Christmas on 4th Street (Fool's Gold Romance) by Susan Mallery Read Free Book Online Page B

the upcoming wedding was that love was in the air and if she was lucky, she would catch a little for herself.
    She turned on 4th Street and raced toward her store. She still had to restock the stack of throws she kept by the stuffed animals. They had been a last-minute addition to her inventory and were huge sellers. Apparently, Christmas was when everyone wanted an extra blanket or two to toss on the sofa.
    She was reaching for her keys when she saw someone standing outside of her store. A tall, handsome someone with piercing blue eyes and a smile that made her stomach start the Macarena.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked Gabriel as she approached. “Did you decide you really need a nativity made out of local gourds?”
    Gabriel stared at her. “You have one of those?”
    “Of course. I pride myself on stocking the unusual.”
    “Or the extremely strange.”
    “It’s Christmas,” she pointed out. “Or it will be in six weeks. When else would someone want a gourd-based nativity?”
    As she spoke, she opened the front door and flipped on the lights. He followed her inside. She turned on the trains, then started the music. She was unwinding her scarf when she shifted back to find him standing in the middle of the store.
    He looked better than he had. More rested, less gray. Although he still seemed tired. The shadows remained in residence beneath his eyes.
    “What’s up?” she asked, shrugging out of her coat.
    “I want to talk to you about a job.”
    She laughed. “Right. If you’re looking for a present for your mom, I can give you some suggestions. We have some really pretty ornaments she might like.”
    She disappeared into the back room to put her coat away and tuck her handbag into her desk’s bottom drawer. When she straightened, Gabriel was standing close enough that she could see the various colors of blue that made up his irises. She could inhale the clean scent of him and catch a hint of the heat the man generated.
    “I want to come work for you,” he said.
    “That’s insane. You’re a doctor. This is retail. I sell Christmas stuff.”
    “I know what you do. You need help and I need...”
    She waited, confident this had to be a joke. When he didn’t speak, she shook her head. “I’m sure they would be thrilled to have you volunteer your services at the local hospital.”
    “I need a break from that. You’re looking for someone to stock shelves and work the cash register. I can do that.”
    “You’re injured.”
    “Just my left hand. I’m right-handed.”
    She put her hands on her hips. “What’s going on? Are you filming this for a YouTube video? Famous doctor punks innocent store owner? I’m not eating a live bug for you.”
    “No live bugs.”
    “Not a dead one, either.”
    “Why can’t I apply for the job?”
    “Because you’re grossly overqualified.” She touched his arm. “What is this about?” she asked again.
    He drew in a breath and stared into her eyes. “I need to be doing something with my day. I’m stuck here for over a month and I have nothing to do. I can’t work in a hospital right now.” He opened his mouth, then closed it. “I can’t.”
    Noelle hated to admit she didn’t know all that much about the wars her country had been fighting for over a decade. She saw what was on the news and those special reports on the magazine shows, but that was it. Her only firsthand knowledge came from what she’d learned from the men her friends had gotten involved with.
    This past year a bodyguard school had opened in town. The principals were all highly trained former military people who had risked their lives to protect those at home. Isabel’s fiancé, Ford, had been a SEAL. Consuelo had served and done secret stuff, Gideon had been in the army, and so on.
    She’d heard bits and pieces, knew there were ghosts and nightmares and the kind of damage that couldn’t always be seen. It made sense those helping the injured would suffer in their own