me from his life. An obscene amount of money that he had gladly taken.

  Once upon a time, the memory of that had made my heart clench into the size of a Christmas tree ornament. Now it was more like a tiny splinter in the fleshy part of the thumb. An irritation but easy to live with. And with a little more time—maybe in a few more years—it would completely disappear.

  We climbed out of Liam’s SUV and plodded through the strong wind and thick snow on the ground to the inn’s entrance. Liam pulled the door open for me. I stepped inside the building, into a lobby straight from a fairy tale. The walls were creamy white, offset by the dark wooden beams in the cathedral ceiling. The same dark wood that matched the front desk.

  The small lobby was decorated with rustic Christmas decorations. The same theme was mirrored on the tall pine tree. It was official. I was in love.

  “Wow, this place is gorgeous,” I said, following Liam to the front desk.

  Several families with young kids were hanging out by the fireplace. A man and a woman, still in their winter coats and with their luggage next to them, were talking to the woman in her sixties who was standing behind the desk. The woman who looked like she belonged in a historic era long since past.

  Short strands of her white hair poked out from under a forest-green mop cap. The white, buttonless blouse had puffy sleeves and ruffles at the wrists and was partially covered with a floor-length, green sleeveless dress, which was fitted down to her ample waist. She was also wearing a red-and-white ruffled apron.

  Mrs. Claus had apparently abandoned the North Pole and was working at the inn. Ho, Ho, Ho.

  We didn’t have to wait long before the couple in front of us was walking away from the desk, luggage in tow.

  The older woman smiled at us as we stepped up to her, a gleam in her merry blue eyes. “You two are in luck. We happen to have a single room available. Our only room available, owing to the storm and the main roads being closed in all directions.”

  Liam and I exchanged looks. The part about the roads was news to us.

  “The sheriff’s department issued the announcement only a few minutes ago,” she explained as if reading our minds. “No one is getting through, thanks to several major accidents. The room has a queen-sized bed.”

  “Sounds perfect. We’ll take it,” Liam said at the same time as I asked, “Do you have an extra roll-away bed?” Because no way in fruit-cake hell was I sharing a bed with him.

  All right—maybe that was a little strong. I happen to like dark fruitcake. With marzipan. It was the light stuff I wasn’t fond of.

  “I’m sorry,” pseudo-Mrs. Claus said, “I just gave away our last one to a family.”

  Liam put his hand on my shoulder. “That’s fine. We’ll take the room.”

  I nodded—because what else could I do? It was too cold to sleep in his truck. “How long do they think the roads will be closed for?” I asked. Would I be swoosh-swoosh-swooshing down the slopes this time tomorrow? I had a ski lesson booked for the afternoon.

  “It depends on how much snow falls overnight and when they get around to plowing the roads. But don’t worry, you can stay in the room until then. If you can’t leave because of the snow, the next guests booked for the room won’t be able to get here either.”

  Please, please, please, Mother Nature, stop snowing. Now. Wasn’t it bad enough I had to stay in the same room with Liam for the night?

  Not that I planned to share the bed with him. I’d sleep on the floor if I had to.

  I fished through my purse to find my wallet.

  “I’ve got this,” Liam said, handing his credit card to Mrs. Claus.

  “Thank you.” She completed the transaction. “If you need anything, just give me a call. I’m Betsy and my husband is Harold. The dining room is just through there.” She pointed toward the open French doors. “We provide dinner service between five and ten thirty p.m.” She then listed the rest of the mealtimes. “Do you need help with your luggage?”

  “No, we should be fine,” Liam said with a smile. And my heart did a happy dance at seeing it. Stupid heart—even though I couldn’t blame it. Liam had the best smile around. Just seeing it was enough to warm you up better than a raging fire. Chris’s smile never had that effect on me.

  His smiles were warm enough to melt ice cream…on a hot day.

  I just didn’t realize it until much later.

  I began walking toward the entrance.

  Liam grabbed my arm. “Where are you running off to?”

  “To get my luggage.” There was a slim chance I might have used my no-duh voice.

  All right, a big chance.

  “I can get it.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Get over yourself, Liam. I’m a big girl. And this big girl can get her own luggage.”

  He grunted his caveman sound. The poor man didn’t like not having damsels in distress to rescue.

  I stepped outside and immediately regretted it. The wind had picked up since we had entered the cozy inn. And now it wanted to ensure we didn’t forget about it.

  Don’t worry. I’ll send you a Christmas card if that makes you feel better.

  A big, unexpected gust battered against me, pushing me sideways a step. “Fine, no Christmas card for you,” I muttered.

