12 Christmas Romances To Melt Your Heart (22 page)

L
aura went
into the mall and came out loaded down with packages while her sisters, Alex and Cory waited for the robbers to jump out. She made it all the way to the car, stopped, prowled through her purse for her cell phone and made a fake call.

Chatting to no one, she leaned against the vehicle trying to look distracted. The only problem was this was their third attempt at that ploy and nothing had happened so far. The bell ringer for a local charity gave her the stink eye when she passed by her again and didn’t donate.

Laura wondered if the thieves might be working another spot, or even another mall? She didn’t practice criminal law, so she had no idea how their minds worked, but they fake shopper wasn’t working.

At the back of her father’s Escalade, she put her bags down and continued to pretend she was talking on the phone. What did a girl have to do to get robbed around here?

After ten minutes, they all agreed to meet up at a local coffee shop and discuss strategy. Alex and Cory reluctantly followed behind them. Everyone was convinced that no one would rob someone as obvious as they had been.

None of them had liked Laura’s idea from the start. Her sisters, and especially Alex, with his laid-back Texas drawl that dripped with honey, complained the entire time. He’d told her right off that coming to the mall and pretending to be a customer in hopes the two thugs would jump out to rob them had been foolish.

Now, as they left the mall, she realized how right he’d been and that made her madder. Not at him, but at herself for insisting she knew what she was doing when it was obvious she didn’t. What would she do if those two men had approached her? Laura thought she was annoyed enough to take them down herself without any assistance from the others.

Inside the crowded coffee shop, a miracle happened and they were able to pull two tables close so they could sit together.

Sipping hot chocolate, Cynthia propped her chin on her palm and sighed. “This is boring.”

“Isn’t it,” Madelyn agreed. “I’d much rather be home drinking eggnog.”

“I’m sure we all would, but then we’d be empty-handed and duped,” Laura reminded them.

“Listen,” Jacklyn said. “I’m a detective in New York and these rings of holiday robberies are tough to crack. My guess is those two men work in a much bigger group. They take turns hitting different shopping areas at different times.”

“That means they could be anywhere,” Alex said. “And tough to pin down.”

Laura closed her eyes, counted to ten then opened them. “What do you suggest?”

The amused looked on his face made her regret bringing him along.

“Go home. Tell your dad you’re wise to the set-up and enjoy the holiday.”

“And what do you think he’ll say?”

“My guess is he’ll apologize.”

“Not our father,” Kandice said. “He’d give us a lecture on how easily we gave up and that it took us long enough to discover his little trick.”

“She’s right,” Madelyn said. “Dad loves to rub things in our faces. He’s not mean about it, but he likes to prove how clever he is.”

Alex cleared his throat. “He is clever and this is his territory. You can’t get much by him in the security world. He’s on top of his profession.”

Laura stood. “That’s why we’re not giving up until we have something to show we gave this our best shot.”

“Okay,” Jacklyn said. “Let’s get back to work. We’ll stop for dinner in an hour or so.”

“What if you don’t catch the guys tonight?” Cory asked, putting a lid on his cup. “I mean, tomorrow is Christmas Eve.”

“With all this going on, I’ve almost forgotten about the holidays,” Madelyn said. “Even with all the decorations, the ringing bells and the children, I’m missing the most wonderful time of the year.”

They turned to glare at Laura.

“We’re all missing something,” Kandice said, “Home.”

Laura felt horrible. Her obsession to prove her father wrong had everyone blaming her for playing Nancy Drew. She wanted to go home too, but she wanted to be taken seriously more. “Fine, I’ll drop you all off at home.” She walked to the door, not waiting to see who followed.

As she sat behind the wheel of the SUV, Alex tapped on the driver’s side window. “You’re making the right decision. It’s best everyone goes home and puts this behind them.”

“I’m taking them home, but I’m going to continue searching.” As she rolled the window up, Laura showed him her perfect teeth in an insincere smile. “Merry Christmas.”

“Wait,” he shouted, putting his hand on the top of the window. “You can’t go alone.”

“Sure I can,” she said, raising her brows. “I’m all grown up.”

Alex knew this was a mistake and nothing, absolutely nothing, good would come from the situation. “Laura, I know you don’t like me, but if you’re determined to go through with this witch hunt, at least let me go with you.”

