And your pessimism is a real drag, Phoebe Moon agreed. Can you please just go take a leap of faith already?
Maybe. Just maybe, she could.
* * *
Despite Rachel’s suggestion—echoed by the entire bachelor auction committee—that Max wear board shorts, his sash, and a Santa hat when it was his turn to be bid on, he strolled onto the stage on stiff legs in a suit and his elf hat. He wanted to go back to bed. He had to suppress a yawn as the emcee, CJ Blue, read his stats. And when CJ jerked a show your wares look at him, Max’s left knee cracked and his stomach gurgled. But he stepped up dutifully, flexing his arms beneath his suit jacket and twisting so the ladies could check out his ass.
CJ snickered. “Let’s start the bidding at—”
“One hundred dollars!” cried one of the women who’d asked Max about his role in capturing the dastardly jewel thief and his attack owl during the social hour before the bidding.
“Sure, we can start with a hundred,” CJ said.
The crowd laughed, and he called for one fifty, which came easily.
Rachel hovered next to Pepper Blue—no conflict of interest there with Pepper’s brother acting as auctioneer—and nudged Pepper to bid. “Three hundred,” Pepper called.
Pepper was nice enough. Solid job, good reputation in Bliss, relatively new in town. She busted her ass for the Knot Fest committee, volunteered at the pet shelter, and had an abnormally large number of sisters, but they were normal sisters with normal occupations and normal parents.
She probably had a sense of humor, and she was probably adequate in bed, and she probably also had an eccentricity or quirk or two that would drive him crazy, but he was cursed.
He was bound to never find the perfect woman.
“Five hundred!”
Jeez. The blonde from—where was she from? He forgot. But she’d been too giggly during social hour, and she’d kept eyeing his crotch like that was all she wanted from him.
All Merry had ever asked of him was that he go away and not die.
“Seven hundred,” Pepper countered.
Rachel was starting to sweat. She signaled someone at the edge of the ballroom. Max caught sight of Kimmie Kincaid and Pepper’s sister-in-law combing through their purses.
“Seven fifty,” the blonde yelled.
“Seven fifty…two?” Pepper said.
“Seven seventy-five,” Rachel hissed.
“Eight hundred,” the blonde said.
Max Jr. went into hiding.
It was one night. One night of his life to pretend to enjoy a woman’s company. All the money was going to a scholarship fund for kids who had lost a military parent.
He could do this.
“Eight twenty-five.” Rachel was holding Pepper’s bidding card now, squeaking and sweating, and, if Max wasn’t mistaken, looking around to make sure Dan didn’t know how much she was bidding.
But Max hadn’t seen Dan tonight.
“Nine hundred,” the blonde said.
Probably her daddy’s money, Zack Diggory’s voice helpfully suggested.
Rachel shrugged helplessly.
“We have nine hundred,” CJ said. “Going once…”
The blonde smiled at Max, then licked her lips.
Oh, hell no. Max wasn’t going home with that woman.
She wasn’t Merry.
None of these women were Merry.
Max lifted an aching arm. “One thousand dollars!” he yelled.
The room went silent.
After a long pause, CJ spoke. “Dude, I don’t think you can bid on yourself.”
If Merry wouldn’t, then Max would. And since Merry wasn’t here, he didn’t have a choice.
He didn’t want a night with the blonde. He didn’t want a night with Pepper. He didn’t even want a sympathy prime rib with a side of chocolate mousse from Rachel.
He wanted to watch Merry try to use chopsticks. He wanted to spoon-feed her cheesecake. He wanted to make love to her, then listen to her read him to sleep.
“Why can’t I?” he said to CJ. “It’s for charity.”
CJ covered the mic. “Are you sure you’re worth a grand?”
“He’s worth far more,” a feminine voice in the back called. “But since the woman who thinks so apparently isn’t here, I’ll put him out of his misery. Five thousand.”
Heads swiveled. Another blonde waved a bidding card, this one visibly pregnant and breaking her promise to stay out of Max’s love life.
