Page 17 of A Christmas Bargain

Nothing more. I sighed and tried to keep this smile plastered on my face.

6

DEREK

“Hollis is always a jerk-face,” Naomi explained to Claire. “But it's getting old.”

“Most jerk-faces don’t realize that,” she said.

“Do you know a lot of jerk-faces too?” Naomi asked.

Claire leaned lower, beckoning Naomi to get closer for her to tell her a secret.

In a loud stage whisper, cupping her hand as though to confide in her, Claire said, “Everyoneknows a jerk-face. The world can be full of them.”

Naomi sighed dramatically. “That’s what my Uncle Nicky says.”

“What do I say?” my brother-in-law said as he joined us, clearly catching his name.

“That the world has too many jerk-faces,” Naomi replied.

“Yeah. Unfortunately, it does.” He smiled kindly at Claire, though. She returned the expression, but a stupid little sense of intrigue hit me that her smile didn’t seem as relaxed or natural as when she first made eye contact with me.

She’d captured my attention when she’d only had her back to me, but now, facing her, I struggled with the need to memorize her face and commit her beauty to memory. Even though heroutfit screamed high-maintenance, she looked bare of makeup and jewelry.

And why am I even noticing?

I cleared my throat, perturbed and uneasy about how much more I wanted to see and learn about her.

“New to town?” Nicky asked as he held his hand out. “I’m Nick Franis.”

“Nice to meet you,” Claire replied. “I actually grew up in Macomb.”

“Ah,” he said, glancing at me.

“But I wanted to check out Preston today.” She ramped up the wattage of her smile, glancing at Nicky, then me, and lastly, at Naomi. “If I can. With my horrible eyesight, that is.”

“I bet you can buy reading glasses at the pharmacy down the road.”

She exaggerated being blind, groping the air in front of her as she walked, like she couldn’t see where she was going. “I don’t know… Can I?”

Naomi giggled, and even I had to fight off this smile creeping over my face. I liked that she could be self-deprecating and silly.

“We can show you the way,” she offered.

We can?

I glanced down at my daughter, curious that she didn’t seem to mind Claire. Most times, Naomi would have a cold shoulder mentality when women spoke to me, particularly when women hit on me.

That wasn’t the case here. Claire wasn’t paying too much attention to me, despite the zap of intrigue that still coursed through me from making eye contact with her. She seemed to focus on Naomi. I was impressed that she gave my child attention, not casting her aside.

Then again, why wouldn’t she give her attention?Naomi was the one who’d gone to her to strike up a conversation.

Huh. Now that’s interesting.I’d finally met a woman whowasn’texcited to chat with me.

“Excuse me,” Stacy said as she sidled up close. She shot Claire a quick smile, just being polite. Tugging on my sleeve to prompt me to walk with her, she cleared her throat. “So, Mackenzie just got here. I told her we’d?—”

No.I gently nudged past her, smiling at Claire. “Would you like us to show you the way?”

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