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“Yes, baby, we’ll be home soon,” Hope confirmed with a warm smile.
With those words, a pang of guilt flooded Hope’s soul with a trace of longing. The Christmas season was the worst time to be alone. She was longing for change. Longing for a better life for her and her little angel. She had not planned on spending the few weeks before Christmas scrounging for ways to survive during the holidays, but she was a tough girl and she would make it work, somehow.
The tugging on her winter coat from her little girl reminded her that she wasn’t completely alone.
As Hope trotted up the snow-covered walkway an uneasy feeling gnawed in the pit of her stomach. She strolled up the white stone pathway of the church as snow crunched under her leather boots. Hope took in another deep breath with the evening, crisp, cool air as snow melted on her forehead. The flurries were coming down heavier now. If only her financial woes would melt away, too, she mused.
As she entered the back door, memories came flooding back. She once came with Cole and his brothers to help give out boxes of goods to the homeless and to low income families. Still, when she’d called this morning to confirm who would be volunteering tonight, they’d told her that the Belmonts would be coming on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve—as was their tradition, if she remembered correctly. That would be a few weeks from today, so she would be safe. They were obviously busy with other things right now.
“Welcome, Hope!” Pastor Anderson stretched out his hand to shake hers.
“Thank you, Pastor Anderson.”
“And this must be your little angel, Mia.”
Mia was shy and buried her face in her mommy’s coat.
Pastor Anderson smiled warmly. He then explained that one of the volunteers would assist her with her box of non-perishables and a Christmas turkey. He also explained that a few days before Christmas she would receive a visit from Santa, a member of the church who would deliver presents for her daughter. Hope was so relieved that Christmas might not be the complete disaster she thought it could be.
She thanked Pastor Anderson.
When Hope stepped down into the church hall, her heart stopped. She recognized the man standing behind the table handing out food to the needy.
“What? This can’t be.” Hope’s throat tightened. It was him. Of all the people in the world—she did not want to see at this time.
Cole Belmont?
The surprise siphoned the blood from her face. Her heart thumped hard in her chest. She was caught off guard by the sexiest man she’d ever met. Her former boss and the true father of her child. But Cole only volunteered around the holidays. It was early in December. What was he doing there?
The man, whom she’d walked out on so abruptly, was standing in the corner talking to an elderly visitor who was also receiving her Christmas food basket.
Crap.
Hope tried to quiet the embarrassment rising up in her chest. To her surprise, he showed no reaction at first. Of all the places and times to meet up. And with Mia. He didn’t even know he was a father. She had tossed the idea over in her mind about when or if they should ever meet again and how she would tell him about their child.
But this…
She couldn’t help but notice his strikingly handsome features. It had been three years and nine months since she’d last seen him in the flesh and she had to think, oh, my, heavens. He was looking hotter than she’d last remembered. Her inner thighs tingled at the remembrance of his sensuous erotic touch that sent waves of pleasure coursing through her veins.
There he was, looking deliciously charming as ever, so sophisticated. His dimpled grin and handsome features caused a tingling sensation in Hope’s belly that traveled down her spine. The man was blessed with dark and delicious features. He had the most perfect, smooth tanned skin she’d ever seen on a man. She had the pleasure of knowing exactly how sinfully sexy his muscular body was underneath his clothes. He had high chiseled cheekbones, dark, sexy blue-gray eyes and a perfectly symmetrical face.
He was taller than anyone in the room. She’d always been attracted to his impressive height at six foot three inches. He was fit and built like a champion swimmer with muscles in all the right places.
Hope’s eyes were immediately drawn to his sexy lips. The man still oozed sensuality even after all this time; it didn't even matter what environment he was in, his charm was just so radiant. She tried hard not to lose control. But her palms became sweaty. All she could do was think about Cole and Mia, their love child, a child he knew nothing about.
Guilt washed over her leaving her drenched in inner turmoil over not telling him beforehand. But she had to do what she had to do.
Would he ever forgive her? Or worse, would he try to take Mia away from her?
