Winter's Surprise Read online

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Also by AJ Renee

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Widower’s Aura Teaser

  About the Author

  Winter’s Surprise

  A Christmas Novella

  By: AJ Renee

  AJ Renee on Facebook

  AJ Renee on Twitter

  AJ Renee on Instagram

  AJ Renee on Goodreads

  www.AJRenee.com

  [email protected]

  Copyright © 2017 AJ Renee

  Edited by Angie Wade

  Cover design by Cover Me Darling

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and/or are used fictitiously and are solely the product of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to persons living or dead, places, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Also by AJ Renee

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Widower’s Aura Teaser

  About the Author

  Also by AJ Renee

  ALSO BY AJ RENEE

  ST. FLEUR SERIES:

  Widower’s Aura

  Always Mine

  Duplicity

  No Going Back (Coming 2018!)

  OTHER TITLES:

  Finding Love at the Falls… (Short Story)

  Fractured Fairytales: Book One

  Beauty Unmasked

  Winter’s Surprise

  A Deadly World Anthology: Surviving Paris (November 2017)

  Love doesn’t come easy for everyone. Sometimes it never shows, and for others it’s stolen from their lives.

  Michelle Harper quit trying to find love after a string of failed dates. Sure, her life hadn’t turned out quite like she expected, but she was done trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. She was perfectly happy filling her life with her love of cooking.

  Weeks before Christmas, a chance encounter brings Jake Smith into her life. The spell of the season weaves around her, and she’s quickly caught under some mistletoe with the handsome stranger. When Michelle can’t keep Jake off her mind, she realizes she’s gone too far.

  With her heart on the line, she can only wait and see if the magic of the holiday season will bring her the best gift of all… love.

  Angie, thank you for putting up with my crazy. There are no words to express how much I cherish your friendship.

  Snow fell over Michelle’s hometown, and it was a magical sight, romantic even.

  Romance… she wasn’t sure what that was anymore. She had an empty home to go to, no husband or kids, not even a pet that waited for her. She didn’t expect this of her life at thirty-three. Like many young girls, she used to dream of the perfect man, kids, and dog playing in the backyard.

  “Chelle? When are you going home?” her coworker and best friend called from the door, breaking into her thoughts.

  Michelle turned from the wonderland outside in time to catch Janey rubbing her round belly. She was days from popping and refused to rest.

  “When are you going to put your maternity leave in?” Michelle asked, leaning farther back into her chair.

  “Shut up,” Janey warned with a glare. “You know I’m not risking Bobby. He’ll be here soon enough.”

  “Well you know I don’t have any kind of social life to risk by getting some work done in the quiet. Go on home before Eric calls me looking for you.”

  Janey opened her mouth to argue but suddenly grabbed her side and gasped.

  “You okay, honey?” Michelle asked, her hands going damp with fear. She forced herself to remain seated. Any time Janey experienced a Braxton Hicks contraction, and any of us in the office jumped to help her, she would rip off our heads.

  “Yu—up,” said Janey. After a moment, her features smoothed. “Okay, I’m going to head home before Eric blows up your phone. Please don’t stay here too late?”

  Michelle smiled. “Yes, Mom!”

  After flicking her off, Janey turned and stopped before looking over her shoulder. “You should come to dinner tomorrow. My brother will be in town and—”

  “Nope. You, Janet McCleod, need to stop right there.”

  “Chelle—”

  “Janey—”

  “Mmm…” Janey whimpered. “This isn’t…over. Stupid Brax—ton…Hicks. Bye.”

  Michelle watched Janey breathe through her complaint before Janie shot her a dirty look and wobbled away. She shook her head at her friend’s retreating form and turned back to her computer. She hoped to get some of the administrative duties done that had only piled up during the day.

  Two hours later, she shut off her computer and grabbed her wool coat and purse. It was now dark outside, and from what she had seen, the snow had taken a break from coating the streets.

  After a quick wave at security, she walked out the doors. Wanting to send Janey a text, Michelle reached into her pocket for her phone, but it wasn’t there. She stopped on the salted sidewalk and rummaged through the inside of her purse. Before she could find it, she was knocked off balance.

  She threw her arms forward to catch her fall, but it only made things worse. “Ow!” Michelle yelped and rolled to her side. She cupped her wrist to her chest and took a deep breath. Her knees ached from the impact with the cold concrete, and tears stung the backs of her eyes from the pain in her wrist.

  “I am so sorry! Are you okay?” a velvety voice asked from above her.

  Michelle opened her eyes and glared at the man. “In a hurry much?” It didn’t matter that she couldn’t see him with the streetlight glowing around his head. He was anything but an angel for trying to walk through her.

  “I wasn’t looking where I was going! I’m so sorry. Here, let me see?”

