Merry Ever After
Page 1
Copyright © 2021
Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward, Lucy Score, Tijan, Kennedy Ryan, Marie Force
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Formatting: Elaine York, Allusion Publishing
Authors & Blurbs
HOT ITEM - VI KEELAND & PENELOPE WARD
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Other Books by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
About the Authors
ONE NIGHT ONLY - LUCY SCORE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Still in the Holiday Mood?
Playlist
Don't Miss These Holiday Reads
A KELLAN HOLIDAY - TIJAN
Terms
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
I Hope You Enjoyed...
Other Books by Tijan
HOLIDAY SWING - KENNEDY RYAN
Chapter 1
Other Stories by Kennedy Ryan
Connect with Kennedy
NOCHEBUENA - MARIE FORCE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Other Books by Marie Force
Hot Item by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
Getting into a fight with a sexy stranger over the last hot toy on the shelf was not the way I intended to spend Christmas Eve. And I certainly didn’t plan on spending hours more trying to win a contest to decide who would get to buy it. But when our time is up, would the toy be the only hot item I wanted to take home?
One Night Only by Lucy Score
After a Christmas Eve concert mishap, divorced Brooke finds herself snowed in with the silver fox retiring rocker she’s been trying to interview. Will it take a Christmas miracle to get him to open up to her or does the tattooed bad boy of punk rock have other ideas on how to pass the time?
A Kellan Holiday by Tijan
Humans are so simple with their holiday traditions.
They are ignorant of the powerful and majestic creatures among them, like me.
I am the most powerful demon above the surface.
Nothing can stop me...except, well, some stupid prophecy.
Holiday Swing by Kennedy Ryan
For our five-year wedding anniversary, my husband decides he wants another woman.
The traditional gift is wood, but okay.
After trying everything with little improvement, our marriage counselor suggests we experiment to reignite our sex life. A swing party is my husband’s adventure of choice.
Once inside, I can’t go through with it. Seeing him walk off with someone else, I realize we want very different things. Our marriage is over, and I have no intention of having a random hook up with a stranger.
But then away from the noise and revelry, I find him.
It’s one illicit encounter. A night with no names and no inhibitions.
I don’t hold back, knowing I’ll never see him again.
And I don’t…until my parents’ Christmas party…
Nochebuena by Marie Force
Nochebuena is the Cuban community’s Christmas Eve celebration, and in this short story, the cast of Marie Force’s Miami Nights Series comes together to mark the holiday after a year of change that’s touched nearly every member of the family. Catch up with the characters from How Much I Feel, How Much I Care and How Much I Love and get a sneak peek at the couple that will headline book 4, How Much I Want. If you haven’t read the books yet, you’ll still enjoy this short story set in the Miami Nights world!
Holly
“That’s mine!”
“Really? Because I don’t see your name on it, and it’s in my hands.”
I pointed to the cart next to me. “I was making room for it.”
Ugh.
Figures.
Turning back, I got my first good look at the guy.
Dark hair, tanned skin in December when the rest of us look pasty, a chiseled jaw, and bright eyes that were annoyingly blue.
Gorgeous.
Of course.
And a jerk.
Aren’t they all?
He peeked around me, and his brows shot up. “Is that all for one kid?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Trust me. Your kid isn’t going to miss this one toy with all that.” He started to turn away and I just…no. No. No. No! Five hours of shopping on Christmas Eve was enough to make the sanest of people snap, and I wasn’t one of those to begin with. I lost it.
“Give me that!” I attempted to yank the box from the guy’s hands, but he had too good of a grip on it. “I have been searching for that damn robot for weeks. You aren’t going to just walk away with it when I had it first. Give it to me!” When he didn’t relent, I started to scream—like a lunatic. “Security! Security! Someone help!”
The guy took a few steps back and held up his hands. “Did you forget to take your meds this morning, Ma’am?”
My eyes widened. “Ma’am? Did you just call me Ma’am!”
Security came running over. “What’s going on here?”
I pointed to the guy. “He stole my toy, and now he just called me Ma’am. I’m thirty-one!”
The guard’s brows pulled together. “You purchased that toy?”
“Well, no. I couldn’t. Because he took it from me.”
“So, he didn’t steal the toy…”
“Well, he stole it out from under me! Tell him to give it back!”
“Ma’am…can you please keep your voice down.”
Oh. My. God. “Can you stop calling me Ma’am, too!”
The guard put his hand on his walkie-talkie, which was holstered to his hip. “Ma’am.” He shook his head. “I mean, Miss. You need to calm down, or I’m going to call the police.”
