Together for Christmas by Lisa Plumley Read Free Book Online Page A

tried making his point about people’s susceptibility to flattery by using Reno Wright for an example. But since he had...
    “My point is, everyone can be flattered. Even you. So when I tell you that I admire what you’ve done with this place—”
    “It is pretty fabulous. For a money pit.”
    “—I hope you’ll believe me,” Casey finished, making a mental note about her apparent money problems. “I heard about some of the renovations you had to do. That must have been tough, trying to update the place while keeping its integrity.”
    “It was.” Her posture eased a fraction, even as the diner racket continued around her. “There were issues bringing the property up to code, plus a whole laundry list of repairs to do and vintage replacement fixtures to find . . .” Abruptly, she quit talking. The sparkle that had entered her eyes while discussing her diner dimmed a fraction. Cannily, she said, “It took longer than I expected, but sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Sometimes you have to allow for the unexpected.”
    He caught her drift. “Like with Heather’s TV special.”
    A nod. “I’m not going to let you cause trouble for my sister. She’s working hard. Her special means a lot to her.”
    “I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here to help.”
    Kristen snorted. “Terrifying her isn’t helpful.”
    Reassuringly, Casey grinned. “I’m not terrifying.”
    “From where I’m standing? No, you’re really not.”
    To emphasize that fact, Kristen looked at him as though making it plain that she knew he’d been transfixed by her lacy red bra a minute ago . . . and had fully intended for him to be.
    Uh-oh. How had he missed that? Casey wondered. How had he been gulled so easily? He couldn’t afford to make mistakes on this job. He wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, before Christmas caught up with him.
    “But then, I don’t scare easily,” Kristen was saying matter-of-factly. “From Heather’s perspective, things are different. So why don’t we just cut to the chase? You tell me why you’re here and what it will take to make you leave—”
    “I just got here. You want me to leave already?” Grinning anew, Casey clutched his chest. “Ouch. That hurts.” Somberly, he said, “You should know I survived a blizzard to get here.”
    “—and I’ll tell you everything you ever wanted to know about turning antique gas stations into diners, if you’re really as interested as you seem. Deal?”
    He thought about it. “I’ve never met anyone as direct as you before. Well, except me.” It was as if they were destined to be soul mates. Or archrivals. Either way . . . “I like you.”
    A sigh. “Are you softheaded or something? I was pretty clear earlier. No flattery. No b.s. No flirting—”
    “Flirting?” Casey couldn’t let that lie. “If you’re sensing something between us, maybe it’s not coming from me .”
    “—just answers. Okay? Exactly why are you here?”
    He wanted to answer her. He really did. But all at once, in that moment, Casey couldn’t quite find the brainpower to do so.
    He’d never encountered a woman who fascinated him quite as much as Kristen Miller did. She was made up of equal parts devotion, generosity, and toughness . . . all mixed up with long legs and blond hair and a mouth that wanted to smile, but hadn’t.
    Not yet.
    Damn, but he wanted to be the one to make that smile of hers happen. He just knew it was going to be incredible.
    “And by the way,” Kristen added with a glance outdoors, “that little snow flurry we had a while ago? Not a blizzard.”
    “I’m from L.A. It was the mother of all blizzards.”
    “Right. You’re very brave.” She crossed her arms. “So?”
    So she was really busting him here. “The production company hired my agency to get Heather’s TV special back on schedule,” Casey said. “I’m here to do that, by whatever means possible.”
    “Are you going to fire people?”
    He couldn’t