Cole for Christmas by Janet Raye Stevens

Author:Janet Raye Stevens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Janet Raye Stevens

Cole took the stairs two at a time. He moved swiftly past a jungle of poinsettias and down the hallway toward the bridal party's ready room. When he heard voices coming from the closed door, uncertainty gripped him. He slowed his steps.

"Bad plan," he muttered. Beyond the chance to see Maggie, he hadn't thought this through. The bride might not appreciate him barging in on her territory. He started to pivot when the ready room's door flew open and a mass of bridesmaids spilled out, bringing with them the smell of perfume and orange juice.

Cole froze in his tracks. The women were a vision in Christmas red—red headpieces speckled with tiny candy canes and berries, the same red-and-white striped shoes Maggie wore, and red gowns with puffy sleeves and an even puffier skirt. They looked like red velvet cupcakes.

"Over there, near the flowers," a tall, freckle-faced redhead said, waving the others toward a massive poinsettia at the hallway's end. "The light's better there."

The cupcakes arranged themselves around the plant. The redhead aimed her phone in their general direction, ordered them to smile, and clicked off a bunch of pictures.

"Oh, hi there, cute stuff," a pretty blonde in the middle of the scrum said, noticing him. "What brings you up to no man's land?"

All eyes turned to him. He flinched, uncomfortable. He would have tugged at his coat's collar if it had one. "I'm the chef," he said. "I need to see Mag—"

"Ooh, the chef!" the redhead cried. She dove at him and latched onto his arm, tugging him toward the others. "Come on. We need a picture with the chef. Lindsay will love it."

He went, dragging his feet. Blaine lived for this kind of stuff, especially if it involved hot bridesmaids. Cole, not so much. He wasn't fond of schmoozing, even less fond of getting his picture taken. He posed stiffly as the women arranged themselves around him.

"Aw, don't look so glum," Redhead coaxed. "This is for Lindsay. You don't want a picture of her chef frowning in her wedding album, do you? How about a smile?"

He supposed he could put his inner introvert on hold and do as instructed. Considering it practice for when he had his restaurant and had to promote himself, he straightened and plastered a big, happy grin on his face. Suddenly, a slew of arms latched onto him like an overly friendly octopus. The blonde grabbed his arm and hugged it to her chest so tight she nearly cut off circulation. Her hat bounced on top of her hair mountain and repeatedly bopped him in the jaw.

The rest of the mob squeezed in close, grinning and giggling, as the redhead took about a thousand pictures. Cole's cheeks ached from smiling and he counted the seconds until he could break free from this red velvet torture.

"Having fun?" he heard from the suite's doorway.

Maggie stood there, her gaze lasered on him. Their almost-kiss shot back into his mind. Heat infused his blood, going from simmer to sizzle in two seconds flat.

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