'Tis the Season for Love: A Charity Box Set

by Maggie Dallen

  He smiled down at her, his lips curling up at the edges. “More than ever.”

  She grabbed her coat from the back of the couch and slipped her bare arms into the sleeves.

  “We should get going too, Noah.” Josie winked at him.

  “Sounds good to me.” He hoped that if they followed Sapphire and Dustin out to the car, they could catch their prank taking effect. Noah and Josie grabbed their own coats and hurried to catch up with Dustin and Sapphire, who had already gone outside to climb into Dustin’s truck. By the time they reached the part of the sidewalk that connected to the driveway, they could see Sapphire dancing around in her coat like it was on fire.

  Noah could hear Josie attempting to hide her laughter from next to him.

  “I think I have ants in my coat or something. Do you think your fire chief’s house is infested?”

  “I don’t know. But if your coat is making you itch, take it off.”

  Sapphire ripped off her jacket and balled it up. She tossed it into the cab of Dustin’s truck.

  “Is everything okay?” Josie asked, coming up to Dustin and Sapphire.

  “My arms are on fire!” Sapphire scratched her arms, hopping from one leg to the other.

  Noah heard Josie snort behind her hand.

  “It’s not funny, Josie! I can tell you’re laughing at me.”

  And it wasn’t funny that Sapphire was touching other guys while she was with Dustin. But he didn’t want to tell his buddy and break his heart. There had to be a better way to get him to stop pining for Sapphire. But he acted like she could do no wrong. It was incredibly frustrating to watch for Noah.

  Maybe there was some way, through the pranks, that he could convince Dustin that Sapphire wasn’t good for him. If he could convince his buddy she was obnoxious, then maybe he would break things off with her of his own accord. And then his feelings would be spared.

  Noah didn’t know why he fought so hard to protect Dustin’s heart when he didn’t work half as hard to protect his own. He was too chicken to tell Josie how he really felt, too scared of rejection. He didn’t want to ruin his friendship with her. What they had was fun. It was good. They’d been comfortable in the place where they’d been for the last several years.

  Did he dare rock the boat? He knew if he never told her how he felt, he might miss out on an amazing opportunity to date a beautiful girl. Was it possible that he’d sensed correctly from their mistletoe kiss that she returned his feelings? And if she had romantic feelings for him, was he an idiot for letting an opportunity for happiness pass him by?

  Chapter 9

  “I brought us cocoa from the coffee shop,” Josie said when Noah opened his front door. “I feel like we need this tonight. Who doesn’t love a cozy cup of cocoa with their popcorn when it’s movie night?”

  “Thanks, Josie. You’re the best.”

  “Did you bring us some, too?” Sapphire asked, poking her head over Noah’s shoulder.

  “I did, actually.” Josie didn’t know why. She shouldn’t be doing anything to be extra nice to Sapphire. She didn’t want to encourage her to stick around. But it was Christmas, and she didn’t want to look impolite or like a big jerk by bringing drinks for only Noah when she knew they were all watching a movie together. Plus, it might keep Sapphire from suspecting that they were the ones sabotaging her relationship with Dustin if she brought by hot cocoa from time to time.

  “Josie, can I talk to you in my room for a second?” Noah asked when she’d followed him into the living room.

  “Of course.” She dropped the drink carrier onto the coffee table in front of Dustin and Sapphire. “Help yourselves. Everything is the same.”

  Noah led the way down the hall to the master bedroom. He closed the door behind them. “I need to warn you. I got the cockroaches earlier today, and I already put them in the pantry. So don’t open the pantry unless you want roaches falling all over you. I have a bunch of them upside down on the countertops and on the floor in the corners. Just enough to look like we have an infestation.”

  “That’s genius!” Josie said. “I can’t wait to see her reaction.”

  “It’s only a matter of time before we get rid of her for good.”

  “We should put the rubber snake in the toilet too,” Josie suggested. “Maybe I can say something about how Stephanie got out of her tank.”

  “Are you saying we should kidnap Stephanie?”

