Kissing Under the Mistletoe by Marina Adair Page A

follow.”
    Jordan turned to Regan, her expression serious, exposing just how difficult a task this was going to be. “The DeLucas’ reach goes a lot further than wine here, Regan. They own half the businesses in town. And what they don’t own, their friends do or they’re on the board.” Like ChiChi reigning supreme over Holly’s school. God, what a mess. “You going to war with him publicly will only hurt
your
family, not his.”
    Jordan was right. And as far as Regan was concerned, Holly had already suffered enough. So if it meant Regan had to let go of the anger and resentment and the dream that involved her knee and his nuts, then so be it.
    “Okay, get Gabe to tolerate me, win the town over, find a job, a new forever home that allows kitties, and all before Sunday when I have to turn over my keys to that ass—”
    “Mary over at the Barrel Buyer is looking for an administrative assistant,” Frankie cut in, saving her a quarter. “It doesn’t come with corporate living or a car, and it’s not as sexy as marketing, but it’s a job. I’ll give her a call and see if she can meet you tomorrow morning.”
    “And you know you could always crash with me and Ava. The more people in the house, the greater the chance that my daughter won’t get a lump of coal and a box of condoms in her stocking.”
    Regan couldn’t form words past the emotions in her throat. Not ones that would express what she was feeling, anyway. She’d only just met these ladies and here they were, putting their reputations on the line to get her interviews.Offering her places to stay. For the first time in forever, she didn’t feel so alone.
    “Oh, no,” Frankie said, leaning back as far from Regan as she could. “You shed one tear, and I’m out of here. I’m serious. I do not do crying.”
    “I’m not crying,” Regan sniffed.
    “Then what the hell is that?” Frankie’s hands swirled to encompass Regan’s entire face.
    “This is the look of a woman who is too happy and too mature to take a pool stick to that behemoth, gas-guzzling man-truck in the parking lot.”
    Regan could single out Gabe’s car at more than a hundred yards. Not a difficult skill, since it had shown up at every interview she’d had.
    “And a happy holiday to you too, Vixen,” came a voice behind her.

CHAPTER 4

    G abe dragged a chair over from the next table and dropped into it. This was his town, these were his friends, and Regan needed to understand that. “Thought I’d come over and see how St. Helena’s newest resident was faring.”
    Actually, he’d come over to see if his brother’s plan was even possible. Not that he would ever sleep with a woman to gain an edge on anything. It wasn’t how he was raised. But Nate had a point. Gabe had met Regan once, and, six years later, he could still remember exactly what she had looked like, exactly what she had smelled like. If Richard kept in contact with anyone from his past, it would be her.
    “Jordan, Frankie,” he acknowledged. When he looked at Regan, heat flickered. He wondered if she was experiencing the same stupid attraction that he was, or if she had a bad case of heartburn.
    “Gabe.” Her smile was all sunshine and roses, but she spit out his name like it was a four-letter word. Yup, she definitely had it bad for him.
    “Regan?” He feigned surprise. “I almost didn’t recognize you with that smile on your face. You look so serene and...tame. You must have called my guy.”
    Regan pressed her lips tightly together, but he still heard a faint “Bah Humbug” come from her general direction.
    “If you’ll excuse me, I need to be getting home.” Smile back in place, she grabbed her purse off the chair. Gabe was supposed to be winning her over, seeing if becoming friendly enough for her to open up to him was even a possibility. A hard task when all he wanted to open were the next two buttons on her blouse.
    “Ah, and here I came all the way over here to buy you a