“Wow. Who are you?” I gave her a grin. “From beach babe to snow bunny overnight. I like it.” I liked a lot of things about her. The way she laughed. The way she took care of her little dog and was being sweet with Roscoe, Lydia’s hellcat. The way she was so comfortable with her sexuality and gave those soft little moans when I touched her.
“It almost feels like we’re the only two people on the planet.”
“Yeah, it does. I guess you never get that same feeling in L.A.”
She laughed softly. “That’s an understatement. L.A. feels like a giant anthill, millions of people crammed into a tiny space, constant motion. I always considered myself pretty chill, but I’m not sure I knew what it really meant to slow down and relax until here.”
“Careful, Paris. Touting the benefits of life in North Pole is my job. Feels like you’re stepping on my turf here.”
She turned toward me, dropping my hand and wrapping her arms around my waist. I wasn’t sure if she was aiming for warmth or...something better, but I didn’t care. It really was cold, and I liked having Paris in my personal space. I tightened my arms around her, and the two of us stood there for a few minutes, listening to the night sounds of the woods around us while keeping each other warm.
Paris was the first to step away. “I can’t feel my nose anymore.”
I laughed. “Come on. We better get back to the car before it falls off.”
I took her hand and led her back to the truck. Turning it on, I cranked the heat up on high.
It hit me then. The lie I’d been telling myself. I didn’t do casual because I couldn’t do casual.
I didn’t want her to leave.
Maybe she didn’t want to leave either.
Maybe I needed to use all my powers of persuasion to convince her that life in North Pole had its merits.
Turning to Paris, I reached out and cupped her soft cheek with my rough, calloused hand. I loved how small and feminine she was compared to me. Her eyes widened a little.
“What?” she asked.
“I’m just thinking about all the ways I can get you hot. I owe it to you after taking you tromping through the snow.”
“Oh,” she said, the corner of her mouth turning up. “That does seem fair. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
I brushed my lips over hers. “It’s going to take all night. If you want a job done right, you can’t rush it.”
“I strongly support quality craftsmanship.”
She sounded breathless and excited.
I put the truck in reverse and drove back to her house as fast as I could without spinning out in the freshly fallen snow.
All night in Paris.
I was one fucking lucky guy.
Paris
We had a situation.
I don’t mean like the time my boob tape decided to give way at my friend Asher’s wedding, and I came perilously close to a nip slip. The fact that it was her father who had pointed it out to me was still mortifying.
That had been bad.
This. This was worse. This was a full-blown crisis.
I was falling for Joe. Hard.
I was also falling for this town. I’d never imagined for a second I would even tolerate the cold, let alone enjoy it, and yet tonight… Joe had shown me the beauty of snow and a quiet country winter night.
Then he’d brought me home and poured me a glass of red wine while he’d told me to wait downstairs for five minutes. When I’d gone up, I found him lighting candles on the countertop, a bubble bath drawn.
“When you live in a cold weather state, there is only one way to warm up before bed,” he’d said. “A nice, hot bubble bath.”
The man was a born romantic, and I didn’t think he even realized it. “Oh, really? That does seem wise.” I wasn’t all that cold anymore, but I was not going to object to a soak in a deep tub. “Are you joining me?”
“Hell, yeah. This tub is cast iron. It’s deep, and it holds heat for hours.”
Perfect. “Then I guess there’s only one thing to do now. Strip. You first.”
Joe needed no more encouragement than that. He was a good-looking muscular guy and clearly comfortable in his own skin. He had his sweatshirt and T-shirt over his head in record time. Then he unzipped his jeans and took them down. “Done. Your turn.”
“Everything off,” I said, amused by his enthusiasm. “You’re not finished yet.”
He eyed me. “This isn’t a trick, is it? Like I get naked, and then you leave?”
That made me laugh. “Why would I do that? I’d never leave you.”
