Twelve Days of Christmas Blog Hop: Day 7

Another Stocking has been removed and it's my turn to tell you about my story in this great holiday anthology!

My story is Promises!

Blurb: 'Leda James is a woman on the verge of losing it due to her distaste of the upcoming holiday season. Sadly, being a professional baker, avoiding Christmas alltogether is totally out of the question.

When her hot and hunky Italian assistant, Joey offers her a chance to spend Christmas Eve with him and his family, she is fast to turn him down even though she secretly lusts after him.

In a matter of hours they find themselves stranded due to a fast approaching winter storm. Joey is forced to spend the night at her upstairs apartment. Sparks fly, clothing comes off, and in the end she's left to question everything she'd thought was perfect about her life.

There's a storm raging not only outside, but also within her. And when the morning comes, she's not sure if she'll be able to ride either of them out.'

Excerpt: Joey shifted the van into low gear and crossed his fingers that he’d make it back alright. And when he spotted the bakery in the near distance through the fast falling snow, he heaved a huge sigh of relief.

            “Have you seen what it’s like out there?” he asked, walking into the bakery. “And it’s only going to get worse overnight, so says the radio.”

            “I sent Kendra home early so she could avoid it. It looks like I did the right thing. You can go too.”

            “In this? I barely made it back here. I’m not going anywhere yet.” He pulled off his jacket and went to the supply room to hang it up. When he came back, Leda was leaning on the countertop staring off into space. He didn’t think she even noticed he was there. “So, what else needs to be done?”

            “Just the clean-up. I doubt we’ll be seeing any more customers in here tonight.”

            “Not if they’re smart.” He looked to the kitchen. “I’ll get to work.”

            “I’ll be in a moment.”

* * * *

            There wasn’t much to clean. As usual Kendra has taken care of most of it as she worked. And after the bulk had been cleaned up, Joey washed down the surfaces while Leda took care of the front end of the store, removing day old baked good from the display counters.

            “What a waste,” she said, carrying a load back into the kitchen. “It’s a shame to dump it. Take some of it home with you.”

            “Home? You’re kidding. Visibility is near zero out there. This is going to last all night and into tomorrow morning.”

            “You can’t sleep here,” she said. She had a small apartment located up over the shop. She could invite him to stay the night with her. Her pulse quickened thinking about taking Joey into her personal space. “You can stay upstairs with me. That’s the only sensible solution to this. The couch is reasonably comfy.”

            “Thanks. I appreciate that, Leda.” He did sound appreciative, and the way he looked at her as he spoke her name, well, she had to force her mind to other things then ravishing him right then and there.

            “It’s not a problem. I’d do it for just about anyone.”

            He smirked. “Well thank you for making me feel special. And to think, I thought I was the only one.”

            “Funny guy.” Leda smirked “Let’s finish up down here and get the heck out of dodge.”

This was a fun story to write and I hope you enjoy reading it! Happy Holidays!

Next up in the blog hop: Kelly Yeakle