One Silent Night (Romeo Family Romance #9) - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,3

two played together as kids, were the best of pals. They became arch enemies during their turbulent, awkward preteen phase. By the time high school rolled around, they could no longer deny their feelings for one another. Everyone assumed they’d end up together, but then the unthinkable happened, changing everything. She thought she might have caught a trace of regret in his deep brown eyes, but it vanished before she could tell for sure what he was feeling. Was Holden remembering everything they’d lost? She sure thought about it often enough. They’d had such high aspirations for the future.

A crooked grin lifted a corner of his mouth, showcasing his deep dimples. She remembered pressing her finger in them when they were kids. She used to call them black holes, saying that the entire world could get lost in them. “Hey, Noe,” he said softly. “Welcome home.” She was fascinated by the faint creases around his eyes. They hadn’t been there before. His lean jaw held a slight stubble. It was sexy. Over the years, she’d thought of him more often than she wanted to admit, even dreaming about him a few times. It was interesting to synch the memories of her past with the real-life, breathing hunk of man sitting beside her. Amusement lit his eyes, making her realize that she was staring at him.

Heat blowtorched over her face as she gurgled and then coughed. “Hey.” He didn’t look surprised to see her. She wondered if Birdie had told him she was coming home. Or maybe he’d heard the news from someone at the salon. The only thing that traveled faster than the speed of sound was gossip through the Franklin grapevine. Her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as she took a quick snapshot of his cut muscles, the outlines visible beneath his gray long-sleeved shirt. Yep, she could certainly tell he was a football coach. He probably lived in the gym. Football was a religion in Franklin. According to what Birdie had told her, in addition to teaching high school history, Holden was one of the most sought-after coaches in the tri-state area of Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. He would no doubt be a king in Franklin.

Holden arched an eyebrow. “Noe, you’ve always been notorious for making a grand entrance, but you’ve outdone yourself this time.”

Anger came on suddenly, roaring through her like a freight train. She was about to come back with a snarky retort when she saw his playful glint of admiration. A begrudging smile tugged at her lips. “I own up to my mistakes when the situation warrants, but I was helped a bit with this one.” She made a point of giving Aiden a reproving look. He ducked his head behind the arm of the store employee.

“So, this is the little man that I’ve been hearing about,” Holden said as he looked at Aiden.

Noelle startled. “Who’s been talking to you about Aiden?” Even as the question left her mouth, the answer came in a flash. “Birdie.”

“Yep,” Holden grinned.

Birdie thought Holden was the greatest thing since pumpkin pie. She would always joke about Holden being her adopted son.

Noelle looked at Holden’s palms. One was creased from landing on the edge of a can. “Your hand.”

“It’s nothing,” he said casually, much the same as she’d done when the older woman pointed out her injury.

“Well, well,” a female voice jeered, “it looks like Miss Beauty Queen is continuing her path of destruction.”

Noelle looked up to see Meredith Sims. Her arms were folded over her chest, her sculpted eyebrow arched in disdain. Meredith was the daughter of Noelle’s new boss, Vivian Sims, the owner of the salon. Meredith worked there also. Meredith was a few years younger, so Noelle didn’t remember her from high school. However, it only took Noelle a single day of working at the hair salon to realize that Meredith was a diva. The path of destruction Meredith was referring to was a highlighting job gone terribly wrong. When Noelle removed the highlighting foils from Mrs. Smalley’s hair and went to rinse her out, she was horrified when Mrs. Smalley’s highlights, which should have been blonde, turned out purple. Noelle couldn’t believe she’d goofed on her first day. She’d gone over the formula with a fine-toothed comb and followed every step to the letter.

The only explanation Noelle could come up with for the fiasco was that Mrs. Smalley had recently started taking some new medication. Of course, Mrs. Smalley expected Noelle to