Page 3 of Chased at Christmas

“They have a school for party planning?”

There’s the eye roll thing again. “No, but they have a school for business and I’m doing that, with a minor in marketing. The party planning comes naturally. The business part doesn’t so much.”

“Well, you should’ve said something sooner. Jovie is helping out with planning a little, but she got distracted with the wedding, so she’s behind. You should take over. We could use someone who’s dedicated to this project.”

Mira lifts her chin and tilts her head to the side. “Oh really? You’d want me to do the whole thing?”

“Yeah, I mean, if you think you can handle it. Jovie mentioned having someone from Mullet’s bar down to play music, and maybe we’d get the catering from a local barbeque place, but I don’t think anything was officially booked. I’ll check with Kade to make sure.”

“Wow!” Her eyes light with specs of green and yellow. “Yeah, I’d love to do it. I expected this meeting to be about the wreaths I made yesterday.”

“No. The wreaths are great. And, the meeting isn’t about the party, it’s about the tree barn. I’m going to be in there today rearranging some things to make room for all the extra trees Charlie cut down and I need some help.”

She narrows her brows and stares at me. I try to keep my cool, but my heart is already racing at the thought of spending the day alone with her. For the first time in a long while, we can have a real, face-to-face conversation.

“I thought my sole job was going to be the eclipse party?”

“It is…after today. I need your help, since you’re the only one here. Besides, I’m moving the trees to make space for the party. We can run over your ideas and get a general plan in place.”

For a second, I wonder if she’ll up and quit. Mira is beautiful, smart, and talented, but she’s temperamental, to say the least. If the girl doesn’t like something, she’s over it in two point three seconds.

“Do you really think it’s a good idea for us to be working together in the barn?”

“It’s a job. We’re working. That’s what people do at work.”

“You’re oversimplifying it.”

“How so?” I know she’s talking about the night at the bar we spent together, and I know she doesn’t want to be alone because we got dangerously close to crossing a line that night. Add the facts that I’m her brother’s best friend and her boss, it complicates everything, but I’m ignoring all that.

“You’re kidding. Stop… okay? I have a boyfriend and we’re happy. So… whatever you’re trying to do here probably violates some kind of human resource law. You might want to look into that,boss.”

My heart tightens. “You have a boyfriend, huh?”

She nods and pulls her mittens back into place. “Yup. He’s pretty great, too.”

“Where’d you meet?”

“Stop.” Her eyes roll. “I just got a lecture from Emma this morning. I don’t need another one from you.”

“No, I wasn’t going to lecture you. I was curious. I’m not against online dating. Who is the guy?”

She rolls her eyes toward me. “None of your business.”

“It’s kind of my business, though. Chevy asked me to keep an eye on you.”

“And your idea of keeping an eye on me is nearly kissing me?” Her red lips pout when she talks, and though I know she’s putting on a grumpy face, that moment we shared at the bar was real.

“Look, I get that the almost kiss scared you, but—”

“It wasn’t the almost kiss that scared me, Gabe. It was the,” she waves her hands in a circle,“everything.”

I step toward her, reaching out for her hand, though I know I probably shouldn’t. She glances down as I rest against her arm. Part of me wonders if she’ll flinch away, but I hold out for the off chance she lets me stay there. “What’severything?”

Our eyes meet, and though I know rationally that the world is moving around us, in this moment, it stops. Not in the cheesy way that things stop in the movies, but in the real-world way, where I can’t think of anything else but this woman standing in front of me. I haven’t been able to since the night at the bar. Those two hours cemented everything I was feeling. In that moment, I knew we were supposed to be together, which probably makes me sound like a damn fool, but it’s the truth. Time isn’t going to change that.

My breathing picks up, and a chill runs up my back as the computer comes to life with a familiar musical tone. It’s a video call from her brother, Chevy.

“See?” She grins and stares up at me. “Suppose if he’d just walked in on us. Can you imagine? He’s spent all this time at war protecting us, and we just… do whatever we want back here like a bunch of wild animals. It’s crazy.Youknow it andIknow it. So… stop.” Her gaze is flat and wide, and though I want to proveher wrong, the calls from Chevy are few and far between, and I know I should answer.

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