Page 2 of Merry Cris Moose

"Interesting," Cris said after a long moment, his voice sending a shiver down her spine. "Your designs are... imaginative."

He was known as a man of few words who played his cards close to his vest. North Star Toys was located in a remote area to the north. Very few details were known about the company, other than it was a leader in the toy industry and that those who worked for them rarely, if ever, left. A compliment coming from him meant something to Keely. But it wasn’t just the words, it was the heat in his gaze that sent another, entirely different surge of energy coursing through her system.

"Thank you," she said, her voice soft, betraying the tension that was building between them. She hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t expected him.

He stepped closer, his imposing frame seeming to fill the space, and the air between them felt charged, crackling with an unspoken attraction neither could deny. Cris’s eyes softened ever so slightly, but his voice remained steady. "I like what I see. You’ve put a lot of thought into these designs. I can see your passion for what you do. Too bad Warren Schultz is a fool. I came to see your designs, but my ulterior motive was to meet you."

“Me?”

He nodded. “You.”

Keely’s breath caught. There was something in the way he said it that made her think he wasn’t just talking about her work. Her mind raced, torn between professionalism and the growing tension in the room. She couldn’t ignore it—the way he was looking at her, the subtle electricity that hummed between them like an undercurrent of desire.

Their eyes met, and for a moment, everything else disappeared. The room, the toys, the snow falling gently outside.It was just her and Cris, standing far too close for this to be a normal business meeting.

"Your company’s reputation for cheerful design and quality workmanship…" she began, trying to keep the conversation on track, but her voice wavered as he stepped even closer. "You’re not exactly what I was expecting, if I’d been expecting you at all.”

“Oh?” he asked, arching a dark eyebrow at her.

“Warren didn’t give me specifics. He just told me I would be meeting with a new prospective client.”

“Knowing Schultz, he told you I could be a ‘big’ client.”

She grinned. She didn’t know what else to say. She was too aware of how close he had come, how his scent—a mix of cedar and something darker—filled the air between them. Her skin prickled with awareness, and she wondered if he felt it too, this undeniable pull between them. It was probably all in her mind. He was most likely happily married. She snuck a glance at his ring finger—nothing there, not even a tan line. The tension was almost unbearable now, the room feeling too small, too intimate.

"Would it surprise you to know North Star tried to buy Schultz toys?”

“Yes. Yes, it would,” she stammered.

“Schultz wouldn’t sell. Well, that’s not true, but he wanted to sell at more than twice what the company is worth. My people tried to tell me if you were part of the deal, it would be worth it. My current head designer, Tinker, said if I saw your toys in person, I’d be hooked. He was right. So instead of buying the company, I guess I’ll have to settle for buying its toys and perhaps getting to know its head designer better."

Keely’s breath caught in her throat, her heart thudding against her ribcage as she met his gaze, her pulse racing with a mix of excitement and anticipation. She knew she should step back, put some space between them, but she couldn’t. She didn’twant to. The intensity in his eyes, the raw magnetism of his presence—it was intoxicating.

If Warren really was trying to sell the company or move it south, Cris Sutton and North Star Toys might just be her first client. The weight of Cris’s words seemed to be heavy with unspoken promises. Promises she was sure she was imagining. His dark eyes remained locked on hers, and for a moment, she couldn’t move—could barely breathe under the intensity of his gaze. Her mind spun, searching for something to break the tension, but nothing came. Every thought, every professional boundary, evaporated in the heat of the moment.

“Dinner,” Cris said abruptly, his deep voice slicing through the thick air. It wasn’t a question, but the command wasn’t harsh, either. “Tonight.” He shook his head, grinning. “That came out rather harsh. Let me try again. I’d like to take you to dinner.”

Keely blinked, her pulse spiking in disbelief. This wasn’t happening, was it? The CEO of North Star Toys was asking her out? Her heart raced, and her common sense struggled to catch up with her desire.

She swallowed hard, trying to find her footing. "Dinner?" she repeated, as if she hadn’t heard him right the first time. It felt like such a normal word in the middle of all the electricity swirling between them.

Cris's lips quirked into the faintest hint of a smile, his gaze never leaving hers. "Yes, Keely. Dinner. You know, that meal in the evening where you eat? Dinner. Tonight. Are you interested?"

There was a certainty in his tone, an assurance that made her heart flutter. But the way he said her name sent shivers down her spine. Every part of her wanted to say yes, even though she knew it was a bad idea, even though she could already feel herselfstepping past the line of professionalism. She should decline, she really should—but that magnetic pull was too strong.

"I’d like that," she said softly, her words hanging in the charged air between them.

His smile deepened, satisfaction glinting in his eyes as if he had known what her answer would be all along. "Good. I’ll pick you up at seven."

Keely’s head was spinning long after Cris left the conference room. Her body still hummed with the tension that had built between them, and as the day passed in a haze of nervous anticipation, she couldn’t focus on anything but what awaited her tonight.

She went back to her office in something of a haze and then left early. She hadn’t been on a date in months, maybe longer. She needed to go for a run, get cleaned up, wash her hair, shave all the necessary parts, and figure out what the hell she was going to wear to dinner with the sexiest man she’d ever met.

Chapter

Two

KEELY

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