Read Online Merry Christmas, Baby by Jill Shalvis - Free Book Online

keep going and going like the Energizer Bunny—”
    “Really gotta go,” Callie said quickly. “I’ll see you later.” She disconnected, and she and the ice cream made her way back to the window.
    Tanner was gone.

Chapter 2
    T he ice cream didn’t cut it. Needing caffeine, Callie went back to her kitchen before remembering her coffeemaker had died and gone to heaven the day before.
    Damn. This was going to require a trip into town. And possibly seeing people. Which in turn meant kicking off her slippers and shoving her feet into her fake Uggs. Quite the look, but she wasn’t planning on socializing. This was purely a medicinal trip.
    In light of that, she skipped the diner and hit the bakery, thinking she’d get in and out faster. What she hadn’t planned on was the amazing, mouthwatering scent of the place and the way it drew her straight to the doughnut display. A pretty brunette was serving behind the counter. “How can I help you?”
    “You Leah?” Callie asked.
    “Yep.”
    “Perfect. It’s rumored you make the best desserts on the planet.”
    “True story,” Leah said.
    “I’ll take a small coffee and two of those powdered-sugar doughnuts then,” Callie said, pointing to the display.
    “Excellent choice. They solve all problems.”
    “Yeah?” Callie asked.
    “Well, no. But they taste amazing.”
    “Good enough,” Callie said.
    Two minutes later, lost in a doughnut-lust haze, she’d forgotten her resolve to get in and get out. Instead, in a hurry to ingest the sugar, she looked for a seat in the crowded place. She finally snagged the last table and tried to look busy so that no one would ask to share it. But given the long line, the odds were against her. Which in turn meant she was going to have to be social.
    Damn.
    That should be in her game plan, she decided. Help out her grandma and also learn to be social with something other than her laptop and vibrator while she was at it. Shaking her head at herself, she dug in, taking a huge first bite and maybe, possibly, moaning as the delicious goodness burst onto her tongue. Oh, yeah. Definitely the best powdered-sugar doughnuts on the planet.
    She took another bite, eyeballed the place, and then nearly did a spit take across the room when she caught sight of the man at the front of the line. His back was to her, but there was no mistaking those broad shoulders.
    Tanner had changed from his wetsuit and now wore dark, sexy guy jeans and a light windbreaker that said LUCKY HARBOR CHARTERS across his back. He was talking to Leah, but he was also scanning the place as if by old military habit.
    Don’t look at me, she thought. Don’t look—
    He looked. In fact, those dark eyes lasered in and locked unerringly right on hers.
    Her first reaction was a rush of heat. Odd, as she hadn’t had one of those in relation to a man in a while—but not completely surprising as Tanner was hotter than sin. An ice cube would’ve had a reaction to him.
    Self-awareness hit her, and reality. She looked down at herself. Yep, still wearing capri yoga pants and fake Uggs. Perfect. She was dressed like she didn’t own a mirror. Even worse, she wore no makeup and her hair…well, mostly the long strawberry blond waves had a serious mind of their own. The best that could be said this morning was that she’d piled them up on top of her head and they’d stayed. Thank God the messy topknot was in this year.
    Not that this knowledge helped, because when a woman faced her first crush, that woman wanted to look hot—not like a hot mess.
    “Is this chair taken?” Tanner asked.
    Callie promptly swallowed wrong. Sugar went down the wrong pipe and closed off her air passage. When had he left the line and moved to her side? And damn it, why couldn’t she breathe? Hiding this fact, she desperately went for a cool, unaffected look—difficult to pull off while suffocating.
    His dark eyes were warm and filled with amusement. “Yes?” he asked. “No chance in