Page 20 of Cowboy Friend Zone for Christmas

He shook his head at her. “You might be fine living like a ballerina next door, but the Carson brothers are cowboys. Not half a breath from breaking into a princess song.”

“So, no celebrity endorsement, huh?” She felt sorry for Shelly, who was still happily rattling off the many holiday features of the suite.

“I didn’t say that.” He looked amused. “But I can just as easily type my endorsement from a ski lodge on the other side of town.”

“Oh, come on,” she wheedled, giving him her most pleading look. “We’re only going to be here a few weeks.”

He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re killing me, babe.”

She caught her lower lip between her teeth at the endearment. It was the second time he’d called her that.

“Please, Nash.” Shelly would return to their side of the room at any second now. “You’re too nice to make a pregnant woman cry.” She hadn’t missed the part of Shelly’s story about needing Brady and Adeline’s assistance with the investment. A lot was hinging on the success of their new holiday Air B&B.

He was still shaking his head at her when Shelly sailed back in their direction. Her smile faltered. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s perfect,” Noelle assured, turning her back on Nash. “Everything about this place is amazing. We’re going to have a blast staying here.”

Shelly looked relieved. “I’ll leave you two to get settled in.” She backed from the room with a sly expression, leaving the door ajar.

Noelle stared after her, knowing she was deliberately being left alone with Nash. “I’m not sure how much settling we can do, considering that our suitcases are still outside in the trailer.”

Nash stepped closer to gaze down at her. “I don’t think she’s buying our story about being just friends.”

The air between them prickled with awareness. “She has no idea just how official we are.” Noelle teasingly fluttered her lashes at him. “We’re backed by a friendship pact, ground rules, the whole enchilada.”

“Believe me. I’m not complaining about our arrangement.” His voice was low and deliciously rumbly.

“Good.” Every time he stood this close to her, she was tempted to lean in and rest her head against his shoulder. She knew from experience that it would fit perfectly. “For a second there, I was worried you were trying to ditch your faithful plus one.”

“Never!” His protest was so vehement that she blinked.

Her cell phone vibrated inside her crossbody purse. “Oh, no,” she groaned, reaching for it. “Something tells me that Triss Ward has discovered our arrival.”

She wasn’t wrong. Her mother’s name flashed across the screen. Noelle accepted the call and lifted the phone to her ear. “Hi, Mom.”

Her mother’s words tumbled around her like a falling tower of wooden blocks. “Is it true that you’re parked behind Santa’s Toy Factory?”

“Technically, Nash did the parking.” It was a lame attempt at a joke, one that her mother apparently didn’t find funny.

“Are you seriously reserving a room in that dusty, drafty place when we have a perfectly clean guest room right here at the house?”

Noelle’s heart sank. She hadn’t even considered the fact that her parents might be expecting her to stay with them. “I’ve always had my own place,” she reminded tightly. Before leaving town, she’d lived in one of the chalets a little further up the mountain. Not only did it possess an incredible view, it was mercifully clear of nosy, interfering parents.

“And now you don’t,” her mother shot back in a petulant voice.

“Listen, I’ll come visit you,” Noelle countered as a peace offering.

“When?”

“Today,” Noelle said quickly. “Maybe we can catch dinner together or something.”

“Absolutely!” Her mother’s voice softened. “Be sure to bring that handsome boyfriend of yours.”

“Oh! Um…he’s not…” The phone went silent. Holding the phone away from her ear, she saw their call had been disconnected. “She seriously just hung up on me!”

Nash looked concerned. “Is everything alright?”

Noelle wrinkled her nose at him. “She invited you to join us for dinner, then hung up before I could turn her down. She’s a piece of work!”

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