“Ah, Lindsey, does Billy know you’re bidding on a bachelor?” CJ said.
“Habit,” she called back. “I can’t help myself.”
“Ten grand,” Billy drawled from the doorway. “She can have him, but danged if I’ll let her pay for him herself.”
Laughter erupted, along with hoots and cheers.
“Ten grand,” CJ said. “Going once, going twice—”
“Fifteen thousand!”
The new voice sliced through the room and threw it into surprised gasps that faded to an eerie silence.
Merry.
His Merry was right next to Billy at the door.
Max’s knees wobbled.
A murmur stole through the quiet crowd. Heads twisted to stare at her, and the whispers got louder.
Her mocha eyes connected with his, telegraphing sheer terror.
“Does she have fifteen grand?” CJ murmured to Max.
“And how did she get it?” someone else whispered.
“Shut up and close this thing,” Max ordered.
Merry was here. Taking one step, then another, and still another, straight toward him.
Whispers of “It’s Merry,” and “The jewel thief” and “The one who disappeared” swirled about the room beneath CJ banging the gavel to close the bidding.
“Sold, for fifteen thousand dollars, to Miss Merry Silver,” he said.
Merry faltered, but Max’s legs moved, his feet barely skimming the floor the closer he got to her.
She opened her arms, her eyes watery, her chin wobbling. “I love you,” she whispered.
And then he had her, holding her tight, while she gripped him back with all her strength. “I love you,” he told her hair. Then her ears. Then her cheek. Then her lips. “I love you. You’re my home. You challenge me and you frustrate me and you make me work for it. And I admire you, Merry. I respect you. Look what you’ve done with your life. With everything you have going against you, look how much you’ve succeeded. You’re amazing. Worth more than any gem in the world. I want to be a man worthy of a woman like you. Give me a chance. Stay. Please stay and let me love you.”
“You better love me, because this is freaking terrifying.”
“You can do it, Merry. We can do it. We’re bigger than the fear.”
Her breath came out on a hiccup. “I love you, Max.”
The crowd was squealing. Max smoothed Merry’s dark hair back. “I love you too. And look. They like you too.”
She blinked at him, then slowly looked over at their audience.
Every last one of the two hundred women here tonight were on their feet, cheering and clapping and beaming at them. The few men scattered around the room—mostly married—wore rueful, sympathetic, this is the end of you man grins.
Merry wrinkled her nose at Max, and a tremor shook her body. “You told them?”
“Told them—” Oh. About Amber Finch. “No. No. Merry, sweetheart, they like you.”
A pink flush crept into her cheeks, and tears welled in her eyes. “Oh,” she whispered.
“But not as much as I do.” He didn’t know why she was here, or why she’d changed her mind, but he didn’t care.
She was everything he needed. Everything he wanted.
She’d put the Merry back in his life.
* * *
Merry woke up alone Christmas morning. The spot beside her was still warm, so she knew her favorite Christmas present couldn’t have gone far. She rolled out of bed, grabbed her robe, and tucked her feet into the rid
iculously adorable bunny slippers Max had insisted any writer living in his house had to have.
In the weeks since the bachelor auction, she’d had moments of panic over staying, but fewer and farther between. Patrick’s lawyer was close to sealing a deal for Daddy so he could avoid jail time in exchange for a guilty plea to several lesser charges from his days of crime. He’d have to go to court-ordered counseling as well, though he had his pick of which state he’d seek it in. He was leaning toward Wisconsin.
Mom had threatened Daddy to within an inch of his life if he interfered with Merry’s love life.
So had Max.
And Patrick, for that matter.
Patrick had sent Mom on their honeymoon alone, but he’d been waiting when she got back, and now they were taking their relationship slow. Mom was giving up her Botox.
And Merry was working hard on believing good things would continue to come.
Max’s belief in her helped.
