Christmas All Around Us ; The Perfect Time for Love ; Playing for Keeps Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Christmas All Around Us

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  The Perfect Time For Love

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Playing For Keeps

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  THREE ROMANCE BUNDLE

  Christmas All Around Us

  The Perfect Time For Love

  Playing For Keeps

  Carla Kincaid

  ❤️❤️❤️

  Copyright ©2020 by Carla Kincaid

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Christmas All Around Us

  Chapter 1

  Julie Peterson braced her knees against the ladder and reached up as high as she could go.

  "Done!" she said excitedly after plunging the last staple into the wall securing the end of the long string of Christmas lights that now stretched around the perimeter of the below-ground banquet hall.

  From her elevated position, Julie looked around the room and smiled at the work she and her best friend Sarah had accomplished.

  "I'm coming down," she said to Sarah standing on the ground below.

  It had taken them almost two hours to string the lights around the room as well and them from corner to corner. Now the banquet hall twinkled with holiday flare.

  "This year's gala is going to be so beautiful," Julie said as she handed the stapler to Sarah and began descending the ladder.

  In four short days, the large hall would be teaming with lesbian women -- single and coupled -- celebrating the organization's annual Christmas fundraiser.

  The irony that the building they were in used to be a Catholic church wasn't lost on the members of Empowerment Now, one of Philadelphia's largest lesbian rights organizations. The group had come into being close to a decade ago in reaction to the firing of an administrative assistant at a local private Catholic high school when she came out as gay.

  There was no legal recourse the woman could take to get her job back so some local activists formed Empowerment Now and successfully raised enough money to help the woman with her living expenses until she could find another job with an inclusive employer. Since then, the annual Rainbow Christmas Gala had raised funds for dozens of lesbian women facing the same fate. It was an event with a serious humanitarian purpose and it was also a lot of fun.

  As Julie's feet touched the floor, she glanced across the room toward a group of women hanging ornaments on the large Christmas tree and other strategic places around the room. For a moment, her gaze locked on one person in particular. The woman was holding a small ribboned bouquet of greenery with an unbent coat hanger attached to the end. Julie watched as she stepped onto a ladder and hooked the end of the hanger over a strand of lights hovering just above the portable bar in the corner. What Julie wouldn't give to be standing under that mistletoe right now.

  "So, when are you going to ask her out?" Sarah asked before Julie could look away.

  While they'd been working Sarah had barraged Julie with questions about her secret crush and even now wouldn't drop the subject.

  "Shh," Julie said shaking her head at her friend. She stepped off the ladder and looked around hoping no one nearby had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

  "Don't shush me," Sarah said with a laugh. "I'm tired of watching you swoon over her from a distance like some pitiful little puppy." Sarah grabbed Julie by the shoulders and spun her around until she faced the corner of the room where the object of her attraction was now tossing tinsel onto the branches of the Christmas tree.

  Instead of looking, Julie let her eyes fall to the floor -- just as she'd been doing all night -- hoping to avoid getting caught staring at the woman who made her heart race faster than normal.

  "She's not going to bite you," Sarah said putting two fingers under Julie's chin and lifting her head. "You should ask her to go to the gala with you!"

  Julie stared across the room assessing her romantic interest. She must have come straight from work, Julie thought as she looked at the perfectly tailored pants and expensive silk blouse the woman wore -- clothes way out of Julie's budget and far more stylish than she'd ever managed to assemble.

  Rachel Samuels, attorney-at-law, could have been a model if she hadn't gone into her chosen field. Julie didn't know if her tall trim body was the result of hours in the gym or just the luck of really good genes. Either way, the sight was making Julie's stomach flip now the same way it had two years ago when Rachel first walked into an Empowerment Now meeting and introduced herself.

  "My name is Rachel Samuels," she'd said. "I just moved here from Chicago where I was very active with the local Human Rights Campaign chapter and my passion is helping LGBTQ citizens understand their rights in the workplace."

