'Tis the Season to Kiss Santa (Entangled Indulgence) Read Online Free Page A

business.
    Even so, he couldn’t help asking, “So your partner doesn’t mind you being away for Christmas?”
    “No partner.” Her voice was very cool.
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” Though Mitch knew that wasn’t the whole truth. He found her attractive, from that stunning hair to those soft gray eyes to that cute, sexy British accent. In other circumstances, he might’ve asked her out to dinner—once he’d made it clear that he was offering just for fun and not forever. He didn’t do long-term relationships.
    “Of course you weren’t. It’s natural to be curious. Why would someone travel thousands of miles away from their family at this time of year?” She shrugged. “I love Betty. She’s my godmother and she needed someone to step in and help. Of course I was going to offer.”
    “So you’ve taken annual leave from your job?” he asked.
    “Not exactly. I’m between jobs right now.”
    So money was probably tight—yet she’d still flown over here from England. And, from the little he knew of Ellie, he was pretty sure that she would’ve insisted on paying her own way. “What did you do in your last job?”
    “I was a pastry chef.”
    He thought about it. “So that means you make the desserts, right?”
    “Yes, and cakes. It’s the best job in the world.”
    The smile her heard in her voice told him that she meant it. So the fact that she was between jobs didn’t make sense. From what he’d seen of her at the party, she was efficient and she wasn’t afraid of hard work, so he couldn’t imagine an employer letting her go. “Why did you quit?”
    “Because the co-owner of my restaurant bought me out.”
    Something clipped in her tone told him that she hadn’t wanted to be bought out. Time to back off. “Sorry.”
    “No, I’m being oversensitive. Ignore me. What about you? What do you do?”
    “I work in PR.”
    “Oh, right. Holford PR. You know, when I first saw you I thought you were in media or finance. It’s your suit,” she explained when he raised an eyebrow. “It’s like the ones worn by the kind of people I used to cater for.”
    “You catered functions?” he asked.
    “Sometimes. But, actually, I meant the long business lunches and the red wine.”
    He laughed. “That’s all in the past. Nowadays it’s a sandwich at your desk with a bottle of water, and you’ll be catching up on e-mails as you eat.”
    “So that was your dream when you were a kid? To be a PR man?”
    “Maybe.” Mitch couldn’t remember his dreams as a kid. Other than the need to get away as soon as he could. “Was that your dream—to be a pastry chef?”
    “Yes. I always loved cooking, but especially cakes and desserts. I loved it when Betty came over to stay with us in the summer. She taught me how to make a proper gingerbread house.” Ellie smiled. “I made one for her to take into the hospital with her earlier this week.”
    It didn’t surprise him. He’d already worked out that she was the sort who’d think of others.
    He parked in the street as close to her place as he could. It looked as if it was one of the traditional Philadelphia row houses: three stories, with a flat roof and a bay window on the ground floor.
    “I guess this is home, then,” he said.
    “Yes. Well, my godmother’s.” She looked out of the window. “The snow’s getting worse. I didn’t see a snowplow all the way here, and I don’t like to think of you driving in this. Why don’t you come in for a while and wait it out? It’ll give the snowplows time to come and sort out the roads and make them safer for you to drive on later.”
    What she said made perfect common sense—but it also gave Mitch an odd feeling. He wasn’t used to anyone being concerned about him. “I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
    “My family’s all in London and my godmother’s in hospital. I don’t have any plans other than visiting her tomorrow, so you’re no inconvenience to me.”
    She wrinkled her nose. It was