Page 12 of Wintertime Heat (Holiday 1)

My voice vanishes as I see the man who had just been standing in my small classroom, on the front page of the magazine.

“That’s him,” I breathe.

Scarlett tries to snatch the magazine back from me, but I held her off, drinking in his image. There was no coat in this picture, just a midnight-blue power suit and those deadly eyes looking straight at the camera, his hands in his pockets. His hair had not been styled, but it looked like someone had run their hands through those thick strands, and I pursed my lips together, tightly.

“He’s amongst the top ten richest bachelors in Boston. He’s a freaking billionaire.” Scarlett’s voice held awe.

I hand her back the magazine, my tone dry “So, that’s how he can afford those wheels. Whatever, money can’t buy you a personality.”

“Live in the real world, Abby.” Scarlett kicks at me, forcing me to dodge her heeled boot.

“Will you stop hitting me all the time!” I glare at her.

My roommate just rolls her eyes at me, “This man is wasted on you, Abby.”

“He’s not anything on me,” I manage to say through gritted teeth. “Now can we please go home?”

Of course, that didn’t mean anything to Scarlett, who kept pestering me with questions about him on the way back.

“For the last time, I don’t know whether he’s single or not!” I growl at her.

Undeterred, Scarlett flips through the magazine at the interview with him, “He doesn’t like to talk about his ex-wife. Maybe I should Google her up.” She mused.

I wanted to bang my head against the steering wheel.

“Please stop telling me about his life. I don’t want to know.” I groan.

“Why the hell not? The man is sex on a stick. What don’t you like about him?” Scarlett says in a demanding voice.

I had no answer for her.

What could I tell her?

That the way he looked at me made me feel like he was undressing me with his eyes? Or the way his hand had felt on my skin melted something inside me?

Hands tightening on the steering wheel as I take a sharp left-turn, I snap out, “You wanted to set me up on a date with your friend, didn’t you? What happened to that?”

Scarlett blinks, “I thought you said Travis was a dick.”

“I said he looks like a dick,” I corrected her.

My friend makes a noise, “Yeah. He tends to give off that impression but he’s actually really nice. And he’s wonderful in bed.”

“And you would know that how exactly?” I eye her.

She laughs, airily, “One time, in Bali. Just once. You don’t mind, do you?”

I sigh at her worried tone. I just needed instant sex that would put me in control of my raging hormones, “No, I don’t mind. Set me up with him.”

As we reach home, I get out of the car, and peek at her over the hood, “Just how good?”

Scarlett just smiles.

Chapter 5

Unfortunately, Travis was out of town for two whole weeks, and so my date had to be moved to Friday.

I wasn’t greatly upset by that. I had never been one of those casual sex people, but it had been two whole years for me in this dry spell and that was probably why I got so riled up by a man’s casual touch. So, it was a decision that I made.

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