At the same moment, we both realized what I had said. I was leaving him. In a matter of days. His nostrils flared. My mouth fell open to say something. What, I didn’t know. But to explain somehow. “Joe…”
“Don’t,” he said, and his voice was low, rough. “Don’t apologize or try to explain or let me down easy. You were always upfront with me.”
He was right. There wasn’t really anything to say. If anyone had broken the rules we’d established, it was me by falling for him. Not that he needed to know that. So I did the best thing I could under the circumstances. I peeled my sweater off and tossed it onto the floor.
Slowly, seductively, I stripped off the rest of my clothes, shimmying out of my jeans in a way that had him growling and reaching for me. “Patience,” I told him as I kicked the pants away.
When I turned and bent over the tub, he said, “Paris. Fuck. What are you doing?”
Giving him a hell of a view. “Testing the temperature.” I dipped a hand in and scooped up some bubbles. I turned and told him, “It feels perfect. Nice and hot.”
Joe’s gaze ran over my entire body. “Very hot.” He eased his boxer briefs down, and his thick cock came into view.
He really was the total package. Dammit. I took the bubbles in my hand and patted his chin so they transferred to him. “Santa beard.”
“Get in the tub, Paris, before I throw you in.”
“Whatever you say.” I turned and put my hand on the wall to step into the warm water.
Casual sex. That’s all this was.
But not even I was buying what I was selling.
Eight
Paris
“And mamma in her kerchief and I in my cap.”
“A mamma in her…” Jaden repeated after me. “Hey, what’s a kerchuf?” Jaden looked up from “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” “And why is the guy wearing a hat to bed?”
He was trying to memorize the poem to surprise his grandma on Christmas Eve. I wasn’t convinced he was going to make it all the way through, but I’d promised to help act it out and help him along if he got lost.
Why had I done that?
I had no idea. Except that I liked the kid. He was cute and smart, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever met anyone who loved Christmas as purely as Jaden did. It made me love it. Listening to him talk about Christmas and Santa and stockings and his family’s traditions on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning made me want to get into flannel pajamas and fuzzy socks and curl up on the sofa with cocoa and be there. I just wanted to watch.
Growing up in California, I’d never had a Christmas like the ones you see in books and movies. There was no snow, no sleigh rides, no roaring fires in fireplaces. We had trees and Christmas music and all of that, of course, but there was a part of me that wanted to go out sledding with Jaden and then caroling around the town with Sandy and then come in, cold and shivering but laughing and happy. Then I really wanted to be greeted by a big, hot construction worker who would wrap me in his arms and rub his hands up and down my back and tell me all the delicious ways he could help warm me up again.
“Here.” I pulled my phone out and typed KERCHIEF into Google. I turned the phone so he could see. “This is a kerchief,” I said, pronouncing the word correctly for him. “And this—” I looked up night caps next and showed him. “This is the kind of cap they’re talking about. Men wore this to bed in the old days. Like when this poem w
as written.”
Jaden scrunched up his nose. “Why?”
“To keep their heads warm, I suppose,” I said. “Back in the old days, the houses weren’t heated like they are now. They had to keep warm somehow.”
“Couldn’t they just snuggle up?” he asked with a giggle.
I reached down and tickled his side. “Yeah, I bet they probably snuggled too,” I said with a little laugh.
“When I get cold, I go get into my grandma’s bed. I warm my feet up on her legs.”
Jaden was grinning a big grin that I already knew I was going to miss when I left.
“Oh man, she must really love you to let you do that. You better keep your cold toes over in your own house,” I told him. “I don’t want anyone warming their feet up on me in the middle of the night.”
“No one at all?”
The deep voice rumbled from behind me, and I looked over my shoulder at Joe. I gave him a flirtatious smile. “Well...I suppose there’s a chance that I could get so hot in bed that I might appreciate some cold toes.”
