Rescued by the Hero - Signed Paperback

The hardest part about this fake relationship is hiding it from her brother. Especially when it doesn't feel fake.

Joanna Drake can’t wait to escape to Freedom Ridge for the holidays. She needs to put hundreds of miles between her and her creepy coworker who won’t seem to take no for an answer. When she runs into her brother’s best friend at the ski resort, every relationship gets complicated.

Aiden Clark is shocked to find out that his best friend brought his little sister along on vacation, especially when he finds himself interested in getting to know her. When she asks him to play along as her boyfriend to ward off an unwanted pursuer, he wholeheartedly agrees despite his friend’s warnings to stay away from her.

Between hiding their fake relationship from her brother and flaunting it in front of her pursuer, Aiden and Joanna find themselves wishing the relationship was as real as it seems under the mistletoe. When their ruse is exposed and Joanna is in danger, Aiden will have to put it all on the line to bring her home.

Visit Freedom, Colorado and enjoy the faith, friendships, and forever-afters of the Heroes of Freedom Ridge in this Christian Christmas romance.

Joanna Drake finished typing the last line of notes to her boss before interrupting the associate attorney chattering on in her office. “Keith.”

Her tone was bold, stopping him midsentence. Should she be so blunt with him? He was her superior, as far as the firm hierarchy was concerned.

Forget it. She needed to put her foot down now or he would continue to bother her.

Joanna waited a heartbeat to make sure she had his full attention and eye contact before continuing. There was no way he hadn’t understood her the first time—or the fifteenth time. “I believe I already said no. I’m not changing my mind.”

Keith settled back into the chair across from her desk with a huff. “Come on. It’s just one date.”

She focused on controlling her rising temper and moved her attention back to the screen. She’d been warding off Keith Sanders’ date requests for weeks now, and his advances had become annoying. The guy needed to move on. Thankfully, he wasn’t her boss, and she only saw him around the office occasionally. She worked in the estate planning division, while Keith was a real estate attorney with an office on a different floor.

“I just want to show you a good time.”

As if she would be interested in any good time with the creep of the firm. Keith had been hanging around her office too much lately. He chatted a lot, but she rarely remembered anything he said. She’d become a champ at tuning him out.

Definitely not her type.

Joanna counted backward from five before responding.
“I’m not in the mood for a good time right now. I’m leaving in less than ten minutes, and I won’t be back
until after the new year.”

Her boss, Duncan Crosby, was a kind man who always took the month of December off when the courts cleared their dockets. This year, he’d extended the same benefit to her. She hadn’t taken a single day off since she began working for him two years ago. She’d agreed to keep in touch through email and calls from her cell on occasion, and she was ready to go.

Keith grinned, but the expression didn’t exude joy. “Where are you going?”

“I’m spending the holiday with my brother.”

“Where?” he questioned again.

Did he possess any tact? There was no way she would be telling creepy Keith where she was going. “Out of town.” She tilted her head and gave him a close-lipped grin that dared him to press her further.

“What about when you get back?” He leaned forward with that mischievous grin as if he’d found a loophole.

Joanna shoved a file into her bag and huffed an exasperated sigh. “Don’t you have work to do?”

He crossed his ankle over a knee, dangling his pristine wingtip shoe. The sharp suit wasn’t enough to turn her eye when he wiggled his brow at her. “Nothing more important than convincing you to go on this date with me.”

She was going to barf. The man had zero charm and a whole lot of misplaced confidence. Keith might actually be handsome if he wasn’t such a screw up. His frame was lean and toned, his hair was always well groomed, and his suits fit him like a model. Not to mention his light-brown hair and blue eyes gave him a friendly face.

However, Joanna could easily look past his symmetrical features and see the pushy, lazy attitude that held no compatibility with her own.

Her phone chimed with a message. It was her brother.

Zach: I’m here.

“Listen, Keith, I have to go.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and clicked the last buttons to shut down her laptop.

“Last chance,” he taunted.

