She plopped it down on the snow and climbed on top. She waited for a moment before looking up at Damian. “This is the part where you sit on it.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s fun!” Timmy said with encouragement. “Two can sit on it. Like this.” He climbed on his brother’s toboggan, wrapping his arms around his sibling. “Then you just push off, like this.” Timmy shoved off and they sped down the hill amid squeals of delight.
Damian frowned at her. “No, thanks.”
“Would it hurt your leg?” Kat asked.
“No.”
“Then just sit down.” She patted the space in front of her.
Damian huffed. “No.”
Kat tried not to glare at him. What a fussy pants. “If you want me to show you what there is to do in this town, you’re going to have to be open to new experiences.”
“I’ve been sledding before.”
Why was he being so stubborn about this? “How long ago?”
“I don’t know. I was probably seven.”
“Then it’s time for another go at it. Come on. Please?” She batted her eyelashes at him.
He made a face. “All right, but I’m not going to be the little spoon.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m not sitting in front.”
She held in a laugh. Little spoon. What a funny thing to say. She silently vowed to make him be the little spoon before the day ended. “Fine.” She scooted forward.
He sat down behind her on the orange plastic. “Let’s make fools of ourselves.”
Getting him on the sled felt like a victory, like when she convinced a scammer to do something ridiculous. She grinned. “Okay, wrap your arms around me, or you’ll fall off.”
Damian made a scoffing noise, but he did as she said. She scooted so her back was pressed up against his chest. His cologne smelled good. Her heart started doing this funny little stutter thing. Oh, good grief. She was a grown woman. She could sit close to a handsome man without turning into a hormonal teenager. She ignored the way her body responded.
“Okay, hang on.” She shoved them off and the toboggan slid. She gripped the handles. They picked up speed as they got to the middle of the hill and Damian’s hold on her tightened. Her stomach flipped as the sled sped down the hill. She let out a whoop and cold air rushed past her, the speed exhilarating her. She had started out joking around, but when Damian wouldn’t get on it felt more like a challenge. But now, it was just pure fun.
The toboggan hit a bump and they both went flying, landing in the snow. Kat laughed as she rolled over and pushed off his chest. Her heart pounded at his proximity. “That was great!”
Damian moaned.
Panic raced through Kat. “Are you hurt?” Lydia would kill her if she maimed the billionaire boss. She leaned closer to see if there was any blood.
Damian's lips twitched and he tossed snow in her face.
“Hey!” She wiped it off. “What was that for?”
“For getting snow down my shirt again,” he said, sitting up on his elbows. The whole grumpy thing didn’t work because he smiled.
She shoved his chest, pushing him back in the snow. “Wanna do it again?”
His smile widened. “You’re acting like a juvenile.”
“I don’t care. Come on.” She stood and grabbed the toboggan. They climbed the hill and went down several more times before the boys had to leave and take their sled with them.
Damian brushed the snow off his clothes as they walked back to the car. “Okay, I admit. That was fun.”
Kat grinned at him. “More fun than you’ve had in a long time?”
“Don’t push it.” He stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. “There’s a lot to do in New York.”
“Okay, okay. But I’m not done showing you Pleasant Hollow. Next, we’ll go to the museum. I’m sure it will rival any museum from your fancy big city.”
Damian raised an eyebrow. “What kind of museum?”
She held in a laugh. “You’ll see.”
Chapter 7
Damian stood in front of the display, staring in disbelief. He glanced around the small room, wondering if this was a joke. Unfortunately, it looked depressingly real. “A lint museum? Seriously?”
“The only one in the world.” Kat grinned at him, her hands behind her back. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but in the back room, we have the world’s largest lint ball. Took the town three years of collecting lint to make it.”
Damian swallowed, unsure of what to say. This is what small towns did in their spare time? Build weird museums? “Um…”
The front door opened making a bell ding. A woman with blonde hair approached them. “Hey, Kat. There you are.” She brushed her hair over her shoulder. “I was wondering where you’d gone off to.”
Kat’s eyes widened. He kind of liked the look on her, like she was caught off guard. “Hilary. What are you doing here?”
Hilary pointed to the display talking about belly button lint. “Just wanted to come check things out. I haven’t been here in a while.” She scanned the display, pretending to be interested in it. Damian hid a smile. Who was this woman?
“How did you know we were here?” Kat said between clenched teeth.
“Find My Friends app.”
“Remind me to disable that,” Kat muttered. She shoved Hilary toward the door. “Well, good to see you. I’m sure you’re busy so I’ll talk later.”
Hilary maneuvered around Kat toward Damian and stuck out her hand. “Hi. I’m Hilary, Kat’s sister.”
Damian shook the woman’s hand, enjoying their interaction a little too much. “Damian. Nice to meet you.”
Kat’s expression soured. “Did you drive my car?”
Hilary shrugged. “Yep. Didn’t think you’d mind.” She glanced around the small room. “Have you taken him in back yet?”
Kat’s shoulders slumped. “No.”
“Great. I’ll tag along. I always love watching people look at the world’s largest ball of lint for the first time.”