His cheeks were red from being out in the cold repainting the sign. I was amazed by how much he’d gotten done over the past couple of days. He’d been working his ass off. For me. I wasn’t sure why either. All of this was important for me to get done so I could sell the place, and he knew that. I got the impression that he wasn’t thrilled with the whole idea of me selling. Yet, he was still helping me make things look better.
I’d told him I was very willing and able to repay him for all the work. He knew exactly what I meant by that too. His eyes got dark with desire.
“Are your hands cold right now?” I asked. “I could maybe help you out with that.”
“Put them in your pants!” Jaden told him. “That’s what I do! It’s always warm in there!” He giggled.
For a second, it seemed that Joe had forgotten his nephew was there. He blinked at the little boy as I laughed.
“Is it always warm in your pants, Joe?” I asked.
“As a matter of fact, it’s been downright hot in there,” he said with a nod. “Maybe putting my hands in my own pants is the solution for a lot of things.”
I lifted a brow. Oh, he was going to take care of himself instead of expanding on our casual sex? That was just as good as letting me help him out? Because I’d used the vibrator I’d gotten delivered by Amazon Prime nearly every time I found myself at home alone, thinking of him. It didn’t help. All I wanted was the real deal. Joe. Only Joe.
I moved in closer to him. Of course we had to be aware of Jaden and what he’d overhear from us—and repeat to Sandy—all the time. He’d told her right away that I used the word “dammit” a lot when I was cleaning and organizing the store.
“I promise you I’ve spent more than a few nights in North Pole putting my hands in my own pants, and it’s really not as...effective.”
That now-familiar heat flared in his eyes. “Maybe you’re not doing it right. Maybe I could check out your technique, give you some pointers.”
Oh my God. Was Joe suggesting I masturbate in front of him? I could so get behind that. I grinned. “I’ve got twelve different...ways...of doing it.” I had a vibrator at home in L.A. with twenty-eight different settings. That was ridiculous. I hadn’t felt the need for that much help while I was in North Pole. “I really like the third way,” I told Joe. “And really all of them are alright. They’re just not the same as...”
“You have twelve ways of warming up your hands?” Jaden asked.
Damn. I wasn’t used to having kids around.
“I have twelve...pairs of pants,” I said. I did actually have twelve pairs of pants. Probably more than that.
“But the third pair warms your hands up the most?” he asked, looking completely confused.
I nodded slowly, looking up at Joe. “The third one makes things really hot.”
Joe made a choking sound and grabbed my arm, pulling me to the side and addressing his nephew. “Are you done with your project? I’m going to take you over to Maggie’s place.”
“Why am I going to Maggie’s?” Jaden asked.
“Wait, who’s Maggie?” I asked. I couldn’t explain why I suddenly felt like I needed to know who Jaden was going to be with, but the words popped out before I could stop them.
“Maggie is a friend of my mom’s,” Joe explained as he helped Jaden gather his books and crayons. “She watches Jaden sometimes.”
“Why does someone need to watch Jaden now?” I asked.
“The…” Joe cast a look at Jaden. “...the people who want to talk to you about the seeds are on their way in.”
“Oh.” The potential buyers were on their way. I glanced at the clock. They were supposed to meet me here in about twenty minutes. Jaden ran to the end of the counter to retrieve his snow boots, and I lowered my voice. “You think he’d catch on and say something to Sandy about them wanting to buy it?”
“I just don’t want him to be in the way,” Joe said, scooping Jaden’s coat up from where the kid had shed it when he’d come in from the cold.
“In the way? He isn’t in the way,” I protested. “He’s great. Dog walker and customer service rep all in one.”
“I know.” Joe shrugged. “I just don’t want there to be any distractions. I’ll stay out too. You can text me after they leave.”
“You’re all a part of this,” I said. “I don’t want you to feel left out of this decision. If they buy the place, they’re going to get to know all of you.”
“Why?” Joe asked.
“Well, Sandy will still work here and—”
“You don’t know that,” Joe cut me off. “They might not want to have a little boy showing the farmers around the store or getting his after-school snack all over the counter. They might not need Sandy.”
