His Holiday Bride. Elaine Overton

looked at the endless sidewalk ahead of her and realized she really didn’t know. When she’d left the hotel all she wanted to do was get away from Dashuan, the handsome stranger whose name she now knew was Paul, her family and anyone else who knew her. She wanted to go off by herself and cry into a pillow. She felt like a complete fool and that was not something she wanted to share with anyone.

      How could he? It was the question she’d been asking herself repeatedly for the past hour. How could Dashuan betray her like that? He was supposed to be the one. Mr. Right. When, in fact, he was Mr. Incredibly Wrong.

      She sighed. “I’m just going to check in to another hotel.” She glanced up into his concerned brown eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll call my family as soon as I check in and let them know I’m okay.”

      “What hotel? I’ll give you a ride.”

      She frowned, getting a little irritated by the man’s insistence to help where none was wanted. “Really, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

      “You’re kidding, right? Two o’clock on a Saturday morning and you’re out walking the streets of downtown L.A. You’re lucky if you don’t get picked up for prostitution.”

      “You son of a—” Without a thought of the consequences, Amber took a swing at the man and it felt good. She put into it all the anger and frustration she was feeling and still missed by a mile as he ducked neatly out of the way of her arm.

      “I’m sorry. That came out wrong.” He grabbed her arms to hold her still. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

      She struggled for a few moments more, before realizing it was getting her nowhere.

      He whispered her name close to her ear and she felt her whole body melt. “Let me help you.”

      “You can help me by taking me to a nearby hotel.”

      Paul was sure Luther would not appreciate him dumping the girl at some anonymous hotel and abandoning her to her fate. But if she was determined, there was nothing he could do to stop her. “All right.” Reluctantly he released her. “I’m parked right over here.”

      He led her back to the car and watched her pretty little nose twitch as if she suddenly smelled something bad.

      She studied the modest car as if seeking some secret message. “What exactly do you do for a living?” she asked. Accepting the open door he offered, she climbed into the passenger seat.

      Paul quirked an eyebrow, suddenly remembering that this was a girl who chased a wealthy basketball player all the way from Detroit. Just another gold digger.

      “I’m in security,” he answered vaguely, having no desire to replace Dashuan Kennedy’s checkbook with his own. She was beautiful, there was no denying that. And probably as shallow as a saucer, he thought, as he pulled away from the curb.

      “So, where do you want me to take you?” he asked, pulling back out into traffic.

      “I don’t care, just somewhere nice and…reasonably priced.” She yawned, relaxing back into the seat of the small car.

      Paul headed in the direction of the airport, thinking to drop her someplace that had shuttle service to the airport terminals, so she wouldn’t have far to go later that morning. He still didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone in a hotel, but he didn’t want to stay in her line of vision too long, either.

      He’d met women like Amber Lockhart many times. Women who used their pretty faces to manipulate men. He glanced at her again and wondered what man would be strong enough to resist an angel. Certainly not himself. No, it was best to leave her at an airport hotel and wish her a safe flight home.

      He glanced at the shopping bags and purse she’d tossed in the backseat and wondered where her luggage was. She’d probably left it behind at Kennedy’s penthouse. What had upset her so badly that she would leave without her luggage?

      “I know it’s not my business, but what exactly happened between you and Kennedy?”

      She snuggled into the car seat and yawned again. “I caught him in bed with someone else,” she said drowsily.

      Paul knew the confession was a sign of just how exhausted she really was. The woman he’d met earlier would’ve never revealed that embarrassing information. Paul knew she was too tired to edit out what she was saying, and he ruthlessly took advantage of it.

      Of course, finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman would be devastating to a woman like Amber, a woman so sure of her appeal. But something about the whole thing just felt more intense than a casual one-night stand. “Did you know her?” he asked.

      “Yes.” She yawned and he could tell she was fading away.

      “Was she a close friend of yours?” he asked, sure he was on the right track. Nothing hurt worse than a close friend sleeping with your mate.

      “No.” She yawned one final time. “It was his personal trainer, Kelvin Landy.”

      Kelvin? Paul’s eyes widened, realizing the implications of the statement. Dashuan Kennedy, the famous basketball player, caught in bed with another man! His mind quickly sifted through everything that happened earlier. It explained the fear Paul had seen in Kennedy’s eyes. Something like this would ruin the guy’s reputation and possibly his career.

      Keep your mouth shut, bitch. Dashuan’s last words to Amber kept replaying in his head. He glanced over at his passenger, who was now asleep, She was so helpless, alone in an unfamiliar city, and yet her pride refused to accept his help.

      With one final glance at the vulnerable form, he made his decision. He pulled all the way over into the right lane and took the next exit. They were no longer headed toward the airport. Plans had changed. He wondered briefly what she would say when she woke up and realized what he’d done. He was not looking forward to it.

      Chapter 3

      Why, Amber thought, did the greatest revelations in life come too late to be useful?

      She sat curled in a ball in the car with her eyes pressed tightly closed. She wanted to continue to appear asleep even though she’d been awake for several minutes now. Soon, she thought, they should arrive at a hotel and she would be free of Paul Gutierrez, the handsome stranger who’d appeared out of nowhere to rescue her.

      She made a mental note to thank him when they parted company. Looking back on the situation she wasn’t sure she would’ve been able to get away from Dashuan so easily without his help. And all she’d given him in return was attitude, which was strange considering men like him usually brought out only the best in her.

      A flirtatious smile, the wink of an eye—that was how she would typically greet gorgeous men. Not with tear-filled eyes and a flippant tongue. She could still see the concern shining in the depths of those soft brown eyes. As nice as he was to look at, Amber could only hope never to see him again after tonight.

      She would check into an anonymous room tonight and be on a flight to…somewhere tomorrow. Not home. The humiliation of returning to her family under these circumstances would just be too great.

      No, she needed some time alone, maybe on a tropical beach somewhere far from Opal’s self-righteous “I told you so.” Far away from Ruby’s temper, and Pearl’s sympathetic eyes. In other words, far, far away from her sisters.

      The image of what she’d seen earlier that night was not only seared on her brain, it seemed to be on some kind of auto replay that she could not stop.

      The look of horrific surprise on Dashuan’s face when she’d thrown open the bedroom door to find his naked body kneeling over another. The look of shock on the face of his lover. And she could only imagine her own frightful expression as her brain tried to reason out exactly what her eyes were seeing. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. It was like a magic trick, she thought. When the mind knows that what it is seeing cannot be and yet there it is…right in front of you.

      She