I put the ice pack in the sink. “It’s not like I came here to seduce you into my plan. Or lie to you on purpose. I didn’t even know you lived in this town. That was just an unfortunate coincidence.”
“I’ll say,” he snorted. “Too bad about Lilibeth. I was really starting to like her.”
If I rolled my eyes any more today, I was risking permanent blindness. “I am Lilibeth. It is my middle name, you know. And you used to love me.”
“Used to. Before you decided I wasn’t good enough to meet your parents.”
I stared at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re the one who told me you didn’t want anything to do with me or my family.” Not to mention the other things he’d said about me all those years ago.
“Because you didn’t want anything to do with me. I heard all about how you were so worried that I’d embarrass you in front of your parents.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Back up. I never said those things. Never. I was excited to take you home and introduce you. You were the first guy who ever liked me for me, not because I was heir to the Winter Throne. And I was crazy about you.” My thought process screeched to a halt. “Wait. What do you mean you heard about that?”
His eyes were steely. “Your buddy Lark told me all about it. That’s why I broke things off with you before you could do the same to me.”
I sat on the couch, feeling slightly ill. “And Lark told me you were joking in front of your friends about how you were just doing the princess so you could spend winter break at the palace.” The memories came rushing back, as ugly as they had ever been. I couldn’t look at him. “How you couldn’t wait to see how lux your Christmas present was going to be.”
He swore softly. “Jay, I never said any of that.”
I risked a glance. He looked horrified. “Then why did Lark tell me all that? She was my best friend. Still is.”
He barked out a harsh laugh. “Lark? Some best friend. She tried to sleep with me the day after you and I broke up.”
“What? That can’t be. The day after we broke up, I went home for winter break and Lark…” I swallowed. The room seemed to get a little darker. The air a little harder to breathe. “Lark stayed behind. I remember now. She said she had to have a meeting with one of her professors because of a grading error.”
He shook his head. “The only meeting she had was with me. I came back to my dorm that day and she was waiting for me. I made her get dressed then I kicked her out. Never saw her again after that.”
“That’s because a week after she came home for winter break she decided to ‘find herself’ in Europe. That was the last I saw of her too, for a long while. I think she’s been back three times in the last ten years.”
“And you’re still best friends? How does that work?”
“We text.” I glanced at my phone where it lay on the coffee table. “I text.” I put my head in my hands. All these years the woman I’d considered my best friend had actually been my betrayer. My stomach churned with cold anger, and bitterness coated my tongue. “She broke us up. Because she wanted to get in your pants. I can’t believe what an idiot I was.”
The cushion sank beside me as Cooper joined me on the couch. “We were both idiots. I should have known you wouldn’t have acted like that.”
“And I should have known you weren’t using me.” I tipped my head sideways so I could see him. “You weren’t, were you?”
“No.” His breath seemed to catch in his throat. “I loved you, Jay.”
My eyes stung with regret and hurt. I sat back and stared at the ceiling. “I spent the next three semesters until graduation avoiding you.”
“Likewise.”
We stayed like that a long time, me staring at the ceiling, Cooper staring at me. There were a thousand things unsaid, but somehow we both understood.
Finally, I straightened and sighed out a long breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too. Maybe we can be friends.”
I nodded, my gaze focused on the coffee table. “That would be a good place to start.”
“You, uh, you and Greyson…is that a thing?”
I laughed a little. “I guess. I don’t know. I mean, we’ve gone out a few times, but we haven’t exchanged promise rings or anything. What does it matter? I’ll be headed back to the North Pole soon. Speaking of, I need to call my dad, tell him what happened.”
Cooper nodded and stood. “I’m glad we talked. I didn’t like the way I felt about how things ended.”
I got to my feet, fighting a strong urge to wrap my arms around him. “Me, too. I’d rather think of our time together fondly, you know?”
His smile was a little sad as he leaned in and tentatively kissed my forehead. “See you around, Jay.”
“Yeah, you too, Coop.”
He let himself out. Then I lay down on the couch and had a good cry.
I ended up falling asleep and waking up a couple hours later to banging on my door. Juniper and Buttercup were on the other side. “Hey.”
They stared at me for a few long, hard seconds. Then Juniper spoke. “We get why you lied to us. It’s not a hundred percent cool, but we get it.”
Buttercup squinted. “And we forgive you. But you better not ever do it again.”
I agreed instantly. “I won’t. I swear.”
Juniper crossed her arms. “Was the whole Lilibeth thing fake or was that basically you with a different name?”
“It was me with a different name. Which is really Jayne.”
Buttercup rolled her eyes. “We know. And I am not calling you Your Highness.”
Juniper elbowed her and mumbled, “We have to.”
I laughed. “No, you don’t. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t.”
“Good,” Buttercup sniffed.
“I really don’t want you to treat me any differently. Cool?”
Buttercup nodded and Juniper smiled. “Cool. So, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I paused. “Are we okay?”
Buttercup smirked. “I can’t believe you’re the freaking Winter Princess.”
I wanted to think that was a yes. “At least I’m not named after one.”
