Melissa McClone - Santa Brought A Son

Reed glanced at his watch. “Look’s like we’re both early. Mark wanted me to stop by before the ceremony.”

“I’ve been here for hours. I’m doing the flowers,” she said a little too quickly. “I mean, I’m a guest, too, but I’m also the florist. I have my own flower shop here in town.”

His eyes widened, but returned to normal in an instant. Strange, he had never been this calm and collected before. He’d been so shy and adoring whenever he helped her with homework. It had made her feel feminine and cherished. A way she hadn’t felt with anyone else.

But the man standing in front of her didn’t look as though he got nervous about anything or anyone. And man was the only way to describe him.

Reed Connors had gone from brainy looking and skinny to gorgeous and a hunk. Had it taken a kiss to turn him from frog to prince? She swallowed. Hard. Not that she had any intention of falling under his spell again.

Besides she’d never cared what he looked like. She’d seen beneath his being too thin with thick glasses and a bad case of acne to the caring person underneath. At least, she’d thought he’d cared. Thought he’d loved her. But she’d been wrong. About Reed, about so many things. She stared at the bouquet in her left hand.

“You stayed in Fernville?” he asked.

“I…I…we stayed.”

She waited for him to ask about Timmy. Her son.

Their son.

But Reed didn’t. Damn him. After all this time, she thought Reed would have been at least curious about Timmy. She pushed her disappointment aside for the millionth time, but a permanent sorrow bore down on her. Reed must have ice running through his veins. Nothing else would explain his actions.

But she had to remember it was for the best. No one knew the truth about her son. No one except her, Art and Reed. And she had to keep it that way.

Reed’s assessing gaze made Samantha feel tongue-tied and self-conscious in her found-on-sale-at-the-consignment-store black dress. She pushed back a stray hair that had slipped out of her French twist.

The tables had turned.

She was no longer the girl she’d been. No longer the daughter of the wealthy Browns who could never live up to the example set by her perfect older brother. Samantha had known her parents’ love had to be earned, but she never thought they could harden their hearts against her so easily and kick her out of the house when she’d told them she was pregnant, a month before high school graduation. She’d been alone, penniless and homeless. Thanks to Reed, her entire life had been altered.

Shattered.

But she had picked up the pieces, and with help from Art and his parents, moved on. She was now part of the Wilson family, and had to be careful so nothing she did would change that. But Reed’s presence was another living reminder of her biggest mistake. If Frank and Helen found out…Samantha squared her shoulders.

“Has life gotten more exciting here?” Reed asked.

“No, but I like it.”

“You never used to like it.”

“True.” In high school she couldn’t wait to leave the confines of Fernville. The small town had threatened to suffocate her and her dreams. Now someone would have to drag her away from the comfort of the town she fondly called home. “Things, people change.”

“Not you.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “You look the same. Only better.”

His compliment sent an unexpected rush of emotion through her. Her cheeks warmed, and she smoothed the skirt of her dress. “You’re only being polite.”

“I’m not,” he admitted. “You look great.”

“So do you. In your suit and everything.” Darn, the more she said the stupider she sounded. That wouldn’t do at all. So what if he wore a designer suit and expensive leather shoes and looked like a male model? Reed, of all men, should not be having this effect on her. Not that it was really an effect. She was merely flustered by his sudden appearance. “I mean—”

“I know what you mean.”

Reed and she might have been different back when, but Samantha had believed he understood her like no one else, not even Art. She could be herself and not worry whether he would like her or not. But when push came to shove, Art had been the one who’d known what she needed in a way that defied logic, not Reed. The fact he still hadn’t asked about Timmy proved how little either of them had understood or known about each other. Well, she wasn’t about to offer any information.

Reed glanced around. “You’ve done a beautiful job transforming the church into a holiday wonderland, but what happened to moving to the big city, becoming a lawyer and fighting to right the injustices of the world?”

A teenage pregnancy, being disowned by her parents, getting married the day after high school graduation, a part-time job at a grocery store and a baby at age eighteen. “Life.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Not really.” He knew some of the story, but hadn’t cared enough to do anything. And he still didn’t care. It was better this way. She had to protect her family and would—no matter what the cost. She straightened, wishing she’d worn high heels so she could even out his height advantage. “What about you? Have you taken the business world by storm?”

“Not quite. I work for a financial software company in Boston. I’m V.P. of global marketing.”

His dreams had been the most important thing in his life. More important than her and their baby. She hoped the price he’d paid was worth it. “Still planning to make your first million before you turn thirty?”

“We’ll see.”

No, he would see. There was no room for him in her life. What they had shared the spring of her senior year of high school had been like a dream—a dream come true for a few short days. He’d come back from college and she’d seen something different in him, felt things she’d never felt before and done things without a thought to the consequences or the future. Reed had swept her off her feet and stolen her heart.

