A CHRISTMAS PROPOSAL: Best Friend to Lovers Romance Read online

  A CHRISTMAS PROPOSAL

  Best Friend to Lovers Romance

  Lindsey Hart

  CONTENTS

  BOOK DESCRIPTION

  COPYRIGHT

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  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

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  BOOK DESCRIPTION

  OMG! He was single again! Finally!

  Lana was not about to miss this opportunity. She’d had a crush on the guy for oh so many years. And her brother was bringing him home for Christmas.

  It was all perfect. Seduce her brother's best friend and get to know what all the hype of her teenage years was about.

  There was only one problem. He is a jerk. He is interested only in off-limits women.

  Welllllll, what better way to attract his attention than bring home for Christmas a fake boyfriend and who better for that than her bestie, Cameron, a hot shot doctor who knew just about everything there was to know about her.

  It was the absolute perfect plan for the holidays … until she had to share a bed with Cameron.

  Umm, hello, where was the kid who used to wet his bed go? From where did this gorgeous fine-ass man come from?

  Why was she finding herself more attracted to Cameron than to her long-time crush?

  This is a steamy romance novella. No cheating. No cliff-hanger. And the kind of ending you will just love. Team HEA all the way!!

  COPYRIGHT

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, or transmitted by email without permission in writing from the publisher. While all attempts and efforts have been made to verify the information held within this publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or opposing interpretations of the content herein. The book is for entertainment purposes only. The views expressed are those of the author alone and should not be taken as expert instruction or commands.

  Copyright © Passion House Publishing Ltd 2018

  All rights reserved.

  You can contact the team at [email protected].

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lindsey Hart is a married mom and lives in Ohio with her husband and two furry ball Persian cats who consider themselves as owners of the house.

  She specializes in sweet to extra hot and dirty romance and strongly believes in happily ever after. If you are looking for a page turner, then you are in for a wild and naughty ride with feisty heroines and alpha male heroes.

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  CHAPTER 1

  Cam

  Lana DeLangly picked up her glass of water in long, tapered fingers. She held it thoughtfully in a delicate hand, nails manicured and painted a delicate shade of pink, until her mind returned from its wonderings and she finally took a sip. Pink lips, a natural hue and always so full and lush and soft looking, parted. Her throat bobbed as she sipped her water. She set the glass down on the table with a gentle thud.

  “I realize, of course, that it’s pathetic, but some flames never die. I’ve been thinking about this for days, ever since my mom phoned and gave me the news.”

  Cameron Johnsworth forced a sip of his own water past his dry throat. His long-awaited happy return home to America lunch was quickly going to hell in a handbasket. Hell in the form of one Dale Smyth. Once the bane of my existence, always the bane of my existence.

  “So how was saving the world down there anyway?”

  Lana cocked one flaxen brow in question. A set of almond-shaped sparkling blue eyes tracked back to Cam’s face, forcing him to concentrate. He had a feeling she was deliberately changing the question. She knew him too well, but then again, she had been his best friend for the better part of two and a half decades.

  She understood how to get around the protests he was already forming in his mind. She skirted the issue, the real issue, why she’d called him to lunch in the first place and instead went for something softer. It was smart, considering their food hadn’t even arrived yet. She’d tested the waters and drawn back before jumping right in.

  “Down there?”

  “Yeah. Mexico.”

  “Al Salvador?”

  “Same thing.”

  “Nearly.” He couldn’t control a sardonic smile. The fact of the matter was, despite everything, the distance, the years, the feelings or lack thereof, Lana had once been his best friend. The fact that she’d made the effort to have lunch with him a week after he’d come back to Austin for good, told him that perhaps she still wanted to be.

  “Anyway, did you like it?”

  “Yes. We’re friends on social media. You probably saw all of my posts.”

  “Going down there and setting up a clinic is one thing, liking it is another. Helping people is your job.”

  “It might be my job, but I chose to become a doctor because I not only want to help people, I generally find some reward and satisfaction in it.”

  Lana screwed up her pretty, dainty nose. She turned her face at just the right angle to show off her sweet jawline, heart-shaped face and prominent cheekbones. Even after four years away, she was still the picture of grace and beauty. Still as slim and tall as he remembered.

  Unfortunately, as gorgeous as ever. And just as single.

  “Yes, well, good job saving the world. It almost makes me feel bad that I still don’t have a real grown-up job yet.”

  “I would consider being a receptionist a real grown-up job.”

  “I work at a bar,” Lana informed him dryly.

  “When did you quit at that dentist office? You were so good at that job.”

  “Nearly two years ago. I hated it. My parents hate that I hated it and that I quit. They hate it even more than I work at a bar now.”

