One Silent Night (Romeo Family Romance #9) - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,4

fix it. Noelle put a dark rinse on the older woman’s hair. She wasn’t happy, but there was nothing else that Noelle could do. The disaster didn’t bode well for Noelle on her first day on the job. “You’re lucky that you’re a former Miss Georgia Royal and that your beauty pageant title will bring in lots of new clients,” Vivian had snipped, “otherwise, I’d fire you on the spot.”

Meredith turned her predatory eyes on Holden. “I wondered where you’d gotten off to,” she sniffed. “Then, I heard the crash.”

The words snapped through Noelle’s brain. Were Holden and Meredith together? Meredith was certainly beautiful enough to capture any man’s attention with her glossy dark hair and willowy figure, but she didn’t seem like Holden’s type. The Holden Noelle grew up with wouldn’t put up with the likes of Meredith Sims for one minute, much less date her. He’d say she was way too high maintenance for him. Or at least that’s what he would’ve said back in the day. The point was driven home that Noelle didn’t know who Holden Hunt was anymore.

Noelle felt a curious sense of loss and had to remind herself that it didn’t matter whom Holden Hunt dated. He was part of her past, not her future. Holden got to his feet. He reached down to help Noelle up. “Thanks, but I’ve got it,” she said quickly as she stood. She was caught off guard at how wobbly her legs were. She teetered slightly before Holden caught her arm in a steadying grip.

“Easy,” he cautioned.

She felt the warmth of his fingertips shooting straight into the center of her core. Or maybe it was a trick of her over-heightened senses. Yeah, it had to be that. No way could Holden Hunt still have such a strong effect on her. For years, she’d lived her life independent of him and had done just fine. She could keep doing the same now.

“Everything’s okay,” Holden said to the curious onlookers. “Nothing to see here, folks,” he grinned. “You can move along.” He spoke with the congenial authority of one used to dealing with intrusive town folk.

“If you say so, Coach,” a man said. As the crowd dispersed, a heavy-set, balding man ran up to them, his arms flailing. “What happened?”

Noelle read his nametag. Mac Warner, store manager. She cringed inwardly as she took a mental assessment of the scene. There were at least twenty damaged cans. She looked around for a sign that would indicate how much each can of ham cost. She figured it had to be at least ten dollars a pop. The least she could do was offer to pay for the damaged merchandise.

“How ya doing, Mac?” Holden said easily with a friendly smile.

Mac nodded, his features softening a fraction. “Coach Hunt,” he acknowledged with a respectful nod. He motioned. “How did this happen?”

Holden rubbed his neck, flashing an apologetic grin. “I’m afraid I tripped and fell.”

Noelle frowned. “No, that’s not what happened. I’m the one who fell.”

“That’s what I heard,” Meredith inserted. “That it was her fault.” She shot Noelle a malevolent glare. Noelle had been asking herself all day why Meredith took such an instant dislike to her. She assumed it was because Meredith was used to being the queen bee and didn’t want any competition. However, now Noelle wondered if Holden was playing into the mix. Meredith would have no doubt heard about Noelle and Holden’s history together.

Mac pointed. “You’re bleeding.”

Noelle couldn’t tell which the store manager was more concerned about—the state of her wellbeing, or that her injury could be a liability for the store.

Noelle looked down at her hand. “Yeah, I guess so.” In all the commotion, she’d forgotten about it. Her hand was washed in blood. Thankfully, none of it had dripped onto the white polished stone floor.

Mac looked past them. “Can someone get the first-aid kit?” he asked loudly, but it was more of an order than a request. Noelle presumed that he was speaking to one of his employees.

“This really is my fault,” Noelle asserted. “I was trying to get to my son, and I tripped.” She looked at Aiden. The store clerk was still holding his hand, but Noelle could tell from the way Aiden was swinging his arm back and forth that he was growing impatient. Aiden couldn’t stay in one place for long.

“Look at her, trying to take the blame.” Holden tsked his tongue as he shook his head. “It’s a kind gesture, but this one’s