Page 59 of Christmas Criminal

I'm meetingNoelle bright and early for another day of pamphlet distribution with Hank. She smiles when she sees me, her long dark hair tumbling down over her coat and her cheeks pink in the early morning cold. She shuffles toward my car, a thermos full of coffee in one hand, and presses herself into me, leaving a line of delicate kisses along my jaw.

And god, every time she does that, she wipes away every thought in my head and replaces them with her and only her.

I tug her hips closer, and she sighs into me as I dip my head down to kiss her.

"Good morning, Saint Nick," she says, her words soft against my lips.

"Good morning, Criminal."

She gives me a playful glare in return, her free hand dipping inside my coat and running along my chest in a way that has me very viscerally imagining what her bare skin must feel like in the morning.

I clear my throat, intending to start with the Christina news.

"So, last night I went home and did a little sleuthing," she starts, before I can get the words out.

I pause. "Yeah?"

"And I didn't get much of anything, honestly.But,"she says, her eyes flashing. "I did happen to find a note in one of my mom's old yearbooks from a guy who signed his name asHanky Panky."

A laugh bursts out of me that has Noelle dissolving into her own fit of giggles.

"And I don't even want to think about what that implies, but Nick, what are the chances that Hanky Panky who had heart eyes for my mom in high school, is the same Hanky Panky that is now getting all gruff and defensive over her when he runs into her dickhead ex-husband so many years later?"

I nod. "I feel like those chances are good. We should probably run a test to make sure, though."

Her eyes narrow, her hand coming to a stop on my chest. "A test?"

"Well, we have to see if he answers to Hanky Panky."

She throws her hand over her face as she laughs. "Oh my god, I cannot wait to see his reaction."

"If he is indeed,theHanky Panky, my bet is he's going to turn a deep shade of crimson."

Noelle rocks onto the balls of her feet, her hair bouncing with the movement. "Oh, I can't wait! Come on, come on, we have to go find him!"

She grabs my hand, tugging me along after her, and winds her arm around my waist. I pull her closer, slowing our steps to preserve the time we have alone.

And I mean, I can't tell her about Christina if Hank is around. He told me to keep things quiet.

My insides are at war.

"Do you think they dated in high school?" Noelle asks.

I struggle to catch up with her. "If he's signing her yearbook as Hanky Panky, I'd guess so."

She laughs again, the fair looming ever closer ahead of us.Now or never, Nick.

"Oh, that's so sweet. You know, Hank gets on my nerves sometimes, but I will forever respect that man if he treats my mom as well as I think he will."

I tug her closer to me. Sweet and spicy, all in one. "I'm sure he'd treat her very well," I say.

The fair is bustling, even early in the morning, vendors wheeling in new products for the day and a few families already milling about.

When I spot Hank's booth in the distance, my heart thumps.

I grab her hand, pulling her to a stop, and she turns to me, her eyes searching my face.

And then she grins, standing on her toes to press her lips against mine.

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