Read Kissing Under The Mistletoe: The Sullivans (Contemporary Romance) for Free Online Page A

about your invention.”
    She could tell he was pleased by her interest
in his engineering career. She wanted to know everything about
him—his passions, his dreams and his fears. And if things worked
out between them, maybe she’d tell him about her passions, dreams
and fears, too…something she’d never done with any man before.
    He pulled something out of his pocket and
placed it on the table between them. “We call it the Pocket
Planner. It’s an electronic calendar and personal organizer. It
even has reminders built in for the items on your to-do list. After
a decade of trial and error, my two partners and I have finally not
only got it working, but technology has made it small enough to be
able to carry it around without a forklift.” He was even more
gorgeous with the look of pride on his face.
    “May I?” When he nodded, she picked it up and
ran her fingers over the very interesting machine. “I think it
sounds fantastic. In fact, I can think of half-a-dozen ways I could
have used something like this in the past few years.”
    He beamed at her. “I can’t tell you how glad
I am to hear you feel that way.” She smiled back and was about to
ask him more questions, when he added, “In fact, that’s one of the
things I wanted to talk to you about.”
    Mary felt her smile falter on her lips. Years
of holding poses regardless of whether she was happy or under the
weather were the reason she was able to keep it in place. “It
is?”
    Jack pushed his plate away in his excitement.
“We’re hoping to get it onto shelves this Christmas, and there are
thousands of units waiting in a warehouse already but, though the
retailers like the product, they’re convinced we need to add some
se—” he cut himself off “—mass appeal to it. As soon as I saw you
in Union Square I knew you would be the perfect person to represent
our product.”
    Her lips flattened, and the cherries that had
tasted so good just minutes ago now felt like little round bricks
in the pit of her stomach. She worked to keep her voice steady. “So
that’s why you asked me here for pie? To see if I would consider
representing your product?”
    His eyes searched her face for a long moment,
and she could see his sudden confusion at her cool reaction. She
could almost read his mind, the way he was asking himself how he
could have misplayed things with her already.
    Especially when he clearly thought he needed
her to make his dreams come true…
    “Mary?” Jack shook his head, the tips of his
hair moving over his broad shoulders. “No.” He shook his head
again. “Yes, but it wasn’t the only reason.”
    Of course he had to say that. With as much
elegance and pride as she could still muster, considering she’d
been gazing at him like a love-struck teenager when he’d simply
been calculating his potential gains all the while, she carefully
slid out of the booth. “Thank you for the pie and coffee.”
    Jack reached for her hand before she could
take more than a step away from the table. She looked down and saw
how tanned his skin was against hers, how large his hand was as he
held hers.
    “Please, Mary, don’t go.”
    God, it was pathetic how much she wanted to
stay, even now that she knew the real reason he’d wanted to meet
her. It now seemed as if the idea that she could eventually
convince him to want more than that was mere fantasy.
    But that wasn’t how love worked. She’d
learned over and over throughout the years that there was no point
in wishing for a miracle…even at Christmastime.
    “Today was my last shoot. I’m not modeling
anymore.” She didn’t owe him any explanations, but she hated to
come across as a spoiled princess who was storming out because she
hadn’t gotten her way…or because he’d inadvertently hurt her
too-delicate feelings. “I’m sure you’ll find someone perfect to
represent your product.”
    She waited for him to lift his hand from
hers, but he only gripped her tighter. “I already have