Great way to spend Christmas—on the floor of JFK.”
“You’ll have a lot of company,” the woman said unhelpfully.
“I can’t believe I’m not going to make it home for the baby’s first Christmas,” she whispered, imagining the disappointment she’d be sure to see in Denny’s face and, of course, in Jessie’s. The new parents had been planning for ten-month-old Annie’s first holiday with all the fervor of elves training for sleigh duty, and as the child’s godmother, she’d fully intended to spoil the baby rotten.
Funny that she should be so anxious not to disappoint her ex-fiancé and her best friend, who’d realized during Ellie’s own engagement that they were far too attracted to each other. Ellie was sure they hadn’t betrayed her; they both cared far too much about her for that. But she wasn’t blind; she recognized serious attraction when she saw it. What Jessie had with Denny was something Ellie’d never shared with her fiancé.
And after Rafe had shocked her with that New Year’s Eve visit, she hadn’t been very successful at hiding the fact that she still cared far too much about her ex. It hadn’t been fair to Denny to be angry about his obvious feelings for Jessie when Ellie had been a little less than subtle about her own for Rafe.
So she’d let Denny go, gracefully, calmly, and had been right there in the front pew when her ex-fiancé and best friend had gotten married the very same month Ellie and Denny had intended to say “I do.”
The woman reached over and patted her hand, as if hearing the genuine misery in Ellie’s voice. Or maybe it was the mention of a baby. Ellie didn’t point out that it wasn’t her own child’s holiday she’d be missing; right now, she’d take whatever help she could get.
“Listen, you may not have any luck at this point, but a lot of people have gone to the car-rental counters hoping to get an SUV or something so they can drive out of the city ahead of the worst of the storm.”
Hope blossomed in her chest. Yes, it was a long way from New York to Chicago. But if she got on the road within the next hour or so, she should, indeed, be able to get ahead of the storm. Driving through the night, she ought to be able to find clear roads all the way home and arrive by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.
It was worth a try, anyway.
“Thank you so much,” she said, meaning it. “I’ll go there right away.” She glanced at the queue behind her, which had edged closer and closer as people pushed for their chance to hear the same bad news in person. “And good luck tonight. I hope you make it home to your family for Christmas.”
Hurrying away, she followed the signs through the terminal, searching for the car-rental area. As she came down the escalator and saw it, she also saw that the lines were probably at least double what they were upstairs.
Hell.
There weren’t enough SUVs in all of Manhattan to service this many people. Or even standard rental cars. Still, she wasn’t going to give up yet.
Heading for the counter that she gauged to have the shortest line, she didn’t notice that someone had stepped into her path. Not until she came within a step of walking right into a broad, camouflage-wearing chest.
“Ellie? Is it really you?”
That voice. Oh, God in heaven. Could this really be happening?
She looked up and saw The Face.
What did they say about déjà vu all over again? How many times in her life was she destined to run into this man at a moment and in a place where she least expected him?
It was Rafe. Older—pale, visibly exhausted—but still so handsome her heart forgot to beat and her brain cells began to leap and spark. He was dressed in rumpled fatigues and appeared unshaven, with eyes that were faintly bloodshot and a few fresh scars that immediately carved themselves into her soul.
“It is you.”
“Hello, Rafe.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Ditto.”
“Small world, huh?”
“Very.”
“What are you doing here? You don’t live in New York now, do you?”
She shook her head. “No, I was here for a conference. I was supposed to fly home this afternoon, but that didn’t work out too well.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Are you stranded, too?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m heading over to that rental counter to try to get a vehicle capable of getting me back to Chicago.”
He glanced over and slowly began to shake his head. “I’m sorry, you’re not going to have any luck.”
She frowned. “How do you know that?”
“I just came from there. That was the last counter I tried...and they just rented me their very last vehicle. It wasn’t even supposed to be rented in this weather, but the company apparently likes to help soldiers out, so they let me have it.”
That was great for him. But not for her.
“I’m not sure if it’s capable of getting me home for Christmas, but I’m damn sure going to give it my best shot.”
Uncertain, she glanced up at him, hearing something in his voice, something that both excited and confused her.
An invitation, perhaps?
He made it clear. “Want a lift?”
She gulped, swallowing so hard her throat wobbled. “Are you serious?”
He nodded, that intense, dark-eyed gaze never leaving her face. Her heart twisted as she noted the circles beneath those eyes, the almost bony leanness of his cheeks, the stubble, the scars, the...the sadness. There was no other word for it.
If Rafe had appeared weary the last time she’d seen him, after he’d been in the military for four years, now, after seven, he seemed almost broken. As if he’d been to the edge of the world, witnessed the worst it had to offer and only barely managed to crawl his way back toward sanity and civilization.
Of course, she wasn’t entirely sure you could call the day before Christmas Eve at a snowed-in airport either sane or civilized. Still, it had to be better than where he’d been living.
Outwardly, she maintained her poise, but deep inside, she wept for him, for what he’d seen and what he’d done and what he’d missed.
What they’d missed.
Damn it, how could he always affect her this way?
“What do you say, El?” he asked.
“You’re seriously going to drive all the way to Chicago?”
A faint grin widened that sexy mouth, but it didn’t seem entirely natural, as
