Secret Santa (novella) by Rhian Cahill Read Free Book Online Page B

What she wanted. Another sigh left her as she faced the reality of her situation. She’d rejected him out of fear of losing him, only now she’d lost him before they’d ever gotten started.
    Groaning, she spun around and made her way to the bedroom. She had a decision to make, one that would change her life forever. Popping the button on her jeans on her way down the short hallway that led to the two bedrooms and small bathroom, she considered the two different paths she could take. The first one, the one she’d told Morgan she wanted, was lonely. No matter how much she loved the people she worked with or how much she thought of them as family, they were just the people she worked with.
    Barring Morgan, she’d never seen any of them outside of work. Moving to Sydney after university meant leaving behind the friends she’d made in her life. Not many relationships could stand against an eight hundred kilometre distance. Besides, everyone was moving on with their lives, forging in different directions; Jenn’s move interstate was the perfect example.
    Today she’d thought about how lacking her personal life was, and yet she’d still hidden from her feelings for Morgan. The man was more than her boss, had been from the first time they’d met. And if she was being honest, and she had to be now, she’d wanted the job for more than what the position offered.
    She’d wanted Morgan Campbell.
    Jenn stopped in the doorway to her room and closed her eyes. She was such a fool. She’d rejected one of the city’s most eligible bachelors for the sake of her job.
    The job wasn’t what made Morgan’s so great.
    It was the man that held her enthralled, not the restaurant. There were plenty of other great establishments to work at. Any one of them would be happy to take her on if there were a position available.
    Opening her eyes she entered her room and scooped up her pyjamas. She had a lot to make up for if she was going to seduce Morgan. First she’d grab a shower, wash off the layer of sweat and dirt wandering around the bush had coated her in and then she’d start to put the plan in motion. First up would be finding her spare set of keys. She was pretty sure they were in the desk she’d set up as a home office in the spare bedroom. She’d need some wrapping paper too.
    Jenn smiled. Two could play at Secret Santa.

December 27 th
The Key to Secret Santa’s Heart
    Jenn slipped into the dimly lit dining area just after nine in the morning. The rear of the restaurant was shrouded in darkness and she paused to listen, making sure she was the only one in the building. She doubted anyone would be here this early, the first day back after the two-day Christmas break. Making a beeline for the tree in the corner, she pulled out the small brightly wrapped box and laid it under the bottom branches. Smiling, she spun around and slammed into a solid wall of muscle.
    A scream tore from her throat, but was quickly strangled when the man she’d crashed into spoke.
    ‘It’s me.’
    ‘Morgan? What are you doing here?’
    ‘I could ask you the same question.’ He gripped her upper arms, his fingers pressing into her flesh, but not enough to hurt.
    ‘Oh, I urn, forgot…’
    He arched one thick blond eyebrow and she sighed. This wasn’t going to go as planned. ‘I was putting my Secret Santa gift beneath the tree.’
    ‘But you already did that.’
    ‘This is another part of it.’
    ‘Well I guess I better go see what it is.’ He grinned as he let her go.
    She wanted to run. But if she was going to do this, if she was going to be brave and see where they could go, she had to face it head on. Every step of the way.
    Taking a deep breath she turned around to face the tree. Morgan had the palm-sized parcel in his hands. He was turning it over, bringing it to his ear, and giving it a little shake…
    ‘For God’s sake, just open it.’ The suspense was killing her and she knew what was inside. Actually it was probably killing her