Christmas Male. Cara Summers
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One
POLICE LIEUTENANT Fiona Gallagher looked up from her brochure to survey the crowd waiting to get a look at the legendary Rubinov Diamond.
The long line was being threaded through the exhibition room in a zigzag pattern similar to the ones used for security checks at airports. Her fellow viewers were a diverse group, ranging in age from small children to a couple just ahead of her who appeared to be in their eighties. She’d even spotted a couple of teens dressed in black and wearing red scarves and Santa hats in honor of the season.
Fiona had yet to figure out what the hell she was doing at the exhibition. In the five years she’d lived and worked as a police detective in D.C., she had yet to visit the National Gallery. Two or three times during her wait in line, she’d been tempted to leave. Diamonds with romantic legends surrounding them weren’t her cup of tea. True, her boss, Captain Natalie Gibbs-Mitchell, had been nagging her to see it. But Natalie always thought Fiona needed more in her life than just her job. Fiona didn’t agree. Her work in the high-profile crime division Natalie ran always gave her the challenges she thrived on.
Perhaps she’d come today out of boredom. She wasn’t currently working on a case. That bothered her a bit. Christmas was far from her favorite holiday, and she always depended on her job to get her through the season. But it wasn’t like she didn’t have things to do. She was running a toy drive at the precinct that would benefit the families of returning vets, and she had a meeting at Walter Reed hospital in less than an hour. After that, she had to make an appearance at a Christmas party, which meant she needed a change of clothes.
The Rubinov hadn’t even been on her mind when she’d left the station, but the next thing she knew, her car was at the National Mall. Curiosity had always been one of her strengths as a cop, but it seldom extended beyond the job. And she rarely acted on impulse.
As the couple in front of her moved on, Fiona got her first glimpse of the diamond. And she couldn’t seem to drag her gaze away from it. Had she ever seen a stone that blue? Legend aside, she couldn’t deny its extraordinary beauty. Even through the glass of the display case, the jewel in the center of the intricately carved necklace burned with a fire that seemed to grow even brighter as she looked at it.
As far as possessing the power to irresistibly draw two people together? Fiona’s logical mind balked at that. But she couldn’t fault the National Gallery’s decision to promote the romantic legend surrounding the stone.
Even in the midst of a busy Christmas season, the Rubinov Diamond had all Washington talking. And not about politics. Several people, including a prominent senator’s daughter, had attributed their engagements to the famous stone.
In her experience, true love was a rare thing. She wanted to think that her parents had experienced it, but since she’d lost them when she was four, she had too few memories to rely on. She certainly hadn’t spotted anything even resembling true love in the series of foster homes she’d bounced through before she’d entered the police academy.
Although…her captain was very happily married—and expecting her first baby. And Natalie’s sisters, Rory and Sierra, were happy in their marriages, too. But in Fiona’s view, the former Gibbs sisters were exceptions to the rule.
Was she secretly hoping to find what Natalie and her sisters had found? Was that what had lured her to the exhibition?
Dream on, Fiona. Christmas is a time for broken dreams.
Still, she couldn’t quite look away from the diamond, nor could she prevent feeling a little tug of longing.
She had to move on. Putting some effort into it, she tore her gaze away from the Rubinov diamond. It was only then that she noticed a man standing on the other side of the glass case. He was tall and dark haired with broad shoulders. There was something essentially male about him even without taking into account the officer’s uniform. She was vaguely aware that an older woman stood to his right, her arm tucked through his. The younger woman to his left said something, and when he smiled, Fiona felt her heart skip a beat.
Now she studied the three people standing directly across from her with the same intensity she’d looked at the diamond. They had their gazes locked on the necklace. Family, she thought. She pushed the tiny twinge of envy away quickly.
Without warning, the officer’s eyes lifted and met hers over the display case. For one instant, all she could feel was the impact of his gaze moving through her like a bullet—penetrating first skin, then muscle, blood and bone. Her mind went blank. Except for one word. Hers.
She felt a pull and knew only that she wanted to go to him, needed to…
When his gaze shifted back to the older woman at his side, Fiona realized that her heart was beating fast—as if she’d just raced to the top of a hill. And one of her hands had fastened onto the velvet rope in front of her. To hold on? To tear it away?
She could have sworn the fire in the diamond glowed more fiercely.
Ridiculous. She ordered herself to draw in a deep breath and let it out. This wasn’t like her at all. And the officer—whoever he was—was a complete stranger.
Icy panic shot up her spine. She shouldn’t have come here. It was always a mistake to wish for more than you could have. Without a backward glance at either the diamond or the man, she whirled away. Crumpling the brochure that told about the legend, she stuffed it into her coat pocket and barely kept herself from running out of the exhibition room.
Joy to the world…
The music poured out of the speakers in the sculpture garden at the National Mall, mixing with the chatter and laughter of skaters as they circled the ice rink. Usually, Army Captain D. C. Campbell loved Christmas music.
The song playing right now was a particular favorite. He’d always believed that spreading and receiving joy was the purpose, the mission of Christmas. But this year, he had to admit, the spirit of the season had eluded him. Not even the lights winking merrily on the National Mall were helping. Nor did the sight of his mother and younger sister, Darcy, skating arm in arm as they rounded the corner of the rink.
Using his cane to wave at them, D.C. gave himself a mental shake and turned to walk down the path toward Madison Drive. He knew exactly what his problem was—and he needed to solve it. He was bored out of his mind.
After his last tour of duty in Iraq, running the military police unit at nearby Fort McNair was as exciting as watching paint dry. It was a small base and occupied a scenic location in the Southwest section of the capital. The Anacostia River bordered it on the south and the Washington Channel on the west. The National Defense University was housed on the grounds, and D.C.’s main job was to oversee security. No problem there—since it ran like a well-oiled machine. Handling security had been a tad more challenging in Baghdad.
The other part of his job at Fort McNair was to investigate any crimes committed by personnel assigned to the base. So far the most exciting thing he’d done in the six months he’d been assigned there was to referee a fight that had broken out in the Officer’s Club.
Again, it was pretty easy work compared to what he’d done in Iraq. The upside was that it was risk free. You didn’t have to second-guess any decisions when you were signing requisition orders. No one’s life was on the line. Not his. Certainly not a partner’s.
He still felt guilty when he thought of David Eisley, the young private who’d been with him when he’d taken the hit to his leg. The soldier who hadn’t survived. But he was dealing with it. Risks, wins and losses—they were part of the job. Part of what had driven him to join the military in the first place.
At other times in his life, D.C. had embraced boredom. After a particularly rough day in a combat situation, a little tedium was welcome. Refreshing even. But enough was enough.
No doubt it was his state of mind that had fueled his imagination earlier that afternoon, when he and Darcy and his mom had been viewing the Rubinov Diamond. That had to have been why he’d had such an…odd reaction to that woman.
When