How the Hitman Stole Christmas - Sam Mariano Page 0,37

better—he tugs me up beside him and wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me close, like he does it every day.

“Mom, Jasper’s here,” Nora calls out, stepping behind us to close the front door.

My heart skitters a bit faster as someone new shows up. A man emerges from the room to our left. It looks like maybe an office or a den—definitely a man’s room—with a pair of brown leather couches in front of a roaring fireplace, a desk and a wall full of books on the opposite side.

“Tarek,” Nora says, the first trace of nervousness entering her tone as the newcomer peers at us curiously. “Meet my brother, Jasper, and his girlfriend, Autumn. Jasper… this is my boyfriend, Tarek Moustafa.”

Nora’s boyfriend is very handsome, that’s the first thing I notice. He has the darkest eyes I’ve ever seen with unruly raven hair, buzzed on the sides but long on top. His skin is darker than ours, it looks like he might descend from somewhere in the Middle East. I don’t know if his complexion just naturally complements them or he practices exceptional oral hygiene, but he has perfect, pearly white teeth and the nicest smile.

Tarek reaches a hand out toward Jasper. “It’s great to meet you, Jasper. Nora’s talked you up so much, I expected a heavenly glow around you when you came walking through the door.”

Jasper laughs shortly. “All lies, I’m a bastard,” he says good-naturedly, giving Tarek’s hand a good, firm shake. “Nice to meet you.”

Tarek’s gaze shifts to me. At first he starts to offer his hand, then he changes his mind and gives me a hug instead. “Hi, Jasper’s girlfriend.”

I like him immediately. I’m relieved he’s the first new person I’m meeting. “Hi, Nora’s boyfriend,” I reply.

He’s still got that big smile on his handsome face as he pulls back and returns to her side. “Nora said you guys don’t usually make it. I’m glad you could come this year.”

“Me too,” I volunteer, falling right into my role as Jasper’s not-at-all-fake, totally-real girlfriend. I slide an arm around his waist, naturally mirroring the position of the other couple in the room.

Jasper’s grip on my waist tightens naturally. “Is Vanessa here yet?”

Nora shakes her head, but before she can answer, a new voice joins the fray.

“She isn’t coming. You know how she can be,” the new woman says, waving it off.

Nora looks back at her. “Mom, you know she couldn’t get enough time off work. She wouldn’t have been able to fly in until Christmas Eve, and what’s the point of only coming for one day?”

“I know that’s what she claims,” the woman says, making her disbelief as plain as possible.

Jasper’s mom doesn’t look a thing like him, and Jasper doesn’t look a thing like Nora. I make a guess they might have different dads, and his father’s genes ran much stronger.

Jasper’s mom and sister both have blonde hair and fair complexions. Nora’s eyes are blue, but not the same piercing shade as Jasper’s.

Their mom has brown eyes and a measured smile. She’s focused on me when I look over at her, her gaze sweeping over me in clear appraisal.

Even though she’s not truly my boyfriend’s mom, I find my spine straightening in a subtle attempt to make a good impression.

“Hello, dear, I’m Audra. You must be Jasper’s magical girlfriend who convinced him to come home for the holidays,” she says, her gaze meeting mine. “Welcome.”

Her greeting seems mildly passive aggressive, and I’m completely thrown by the second person in as many minutes suggesting I had anything to do with Jasper’s presence here. Jasper may not have wanted to come, but he was willing to risk making himself uncomfortable to do it anyway, and it wasn’t for me.

It was for Nora. He told me on the way up here that he was coming to meet her new boyfriend, to make sure he was a good guy. I don’t know why Nora—at the very least—isn’t giving him the credit he’s due.

I keep my tone as friendly as possible as I lean into Jasper, since he’s just letting them pretend I dragged him here. “Oh, no, I had nothing to do with it. It was all this guy.”

“Sure it was,” his mother says a touch knowingly.

I can’t keep a small frown off my face. I cast a curious glance at Jasper, wondering about the strange energy coming off his mom. I can’t really explain why, but it feels like it offends her that he would get any