Table of Contents
Contents
THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT by Lori Foster....................1
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE by Karen Kelley....................103
HOME FOR CHRISTMAS by Dianne Castell....................199
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I'm Your Santa
By LORI FOSTER KAREN KELLEY DIANNE CASTELL BRAVA BOOKS
Copyright © 2007 Kensington Publishing Corp.
All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-7582-2860-4
Chapter One Why, oh why, couldn't this be a normal storm? Instead of soft, pretty snowflakes dotting her windshield, wet snow clumps froze as soon as they hit, rendering the wipers inadequate to keep the windshield clear. Even with the defroster on high, blasting hot air that threatened to choke her, the snow accumulated.
Refusing to stop and refusing to acknowledge the headlights behind her, Beth Monroe kept her hands tight on the wheel. Let him freeze to death. Let him follow her all the way to Gillespe, Kentucky.
She'd still ignore him.
She'd ignore everything that had happened between them, and everything she felt, everything he'd made her feel.
Oh God, she was so embarrassed. If only she could have a do-over, an opportunity to change the past, to correct mistakes and undo bad plans. That'd be the most perfect Christmas present ever.
A simple do-over.
But of course, there was no such thing, not even with the magic of Christmas. And there was nothing simple about the current mess of her life, or the complicated way that Levi Masterson made her feel.
Finally, after hours that seemed an eternity, her stepbrother's hotel came into view. Beth breathed a sigh of relief. Now if she could just park and get inside before Levi shanghaied her. Ben knew of her imminent arrival. She couldcount on him to send Levi packing.
Not that she wanted Levi hurt ... or Ben for that matter.
Fool, fool, fool.
Tires sliding on the frozen parking lot, Beth maneuvered her Ford into an empty spot. After shutting off the engine, she grabbed her purse, a tote bag loaded with presents, and her overnight bag. Arms laden, she charged from the vehicle.
Three steps in, her feet slipped out from under her. The stuffed overnight bag threw her off balance and she went flying in the air to land flat on her back. Her bag spilled. Wind rushed from her lungs. Icy cold seeped into her spine and tush.
For only a moment, Beth lay there, aching from head to toe, stunned and bemused. Then she heard Levi's hasty approach.
"Beth, damn it-"
Determination got her back on her feet. She gathered her belongings with haste and then, slipping and sliding, wincing with each step, she shouted into the wind, "Go away, Levi."
Harsh with determination, he yelled back, "You know I won't."
Daring a quick glance over her shoulder, Beth saw him ten feet behind her. He hadn't even parked! His truck sat crossways in the middle of the lot to block hers in, idling, the exhaust sending plumes of heated air to mingle in the frozen wind.
Good God, he looked furious!
Beth lunged forward and reached the door of the diner attached to Ben's hotel. She yanked it open and sped into the warm interior. The tote bag of presents fell out of her hands, scattering small gifts across the floor. Her overnight bag dropped from her numb fingers.
Several people looked up-all of them family.
Oh hell.
Why couldn't there have been crowds of nonfilial faces? An unbiased crowd, that's what she sought. Instead she found Noah and Ben in close conversation at a table. Their wives, Grace and Sierra, sat at a booth wrapping gifts. And her father and stepmother paused in their efforts to festoon a large fir tree situated in the corner.
Upon seeing her, her father's face lit up. He started to greet her-and then Levi shoved through the door, radiating fury, crowding in behind Beth so that she jolted forward with a startled yelp to keep from touching him.
In a voice deep and resolute, vibrating with command, he ordered, "Not another step, Beth. I mean it."
She winced, and peeked open one eye to view her audience.
Not good.
Levi obviously had no idea of the challenge he'd just issued, or the uproar he'd cause by using that tone with her in front of her family.
And now it was too late.
She hadn't wanted this. She wanted only time to think, to hide from her mortifying and aberrant behavior, to ... She didn't know what she wanted, damn it, and it wasn't fair that Levi refused to give her a chance to figure it out.