  She pulled her wrist away from the stranger, the movement making her feel like a train ran her over. “Are you a doctor?”

  “No—”

  “Then n—”

  “Don’t be stubborn. I said I was sorry. I’ve had enough hockey injuries to recognize a break.”

  He knelt by her side and grabbed her elbow with a gentleness she hadn’t expected. Michelle took that moment to study his face. His voice was sexy, but his face was sculpted by the Greek gods.

  Pushing the thought aside, she watched him
slip her glove off and begin to test her wrist. The pain was subsiding, but an ache that didn’t belong to any normal joint made itself clearly known.

  His eyes met hers. “What’s your name?”

  “Michelle.” She wasn’t quite sure what was happening, but her words weren’t her own. They were breathy and needy, unlike her usual sure-and-steady voice. This stranger was affecting her like no other ever had in the past.

  “Michelle, I’m Jake, the dipshit that knocked you over because I wasn’t watching where I was going.” He moved her wrist around and smiled. “Good. My nonexpert opinion is that you sprained it. Does it hurt a lot?”

  “Not as bad as when I first landed on it.”

  “That’s really good. No numbness or nausea?” He ran his thumb along her skin and goose bumps spread up her arms.

  Michelle swallowed hard. “Um… no? It just feels tender and aches.”

  “Okay, good. If it gets worse, I would have it X-rayed. Of course, that is only my advice, seeing as I’m not a doctor.” Jake winked, and his eyes sparkled with amusement.

  She couldn’t figure out the color of his eyes. On this darkened sidewalk, they appeared to be a mix between blue and green. His hand cupped her uninjured arm’s elbow, and her heart sped up.

  “Here, let me help you up. I don’t want you to freeze from sitting on this cold, hard ground.”

  Jake pulled her up and toward him with no effort. The only places their bodies touched were his hands on her elbow and waist. Their warm breaths puffed out into the cold air and neither spoke.

  He scanned her face, and his eyes landed on her lips. “Can I buy you a coffee to say I’m sorry?”

  “You’ve already said you’re sorry,” Michelle whispered.

  His eyes met hers again. “I did… how about coffee just because?”

  “I’d like that,” Michelle told him without a thought.

  Jake’s smile lit up his face, and his pearly white, straight teeth shown down on her. She wondered for a moment what he wore under his own wool jacket.

  “Would you like to go to Sara’s Mugs and Stuff or do you prefer another place?” Michelle’s stomach took the next moment to rumble loudly. Her uninjured hand went to her stomach as she felt her face warm. “Sorry.”

  “You’re hungry. Even better.” Jake winked and urged her down the sidewalk. “I happen to be starving too. I was in such a rush to fill the void, I ran a beautiful woman over in the process. I was on my way to grab a sub at Lukas’s, and I know he serves good coffee—” Jake looked around him suspiciously and whispered, “Don’t tell Sara I said so.”

  “And risk that she will stop making her brownies? No thanks!” Michelle said with wide eyes. Sara was a woman in her seventies, and she made the best pastries in town. People came from all around to eat her award-winning brownies.

  “Oh man… those brownies! What do you think she puts in them?” Jake asked.

  Michelle’s mouth watered at the simple thought of the brownies. “Fairy dust and magic.”

  Jake chuckled and helped her over a mound of snow. He slipped her arm into his. “Careful now, we wouldn’t want you to fall.”

  Michelle stopped and gave him a pointed stare. “Oh, really?”

  “Really. You could sprain your wrist if you land wrong.” Jake patted her hand.

  “Aren’t you the charmer,” she said, feeling completely affected by this stranger.

  These things didn’t happen to Michelle. Her life was simple and routine. Jake slamming into her was quite the opposite. Then again, he was different than all the men who had come in and out of her life.

  “Is it working?” he asked and cast her a shy side glance. It seemed Michelle wasn’t the only one not affected by whatever spell was weaving this turn of events.

  Michelle looked to the sky as she pretended to mull it over. “I don’t know. I do promise knocking me down a second time will not work again.”

  “Damn, that was plan b.”

  She stopped in her tracks and found herself laughing at the boyish grin that accompanied his words. “You’re something else.”

  He rubbed the scruff of hair on his face. “You know, my mom says that a lot. I’m starting to think that isn’t a good thing.”

  They walked down the street, arms linked, as they pointed out different holiday decorations in store fronts. Jake was easy to talk to. He listened and commented appropriately as she told him about her parents and her sister in Florida.

  His genuine interest in her life was refreshing and added to his smoldering good looks. The man belonged on a cover of GQ. He was the type of man to give women wet dreams. Sure, he had run her over, but on the short walk, he had shown his funny-and-sweet side.

