SUSAN MEIER

Bride Under the Mistletoe: The Magic of a Family Christmas


Скачать книгу

of the men wore suits and ties, no tuxes, he relaxed.

      He took a drink from a passing waiter and saw Wendy in the back of the room chatting with some people from shipping and receiving. The sleeveless red dress she wore was particularly flattering to her figure, and he let his gaze ripple from her head to her toes, pausing to take in the length of leg she exposed.

      She’d never looked prettier or sexier, so he turned and walked in the other direction. Not because he wanted to avoid her, but because he needed to be careful around her. Especially in a room full of witnesses. If he lost control and kissed her again, that would be the talk of the factory on Monday morning. He still had almost a week to work here and the prospect of being teased or gossiped about didn’t thrill him. Worse, Wendy had to work with these people forever. He wouldn’t embarrass her.

      The ladies in his candy posse corralled him and he accepted their invitation to sit at their table for dinner. Which was good. He’d avoided yet another opportunity to get too close to Wendy.

      After dinner, the band shifted from dinner music to dance music. Telling his posse that he needed to mingle, he excused himself and headed for the bar. He was stopped by so many people that the band finished their first set, took a break and began playing again before he actually made it.

      He ordered a Scotch and suddenly found himself standing by Emma Watson and Patty Franks. “Good evening, Mr. Barrington.”

      “Good evening, ladies. Are you enjoying yourselves?”

      “Yes. Thank you.”

      Patty blinked false eyelashes at him. “I haven’t seen you dancing yet tonight.”

      “I sort of got waylaid.”

      “That’s no excuse,” she said with a laugh. Just when Cullen was absolutely positive she was about to ask him to dance, she shifted slightly. Wendy stood behind her. “I’m sure Wendy would love to dance.”

      From the way Wendy’s eyes widened with fear, Cullen not only knew her friends had surprised her, but also that dancing with him was probably the absolute last thing she wanted to do. But because she was afraid, not eager, he knew they would be safe together. Saying no or making a fuss would only call more attention to them than if they simply complied and danced to one song.

      He held out his hand. “Would you care to dance?”

      She swallowed and looked at her two friends who were smirking with victory before she placed her hand in his. “Sure.”

      He led her out to the crowded floor just as the band stopped playing a hopping fast tune and began playing something slow. He caught her gaze. “If you’d rather not—”

      She grimaced. “They’ll just keep hounding us until we dance, so we might as well get this over with.”

      Taking her into his arms, he said, “Just what every guy wants to hear.”

      She laughed. “Sorry.”

      She fit so perfectly and felt so good that Cullen nearly groaned. Luckily, Wendy tilted her head back and said, “You’re a big hit.”

      He laughed. “Thanks to my love of candy and my candy posse.”

      “Rumor has it you paid for the party.”

      He shrugged. “It’s the least my father and I can do.”

      “Well, that gesture’s gone a long way to improve employee morale.”

      “Nobody thinks the plant is closing anymore?”

      She shook her head and gave him another sweet smile. “No. Thank you.”

      “These people should be thanking you.”

      She shrugged. “Not really. I was just being a good assistant. Filling you in on things you should know.”

      He pulled back, caught her gaze. “You really can’t be that good.”