  The eyes of almost every single woman in the room -- and a few of the married ones -- were fixed on the attractive attorney as she spoke. Rachel was undoubtedly an it girl. The kind of woman with an aura that made everyone want to either be her, know her or know her. At first sight, Julie remembered having interests in all three categories.

  "I'm sure she already has a date," Julie said freeing herself from Sarah's clutches and shaking the past images of Rachel from her mind.

  "You won't know that for sure unless you ask her." Sarah put her hands on her hips to emphasize her statement causing her flowing maternity top to tighten around her increasingly prominent belly. Pregnancy had made Sarah even more stubborn than usual.

  While it was possible that her best friend was right, Julie wasn't willing
to risk the embarrassment of letting the woman know that she was attracted to her. It might ruin everything.

  "Why would she want to go to the gala with me anyway?" Julie protested. "I'm not some hotshot attorney who represents big clients on important cases. I'm just a kid's dance teacher. The only arguments I win are ones with toddlers who don't want to tie the laces of their tap shoes."

  Sarah rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Where do you think I'd be if I had that kind of attitude about Natalie?" she said.

  Julie let out a long sigh. She knew Sarah had a point. When she and her wife Natalie first met Sarah was a thirty-year-old returning college student and Natalie was finishing her Ph.D. She also happened to be teaching the undergraduate Women's Studies class Sarah had enrolled in.

  Both of them now admit that it was love at first sight but Natalie was standoffish at first because Sarah -- although a year older -- was technically her student. The twists and turns they went through while trying to deny their attraction to each other still made for hilarious dinner stories.

  It was Sarah who finally put an end to the cat and mouse game. Three days after she aced her Women's Studies final, Sarah marched into Natalie's office and asked her out -- and the rest was history.

  "All I'm saying is think about it," Sarah continued. "You can't just keep your feelings for her all bottled up inside." Sarah eyed Julie who was now unwrapping one of the candy canes she'd snatched from the decoration table and stuffed into her purse earlier. "At some point, fate will require you to speak your truth," Sarah said as she reached forward and tried to snatch the peppermint hook out of Julie's mouth.

  Julie turned her head to the side avoiding her friend's grasp. Fate, she thought to herself and then rolled her eyes. She knew Sarah believed in such things. Of course, she did. Julie would too if her life was as fabulous as Sarah's; a loving partner, the perfect job right after graduation and now -- thanks to the magic of modern medicine -- twin girls with a third child -- gender unknown -- on the way.

  Julie wanted to believe such a thing as fate existed but if it did, it sure was slow in showing up in her life. The only things that consistently materialized for Julie were bills she couldn't afford to pay and one case of the cooties after another, thanks to her runny-nosed germ-carrying but cute-as-a-bugs-ear clients. Fate certainly hadn't brought anyone as wonderful as Rachel Samuels into Julie's orbit and she would not put her hopes on the mysterious force doing so now.

  ❤️❤️❤️

  Rachel had her doubts about the Empowerment Now tradition of holding the Christmas gala in the center's banquet hall. Her preference would have been to choose a more elegant -- and therefore more costly -- venue but she had to admit the place was shaping up pretty well. Besides, who was she to complain? She wasn't even planning to be in town for the event -- although she hadn't broken that news to anyone on the gala committee yet.

  "Okay, everyone!" Lorraine, the gala committee chairwoman, announced as the other committee members gathered around a long table in the middle of the room. She began ticking off things to do on her extended fingers. "It looks like we're almost finished with the decorations." Index finger up. "The tables and chairs will be delivered tomorrow." Middle finger added and then a pause. "I'll need some volunteers to help set those up." A few women raised their hands and Lorraine jotted their names down on her notepad and then raised her ring finger. "The caterer will be here at 5 p.m. on Friday and..." A buzz from her cell phone interrupted her. "Oh, my!" she said as she read a text message. "Tammy Reynolds says her SUV won't start. She's supposed to pick up a hand-carved table Gail Collins donated to the silent auction."

  The comment brought Rachel's attention back to the room. Gail Collins was an exquisite woodcarver and furniture maker. Rachel had bought a few pieces from her when she first moved to Philly and wanted something unique for her new condo. That's how she and Gail had become friends.

