The Billionaire's Christmas (A Sinclair Novella) Read Online Free PDF Page A

me,” she replied sadly, her eyes breaking contact with his to land in the center of his chest.
    Grady wanted to break every bone in the asshole’s body. His arms came up to stroke her back and he pulled her against him as though he could protect her from the world. How any man could push this woman away was beyond him. “Was he caught?”
    “No,” she replied despairingly.
    “Give me his information. I’ll find him.”
    “The police can’t track him. They’re sure it was a false identity.”
    “I will,” Grady vowed confidently. He had so many connections that there was nobody he couldn’t track down. “In the meantime, I’ll give you the money and you give me your word that you’ll spend Christmas with me. What about your family?”
    “Only child, a late-in-life surprise for my parents,” she replied in a muffled voice against his chest. “Mom and Dad are snowbirds now. They spend the winter in Florida. I couldn’t go this year.”
    The sorrow in her voice made Grady determined to make this the best Christmas season she’d ever had. So what if he personally hated the holidays? Emily obviously didn’t, and she was alone this year, just like him. “Then spend it here with me.”
    She pulled her head back and looked at him with an earnest expression as she asked, “Why me? Why this?”
    “Because it’s what I want,” he answered, knowing it was the truth. “And you said you’d give me what I wanted.”
    “You promise no sex?” she asked hesitantly.
    “Only if you beg,” he answered arrogantly, although he was starting to wonder if he might end up being the one pleading. Her sweetness tempted him, and he was going to have a very hard time trying not to devour her.
    Pulling away from him, he saw her roll her eyes at his bravado, and it brought an involuntary smile to his lips.
    “You have a deal. But I’m bringing a tree and all of my Christmas decorations here,” she told him in a threatening voice as he followed her toward the door. “And the Center has a big Christmas party that I’ll need and want to attend. You can come with me if you like. If you’re donating, it will mean a lot. We can save the annual party. It’s important, especially for the kids.”
    Great. He could hardly wait. He avoided red-and-green decorations like the plague. But if it would bring her back, she could plaster them in every corner of his house, as long as she came along with the red bows and mistletoe.
    He helped her into her coat and slammed his feet into his heavy boots, grabbing a jacket from the closet and putting it on as he followed her out of the house.
    “This is what you’re driving?” he said irritably, his eyes roaming over the bald tires on the small truck. “It looks like a goddamn death trap.”
    The ground was covered in a couple inches of snow, wet and slippery moisture that would have her sliding everywhere on the roads.
    “I know how to drive in snow,” she replied stubbornly as she opened the door of her truck.
    “You need a new vehicle,” he replied in a surly tone. She couldn’t be driving on the road in this piece of shit. Slapping a hand on the window of her truck, he slammed the door closed and dug in his pocket, bringing out a set of keys. “Drive my truck. It’s too slick to drive around with those tires. There’s no tread left.”
    “I can still get some mileage out of them,” Emily retorted snappishly. “They aren’t that bad.”
    She was defensive, and Grady immediately knew that she probably couldn’t afford it. “Don’t you get paid?”
    “Not much,” she admitted with a sigh. “But I like my job.”
    “Drive my truck or our deal is off,” he grumbled, dangling the set of keys in front of her face.
    “I can’t take your vehicle,” she protested adamantly.
    He shrugged. “I have several.” He pointed to a huge truck on the other side of the circular drive. “Get into the truck, Emily.”
    She took the keys reluctantly, drawing a breath to argue as her