Joanna shoved her laptop and charger into her bag. “For the last time, I’m not interested.” Those words would undoubtedly fall on deaf ears. He hadn’t been listening to her for weeks.

Keith stood as she rounded the desk and made her way through her small office. His fingers encircled her upper arm as she passed, and she turned to him with a glare.

He sputtered, “But—”

“But, I should get going,” Joanna interrupted, jerking her arm from his grasp. “I’ll see you after the new year.” She stood at the door, waiting for him to exit first so she could lock up.

Finally, Keith left with a grumbled, “See you later.”

Joanna locked the door, and Keith wasn’t anywhere to be found when she punched the elevator call button. It would be a long month before she stepped foot back through the doors of Miller and Baker. She’d been at the law firm for two years now, and as much as she liked her job, a holiday getaway was much needed.

The elevator opened on her floor, and a woman she’d never seen before stepped in with her. The young woman was pretty and looked sweet. Was Keith harassing her for a date too?

Joanna wasn’t one to complain unless warranted, but perhaps it was time to have a talk with the HR department about Keith’s behavior, or at least her boss. Although he hadn’t actually done anything wrong beyond annoying her and wasting time in her office during working hours, she still felt icky when he was around.

Stepping out of the high-rise where she worked and onto the sidewalk of downtown Phoenix, Joanna soaked up the sun’s warmth. Soon, she would be bundled in sweaters and layers in Freedom, Colorado. She’d only been to the Rockies to visit Zach a couple of times when he’d been in college, and he made it sound like the perfect place to spend Christmas.

Their parents would be spending the holiday with her brother, David, and his family in Texas this year. Joanna and Zach both insisted they were adults who could handle one Christmas away from home, but their parents had still been reluctant to leave two of their children out for the holidays. The trip to Freedom was a way of letting their parents know they would be having a great time.

She tapped out a text letting Zach know she was outside, and his car pulled up to the curb within seconds.

Joanna slid into the passenger seat. “Someone is ready to hit the road.”

“You better believe it.” Zach merged back into traffic. “The slopes are calling my name.”

Joanna stashed her purse and laptop bag in the back seat and turned back around to face the busy street ahead. “What am I supposed to do while you’re out skiing all day?” she asked.

“Snowboarding. I’ll be snowboarding. There’s a difference.”

Joanna raised her hands in surrender. “Excuse my ignorance. You spent a couple of winters in Colorado, and suddenly you’re a pro.”

“I’m pretty good at it.”

“Anyway, my question still stands. What am I supposed to do?” She didn’t want to be stuck in a hotel room for a month, and she didn’t see herself as a snowboarder.

Zach brushed a hand through his dark hair that was a stark contrast to her blonde. It had gotten considerably longer since she’d seen him last month. “Aiden said there’s lots of stuff to do at the resort.”

“Aiden?” she asked as she flipped open the visor mirror and lifted her hair into a ponytail.

“My roommate from college. You remember him. You met him a few times.”

“Oh,” Joanna let the sound linger on her rounded lips. “That Aiden.”

Of course, she remembered Aiden Clark. Her brother’s tall, dark, and handsome best friend from college had been hard to miss. It had been a few years since she’d seen him, but Aiden had been her crush in high school. He was charming, funny, playful, and outgoing.

In short, he was everything she wasn’t.

Perhaps that had been the root of her attraction. He was adventurous and bold, not to mention her brother had explicitly made sure she knew Aiden was off-limits from day one.

“Yeah, he works at the resort.”

He officially had her attention. “At the Freedom Ridge Resort? So, he’ll be there?” She tried to keep the curiosity from her tone.

“Of course. He told me there are lots of Christmas activities and things to do. Don’t worry.”

Surely she could find things to do to fill her days, but a month’s worth of days? Maybe she should grab a book or two at her apartment before they left town. With Zach spending most of his time with Aiden, she didn’t want to spend the entire vacation alone.

She refused to let her fun-filled Christmas vacation turn into a bore fest before she even arrived at the resort. This holiday wouldn’t be spent at home with her family, but she was determined to have some fun.