Page 58 of If You Give a Grump a Christmas Tree Farm
“I know,” I admit.
“We’ll make it work, Becca. It’s good knowing we had a great opening day. It makes me feel better about spending the extra money on hiring some people.”
“True.”
JJ dips his head and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Go get some sleep. Tomorrow, it starts all over again.”
I groan and lower my head to the table.
He chuckles behind me. “Do I need to carry you to bed?”
His words send a thrill skittering through my body when I imagine it, but he’s only joking. I rein in my thoughts before my imagination runs wild, and I remind myself not to take his words for more than just humor.
Pushing my chair from the table, I come to my feet. “Thanks for all your hard work today, JJ.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’m your partner, remember?”
“I do. We sure came a long way from that disaster of a pumpkin sale, didn’t we?”
He grins. “Yeah, we did. Everything fell together today.”
“With a lot of hard work and planning,” I remind him. “Nothing just falls together, JJ.”
He shoves his hands in his hip pockets. “You’re right. You’ve been right about everything, Becca. You’re a smart cookie. Speaking of…” He reaches behind me and grabs a Santa-shaped cookie, biting the head off.
I laugh, watching him chew and moan around the mouthful.
“Mmm… so good.”
He’s teasing me; I know he hates those cookies.
“You can spit it out, you know? You won’t offend me. Not everyone likes gingerbread.”
He grabs a napkin and does just that. “Thanks. They’re horrible.”
I chuckle. “Goodnight, JJ.”
“Goodnight, partner.”
I don’t miss the way his eyes trail over my body as I turn to head to the bedroom. As I close the door, I catch a glimpse of him still staring after me.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
JJ—
“You ready for this?” I ask Rebecca.
She sits next to me in the truck, staring at the church.
The living nativity crèche is set up on the grass in front of the building, complete with hay bales, two sheep in a small corral, and a donkey tied nearby.
“Yes, let’s go before we’re late.” She reaches for the door handle.
“Wait there,” I say, stepping out and going around to get her door for her.
“Well, aren’t you the gentleman tonight?”
I grin and take her hand, helping her out. We walk inside and find the director.