“I will. As soon as you make him give that box to me.”
The guard looked at the thief. “Sir, did you take that box from this woman?”
He shook his head. “It was sitting on the shelf, and I walked over and picked it up. She wasn’t even touching it.”
“Is it the only one or something?”
I answered. “It’s the only one in the state of New York. I’ve been searching for it for a month.”
The security guard pointed at the man. “I was speaking to him. What’s your name, sir?”
“Bryce.”
“Pfft.” I rolled my eyes. “Bryce. Figures.”
Bryce’s brows dipped together. “What’s wrong with my name?”
I waved my hand around at him. “It just goes with the whole package.”
“The whole…package…”
“Yes, you know…handsome with a fancy name. You probably come from money, too. It’s what gives you that sense of entitlement you so obviously have.”
He looked at me incredulously. “You know, I appreciate women like you.”
My hands went to my hips. “Oh really?”
Bryce shrugged. “Yeah, normally I meet a pretty woman, and she doesn’t show me how nuts she is until after she knows where I live. It’s nice of you to wear your insanity around your neck like a Christmas wreath. So all of us handsome, rich, fancy-named guys can keep our distance.”
I scowled at him.
The poor security guard’s head was bouncing back and forth between us like he was watching a ping-pong game. He took a deep breath and sighed.
“It’s almost Christmas,” he said. “Do you think one of you might find it in your heart to let the other have the toy? Maybe it will make you feel good on the inside.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Not me.”
Good-looking Bryce mimicked my stance. “Not me, either.”
The guard scratched his head. “I’ll tell you what…can I have that box, sir?”
“Are you going to give it to her?”
“I’m going to bring it to the manager, and see if she can settle this dispute. I’m really not trained for this type of thing.” He held his hands out, and Bryce reluctantly handed over the robot.
“Thank you. Why don’t you two follow me?”
The three of us walked to the customer service desk, where a woman who looked as frayed as I felt listened to the security guard tell our story. She looked between us and sighed.
“So here are my choices. I can keep this thing behind the counter and no one gets it, or I can give it to whoever has the best Christmas spirit.”
I pointed to my red sweater and cart full of toys. “Well, clearly that’s me. I mean, look at him, he either just had a spray tan, or got off a plane from the Bahamas.”
Bryce shook his head. “This is my natural skin color.”
“Sure, it is.”
The manager leaned both her elbows on the counter. “Listen, I don’t have time for this. And Christmas spirit isn’t about who buys more toys or looks more festive. It’s about being kind to others and helping those in need. So I’ll tell you what I’m going to do.” She pointed to an empty folding table near the door. “We usually have a free wrapping service on Christmas Eve, but the two volunteers who were supposed to man the table came down with the flu, and I don’t have any employees to spare. The volunteers wrap for tips, and all the money collected is donated to the local Toys for Tots. You two can work that table for the next few hours until we close at six, and whoever has more money in their tip jar to donate at the end of the day gets the robot.”
I blinked a few times. “You can’t be serious?”
She pointed to her stoic face. “Do I look like I have any sense of humor left?”
Bryce looked at his watch and frowned. “I’ll do it.”
The manager turned to me. “If only one of you wraps, that person is the default winner.”
I glanced over at the table. “Can I at least get my own table so I don’t have to sit with a thief?”
She shook her head. “Nope. That’s what I got. One table. Take it or leave it.”
I thought about what Mason’s face would look like if he didn’t get that robot tomorrow morning under the Christmas tree and sighed. “Fine. But he can’t start without me, and I need ten minutes to make a call and get some coffee.”
“Get something to eat while you’re at it. You’re gonna need all the energy you can get to wrap your way to the finish line.” He winked.
I rolled my eyes, then walked away for a bit to call my sister, letting her know I was going to be late for Christmas Eve dinner at her house. Thankfully, Mason was already with her. She’d kept him after waiting in the two-hour line to see Santa early this morning so I could finish my shopping.
I grabbed a coffee just in the nick of time before the café closed early. On my way back to the department store, I was stewing. I’d earned that darn robot. I’d come here every day after work to see if they’d gotten any in. And finally today, smack dab in the middle of the shelf was a new one in the box. My eyes had landed on it first. Before his. I’d felt it was truly meant for me—until Blue Eyes snatched it.
Bryce was sitting on his side of the table when I returned.
“Are we ready to open?” he asked. “The manager gave me a sign to put up and two tip jars. Just say the word and we’ll get rolling.”
“Yeah. Fine,” I huffed. “Do you even know how to wrap presents? Because I’m pretty good at it. So I’d be worried if I were you.”
