Fake Christmas
“Dane, that’s not very nice,” she said sharply. “Where’s your sense of charity? Your Christmas spirit?”
“She beat you with a baseball bat,” he replied. “I think I’ll save my Christmas charity for people who deserve it. The poor, the sick, and the elderly. Not some spoiled, deranged heiress who tried to ruin our lives.”
“It means that she’ll have a chance to get out and live her life with the man that she loves,” she said. “Your mother said that it looks like Nicholas Handel is willing to wait for her.”
“So, what do you want me to do? Send her a Christmas gift? A card?”
“That’s a wonderful idea!” Her entire face lit up.
He gritted his teeth. “I was joking.”
“We can at least send a card to Nicholas this Christmas,” she said. “I know it’s a bit late, but we can still try. I’ll message your mother, asking her to send him one on our behalf.”
“What in Heaven’s name are you going to include in the card? ‘Merry Christmas, hope you and your criminal wife enjoy the holidays apart’? ‘Hope the jail decorations are festive’?”
She laughed, though from the way her brow furrowed it looked like she was trying her best to hold stop herself. “We shouldn’t joke. It’s not funny.” Her lips twitched, and she crossed her arms.
“You’re right, it’s not.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. “But I’d rather have the real criminal behind bars than ever have to face losing you. If that makes me a bad person, then so be it.”
She bit her lip and gazed up at him. “It doesn’t. It makes you a man in love.”
“You’re damn right it does.” He captured her mouth with his, giving her demanding kiss. “You know, Allyson, you are the craziest, kindest, most loving woman on earth. You’re too good for the Handels, if you ask me.”
“If you keep buttering me up like this I’ll never finish packing.” She smiled. “Come on. Let’s get our things together and go home.”
Part of him wanted her to stop packing and decide to spend the rest of the holidays cooped up in this hotel room. With a heavy sigh, he nodded. As much as he wanted to stay locked up with her, for the next few days the outside world wasn’t going to let him have the one thing he wanted for Christmas: time alone with his wife.
Chapter 4
“Season’s greetings, Mr. and Mrs. Prescott,” the flight attendant greeted them with a dazzling smile.
Allyson returned her smile. “And Happy Holidays to you.”
The flight attendant led them to their seats, and Allyson sat back in the plush leather seat with a deep sigh. They were in the air in no time, finally cruising toward New York City.
It didn’t matter how many times Allyson flew on their private jet, she knew she would never get used to all the luxury. The jet came complete with a conference table for dining and meetings, a bedroom and bathroom, comfortable seats with plenty of leg room, and two flat screen televisions.
The décor was fabulous; everything was brown, cream, beige, and gold. It was more like a mini hotel than an airplane. First-class on a commercial jet was nothing compared to this.
“How did the meeting with the town officials go?” she asked. Now that they were in the air, their time enjoying each other’s company was going to have to come to an end for a little while. She had to focus on work despite the holidays. Prescott wasn’t going to slow down just because they were getting a few days off.
Dane was sitting across from her, reading the newspaper. Probably checking the business section first, if she knew her husband. “It went really well,” he replied. “Sales were even better than expected. In fact, sales were so good that I think we can start refurbishing our Colorado factory ahead of schedule.”
“Oh, Dane, that’s wonderful!”
He nodded. “We’re going to be bringing some more jobs to the region.”
“Excellent,” she said. “When do you think we can start refurbishing?”
“We’ll have to discuss the details with the board, but I really think we can start early next year,” he said. “Orders for products in the women’s line have been incredible. You’ve done a terrific job with everything.”