Page 60 of A Christmas Bargain

I said we were moving at warp-speed when he asked me to stay at his house with him and Naomi, but hinting at anything more was a big difference. Sooner or later, one of us would have to say this was real, not fake. And when that discussion happened, we’d need to clarify what he offered in giving me some land. The transaction would be unethical.

If I had to choose between a deal and my heart…

I sighed into his kiss, wishing I could be unshackled with obligations to choose what I wanted.

“Oh, for the love of God.” Stacy groaned, finding us. “Can’t you keep your hands off each other for a few minutes?”

She was smiling, though, at catching us red-handed. As I stood and brushed snow off myself, blushing, she cleared her throat.

I hadn’t felt this young, this lighthearted, in forever. And I wanted to make it last for as long as I could—which would be accomplished by ignoring those thoughts about the land Derek had mentioned.

We all headed back to Derek and Naomi’s house for a family dinner, and it was too busy, chaotic, and fun to dwell on labels and deciphering what we were doing as far as a relationship would go.

Dinner was messy, with Nicky and me screwing up the recipe while Derek and Stacy argued about how to put the tree up. That switched to Nicky taking over to help Derek and Stacy and me handling the food. But then when the guys couldn’t see that the tree wasstilllopsided, Stacy and I swapped, managing the tree while they finished making the pasta dinner.

Throughout it all, Naomi coached us on where we were wrong. Most of the time, she was right.

Whenever tense moments popped up between Derek and Stacy, or Stacy and Nicky, and even Derek and me, Naomi made it all easy and smooth again with a funny factoid or quip. Nicky was fun, and I had no issue with him, but at some times, it seemed like Stacy wanted to grill me and test me.

All in all, as we saw Stacy and Nicky to the door and bade them goodnight, I sighed with the realization that it had been a perfect day. A fun day.

I stood with Derek at the door as they left, teasing us about not having vermin, pests, or any other tree mishaps overnight. It seemed to be the place I belonged.

Here, at his side, not alone in the city. Right here with plans to string lights on the tree with Naomi before she went to bed, not working and worsening eye strain at the computer all night.

But in the back of my mind, I felt like a liar.

I wasn’t here, really. It was just for the holidays.

It was all supposed to be fake and temporary, no matter how much I wished it otherwise.

This daddy-and-daughter pair were tricking my heart into wanting something far more than saving the company for Christmas.

20

DEREK

“She’s going to sleep in so late tomorrow,” I predicted after I checked on Naomi in bed.

Joining Claire in the large living room, I reclaimed my seat on the couch and picked up my glass of wine. She sighed, nestling back against my side.

In front of us stood the tree, glittering and twinkling with specks of bright lights strung “proportionally” over the branches. Naomi guided me and Claire on how to “precisely” and “correctly” lay the strings.

I knew it could bug Stacy sometimes, who was a control freak herself. And I wasn’t so biased as to think my daughter had no flaws. She was a control freak, and she could get a little bossy and sound uppity. But I’d never met another person who could take her attitude in stride like Claire did. She didn’t get annoyed. She didn’t get defensive or combative. Nor did she try to lecture or sway the discourse of the argument.

Somehow, she justknewhow to get along with Naomi without catering to her demands.

It was an art. One I’d never really mastered too well without hiccups.

“It’s still?—”

“I know,” I groaned.

“To the left,” she added.

“But I thought the issue before dinner was that it was tilting to the right.”

“No. Stacy and I spun it when you guys weren’t looking. Naomi’s idea.”

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