Page 40 of Clause & Effect
Stetson has the audacity to give me a lazy smile before studying me some more. He looks amused—like my level ofdisbelief is crazy and everything he just told me is perfectly normal.
“You don’t believe me.”
For a second, I think about lying to him, but since he’s being so honest I might as well.
“No,” I shake my head sadly. “I don’t believe you.”
He folds his arms and watches me closely.
“What proof do you need?”
“Uh… I don’t know… maybe flying reindeer—which conveniently is not a possibility, or I don’t know seeing Santa’s village?” I shake my head at him. “Like a real workshop with elves and things?”
Like this could ever?—
“I can’t deliver flying reindeer because as I said earlier, we use jets now.”
What the heck?
“Isn’t that convenient,” I nod like this is the most normal conversation in the world. I seriously still can’t even believe he responded to my flying reindeer comment.
He laughs.
“But I can deliver the village.”
It’s my turn to cock a brow.
“Really?” I lean back in my chair and cross my arms, studying him the way he’s studied me.
“Yes.”
“And where is said village?”
“Not far from here,” his voice has a bit of a challenge.
“Huh.”
“Would you like to see it?”
“Are you serious?”
“Quite.” He replies.
Santa’s village? No way. Now this I’d like to see.
“There’s nothing I’d like more,” I reply with a challenge.
This should be good.
“Then I’ll have Thomas bring your coat and some special gear to wear to prepare,” he says as he pulls out his cell phone and starts typing away.
“It’ll take us an hour to get there,” he tells me. “We’ll helicopter in.”
Of course we will.
“Sounds perfect,” I smile.
He returns my smile, his gaze all hooded and sexy and filled with promises of what’s to come, “oh, it will be.”