  Cam held out his hands in mock apology. “Sorry, I didn’t know. Don’t shoot the messenger.”

  “That’s a stupid saying. You’re not a messenger. It’s not like you’re delivering me the bad news of my own title.” Despite the annoyance in her honeyed voice, Lana smiled again.

  That smile was just as dazzling as it had been since they were awkward teenagers and Cam first noticed that his best friend had sprouted breasts and curves and that he wanted to do something about it.

  “How come you’re still single? There were no beautiful women down in Mexico?”

  Cam rolled his eyes at Lana’s purposeful taunt. “About as many as there are in Cedar Creek.”
r />   “Cedar Creek has around a thousand people. There are no beautiful women there.”

  “I don’t know. What about yourself?”

  Lana laughed, obviously taking his sincere, hard pressed honesty as a joke. She always did though. She’d never taken his attraction seriously. Maybe because he’d never seriously let her know about it.

  “I don’t live there anymore. Austin is an hour away, thank god. I was happy to leave that place in the rear-view mirror. I can’t believe it’s been ten years.” She trailed off for a second, looking wistful before she lifted her glass for another sip of water. “Although- that does bring me to the whole point of asking you here for lunch today.”

  Cam’s hopes fell. “Oh?” He’d hoped to avoid the point of her conversation for a while longer. He already knew it involved Dale and he didn’t want to traverse any roads pointing in that direction.

  “Yes. Well, no. Actually, I started talking about it then I trailed off.” Lana squirmed, and it was clear whatever she was about to say was life altering-news for her. “Mom called me two days ago and said that Dale is fresh out of a breakup. He’s coming home with Jason for Christmas. To our house!” She emphasized the last words as though Cam was too dense to figure out the equation.

  “Yes, well, makes sense. Dale is always fresh out of a breakup and he’s your brother’s best friend.”

  Lana pouted but even her pursed lips were pretty. Cam nearly winced and glanced away, towards the window of the restaurant located a few feet from their booth. One of those mesh shades had been pulled down all the way to protect against the harsh glare of the Texas sun, intense even in the middle of December. He could still see out into the parking lot. He spotted the rental car that he was still using. Some silver family sedan, no doubt as unimpressive as the rest of him always seemed to be when it counted.

  Where it counted, and the only place it counted was with Lana.

  Some flames never die. It’s so damn true.

  She’d said those words earlier when they had unfortunately been discussing Dale. The conversation had circled back around quickly enough. She’d admitted already that she still had a thing for him, the handsome, womanizing, slime of the earth.

  “I just can’t help it- I… ever since that kissing booth in grade ten, when I paid for a kiss with Dale, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him. He’s fresh out of a breakup. I- I might actually have a chance.”

  Cam nearly snorted in disgust. Lana’s frank openness about her desire for Dale Smyth, always Dale, ever since he could remember, was just a signal that she didn’t have a clue about Cam’s own feelings.

  Ironic. She’s always talked to me about her crushes and her loves and her relationships, never knowing that I would give anything to be the one with her.

  Being her best friend had been a close second. A close second that Cam had lived with for long enough. Until he graduated med school and then he’d shipped out. It was a hard truth to learn, the fact that you could travel all over the earth and still not escape yourself or your own heart.

  No, wherever he went, his powerful set of longings went with him.

  “Yo, earth to Cam.” Lana rolled her eyes. “I know this is going to sound pathetic-”

  “You’ve said that once already.” I was such an idiot to think this lunch was ever going to be about me and welcoming me back or anything more.

  “Yes.” Lana blushed prettily, and Cam had to look away before his body betrayed him completely.

  He could already feel the mounting pressure in his groin. Of course, he’d reacted on instinct, as soon as Lana walked through the door of the small restaurant and sat down across from him, blue eyes snapping, face a picture of beauty, her body lithe and shapely and graceful all at once, blonde hair flowing down her back like a waterfall in lush waves.

  “Anyway, call it something on the bucket list if you will.”

  “Oh, the old bucket lust.”

  Under the table, Lana kicked him hard. Not hard enough to hurt, just hard enough to warn him. She smiled despite herself and Cam had to chuckle just a little.

  He couldn’t really hold it against her that she didn’t know how she tortured him just by living and breathing.

  “Lust, crush, stupidity, whatever it is, I want my one shot. Just one night with Dale. I’ve wanted it for half my life. God, I can’t believe I’m thirty already.”

  “Time does fly.”

  “Yes, well, soon I’ll be old and ugly and wrinkly and I’ll never have had a chance to know what it was like to have another kiss from Dale. God, he was always over at our house with my brother. It was torture.”

  Tell me about it.