“But…” I knew all of that, of course. It was par for the course for a new owner to clean house on staff. But I hadn’t wanted to allow myself to consider that because it bothered me. A lot. Sandy and Jaden were a part of this store. They loved it. They knew it as well as they knew their own home. This was a home to them. I would have been lost without them, and I looked forward to Jaden running through the front doors every day. When the store was empty, we turned up the music—sometimes the country side, sometimes the Christmas side—and danced. He’d started bringing extra crackers and cookies in his snack so he could share with me. He’d helped me glue new sequins and white faux fur on the Christmas decor. I couldn’t imagine this place without him and Sandy.
“Anyway, we’ll get out of your way.”
Joe seemed a little grumpy now and wouldn’t meet my eyes.
I wanted to be flirtatious and say something cute and sexy. I wanted to just get a smile from him. But nothing was coming to mind. Suddenly I was thinking about calling my lawyer and getting him to add a clause to the sales agreement that would guarantee Sandy a job and Jaden a place to come after school.
Dammit.
I cared.
I cared about Sandy and Jaden and Joe. That was going to make all of this more complicated. If I could just say “sure, do whatever you want with the store” to the new buyers, it would be easy. But now I wanted to add stipulations. That was not how this was supposed to go.
“Okay,” I said reluctantly.
Joe and Jaden were already halfway to the door.
“I’ll text you later!” I called after him.
Joe just lifted a hand in a little wave without looking back.
Yeah, he wasn’t happy about me selling. But he’d still been helping me. Why? What was going through that gorgeous head of his?
“Bye, Paris!” Jaden yelled back to me as Joe nudged him out the door. “See you later! Love you!”
My breath caught in my chest, and I literally couldn’t make a sound in response to that.
The door bumped shut behind them, and I pressed a hand over my heart. “That was like a bullet to the heart,” I murmured.
I was in so much trouble.
�
�I’m sorry, but I thought you understood we have no intention of maintaining the Christmas side of the store,” Mr. Corporate said to me as he stared disdainfully at the display I’d busted my ass setting up.
I had six trees, each themed to represent various aspects of Indiana. After online research, I’d been ordering ornaments like nobody’s business to make my vision come to life. There was the cardinal tree, the state bird, in a festive red and green with faux snow on the branches. I had a peony tree for the state flower, and it was a wondrous explosion of the pink blooms, prettier than I envisioned in my head. The Colts tree, blue and silver and loaded with little Colts helmets and horseshoes. I’d done a hunting and fishing tree, heavily featuring deer and trout. Bob had taken to teasing me about that one—said they each deserved their own tree. That water and land didn’t mix. There was an Indy 500 racing tree. Then last but not least, one that was meant to represent North Pole. It was candy canes and Santas, wreaths, and small-town buildings and houses.
My trees were lit. I meant that both literally and figuratively. The Christmas display rocked, and I was really damn proud of it. Nancy Dunbar, the high school principal, had already bought the Colts one, fully decorated, as a Christmas gift for her husband, to be delivered on Christmas Eve.
“I was not aware of that,” I said carefully, trying to school my features so he wouldn’t see that I thought he was a pretentious prick. He appeared to be in his forties, but he seemed much older than that. I hated the way he talked down to me. God. Everything about the way he held himself screamed arrogant asshole.
The older man with him was quiet, letting the younger man do all the talking. He was harder to read, though I didn’t think he seemed much more impressed by the store than his son and business partner. My temper spiked when the younger man, Todd, studied our poor injured Alan Jackson reindeer, before turning to his father with a look that told me poor Alan was going to be the first casualty of the sale.
“The ROI isn’t worth it for ANC Supply to even consider it. Not to mention the tacky factor.”
Tacky? Oh, he had not just called the Holly Jolly half of the Holly Jolly Feed and Seed tacky.
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