His smooth skin and radiant glow made him devilishly handsome and caused her temperature to rise like the summer sun. Was it getting hot in there?
After all these years, Cole Belmont still had that crazy instant effect on her. She drew in a deep breath, trying hard to throttle the dizzying currents racing through her, trying hard to calm her fiercely beating heart.
She stared wordlessly, her heart pounding in her chest.
A sensuous light seemed to pass between them. Her eyes drew to Cole’s kissable, magical lips. The memory of his sexually potent lips kept traveling to her mind. She could feel his smooth lips on her skin as he made love to her that night, the night they'd conceived Mia. It hadn't been planned, of course, they’d used protection, but something went wrong— or right depending on how you looked at it. Because Mia was a blessing and a miracle. An unexpected blessing.
She felt a shudder of humiliation being at the food bank with Cole’s secret love child. What would Cole do if he found out she'd kept this wonderful three-year-old daughter from him—never mind the other things she was forced to harbor from him like her dark family secret? Was there going to be a scene right there at the church? Would he absolutely lose it?
Hope tried to evict those feelings of nervousness from her body quickly. This was the man who had so sweetly and passionately made love to her again and again and made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. Yet, she couldn’t open up to him fully. Her heart was currently officially under heightened security. She was sure he wouldn’t be kind to her now. Not after what she’d done to him. And who could blame him?
She wanted to turn and run, but…
Their eyes locked. Her heart jolted and her pulse pounded.
“Hope?” His soft, firm voice echoed through the hall amidst the unsuspecting crowd of food bank recipients.
“Hey, Cole,” she said casually, almost breathless. An unwelcomed blush crept into her cheeks. Okay, stupid thing to say. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Gosh, talk about an awkward moment. If awards were given out for awkward encounters, this situation would certainly win top honors.
What would she do now? Mia was still clutching her teddy while holding Hope’s hand. What should she say? How could she say it? She never expected such a rollercoaster of emotions.
She realized this could potentially be a Jerry Springer moment waiting to erupt. But no, she was going to be civilized. But would he? Was this the right time?
What was she going to say? “Hi, I’m down and out and broke and this, by the way, is your kid.” She wondered, dreamed about this moment. But this was turning out to be a nightmare before Christmas.
Cole was intensely stunned. Speechless. He still had a gift basket in his hand with a patron anxiously waiting to receive.
“Excuse me, sir.” A nervous cough erupted from the tiny lady in front of him just in front of Hope.
“Oh, um…sorry. Happy holidays, Mrs. Sanders,” he said as he handed the tiny elderly widow the basket. She smiled with an odd look and walked away.
It had been three years since Cole laid eyes on Hope and she looked as beautiful as ever. She still had her lovely ebony hair that cascaded down her back and shined like black pearls. She wore a cream-colored hat that complemented her gorgeous caramel complexion. She was still, after all these years, breathtaking. His body reacted to her stunning presence. The magnetism of her sweet smile drew him in to her. She still had that effect on him after all these years. Imagine that.
She was stunning and alluring in every sense of the words. Though she had on a blue slim-fitted winter coat, he could see the gorgeous silhouette of her body. She wore black leggings with knee-high black leather boots and he could just imagine her legs wrapped around his waist as she’d done years ago when they’d dated and became briefly engaged. His groin jumped at the sweet memory. He’d always been attracted to her delicate features and her loveliness, her soft voice, her touch, her sassy headstrong demeanor that would get anything done at the office—and in the bedroom, with style and elegance and a creative problem-solving mind.
Cole couldn’t get over how his body was reacting to her. A sensation of intense desire overcame him. It was as if want and need for her filled his gut. He’d desired her like he’d desired no other woman when they’d first met a few years ago. Hope was always the very smart, sexy, kind-hearted type. But this?
Waiting in the food line at the church?
He was puzzled. Just what the heck was going on?
His power-driven executive assistant, a top college graduate in the food line for handouts? This was awkward. He could tell she was embarrassed to see him. She seemed as caught by surprise as he was.
