Read Online Holiday Affair by Lisa Plumley - Free Book Online Page A

last-minute substitute. With her, her kids always came first.
    On later reflection, that attitude probably hadn’t done her struggling marriage any favors. But how was a woman supposed to juggle everything? She was doing her best. She really was.
    “Hey, don’t look so gloomy!” Chelsea piped up. “We’ll get this figured out.” She grabbed Karina’s arm. “Come with me!”
    Karina balked. “What for?”
    “For getting you ready for your Christmas vacation in Kismet, of course!” Chelsea rolled her eyes. “Hello? How are you supposed to snag a hottie if you’re dressed like a yeti?”
    Karina winced. “‘Yeti’ is a little harsh.”
    “You’re right.” Chelsea gave an offhanded wave. “We haven’t covered yetis in veterinary school yet. So I’m no expert, that’s for sure. I don’t even know if they have girl yetis or not.”
    Awesome. Not only did Karina resemble a gnarly mountain creature, but she apparently resembled a gnarly, mannish mountain creature. Had she forgotten to shave her legs again?
    After a quick hairy-legs check, Karina shrugged. Her calves were (relatively) stubble free for now. But that didn’t mean she intended to blow off Chelsea’s offer. Against all good judgment, Karina followed Chelsea to the other end of the condo.
    Not because she actually needed Chelsea’s help. Or even because she was (admittedly) curious about what kinds of cold-weather clothing ideas Chelsea might offer. (Fur-lined bikinis? Fair Isle knit hot pants? A low-cut, thigh-high Polarfleece romper?) But mostly because Karina figured there was no harm in indulging her new friend.
    Chelsea honestly seemed to want to help. Karina was a person who understood that sentiment intimately. She liked to help people too. It would have been unkind to refuse.
    Besides, it wouldn’t hurt if a smidgeon of Chelsea’s bodaciousness accidentally rubbed off on her. Just in case something unexpected happened. Just in case, say, a gorgeous Honey-Buying Man stand-in happened to be staying at The Christmas House. And Karina decided to indulge herself. And he went for it. And together they made a few jingle bells ring.
    Right. And then they lived happily ever after. Ho ho ho.
    If she believed any of that, she definitely needed a vacation, Karina decided, then dutifully followed Chelsea to her walk-in closet and prepared to be polite about viewing skintight sweaters, zebra-print leggings, and knit caps with special lip gloss storage compartments—all the accoutrements of a midwinter seduction Karina was so not going to need this Christmastime.

Chapter Five
    December 17th
Gerald R. Ford International Airport
Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
    Fisting his carry-on bag in one hand and Nicole’s stuffed dingo in the other, Reid stood impatiently in the airport’s arrivals zone. After three connections (on two continents) and more than twenty-eight hours in the air, he was tired, wired, and worried—all at the same time. He still had a few more miles to travel, too. From where he stood, it would take at least an hour to commandeer a rental car and make the drive to Kismet.
    Methodically, an airport official thumbed through Reid’s passport, examining its multiply stamped pages. The document was proof of Reid’s globe-trotting life. He liked that. Right now, though, he didn’t like the delay it seemed to be causing.
    Ever since Alexis had told him about that emergency phone call from his grandmother, Reid had been pushing to get home—or at least as close to “home” as his former stomping grounds in the Midwest (or anyplace stateside) would ever feel to him.
    He’d grown up in Kismet, the son of parents who both worked—like many locals—in the town’s hospitality industry: his father as a hotel accountant, and his mother as a pastry chef. People like them—sometimes several generations of people like them—helped make Kismet an ideal vacation spot.
    What the town might have lacked in size and sophistication, it made up for