He shrugged. “I can’t remember the last time I wrapped anything, actually.”
“Then why don’t you just give up this game?”
“Look…I made a promise to a little boy to try to get this damn robot, so I’m doing whatever it takes.”
“You and me both.”
As soon as we put the sign up, a few people started to line up to have their presents wrapped.
My first customer was an easy one, just a simple, square box. I took my time making the finished product look perfect.
The woman beamed after I handed it to her. “What a beautifully tied ribbon. Thank you so much.” She left me a five-dollar bill.
Score.
“You’re very welcome. Merry Christmas!” Smiling, I looked over at Bryce to find him struggling to wrap an oddly shaped cylindrical package. “Need some help with that?”
“Not if I have to fork over my tip.” He laughed.
The older woman waiting for Bryce let out a frustrated breath.
Bryce kept trying to get the sides just right, but was failing miserably.
He finally handed her the most warped wrap job you’d ever laid eyes on and said, “Forgive my wrapping skills. I’m here to earn money for charity and trying to win a present for a special little kid. And…can I be honest?”
“Okay…” she said, not seeming very amused.
“I’ve been…a little distracted.” He paused. “By your eyes.”
What is he pulling?
She clutched the present to her chest. “My eyes?”
“Yeah. They’re the most unique color of green I’ve ever seen. And I mean that in the best possible way. Sort of a…mix of gray, green, and gold.” He grinned. “Stunning.”
The woman pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Well…thank you. I can’t say anyone has ever told me that before.”
“Shame, really.”
“You know what?” She literally fanned herself, then said, “I’ll just take this home and throw it in a bag I already have.”
To my dismay, she then placed a twenty-dollar bill into Bryce’s jar and strutted away looking like she had a new lease on life.
Twenty? I would never be able to catch up if this was his game.
Meanwhile my current customer had me wrapping a fake potted plant, which was a challenge to get right. And he left me a single buck.
After that guy left, I turned to Bryce and cracked, “I guess the only consolation of your swindling ways is that the money is going to charity.”
“How am I swindling? That woman walked away happier than she was before she stopped here. She got something out of it. Win-win for everyone.”
Except me, I suppose.
My son had asked for one thing this Christmas. One thing. And I couldn’t deliver. Of course, it had to be the “hot item” of the season. But he really didn’t ask for much year-round.
It’s going to kill me to have to disappoint him if I can’t make this work.
Relief washed over me to find that Bryce’s next customer was a big, burly man. He wore a leather motorcycle vest and had some chains hanging from his jeans.
Good luck charming that one with your flirting, loverboy.
As I placed tape on a simple rectangular box while a teenager impatiently waited, I glanced over at Bryce
as he struggled to wrap the man’s teddy bear.
“Dude, I don’t have all day,” the guy groaned.
I chuckled.
Bryce apologized. “I’m really sorry. I’m new at this wrapping thing.”
“Look. I don’t mean to be a dick, but I’m late in picking up my son. I only have him tonight. Then I have to take him back to his mother’s for Christmas with her and her new husband. It’s hard enough competing with them, and now you’re eating into my time with my son. So, I’m a little frustrated.”
Bryce nodded. “Are you a single dad?”
“Yeah…” he muttered.
Bryce looked him in the eyes. “It’s not easy, is it? My parents were divorced, too, and my dad did the best he could making his house a home for me. I wish I could go back and tell him that he didn’t need to worry. That he was always enough for me. He didn’t need to go over and above to constantly prove himself.” Bryce handed the man the bear that had crinkled paper all around it and said, “If no one else tells you this, you heard it from me. You’re doing a good job, sir. You’re a good dad. And your son is lucky to have you.”
Jesus. This behemoth man looked like he was about to cry like a baby. With red eyes, he took the misshapen package from Bryce before slapping a ten down on the table. He wiped his lids. “Thanks, man, I really needed that.” He sniffled.
“My pleasure,” Bryce said. “Have a Merry Christmas.”
I shook my head as we watched the man walk away. There was a lull now with no one waiting in line on either side of the table.
“Mr. Disingenuous strikes again. I’ve got to give you credit. You can apparently pull anything out of your ass.”
“Unlike my supposed attraction to the green-eyed woman, that was totally real. I meant every word,” he said. “I could tell the guy was stressed, and deep down it had nothing to do with my wrap job.” He turned to me, his eyes lingering on mine. “You know what? I can see the same stress and worry in you. You want nothing but the best for your son. That’s why we’re here in this dumb little competition.”