Harlequin Holiday Collection - Four Classic Seasonal Novellas

had a lot to drink.” He finally turned his head, meeting her stare. “But I never had any intention of doing anything. And nothing happened. I fell asleep on the floor and she crashed next to me. I never touched her. Then the next morning you showed up, and everything went to hell.”
    Holly nodded, leaning closer, until their hips touched and her arm brushed his. The sweet, cinnamon-scent of her hair filled his head as she leaned close to press a soft, gentle kiss on his mouth. It ended quickly though the sensations continued.
    “I’m sorry. So sorry. I didn’t even give you a chance to explain.”
    “I don’t know if I would have. I was mad, Holly. Immature, angry, wanting more from a relationship than you were ready to give. Maybe I intentionally sabotaged us.”
    “And maybe that was the right thing to do.”
    It was his turn to stare in surprise.
    “We were at different places in our life. Nineteen and twenty-year-olds, nowhere near ready to commit to anyone or even understand what a genuine commitment meant.”
    “And now?”
    She smiled, her beautiful face cast in light and shadow from the flames. “Now…maybe we’re ready.”
    “You’re sure?”
    Nodding, she said, “I sent you away because I was sure I would fall in love with you again if you stayed.”
    “I know.”
    “I was afraid of that. But I’m not afraid of it anymore.”
    Reaching for her, Zach cupped her cheek. “I’ll never give you reason to be.” Wrapping his arms around her, he caught her mouth in a deep, breathless kiss that said all the other words he hadn’t yet gotten around to saying. Sweet words. Tender words. Heartfelt words.
    Holly shifted on the couch, sliding across his lap to straddle him. The emotional moment shifted, changed, becoming heated and sultry as she stared down at him.
    “I want you, Zach. Make love to me.”

Chapter Twenty
    If Holly had been twenty and unsure of herself, she might not have believed Zach when he told her what had happened the night they broke up. But she was no longer a girl. She was a woman who’d experienced life and sex, truth and lies.
    She knew he was telling the truth.
    “Make love to me,” she repeated.
    Zach’s hungry expression was all the answer she needed. They made love in front of the fire, bathed in the amber light of the flames and in the twinkle of the sparkly lights of the Christmas tree.
    And this time, after they’d exploded in pleasure, Holly didn’t immediately start wondering how to make him go. Because she only wanted him to stay.
    “I do love you,” she whispered.
    Still sprawled naked on the thick rug in front of the fireplace, the flames sending shadow and light dancing across his golden skin, he smiled.
    “I love you, too, Holly.”

    On Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Holly woke up blissfully happy. Not only because Zach had spent another night in her bed—in her arms—but because this was also the day Weekend Getaway was supposed to air the story on the inn.
    She paced anxiously until it started, then held her breath as the opening credits rolled, her hand clenched in Zach’s. Her grandparents watched just as avidly. Until finally, it was there, on the screen, their beautiful home all decked out in its holiday best.
    Holly groaned when she saw herself onscreen. “Oh God, look at my hair.”
    “Well, you had been wrestling a corpse all day,” Zach said.
    She playfully socked him in the upper arm and then shushed him, hanging on every word the reporter uttered. Candy described her visit as the pictures changed and every word she said made Holly’s smile grow.
    “The Hollyberry Inn is one of the most delightful treasures to be found anywhere near Chicago,” Candy concluded as the video from the inn ended and the image returned to the studio.
    Holly wanted to dance for joy. At least until the final moments of the show, when the studio hostess spoke. “You know,” she said to Candy, “I’ve been following an interesting story about those diamond thieves from Chicago. Weren’t they found in the same town where this little inn is located, and one of them had killed the other? I don’t suppose you ran into them on your visit?”
    Her grandmother gasped. Zach leaned forward on the couch. And Holly froze.
    Smiling at her colleague, Candy then turned to look at the camera. She seemed to be staring directly at Holly and her eyes twinkled under the lights. “How exciting, seeing a jewel thief at the Hollyberry Inn.” She laughed softly, but