Home for Christmas by Stephanie Wilson Read Free Book Online

come to a decision either. The same
was true this morning. The indecision frustrating enough that he was tempted to
call the whole idea off. That was before, however, he looked into Savannah’s
luminous, amber-colored eyes moments before, knowing deep down that he couldn’t
stop this thing, whatever it was, from happening. Her reluctance only
solidified the whole proposal in his mind. Unexplainably, he was compelled to
make it happen.
    He wished, in hind’s sight, he
hadn’t brought his assistant to the meeting. It was habit to bring her to
anything that required follow-up and attention to detail. She was a lifeline
for him; she loved putting pieces of a puzzle together, he liked to create the
puzzle. Together, they were an amazing team. Old enough to be his mother, she
was a bit more traditional than he; and tradition was what this project was all
about. It had been his intention to let his assistant take the lead on the
project details, bringing to him only the important decisions to be made. And
those decisions, or so he thought, would be few.  
    His marketing group had determined
and Courtney had confirmed that Austin needed to personally entertain wealthy,
investment savvy individuals during the upcoming holiday season. It was a chore
because until yesterday, he didn’t even own a home, didn’t have a wife, family
or significant other to help him entertain.
    He also, in his mind, didn’t have
time to focus on this entertaining scheme, however personal it was. He had an
IPO to offer, a young company to run; fast-paced and able to flex and grow and
contract and change directions … immediately as the data charts dictated. 
His personal life was something he’d given nearly zero attention to. He
couldn’t afford it. Now, somehow, he couldn’t afford not to.
    Austin leaned back in his chair and
watched Courtney. She was the best public relations expert in the city, many
believed perhaps in the country and she had a robust string of accomplishments
attached to her name. But on this project, she needed help because at the
moment, it wasn’t selling well.
    He took the opportunity to once
again study Savannah Wentworth. Prior to this meeting, he had his people gather
information about her family’s retail company. There hadn’t been a lot to glean
as it had been privately held. But he’d studied what he could find and had to
wonder if one of the reasons for its demise was its inability to keep pace,
technologically and even culturally. In his opinion, there wasn’t a lot of room
these days for the old ways of doing business. However, here he was full circle.
It was exactly those old ways that might very well propel the success that
Austin needed to stay competitive in his very contemporary world. Apparently,
and perhaps, hopefully, he needed Savannah’s help to do that.
    He must admit, she was absolutely breath-taking.
Looking at her press image, you’d only guess at her beauty. He’d had the
fortunate opportunity to observe her in an entirely different light. He’d come
by her house Halloween night, not knowing he would actually meet her. In fact,
he’d expected the house to be vacant, never believing she herself would be
there; creating and working and serving the neighborhood children. Most people
in his circles had people who did that for them. She was an anomaly. It
was that memory, that image he couldn’t get out of his mind.
    He would always be attracted to her
public image, she was an incredibly striking woman, but what captivated him was
not the veneered surface, but the glimpse he’d caught of a true beauty
underneath that polished persona she showed the world. The fulfillment and
happiness he’d seen radiating from her eyes that night would stay with him for
a long time.
    The table had grown silent,
successfully gaining his attention. Uncharacteristically, he found his mind
wandering, distracted as he studied Savannah in the bright light of day;
watching her expressive eyes, appreciating her