Damian held in a chuckle. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but having Kat’s sister around was proving to be hilarious. Hilary grabbed his arm and tugged him toward the back. “Kat tells me you’re from New York. What’s that like?”
“Wonderful. There are shops there that do nothing but make brilliant coffee.”
Kat snorted, and Hilary gave her sister a scowl. She turned back to him. “Sounds lovely.”
They approached a massive mound of what looked like different colors of dryer lint mashed together to almost form a ball, but not quite. It was too saggy. There was a burgundy velvet rope surrounding the mess, as if they expected a crowd soon and wanted to keep the giant ball of lint from being harmed.
Damian stared at it, trying to think of something to say. “Well. That’s one big ball of lint.”
Kat and Hilary dissolved into giggles. Hilary patted his arm. “Okay, now that you’ve seen that, you are probably wondering what else Pleasant Hollow could offer. Let me tell you, we have our own historic movie theater that opened in 1956. It’s worth the experience to go.”
Kat folded her arms. “I was going to take him to Livin’ on a Spare.”
“Oh, yes. That’s good too.” Hilary turned to him. “Do you bowl?”
Damian took a step back from her. Bowling? Not really his thing. “No.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll let you use the bumpers.” Kat snickered as she left the room.
Damian followed after her. “I don’t even know what that means.”
She turned around by the display of pocket lint. “I know. And that’s why we must do it. Come on, it will be fun.” She gave him one of her sweet smiles that looked like she’d just figured out a way to kill him in his sleep.
Hilary came between them. “Yeah, just some harmless fun.”
He shook his head. “No, thank you.”
“They sell beer,” Kat said.
“I’m more of a sherry drinker.”
“Of course you are,” Kat said under her breath. “Maybe you’d rather stay here?”
Damian glanced around at the different displays. What was he doing? Did he really want to spend the rest of the day looking at lint or eating stale Doritos in his hotel room? He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All right. Fine. You win. Let’s go bowling.”
***
Kat struggled to keep her composure as Damian slipped his feet into the ugly cream and brown bowling shoes. He made a face. “Do I have to wear these?”
“Yep. Don’t worry. Everyone’s wearing them so you don’t look funny.” That so wasn’t true. He looked funny. But only because in her mind’s eye she saw him standing in Dale’s ordering a double-short low-fat whatever specialty coffee, turning his nose up at what she’d made.
He stood and picked up the bowling ball. “Is this our lane?”
“Yep.” Kat exchanged a look with Hilary. Oh, this was going to be good.
Damian nodded and took a step. He watched a twelve-year-old girl in the lane next to him as she released her ball. She knocked down five pins. Damian mimicked her moves, lowering his arm and throwing his ball as she had done. It slid off the lane and went into the gutter.
Damian frowned as he walked back to the chairs. “What did I do wrong?”
Kat tried not to laugh. He really looked perplexed, like he expected to knock all the pins down. “It’s harder than it looks, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Well, the good news is, you get another chance. Here’s your ball, coming back now.” Kat walked to the machine and grabbed the black ball he’d picked out. She handed it to him. “I’ll show you how to aim.”
She followed him to the lane and stood behind him. Mentally she laughed at him now being the little spoon. “Hold the ball like this.” She put her arms around him to show him and immediately knew she’d made a mistake. All the hair on her arms stood on end and electricity shot over her skin. He smelled like some billion-dollar cologne and it made her weak in the knees. She showed him how to hold it and then quickly backed up from him, her heart pounding.
He turned toward her, holding the ball in front of him. “Like this?”
She was too flustered to say anything, so she nodded.
“Then what?”
Kat mentally smacked herself. What was wrong with her? She needed to get it together. She cleared her throat. “Then approach the lane. Keep your back straight, and shoulders square, but bend your knees.”
He turned back around and did as she said. He looked stiff and uncoordinated.
“Now approach the lane, and when you aim look at the dots in front of you, not the pins at the end. And you have to throw it harder this time.”
Damian walked to the lane and tossed the ball. It sailed high into the air before crashing down onto the lane. Kat cringed and snuck a peek at Dave, the owner, who scowled at her. “Try not to break the lane.”
Damian seemed confused. “What did I do wrong that time?”
“You released the ball too late. Just make sure your hand is low when you release it.” Kat gave him an encouraging smile before turning away. She needed to stop looking at him. He was too handsome and she was acting like an idiot.
Damian nodded. “This game is more of a challenge than I thought.”
Kat took her turn, bowling a spare, then sat down while Hilary went.
Damian sat forward. “So, is it just you and your sister here?”
Kat’s stomach clenched. She really didn’t want to talk about her family, but he asked a direct question. How could she ignore it? She tugged at her sleeve. “My mother’s in a care facility on the other side of town. My sister and I visit her when we can. It’s just the three of us.”
He looked surprised. “A care facility? Why is she there?”
Kat looked away, a lump forming in her throat. “She has young onset dementia. She can’t live alone anymore.”
He studied her. “That must be difficult.”
Yes. And expensive. She just nodded her head and tried not to look like she was getting emotional.
Hilary came back to the seats and plopped down. “I only got five.”
Kat tapped Damian’s leg with the back of her hand. “You’re up again.”
