Ed reached over and snatched a cookie off the tray, taking a bite. “Don’t send me back and forth. Send me to Nick’s. You can call me with the numbers when you’re ready for them. As long as I can take this plate of cookies with me…”
I looked to Chris who gave a shrug. “It’s not a bad idea.”
“And I’m sure Nick and Lex would appreciate the extra business,” Tina chimed in.
I gave a final nod. “Let’s do it.”
I bent and pressed a quick kiss to Ed’s cheek. “Thanks, Ed. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Ahhhh,” he waved off my affection and shuffled his way toward the front door. “I’m just here for the cookies.”
“Sure you are.”
Chris watched me, a small smirk tilting the corners of his mouth. “What?” I asked.
“Ed’s a lifesaver? It was my idea to send them to Nick’s.”
“Aw, you want a cookie, too?”
He shook his head. “I’m not much for cookies,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course not. So… you want a pat on the back?”
His gaze flicked to where Ed was walking toward the Pizzeria. “Well… Ed got a kiss on the cheek for his contribution.”
I gulped, my mouth going dry. “You want a kiss?” I was speechless. He was seriously asking me to kiss him? Right here in front of my employee? My customers?
“Well, you are both underneath the mistletoe,” Tina said, pointing up above our heads.
His eyebrows arched as we followed the line to where Tina’s point was directing our attention. Sure enough, the sprig of mistletoe hung directly above our heads.
“Oh…” Chris said. “I was just kidding.”
What the hell was that doing there? “I’ve never hung mistletoe in my life! How did that get there…?”
“I hung it,” Tina said. “It was in the storeroom yesterday as a new product, and the note on top said to display it somewhere in the store.”
I blinked. I wasn’t told about a new product coming in.
“Sorry! It’s a Christmas tradition,” Tina squeaked and ran out the front door to distribute the tickets to the folks still in line.
“You don’t have to,” Chris said, taking a step away from me. “In fact, we probably shouldn’t.”
“It’s fine.” I narrowed my eyes at him and ignored the flutter of excitement that soared within my chest. “Tina’s right. It’s a Christmas tradition.” I took a step closer to Chris. “Close your eyes.”
He looked momentarily shocked that I was agreeing to this and he stuttered over his words before closing his eyes. “Oh… uh, okay.”
I brought my lips close to his ear and whispered, “Just the cheek, though…”
“That’s best,” he said. “We want to keep this professional.”
I backed away. “Okay, I hope you’re ready for me.” I said, and reached for the can of whipped cream, spraying the frothy cream into a dollop on his razor-sharp cheekbone.
Chapter 9
Chris
I collapsed onto the red velvet chair that was beside a bookshelf of holiday books… the small corner of the room had an archway over top that read StoryBook Corner, and I could only imagine the amount of books Avery read there.
I rubbed my fingers over my eyes as Avery locked the door, waving to the last family heading home after their letter writing. This was the most profitable store in our franchise… and it was all because of Avery’s hustle.
She crossed over to where Kringle was asleep at my feet and dropped beside him, laying her face across his belly. “Mmm,” she moaned. “It feels so good to just sit.”
That was for damn sure. But I was too tired to even respond to her. Instead, I think I grunted something in agreement. She sat on her knees and smiled up at me. “What?” I asked, growing wary of her very intentional stare. “Do I still have whipped cream on my face? You promised me I had cleaned it all off—”
She snorted a laugh that on any other woman wouldn’t have been attractive at all. But on Avery? It was downright adorable. “No,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Jeez, paranoid much?”
“Well, not too long ago, I thought I was getting a kiss and instead you smacked me with a glob of whipped cream. So excuse me if the trust I have in you is waning a little.” I was kidding… mostly. And judging from how her smile faded, melting a little at the corners, perhaps I had taken the joke a little too far. “I’m joking,” I said, hoping I was stating the obvious.
“Maybe,” she sighed. “Then again, I wouldn’t blame you if there was a bit of seriousness in there, too. I haven’t exactly made the last two days easy on you. And I’m sorry for spraying whipped cream in your face. That was pretty childish.”
“What’s childish is putting mistletoe up in a store. Whose dumb idea was that, anyway?”
“Right?” she laughed. “I thought the same thing! It’s like asking for a sexual harassment lawsuit. Anyway, I think we did good today, you know? It was a good idea to send the people waiting to Lex’s and Nick’s.”
“Thank you,” I said. Her acknowledgement, though small, meant so much. Even this morning, that apology was huge. Avery wasn’t blind to her own faults… and that wasn’t a quality I was used to.
Her eyes twinkled and as she nodded, a bit of her hair fell over her forehead, brushing against her cheekbone.
A sliver of pink slipped through her glossy lips as she ran her tongue across them. I desperately wanted those lips on mine. I wanted to taste Avery, know how silky her tongue was as she opened for me. I wanted to know what her moans of pleasure sounded like and how she would writhe against my body when she wanted more.
I hadn’t felt this sort of pull toward a woman since Helena… hell, maybe not even with Helena. I wanted Avery more than I wanted my next breath.
As I lifted my hand and brushed that errant hair away from her eyes, she inhaled a sharp breath that could almost have been mistaken for a gasp.
“It’s good for the store if we can be civil and work together,” she said, voice tight.
As painful as it felt, I tore my hand away from the warmth of her jaw and cleared my throat. Yes, I desperately wanted to kiss her. But she didn’t want to kiss me in return. She had a chance earlier today under the mistletoe and she didn’t take it. And as her boss and employer, it couldn’t be me to make that first move. As much as I wanted to. “Absolutely. I can see why my dad values you so much. You’ve got amazing instincts for the store. And actually… tomorrow night, some of our board members are coming here to Maple Grove, my dad and mom included. We’re having a cocktail party and dinner after to discuss the stores… I think you should be there.”
Her eyes went wide. “Really?”
I nodded. After only two days, I’d seen what literally every other member of my family saw in Avery. She was smart, determined, motivated, and effective. She should not only be running the flagship store… she should join the board. And I planned on nominating her at the meeting.