She snorted and Juniper laughed. “It is pretty amazing that we had North Pole royalty right under our noses and didn’t know it. We hung out and everything!” Then she frowned. “Are you sure you want to be friends with us?”
I almost teared up. “Are you kidding? I love you guys. I can’t imagine anyone I’d rather be friends with.”
Juniper hugged me and then Buttercup joined in, albeit a little reluctantly. I hugged them back and we stood like that until a few seconds later when Spider started crying for food.
We broke apart, laughing. I scooped Spider up and held him like a baby. “Thanks for coming to see me. I wasn’t sure you’d want to.”
They smiled. Juniper gave Spider a scratch on the head. “Get some rest. We’ll catch up on all the good stuff tomorrow…Jayne.”
I smiled. “Tomorrow.”
As I closed the door, I felt as awful as I did good. The employee situation was resolved, Cooper and I were friends again, but I was leaving soon and probably wouldn’t see much of him or Greyson or Juniper or Buttercup again. Tomorrow might actually be my last day. Total suckage.
I hadn’t expected that leaving would to be so tough. I fed Spider, took a shower, put on some clean clothes, and called my dad.
With Spider curled on my lap, I ran the whole thing down for him the way I had for Cooper. When I finished, pride practically wafted right through the snow globe. “Amazing, Jayne. Well done. I’m not happy you or your friends got hurt, but you did an outstanding job of working this thing out. A real chip off the old ice block.”
“Thanks, Dad. I had Toly pegged wrong, though. I thought he was behind the whole thing.”
“Well, he was still involved, so you were right about that. And it remains to be seen just how deeply. No, Jay, your work on this was commendable.”
> I smiled. It was nice to finally feel like I was good at something. “Do you have any idea who you’re going to bring in as manager to replace him?”
His expression shifted, clouded with reluctance. “Your uncle Kris and I have talked it over, and we’re going to close that store.”
“What? You can’t do that. What about Juniper and Buttercup? What about their jobs?”
“Honey, we can move them to other stores.”
I couldn’t stand to think of them separated. Words came out of my mouth before I really had a chance to think about them. “I want the store.”
“What do you mean?”
What did I mean? “I want…to be the manager.” Yelping yetis, I really did want to be the manager. “I like it here, I’ve made friends, and I love working in the store and with the customers. I’d be really good at running this place.”
“You love working with customers? Human customers?”
“They’re nice, Dad. Not at all like I thought.”
“You have changed.”
“For the better, don’t you think?”
“I do.”
That was a good sign. I kept at it. “Furthermore, I have more than enough power to run the shimmer, and I don’t think Spider could handle the cold anyway.”
My dad’s eyes narrowed. “How hard did you get hit on the head?”
“Dad, I’m serious. I’m staying. You’re not closing the store. This is a great location. I’ll need you to send me the files of the next ten applicants on the waiting list so I can pick out some new employees. We’re a little low.”
“You’re sure about this?”
“More than I’ve ever been about anything.” Smiling like a simpleton, I gave Spider’s head a good scratch. I was excited about this. And not just because of Greyson. And Cooper. Juniper and Buttercup definitely figured in.
“Well, it’s okay with me. I’m sure Kris won’t have any issues with it either. You can take the big apartment on the third floor then. If we need to visit, we’ll just stay with you.”
“No. I’m staying right where I am. This place is plenty big enough. But I will expect you and Mom to visit once in a while. She owes me pie.”
My dad laughed. “I’ll tell her. Anything else?”
“Hmm.” I thought for a moment. “We should probably discuss how much of a raise I’m getting…”
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About the Author
Kristen Painter is a little obsessed with cats, books, chocolate, and shoes. It’s a healthy mix. She loves to entertain her readers with interesting twists and unforgettable characters. She currently writes the best-selling paranormal romance series, Nocturne Falls, and award-winning urban fantasy. The former college English teacher can often be found all over social media where she loves to interact with readers:
Website * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram.
Other books by Kristen Painter
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Nocturne Falls series:
The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride
The Werewolf Meets His Match
The Gargoyle Gets His Girl
The Professor Woos The Witch
The Witch’s Halloween Hero – short story
The Werewolf’s Christmas Wish – short story
The Vampire’s Fake Fiancée
The Vampire’s Valentine Surprise – short story
Sin City Collectors series:
Queen of Hearts
Dead Man’s Hand
Double or Nothing
Box Set
Standalone Paranormal Romance:
Dark Kiss of the Reaper
Heart of Fire
Recipe for Magic
Miss Bramble and the Leviathan
URBAN FANTASY:
The House of Comarré series:
Forbidden Blood
Blood Rights
Flesh and Blood
Bad Blood
Out For Blood
Last Blood
The Crescent City series:
House of the Rising Sun
City of Eternal Night
Garden of Dreams and Desires
Nothing is completed without an amazing team.
Many thanks to:
Cover design: Janet Holmes
Interior formatting: Author E.M.S
Editor: Joyce Lamb
Copyedits/proofs: Angie Ramey/Marlene Engel
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
About the Author
Many Thanks
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
About the Author
Many Thanks
Table of Contents
Miss Frost Solves A Cold Case Page 21