Silver Bells Read online

  “They sound like stellar citizens, so I’m sorry to say no, I’ve never heard of them.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You have no frame of reference where I’m concerned. I’m a total stranger to you.”

  “Last night the waitress told me you were Axel Devlin’s wife. I guess that’s a frame of reference.”

  Glancing away from him at the crowded coffee shop, she took a sip of her drink. “Is that why you bought me the rose? Because you thought I was married to someone famous and that makes me more desirable by extension?”

  She wasn’t wearing makeup. She had on a pair of yoga pants and a parka with ear warmers and looked as though she’d just rolled out of bed. But he couldn’t see how fancier clothes or makeup could make her any more appealing. He loved her golden, dewy-looking skin and the cornflower blue of her eyes. He could all too easily identify with the pain he saw inside them.

  Actually, that was what drew him more than anything else.

  “Your connection to Axel had no bearing on it whatsoever,” he said. “I just thought you were beautiful, and it seemed as though you could use the encouragement.”

  Tucking the fine strands of blond hair falling from her ponytail behind her ears, she stepped back. “I’m sorry. I’m—I’m not open to a relationship.”

  The compliment had spooked her, as he’d known it might. But he was only being honest. “That’s good.”

  She seemed taken aback. “It is?”

  “Yes—because I’m the last guy you should ever get with even if you were.”

  Her mouth fell open. “Why’s that?”

  “Never mind. Now that you have your drink, I’ll leave you alone.”

  She caught him by the sleeve as he turned away. “You’re leaving?”

  “Isn’t that what you want me to do?”

  She bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know. You’re…confusing. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you.”

  He couldn’t imagine she’d associated with many ex-cons. No doubt she’d be horrified if he were to tell her he’d done time. Chances were good she wouldn’t even be willing to talk to him.

  He’d met other women like that, who thought he must be the devil incarnate, especially here in Silver Springs where so many people knew Jada’s family. Some women were drawn to the “danger” of associating with a “bad boy” like him but, sadly, those who were drawn to him were often a mess themselves.

  “That’s probably a safe assumption,” he said with a grin.

  She seemed further confused by his response and the fact that he not only accepted her words, he agreed with them. “So let me get this straight—what, exactly, are you offering me?”

  He gestured at the table. “A seat.”

  “That’s all?”

  “What more do you want?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now. I feel like I’ve just been put through a meat grinder.”

  He’d never experienced heartbreak on the level she seemed to be experiencing it—not the romantic kind. But pain was pain, and he was well acquainted with that. “Well…I’m a good listener, if you need to talk.”

  She kept her gaze fastened to his as she took another sip of her drink. “A man who looks as good as you do is never quite that harmless.”

  He heard the barista call his name above their conversation and that of everyone else in the shop. His coffee was ready. “How long will you be in town?” he asked.

  “Not long. Just a few weeks.”

  “How much damage could knowing me do in such a short time?”

  “I’m already a wreck. I doubt knowing you could do any more damage,” she admitted.

  “Then what do you have to lose?” He held out his hand. “Can I see your phone?”

  She pulled her cell out of her purse and, somewhat skeptically, let him take it, watching as he added his name and number to her contacts. “I’ll leave you alone for today. You can even have my table. But if you need a friend while you’re here, you’ve got someone to call,” he said and claimed his drink before walking out.

  Copyright © 2019 by Brenda Novak, Inc.

  * * *

  Christmas in Silver Springs—now available wherever books are sold!

  ISBN-13: 9781488064760

  Silver Bells

  First published in 1996. This edition published in 2019.

  Copyright © 1996 by Debbie Macomber

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor Toronto, ON M5H 4E3 Canada.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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  Debbie Macomber, Silver Bells

 

 

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