Kissing Under The Mistletoe: The Sullivans (Contemporary Romance) by Bella Andre Page A

was afraid she would spoil the moment by crying, but
then Yvette said, “We’re dying to find out how your shoot went
today with the gorgeous Mr. Sullivan.”
    “It went fine,” she said in her primmest
voice.
    “Ooh,” Janeen said, not fooled in the least,
“you’re blushing.”
    Mary lifted her free hand to her face and
felt how hot it was. “We’re just business associates,” she
protested.
    “From the way the two of you look at each
other,” Susan noted, “it sure seems like more than just
business.”
    Mary hadn’t realized they’d been that obvious
when she’d invited him inside the other night. But she had just
finished dancing with him in the rain, and it had been so
wonderful, how could she not have stars in her eyes?
    “He kissed me.”
    Everyone’s eyes grew big—including Mary’s—at
what she’d just admitted.
    She was supposed to be setting a good example
for the young models, which meant teaching them that it was a bad
idea to get involved with a business associate. But her long walk
home through the city hadn’t done a darn thing to push away the
memory of how it had felt to have Jack’s hands in her hair, his
hard heat against her, his delicious mouth pressing against
hers.
    “I’ll bet he’s a great kisser, isn’t he?”
Yvette said with a dreamy look on her pretty face.
    This was Mary’s chance to explain to them
what a mistake the kisses she’d shared with Jack had been. Instead,
she nodded and said, “The best.”
    As a group, the girls spontaneously hugged
her. “When are you going to see him again?”
    “I’ll be shooting a TV commercial for his new
invention in a few days. I’m sure he’ll be there.” She hoped her
voice sounded more nonchalant than she felt. How on earth was she
going to make it through a handful of days without seeing Jack?
Especially when he was all she could think about…
    “Or, you could call him now and invite him
over tonight,” Janeen suggested. “We wouldn’t mind having a
gorgeous man in our midst, would we, girls?”
    Needing to do something with her hands so
that she didn’t pick up the phone and call him right that very
second, Mary lifted a sparkly ornament and walked over to the tree
to hang it on a branch. “We’ve agreed to keep things professional
between us until the campaign wraps up.”
    Susan gave her a very knowing look for a
nineteen-year-old. “Stolen kisses are the best kind, aren’t
they?”
    “They weren’t—” she began, before admitting,
“Okay, they were stolen.” And Susan was
right—his kisses were the very best of Mary’s life. “But they were
the last ones I’m going to let him steal until after we wrap up the
campaign.”
    From the doubtful looks on their faces, Mary
knew she looked even less convincing than she sounded.
    “Personally,” Yvette said as she lifted her
drink to her lips, “I prefer forbidden kisses.”
    Mary had been intent on letting the
conversation peter out, but now she turned from the tree and pinned
Yvette with a laser-sharp gaze. “Who are you having forbidden
kisses with?”
    Yvette reached into the box of ornaments so
that Mary couldn’t see her face as she muttered, “No one,” but it
hadn’t been that long since Mary was
nineteen, and she knew better than most about being headstrong and
foolish. Maybe, she thought, she should tell them about her
mistakes. But with the Christmas carols playing and their laughter
ringing out, she didn’t want to ruin the evening with what would
surely sound like a lecture.
    Not for the first time since the three models
had moved in with her, Mary realized what her mother must have gone
through. How did you give advice to someone you cared about without
ruining your relationship? And what could you possibly say to get a
young woman with the entire world at her feet to listen to your
advice without storming out in a huff?
    Hopefully, one day when Mary had children of
her own, she’d have some of the answers.

Chapter