“It’s Christmas. Don’t you have better things to do?”

“I spend Christmas Day at my sister’s house. That’s the extent of my holidays until New Year’s Eve.”

“You’ve done all your shopping?”

“Sis does that for me.”

She stared out the windshield, and he knew she was trying to figure out a way to brush him off. Little did she know, but Alex was determined to stay with her, if for no other reason than to ease Thomas’s mind.”

“Follow me. I’ll drop off my father’s car, and we can go in yours.”

“I’m sending Cory home, too.”

She glanced at the geek who’d done little more than complain.

“Okay.”

“Are you having dinner first?”

“No,” Laura answered. “I’m not even going inside.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “I’ll follow and be waiting in the driveway.”

L
aura pulled
the SUV into the garage and watched her sisters get out of the vehicle. They were relieved to be home to a warm meal, a tree to finish decorating and a gloating father.

“You girls have fun.”

Kandice turned. “Aren’t you coming in?”

“I’m off to catch a crook.” She took her purse and shut the car door. Having no intentions of facing her father tonight, she said, “I’ll see you tomorrow sometime.”

“You always were the most stubborn of the five. Where are you going to sleep?” Kandice asked.

“I’ll get a room.”

Cynthia’s gaze turned to the end of the driveway. “Maybe you could stay with Alex,” she smiled shyly. “That would be a nice Christmas present.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Squirt, but not going to happen.”

Jacklyn followed Cynthia’s observation. “You know, she’s kind of right. The man’s a looker.”

“Yeah, but I’m not looking.”

She tossed Kandice the keys and walked down to the end of the driveway and got into Alex’s car. It felt good not to be driving and away from her sisters. “You want to go to the mall?” she asked, hoping to get down to business and then find a room.

“After we grab a bite to eat. I skipped lunch and I’m hungry.”

“What about a quick sandwich? I’d really like to get this over with as soon as possible.”

What she wanted was out of his car and as far away from him as possible. Being an attorney in Dallas meant that on occasion they ran into each other doing business. But, she made it a point to rarely visit her father’s office or have much to do with the security company.

And he was the main reason for her avoidance. She tried to stay away from Alex. Looking at him, she didn’t imagine he cared much for her, either. The times her father had company parties and socials, Laura found a reason not to be there or made herself scarce.

Alex pulled in front of a very nice local restaurant and handed the keys to the valet.

She asked, “Can we get in here without reservations?”

“I made them while I was following you home.”

She didn’t like him being that sure of the situation. “And you magically got in.”

“I’m a regular. They didn’t have a problem finding me a table.”

“With the holidays, I assumed most restaurants were booked solid with family and out-of-town guests.” Laura looked down at her outfit and cringed. “I’m really not dressed for a place like this. Maybe we should hit the closest McDonald’s.”

“You look perfectly fine.”

Liar.

They were led inside and seated at a nice table. If the manager found her attire inappropriate, he didn’t say a word when he personally showed them to their seats. There had been a few looks here and there, but not enough to make her uncomfortable.

She opened the menu. “They should throw me out.”

He folded his hands on the table and ordered a bottle of wine when the waiter showed up. “I know the owner. We’re welcome.”

Another plus.
He knows the owner
.

How many could say that about a place of this caliber? The walls reeked of money and elegance. She’d often heard that this was the place visiting movie stars and singers came when they were in town.

The waiter took their order and she chose chicken and he decided on steak. They ate in an uncomfortable silence. She didn’t think it was a good idea for him to buy her dinner because she didn’t want to feel indebted to him. So when the check arrived she tried to wrestle it out of his hand. Hard stares from the other customers had her backing off, too embarrassed to continue.

“I really don’t want you paying for my dinner,” she hissed. “It’s not necessary.”

“Consider it a Christmas present.”

“I didn’t get you anything, so it would be rude of me to accept one from you.”

“Now you’re just being silly.” He stood, holding out his hand, which she refused. “Come on, we have a crook to catch, remember?”

Laura wondered who she was fooling. As they stood outside in the cold, dreary weather she wondered why Alex was doing this. He was a pro. That meant he knew the chances of catching these guys were slim to zero and yet he went along with her. Now he’d even stopped complaining and they’d kind of sort of enjoyed dinner.

