Blame It on the Mistletoe by Nicole Michaels Read Free Book Online Page A

to go through things the human body wasn’t made to endure—and that was only the training. The actual missions were just as excruciating, things the average man couldn’t wrap his head around. Alex had loved every second of it. But the military with its rules and chains of command grated on him after a while. His whole life people had tried to tell him who he was and what he could do, so when his tour was up, he’d had enough and moved on.
    Alex leaned his head back to rinse the shampoo from his hair, careful not to tug at his head wound which was a little tender. He closed his eyes and immediately envisioned his sweet little Nurse Abbott. Holy shit, just thinking about her made him hard. She’d begun to loosen up with him, flirt back. It had been really hot, and she was so damn beautiful. It hadn’t been a shock to find that out, but a treat nonetheless.
    Alex finally turned off the water, still thinking about Brooke. When Ryan had told him about her past, rage had clouded his mind, and with that he’d known that he had no business getting anywhere near her. He’d felt like a complete ass calling and canceling on her, and it was disappointing too, because he was pretty dang sure they could have had a good time together. But that was the problem. A good time was all it would have been, and Brooke deserved better, especially after being hurt by some prick.
    Grabbing his pants, he yanked one leg on at a time, telling himself to forget about Brooke. As soon as he walked out of the bathroom, room service knocked on the door. He let them in and watched in amusement as they set the table, poured his coffee, laid out a napkin, and finally uncovered his dish to reveal eggs, bacon, and pancakes. He nearly felt the need to explain that he wasn’t, in fact, the president and that he could pour his own damn coffee. But why bother? He only lived once, and he’d barely eaten since he got into town the day before.
    After tipping the server he picked up the plate and sat on the bed to watch TV when his phone announced a message from Ted, his grandparents’ attorney:
Looks like we had more family coming than I expected. Hope you don’t mind if we move the meeting to Tuesday at 9:00. Enjoy your holiday weekend. Ted.
    “Shit.” Alex threw down the phone and let his head drop to the headboard, cursing again when the cut throbbed.
Yeah, I fucking mind.
He was ready to get this over with, and now he had to be here five more days. What the hell would he do in that time?
    He picked the phone up and sent a reply.
Actually I’d hoped to leave today. Is this something we can do via phone?
    Surprisingly Ted responded immediately. Alex had figured the man would blow him off.
No can do. Strict instruction. You must be here and I think it will be worth your while to wait. Go spend some time with your grandmother. See you Tuesday.
    Unfuckingbelievable. Ted better be right about this being worth it. One thing was certain, good-bye Presidential Suite.
    **
    Brooke woke to the tickling of a wet nose on her earlobe and purring so loud it had to break some kind of record. Her eyes shot open, and she was met with a pounding in her skull so intense she grabbed her head with both hands, effectively rolling her cat, Diva, off the bed.
    “Sorry, baby,” Brooke whispered, but even speaking made her want to groan. Diva just let out an indignant
meow
before leaving the room. As her name suggested, Diva did not appreciate rejection, and she would definitely hold a grudge for this. Brooke knew exactly how she felt.
    She covered her eyes against the morning light and considered just staying in bed for the rest of her life. Even the thought of sitting up was almost too much to handle, but though business would probably be slow, today was Black Friday, which suited her dire mood just fine.
    With superhuman effort, she turned her head just enough to glance at the retro 1960s-style alarm clock on her antique bedside table. Shit. It was nearly nine, and she