ALEXANDRA sat on the living room sofa, looking at the Christmas tree she and her father had put up earlier. She was on a rare break—at home in Tucson for the holidays.

Out of nowhere, her dad asked, “Alexandra, are you sure this guy is right for you?”

He was talking about Wilkes, Alexandra’s boyfriend of six months who had flown out with her for the holidays. She understood why Dad was asking. Wilkes had spent the majority of the weekend on the phone or his laptop. Her father thought it was rude, but she could live with it. Wilkes was…busy…a lot. They both were. As top artists in the music industry and celebrities, it came with the territory.

She laughed at the question, because, well, she was pretty certain Wilkes wasn’t ‘The One’. For the time being, though, Wilkes Barracks, country music’s rising star, was a perfect match for her. At least he was in some respects—on the surface, anyway. To start with, she liked his height, and he was dark and handsome in that Sullivan Franco kind of way. And God, she could lose herself in his smoldering gray eyes.

“He’s the responsible Wendy-like adult to my never-ending child-like Peter Pan, Dad,” she told him. “Wilkes is the closest thing to ‘right’ as I can get. Plus, he’s got great American values. He’s a country music singer, for goodness sake. That should be a mark in his favor, as you love country music so much.”

“Right,” Dad said dryly with a smirk. “I seem to remember you thinking along the same lines with that last character you dated…and, the one before that.” He sat beside her and looked over at her, a serious expression on his face. “Alexandra you’re a lot more mature than you give yourself credit for. Sometimes I wonder if you’re playing a helpless damsel role so you can be saved by a knight in shining armor. Remember that attracts dragons, too. And shiny armor means he’s probably had someone else fighting his battles.”

“But that’s what I have you for, Daddy. You get to slay my dragons.”

“It’s the twenty-first century, Alexandra. I didn’t raise you that way. The person I see when you’re with these guys isn’t who you really are. And none of them deserve you.”

She smiled softly. There was no point arguing. Convincing her father anyone was deserving of dating his lavender-haired rock star princess was out of the question. To begin with, she was an only child. Not to mention, her mom passed away when she was fourteen. She was all her father had for the past decade. Alexandra felt maybe he couldn’t stand the thought of her having boyfriends or getting married at some point. The way she saw it, she was no different from every woman who wanted to have a soul-shaking love. At this point she was open to a slight bump instead of a full soul shake; whatever it took, she needed to get out of her shitty romantic rut.

She hoped this relationship would be the big break from past romantic screw-ups. It included her failed relationship with actor Tanner Young, which came after a dismal break-up with model, Jacob Ingram, preceded by a train-wreck of a fling with a guy named Pietro she had met on her last tour. Basically, when it came to love, she could sing about it, but at twenty-four, she had experienced every variation of Mr. Wrong available, and Wilkes came off as Mr. All Right to her.

It’s not that she was desperate to settle. She didn’t see herself as a bombshell, with her less than curvy—okay, fine—boyish figure, but she liked to think she was a decent catch. Alexandra’s best friend Eva would say she had the blue, slightly slanted, diamond-shaped eyes, lush lips and her two platinum albums going for her. The truth was, she was ready for a nice, predictable relationship to get bored with, like the rest of the lucky people out there.

“Speaking of love, how’s your love life going, Daddy?” Alexandra asked sneakily.

He rolled his eyes and launched to his feet. The conversation was over. Her father thought she didn’t know about the mystery woman. Alexandra was positive Dad was seeing someone. For the first time since she knew him, he had gone to a lingerie shop to buy a Christmas gift. She came across the Victoria Secret gift box he had tried to stash out of sight in the hall closet. Looking at his towering six-foot-three height, broad shoulders, handsome face, and silvering black hair, she could see why any middle-aged to older woman would be into him. For some reason, he didn’t seem ready to let her in on who the mystery woman was.

“Don’t stay up too late,” he called out. “Santa Claus won’t come if you do.”

She laughed as he left the living room. As usual, it was Christmas Eve and she was still wrapping gifts; ever the procrastinator. It felt so good to be home, but she had a million and one things sitting on her to-do list back in LA. Because of that, she was already gearing up to leave, and had only flown into Tucson the day before. Her record label wanted to start planning out a new album. There were songs to write, people to see, interviews to muddle through—the usual hurrah.

Her ‘job’ as a performing artist, making Billboard hits for her record label, cut into her family time. That was a given. As rewarding as it was to share her talent and songs with fans around the world, she craved simplicity. At least her father understood. He was an investment banker and ran his own firm. They both had crazy-hectic schedules, which made getting together that much more rewarding when it did happen.

Wilkes ambled into the room, breaking her train of thought when he slid aside her long, thick, purple ponytail to kiss the nape of her neck. The kiss sent a jolt of need through her. That was one good thing about Mr. All Right. His touch always got a reaction out of her. It was too bad he himself was cool to her.

He sat and crossed his legs next to her on the floor. “Need some help?” he asked, in that Tennessee drawl that made heat pool between her legs from just hearing him.

She needed some help all right, but not with wrapping gifts. Her hair swished out of her lap as she tossed back the impossibly long bundle. She smiled seductively and put aside the roll of wrapping paper. She crossed her legs at the ankles and leaned back on her arms.

“Mmmm,” she moaned as she looked over at him. “I’m ready to take a break from decking the halls, baby. How about we go up to my bedroom? I want you.”

“You’re asking for trouble,” he whispered. “I don’t want to get on your dad’s bad side. I don’t think he likes me. And imagine if he hears us.”

She felt the heat rising up her neck and cheeks. “I can be quiet,” she crooned, admiring the black button-down shirt that hugged his biceps and broad chest.

She walked her fingers up his muscular inner thigh to the crotch of his jeans. The man was all sex appeal, and she wanted him. She leaned over and pressed soft, dewy kisses along his sharp jawline, letting his bristly dark brown beard tickle her face. Her hand slid to his abs, caressing the toned muscles through his shirt.

Wilkes held up a finger. “Let’s not let temptation get the best of us, Lexxi,” he said seriously.

Alexandra groaned. Lucky me. The problem with Wilkes was he was too responsible, too straight-laced. It made their relationship boring and predictable.