Home for Christmas: New Adult Holiday Dark Suspense Romance by Emme Rollins

salad?”
    “Ham and cheese,” she replied, remembering yesterday’s coffee shop sandwich. Two sandwiches in as many days! It was like a Christmas miracle. “And a chocolate milk?”
    “You got it.” He dropped her a rather sexy wink and he felt that hot/cold feeling again. Maybe she’d been wrong to distrust him after all? “You’re going to be here when I get back, right? You’re not going to disappear?”
    “Not if you’re coming back with sandwiches.” She grinned. She couldn’t help it.
    She watched Nick standing in line, thinking about her original private detective theory. Maybe he wasn’t what he seemed? She had that cop-vibe from him—she could smell it a mile away—but perhaps that was just because he worked in security? And, even if Lewisonville wasn’t as small as Millsberg, it was still a pretty small town. So she’d seen him around—was that really so strange? She was more than a little paranoid, she knew, given her circumstances.
    Maybe the handsome stranger was just that—a handsome stranger. Maybe he looked at her because... well, she wasn’t going to entertain that thought. She couldn’t afford to be thinking about things like cute guys at a time like this. If she wanted to think about cute guys, she would have taken Robbie up on his offer of TV dinners the other night. Robbie was cute enough, if kind of nerdy. She just couldn’t let any guy out of the friend zone right now.
    But this guy, this Nick—even Chloe Clay, twice their age, had caught scent of the man’s excess testosterone. She guessed he was probably a little older than she was, but not much. Still, he seemed older. He acted older. Maybe that was what Chloe Clay was picking up on. Or maybe it was the biceps, the cleft in his chin, the dazzling smile and the bright brown eyes? And Ginny didn’t even want to know if the woman had noticed the way the man’s jeans fit him like a second skin.
    It wasn’t easy to resist a guy like that, especially when he winked at you. And glanced over to make sure you were still sitting at the table where he left you. And bought you ham and cheese sandwiches and chocolate milk. Chloe Clay had made it pretty clear—even in front of Ginny—that Nick could butter her muffin if he wanted to, but here he was, buying Ginny lunch. She couldn’t help feeling a little smug about that.
    Ginny saw Robbie frowning at her across the counter as Nick paid for their food. She knew he was concerned, and she was still concerned too, a little. But the more she considered Nick and his actions, the more she thought her own paranoia had gotten the better of her. She didn’t know who he was, but maybe she could finally find out, once and for all.
    Nick came back and put their sandwiches on the table, along with a small bag of kettle chips, another Diet Coke, and her bottle of chocolate milk.
    “Thank you,” she said through a mouth full of ham and cheese, already digging in. He watched her, looking amused. “I keep seeing you around...”
    It was the best she could do, without coming out directly and asking him.
    “Same here.” He gave her a rueful smile. “Small town.”
    Ginny chewed her sandwich thoughtfully. It wasn’t as good as the coffee house sandwich had been—or maybe, after having a ham and cheese sandwich two whole days in a row, she was already becoming jaded—but her stomach was grateful, nonetheless.
    “How old are you?” she wondered aloud.
    “Twenty-two.” He took a swig of his Diet Coke, confirming her suspicions. Not much older than her then. “You’re eighteen?”
    “Almost nineteen.” She opened her chocolate milk, drinking out of the carton.
    “When’s your birthday?” he asked.
    “...June.” She took another swig of milk, flushing.
    “Almost.” He grinned, making air quotes with his fingers.
    “Close enough.” She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed.
    “You’re really very talented,” he said, making her flush even more. “It’s not fair to all the