Damian bowled, knocking down three pins. He turned and grinned at Kat. Her heart thumped in her chest. Hilary leaned over. “Dang. He’s a hottie.”
“Yeah. But don’t forget. He’s here to put me out of work, and we can’t afford that,” she hissed.
“I know. But it doesn’t hurt to look.” Hilary wiggled her eyebrows up and down.
“You’re terrible.”
Damian bowled another gutter ball, but you wouldn’t think it was the case when he came back smiling. “I knocked three down. Did you see that?”
“Good job,” Hilary said. She leaned over to talk to him as Kat walked up to the lane. Why was Hilary even here? She was just being nosey. Annoyance ran up Kat’s back. She threw a gutter ball. Arg. This game wasn’t going very well.
They bowled for an hour, playing two games. Damian continued to improve while Kat had her worst two games of the year. Hilary didn’t seem to care about her score, as she looked like she was only there to flirt with Damian. By the end of the second game, Kat was ready to rip Hilary’s head off.
As soon as Damian went up to the counter to turn in his shoes, Kat rounded on Hilary. “Okay, you had your fun. Now make an excuse and leave.”
Hilary blinked. “Why?”
“You’re messing up my mission.”
“How am I doing that? You’re just jealous he likes me.” Hilary took off her bowling shoes.
Right. Jealous. No way. If Hilary even had a brain she’d know Kat hated Damian. But Lydia expressly said to make sure Damian fell in love with the town, not her sister. Kat huffed and put her hands on her hips. “If you stay, I’m telling him about the time you wet your pants at Chuck E. Cheese.”
Hilary frowned and pulled on her boots. “Fine. I’ll leave. But I’m staying over again, and you’re spilling everything when you get back.”
“Deal.”
Damian approached them and Hilary stood, slipping her purse over her shoulder. “Well, I must be going now. Nice to meet you, Damian.” She wiggled her fingers at him before stalking off to the front door.
Kat picked up the shoes Hilary left behind. “You hungry?”
“Starved.”
“Good. We can get some food at the carnival.”
Damian nodded and walked with her. “I’m looking forward to this famous Christmas Carnival.”
She nodded. “Me, too.” She tossed the shoes up on the counter as they passed.
The sun was almost down when they stepped outside, making the snow sparkle with the last of the evening light. Kat couldn’t help but feel a little excitement as they walked. She shoved that aside, mentally scolding herself. This wasn’t a date. She couldn’t like Mr. Fussy Pants. He was the enemy and she had to keep that in the back of her mind, or she’d really mess everything up.
Chapter 8
Damian cut a slice of his hot dog with his plastic knife and stabbed it with the fork. It looked disgusting with the chili on it, but when he put it in his mouth he had to admit it didn’t taste half-bad. The sound of bells jingling came from up the street. Crowds of people hurried by.
Kat squinted at him. “How is it that you’re in your thirties and have never gone bowling or had a chilidog?”
He shifted on the metal park bench. They were seated in a parking lot by a food truck. How could he explain what his childhood had been like? He’d grown up with nannies and catered parties. Fast food was not tolerated. His mother would faint dead away if she knew what he’d been up to today. “I grew up differently.”
“Like on another planet?” She picked up her chilidog and took a bite. He wasn’t sure how she did that without getting it all down the front of her.
“No. I was just
brought up on the finer things of life.”
“Ah, I see,” she said around her food. “You grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth.”
Not wanting to debate about it, he said, “Something like that.”
“Well, there’s more to life than money.”
The familiar pang of regret entered his chest. “I know.” He sawed off another chunk of the hot dog with his knife. He didn’t want to think about Luke, or what happened ten years ago.
Kat swallowed and set down her chilidog on her plate. “So, tell me what you do when you’re not putting poor people out of work.”
Damian groaned. “I told you, I need to—”
“I know,” she said holding up a hand. “Just kidding. Sort of. I’ll shut up about it. What do you like to do in your spare time?”
“I don’t have any spare time.”
Kat gave him a funny look. “You just work? That’s it?”
“Pretty much. When I’m not working late at the office, I’m working late from home.” Boy, that sounded lame. Was his life that pathetic? He hadn’t thought about it before now, but saying it out loud made him look dull.
She picked up her soda and took a sip. “You don’t have any hobbies?”
He began to feel uncomfortable. He’d had a hobby at one time. It didn’t work out too well for him, as he was reminded each day by his mutilated leg. “Not really.” He didn’t want to talk about hobbies anymore. “What about you. Where did you go to school?”
Kat played with her straw, stabbing the ice in her drink. “I took some classes at the community college in New Haven. But then mom got sick and I couldn’t keep doing that. So, I quit and took the job at the newspaper. Since I was taking journalism classes, the job was a perfect fit.”
Damian studied her. Kat seemed like an intelligent woman, even though she was a bit quirky. Why did she want to work at some dumpy small-town newspaper? “Don’t you think a larger city would offer you more opportunities?”
She made a face. “There’s more to life than just your job.”
“But—”
A group of carolers started singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” behind him, and Damian gave up. She wouldn’t admit her small town had less to offer, no matter what he said.
Her Big Fat Hunky Billionaire Boss Page 5