  “What did you say?” Liam asked, fortunately unable to hear my comment because of the whining wind.

  “I can’t wait to hang out in front of the fireplace.” Because according to Betsy, our room had one.

  He nodded and pushed forward through the storm.

  I focused on each step—willing my brain not to venture where it didn’t belong. By this, I meant how all my family was in the Bahamas for the wedding. On the hot sand. Getting cocktails with fancy little umbrellas.

  Another topic that was best for my brain not to dwell on was how Liam’s and my engagement ended ten years ago. It was two days before Christmas, and the
last thing I wanted was to rehash the God-awful night he broke my heart, even if my heart was eighty percent recovered.

  Thanks to Chris’s betrayal, it was still a little tender and bruised.

  Our previous footsteps in the snow had already disappeared in the short time we had been at the inn. The snow was now over a foot deep, making it even tougher to walk to the vehicle. By the time we got there, I was exhausted. And I still had to carry everything back to the inn.

  This is what I got for not packing lightly…and for not going somewhere tropical.

  Once back inside the inn, we trudged up the stairs, carrying our luggage. Well, mostly Liam carried our luggage since his consisted of only one item: a duffle bag.

  At our room, I unlocked the door with the key card and pushed it open. The inside of the room was as quaint and cozy as the lobby. The only difference was the lack of Christmas decorations.

  My stomach made a sound resembling that of a hibernating bear waking up after a long winter nap.

  Liam laughed. Bastard. “You want to shower first before we head down? Or maybe you’d rather join me to save time.” He smirked.

  An image of him naked flashed in my head. And naturally, my face heated at the memory.

  Liam laughed again. Note to self: Liam had clearly learned the art of reading minds. Must be a Navy SEAL thing.

  “That’s okay,” I said. “I can shower myself, thanks. But I think we need some ground rules if we’re going to make this work.”

  His eyebrow rose, mostly out of amusement. I recognized the look on him. “What kind of ground rules are you talking about?”

  “We don’t talk about what happened between us. It’s almost Christmas and after tonight, we won’t see each other again. There’s no point bringing up the past. It’s over now. Nothing’s going to change that, so I don’t see a reason to dwell on it anymore. Deal?” I held out my hand to shake on it.

  He shrugged. “Sure, why not?” He shook on it.

  With that settled, I riffled through my suitcase and found my black jeans and a cream-colored, lightweight sweater. A short time later, the two of us were showered and heading downstairs.

  We walked to the entrance of the dining room.

  “Uh, uh, uh,” a man in his sixties said. Possibly Harold? Like Santa, his hair was white and he had a long beard. He was wearing a white shirt with wide sleeves that were partially rolled up his forearms and a red velvet vest that was unbuttoned, revealing a stomach that was the opposite of Liam’s flat one. He also had on black pants and hiking boots.

  If I didn’t know better, I’d say Liam and I had stepped into Santa and Mrs. Claus’s home.

  Harold-Santa pointed to something above my head as Betsy approached us.

  I looked up. Mistletoe.

  His eyes twinkled with mischief. “You two can’t enter the dining room until you’ve kissed under the mistletoe.”

  I opened my mouth to protest—or announce that Liam was actually my brother or cousin. Anything to keep from kissing him.

  “It’s okay, Ava.” Liam’s tone held the familiar teasing I remembered from back when we were engaged. Teasing but also with an edge of challenge. “It’s just one little kiss.”

  I swallowed past the Christmas-ornament-sized lump in my throat and took a step back. But before I could get much farther than that, Liam wrapped his arms around my waist, stopping me from escaping.

  He leaned forward, his breath brushing my ear. “Just go along with this. Okay, Ava? Give them the show they want, and everything will be fine.” His tone was the same rough one that used to leave my girlie parts excited.

  And apparently still got my girlie parts excited.

  Traitors.

  I nodded, my heart thumping a quick rhythm in my chest. He lowered his mouth to mine, lingered there for several seconds…then his lips were on mine.

  I was expecting a quick kiss. But the moment our mouths touched, it was as if I were transported back in time to when his kisses were as essential to survival as the oxygen in the air.

  My lips parted and I let him in. Nothing X-rated. Just the brief brushing of tongues. But that was all it took. The familiar hum I’d last experienced ten years ago vibrated through my body.

  Oh. That’s not good.

  My body thoroughly disagreed with that assessment.

  You’ll find your Forever Love under the mistletoe.…Zoe’s prediction echoed in my head. So much for that. My body was broken. It thought everyone was my Forever Love.