She crept down the stairs and turned the corner to find Santa Claus putting a present under the tree, with blankets and pillows spread in a makeshift bed between the tree and the roaring fireplace in the living room.
A surprised laugh slipped from her lips. Santa Max quirked a grin over his shoulder at her. “There’s a punishment for young ladies who sneak out of bed and catch Santa in action, you know.”
“Are you threatening a ninja, Santa?”
“Depends. If I am, will you have to teach me a lesson?”
“Is that what Santa wants for Christmas?” She padded to his side and pressed a kiss to his cheek above the fake beard. “I think I like you as an elf better. There’s something sexy about those tights.”
“Elves don’t have coffee. Or cheesecake for breakfast.”
“Now you’re really talking dirty.” She pulled at his fake beard to give her easy access to his mouth, still thrilled at the combination of smooth lips and rough stubble in his kiss.
“Merry Christmas, love,” he said.
Love.
One simple word, now her whole world. She loved Max. She loved Scout. She loved his house. She loved waking up with him every morning. She loved watching him in the garage. She loved arguing with him over dinner. She loved going to bed with him every night.
And she loved letting herself love him.
He guided her to the blankets on the floor, still touching, still kissing. Her feminine parts tingled. “I like this Christmas present,” she said.
He treated her to a slow grin the real Santa Claus would’ve probably found scandalous. “Me too.”
She flicked the buttons open on his red fur jacket and ran her hands over the warm, white T-shirt hiding solid muscle beneath. “But I also got you something else.”
“Funny. I got you something else too.”
He lowered her to the floor. His lips landed hot on her neck, and Merry leaned into the pillows, tilting her head to give him better access. He hovered over her, kissing, sucking, and she rubbed at the bulge in his Santa pants. “You did get me something, didn’t you?”
“Another something else.” He started to chuckle, but she stroked him again, and he hissed out a breath against her skin. “Upstairs,” he gasped.
“I like here.” She slipped her hand into his pants.
“Oh, God, Merry.”
His beautiful blue-green eyes drifted shut, and his neck arched back while she gripped him and slowly stroked. He was hot and solid and silky, and touching him was making her ache in all the best ways.
“Merry Christmas, Max,” she whispered.
“Office,” he grunted.
She giggled. “You want to move this to an office?”
“Giving…you…an office.”
Her hand stilled.
“Upstairs. Merry, don’t stop.”
She rolled and pushed him to his back, then slung a leg over him and settled on him with his erection nestled between her legs, her robe gaping open. “You’re giving me an office upstairs?”
“Cleaned out the front room.” He tugged at the tie on her robe. It parted, and his eyes went a smoky green. He palmed her breasts, rubbing his thumb over her nipples. Sparks exploded all over her skin.
“I’ll paint it,” he murmured. “Move furniture. Blow up your book covers and have them framed. Whatever you want.”
He thrust his hips up into her, and she stifled a moan. “Sugar mama,” she whispered.
“You want a sugar mama?”
She arched into his touch and slid against his length. “I’ll be your sugar mama.”
Max laughed. “You’re already my sugar.”
“Amber wants to buy you a garage.”
His hands stilled.
“She has a movie deal in the works,” Merry whispered. “And a new three-book contract pending with a significant pay raise.”
Apparently sitting on a major bestseller list for three weeks and counting came with other perks besides having her boyfriend lick celebratory champagne out of her belly button.
Max was staring at her.
“But only if you want it,” she said quickly. “You can do whatever makes you happy, I just thought—”
“Have I ever told you that you’re perfect?” Max caressed her cheeks with his thumbs, then pulled her down for a kiss. “I love you, Merry Silver,” Max whispered.
And as Max proceeded to show her just how much he loved her, it occurred to Merry she had accomplished the biggest heist of all.
She’d stolen his heart, and given him hers in return.
Epilogue
As soon as Max led Merry to the back door of Bliss’s local bookstore on the last Saturday in January, she turned around. “Nope. Can’t do it.”
