Melting Snow Read online

  Cover Copy

  Hot

  Broke college student Winter Snow wants Christmas to be over. Thanks to her annoying name, this time of year always leaves her feeling Scrooged. The only cheer she wants is cold hard cash from her mall cleaning job—until a surprise offer from a hunky firefighter sparks one sizzling midnight temptation . . .

  Hotter

  William Holiday needs a replacement elf for his fire station’s fund-raiser. Convincing Winter she’s perfect for the part—and giving her some one-on-one training—is a task he’s happy to take on. Because her irrepressible smarts and luscious curves are making this seductive Saint Nick want to deliver all night long . . .

  Burn

  Winter isn’t betting on more than an X-rated Xmas fling. But Will plans to show her they have more in common than their quirky last names—enough to keep their wildest holiday wishes coming true . . .

  Visit us at www.kensingtonbooks.com

  Books by Lenora Gonzales

  Melting Snow

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  Melting Snow

  Lenora Gonzales

  LYRICAL PRESS

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  Copyright

  Lyrical Press books are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2017 by Lenora Gonzales

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  All Kensington titles, imprints, and distributed lines are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotion, premiums, fund- raising, and educational or institutional use.

  To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

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  Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  LYRICAL PRESS Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  Lyrical Press and the L logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.

  First Electronic Edition: November 2017

  eISBN-13: 978-1-5161-0688-2

  eISBN-10: 1-5161-0688-1

  Printed in the United States of America

  Dedication

  Richard, you are the best partner in crime I could have ever asked for.

  Chapter 1

  “Winnieeeeeee!”

  Winter rolled over in her cozy bed and squinted at the alarm clock.

  “Go away, Jasmine!” she yelled, her voice still groggy with sleep. “And stop calling me Winnie!”

  “Winnie!” This time the yelling was followed by a solid thump to the cheap door holding her roommate at bay.

  “What did you do? Run into the fucking door?” Sliding from her fuzzy blankets, Winter stumbled to the door and swung it open.

  “You don’t have to be a bitch. I wanted to bring you dinner in bed and give you your Christmas present before I left for my mom’s,” Jasmine grumbled as she pushed past her roommate to drop a bag of takeout Chinese onto the bed.

  “I’m sorry, Jas. I guess I just napped harder than I thought I would.” Winter slapped her cheeks lightly to help herself wake up.

  “Winnie, you need to take it easy.” Digging into the bag, Jasmine pulled out an eggroll. “These part-time jobs are gonna kill you if you keep it up.”

  “I told you to stop calling me that.” Winter snagged the eggroll out of Jasmine’s hand and took a bite. “If you keep calling me that, I’m gonna start calling you Minnie. Then we’ll be Minnie and Winnie,” Winter threatened with her mouth full.

  The women had been instant friends from the moment they’d met. Winter was older than Jasmine by five years but seemed to be behind her in life. When Winter had answered an ad for a roommate one year ago, it had been one of the best things she’d ever done. Jasmine was only twenty-two but extremely dependable and hard-working. Going to nursing school during the day, she had the help of her well-off family to take care of her living expenses as long as she did well in her classes.

  Winter’s situation was completely the opposite. She’d been working full-time since she graduated high school. College had been put off since she didn’t really know which direction she wanted to go in. After working in an office for years and getting passed up for promotions, she knew the time had come to get a degree or find herself treading water for the rest of her life. Unlike Jasmine, Winter didn’t have a wealthy family as a fallback for help. Living off school loans, a small scholarship and part-time jobs, she made ends meet. Having sold her car, she rode the bus. Instead of living alone, she found an apartment with a roommate. It actually was working out amazingly well except that she was exhausted all the time. Going back to school at twenty-seven was going to possibly kill her if she didn’t catch a break soon.

  Winter was startled out of her thoughts when Jasmine tossed a fortune cookie at her chest.

  “Do not call me Minnie! I’ll stop. I promise.” Jasmine glanced around Winter’s room as she spoke. “This place is a mess. Are those all dirty clothes?” Jasmine seemed horrified at the size of the fabric mountain in the corner.

  “Don’t judge me! I haven’t had time to do laundry in two weeks. Finals kicked my ass.” Chewing for a moment, Winter scanned the large calendar on the wall by her door. “I have Christmas off so I’ll hit the laundromat then.”

  “That’s fucking depressing.”

  “Gee thanks.” Winter shrugged. “I decided to quit my job and go back to school. Welcome to my new reality.”

  Jasmine passed over some more food from the bag, giving her a sad look. “I still wish you could’ve taken a few days off. You need a break and my mom would’ve loved to have you come home with me.”

