Christmas Diamonds
Read Christmas Diamonds Online
Authors: Devon Vaughn Archer
Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #General
Paula sighed.
“You are more than generous.”
“I can afford to be, especially if I sense that I can get a good return on my investment,” Chase said seductively.
“And what exactly are you investing in?” Paula asked with more than a little curiosity.
He held her gaze. “How about a lady who appeals to me on multiple levels?”
Paula warmed. “That sounds tempting.”
“I’ve also never been more serious,” Chase said, continuing to look at her. “I think you’re lovely, sexy, smart and obviously very talented.”
“Don’t stop now,” Paula joked, though secretly she felt a wave of anticipation for what might come next.
“I won’t.”
Chase cupped her cheeks and, angling his head perfectly, kissed Paula tenderly on the lips. She felt his lower lip in her mouth and caressed it with her tongue, enjoying his taste and wanting more. Opening her mouth, she took in all of his. He reciprocated and their tongues danced while the kiss deepened. Chase wrapped his arms around her lower back, drawing them even closer without breaking their lip lock or the sexual tension in the air.
Books by Devon Vaughn Archer
Kimani Romance
Christmas Heat
Destined to Meet
Kissing the Man Next Door
Christmas Diamonds
Kimani Arabesque
Love Once Again
DEVON VAUGHN ARCHER
began writing mysteries in 2004, after a distinguished career as a nonfiction writer, by penning the legal thriller
Persuasive Evidence
. This was followed in 2005 by
Justice Served
, a finalist in the
Romantic Times BOOKreviews
Reviewers’ Choice Awards, and in 2006 by
State’s Evidence
.
Not content to rest on his laurels, Devon added romance fiction to his repertoire. In 2005, he began writing as Devon Vaughn Archer (previously R. Barri Flowers), and his novel
Dark and Dashing
appeared in the two-in-one collection
Slow Motion
, which received rave reviews and became a Black Expressions Book Club selection.
In 2006, Devon Vaughn Archer became the first man to write a contemporary romance for Harlequin’s Kimani Arabesque line with the wonderful
Love Once Again
.
Devon has a BA and MS from Michigan State University, where he met his college sweetheart. They married seven months later. They currently live in the picturesque Pacific Northwest in Oregon, which Devon considers a natural setting for his romance and mystery novels.
He welcomes feedback from his fans and can be e-mailed at [email protected]. Learn more about his writing, book signings, contests and future releases on Devon’s Web site at www.rbarriflowers.com. Also be sure to join his friends on MySpace at www.myspace.com/devonvaughnarcher.
Christmas Diamonds
DEVON VAUGHN ARCHER
To all my fans, and to the joy of love and romance at
Christmastime.
Also to Sleeping Beautiful and Maui Mermaid all
wrapped up in one special lady.
Dear Reader,
I would like to thank all of you for supporting my last two
Kimani romances, Kissing the Man Next Door
and
Destined to Meet
.
Now I am very excited to bring to you my latest contemporary romance, a holiday love story,
Christmas Diamonds
. As with my previous Kimani holiday romance,
Christmas Heat
, this one promises to tug at your heartstrings and make you fall in love with the protagonists, Paula Devine and Chase McCord.
Paula, an interior decorator, and Chase, a diamond jeweler and widower, turn chemistry into all-consuming passion as they navigate the waters between a professional and personal relationship. Over the festive Christmas season romance will carry them from Silver Moon, Washington, to the Diamond Capital of the World, Antwerp, Belgium, and back.
Paula secretly wishes to follow her grandmother’s footsteps in being presented a diamond ring for Christmas.
The concept for this plot came from a bluesy Christmas song I have loved since childhood, “Merry Christmas, Baby” by Charles Brown. In it, getting a diamond ring for Christmas is likened to being in paradise. I tried to take that theme in carving out my holiday tale. I want my readers to take from this novel how wonderful falling in love can be when coupled with the joy of Christmastime.
I hope you enjoy reading
Christmas Diamonds
as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I am now at work on a new ultraromantic series,
Passions in Paradise
, with each story taking place on a different exotic Hawaiian Island.
And I also invite you to join my friends list on MySpace at www.myspace.com/devonvaughnarcher.
Yours truly,
Devon Vaughn Archer
Contents
Chapter 1
P
aula Devine sipped her macchiato at the coffee shop, trying to ignore the intense sable eyes bearing down on her from the next table. The well-dressed, good-looking man had an enviable almond complexion and sideburns that merged with a thin mustache before meeting up nicely on his chin. He was obviously alone and perhaps hoping to hook up with whomever he set his sights on.
That would be her, given his apparent sole preoccupation. In another time and place, Paula might have entertained the thought of seeing what the man was made of. After all, she was naturally curious, like any single woman who was the object of a man’s attention. Today, she merely wanted to finish her flavored latte and head to an appointment she had as an interior decorator.