Muttering to herself, she dropped to her knees to gather the now damp and disheveled gifts one more time. As she did so, she said, "Hello, Dad. Hello ... everyone else." She tried to sound jovial rather than frustrated and anxious and at the end of her rope.
She failed miserably.
With a protectiveness that still amazed Beth, her stepbrothers moved as one. Noah's expression didn't bode well, and Ben appeared equally ready to declare war. Even her calm, reasonable father stalked forward with blood in his eyes.
Plopping her belongings on a nearby booth, Beth held up both hands. "Wait!"
No one did. From one second to the next, Levi had her behind him ... as if to protect her? From her family?
Unfortunately, even that simple touch from him, in no way affectionate or seductive, had Beth's tummy fluttering and her skin warming.
She quickly shrugged off her coat.
Levi took it from her, then asked, "Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"
"No. You can leave with a clear conscience. I'm fine." She reached for her coat.
He held it out of her reach. "I'm not going anywhere, so you can quit trying to get rid of me."
The men drew up short. Her father barked, "Who the hell are you?"
Levi turned to face their audience. Positive that she didn't want him to answer that himself, Beth yelled from behind him, "He's a friend." And she tried to ease backward away from him.
"A whole lot more than a friend," Levi corrected, and he stepped back to close the distance she'd just gained.
"Where's her fiancé?" Noah asked.
"Busy," Beth said.
"Gone," Levi answered in a bark. He reached back and caught Beth's wrist. His thumb moved over her skin, a gentle contrast to the iron in his tone. "For good."
Confused, Ben asked, "You mean dead?"
"Far as Beth is concerned, yes."
Oh, for crying out loud. Knowing she couldn't let this continue, Beth yanked her wrist free and, without quite touching any part of Levi's big, hard body, went on tiptoe to see beyond him.
The masculine expressions facing her didn't bode well.
She summoned a smile that felt sickly. "Hello, Dad. Brandon is fine, but we're not engaged any more."
Kent Monroe brought his brows down. "Since when?"
"Since she's with me now instead," Levi told them.
"No," Beth corrected sweetly, "I'm not."
Levi half turned to face her. "Wanna bet?"
His challenge got everyone moving again.
Oh God, she had to do something. "Dad," Beth begged, "I don't want him hurt."
Her father stopped in his tracks. Noah and Ben did not.
But her lovely sisters-in-law took control.
"Noah," Grace called from across the room. "You heard her."
Frowning, Noah paused about three feet from Levi. "I also heard him."
Sierra, a little more outgoing than Grace, raced up to Ben's side and thumped his shoulder. "Knock off the King Kong impersonation, Ben. You're embarrassing me."
"You'll survive." Keeping his eyes on Levi, Ben crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
For reasons that Beth couldn't begin to fathom, Levi stood there as if he'd take all three of them on at once. Idiot.
Determined to gain control, she chanced touching him long enough to give him a good pinch. "They're my family, Levi."
He nodded, but didn't relax.
Fed up, Beth moved around him. "I'm sorry for the dramatic entrance everyone. Levi is a friend-"
"Damn it, Beth, we left friendship behind days ago."
Beth let her eyes sink shut. She'd kill him. She'd never speak to him again. She'd-
His hand caught her shoulder and he turned her to face him. As if they stood alone, as if he had no concept of privacy or manners, Levi lowered his nose to almost touch hers.
In a voice that carried to every ear in the room, he ground out, "I've had enough, Beth. I mean it. We're both adults, both healthy, and finally we're both single. It's ridiculous for you to be embarrassed just because-"
"Don't!"
But her warning came too late, and Levi had already said too much. Silence reigned as everyone absorbed his meaning.
Then she felt it, the smiles, the amusement, the awful comprehension.
It took three breaths before Beth could speak.
