Read Online The Rock Star's Christmas Reunion: contemporary holiday romance (A Charisma series novel, The Connollys Book 1) by Heather Hiestand - Free Book Online

snowmen and stocking shapes. “You’re a great decorator.”
    “Haldana and I did them together. This was my other paying job for the weekend.”
    “Any other prospects?” he asked.
    “Yes, I had a panicked call from a woman who discovered her elderly mother had promised to cook for a holiday party and isn’t able to do it, so I’m going to do that on Thursday, then the next thing is your party on Saturday.”
    “So two jobs again this week.”
    “So far. Better than nothing, right?” She glanced around his kitchen. “Do you have boxes of decorations to put up?”
    He leaned against his refrigerator. “Just the second wreath we bought.”
    Her lips curved. Maybe her instincts weren’t wrong. “I feel, sir, that you brought me here under false pretenses.”
    He snapped the lid of the cookie container back on. “Not really. I asked you if you were free for dinner. I’m providing dinner.”
    “What?”
    He picked up a packaged loaf of sandwich bread and dangled the plastic end from his fingers. Then he opened his fairly empty refrigerator and pointed at a tub of spreadable butter and a pound of an expensive Cheddar cheese. When he shut the door, he gave her a self-satisfied grin. “And I have kale.”
    “Oh, dear, kale.” She laughed.
    “Good, huh? Grilled cheese sandwiches and kale?”
    “I’m vegan, Bax. I don’t eat cheese or butter made from animal by-products. It’s sweet of you though. Very advanced thinking for a meat eater.”
    “Oh, right.” The corners of his mouth turned down.
    She couldn’t help getting close to the guy and giving him a hug. “It’s okay. I can see that you really tried.”
    “But you made me a milkshake.”
    Was he whining? “Almond milk. Cashew ice cream. It was vegan.”
    His eyebrows went up in comic disbelief. “But it was so good!”
    She pulled one hand away to lightly punch his pec. “Really? You doubt me?”
    He put his arms around her and squeezed her close. “No, not really. I even liked the bean burger.”
    She fluttered her eyelashes. “Have I converted you?”
    “No, you don’t get to move my pin to the vegan category quite yet. At least not until I’ve finished my block of cheese. What should we eat?”
    “Not the kale,” she assured him. “You can overdo it with the kale.”
    “We’ve been eating a lot of potatoes,” he said. “So no more potatoes either. Can we go somewhere?”
    “It’s hard. There aren’t a lot of good options around here.”
    “Then why are you catering? You should start a restaurant.”
    She bumped her forehead against his chest. “I don’t know if I’d have enough customers! This area is a strange mix of blue collar, immigrants, and really religious folks. Everyone stays pretty close to home.”
    “What about pizza? Everyone likes pizza.”
    “A vegan pizza place? Maybe in Portland. Not here.”
    “I don’t think you should have stayed in Battlefield.”
    She sighed. “Are you gonna encourage me to move now?”
    “No, I want you here.” He stroked talented fingers over her back and she melted. “You’re perfect for me.”
    Her mouth fell open. “What?”
    He nodded. “Yeah, Yakima. I’ve been thinking about it.”
    She wondered if he had any idea how many nights she had fallen asleep as a young teenager dreaming of exactly those words dripping from her next door neighbor’s lips. “Now you’ve figured that out?”
    “What?” he asked, laughing.
    She nuzzled his chin. “I had such a crush on you in high school. Oddly enough, I didn’t really crush on you as a boy band member, or even a rock star, maybe because I knew the real you. Funny, huh?”
    “What do you think of me now?”
    “I’m not really sure,” she admitted. “I guess I have to understand your real story, and I’m not sure I’ve come to the bottom of it. You could have gone anywhere but you came home.”
    “A man turns thirty and he wants to put his past to rest,” Bax said. He settled his head on hers.
    She felt embraced,