One Christmas Wish (2 page)

“Ben!” Paige yelled again, no longer laughing.

Which meant Julia wouldn't have to answer his question.
Saved by the sis-in-law
. “You better go,” she said, pushing him away.

His steps hesitated. “As long as you're sure. Everything's fine.”

“Everything's wonderful.” She just couldn't tell him the real reason why. The dreams she'd given up on were finally coming true. Hopefully, when she told them, they'd be happy for her, too.

“
Ben!
”

“I'm coming, baby!” he called, bounding over to rescue his fiancé. Out on the dance floor, he jabbed Shooter away and captured Paige in his arms, pulling her close. Even from all the way across the room, Julia could see the lovesick grin on his face.

Resting her chin against a fist, she sipped her drink and watched them sway across the dance floor, staring into each other's eyes. Ben's hands cupped Paige's cheeks and he kissed her with a slow tender warmth that made Julia's eyes burn again. She shouldn't be jealous. She wasn't. But she couldn't deny that some deep part of her longed to be held that way, too…

“Mind if I join you?” droned a deep Casanova voice from behind her, completely ruining her moment.

She squeezed her eyes shut.
Seriously?
She'd already been hit on by seven men—at her mother's invitation—how many more eligible bachelors could there possibly be? “Look, buddy…” She turned. Choked on a gasp.

Isaac Nash.

Her heart grew wings, fluttering at first, then flapping until her chest ached. It'd been twelve years since she'd seen him. Twelve years since he'd kissed her in his parents' gazebo during one of the many parties they'd attended together. Twelve years since his father had gone to jail and his family had lost everything.

Twelve years since he'd up and joined the Navy without saying good-bye.

Her hands dove for her lap and she clasped them together, trying to wring out the panic.

In high school he'd been good looking—the classic Texas quarterback. Tall and broad, light sandy hair. Eyes that she swore twinkled when he smiled. But now he was a man. A man who could easily win
People
's “Sexiest Man Alive” title…

“Is this seat taken?” he asked with that southern refinement that'd had her swooning since she was six years old.

“Uh.” The mad pulsing of her chest had seemed to fry the connection between her brain and her mouth. “No,” she finally managed.

With comfort and ease, he slid onto the stool and helped himself to a beer from the steel ice tub. “I'm Isaac,” he said, a small smile making magic in his eyes.

Yes. She was quite aware of that fact. But apparently he didn't recognize her. Not that he should. The last time he'd seen her, she was lying in a hospital bed half dead. Ben had told her Isaac sat with her all day before he left for boot camp. Of course, she'd been unconscious so she'd have to take his word for it.

“Are you here with the bride or groom?” he asked when she didn't say anything.

“Um.” She wasn't prepared for this. Not to see Isaac. She knew he was coming, of course, but he wasn't supposed to be here. Now. She thought she'd be able to avoid him, and yet here he was. Sitting down next to her.

Hitting on her?

“I'm here with both the bride
and
groom, actually.” She forced herself to maintain eye contact. The power of it stirred her up inside. His eyes were such a deep, lovely shade of brown. “What about you?” she asked, straining her throat so she wouldn't sound so awed by him.

“Groom.” He nodded toward her brother. “Ben and I go way back.”

They went way back, too, she was tempted to remind him. She'd been in love with Isaac. She'd loved him the way she'd never loved anyone. And yes, she'd been young, a silly girl back then, but her feelings had run so deep they'd drowned her whenever she saw him. Kind of like they were now.

She gulped down a swallow of gin and tonic. On a normal night, she didn't opt for liquid courage, but she was desperate.

“Great party,” Isaac observed, seemingly unfazed by her silence. He'd always been that way. Confident, comfortable in his own skin. Unlike most of the football players at their prep school, he was nice to everyone. Not just nice. Kind. Maybe that was why her heart had attached itself to his when she was so young. Because she'd recognized a strong tenderness that reminded her of her father.

“Is it always this cold in Aspen?” The man asked, still making a heroic effort at a real conversation. He'd never been one to give up easily.

“Only for nine months out of the year,” she answered with what she hoped was an easy smile. “Where are you from?” It came out automatically, even though she knew the answer. She knew everything about him. Or at least she had, back then. They'd grown up together. Isaac's father had been an oil executive and his family had owned the ranch a few miles away from theirs…

“Outside of Dallas, originally.” Something dark crossed his face. Someone who hadn't known him well wouldn't have noticed because he recovered so quickly. But she'd spent all of those years watching him.

“I recently got out of the Navy, though,” he said, his smile intact again. “So at the moment, I live in San Diego. What about you? Are you from Aspen?”

“Um.” God, those eyes made it so hard for her to think a pure thought. “Not originally, but I live here now.”

He nodded as though prodding her to continue.

But she couldn't.

“What do you do in Aspen?” he prompted.