“Don’t you know it’s not polite to stare?” Paula narrowed her tawny eyes at him, disregarding the fact that she was equally guilty. She couldn’t help herself, all things considered.
His head snapped back as if he’d been in a trance. “My
apologies,” he said, his voice deep and distinguished. “Guess I was totally entranced by your beauty.”
Paula nearly laughed out loud, though she honestly felt flattered to some degree. Who wouldn’t be? She’d gotten her fair share of compliments over the years. Most she had taken with a grain of salt, primarily because the smooth talker usually expected something in return. Often much more than was warranted. And since she wasn’t offering anything—not this day or to this man—the words mostly came across as hollow.
“I’d say originality is not your strong suit,” she told him candidly. “My advice to you is to find some new lines, then try them out on a woman who might actually be naive or desperate enough to fall for it.”
He chuckled and ran his large hand through closely cropped, curly, raven hair. “You’re probably right about the originality, but wrong on my intent. I wasn’t trying to hit on you.”
“Oh, really?” Her curly lashes fluttered with skepticism. “Why don’t I believe you?”
His eyes widened. “Maybe because you’re a little too full of yourself.”
Paula arched a thin brow. “Excuse me?”
“I’m pretty sure you heard me loud and clear.”
“I did,” Paula acknowledged, wishing she hadn’t. Now she had to tell him what she really thought. “Actually, it’s more that I don’t have the time or interest for silly games.”
“Got it.” He rose to his feet and buttoned the jacket of a three-piece gray windowpane suit that fit nicely on his tall, trim frame before lifting his still-steaming coffee. “Again, I’m sorry if I stepped on your toes.”
Paula blinked and instinctively moved her toes inside her leather pumps. She imagined if he had stepped on them, she would surely have felt it. “Whatever,” she said tartly, dismissing him with a look.
“Have a nice day,” he told her politely. “And I mean that.”
She watched him walk away with a confident strut and jutted
chin, half expecting that he might come back and plead his case. But he didn’t, obviously deciding he couldn’t be bothered.
Maybe I did have him pegged wrong
. Or maybe not. Either way, the encounter had left Paula frustrated, and she had a pretty good idea why. She’d just gotten out of a relationship with a real charmer who was nearly as handsome as the one who had just vacated the premises. She wasn’t quite ready to dive in headfirst again, only to find that the man was much more of a frog than a prince when all was said and done.
Besides, Paula had a feeling that man was already spoken for. She couldn’t imagine someone so smooth and appealing to the eye not being taken. But that never seemed to stop men from checking out women and often playing on the attraction to see what they could get out of it. Perhaps he wasn’t trying to hit on her, though she still had her doubts about that.
Glancing at her watch, Paula realized she’d let the time get away from her.
I can’t be late. That would be too unprofessional
. She grabbed her bag and was out the door in a flash.
Chase McCord spilled some of his cappuccino on the sidewalk as he left the coffee shop on this cool, crisp October afternoon. He wanted to kick himself for that, much like when the lady caught him gazing at her perhaps a bit too long and had no problem telling him what she thought of it. The last thing he’d wanted was to have the woman think he was trying to get her naked and into bed before he even knew her name. Or knew if there was more to her than undeniably attractive physical qualities to go along with an attitude.
As it was, romance was not at the top of his agenda these days. Far from it. Not when the love of his life was no longer there to share his bedroom or anything else that mattered. It had been two years since Chase’s wife, Rochelle, died. Though gone, she would never be forgotten. Not for one minute. He missed her so much and found it incredibly hard to engage in his professional pursuits without her subtle encouragement
and unwavering companionship. But their time had come and gone, leaving him alone to make a life for himself.
Chase climbed inside his black Mercedes luxury car, started it and drove out of the crowded parking lot. He thought about the woman he’d locked eyes with a few minutes earlier, a lovely vision of her popping into his head. She was slender and gorgeous with smooth, honey-caramel skin that he’d almost wanted to reach over and touch. High cheekbones sat on a heart-shaped face, molding into a small nose and lips that were not too full and not too thin—just right. Her long, straight, blond hair was in a cool Sedu style.
The lady clearly had a poor opinion of men and was a bit too outspoken for his comfort. Not that any of it mattered at this point. He doubted they would ever cross paths again, which was certainly for the better as far as he was concerned.
His cell phone rang, and Chase turned his attention to it. “Hey,” he said to Monica Rice, his best friend since college. She was an executive at McCord Diamonds, a chain of Pacific Northwest jewelry stores owned by Chase and his father that specialized in diamonds and other precious gemstones.
“Are you home right now?” she asked.
“No, but I’m on my way there. Why?”
“Don’t forget to bring those insurance appraisals you took home yesterday when you come to the office.”