  “I know, and I really appreciate the offer.” Winter settled in with her noodles and enjoyed the treat of restaurant food. “The mall gig is offering time-and-a-half this week which means I can put even more into savings than I planned. Plus it gives me the excuse to bail out on picking which parent to visit. If I chose my mom then my dad would pout and vice versa. It’s easier this way.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to leave my car for you? My brother can come by and pick me up on his way home,” Jasmine offered.

  “Jas, he lives two hours away!” Winter admonished. “Don’t you even think of having him drive all the way here in the snow just so I can borrow your car. I’ll ride the bus to work and then see if Enrique can give me a ride home at the end of my shift if that makes you feel any better.”

  “If you’re sure…” Jasmine appeared hopeful Winter was going to change her mind.

  “I’m sure.” Wanting to change the subject before her roommate got weepy, Winter pointed at the package on the bed. “You said something about a present?”

  Jasmine clapped her hands together in excitement. “I almost forgot.”

  Winter took the gaily wrapped box from her, not liking the wicked glint in her roommate’s eye.

  “What is this?” She shook the box, hearing a thump come from inside it.

  “Winter Snow, it would ruin t
he surprise if I told you.” Jasmine arched her brow, evil-villain style. “But I can give you a hint. Let’s just say I got my favorite holiday-named friend her very own icicle.”

  “Jasmine Kingsford!” Winter yelled, shocked. “Tell me you did not buy me a vibrator!”

  “Hey, I can’t help that you get loose lips when you’re drunk. You said you haven’t had one since yours broke last year.” Holding up a pillow to defend herself, Jasmine continued, “Plus, you’ve been a cranky bitch. The relaxation effects will help calm your ass down.”

  Winter let her head drop down to her chest in embarrassment. “Remind me never to discuss my sex life with you again.”

  “Don’t you mean lack of sex life?” Jasmine giggled, dodging the swat from Winter.

  Deciding she didn’t want an audience when she opened her present, Winter tossed the package down onto the bed. “I cannot believe you went into a sex shop.”

  “It was interesting for sure.” Jasmine started cleaning up their dinner containers. “I didn’t realize the place would smell so much like rubber.”

  When Winter started to snicker, she got pelted with another fortune cookie. “Hey, you said it,” she defended herself.

  “I lucked out though. They were having a sale. It was buy one, get one half off.”

  “Wait, did you get me two?” Winter asked.

  “No, silly. I got me a matching one.”

  At Jasmine’s confession, Winter couldn’t hold it back any longer. Huge belly-shaking laughter came pouring out of her.

  “What’s so funny, bitch?” Jasmine grumped.

  “You got us matching vibrators?” Winter wheezed out, trying to control her tears of mirth.

  “It’s not like we’re going to use them together or anything, you big pervert. They were having a sale and I wanted to get out of there quickly so I just grabbed two of the same thing,” Jasmine defended.

  “Jas, friends normally get matching necklaces or something. You got us matching vibrators,” Winter cackled.

  “Jesus, I never even thought about it like that.” Jasmine started to chuckle too.

  Winter stood to hug her friend. “Thank you for the present. I promise I will not think about you while using it,” she said seriously, causing Jasmine to burst into a fresh bout of giggles.

  Jasmine hugged Winter back, squeezing hard. “I’m only gone two weeks. Stay out of trouble, and don’t forget to turn in the rent. I left the check on the counter.”

  “I’ll put a reminder in my phone,” Winter promised as she followed Jasmine out into the living room. “Have fun, and drive carefully.”

  Jasmine picked up her luggage from the doorway and blew an air kiss. “I promise to be careful. I’ll text when I get home.”

  Winter glanced at the clock. She had only an hour to get ready and make it to the bus stop if she wanted to be on time to her night job. Even though she had to work over the holiday break, she was still grateful she had the job. Winter had been lucky when she had answered the ad for a night custodian at the local mall. The job was fairly mindless and gave her time to listen to her class lecture notes when she needed to. Her coworker, Enrique, was a great guy and had been excited to have someone who actually did their share of the work. When he’d first seen her, Enrique had not been pleased. After a week of her busting her ass, he had realized she wasn’t there to slack off on the job, and they had become friends.

  Getting dressed quickly, Winter threw her straight hair up into a bun and turned off all the lights. She wrapped herself in her snow gear before making her way to the bus stop. Riding the bus had been a new experience for her. When she’d been working full-time, she’d been able to afford her high car payment. After she’d decided to go back to school, however, it was an expense that had quickly stretched her too thin. With her car payment being more than half her rent, she knew she needed to trade her ride in or get rid of it altogether. After finding out students qualified for a cheap bus pass, her decision had been made for her. Not having to pay for car insurance and tags had been the icing on the cake. Jasmine had also insisted Winter borrow her car when she needed to work late or run errands. Winter always felt bad when she needed to take it but insisted on giving Jasmine gas money as often as possible.

  She was very lucky she had Jasmine. That bitch was crazy, but she was a great friend.

