Free A Spy for Christmas by Kristen James Page A

seat,
ready to ignore her, but he didn’t. Grayson titled his head and kept his gaze
on her face, waiting for her answer. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
    “So Mr. All Wrong was either incredibly stupid, a jerk—
    She shook her head sadly. “He wasn’t a bad boyfriend, for
the most part. I’ll give him that, but he wasn’t interested in moving our
relationship forward, either. When he said he was happy with the way things
were, I realized I wasn’t.” That had been the wake up call. After waiting for
him to propose for a year, she learned he “wasn’t into marriage.”
    “You wanted more,” Grayson said.  
    “Yes!” Like passion, excitement, shared dreams. Suddenly, she wondered why she was sharing all this with a stranger. It was as
if her thoughts wanted to pour out on their own accord. Grayson put her
completely at ease with his smile, charm and thoughtfulness.
    She felt so at ease, in fact, that she openly asked, “What
about you? Are you hiding from someone?”
    That made him laugh, and she immediately liked the dimple in
his right cheek. “Hiding from someone? Hmm, that’s a telling comment about
relationships.”
    “Oh, you’re secretive, aren’t you?” she prodded, trying not
to smile but failing. “Maybe you have a girlfriend who is now stuck sitting
with the newlyweds.”
    He laughed too and then rested his elbow on the armrest so
he could lean on it, bringing him even closer. “I’ve been traveling all over for
work, but this is my last trip. Last work trip, that is.” He spoke slowly,
considering his words. Instinctively, Robin knew there had to be quite a bit
more behind that story.
    “Downsizing?” she asked.
    “Oh, no, I put in my resignation so I can move on to
something else.” After a pause he smiled and added, “And now I can figure out
what that something else is.”
    He let his gaze fall over her face, the way water slides
down a naked body in the rain. She really had to fight her smile now. “You must
be a risk taker.”
    “Aren’t we all?” Excitement warmed his voice. “Here we are
in a big, metal bin a few miles up in the air. We take risks every day. I just
pick my risks and decide what I want.”
    His gaze did that thing again as he said what I want. Her body temperature was quickly reaching dangerous levels, from attraction and
his contagious fervor for life.
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    He should have kissed her right there on the airplane. They
were both thinking about it, and watching each other for the entire flight.
What an intriguing woman—she’d treated herself to a week in paradise for her
birthday, the 15 th of December. That took initiative. He guessed it
might also be nice for her to get away from the yearly jokes about her December
birthday and last name of Holliday. Fate had played with her, but it’d brought
them together for a few enticing hours too.
    Then, at least for him, the situation changed. When they
touched down, something else grabbed his attention on the plane. Grayson
thought he caught a glimpse of a familiar and not welcome face. A foreign
clandestine agent coming into the US was a serious matter… and it brought him
back to the reality that he couldn’t afford a relationship, even as a private
citizen. So he didn’t get her number. Instead, he left her presence with a
vague, “It was so nice to meet you, Robin.”
    “Likewise,” she’d said, almost purring. If nothing else,
he’d made her day by flirting with her, and she didn’t act hurt that he didn’t
ask for her number. Still…
    Grayson waited around so he could follow her out and also to
check that it hadn’t been anyone he recognized on the plane. He didn’t make out
anyone from all the red and green clad passengers.
    He watched her red hair through the crowd, wishing he could
run after her. The urge led him down the airport concourse, trailing her. Maybe
he could “bump” into her outside and get her number, but was it worth putting
her in danger? He