Tessa was glad Julia had whisked an extra bit of blusher on her cheeks, because it masked the real flush that heated her skin. Just the mention of the handsome, enigmatic Brit was enough to set all her nerve endings on edge. Ever since the incident last month in the fitness room, she’d been even more aware of him than usual, forcing herself not to react whenever he walked by. Fortunately, he’d been traveling on business quite a bit these past few weeks and hadn’t been around much, so she hadn’t had to worry about making a fool of herself by blushing or stammering in his presence as she so often did.

The last few weeks had been busy ones at the office, due to all of the year end reports and tasks that required completion, and Tessa had been grateful to be kept occupied. Staying busy helped to keep the loneliness at bay, loneliness that was even more pronounced with the holiday season in full swing.

The “few close friends” that were supposed to have been invited to Thanksgiving dinner at Kevin’s turned out to be more than two dozen people. What Tessa had initially hoped would be a quiet, intimate dinner had instead morphed into a loud, rather raucous affair. There had been far too many guests to fit at the dining room table so dinner had quickly become a buffet, a situation that had actually made it easier for Tessa to slip out unnoticed after the first couple of hours. She’d been sadly out of her element among such a large group of people, every one of them a stranger except for Kevin, and he had been kept busy refilling wine glasses, setting out platters of food, and greeting even more new arrivals. To Tessa, it had seemed as though nearly everyone else knew each other, or at least most of the guests, and she’d felt uncomfortable and ill at ease the entire time. She knew that she had to make more of an effort to meet new people and feel comfortable in social situations, but so many strangers at one time had overwhelmed her.

Kevin was spending the Christmas holidays with his family in San Diego, but had already invited Tessa to the New Year’s Eve party that he and Terence were planning. Thus far she’d managed to put him off, mumbling something about not yet knowing what her plans were. But she knew there was no way she’d be attending the party, especially after hearing Kevin rave about what a “blowout bash” it was going to be.

Julia had invited her to spend Christmas with her own family down in Carmel, the quaint coastal town about two hours south of San Francisco where she had grown up. But while Tessa was grateful for the invitation, she knew she wouldn’t feel comfortable spending a few days with Julia’s parents, sister, and aunt since she would be meeting all of them for the very first time. It had been something of a moot point, anyway, because she had to work on both Christmas Eve and the day after. She and Shelby would be the only team members in the office for Christmas week, along with Andrew. The rest of the team – including Mr. Gregson – would be taking vacation to spend time with their families.

Tessa rarely envied the things most other people seemed to take for granted – clothes, cars, electronic gadgets, dining out, going on vacations. She had gone without all of these things for so much of her life that it seemed pointless to wish for them. But a family – a close knit, loving, supportive family – was something she’d always longed for. And the longing only seemed to be stronger this year, with Peter halfway around the world in Bahrain, and their divorce becoming final in the near future. She had never felt this alone before, not even after her mother had died.

At least, she thought gratefully as Julia continued to fuss with her hair, she had a caring, loyal friend right here. Julia had picked her up earlier today, borrowing one of Nathan’s cars since she had yet to buy one of her own even a full year after moving back to the West Coast from New York City. It wasn’t the first time Tessa had been to Julia’s flat, but she had still gazed around the beautifully decorated rooms in wide-eyed wonder upon her arrival earlier today. The place wasn’t especially large, but Julia had used all of her interior design skills to create a warm, colorful haven, and Tessa loved everything about it. It was especially cheerful today since Julia had gone all out in decorating the rooms for Christmas. There was barely a single surface in the entire place that wasn’t decked out for the holidays.

Julia was also a talented cook, and had whipped up a fabulous brunch for them, refusing Tessa’s help. She had invited her upstairs neighbor Angela – who also happened to be one of her best friends from their girlhoods. But while Julia and Tessa had eaten hungrily of the delicious spinach and cheese frittata, fresh fruit and yogurt parfaits, and a sinfully rich cinnamon crumb cake, the tall, skinny Angela merely picked at her food. Julia had whispered to Tessa that Angela had gone through a horrific break-up a couple of years ago, one that she had never really gotten over. Sneaking a glance at the moody, withdrawn Angela as she poured herself another mimosa but ignored her food, Tessa vowed that she wouldn’t let her own breakup with Peter destroy her emotionally in the same way.

Angela had left right after brunch, and then Julia had got to work getting Tessa ready for the party. Tessa, whose morning beauty routine took less than fifteen minutes, was amazed at how much time Julia spent “getting her all girly” as she put it. In addition to the hair and makeup, Julia gave Tessa a mani-pedi, and insisted she take a long soak in a hot, bubble-filled bath. Tessa thought she had probably been a little girl the last time she’d taken a bubble bath, and since her own apartment only had a shower she thoroughly enjoyed the indulgence.

Julia glanced at the antique clock on her mantle. “Ooh, look at the time! We should head downstairs. Our cab will be arriving within the next five minutes.”

The two women were sharing a cab downtown, dropping Tessa off first at the posh Gregson Hotel where the Christmas party was being held. Julia was continuing on a little further to meet Nathan and a group of his friends for dinner.

“It’s his water polo teammates from college,” she’d explained to Tessa. “They have this tradition of meeting over at Berkeley and playing in some sort of alumni game. Then they go get drunk at one of their old hangouts before hopping on public transit – thank God for that – and meeting their wives and girlfriends for dinner.”

Tessa had frowned. “It doesn’t bother you – him getting drunk, I mean?”

Julia had smiled impishly. “Nathan knows his limits, unlike some of his idiot friends. And when he gets a little tipsy he’s really, really fun in bed.”