Under the Millionaire's Mistletoe

color. Shaking her head, she idly said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know-” She said it automatically, then stopped herself. “That’s a lie. Yeah, I am. For all the good it’ll do me.”

“Oh, Anna, it could work out.”

She smiled, in spite of the growing sense of dread inside. “I don’t think so. He didn’t think I was good enough for his brother, remember?”

Tula waved that off with a sniff. “Please, you were way too good for Garret.”

Anna laughed. She’d always been able to count on her best friend. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling she’d had since leaving Sam’s bed the night before. That she was on borrowed time and that she was feeling a lot more for him than he was for her. There was simply no way this was going to end well.

“Thanks for that,” she said, reaching out to squeeze Tula’s hand. “But I’m tired of thinking about me. Tell me why your cousin Sherry wanted to see you so badly.”

Tula sighed and reached to the coffee table for her glass of white wine. “You’re not going to believe this, but Sherry’s pregnant.”

“Really? Who’s the father?”

“I don’t know,” Tula said and took a sip of her wine. “She refused to tell me. But what’s worse, she hasn’t even told the guy he’s going to be a father.”

Anna couldn’t imagine keeping something like that to herself. “Why would she do that?”

“I don’t know.” Tula frowned. “I told her that if the guy was worth sleeping with, he’s worth telling him the truth, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“So why’d she want to see you?”

Tula leaned back into the couch. “She wanted to name me the legal guardian of the baby just in case something happens to her.”

“But she hasn’t even had it yet.”

“You know Sherry. Afraid of everything. Although,” Tula said, “she’s not scared of raising a baby alone, which would absolutely terrify me.”

“Did you agree to be the baby’s guardian?”

“Sure I did,” she said. “We’re family.”

“So,” Anna told her, picking up her own wine, “we’ve each had a busy few days, huh?”

“Guess so,” Tula agreed. “Though yours, I’m thinking, was way more fun.”

The next few days were a blur of stolen moments and passion hot enough to burn a man to a cinder. Sam dreamed of Anna at night and thought of nothing but her during the day. Every time he was with her, he wanted her more.

Scrubbing one hand across the back of his neck, he kicked the wall behind his desk and hardly felt the pain. He’d come into the office to avoid Anna at home. He couldn’t see her without wanting his hands on her and he couldn’t think when he was touching her.

How the hell could Sam lay claim to Anna when he had practically forced his brother to walk away from her? Would his brother ever forgive him? Could he risk losing his only family on the chance that what he and Anna had was lasting? “Mr. Hale?”

He looked up as his assistant opened the door. “What is it, Kathy?”

“A Mr. Cameron here to see you.”

Shock had him speechless for a second or two, but he recovered quickly. “Send him in.”

Sam stood up to greet Anna’s father and the older man shook his hand with a wary look. Suddenly, Sam felt a little uneasy. After all, he was sleeping with the man’s daughter. “Good to see you, Dave.”

“Sam.” The man glanced around the spacious office before settling his gaze on Sam’s again. “I won’t take up much of your time. Just thought we should have a little talk.”

“About what?” Oh, he knew what.

“Anna.”

“Ah.”

“Crystal Bay’s a small town,” Dave was saying. “Secrets are impossible to keep. So I figure we both know what’s going on.”

“Meaning?” Sam asked, unwilling to give any information on the off chance that Dave was still in the dark.

The older man frowned at him. “Meaning, I know you’ve been seeing my daughter just as you know my company’s in trouble.”

“Dave…” What the hell was he supposed to say? He knew Dave Cameron was a proud man.

He lifted one hand in a bid for silence. “Whatever’s between you and Anna is your business. You’re both adults. What I’m here to tell you is, contrary to what everyone in town is thinking, I won’t use my daughter as a bargaining chip for business.”

Scowling himself now, Sam took a deep breath. “And I wouldn’t use her either.”

Dave studied him for a long minute. “Then we understand each other?”

“I think so,” Sam said, bristling a little under the man’s close scrutiny.

“Fine, then. I’ll wish you a good day and be on my way.” Dave started for the door, then stopped and looked back. “One more thing. You hurt my little girl and we’ll be having another talk.”

The man was gone before Sam could respond. But then, what could he possibly have said? He felt like a damn teenager after a dressing-down. The hell of it was, he had the feeling he’d deserved it.

Christmas was just a few days away when Anna finally finished the mural in Sam’s home office. She could admit to herself that when she’d begun this job, she’d actually considered giving him some ghastly painting. A horrific view out an artificial window. But that idea hadn’t lasted more than a moment or two. Her own professionalism prevented her doing anything less than her absolute best.

And now that she stood back to get the full effect of her work, she had to admit that she’d really outdone herself this time.

She was glad of it, too. Now every time Sam looked at this wall, he would think of her. It was the perfect goodbye. Because she’d come to the conclusion only the night before that what was between them had to end. There was no future in it. And she was only hurting herself. Falling for Sam Hale had been inevitable. But she wouldn’t stay with him, knowing what she did about how he really felt about her.

Sex between them was incredible. She knew he felt the same way. But desire was a long way from any kind of real feeling. She’d been deluding herself into thinking that something could come of this, when the truth was, he would never allow himself to care for her because when it came right down to it, he didn’t trust her.

Well, she couldn’t keep fooling herself. It was better to get out now, while the pain was still livable. If she waited any longer, she knew the loss of him would kill her.

Pasting a bright smile on her face, she closed up the last of her paint jars, tucked them away in the carrier, then took a breath. Steadied as much as she was going to be, she opened the office door and called out, “Sam? I’m finished. You can see it now.”

He looked up from the car he was bent over and smiled at her. Anna’s heart jolted and she knew she would miss that smile of his.

“The big secret revealed, huh?” He wiped his hands on a towel, tossed it across the car fender and headed her way. “Can’t wait.”

She stepped back so he could enter and shifted her gaze to his face as he saw the finished painting for the first time. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He couldn’t have had a more perfect reaction.

“That’s incredible,” he said, walking closer to it.

“The ocean’s still wet, so don’t touch,” she warned.

“The ocean’s always wet, babe.”

“Very funny.”

Still shaking his head, he leaned in closer to the wall. “That’s really amazing, Anna.” He shot her a look over his shoulder. “I’m impressed.”