Page 57 of A Christmas Bargain

He shrugged, furrowing his brow as he checked his phone. A recipe was on the screen as I walked up, but I saw a push notification of an email from Grace slide away at the top edge.

“Wait. What was that?”

“Huh?” He was all smiles, but I got the sense he was hiding something. “Oh, this is sourdough. Or it will be.”

I wasn’t interested in the recipe. “No, I thought I saw something from Grace pop up.”

“We’ve been emailing and such.”

“About… her going into help for gambling?”

He nodded. “We talked about it yesterday. She’ll start with the one rehab program the day after New Year’s.”

That wasn’t a surprise. Even though I was busy with Derek and Naomi, failing at pretending to be his girlfriend and somehow just becoming his girlfriend, I wasn’t absent from myfamily. Dad and I texted a lot, and so did Grace. Shawn kept me in the loop at the office, and he was included in group texts between me and my sister.

I’d been telling them all that I was busy checking out land and finalizing deals, but in all honesty, I worried I wouldn’t make it. I wouldn’t be able to pull in the money to keep the company going. Our fourth quarter would be dismal.

“But I thought the subject line said something about negotiations with a client.”

He didn’t reply, pointing at the measuring cup on the counter. “Can you hand that to me?”

Hmm.I wanted to be suspicious, but I didn’t have the energy for it. Grace very well might be talking to Dad for tips and pointers on where to go for more or better deals. He did the same with me. Even though he was retired, his interest and passion was real estate. The man still checked listings daily.

“You sure have been busy,” he commented. “Checking out all those properties I hinted at?”

“Yeah.”No?I was building snowmen on a little bit of the land I was supposed to get from pretending to be Derek’s girlfriend, but that arrangement didn’t sit right with me. “I’ve mostly been dealing with calls and following up on things I already had in the works before Thanksgiving.”

He nodded. I didn’t have to tell him. He always knew. “What’s this about a new man you’re seeing?” he asked with a sly smile.

I rolled my eyes, thinking back to how Shawn overheard Derek when he’d called. Just hearing a man asking me if I wanted dessert triggered my assistant into all kinds of conspiracy theories. I told him I was dating a man in Preston and hoped that would be the end of it. But it wasn’t. He’d tattled to Grace, and I bet she hadn’t wasted a second in calling Dad.

“Just… someone I met.”And thought I could bargain for him with land.God, it sounded so lame and wrong like that. What I felt for Derek and Naomi was stronger than a passing interest.

“When can we meet him?”

“We?”

He nodded. “You do remember Christmas is almost here, right? Grace will be here before it and will stay until her rehab will begin. You’d be back in Denver by the time that starts.”

“Right. Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck. This was all getting too messy. With what to call him, what to permit myself to feel about him. Why my stomach clenched with dread at the thought of going back to the city…

“It’s just that you’ve never met any of my boyfriends.”

“Because they’ve never really lasted,” he teased. “A date here or there. But never someone who’d stick. Who is this man?” He paused in mixing the dough to smile at me.

“Someone from Preston. I met him when I was checking out those properties you told me about, along the river. He’s a widower and has a young daughter, too.” I cleared my throat. “As a matter of fact, they want me to stay with them until Christmas.”

His brows shot up high as he grinned. “Wow. That’s fast.”

I nodded. “We were looking at puppies today at the shelter.”

His eyes opened wider. “And that’s serious.”

I laughed, sitting to chat for a little longer. “No. I don’t think he’s ready to get her a dog. It seems that his late wife was very allergic, and I guess he’s still worried that his daughter might be? I’m not sure.”

“Oh, man.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I remember when you and Grace got it into your heads to beg for a puppy.”

I snorted. “Good old Peppa the hamster…”

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