Kitabı oxu: «Wrapped In Red: Mistletoe Mantra / White Hot Holiday»

Chapter 1

“What do you mean, he said no?” Naomi “Nomi” Adams stared at her assistant, Ella Thompson.

Ella shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’ve tried everything. His agent, Ron. His Facebook. Hell, I even hired someone and they can’t find him. The guy is a ghost. The only thing I’ve been able to dig up is that he lives in some place called Faith, Virginia.”

Nomi’s heart stuttered. Oh hell.

Belinda Foster, her managing editor, sat forward. “Didn’t you grow up in Faith, Virginia, Nomi?”

Nomi swallowed hard and locked her jaw. Just thinking about her hometown was enough to make her ill. “Yeah, but I haven’t been back in a long time.”

Belinda sat back. “What do you suggest we do? This twentieth-anniversary special edition is supposed to be epic. You turned us on to this guy and he’s perfect for the theme of beauty around the world. We have to find this guy.”

The whole table looked at her for guidance. Four years ago Nolan Polk had burst onto the photography scene and become a media darling with an anti-bullying campaign he’d done with Rolling Stone magazine. They’d done a photo call, looking for up-and-coming photographers. After that he’d been extremely prolific. Everyone had wanted him. And then two years ago, he’d mysteriously stopped producing, only donating the occasional photograph for charity. It made him a hot commodity.

Unfortunately, he was also notoriously reclusive. Sassy magazine had been angling to get him to do a spread since he popped onto the scene. A photo from him would be the perfect addition to their twentieth-anniversary lineup. Though, that was only if they could get him. And that meant finding him first.

Nomi twirled her pen and tried to steer the direction of the conversation. “We don’t have much time. If his rep won’t get back to us, then we either need to find another photographer or get someone down there. I might know someone who can look into it for us.”

Ella shifted in her chair. “I mean, I’ve tried everything. I even had our people in New York go down to his agent’s apartment. No luck. Maybe his representation is out of town.”

Or maybe Nolan Polk didn’t want to be found. But it wasn’t in Nomi’s nature to back down from a challenge. Okay, not exactly true. She’d once run away from home and hadn’t looked back on what she’d left behind, ever. But she was a whole new person now. The kind of person who got things done. “I’ll get someone to Faith.”

Belinda shook her head. “I think for something this important, you need to go yourself. I mean, you are from there, after all.”

Wait, what? No way, no how. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

Belinda pursed her lips as she always did when she was about to school someone. “You’re from there. You know the locals. How hard will it be to ferret out one guy? You can do that in your sleep.”

Nomi’s skin went cold. She could do this. No. No you can’t. You can’t go home to Faith. “Well, I mean, it’s the holiday and everything so I’m thinking there is a good chance even if I can track down where he lives, he won’t be there.” Not to mention that Faith was one of those towns that exploded Christmas holidays. And she, well, she hated everything about Christmas.

“Nomi, this is what we need right now. Can you commit to getting the job done?” Belinda asked.

Amber Divine leaned forward, perfectly curled red hair bouncing. “I can go if Nomi doesn’t want to. I’m more than happy to be a team player.”

Nomi gnashed her teeth together. She and Amber had been in the running for a senior editor position for months. If she let Amber go back to Faith and her competition got the Nolan Polk picture, there would go Nomi’s promotion.

Her boss tapped her pen against her lips. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Having more boots hit the ground will help.”

Ella leaned forward. “We still have a week until Christmas. I can have you guys on the first plane out in the morning and scheduled to come back before the holiday. I know how you feel about Christmas—you’ll be in and out.”

“I really think it would be better to hire someone. Like a professional. Amber doesn’t know the area and we’d be looking for a needle in a haystack,” Nomi squeaked. She hated the idea of Amber doing what she couldn’t.

Belinda frowned. “Why do I get the impression you don’t want to do this?”

Because I don’t. “Of course I do. I’m just worried we won’t find him there during the holiday.”

“Then let’s hope you find a lead quick, because you’re both heading to Faith.”

Nomi slumped in her chair. If she was going home, then she’d need some reinforcements. And she’d have to make some arrangements. Ella was good at her job, but she didn’t know Faith. They embraced the Christmas holiday like no place she’d ever seen. If there wasn’t snow, they brought in snow machines to make sure it was a white Christmas. Every year, without fail. Tourists started pouring into the town right after Thanksgiving and didn’t let up till the New Year. It made hotels and car rentals a nightmare.

