The Christmas Key Read Online Free Page A

have to be the person you always thought it would be."
    "Yeah, but it was Emily's sister writing him while he was in jail. She pretended the whole time to be Emily and when he found out, it wasn't a big deal. I thought it should've been. I didn't get the fact that he was so okay with it, but I played the part." He shrugged and glared back at Shalaine for her rebuttal.
    At this point , she turned to face him fully. She would defend this movie to the grave. He'd gotten so many high marks for his portrayal of a love-struck convict. His badgering his best role shed more light on the Entertainment Billboard's post about Xander's self-destructive image. He was his worst enemy. Many knew that from the choices he made in his life as well as his career.
    Still, she needed to set him straight. "Once he knew it wasn't Emily writing him, not her sister, he didn't care anymore. When he went to prison, Emily claimed she loved him but then married another man. Carson fell in love with Julie through her writing. It wasn't Emily's words he fell in love with. Emily had moved on without him, even after promising him she'd wait for him. Julie was the one who cared for him the most while he was incarcerated. Carson understood that and accepted it. Love has no boundaries." Shalaine said the last part in a whisper, but he heard her.
    "Who are you?"
    She had to look up at Xander, who watched her through narrowed eyes. "Shalaine Harper."
    His dark eyebrows dipped low . He was obviously trying to place her name. Recognition dawned. "You work for The Review. I've read your articles. You're blinded by a lot of stuff."
    Shalaine gave Xander her full angered gaze and crossed her arms. "Oh, like what?"
    " Like the whole damn movie. The reviews you give are not that great and give false hope and prophecies of box-office hits."
    Furious at his gall, s he got up to go into the kitchen. She needed to get away from him before she threatened to throw him out. That would make her a horrible person, especially if he died of hypothermia. "I liked you better in your movies."
    " Yeah, a lot of women say that," he quipped.

FOUR
     
    Xander watched her walk into the small kitchen space. Her black wavy hair tempted him to grab a handful of it and pull until she said his name in a gasping whisper. He didn't know why he was being such a jerk to her. She was attractive and he liked the feisty spark that he awoke in her when he criticized his work. Xander got the reasons why his character did what he did; he just wanted to get Shalaine riled up. He needed to stop pushing her though. They were going to be stuck together for a few days and he didn't want to wear out his welcome. He might as well make the best of it and have a little sexual fun in the process. The condoms in his bag weren't going to use themselves. It was Christmas, he was single, and she was single as well. Nothing like a good time to take their minds off being snowed in. A part of him sensed that Shalaine Harper wasn't that type of woman and that sex with her wouldn't be a one-time deal. That thought made him nervous. He never went back for seconds with random women and he certainly didn't stay any longer than one night. It would make the morning awkward if they wanted space away from each other.
    The howling of the wind grew violent outsid e. The window panes rattled as the high whistle of air found small cracks. He stood, walked to the small window, and then pushed the heavy curtain aside to gaze out at the stretch of land. The snow fell fast and thick and he couldn't even see the tail end of the rental car sticking up anymore.
    There was clattering in the kitchen and he twisted to look. The woman glanced at him from the doorway as she walked by but turned away to reach into a cabinet. He felt the heat of her angry gaze aimed right at him. Perhaps he shouldn't have badgered her articles. He'd read all the ones she wrote on his films and she always gave him high marks. The Review was a popular magazine