Back to December (Ward Sisters Book 1) Read Free

know places she could afford and give her an honest answer.
    Em sidled up to the bar to ask the woman behind it for a suggestion, when there was suddenly someone at her elbow.
    “Emily?” a familiar voice asked. She turned and there was Rob, the stranger from earlier.
    “Hi. From the toy store? Rob, was it?” He nodded and smiled. “What are you doing here?”
    “I'm staying here. Are you a guest at the hotel?”
    She nodded. “I'm here on business.”
    “Must be a lucrative business,” he teased.
    She laughed. “I wouldn't know much about that. I work at a magazine. I'm covering for a coworker who had a family emergency and this is where he was staying.”
    “Were you planning to sit down? I'd like to buy you a drink, you know, to apologize for earlier.” She hesitated. “No pressure. You can tell me to take a hike.”
    “No, I wasn't intending to stay. I needed to eat dinner. I was going to ask the bartender if she had a suggestion.”
    “The food here is fantastic. Let me buy you dinner for your hassle earlier. I kept you out at Mac's later than you probably planned to be there.”
    Em's stomach grumbled. “My tummy is speaking for me, apparently.”
    “Well, then let's get your tummy something to eat.” He gestured to the hostess at the attached restaurant, who immediately seated them despite the fact that a line had formed while she and Rob spoke.
    As they sat down, he helped her out of her coat and pulled out her chair. She thanked him and Rob smiled at her again as the waiter took their coats. She liked it when he smiled at her, for some reason.
    Without his coat, she noticed his jeans were perfectly tailored and the soft, black cashmere sweater he wore hugged his body like a second skin. He looked good enough to eat and she had to take a deep breath. Em had been so wrapped up in the toy fiasco earlier, she didn't notice how gorgeous he was – great bone structure, broad shoulders, dark brown hair with just a little wave to it. She tried to avoid staring too long, so she didn't catch his eye color.
    They made small talk – nothing terribly revealing at first. He let her talk, asking questions about her family, where she was from. When she asked where he was from, he told her near Minneapolis, but that he lived in L.A. a lot of the time, when he wasn't traveling. She jokingly asked if the limo outside of the toy store was his, and he said yes.
    “Oh, sorry. I was teasing you. I wasn't trying to offend you.”
    “No offense taken. I've found it's easier to get around with a driver when I'm here.”
    “I guess it's better if someone has to do all the annoying work and you can sit back and do something more interesting.”
    “Something like that.” He laughed. Whenever he laughed or smiled, his lips did this little quirky thing, where they made him look just a little bit mischievous. Em wondered what it might be like to kiss them. She had to blink a few times and shake her head slightly to clear it.
    “You okay?” he asked with another little laugh. And there it was again, the kissable little quirk.
    She took a deep breath. “Yeah. Fine.” She felt hot and damp between her thighs, but she tried to ignore it. “So, what's good on the menu?” she asked in an attempt to steer her mind away from his mouth. He made a few suggestions, and when the waiter came around again with their wine, they ordered.
    They went back to making small talk. She asked why he was in town, and he explained that he was there both for the holiday and for a gala at the Walker Art Museum on New Year's Eve.
    “I'll probably see you there,” she noted.
    “Really? You're going, too?” She nodded. “How'd you wrangle an invite?” he teased.
    She, of course, knew that the guest list was filled with high rollers and famous faces. Since he was going and he rode around in a limo, she thought he must be financially well set. Which meant he was way out of her league.
    “I'll be working, actually,” she replied.
    “Oh, that's