  All right—it hadn’t exactly said that. But if it acted this way with the man who’d broken my heart, then my body was clearly faulty.

  For a second, I considered grabbing the next guy who walked under the mistletoe, to test if my body reacted the same to him as it had to Liam’s kiss. But we were the only four individuals in the area.

  And it didn’t look like there were any spare single men in the dining room to help me out.

  My phone pinged in my purse. I fished it out as Liam and I walked to the empty table next to the window.

  The text was from Zoe. I heard the roads are closed due to the storm. Did you get to your hotel okay?

  No. Stuck at an inn until the roads reopen.

  Probably a good idea not to mention Liam or the kiss.

  4

  LIAM

  IF SOMEONE HAD ASKED me this morning what the two things were that I least expected to happen today, I would have said bumping into my ex-fiancée and kissing her.

  What did I think of the kiss?

  Fucking awesome.

  But that came as no surprise.

  Ava returned her phone to her purse, and we listened to Harold tell us the specials for the day…which were pretty much the only things on the menu.

  We ordered our food and drinks—wine for Ava and beer for me.

  “Okay, so we’ve established that I’m divorced and my ex-husband had a mistress, and I became the family black sheep by becoming a teacher instead of a lawyer,” Ava said once Harold had walked away from our table. “And we’ve established that you were serving with the Navy SEALs, which I already knew because I was engaged to you when you joined them. But you’re not with them anymore.…So what are you up to these days?”

  “I live in San Francisco, and I have my own security and investigation company. Plus I volunteer for search and rescue missions when I’m needed.”

  Her eyes widened. “What kind of search and rescue missions?”

  “It can be anything, really. A seven-year-old girl was walking her dog yesterday afternoon and went missing in the mountains. My team was called in to help find her.”

  Ava’s face paled. “Did you…? Did you find her alive?”

  I smiled softly at her concern. That was the Ava I knew. She cared about everyone, including strangers. “Yes. She was cold and scared and scratched up, but other than that she was okay.”

  Ava’s shoulders relaxed, the tension releasing from her like air from a helium balloon. “That’s a relief.” She smiled back at me. “So, you’re a hero.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far. I wasn’t the only person involved in the mission, but yes, my crew was the one who located her.”

  “Well, in my books, that makes you a hero.”

  I didn’t know why, but her words ignited something inside me. A raw emotion I hadn’t experienced in more years than I cared to remember.

  Was it the first time that someone had told me that I was a hero? Not at all. But it was the first time I’d wanted to kiss someone long and hard for saying those words. What I did was my job. It was something I was good at. But this was the first time being a hero to someone really meant something—even if it shouldn’t have, given Ava and I hadn’t been together in ten years.

  Harold brought us our drinks and we spent dinner catching up. But even though Ava seemed willing to talk to me, I sensed she was holding back. That she had erected a wall to protect herself and was making sure not a single brick crumbled.

  Was I surprised? Hell, no. Firs
t I told her that I no longer loved her when we were engaged, and then her ex-husband cheated on her. I’d be surprised if she wasn’t more cautious after that.

  I silently cursed myself a thousand times for doing that to her. And then I mentally cursed the jackass she’d been married to.

  After dinner, Harold and Betsy encouraged us to join them and the other guests in the great hall for Christmas cheer. The great hall? Yes, that was their fancy term for the lobby.

  Several kids sat on the couch, watching Harold and Betsy with great interest. Watching them the way a kid would do if they were positive the pair really were Santa and Mrs. Claus.

  One ten-year-old was sitting in an armchair, away from everyone, her attention on the book in her lap.

  Ava walked over to her and I followed.

  She crouched by the girl. The girl kept reading.

  “You look like you’re really enjoying that book,” Ava said.

  The kid finally looked up and nodded so fast, I thought her head might fly off even though it was firmly attached to her body. “It’s my favorite series. I’ve already read the first book six times, and I’m hoping Santa will bring me the second book for Christmas.”

  She lifted the book to show us the cover: Max Thunder and the Tides of Poseidon. A New York Times bestseller by AJ Versteeg.

  As in Ava Julianna Versteeg?

  My gaze shifted to Ava, whose cheeks were now adorably flushed. Her eyes met mine, and her blush deepened.

  The girl’s head tilted to the side and she studied Ava. Then she turned to the back flap of the book with Ava’s picture on it.

  Her gaze shot up to Ava’s, and she pointed at the photo. “This is you!”

  Smiling, Ava nodded. The girl’s eyes grew even wider. I couldn’t tell if she was going to pass out or start jumping up and down while screaming with excitement.