Free A Merry Little Christmas by Melanie Schuster Page B

now he had the package and no need to encounter that evil little woman again for a good long time. Life just couldn’t get any better.
    ***
    Angelique was so bus y after the end of the holidays she barely had time to remember there was an Adonis Cochran in the world, which was just fine with her. At that moment she was in her studio in the Cochran building, matting the photographs she would bring to her presentation at the African-American museum. The bright winter sun streamed through the windows and her precise, careful movements occupied all her attention, keeping her thoughts at bay. To think about him meant that she remembered that kiss and that was something she really didn’t want to do.
    That kiss... it was so sweet, so sensual that the mere memory of it took her breath away and put her right back into a place where she could still taste his lips, still feel his strong arms locked around her, still feel the wild and unfamiliar longing that only he could assuage. The tender memory was always followed by the recollection of his behavior the very next day, when he had ignored her completely. That was also something she’d like to forget. Suddenly, despite her efforts to concentrate on her work, her mind drifted. With a sound of disgust, she stopped what she was doing and propped her head in one hand, the past few days coming back to her with unerring clarity.
    She, Paris, and A. J. had all gone over to Alan’s house and she’d even brought a huge bowl of shrimp salad to contribute to the meal. It was her mother’s recipe and Lillian’s shrimp sal ad was welcome wherever it went, it was that spectacular. The real reason she’d brought the salad, however, was because Donnie loved it. He’d had it on several occasions when he was visiting Bennie and Clay in Atlanta and always raved about it, so she’d taken the shrimp salad out of the refrigerator without hesitation, even though it was for her party the next day.   After A.J. and Paris convinced her to go to the party, she decided to cast caution to the wind and see if there was something more to the spontaneous kiss than either she or Donnie realized. Dressed i n the beautiful lapis-blue cash mere sweater Paris had given her for Christmas, Angelique really thought she was l ooking her best. She had on mid night-navy velvet jeans and sleek ankle boots, and a sheer misting of her favorite fragrance, Youth Dew by Estee Lauder. It was considered to be an old-fashioned fragrance, but she loved it and it smelled fantastic on her skin.  She was ready to face Donnie, whatever the outcome. Yes, she’d made herself vulnerable to him and even a target for his ridicule by giving him that kiss, but now she was ready for the consequences.
    Angelique suddenly sat up straight with fire in her eyes. She picked up a matting tool and stared at it, then put it back down. She couldn’t trust herself to cut anything in her present mood. There was no point in trying to avoid it—the memory was too galling to go away.   After greeting all the Cochrans and introducing A.J. to anyone who didn’t know him, Angelique had really begun enjoying herself despite the little thrills chasing around in her stomach in anticipation of seeing Donnie. Tina, Alan Cochran’s wife, had just said something to Angelique about the possibility of her showing at the museum and Angelique had confirmed the information. A.J. had put a brotherly arm around her and was praising her work when Donnie finally walked in and everything went wrong.
    Donnie looked as handsome as ever in another gorgeous sweater, this one a soft blue gray that warmed his already rich skin tone and made it more appealing. He was wearing jeans and some good-looking black shoes that laced up and looked very Italian, although they were probably Doc Martens. His smooth face was fr eshly shaved and he smelled wonderful. Angelique’s mouth had become dry and her hands had gotten damp and itchy.  S he couldn’t have said anything if