  “Only temporarily. We can lock her up in your bathroom and hide her in the vanity.”

  “I have the box the fake roaches came in. Maybe we can tape her up in there and poke holes in the box until the prank’s over.”

  “Brilliant! Let’s do it. I’ll go get Stephanie. You get holes poked in the box.”

  Josie cracked open Noah’s door and poked her head out. Dustin and Sapphire were still on the couch with their backs to her. She crept into the third bedroom, which Noah used as a home office. It was where Stephanie’s tank was kept. She pushed open the door and lifted the lid to Stephanie’s aquarium. “Hello, beautiful girl. Have you missed me?” She pulled out Stephanie and coiled her around her arm then she pushed open the office door and checked down the hall to where Dustin and Sapphire still sat. Only this time, they were making out. Josie made a face. She hoped they wouldn’t do that while they were watching their Christmas movie. She crept back into Noah’s room and shut the door. “Ready to be snake-napped, Stephanie?”

  Noah already had a couple of holes poked in the box. She lowered her arm into the box, and Stephanie slithered into her temporary new home. Noah closed the flaps on top of the box and then taped them shut to keep Stephanie from escaping and getting lost in his bathroom. He tucked the box beneath his bathroom sink and shut the cabinet door.

  “Now to sneak into the guest bathroom to hide the rubber snake in the toilet.” Noah handed Josie the pretend snake.

  “Eventually, Sapphire will have to go to the bathroom, especially with that hot chocolate cycling through her system,” Josie said, taking the toy from him. “This thing really looks like Stephanie.”

  “Okay. It’s showtime. Let’s get that snake planted, and then we’ll join those lovebirds for our movie night.”

  “Sounds good.” Josie tucked the snake under her shirt and then snuck out of Noah’s room and into the guest bathroom Dustin used. She shut the door behind her and slipped the snake out from under her shirt. Perfect. She planted the snake in the toilet and then left the room. If she had to use the bathroom before Sapphire discovered the snake, she’d just have to use Noah’s bathroom.

  She went back into Noah’s room to report back to him.

  “All done?”

  “The fake Stephanie is all curled up in Dustin’s toilet.”

  “Definitely not a place I’d want to be curled up in.”

  “Ew, Noah. That’s disgusting.”

  “Isn’t it, though?”

  Josie sobered up. “I need to tell you something.”

  “What is it?”

  “Today, Callie came to the coffee shop from her grandma’s book shop next door. Turns out Sapphire’s been staying with her.”

  “Bless her soul. What’s poor Callie been going through?”

  Josie laughed. “I know, right? Being Sapphire’s roommate must be fun.”

  “Fun wasn’t exactly the word I had in mind. What else did Callie say?”

  “She said that Sapphire’s been bringing home a bunch of rare books from work. Stuff Mrs. Ellison never should have been giving her. I think she’s getting old and senile, and she’s letting Sapphire talk her into giving her these books.”

  “If Mrs. Ellison is giving Sapphire the books, there’s nothing we can do about it. Did Callie talk to her grandma to see what’s going on?”

  “She did. Her grandma insists that she wants Sapphire to have the books. But those books are part of Callie’s inheritance, and Sapphire is stealing it out from under her.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “It gets worse. Callie foun
d out that Sapphire has been selling the books online. She found Sapphire’s laptop open in her room when Sapphire went to the bathroom, and she saw that she’s been selling the books for thousands of dollars.”

  “And taking Callie’s inheritance as her own.”

  “Exactly.” Josie felt furious just thinking about it.

  “All the more reason to get rid of this girl.”

  “It’s not like we can call the police either. Mrs. Ellison has every right to give the books to Sapphire.”

  “You’re right. Sapphire isn’t exactly doing anything illegal,” Noah pointed out.

  “That’s what’s so frustrating about all of this.”

  Noah crossed his arms over his chest. “Because she’s completely getting away with it.”

  “Yeah. And there’s nothing Callie or anyone else can do.”

  He uncrossed his arms, clenching his hands into fists. “There’s something we can do.”

