Free Christmas Miracle by Violette Dubrinsky Page B

through my mind right now.”
    It wasn’t said seductively, or even teasingly. Had he been teasing, she would have laughed. As he lifted his head, and she caught sight of the burning lust in his eyes, she recognized that he was serious.
    Trying to make light of what was promising to be a tense, steamy moment, she replied, “You aren’t so bad yourself.”
    An easy grin touched his lips, and Melanie smiled.
    “Aren’t you going to introduce us, Cam?” The person who spoke had an accent similar to Cameron’s.
    The grin vanished, and Cameron glared over her head. Curious, Melanie turned, only to find that Cameron’s arm had curved possessively about her waist. What she found standing in front of her were two different versions of Cameron. They each had the same trademarks: impeccably sculpted features, long pointed nose, firm jaw line and chin, and thin yet curved lips. However, the younger of the two had red hair and green eyes, while the other sported dark hair and light blue eyes like Cameron. Both were handsome, but didn’t hold a candle to Cameron.
    “Aiden, Brendan, this lovely lady is Melanie Samuels, my date. Melanie, meet my brothers, Aiden”—he indicated the one with the dark hair, who was grinning from ear to ear—“and Brendan”—he indicated the redhead, who wore a similar expression on his face.
    As they proceeded to lay on the charm—thick—Melanie wondered if there was an older gentleman walking around who’d passed it on to his sons. Moments later, she got the answer to her question when she met Sebastian Mackintosh, Sr. While he had to be at least in his fifties, the man was suave, perhaps even more so than his sons.
    The night progressed quickly for Melanie, who couldn’t help but enjoy herself. Cameron was right about his family. They were an interesting bunch and not in a bad way. The toughest had been a petite girl by the name of Adeline, who’d given her the equivalent of the third degree as Cameron played host to his other guests. At first, Melanie had been offended by the endless questions, but she’d quickly recognized they weren’t meant to upset her when the entire family had chimed in with questions of their own over the course of the night. They all seemed genuinely curious about her. So she answered as honestly as possible. Two hours into the party, Adeline brought her a glass of wine and a slice of red velvet cake, looked down to the diamond choker at her neck, and asked, “Is that a Harry Winston?”
    Melanie had asked herself the same question when she’d noticed the brand of diamonds embalmed in the soft material of the case. Deciding that Adeline meant the champagne, the cake, and the new subject as a sort of peace offering, she nodded slightly.
    For the next hour or so, she learned that Adeline Mackintosh was quite the family gossip.
    ***
    Cameron was glad when the party was over and he could finally have Melanie to himself.
    His family had practically fought for her attention, and while he’d been glad that she wasn’t left alone, he’d also found himself irrationally jealous. The feeling had only spiked when he’d seen Adeline introduce Richard Bancroft to Melanie, and had watched as Melanie laughed at something his cousin said. When Richard left an hour early—he had to catch a plane out—he couldn’t say that he was disappointed. His feelings for Melanie shocked him. Jealously was something he wasn’t very acquainted with. He’d never been jealous of his family or friends around any of his lovers before. But Melanie…he wanted to be the center of her attention. He wanted no competition in that department. And now, he was in his bedroom, and she was standing just a few feet away. A smile tugged at his lips.
    “Why are you smiling like that?”
    “Because I’m thinking about you.”
    She lifted a brow. “Really?”
    He lifted a hand over his heart and nodded once.
    “What are you thinking about?”
    “Are you sure you want to know?”
    ***
    The drop