Free Mistletoe & Molly by Jennifer Snow

you know what that is?” She swung her legs over the bed and reached for her discarded bra and panties.
    “Well, I know your life doesn’t have to be as hard as you try to make it. Molly, most people would kill for the opportunities you keep pushing away. Me included.” He pulled on his pants and tugged his sweater over his head, inside out.
    “You have no idea what accepting help from my father means. It means he controls every move, every decision… Argh! Having the opportunities is wonderful, but it’s also stressful. It means you can’t fail, or the world is watching. If I take the position and I fail, do you know how disappointed my father would be?” She turned away from him, watching the rain dance on the street outside the window. She’d lived with the fear of failure her entire life. Aiden couldn’t understand the pressure that working for her father would involve.
    She heard him move across the room and relaxed when she felt his strong arms encircle her waist.
    He pulled her down onto his lap in the chair next to the window. “So that’s what this independent streak is all about.” He brushed her hair from her face. Her eyes shone with unshed tears.
    She nodded.
    “Molly, you would be fantastic in that position…or any other.” He hugged her close. “But, I understand, and as much as I hate Mike for offering you the position in Buffalo, you deserve to do what makes you happy.” He kissed her forehead and wiped a teardrop from her cheek.
    She cuddled into his chest and closed her eyes. If only she knew what that was .

Chapter Ten
    “So you didn’t actually have sex?” Cameron asked the next day at lunch.
    “Seriously? That’s all you heard?” Molly shook her head at her friend.
    “Well, it was the most interesting part.” Cameron laughed, fastening her apron behind her back.
    “Cameron, be serious. I need your help. Do I take the job in Buffalo or not?” Molly pushed her salad away untouched and leaned her head in her hands.
    Cameron delivered an order of cheesecake and a latte to a table near the door, then re-joined her friend. “I’d hate to see you go.”
    “I’d miss you too. So, you think I should take the job my father’s offering?” Molly cringed at the thought.
    Cameron laughed. “What kind of friend would I be if I suggested that, knowing how you feel. I think you’d do a wonderful job, but I know you hate the idea of working so closely with your father.”
    “But if I take the job in Buffalo, it means leaving Aiden.” Molly slumped in her chair. When had her life become complicated? She’d been waiting for a position like this to come along. This should be an easy decision. But it wasn’t. Far from it. Just the thought of leaving Aiden was too much.
    “I hadn’t realized things were so serious between you two.” Cameron wiped a nearby table.
    “Me neither.” Lying in bed under the weight of his arm, listening to his steady breathing, revealed what she’d been fighting. She was in love. The idea of leaving him made her heart ache. “I just wish I could have it all.”
    “Maybe you can.” Cameron pulled out a chair and sat opposite her friend.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Think about it. You were happy with the internship a week ago, right?”
    “Yeah, but now this is a real PR job.”
    “In the wrong city, away from the man you love.” Cameron pointed out. “The way I see it, Mike sees potential in you. If he’s willing to offer you a position in Buffalo this quickly, I’m sure you can secure a position in the Manhattan office eventually.” Cameron smiled.
    “You’re right.” Molly nodded, a smile spreading across her face. She didn’t have to rush into a position. The internship paid her bills, and she could work her way into a position in Manhattan, the way she’d been prepared to do all along. And she could stay with Aiden.
    She jumped up and hugged her friend. “Thank you.” She grabbed her coat from the chair.
    “Where are you