Eyes narrowed, she nodded at Levi, turned to face her family, and announced, "I've changed my mind. Hurt him all you want."
And with that, she literally ran away.
Noah and Ben kept Levi from following.
In rapid succession, a dozen different emotions zinged through Levi's mind. Damn it, he'd loved her forever, he'd finally had her, and the reality far outshone the fantasy.
But she was ashamed-of him, and of what they'd done. It didn't matter that he'd given her a dozen mind-blowing orgasms. It didn't matter that she'd taken everything he'd offered and begged for more.
Some ridiculous prudish streak now had her denying her own feelings.
One way or another, he'd get her to accept him, and to trust him and her own basic nature. Because one way or another, he planned to have her-for the rest of his life.
But when Levi started to go after her, two large muscled bodies got in his way. Why hadn't Beth told him that her brothers were enormous? Well, at least one was enormous. Noah was a big brick wall of a guy. But Ben, no slouch, stood on a par with Levi.
Together, they looked pretty invincible.
Removing his coat, too, Levi told them, "This is none of your business," and he knew that somehow, if necessary, he'd walk right through them. He would not let Beth keep dodging him.
Noah grinned-which only made him look more imposing. "It's our business now."
Levi glanced beyond the hulks, but the more reasonable women were nowhere to be seen. Damn.
"Forget it," Ben told him, knowing the direction of his thoughts. "They went after Beth to find out what the hell you did to upset her so much."
"She's not upset," Levi argued. "She's embarrassed when she has no reason to be."
"Says you," Ben remarked right back. "She thinks differently."
"She's in denial," Levi explained. "She's uncertain, and she's surprised. That's all."
First, he'd strip Beth naked and get her in bed, and then he'd hash out the future with her. He'd found that the more he touched Beth, the more reasonable she became.
Noah's grin widened. "I wonder why she's embarrassed. I don't suppose you plan to tell us?"
"No."
"Doesn't matter," Noah said. "I already have an idea what's going on."
"Me, too," Ben said. "But given Beth's reaction, you must not have handled it right. If you had, she wouldn't have come back to us."
Levi stiffened. "I'll straighten out everything. I just need her to listen to me."
Another voice, thankfully less provoking, intruded. "Quit crowding him, boys. He doesn't look like he's about to back down, and regardless of what Beth said, I don't think she wants him mangled."
Levi didn't think so either, but it surprised him that her father might be an ally. "Thanks."
The older man nudged Noah out of the way. "Let's all take a seat."
Levi shook his head. "I need to go after her."
"Not just yet," he was told. "Ben, could we get some coffee, do you think?"
Ben grumbled, but agreed and took himself off. Noah stepped farther to the side, giving Levi room to move and the opportunity to address Beth's father.
Pulling himself together, Levi eyed the man before him. He had Beth's blond hair and piercing blue eyes, but where Beth was delicate in the most delicious ways, this man looked solid and hard.
On the best of days, Levi hated meeting dads-not that he'd often been serious enough about a female to warrant the need of parental approval. In fact, since meeting Beth, no other woman had held his attention long.
Now, under these conditions, it really sucked to await judgment by Beth's father. The man knew she'd been engaged to a doctor. By comparison, Levi had to be one hell of a letdown. Brandon could have set Beth up in style. Lots of luxury. Guaranteed security.
All Levi had to offer was fidelity, devotion, and a job that barely paid middle-class wages.
Seeing no help for it now, Levi stuck out a hand. "You're Beth's father."
Accepting Levi's hand in a strong, calloused grip, he said, "Kent Monroe."
"Levi Masterson. And as Beth said, I apologize for the theatrics."
"That's my girl. She got that dramatic streak from her mother." Kent gestured him toward a table. "How about you tell me what's going on without all the drama?"
Because Kent was being reasonable, Levi hated to disappoint him. But much of the story would be Beth's alone to tell. The second they were seated and Ben had returned with mugs and a coffeepot, the three men stared at Levi in expectation.