  “It’s not possible for you to be old and ugly,” Cam chided. “Dale hasn’t noticed you because he wouldn’t. He likes women who are fake as they come. Fake hair, eyes, lips, nose, breasts, whatever, you name it. It doesn’t help if they’re attached too. Why do you think he’s always in and out of relationships? Because he picks the most inappropriate, unavailable women. When he’s had his fun, he ships out.”

  “Or their boyfriends hunt him down.”

  “That’s exactly what I mean. Slime at its finest.”

  Lana leaned across the table and her eyes flashed with excitement. Her lips parted to let out a rush of breath. It was the same wild exhilarated look she always got before she voiced the worst of ideas. Cam braced himself and sure enough, she hit him with it.

  “I want to be attached, but we both know that I’m not. So, I was wondering… since you’re back and all and you haven’t seen mom and dad in forever- uh- would you come home with me and pretend that we’re dating? We can just say it was long distance at first and then something else grew out of it. You know, the old friendship to love thing.”

  “Yeah, the old friendship to love deal,” Cam repeated mockingly. His whole body tightened. He didn’t know which was worse, the sudden sense of impending dread he felt or the wild anticipation that rocketed through him.

  “Come on. I’m serious. We both know that it would make Dale notice me since I’m with you. It would only make me more attractive.”

  Not possible for you to get more attractive than you already are. Or, if it is, I might actually die.

  “Nope. Not doing it. That’s just crazy. What would you tell your parents after?”

  She had the grace to look ashamed. That pretty pink blush was back on her cheekbones, two twin spots of color that could easily have been mistaken for makeup, except that Lana never wore much. She sure as hell didn’t need it either.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t think that far ahead.”

  “You’re not his type, Lana. You’re not fake or ditzy or some kind of model.”

  Anger flashed in those crystalline eyes of hers. “What? You don’t think I could be a model?”

  Of course, I do. You could be anything you want. You could have anything you want.

  “Yes, of course. You’re tall enough for it. I just think you’re too realistic to get caught up in that bullshit. That’s all I meant. We both know Dale’s type doesn’t have a brain. That’s requirement number one.”

  “I can be ditzy and flirty if I want to be.”

  “I’d rather be gagged and bound and held upside down against my will for hours than watch you do something like that. I just don’t understand the obsession. All over a stupid kiss that happened fifteen years ago.”

  “Please, Cam! Please! For old time’s sake? I’ll just wait a while after and tell mom and dad it didn’t work out and we’re still friends. They won’t care. They’ll understand. It’s only for a few days at Christmas. Please!” Lana folded her hands on the tabletop in a gesture of supplication.

  Cam nearly died. Despite his reservations, a horrible idea took shape inside his skull. He’d waited a lifetime for this. Just one chance to kiss Lana. To hold her. To call her his. He would have given everything he had just for one day with her out of the friend zone. Maybe this was his chance. How could he sit here and call her pathetic
for holding a torch for a man who didn’t deserve her for over fifteen years when he was just as pathetic?

  “How many days?” He finally ground out. He almost crushed his molars to dust since he was grinding his teeth so hard. His body betrayed him in the worst way. Underneath the privacy of the table, his cock nearly drilled a hole right through the fly of his jeans.

  “Three. Four maybe.”

  He winced. “And you really think that we can pretend to be a couple for that long?”

  “For sure. It wouldn’t be that hard. It would really just be a couple touches here, a kiss there. Mom and dad aren’t big on displays of affection, so we wouldn’t really have to sell it that far. Besides, you know that they’re pretty old fashioned. We’d have separate bedrooms. It would all be good. Please! I know I’m pathetic and that I’ll owe you one for the rest of your life, but this would mean the world to me.”

  “Just so you can have a shot at spending a night with a creep?”

  “He’s not really that much of a creep… come on. Does everything have to have feelings attached to it to mean something? I don’t know, I just- want to know what all the hype is about. I want to know if the last fifteen years of my life spent fanaticizing about the guy actually was worth it. Maybe that’s sick.”

  “It’s definitely sick.”

  Lana swallowed hard. “Will you do it? For me?” She batted those long, blonde eyelashes of hers and Cam knew he was finished.

  “Fine,” he sighed. “Alright. I’ll do it.”

  The transformation that came over Lana’s face was utterly astounding. She looked absolutely radiant. He wasn’t sure if he’d just been given the opportunity of a lifetime or if he’d just signed his own death warrant.

  CHAPTER 2

  Lana

  Most people had the good sense or were well mannered enough not to disturb Lana in the mornings, especially when she’d worked the night before. At least they kept their calls and texts to an absolute minimum before ten if they needed to.