That should be an easy one… She surreptitiously pinched her hand so she'd snap out of this trance. “I work for Ben and Paige. At the ranch.” Good. That was good. Her voice had started to calm. “What do you do?”

“Just getting into freelance security work.”

Which was another way of saying government contracts. Her chest tensed, that wall around her heart building back up so her body would stop thinking of Isaac as a real possibility. “So you just got out of the Navy, but you want to go back overseas?”

He shrugged, eyes lowering away from hers. “I'll have to go back occasionally. On my terms.”

And that, right there, was why she had to wrangle her heart before it started to beat his name. Last time he left, he hadn't come back. He hadn't called. He hadn't written. He'd completely disappeared from her life.
Remember that.
She had to remember that.

“What do you do for Ben and Paige?” he asked as though bored talking about himself.

Before she could respond, a new song started and Ben waved Isaac over. “Come on, man! Haven't seen you in a decade and you're over there sitting in the corner.”

Reluctantly, Isaac stood. “I guess I should go. Will you come with me? We could dance…”

Well, this was awkward. She really should've told him who she was. But how could she have, when he made it so hard for her to breathe? “No, thanks. I'm happy here.”

“Come on.” He tugged on her hand. “I won't step on your feet. I swear.”

Face flaming, she pulled her hand back. “I can't dance with you.”

“Give me one good reason why not,” he said through a smirk that promised she'd never come up with one.

Little did he know. “I can't walk,” she informed him. “So I definitely won't be able to dance with you, Isaac.”

It must've been the way she said his name.

His face froze into the same look of shock she'd witnessed on many a man's face when they realized she couldn't walk.

“Julia?” It came out as a gasp.

Ben bounded over, followed by Paige.

She met her future sister-in-law's eyes. “Can you get my chair?” So she could escape this whole humiliating scene. It was her fault. She could've warned him. She could've said, “Hey, Isaac. Good to see you again. It's Julia. Remember me? Your best friend's sister? The one who fell in love with you at six years old?” Then he would've known. He wouldn't be standing there gawking at her, his kind eyes crinkled with a blatant pity that consumed all of her in the burn of humiliation. She couldn't stand him looking at her like that. Not Isaac. He used to grin at her, ruffle her hair, chum around with her like a friend. Now he looked at her like she was weak.

God, she had to get out of here. “Paige?” she said again, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over their group.

“Of course I'll get your chair.” Her sis-in-law hurried behind the bar and pushed over the wheelchair, then helped her scoot into it.

“Julia…” Isaac didn't seem to know what else to say.

“Good to see you again,” she said, reinforcing the words with a strong smile. Because she didn't need anyone's pity.

All she needed was a new start.

I
t was the cleavage that had thrown him off.

Julia Noble didn't
have
cleavage when she was fifteen. Isaac lowered his shocked gaze down her body. She didn't have those curvy hips and long legs either. Back then, she didn't wear low-cut black cocktail dresses accented with the same lace you'd see on a high-end teddy, and black, strappy
fuck me
heels, either.

Now that she'd revealed herself, it was obvious. How could he have missed it? The shining dark hair that fell in soft waves at her shoulders. The captivating smile that prodded dimples into her cheeks and sent a love for life blaring out of her exotically brown eyes. Holy shit. Julia. How could he not have recognized her?

Probably because he still thought of her as the broken girl he'd seen lying in that hospital bed the day before he'd joined up.

But Julia was
not
a girl anymore. She was a woman. The kind of woman he'd hit on. The kind of woman he'd be mighty tempted to sleep with…

“So it was nice seeing you and everything, Isaac,” she chirped in the same bubbly voice that had landed her a spot on the cheerleading squad freshman year. She maneuvered her chair around his toes. “I think I'll head up to bed now. Got a big day tomorrow.”

Without giving him a chance to respond, to untangle the words that had twisted up in his brain, she shot toward the door like she was competing for gold in the Paralympics.

How did…? When did…? What the hell just happened?

“Come on, man.” Ben jerked him toward the dance floor, where a mob of people were doing some lame line dance that he must've missed out on being stationed in the Middle East for the last decade of his life…

He ripped away from Ben and stared at the hallway where Julia had disappeared. “I can't believe that was Julia.” The shock of it—of seeing her—still sent currents ripping through him. “She looks so different.” So different, he'd made a pass at her. When he saw her sitting there, he figured the woman was the only other person in the room not dancing, so the two of them might as well talk. Now he knew why she wasn't dancing.

“You didn't recognize her?” Ben asked through a sloppy grin. “And here I thought you two were over there catching up.”

“No.” She'd hardly said two words to him. He'd assumed the woman was just shy. Why didn't she tell him the truth? Why'd she sit there and let him make small talk? “I asked her to dance,” he said in disbelief.
Damn.
He slapped a hand into his forehead and swiped it down his face. What an ass…

That got Ben's attention. His friend gave him an elbow to the ribs. “Dude. That's my sister.”