  Chapter 2

  Winter shivered when the cold Kansas wind cut through her heavy coat as if it wasn’t there. Tucking her body as far into the covered bus stop as she could, she kept her eye open for the large blue bus that normally ran on schedule. She was relieved when she saw its large shadow moving through the flurries that were steadily coming down. Climbing the slick steps quickly, she slid her bus pass into the reader before finding a seat close to the heater.

  The late-evening buses were normally fairly empty. This close to Christmas a majority of the students had left for break and emptied the town. The only riders on this particular night were the ones she had gotten used to seeing. She saw one of her favorite ride sharers. Smiling at the old man across from her eating a banana, she giggled when he winked at her.

  “You hungry, missy?” he asked in a sweet voice.

  “I’m good, Frank. My roommate surprised me with dinner tonight,” Winter answered, waving away his offering of fruit.

  “I have apples too if you want,” Frank said as if he hadn’t heard a word she said.

  “Frank.” Speaking loudly so he could hear her, Winter waited until he acknowledged her before she spoke again. “I already ate tonight, but thank you.”

  He smiled at her, his toothless grin causing her to smile back. Frank was a sweetie. He made his weekly trip to the grocery store Friday evenings and always offered something from his bag to “someone who reminded him of his granddaughter”. He sat quietly going over his grocery receipt and accounting for every cent of his shopping trip.

  “Are you visiting family for Christmas, Frank?”

  “No, they’re going up north to see the new baby,” he answered as he shuffled his feet.

  “Why aren’t you going?” she asked.

  “It’s colder there than it is here!” he exclaimed. He shivered dramatically and shook his head. “I can barely handle this cold. Don’t even want to think about it being worse. Plus, it would mean a car ride with the little ones, and I’m honest enough to admit that doesn’t appeal to me at all.”

  Winter smirked at his honesty. Frank seemed like a wonderful old man but he did tend to give the skunk eye when anyone had loud conversations on the bus. One time he had even interrupted a college girl who was yelling at her boyfriend on her cell phone.

  “Well, this is my stop. You have a good night and be careful on the steps. Okay?” Winter warned as she stood up and braced herself for the bus to slow and stop.

  “Get your spray ready, young lady. It’s dark out and there are hoodlums everywhere.”

  “I’ll be careful,” she assured him. “See ya later.”

  Winter patted his shoulder as she passed his seat, holding on to the overhead handrail with her other hand. Stepping off the bus, she reached into her pocket to make sure she had her pepper spray handy in case she needed it.

  The walk to her night job was only a block away and was lit well enough for her to not worry too much as she made her way down the sidewalk. The large parking lot had been plowed enough that she was able to keep her tennis shoes free of snow as she tromped through it. The mall was fairly small, and with the economy being what it was, it had only five stores open daily. There were talks about new stores coming to the mall, but so far it had been quiet. Winter wasn’t going to complain. As long as it stayed open, she liked having less to clean. With Enrique’s help, they were able to knock out their nightly duties in just a few hours.

  Reaching the employees entrance, she knocked on the door and hoped someone was close by to hear her. She stomped
her feet a few times on the rubber mat. Sure that her shoes were clear of snow, she sighed in relief when Enrique opened the door and smiled widely at her.

  “Hey Winter!” his voice boomed.

  “Hey, E, how is it tonight?” she asked, hurrying into the heated back hallway.

  “Well…it could be worse.” Shrugging, he pointed to a pile of trash bags waiting on the other side of the hall. “We have extra loads to take out to the dumpster, but the food court didn’t seem too bad. I think the day shift must have actually pulled their weight for once.”

  Winter breathed out a tired sigh as she stored her coat in the mop closet. She grabbed her music player from the pocket before closing the door.

  “What do you want tonight? Trash and windows or vacuuming and tables?” she asked, hoping he’d pick the trash option.

  Enrique eyed her knowingly. “I’ll take the trash tonight. It’s pretty heavy and I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself,” he teased.

  “Enrique, sometimes I love you.” Her voice came out as grateful as she felt.

  “Only sometimes?” he asked, beginning to roll his trash bin down the hall. “I’m pretty sure if I didn’t have Stella waiting for me at home, you would be all over this.” Turning around, he motioned up and down his rounded body.

  Winter couldn’t contain her giggles as he shook his hips and snapped his cleaning towel as if he was a stripper.

  “Yep, you’re right. Stella is a scary lady.” She pulled out the vacuum and grabbed her own towel and window spray. “How is she by the way?”

  “Little Belle is keeping her busy.” He pulled his phone from his pocket to show off pictures of his little girl. “I don’t know how Stella does it, but she keeps up with her.”

  “Well, I’m sure it’s worth it.” Winter patted Enrique on the back, loving his pride in his family. “And how are you doing?”

  “You know me. I’m tired but you gotta do what you gotta do.”