      Her pretty face scrunched in confusion, as her eyes lit with laughter. “What do you mean good?”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4Q9nRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAhodp AAQAAAABAAAAnAAAAMgAAAEsAAAAAQAAASwAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDEzOjA5 OjE3IDE3OjIxOjQ3AAAAAAOgAQADAAAAAQABAACgAgAEAAAAAQAABXigAwAEAAAAAQAACKwAAAAA AAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABFgEbAAUAAAABAAABHgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQA AAABAAABJgICAAQAAAABAAAOOQAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABI AAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwP FRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQO Dg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEI AIAAUQMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAb/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEF AQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMi cYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj 80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcG BTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kST VKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/ 2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AM5nTLMOnbs3OvsY0ny/d/tuR8p9l9/qudNohpc36JLQ1n/UMa1dHfjstpcw naTwR2I1CwrMUUXOabWteIJae4jQtUc+7Nj2pgxnrMZW4BzN0uBEyf3fzfaum6dRS2se0F0DWFm9 LwRe313n2zAA5MLXbZXS3cWuLQOGN3H/ADW+5Q7lnA0dBgrNRkw4cBVMrZBBAM8pY+dhZLC6i1to Gjtp1B/ls+kxQs2vJE6IqA6uJ1ajHrqNjWAWdvNYWPW51ovLYI37f+pat3rr62sDS8NLvazcYlx0 0WVYWVhrBq1uhU+IGvqthOEOYxSnpGM4Sl5CXzOhdiY32OnKxH2WNttNJFmzUtaLPU/QF/2b3b/0 F7/V9H9Z/m1FuI04GTkPc9l+K+lppLYbtuJY1xc737/Z+5/1aT+qZ9m1xu2kEv3VsYwueW+kbbDU 1vqWel+j3oZyslzLq3WFzcgsN26CXGrWn3H3fo935qlekiMtCyNwbvi9PHco/L/mkSSSSTK//9Ag ysy7IZiUNLrrTtY2Y151/k7VtUdMdhUX29Vcy7HAa4BrS7Y6dY3B35v8lC6LiA9Y9Qj+bqeR8XbW f9+W/lNZ6FrHAulv0QJmQ7Z7fkmzohfEmJHm4XTSKiWQQ0kuAOkSg/WGrPxLMfP6dRZfU0/rVdbt HSdAKmNe9ln/AA38yrAqcy2DoSA4fP8A8yVg5xrYK4JedGtaCST5Qq4NeLbIsb04eJiW9YyrsyzG f0806VvcIte6SHNdYwM/m9v8tXeqtzKa6acMk22sdZY/lzWMhp9Nv599jnfo1fsvtqrDryGMcQ3U zBP0Q/8AdQc+6mrNpc+wBoqLQTwSC06f5yN2bpVEdfq8kb6L8mK2WMtqbNtmUCb7HE7NjXe5rGV/ S9np1pntcSVs9ZvZc5sAFw5eAJj93cswCSrWKQEdQ088bnobpAx1rOOPA8IwucRq38VL0wn2tCec kT0ZcHN83hjw48pEekZCOQD+77glwsfVP7v4pJe1JN4wzf6S57/Pf8zF/wB4/wD/0ep6LjubkPyH NIa5u1n8qPc7atamsud7jpJIHmnc1oaQdCBA7Qp1cTMgyQfimLidWvm9ObdD6ztsaNJ4PkVlekHy 17Yc2RHBB/ku/Nc1dA8jSeO65q5mbf1bJf094O22tltNs+ntLGl91T2+5j2/+CqLIBp4lnwyOoJ2 FocrIy62FltgI4/SskOH/G1+m/8AsKv0TpNuVnPzRa57agWNNkuaNwj9ELHPdsqbu9L+Wulowrw8 es4Fg4An8VZc2th9oAJ8NJ+5GMT1XZM0aoAX3DjZvQcOxleM2WFzwXPB9xgOLv8AOVHJ+p9gl2Jk DyZaP/RjP/ILoMd3q5bjtllfta8ajdH6T/N9quOa34qS2trbwGR0DrdLdwoFw/4J4cf8w7HLOya8 7GZ6mRj20VzG+xha2fDcfavTXVtPYIGRU19Tq3AOY5sOaQCD8ikKVZfLvtI8Qkuz/wCbPSv9DX/m hJO4R3RxHs//0vRrahZBB4MkeI8E7WtadZHxUgwKQEcKNcisqc4Q12nmNVm9FY6yzNvezZuyXsYD zsrDaQ7+26vctdx8eyFj41OPu2DV7i5zidxJJnn93+QlWx7JEqBHdi8uHAJI4AVa7FzMj27vs9Z+ kRq8jwb+6tIDXiSsDCp622hjSbZ9JpsFu4E3N9IFm++/Is92659tuP6Nb/TSq+qLdWjFqx6xXUNr RoESFk1WdeF0va7Y97J3tboQMZuQ0NZLWY39M9KzfV7/APCW/q/rH/X33V0gWsFeTc+67TYaHl/2 drHOJ9Ta22v9Hs/V/R/4r1DSrb5GiDd9EfBZ/rdcDK3WMf6gP6YNY3Z6ZFfvq9Ntzn5PqB/qM2We n+n/AEf8wrNH2w4wObHrlzpaA1oDQYYG7C76X0/ppKYQfBJTSRQ//9P0gPJ4CcbkzSpSo1yzphKd Ae8kJPTHjXxB+8I9ChrdUx7snHFdMlweHQH7JG17PcdNzP0nvr/PYq1eJ1KrJpAte7Frc2dz9527 G+u2zc9u7dbu9H9Fb6f+C+z1rUEQouSU4dvSeoPsbow10X25GPLhzkG/1t7XNLf0W/8ARf8Ahy3/ AECVnT+qPeLQX+o0shzrpOxrsj1PYbfZe9mTtr23/wDX8b+bq0Lq/wBYcWWvY5zQ+wMGgaP0fqOd uH7v5v8A20hPLRM5Ru5b6cGDuijbsn3fpLK0mQYwRvv04ZNUY3Vq22EWP9W0tcHutBaHBtVTXXV7 3