Free A Spy for Christmas by Kristen James

Chapter One
     
     
    Robin Holliday watched the pristine blue Pacific Ocean fade
away under the clouds through the plane window as they flew out of Honolulu.
She was flying home to Portland, Oregon, for a cold and snowy Christmas. To
tell the truth, the foggy weather in the Pacific Northwest seemed better suited
for the holiday. At least this year.
    Spending a week in the sun, sand and ocean had taken her
mind off things, which had been clear until takeoff today. Actually, it had been fun to visit with people from all over the world, drink fruity drinks and
eat shrimp to her heart’s content. Her ex, Alex, was allergic to any and all
seafood so she’d given up for favorite fare for the last four years. Not
anymore!
    Her seatmate, a petite teenager with multicolored hair,
leaned toward the window and sighed. “I miss it already. I just spent two weeks
for my honeymoon.”
    The girl—Arianna, now Mrs. Berkley—kept talking while
Robin took in that statement. It seemed strange that a woman would return from
her honeymoon alone, but she really didn’t want to discuss anything wedding
related. Robin was the one who sighed this time.
    “I know, right?” Arianna almost giggled.
    “Excuse me.” A man—an extremely sexy man—leaned down toward
the girl with a dashing smile on his strong face. “Your husband told me you
were back here by yourself, so… I said I would trade seats. I can’t let you two
be apart on Christmas.”
    For a second, both women stared up at him in silence. A
radiance in his eyes drew Robin in; even more than his rugged, strong features.
Well, okay, she could stare a while at those brown eyes and that mouth…
    “Oh, thank you! And Merry Christmas!” Arianna gushed, then
threw her arms right around his neck, but quickly released him to grab her bag
from the overhead. She hurried off with a little finger-wiggle wave and grin.
    The man offered Robin a tentative smile and yet still
appeared confident. “I hope you don’t mind.” His voice was deep, but not too
deep, and very soothing.
    She shook her head. “Of course not.” She didn’t mind at all,
and wouldn’t mind having a few fantasies about his full lips, either. The
problem would arise if he figured out what she was thinking about. Duh, every
woman watching right now was thinking the same thing!
    He sat down and smiled at her, extending a hand. “Grayson.”
    “I like your name.” She shook his hand, pleasantly surprised
at his manners. “I’m Robin. That really was nice of you.” He was leaning toward
her so she could see specks of hazel, yellow and red in his dark brown eyes.
    “It wasn’t much…but can you imagine not getting a seat with
your new spouse? On Christmas Day no less?” He settled in and added, “I bet you
get a ton of compliments on your hair.”
    She glanced over to find him tracing his eyes down her red
locks. For some reason, it made her blush like a school girl. “I bet the same
is true for your eyes.”
    Oh. My. Word . Was she flirting? The heat in her
cheeks grew worse as his smile grew broader. The direct flight from Honolulu to
Portland was at least five hours. How was she going to handle sitting next to
him all that time?
    “So, Robin,” he started, leaning even closer as if they were
discussing juicy gossip. “Do you have a boyfriend, fiancé or significant other
somewhere on this plane too?”
    The blatant question took her off guard. She willed herself
to breathe and raised a shoulder while giving a playful shake of her head.
    His eyebrows rose in what she took for surprised pleasure.
His smile tilted up on one side. “So, you’re the teasing type.”
    “Well, I could use some practice,” she admitted. Luckily,
the words came out sounding a little bit daring instead of embarrassing, as she
feared. 
    His eyes narrowed a bit in curiosity, but they also held a knowing
look. “You were on one of those get-your-mojo-back kind of trips.”
    She halfway expected him to nod and lean back in his