  “We tell Dustin what she’s doing so he sees the truth about who he’s dating?”

  A dark look crossed over Noah’s features. “That wasn’t exactly where I was going with this. But I guess you are pretty focused on getting Dustin to see who he’s dating.”

  Josie nodded. “It would be nice.”

  “Because you’re still hung up on Dustin.” It wasn’t a question.

  Josie hesitated. She could hear the pain in Noah’s words, and they caught her off guard. “I wouldn’t really put it that way . . .”

  “It’s okay to admit it, Josie. It hasn’t been that long since you broke up. I get it.”

  “But I’m not hung up on him.” As she said it, she realized it was true. She was more hung up on Noah than Dustin at this point. But it wasn’t like she could tell Noah that. She knew he struggled with the way his ex-wife had treated him during their marriage. It was why Noah had never dated her or anyone else. But Noah was acting strange tonight.

  A blood-curdling scream rang out, and Noah and Josie exchanged a glance.

  They left his room together. “Is everything okay?” Noah asked from the hall.

  “You have bugs all over your place.” Sapphire sounded like she was hyperventilating. They turned the corner just in time to see Sapphire brushing a plastic cockroach from her shoulder. The floor was littered with the plastic bugs all around her feet.

  “Whoa. This is getting out of control. I’ve already called the exterminator, but they’re backed up for at least three weeks.”

  Josie could barely hold back her laughter. No exterminator would be that busy this time of year. Most of the bugs were dead.

  “Hey, Dustin?” Noah asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you take Stephanie to the vet or something?”

  “No. Why do you ask?”

  “I just noticed that her tank was open, and she wasn’t in there. I’ve looked around for her, but I can’t seem to find her anywhere.”

  “Are you serious?” Dustin got up and darted back to the room where Stephanie lived.

  “Oh yeah,” Josie said. “I noticed that too.”

  Dustin came back out. “She’s gone.”

  “Stephanie? The snake?” Sapphire screeched. “I can’t deal with this.” Sapphire held her hands away from her body like they were infected with some life-threatening disease. “I have to go wash my hands. I feel like I have bug guts all over me.” She darted away toward the bathroom. Immediately, another blood-curdling scream came from the bathroom. Sapphire ran from the bathroom, her face white. “Dustin, I can’t take it anymore. I have to go.”

  She ran out of the house, slamming the front door behind her.

  Josie sat on the couch and grabbed her hot chocolate. She’d forgotten all about it. She sipped her drink. It had gotten cooler, but it still had enough warmth to be good.

  “I’ll go grab Stephanie and put her back in her tank,” Noah offered. He gave Josie a look that said, “Keep him busy.”

  Josie turned to Dustin. “Have you picked out a movie to watch tonight?”

  Dustin looked sheepish. “No, not yet.” It was the first time they’d sat down together since they’d broken up.

  “I hope things aren’t weird between us just because we dated once.” Josie gave him an encouraging smile. “I’d hoped we could still be friends since Noah and I are together now.”

  “You didn’t waste any time, did you?” Dustin accused.

  “Me? You were the one with Sapphire right after we broke up.”

  “That shouldn’t matter. You’d already found a way to be with Noah. Was that why you wanted to break up with me?”

  Josie hadn’t thought about that. She’d been so preoccupied with making Dustin jealous that she hadn’t stopped to realize what might happen when it worked. Her revenge didn’t seem so sweet after all. She had been attracted to Noah. But she never would have cheated on Dustin while they were together. That wasn’t the kind of girl she was. But now she’d backed herself into a corner, and she didn’t know how to prove that to Dustin. How could she get him to realize that she wasn’t that kind of girl? He probably wouldn’t even believe her if she told him the truth about her relationship with Noah being fake, because it looked too real. And what motivation did he have to believe that it was fake when he already thought she was eyeing Noah before they had broken up? And that Noah was the reason she’d ended things.