“I didn't know!” How was he supposed to know? He hadn't seen her in over a
decade
. And a hell of a lot had happened to him since he'd walked out on the high society life. “I have to talk to her. What room is she staying in tonight?” He had to at least apologize. For not recognizing her. For embarrassing her…

“You think I'm gonna give you her room number, you've got another think comin',” Ben muttered, taking on his protective brother stance—the same one Isaac used to adopt when it came to Julia. He hadn't had any sisters of his own. Only two brothers who were holy terrors.

“Did you hear what I said? I asked her to dance.” Like a tool. He'd been so focused on her body, he didn't realize she was his best friend's little sister. The girl he'd thought about every single day since he'd left Texas. The girl whose school picture he'd kept in the pocket of his fatigues, pulling it out when he needed to remind himself to fight…

Ben waved a hand. “Don't worry about it, man.” Swaying, he steadied a hand against the wall. He was clearly enjoying the special brew they'd imported for the party. “She's fine. Trust me. Things like that don't faze Julia.”

Then why'd she leave?

“Come on,” his friend stumbled back toward his hot fiancé, who'd rejoined the line dance. He tried to pull Isaac along with him. “Let's tear up the floor. For old time's sake. Remember that time at junior prom?”

A smile flickered as the memory came back into focus. He and Ben had had an electric slide routine that could've won a competition. At junior prom, he'd gone skidding across the floor on his knees, tearing the legs right off of his tuxedo pants.

He sized up his old friend. They'd once been inseparable. They'd raised all kinds of hell together. But since then, Isaac had been to war. He'd become a SEAL. He'd killed other men. He'd walked through a village half an hour after a bomb hit. Things were different.
He
was different. Ever since he'd arrived at the party, he'd felt like he was on the fringes, like he couldn't quite grasp the relationships he'd once had with so many of these people. People who were close friends of the Nobles. People who'd once been close friends of his family's, before Dad had gotten himself sent to prison.

Twelve years ago, he would've raced Ben out to the dance floor. But now that kid who'd done the electric slide seemed lost forever.

“Let's go…” Ben insisted, already swinging his hips.
Yeah.
Like that would entice him. Maybe Julia swinging her hips…

That's it.
He had to see her again. He had to make her forgive him. “Ten minutes,” he called to Ben. “Just give me ten minutes.” Before his friend could try and talk him out of it, he tore down the hall.

At the very end, Julia sat in front of the elevator, facing the opposite direction, her phone against her ear.

“Of course. Yes. Tomorrow is great!” he heard her say. The sound of her happiness warmed him through, just like it always had. Not wanting to interrupt her phone call, he paused behind her, waiting.

“Um. I'm sorry.” A gasp of surprise broke through her words. “What? My
husband
?”

Husband. Julia wasn't married. He knew that for a fact. He got all of the Nobles' Christmas letters. Ben would've mentioned something if she was. Besides that, she didn't wear a wedding ring.

“Well…yes. Mmmm hmmm,” she murmured. “Of course. We can't wait to meet you, either,” she seemed to choke out. “We'll see you tomorrow, then.” She lowered the phone to her lap and smacked it against her thigh. “Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

“Bad news?” he asked as he strode to her side.

The question seemed to jar her. She peered up at him, cheeks blazing with color. “What're you doing here?”

“I came to apologize.” He slipped in front of the chair and knelt to her eye level. “I'm sorry. About the whole asking-you-to-dance thing. I didn't know it was you.”

“Obviously.” Her eyebrows peaked with amusement. “I never thought Isaac Nash would hit on
me
.”

Then she must've forgotten the night he'd kissed her under the stars at his parents' last soiree. Of course, they'd both been tipsy that night, but even with the booze, he'd never forget it. He'd stolen a couple of wine coolers from the bar, and they'd snuck out to the gazebo where a string of white globe lights swayed above their heads. He'd asked Ben to come, too, but Ben had been determined to get into Lacy Masterson's pants that night, so it ended up being him and Julia. He remembered how her eyes seemed to sparkle even more that night, how she'd giggled and touched his arm a lot. They'd talked about the people at the party, making fun of them, imitating the wealthy prudes their parents had become. After three wine coolers each, they'd been chased out of the gazebo by one of the servers, so they hid in a field of bluebonnets, lying on the ground, staring up at the sky. She'd asked him about college and he told her he planned to go to Stanford, to follow in his father's footsteps.

Julia had turned her face to his. “I don't want you to go,” she'd whispered with a sweet desperation, and before he knew it, his lips had covered hers and he was drowning in the heat of her mouth, letting his hands touch this girl who had always been off limits…

“I have to say,” Julia said, snapping him out of the past. “Your sales pitch is pretty good. Even if it
is
borderline desperate.”

