Chapter One
Nixie Schuler was running late for the millionth time in her life. Unfortunately, this occasion could quite possibly mean her job. She’d been late one too many times for her boss, Joseph Cartwright.
Joe was a friend of her mother’s, and this usually meant he gave her more slack than he did anyone else, but his patience and generosity were limited. He would usually let her slide time after time, but last week, he kindly let her know he was growing weary of her excuses.
She couldn’t help her tardiness, though. It was beyond her control. She was born clumsy. It was a curse. A pesky little curse that caused her to be late twice last week. The first time, she spilled coffee down the front of her cream-colored sweater, forcing her to turn back home and change her shirt. The second instance, she dropped her car keys back inside her car as she was slamming the door shut, effectively locking herself out. She’d proceeded to spend the next twenty minutes trying to retrieve them.
Today she’d had the pleasure of catching her heel in the grating of the parking garage floor. She struggled, pulled, and fought until––one snapped heel and thirteen minutes later––she was once again running behind schedule.
Now she was sprinting down the crowded city streets barefoot and disheveled. She burst into the small jewelry shop where she worked, her breath coming out in short gasps. She rushed behind the sales counter, dumping her purse to the floor. She didn’t even have time to catch her breath before Joe was at her side.
“You’re late,” he said unnecessarily.
“I know. I’m sorry,” she apologized with a pant. “It wasn’t my fault.”
“It’s never your fault,” Joe came back. “You’ve got the worst luck of anyone I’ve ever known. That doesn’t change the fact that you’re unreliable.”
Nixie tried to keep her features from showing how much his words stung. “Come on, Joe,” she begged. “I outsell any of your other employees. I never let you down when I’m here.”
“When you’re here,” he stressed. He let out a weary sigh and ran his hands over his face. “I just don’t know what to do with you, Nixie. Your mother…”
Nixie rushed in, not wanting him to finish that sentence. “I got stuck in a grating!” She held up her destroyed shoe. “I could have broken my ankle!” The damaged heel wobbled comically in the air, summing up her bad morning. “I…”
The sound of someone’s clearing throat drew attention to the customer who had just entered the store and strolled straight to the counter.
The most gorgeous man Nixie had ever seen in her life stood facing them, a slightly amused grin on his face.
He was the perfect male specimen, the perfect male cliché: tall, dark, and handsome. She would place him at 6’2”, and every inch was yummy. He had thin, slender shoulders that her hand itched to caress. His hair was chocolate brown, swept back from his face, the ends brushing the edge of his collar in the back. His deeply tanned face held the most brilliant blue eyes she’d ever seen.
Nixie recognized that face instantly.
He was Nicholas Morgan, one of the wealthiest men in the state, perhaps the country. His grandfather had owned a large chunk of land that just happened to have more oil than they knew what to do with. The oil refinery had been passed on to Nick’s father, and then six months ago to Nick. At twenty-eight, he was probably the richest man his age. And there he was, standing in front of her, staring at her broken heel.
Nixie’s jaw dropped and she gaped at him in shock. She couldn’t get her brain to function. She just stared, gawking at his expensive suit and the perfect body that accompanied it.
“Can I interrupt,” he asked in a low, smooth voice, “or do you need more time to mourn the shoe?”
In embarrassment, Nixie let go of the shoe, trying not to cringe when it landed on her toe. She forced a tight smile to her lips, covering up the pain. “You can interrupt.” She frowned, realizing how that sounded. “I mean…it’s no interruption at all.”
A hint of a grin crossed that devilishly handsome face. “That’s a relief.”
Nixie and Joe just stared at him, star struck.
It was when Nick arched his eyebrows questioningly that Nixie’s brain snapped back into function mode. “Oh…um…is there…anything I can help you with?” she asked, brushing a stray hair away from her face.
“Yeah,” Nick said slowly, an absolutely charming, full out grin spreading across his face.
Her eyes narrowed at him. He had to be doing that on purpose, shooting her his adorable grin to throw her off.
“You can help me with some jewelry,” he said teasingly, as if asking what else he could possibly want in a jewelry store.
Nixie stared at him in silence for a moment before letting out a mortifying bark of laughter. “I guess so.” Trying to save herself, she waved a hand in the air, motioning to the counter between them. “We’ve got a wide variety. Is there anything in particular you fancy?”
“I think I like what’s sitting right in front of my nose,” Nick replied casually.
Nixie froze, startled eyes meeting his. Was Nicholas Morgan hitting on her? There was no possible way. He was rich. He was gorgeous. He was …
Well, he was Nicholas Morgan.
His fingers tapped the display case between them, bringing Nixie’s attention to it. “This necklace,” he said, still tapping the case above a heart-shaped locket. “This will do.”
* * *
Nick watched as the girl in front of him, ‘Nixie’ as her nametag read, began blushing furiously.
She had a creamy, pale complexion, so the blush stood out quite startlingly. With slightly trembling fingers, she grabbed a key ring from her waist and tried jamming it into the display case lock. The keys slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor. Her face twisted into a grimace as she bent down to pick them up.
Nick watched her in amusement. There was something about her that he thought was absolutely adorable. From her loose, long black curls to the smoky, gray eyes. The broken heel, the chipped nail polish. She was just so…un-Hollywood. It was refreshing.
There was a sudden, loud ‘bam’ and the counter shook under his hand. It took him a moment to realize she’d cracked her head against it. Nick leaned over to find her seated on the floor with a slightly dazed expression on her face.
Without even thinking, he hopped over the small divider that separated them and was crouched down next to her. He barely registered the store manager’s surprise at his reaction. All he cared about was making sure the girl in front of him was uninjured. “Are you okay?” he asked with concern.
Her eyes widened in surprise at seeing him across the counter. She blinked a couple times before bringing her fingers to her scalp. “Did I hit my head again?”
‘Again?’ Nick silently asked. Did this girl have a habit of cracking her noggin on things? “I’m afraid so,” he answered solemnly. Reaching a hand up, he gingerly ran his fingers over the lump that was already forming, sliding his fingers through her silky soft hair. “You’ve got a bump,” he informed her, relieved that it was nothing more serious, “but I don’t think you did any lasting damage.”
“How embarrassing,” she breathed out in a whoosh.
Nick froze as her breath brushed along his lips. He hadn’t realized how close they were until now. He hovered above her upturned face, his mouth distressingly close to hers. He felt his body begin to react in a way that would surely make them both uncomfortable. “Well,” he cried, jumping back as if burnt, “looks like you’re going to be just fine. If you’ll bag up that necklace for me, I’ll be out of your way.”
* * *
Nixie struggled to her feet, still rubbing her head. When she got to an upright stance, her nose was practically in Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome’s chest.
Clearing his throat, Nick took a giant step back and looked pointedly at the display case.
“Right,” she said slowly, trying to regain her bearings as Nick eased past the small counter divider Joe held up for him. “The necklace.” Being extra careful this time, she opened the case and pulled the shining chain out. “Don’t you want to get a better look … or see the price?”
He waved her away. “No, it’s fine.”
Nixie relocked the case once the necklace was free. “Is this for Miss December?” she asked conversationally.
Nick’s girlfriend was a very successful, famous model named Sarah Spade.
She was the hottest item on the market right now. Her popularity had nearly skyrocketed overnight when she did a few racy photos for a couple of nudie magazines. She was all bleached blonde hair and fake boobs. Sarah was as skinny as the poles she occasionally danced on. She’d earned the name Miss December by only posing for wintery photographs. She was the classic snow bunny…if snow bunnies went out in barely concealing, thong bikinis.