To appease them, Levi gave the shortened, censored version of the past week. "Brandon is out of the picture. I'm in, whether Beth admits it or not. I love her, and I'm pretty sure she cares the same about me." He shrugged. "Either way, I plan to marry her."
Everyone waited.
Levi poured himself a mug of coffee.
"That's it?" Noah asked.
"Afraid so."
"What happened to Brandon?" Ben asked.
"You should ask Beth."
In disbelief, Ben fell back in his seat. "You really think that's all you're going to tell us?"
Levi sipped his coffee. "Yeah."
Kent laughed. "Did you propose to her yet?"
"I've tried, but she hasn't exactly given me a chance when she's avoiding me like the plague."
"And?"
"I'm working on it." Levi set the mug down. "That's why I'm here."
Noah propped an elbow on the table. "So you followed her here to propose to her?"
"I followed her here because she's been trying to hide from me. I have to get her to accept all the sudden changes before I can ask her to marry me."
"Yeah," Ben said, "she sounds real smitten."
"She is." Levi had to believe that. Beth wasn't a woman who would go wild with a man that she didn't love. "It's just that she'd gotten really comfortable with her plans for the future, and now those plans are gone. Beth's having a hard time accepting it all. That's why I can't let her out of my sight for long. She'll convince herself she doesn't care, or that we don't belong together if she gets a chance to think about all this too much."
"Think about all what?" Noah asked.
Wild sex. Unrestrained passion. Fantasies come true, and imaginations gone wild. Levi cleared his throat. "You'll have to ask-"
"Beth," Noah finished. "Got it."
"So," Kent said, sounding cordial and almost amused, "you're stalking my daughter?"
"Sort of." But he didn't want Kent getting the wrong impression. "If she'll just admit it, she wants me to."
Ben tapped his fingers on the tabletop. "Did you know she was coming home when you followed her?"
"Yeah, I figured that's where she was headed." Levi shrugged. "It's the holidays. She's emotional and confused. Being with family made sense." He eyed each of the men in turn. "Maybe you can help me."
It was Noah's turn to drop back in his seat. "Help you?"
"That's right." Levi leaned forward. "For starters, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep her from running off again."
"For starters?" Kent asked. "I gather there's more?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't mind being alone in a room with her for a while, too." And before any of them could start grumbling about that, Levi added, "To talk. To work through things."
"The changes?"
"That's right." It wasn't every day a woman found her fiancé cheating, broke an engagement, and realized she loved someone else anyway.
Kent nodded slowly. "You know, I believe you."
"Thank you. I give you my word that Beth has nothing to fear from me. I love her. I would never do anything to hurt her."
"That's good," Ben told him. "Because if you do anything-"
"Yeah, I've got it. You don't need to finish that thought."
"Good."
"If one of you would go park my truck, I'd really appreciate it. I left it idling in the lot, blocking Beth's car."
All three of them looked toward the diner door, but none of them made a move toward it.
Levi settled back in the booth and lifted his mug of coffee. "Or someone can steal the damn thing. I don't give a shit. I just want to talk to Beth without being interrupted and without her sneaking away."
The gazes all transferred to him.
Levi felt his shoulders go rigid. If they thought to stop him, they'd be sorely disappointed. "So where is she? I don't think it's a good idea for her to have this much time away from me."
Kent tapped his fingertips together. "You could be right."
Taking their clues from him, Ben and Noah made sounds of reluctant agreement.
"But I won't send you off to a room alone with her, unless Beth decides that's what she wants. I remember being young and in love."
Ben snorted. "You're old and in love and no better now than you probably were then."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from I'm Your Santa by LORI FOSTER KAREN KELLEY DIANNE CASTELL
Copyright © 2007 by Kensington Publishing Corp.. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
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Contents THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT by Lori Foster....................1
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE by Karen Kelley....................113
HOME FOR CHRISTMAS by Dianne Castell....................217
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