That smile. God, he'd loved that smile. He used to make up the dumbest jokes just to make Julia smile.

An ache settled into his quads but he stayed on his knees where he belonged. “You should be flattered. I don't hit on many women.”

“Ha!” Clearly amused by the line, Julia tilted her head to the side in a sassy look that only amped him up. “I can see why you don't hit on many women.”

Though she'd meant it as a joke, she was right. He'd lost his touch. After everything he'd seen, hope was a fleeting vapor that he couldn't seem to grasp. Most nights he felt too drained to go out. Depression, the doc had said, but it felt more like…indifference. It's not like he'd had much to come back to. He'd visited Dad in prison once since he'd been home, but the man was as bitter as cowboy coffee. His two younger brothers had both joined the Navy and loved it so much they'd probably be in for life. And Mom had married some wealthy Italian businessman and now lived in Europe, pretending the past never happened.

Speaking of marriage… “When do I get to meet your husband?” he asked Julia with an innocent look.

Her eyes strayed. “I don't have a husband. Even though Mother's been trying to marry me off all night.”

“Hard for me to believe she hasn't succeeded.” Yes it was a shameless come-on, but also true.

“Good night, Isaac,” she muttered, chin dipped, eyes cast down at the floor like she was afraid to look at him.

He definitely wasn't afraid. He could stare at her all night.

Easing the chair closer to the elevator, Julia stabbed the
up
button with her pointer finger.

The doors rolled open and he stepped in behind her.

“Where are you going?” she demanded.

“Figured I'd call it a night, too. Go back to my room.” After he found out more about this husband business, that was.

Julia didn't scare easily. Having seventeen surgeries makes a person pretty tough, but being trapped in an elevator with Isaac Nash made her hands tremble. She struggled to push the button for floor 3 under the watchfulness of his eyes.

When he didn't move, she glared up at him. “Let me guess. You're staying on the third floor, too?”

He only grinned. “Sure am.”

The doors rolled closed and she had this sense of the walls pressing in on her. He had such a commanding presence. The elevator didn't have enough space for him and her inflamed heart.

The contraption started to grind up, up, up, but then Isaac reached across her and slapped the
Stop
button. The elevator shuddered, then halted, lurching her stomach into her throat.

“What are you doing?” she squeaked, her heart taking off and orbiting around her chest again. She couldn't be this close to him. Couldn't stare into those eyes.

“Who was on the phone?” he asked casually.

“That's none of your business.” She tried to sound outraged instead of nervous. Because he had her body in total disarray.
Mercy.
She had to get out of here. Before he realized how much he made her squirm. She raised her hand again, but he blocked her access to the number buttons.

“Why'd you tell them you have a husband?”

“Like I said. None of your business.” She considered shoving him to the side, but the man was as solid as an oak.

“Tell me who was on the phone and I'll get the elevator going again,” he taunted.

A cloud of heat closed her in.
Okay.
She had no choice. She had to get out of here. ASAP. “It was a woman who breeds dogs.”

“Dogs,” he repeated.

“Yes. They breed golden retrievers and train them to assist people in wheelchairs. These dogs are very sought after.” If he must know. “I've been hoping to get one for months.” Ever since she'd first had the idea to leave. She knew she didn't want more hired assistants. She truly wanted to be on her own. While doing research, she'd found out about these specialized mobility assistance dogs that were trained to turn on and off lights, to get things off the counter, to retrieve shoes out of the closet. They could even help you get dressed. She knew that was exactly what she'd need in Dallas.

“So you're getting a dog?” Isaac leaned against the doors as though settling himself in.

“The woman called and told me they'd selected my application.” She eyed the number buttons. If she moved lightning-fast, she might be able to hit one before he could react. Though he
had
been trained as a SEAL. Sighing, she gave in to her fate. “She said I can pick up the dog in Leadville tomorrow.”

“Great,” Isaac said, as though genuinely happy for her.

Yes. It was. Almost. “Except they assumed I was married. Apparently it says on the application they only adopt their dogs out to couples or families. In case something happens to one of them.” So single people need not apply…

Isaac's head slanted as though considering that. “So you and your husband are supposed to go pick up the dog tomorrow.”

“I don't have a husband,” she reminded him. Though she supposed Theodore Mosley was available on short notice….

No.
No.
She did not need a man to help her with this. “I'll just take Mother's car service over there. And I'll tell them I'm not married.” Though the woman had sounded adamant.
We can't wait to meet you and your husband, she'd said. He is coming, isn't he? We like to know our dogs are going to wonderful homes…

“I'll take you.”

She flinched, sending the wheels of her chair bumping into the elevator's back panel. “What?”

“I'll take you to Leadville. Pretend to be your husband,” he offered with a shrug that said it was no big deal.