Midnight Angel Read Free Page B

fell enticingly from each potted plant and fern,
while poinsettias were strategically placed around the room, their
beauty enhancing the holiday atmosphere.
    “Do you want to stick with me?” she asked
Nicole, knowing her friend was still fairly new to town and didn’t
know everyone yet.
    Nicole shook her head. “Actually, I see
someone I want to talk to,” she said and, with a brief wave,
disappeared into the crowd.
    So much for needing a guiding hand
,
Holly thought wryly. She paused to hand her jacket to the coatcheck
girl before heading inside.
    No sooner had she glanced around than her
first challenge came to greet her. “Holly, I’m so glad you changed
your mind and decided to come,” John said, grasping her hand in
his. “You look beautiful.”
    “Thank you.” She took in his polished look,
the pressed chinos and collared shirt paired with a polo sweater,
and smiled. “You look pretty good yourself.” She kissed his
clean-shaven cheek, his familiar aftershave surrounding her.
    “Well, well, look who decided to show up
after all.”
    Dylan’s deep voice sent sizzling awareness
shooting through her veins, leaving no part of her body unaffected.
While John’s scent had been warm,
Dylan’s
cologne caused a
distinct path of heat to travel along her nerve endings and settle
in the pit of her stomach.
    “I thought you said you’d be missing this
shindig.” He cocked his head and pinned her with a knowing
grin.
    “You two have seen each other already?” John
asked, obviously surprised.
    Dylan was the one subject John never
broached with Holly. He knew the history. He’d been through school
along with them, but John and Holly had begun dating once they’d
returned home as adults. As if by mutual agreement, they’d left
Dylan behind and started fresh. But Holly realized that Dylan had
always been with her even when she wasn’t aware of it.
    She wondered if Dylan had heard she and John
were an item. She wondered if he’d even care. After clearing her
throat, she tackled John’s comment. “Dylan stopped by the office
this afternoon.”
    “I wanted her to promise me a dance
tonight,” Dylan said with that sexy look back in his gaze.
    Obviously he hadn’t heard anything about her
and John being a couple. She winced and jumped to explain his
comment to John. “Actually, Dylan came by for a flu shot.”
    She didn’t want John to get the wrong idea.
Or was it the right one?
Holly wondered, her traitorous
heart beating hard in her chest because Dylan was near. Obviously
the old feelings weren’t gone. Not even the anger or sense of
betrayal, which still lay in her heart like lead, could dilute the
spike of desire he caused.
    “The good doctor didn’t mind giving me one,
either.” Dylan grinned and rubbed the affected spot just below his
hip. He laughed until his gaze fell to Holly’s hand, still enclosed
in John’s grasp.
    His eyes opened wide, and an uncomfortable
silence fell until finally Dylan spoke. “This is the woman you’ve
been seeing? The one you’ve been trying to get to settle down?” His
voice sounded hoarse to Holly’s ears as he cocked his head to one
side, understanding dawning.
    Instinct had her pulling her hand back from
John’s.
    “And you’re the reason she’s been avoiding
commitment. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before,” John
said, sounding certain of his conclusion.
    “Excuse me.” Holly interrupted the two men.
“But could you both stop speaking about me like I’m not here?” She
turned to John first. “Dylan has nothing to do with my feelings
about commitment,” she assured him. But her queasy stomach and
sweaty palms made her wonder if her words were a lie.
    “I know you want to believe that, but I’m
ready to move forward with you or without you.” John turned to
Dylan. “How long are you in town for?”
    Dylan looked as stunned as she felt as he
replied, “Through Christmas, but—”
    “That’s decided, then.”
    “What is?” Holly