  Noah came back out with the ball python wrapped around his shoulders. “I got her safe and sound, Dustin.” He looked between the two of them, sitting on the couch together, and his expression darkened. “Sorry. Am I interrupting something?”

  “No.” Josie stood up. “I was just leaving.” After the turn the night had taken, she had no desire to be festive. And the last thing she wanted to do was sit on the couch between her ex-boyfriend and the new guy she was fake dating and secretly crushing on. It was one thing to be around him when he seemed happy with Sapphire, but now she wasn’t so sure that was the case. Had he been putting on a show for her because he was jealous that she was with Noah now? She had no way to know. But what she did know was that she was emotionally overwhelmed for the night and couldn’t take a moment more.

  “Good night, Noah.” She grabbed her purse and her hot chocolate and walked out the door.

  Tuesday night, when she got off work, Josie decided to do some Christmas shopping. She didn’t have any plans for the night, and she’d been struggling with the perfect gift to buy for her dad. She had no idea what to get him. She knew he loved tools, and no man could have too many tools, right? So, she headed over to the hardware store.

  Not knowing what she was looking for, she wandered the aisles aimlessly. Then she turned a corner and saw Noah crouching in the plumbing section.

  “Hi, Noah,” Josie said.

  Noah looked up in surprise. “Josie. What are you doing here?”

  “I’m shopping for a Christmas present for my dad. What are you doing?”

  “I’m fixing up my bathroom, and I busted part of the plumbing when I was trying to install a new tub faucet. So now I have an enormous project on my hands tonight.”

  Was it just her, or did he sound overly formal and distant? Was he hurt that she’d been talking to Dustin the night before? She had left in a bit of a rush. She wasn’t sure what his formal tone meant, but she’d been so overwhelmed at the time that she hadn’t stopped to think what Noah might be feeling.

  Josie studied him. “How do you have time to fix up your bathroom in the middle of the holiday season?”

  “It’s better than sitting on the couch next to the lovebirds while they make out.”

  Josie kept her face neutral to avoid showing Noah how much that disgusted her. “So the roaches didn’t convince her to stay away permanently?”

  “Apparently not.”

  “Well, that’s frustrating.”

  “You have no idea.” Noah paused for a moment like he was thinking. “What were you and Dustin talking about last night?”

  “Dustin thinks I’ve been eyeing
you since he and I were still together. He thinks I wanted to break up with him so I could be with you.”

  “Oh, so that was your master plan all along.”

  Josie smiled faintly. “Yeah. Something like that.” She considered for a moment admitting to Noah that she really did have a crush on him all that time, but she kept that information to herself because she wasn’t sure how he would respond to it. “It just hurts that he thinks I’d be unfaithful like that.”

  “It’s not the worst thing in the world. At least he doesn’t think you cheated on him while you were still together.”

  “I guess that’s true. He’s not accusing me of cheating.”

  “So look on the bright side. It’s all in the past, anyway. You and Dustin are over, and he’s moved on.”

  “And I’ve moved on too,” Josie admitted.

  “You have?”

  “I have. I wish him the best. Just not with Sapphire. I wouldn’t wish her on anyone.”

  “I’m glad we’re in agreement there.”

  “We most definitely are.”

  After a small lull in the conversation, Noah asked, “What are you thinking about getting your dad for Christmas?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “If you’re open to suggestions, I saw something you might want to get him.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah. There’s a set of wrenches on sale over on aisle three. It comes in a metal toolbox with drawers, and it’s small enough carry with a handle on the top. It’s a good deal. I was eyeing the set myself.”

  “That sounds perfect. Thank you. I’ll have to go check it out.”

  “Glad to help.”

  Josie hesitated before heading over to the aisle with the toolset. “What are you doing after this?”

  “I’m heading home to finish working on my bathtub.”

  “Mind if I join you?”

  “You sure? It’ll be dirty work.”

  “Are you kidding me? I love a good bathroom remodel.”

  “Then come on over. I could use the company.”

  “Company? I plan on getting dirty right alongside you. I’m not the dainty kind that sits on the toilet and watches by the sidelines.”