  “Do you come here often?” Jake asked as he opened the door for her.

  Michelle looked back at him. “No, I prefer cooking at home,” she whispered.

  Jake’s face froze. “What? Well shit, what are we doing here?” He made a show of pretending to escort her back outside. “No? Damn, can’t blame me for trying,” he teased. Grabbing her uninjured hand, he pulled her to the counter and stopped. “Do you have a usual whenever you do come here?”

  Michelle told him and watched as he called their food order back toward the cook. While she loved staying at home and cooking for one, it seemed that Jake frequented the diner.

  “Come on, let’s go—”

  “Jake! How are you holding up?” Annie, Lukas’s wife, asked.

  “Hey, Annie! One day at a time.”

  Michelle watched the curious exchange and noticed how Jake avoided her eyes. What he couldn’t avoid was the sadness in his words.

  Jake wrapped his hand around hers and took a step forward when Annie called out again. The smirk on the woman’s face made Michelle’s stomach clench with nerves.

  “Yes, darling?” Jake asked Annie.

  She signaled to them both to look up. Sure enough, above them by the counter hung mistletoe. A fresh one, not a fake plastic one. Michelle gasped with surprise and looked at the woman. Annie’s grin filled her face, and it took ten years off her.

  “It is tradition,” Jake whispered.

  Michelle looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Running women over, spraining their wrist, bringing them here, and kissing them under the mistletoe is tradition?”

  Jake chuckled. “No, sweetheart. Kissing under the mistletoe. The rest was a blessing in disguise.”

  The last part came out low and seductive. Michelle found herself surprised and aroused by his confession. She never would have called being knocked down a blessing. Hell, there still was time for this night to go to shit. Let’s face it, she was out to dinner with a complete stranger. He could be a serial killer for all she knew.

  Look at what everyone said about Ted Bundy. He was a charming and intelligent man when he wasn’t killing women. Michelle bit her lower lip at the gruesome thought.

  “Unless I read you wrong, and you’re taken or are only being polite?” Jake asked with a frown.

  “No,” she blurted.

  “No, you’re not taken, or no you won’t kiss me under the mistletoe?”

  Michelle smiled. “I’m single.”

  “Phew…” Jake exaggerated a long breath. “You sure know how to make a man squirm.”

  She found herself giggling at him. “Do you do this a lot?”

  Jake’s brows furrowed. “Do what a lot?”

  “Make a girl wait to be kissed?” Michelle whispered.

  The bold words slipped from her lips before she could have processed them. Her nerves were going haywire as she focused on his full lips.

  Time slowed as Jake registered her words. “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey and the quiet chatter of the few patrons created the soundtrack to the moment.

  “You sure?” Jake asked as he searched her eyes. “We’ve just met. I’m not expecting anything from you.”

  When her day had started, she hadn’t anticipated anything different from her routine. She couldn�
�t help but wonder if this was that defining moment in her life where things would change.

  “Yes,” she told him and ran her tongue along her lips.

  Jake’s hand came to her neck and tipped up her face. Michelle’s lids grew heavy as Jake studied her. When he finally lowered his lips toward hers, blood rushed through her ears. She felt a puff of his breath land along her lips. Michelle placed her palm against his firm chest to hold herself steady. His lips met hers, and she noted they were softer than she’d imagined.

  They took their time with the sweet kiss. It was innocent by all accounts, and yet no other kiss had made her burn from the inside before. Jake’s thumb caressed her cheek as he kissed her slowly, keeping the heat to a minimum in the very public diner.

  All too soon, and to her dismay, he kissed her one last time before breaking their connection. Michelle’s eyes fluttered open, and she brought her fingertips to her mouth.

  “Wow…” Jake whispered.

  Michelle gave him a small nod of understanding. She was unable to speak as a myriad of emotions ran through her. The kiss lasted only seconds to anyone that watched, but its power packed a one-two punch.

  Jake linked their fingers and pulled her to a booth in the corner. He stepped aside so she could slide onto the bench when his phone rang.

  He looked at the caller ID, and Michelle watched his face soften. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.”

  Michelle grabbed her own phone and couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the one-sided conversation.

  “Hey, everything okay?... Okay, yeah. I can do that.… Do you need it now?... ” Jake chuckled, and Michelle noted the amusement in his eyes. In the diner’s light, she could finally see that they were hazel. “Hey, you married her.” Jake cast Michelle a side glance before adding, “You owe me big time.”

  “Is everything okay?” Michelle asked as he ended the call.

  Jake sighed. “Yeah. My best friend,” he said as he lifted the phone. “He needs me to pick some things up. I’m really sorry, but I have to make my sub to go.”

  “Ah… okay.” Disappointment filled her as she looked down at her folded hands.