Page 3 of Christmas Kiss

“And you’re doing it? How ‘anti-scrooge’of you. You feeling okay?” Gabe laughs and tugs down on his long, dark beard.

“I’m fine. And no, I’m not fuckin’ doing it. That whole thing is trouble I don’t need.”

“So, you’re going to let down a friend? That’s not like you.”

“Who’s letting who down?” Mira tosses a handful of balsam bows into the back of the truck. She’s Mariah’s twenty-one-year-old sister and while technically she does work here, I don’t usually see her working.

“Nothing,” I groan, pushing the gate back up on the truck. “What are you doing back here? Doesn’t Mariah need help up front?”

“She does, but I needed a break from all the people…and Mariah,” she mumbles. “Should I not be back here, because I heard this is where all the handsome men are.” She grins and crosses her arms across her chest. The girl thinks she’s adorable. She’s not.

“What’s wrong with Mariah?”

“Our mom just called on the work line. I don’t want to get dragged into it. The woman is a monster and the whole wedding thing has only made it worse.”

The woman can’t bethatbad. My brows narrow and I give Mira more attention than I’ve ever given her and say, “What’s going on?”

“Apparently, people in town are talking about Mariah hiding her pregnancy and it got back to my mother, who’s in full dragon mode about the whole thing. I’m guessing it’s true by the way Mariah responded, but yeah…‘tis the season!”

I knew Mariah was hiding the pregnancy because we’d talked about attending the wedding together previously. That is until we realized what a horrible idea it was. Still, I act surprised and say, “She’s pregnant?”

Mira nods. “I have so many questions, but I have a feeling it’ll be awhile before she’s in the right headspace to talk again. I heard my mother calling her a whore, so that’s not going to help.”

I groan and climb up into the pickup. “I’m taking these trees up front. Gabe will help you find something to do.”

She flutters her lashes toward my younger brother and my stomach turns. I doubt he’ll have any interest in her considering her age, but then again, something tells me Mira is persistent when she wants to be.

I start up the truck and roll down the window. It’s cold outside, but the fresh air is better than the pine and maple syrup that pumps through the vents. I think one of them spilled the syrup in here a few years ago, because that smell won’t go away. It was probably Gabe, but honestly, it doesn’t matter. They’re all a pain in the ass.

Bumping over the path up toward the main barn, I see the hoard of people waiting to be checked out. There are at least twenty families lined up and another two pulling in to walk the lot. I should’ve planned for this with my brother Kade and his new wife Jovie being away on their honeymoon this week.

I hop down out of the truck and peek into the barn, expecting to see Mariah melting down given the update that her sister just gave us. Instead, she’s wearing a wide, warm smile, and she’s handing candy canes to a couple of kids as their parents carry away a tree.

Fucking hell, she’s gorgeous. Long dark hair curled at the ends, big dark eyes, rosy cheeks, full tits, and that baby bump that I’m not sure should be turning me on as much as it does.

What the hell is wrong with me?I shouldn’t be lusting after my fucking employee. This is a small town. I can’t be known asthat guy. The guy who lusts after girls incredibly younger than him.

I drag in a deep breath and smile at a family of four as they pass by the truck, kill the engine, and hop out, pulling on my work gloves to grab a few fresh cut trees from the back to set on tree stands in the barn before heading toward the register to help Mariah with her line.

Lord, even standing next to her is hard. She smells like cinnamon rolls and warm coffee, two things that I easily devour given the opportunity without fail.

“Thanks,” she says, glancing toward me between customers. “It was getting pretty crazy up here.”

“You were handling it well. I just figured I was up here, so I’d help.” The next family steps forward with two balsam wreaths and a four-foot tree. This year is different from others. Usually, I recognize most folks that roll through, but with the eclipse expected to happen on Christmas Eve, we’re seeing all kinds of people we’ve never seen before. Everyone wants a Christmas tree for the cabin they’ve rented or the RV they’re staying in.

When the final customer has been cashed out, I close the second register and head back toward the truck without a word to Mariah.

There are a thousand things I could say, including the offer to attend her mom’s wedding with her, but I know for sure now what a terrible mistake that would be. Apparently, I haven’t found anyone attractive over the past ten years because I’ve never wanted to fuck anyone as badly as I want to fuck Mariah. The worst part is, I know fucking her wouldn’t be enough. If I fucked her, I’d want to own her. I’d want to care for her, hold her, love her, take away her problems, make her life easy, make her smile.

That’s the dangerous part.

I shake my head and grab a pine from the back of the pickup, willing my cock to settle down. Clearly, I need to take care of myself tonight or I won’t make it through another workday next to her.

“Hey,” she says in a near whisper, “can I help somehow?”

I glance at her swollen belly. The urge to sweep her off her feet and settle her into a warm chair with a cup of cocoa rolls over me. She shouldn’t be up working like this in her condition. She should be resting, worrying about the life she’s currently growing.

“No. You rest between customers.”

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