Now she felt worse. When the car came, she stepped in and turned to him. “Are you patronizing me?”

“No,” he said, twisting so he could look her in the eyes. “I thought I was helping.”

She averted her gaze. “No, you don’t. There are no criminals out there we can catch. No ring to break up and no hope of being anything but foolish in my attempt to be one up on my father.”

“I think you’re being a little rough on yourself, Laura.”

She looked at him to see if he was snickering. If he was, she’d walk home. Well, she’d actually call one of her sisters to pick her up. Her parents’ home was across town. “You know, since I was a kid my dad has found a way to show me that he was always going to be better than me at anything he put his mind to.”

“Thomas is pretty strong-willed, but he does love you.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that. I doubt his willingness to call a truce and just be a parent.”

“He knows you have tremendous talent at everything. Why do you think he’s leaving his business to you? He gets offers every day. Hell, I’ve even thrown out a proposal.”

She crossed her arms. “I wish he’d sell the damn thing.”

“It’s his gift to you girls.”

“It’s a curse and you know it. We all do. Why can’t he see that?”

“The company is all he’s ever known. He served in the military then came back, worked in security, saved his money and opened his own firm. Avery Security Service is his life.”

“I wish my mother would’ve done us all a good service and provided him with a glorious son.”

Alex laughed and Laura found the sound pleasing to her ear. “He wouldn’t have his life any other way. Having a son would’ve been too boring. Besides, there’s no guarantee a son would want the business either”

She grinned at him. “Maybe you’re right.”

Alex pulled out of the parking lot and merged into traffic. “What do you say we check out a few malls?”

“Really?”

He glanced at her. “Yes, really. But, I don’t want you going in and coming out with a bag. We don’t need you to be bait. Let’s cruise around and see if anyone looks suspicious.”

“That might get us arrested.”

“No, all of us lurking around a parking lot hoping to get robbed would more likely get us put in jail. I’d be surprised if the cops aren’t at my door tomorrow after they review the cameras.”

They headed toward the suburb of Grapevine, and Laura enjoyed the festive decorations. It didn’t normally snow at Christmas in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits when it came to holiday cheer.

They stopped at the Town Square and listened to the carolers dressed in costume. The massive tree was all red and silver with huge packages wrapped beneath the boughs. Frosty walked around handing out candy canes, and Mrs. Claus had a booth with free cookies and hot chocolate.

“This is nice,” Alex said, blowing on his drink. “I’ve never been here during the holiday season. It’s really festive.”

“You’ve never gone to the ice display at the Gaylord?”

He shook his head.

This guy really didn’t celebrate the holidays at all. She found that a little sad. “Is there just you and your sister?”

“Oh, no. I have a brother in Colorado, and another sister in Kansas City.”

“You don’t get together for Christmas?”

“No,” he said softly. “There was a bit of an argument the last holiday we all got together so now we avoid that kind of drama by just making a quick phone call or sending cards.”

“Why don’t you come to our house?”

“Your father asks every year. I felt I would be intruding, and I know I’m not your favorite person to be around.”

Embarrassment warmed her cheeks and she turned away. “That’s not true.”

“Sure it is and that’s okay. I don’t want to be where I’m not really welcome.”

“I’ve never said I didn’t like you.”

“No, but you sure do a good job of avoiding me.”

A little kid with a bright face ran between them to catch up with some other children.

“Do we still want to go looking for trouble?” she asked, trying to change the subject to something safer. How do you tell a man you’re not comfortable around him because he’s too attractive? That you’re sick of being rejected by the opposite sex? Or that all past relationships had failed?

She had a dating track record that would send anyone else to a therapist. For some reason she’d yet to meet the perfect man for her. Looking at Alex made her question her choices. She’d always claimed she didn’t like him because he was too buttoned down. Too tidy, too clean-cut.

Laura shook her head; they’d known each other for years, and yes, she’d avoided him and maybe that was for the best. She felt so inadequate in his company.

They strolled to his car then drove to the Grapevine Mills Mall. Going row by row in the parking lot, they didn’t see a single thing out of the ordinary. However, they did get stopped by a policeman.