Until their time together, she had never felt loved. Not by her parents who wanted her to be perfect, not by her then ex-boyfriend Art who didn’t want her unless she had sex with him, not by anyone. But Reed had made her feel the way she’d longed to feel—loved only for who she was. As if no matter what she did or said, he would still love her. Or so she thought. Samantha had been wrong. Their story hadn’t had a fairy-tale ending. No happily ever after for them.

But she was older and wiser. She would not repeat the mistakes of the past. And that’s where Reed belonged.

In her past.

The only thing he could do in the present was destroy her life by letting the truth about Timmy come out. If he wanted to pretend he didn’t have a son, fine. She was more than happy to oblige.

With her resolve firmly in place, she forced a smile. “It’s been nice seeing you, but I need to return the missing bouquet to an upset bridesmaid and light the luminaries outside the church before the guests arrive.”

“I’ll see you later,” he said.

Not if I can help it. She was going to stay as far away from Reed Connors as possible. Too much was at stake to let him near her again. “We’ll see.”

Reed watched Samantha walk down the aisle and into the vestibule. She looked sexy in her little black dress. The sway of her hips hypnotized him as if he were under a spell or dreaming. The slamming of a church door told him he was doing neither. He was wide awake.

He had believed he was over Samantha Brown and had gotten her out of his system years ago. He had.

Samantha Wilson, however, was another story. Such a beauty. Her bright, blue eyes contained an intriguing soulfulness. He was itching to pull the pins from her blond hair to see whether she’d cut the length to match her new matter-of-fact personality. Her figure had improved over the years—no cheerleader outfit necessary to show off her curves in all the right places. And she seemed more confident, self-possessed, mature. Qualities he’d never associated with her before. Qualities he found surprisingly attractive.

His system was going haywire. Talk about circuit overload. But there was no customer-service number to call. The engineering department would be no help, either. He was on his own. And for once he didn’t like it.

Instead of feeling like a man in control of his own destiny, he felt like an insecure, uncertain teenager. He hated that.

He was successful, in demand, everything he wanted to be, yet Samantha still made him feel like the dork he’d once been.

Reed took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He couldn’t allow her to get to him like this.

Once upon a time, she’d been the princess and he the court jester, strictly there for her entertainment and to make sure she didn’t fail any of her classes.

But things had changed.

She was a florist in a no-nothing town, perfectly attainable if not for her marital status. He, on the other hand, was achieving all he’d dreamed about.

Reed had everything he’d ever wanted.

Everything except Samantha.

As the new Mr. and Mrs. Mark Slayter finished their stroll down the aisle to the tune of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” the bells in the steeple chimed. Reed followed the stream of wedding guests outside to the steps of the 275-year-old church. People milled about as if it were a spring afternoon, not early December with a wintry chill in the air.

“I’m Rebecca,” an attractive woman with hazel-green eyes said to him. “Are you a friend of the groom or the bride?”

“The groom,” Reed answered. “Rebecca Donnelly, right?”

“You know my name, but I’m positive we’ve never met before.” She smiled seductively. “I would never forget a man like you.”

“You sat next to me in physics and world history senior year.” Her blank look didn’t surprise him. “Reed Connors.”

Her mouth gaped. “I’m sorry, Reed. I didn’t recognize you.”

“That’s okay,” he said. “I only lived in Fernville a couple of years. No reason for you to remember me.”

She pursed her glossed lips. “Can I make it up to you?”

“Possibly.” His hint of suggestiveness left Rebecca nodding and batting her heavily mascara-covered eyelashes.

As he made the one-block stroll to the reception, Reed searched for his friends from high school. They had to be here, but he didn’t see them. He reached the reception site, the town’s recreation center. An odd choice for a wedding reception considering he used to compete in chess tournaments there. The only difference between then and now was a new sign out front.

Inside, a framed picture of Mark and Kelli sat on an easel. A white mat with guests’ signatures and greetings surrounded the photo. Reed picked up the pen, scribbled the words “May the force be with you as you live long and prosper together” and signed his name. Mark would understand as only a former Star Wars/Trekkie geek would.

With his seat-assignment card in hand, Reed stepped through the pine-garland-trimmed entrance to the multipurpose room and was transported from the recreation center’s nondescript decor into a romantic winter wonderland.

The scent of pine permeated the air. White gauzy fabric with sparkling snowflakes on it covered the walls. Garland entwined with white lights was draped over them. Next to the dance floor stood a twelve-foot Christmas tree decorated with white lights, red bows and crystal hearts. A smiling angel, with wings spread wide, graced the top of the tall tree. Reed’s assistant had sent a gift for him, and he wondered if it was under the tree with the other wedding presents.