Page 25 of Take Me Home for Christmas

“Let me know when you’re ready for some quality control taste testing,” Ryan offered.

“Both of you, out,” their mother ordered. “If any cookies are left tomorrow you may have one.”

Ryan grumbled under his breath. “Come on, Gav. Let’s go get a burger at Pier Pressure.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Gavin tipped the bag of potato chips into his mouth.

“Seriously?” Elle said. “You’ve been eating nonstop for an hour now.”

“I worked outside all day,” her brother replied. “What can I say? Fresh air makes me hungry.”

“Everything makes you hungry. You’re as bad as your dog,” Ryan joked as the two strolled out of the kitchen door.

“If you’re looking for something to keep you busy while Mr. West is writing, Elle, I could use a little tutorial on how to get more clicks on my ads,” Tatum said. “I’ll pay you.”

Elle uploaded a few images from her mother’s photos as she quickly came up with copy for several ads. “It’s really easy once you know the basics,” she told Tatum. “You can pay me in those rum balls you make. It isn’t Christmas without one. Or ten.”

“Ooo, it sure smells good in here.” Livi glided into the kitchen wearing a pair of Stuart Weitzman over-the-knee boots and a cashmere sweater dress. Its berry color highlighted the gold in her brown eyes. Her blond hair was gathered in a neat bun at the back of her head.

Not that Elle really noticed. She only had eyes for the man standing behind Livi. Hayden was dressed equally impressive in gray wool slacks and a black blazer. Beneath it was a crisp white shirt opened at the neck.

The same neck she’d wanted to taste the day before.

“Are you two going out?” her mother, Captain Obvious, asked.

Livi linked her arm through Hayden’s. “I’m taking Hayden up to Wilmington. My client is in town. He’s invited us to dinner before we head over to the island to inspect the site tomorrow.”

He invited “us” to dinner? When had Livi and Hayden become an “us”? More particularly, an “us” who gets invited to business dinners.

You told him to go for her the other night, she admonished herself.You told him they looked good together.

And, damn, did they look good together. If she thought he was sexy in a work-stained T-shirt and worn blue jeans the other night, he was freaking breathtaking tonight. He looked very urbane. Very suited for a fancy dinner in a cosmopolitan setting. Like New York City, even.

She dusted the crumbs off her hands onto her worn leggings.

“How’s the ankle, Elle?” he asked, his tone once again aloof.

“Good,” she replied with a nod because, honestly, she didn’t trust her voice not to squeak with frustration.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Livi said. “Make sure you keep it elevated tonight. You don’t want to miss the ugly sweater party tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’ll probably pass.”

Livi put her hand on her hip. “Elle, you aren’t going to let that sour puss Mr. West ruin your holiday, are you? He can’t make you work every hour of the day. Promise you’ll come tomorrow. I’ll sit with you. That way, you won’t feel left out when everyone is dancing. Please?”

Elle wanted to scream.Why did Livi have to be so flipping nice?She avoided meeting Hayden’s gaze. “I’ll think about it.”

“Yay!” Livi pulled away from Hayden to give Elle’s neck a squeeze. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see.”

“We should get going if we are going to make it to Wilmington on time,” Hayden said.

“Night all.” Livi waved.

Hayden helped her drape a gorgeous Christmas plaid wrap over her shoulders. Livi smiled up at him with a worshipful expression as they walked to the inn’s foyer. The rest of the kitchen was silent until the front door closed.

“That was . . . sweet,” Tatum said.

“Any sweeter and we’d have a mouth full of cavities,” Lois murmured.

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