Let Me Hold You. Melanie Schuster

his life, there was no doubting it. He was used to the ladies lining up to get with him, as egotistical as that may have seemed. He’d always been a good-looking guy as well as being a star athlete until a knee injury derailed his college career. But unlike many athletes, Roland didn’t fall into depression and despair because he had always had a back-up plan to insure a steady income.

      Besides the restaurant business, which was extremely profitable, Roland had a solid investment portfolio. His stepfather was CEO of an investment firm and he’d taught Roland and his siblings the importance of financial stability and Roland had shown a real gift for funds management. He was a triple-threat as far as women were concerned; handsome, sexy and rich and he never lacked for female companionship.

      Lately, though, he’d been looking for something more substantial in his life. It had crept up on him gradually, this feeling that there was something more to life than wining, dining and bedding the beauty of the week. The feeling got more intense every time he was around Alana and he wanted to explore it to its fullest.

      He turned off the shower and was about to leave the glassed-in stall when he heard a familiar voice calling to him from the living room.

      “Don’t come out here naked, you’ve got company.”

      He jumped and then groaned loudly. It was his nosy sister Pamela. He’d made a mistake in giving his parents the keys to his loft since she’d obviously appropriated them.

      “What have I told you about coming over when you’re not invited,” he yelled at her. “You’re gonna get mistaken for a prowler and shot in the head if you don’t watch yourself.”

      A chorus of giggles was all he heard as he went into the bedroom and dressed quickly in what he considered his driving clothes, a comfortable navy jogging suit that fitted his muscular body perfectly. The outfit looked fashionable and expensive. He carried his cashmere socks and his Italian driving moccasins into the living room and glared at Pam, who was in the kitchen brewing a pot of coffee.

      “Why are you here?” he asked irritably.

      “I came over to call shotgun,” she said cheerfully. “Unlike everyone else, I packed last night and I’m ready to roll. You know how impatient I am. I can’t stand being in the middle of a lot of last-minute scampering around. So I left. Where are your cups?”

      He grudgingly showed her the cupboard where they were stored and sat on a bar stool to don his footwear. Despite her proclivity for making mischief, Pamela was a very organized person who was always focused on her tasks, which explained why she was ready to go while the rest of the family was still making preparations to leave the hotel.

      Pam put coffee in front of him along with a plate containing a warm bagel with cream cheese and lox that she’d picked up on the way to the loft and he had to forgive her intrusion, especially when she offered to pack his bags for him. She traveled extensively in her job and she was the family pro when it came to putting a suitcase together. That didn’t mean she would do it quietly, however.

      “So why didn’t you ask Alana to come with us to Chicago?” she asked. “I know you’re gonna miss her while you’re gone.”

      “Pamela, is there any chance that you could mind your own business for a change?”

      She looked thoughtful for a moment and shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. It’s too out of character for me. I like knowing what’s going on in everyone’s lives. That’s why I’m a reporter, duh.”

      Zipping his garment bag closed, she dusted her hands together and announced that she was finished. “We can stop by Alana’s to say good-bye before we go to the hotel,” she said with a dimpled grin. “Then you can lay another hot kiss on her before you disappear. That way she’ll be longing for you to come back and you can pick up where you left off.”

      For one wild hot second, Roland thought about doing just that, but reason took over. There was no way in hell he was going to try to cop a few greedy kisses with his notoriously big-mouthed baby sister at his elbow with her handy smartphone. He would have been more than happy to grab Alana and kiss her senseless because she had the most tantalizing lips he’d ever tasted, but he wanted privacy. The concept of privacy was totally foreign to Pam.

      “Just try minding your own business for five minutes, won’t you please? It can be my Christmas present,” he said as he picked up his bags and urged her to the door.

      “Seriously? You mean I could’ve saved all the money I spent on you? Maybe I can return it,” she said. “No, on second thought, I like getting in your business. I still say you should run by Alana’s before we leave and give her something to remember you by. It’s like bookmarking your favorite site on the internet.”

      Roland swung his overnight bag so that it hit her square in the tush. When she squeaked in outrage he mumbled, “I’d like to bookmark you. Only I’d fold you in half and stick you in a dictionary right between pest and pestilence. Let’s go, woman, we’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”