“Yes, you can.” He gripped her by the shoulders and pointed her to the store.
“Don’t push it, Max Gregory. I’ve laid you out in an alley once before, and I’ll do it again.”
Her complexion was white as snow except for the bright pink spots high on her cheeks. Her dark hair whipped around her head in the crisp wind. And he felt the tremors in her body even through her coat.
“No white cheddar for you if you don’t,” Max threatened.
“You’re such a gnarger,” she muttered.
Voices swelled on the wind from the packed parking lot, and she huddled closer to him. He wrapped her tight and pressed a kiss to her hair. “They already love you,” he whispered. “But if you’re not ready—”
The back door banged open, and Charlotte, the bookstore’s owner, stuck her head out. “Hi, Am—oh. It’s you. What are you doing here? Use the front door before you scare her away.”
Max checked a snort.
If Merry was bailing, he had to keep her secret a while longer.
But she lifted her head and leaned closer to the door. And Max felt the moment excitement overtook her fears. “Janice?” she said.
A willowy brunette who looked to be about forty-five swiveled to face them. “Amber?”
“No, this is Max and Merry,” Charlotte said.
“Rule number eight,” Merry said. “You also can’t judge a villain by his mustache.”
The secret code she had told her agent she’d use when she arrived at the signing today.
“Amber!” The brunette charged the alley, arms held out to grab Merry from Max. “Oh, Amber, it’s so lovely to meet you. Come in, come in. Before someone sees you.”
“But that’s Merry,” Charlotte squeaked.
Max grinned at her.
Realization dawned, and Charlotte hauled off and punched him in the arm. They’d grown up together, and Max had a feeling she was the first of many people today who’d be punching him or wishing they could. “You knew?” she said.
“Hurt my boyfriend and I’m leaving,” Merry called from the doorway.
“Does Olivia know?” Charlotte demanded.
Max shook his head. “Nobody else knows.”
“Nobody?”
“Merry, me, and now you. And her agent.”
If Max
thought it was fun watching one person realize the secret Merry had been keeping, that was nothing compared to the gasps and squeals and then the thunderous applause when Merry was introduced to the crowd packing the bookstore.
Olivia was there, right up front, and she looked on the verge of crying happy tears. Rachel wiped her eyes while she laughed, and she wagged a finger at Max while he stood back and watched.
Locals who had come in just to check things out picked up complete sets of Amber Finch’s novels. Merry laughed with her fans. She smiled. She got excited over everyone’s favorite book, favorite scene, favorite character.
She blushed.
Repeatedly.
His Merry, blushing like the girl she’d been when he first met her, but more.
And just when Max thought the day couldn’t get any better for her, the best moment of the signing was interrupted by a woman Max had come to know all too well the past two months. She burst into the door and shouldered and elbowed her way to the front of the line. “Meredith?”
Merry paused in the middle of signing a book for one of Olivia’s friends, and her smile faltered. “Hi, Mom.”
“You—you’re—this—” Vicky put a knuckle in her mouth, and her eyes welled. “Meredith Cordelia Silver, I am so proud of you.”
While Vicky reached across the table, Merry stood and hugged her mom back. “Surprise,” she said. Her voice was watery and just loud enough for Max to hear. “I was going to call you later.”
“You still are, missy. You have some explaining to do.”
Patrick joined Vicky, bewildered amusement twitching his mouth. He nodded to Max. “You knew?”
“Since…that day.”
“Remarkably good day,” Patrick mused.
It had been a hellacious day, but all had turned out perfectly afterwards.
“I want six of every book,” Vicky declared. “One set for me. Sign the rest to any teacher who ever told me you wouldn’t amount to anything.”
“None of my teachers ever said that.”
“Hush, Meredith. Mine did. Let me have my moment.”
Max stepped forward to sling an arm around Merry’s mom’s shoulders. “Vicky, you can have her later. How about you let the little kids have a turn? Come meet Merry’s agent. She loves Merry almost as much as you do.”
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