As soon as the meeting was over, she trudged to her office and made a phone call she never thought she’d be making. At the same time she started an online search for a rental car and hotel. The Resplendence Inn seemed to have rooms, so she sent the link to Ella to book.

After three rings, a harried Jilly Porter answered the phone. “This is Jilly.”

Nomi exhaled slowly. There was something comforting about her best friend’s voice. “Hey, girl, it’s Nomi.”

“Nomi! Honey, it’s been two months since we talked. Why is that? I wish I could chat, but I’m getting stuff ready for a shipment.”

“Oh, sorry to catch you at a bad time. Real quick though, I’m coming home. Do you think you could swing a pickup from the train station tomorrow evening?” Faith was so small it didn’t even have an airport, so she’d have to fly into Dulles, then take the train from there. Planes, trains and automobiles.

If possible, Jilly’s voice went up an octave. “Home? Why? Holy shit, for how long? Are you going to see Brad? Are you going to tell your parents you’re coming? Oh my God, of course you would call with news like this when I can’t properly discuss.”

Nomi couldn’t help but smile. Jilly owned her own art gallery, and she also did private buying for select clients. “Short answers: yes, home, for work, hopefully no more than two days, hell to the no, and haven’t decided yet. Now, can you pick me up from the train station or what?”

Jilly mumbled something and Nomi could only guess she was using her mouth to hold something while she did something with her hands. “I don’t think I can do tomorrow night, but you know what? Linc probably can. He’s here. You work out the deets with him and I’ll see you as soon as you get in.”

“Jilly, wait—” Nomi sighed. Jilly was notorious for delegating tasks without asking. Especially to her twin brother, Linc.

“This is Linc.”

Nomi’s brain stuttered; the voice she remembered wasn’t the one on the line now. When had his voice gotten so deep? From the time she moved to Faith, she and Jilly had been inseparable. Which meant that everywhere they went, Linc hadn’t been far behind. He and Jilly ran in the same circles at school, but Nomi could never say she knew him that well. He’d always been so quiet. More watchful than anything. He’d never needed to be the center of attention. And he’d helped get them out of more than a few scrapes thanks to her big mouth and Jilly’s impulsive nature.

“Uh, Linc, hi. It’s Nomi. Nomi Adams, from Faith.”

There was a beat of silence. Then another beat. When he spoke again, his voice was low and raspy. “You honestly think I’d forgotten you? Without you, Jilly probably would have ended up as a rock star groupie or worse.”

He had no idea how close he was with his teasing guess. She and Jilly had once snuck out to go to a Foo Fighters concert and Jilly had been hell bent on getting backstage by any means necessary, including flashing the bouncers her boobs if she had to. Nomi had managed to talk her out of it.

“Listen, I’m sorry to impose, but Jilly volunteered you to pick me up at the train station tomorrow night. I know it’s a huge inconvenience, but I can’t seem to get a single rental car in the area.”

“Yeah, the holiday rush is in full swing.” His voice was warm and mellow, like melting chocolate. “Not to worry. It’s cool. Just text Jilly the details and I’ll be there.”

Good ol’ Linc. “Thank you. It’s much appreciated. I’ll owe you one.”

“I’ll hold you to it.” There was a beat of silence, then he said, “Last time I saw you, you said you were never coming back to Faith, Virginia.”

Yeah, she had said that. And she’d meant it. “Apparently, never say never. I need to come back for work.”

“You work for a magazine now, right?”

Nomi had no idea why, but just talking to him made her a little nervous, her skin heating. It must be the voice. It made it easy to forget she was talking to Jilly’s brother.

“Yeah. They’re sending me back to find Nolan Polk. He’s supposed to live in Faith.”

There was a long beat of silence. “What do you need him for?”

“Well, it’s our twentieth-anniversary edition and we’re looking for some of his photos for a spread.”

“I don’t get it. Wouldn’t you normally call his agent or something? I assume a guy like that has an agent.”

“Yeah, tried that. No luck. He isn’t responding to our requests. So anyway, it appears I’m headed home to try and find him.”

Linc’s voice was soft, quiet. “Well, if anyone can find him, it’s probably you. You always had a way of coming out on top.”

Nomi swallowed hard as her brain conjured up an image of her on top of Linc, back arched in bliss. What the hell was wrong with her? Just because his voice was all grown and sexy didn’t mean he’d grown with it.

“I hope you’re right, Linc. I’ve got a lot riding on this.”