  "Is there someone who has a vehicle big enough to pick up the table this evening before Gail's shop closes?" the chairwoman asked.

  For a moment Rachel considered volunteering for the task -- even though it would mean tying the table to the roof of her Lexus. Sacrificing her car's paint job might be worth it though. Anything to get her away from all these Christmas ornaments for a while.

  When she originally told Lorraine to put her on any committee that needed help Rachel had no idea she'd get stuck in the middle of all this tinsel and fake snow. She felt like a prisoner trapped in a snow globe!

  To be fair, Christmas wasn't exactly her favorite holiday. Her childhood experiences had caused the whole season to be one she preferred to skip whenever possible.

  "I guess I can go get it," Julie Peterson said. "I've got a pick-up truck."

  Despite her slightly irritable holiday mood, Rachel couldn't help but smile. That was just like Julie to come to the rescue. She was one of those super nice, always helpful, friend in time of need kind of people -- and for that reason, she was someone Rachel had purposefully kept at a distance.

  She wasn't unfriendly to Julie, but she avoided any social interaction that might lead to something more. Rachel knew instinctively that Julie was the kind of woman you dated when you were ready for something serious and Rachel wasn't anywhere near there at this time in her life.

  Plus, Rachel's track record with women was a little too much like her courtroom life. Sure she could usually woo them with her opening argument -- dropping a few jokes or turning on her natural charm -- but sooner or later something always changed. Some piece of evidence would undoubtedly be presented that caused once amorous eyes to look at Rachel with skepticism and scorn.

  Rachel was never exactly sure why the tide turned against her -- although on more than one occasion she was accused of being too emotionally distant when it came to relationships. That was why Rachel had found it best to stay away from deep commitments. Stay in the shallow end of the pool, she always reminded herself when it came to love. Right now her career was her focus -- namely making partner at a well-established law firm -- and unattached, noncommittal fun was the extracurricular plan that fit the goal. Besides, history proved Rachel was a much better friend than intimate partner anyway and she liked to stick to things she was good at.

  "Thank you for volunteering, Julie! Lorraine said with a sigh of relief. "I'll just write the address down for you and you can head right over." Lorraine scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Julie.

  Rachel watched as Julie collected her things and started walking toward the side door of the building. In spite of her vow to steer clear of the woman, Rachel's desire to get out of the indoor winter wonderland over road her better judgment and soon she was hurrying after the attractive dance teacher.

  "You want some company?" Rachel said as she caught up with Julie. She was already putting her coat on in preparation for Julie's yes and the chill outside.

  "Sure. That would be great," Julie said.

  An expression Rachel couldn't quite read flashed across Julie's face but it faded quickly and was replaced by her usual friendly smile.

  Rachel followed Julie to her car -- grateful that the forecasted snow hadn't yet appeared. Julie started the engine to let the car warm up and then pulled out the slip of paper Lorraine had given her. She reached for her cellphone and started typing.

  "There's no need to GPS Gail's shop," Rachel said lifting her hand to stop Julie's quick-moving thumbs. She noticed Julie shiver at her touch -- probably in reaction to Rachel's cold gloveless hands. "I can tell you how to get there," Rachel said as she moved her fingers in front of the car's heater vent to warm them.

  "Oh, that's right," Julie said. "I forgot you and Gail were friends."

  Rachel watched as Julie raised her right hip away from the truck's leather seat and stuffed the piece of paper into the back pocket of her jeans. Nice curves, Rachel thought, allowing herself a moment of up-close appreciation. Off-limits, she reminded herself silently when she realized where her eyes were lingering.

&nb
sp; "Yeah, Gail and I met when she designed a conference table for the law firm where I work. I went by her studio to look at some of her other pieces and we started talking and things just clicked. She and Claire are the ones who told me about Empowerment Now."

  "I've never been to her studio but I know she does beautiful work," Julie said. "Claire showed me some pictures once when she came to pick their daughter Misty up from the dance school where I teach."