Page 35 of Christmas with Her Millionaire Boss

Or were you afraid she’d say no?

The thought made his shoulders stiffen. Rejection had never been an issue before. Then again, a woman had never hugged him before either, or left him feeling so...so exposed. That made him want her even more, and he didn’t mean sexually. He wanted to make her smile. Her eyes light up like a Christmas tree. To give her a dose of that magic she believed in so strongly.

Dear God. His mouth froze against his mug. He sounded like a sappy teenager. Could it be he was falling for Noelle?

“It can’t be,” he said.

“Can’t be what?”

Noelle stood on the stairway in her Wisconsin sweatshirt and a pair of flannel sleep pants. Baggy plaid pants that obliterated her curves. He hated them.

“James? Everything okay?”

He blinked. “I was looking at your pajamas. They’re very...” He sought for a decent adjective. “Plaid.”

“Thank you,” she replied, padding down the last couple steps. Barefoot, James noted. “I wasn’t expecting you to be awake this early,” she continued. “And you’re dressed.”

“You sound surprised. I didn’t think you’d want me wandering around your kitchen in my briefs.”

“Now that would have been a surprise. Is everything okay?”

“Huh?” James missed the question. He was too busy studying her bare feet. They were runner’s feet—no painted toes for her—and to his horror he found them as attractive as the rest of her.

“I asked if you were feeling all right,” she repeated.

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, you didn’t look good last night when you booked it to bed. I was worried you overdid it and made your headache return.”

Dammit. Did she have to ask with concern increasing the vibrant blue of her eyes? It made his chest squeeze again, like yesterday.

“I’m fine,” he said. “No headache. I got up to check the forecast.”

“Oh.” Was that disappointment darkening her eyes? “And what did you find out?”

“Actually...” He’d been too busy arguing with himself to look at his phone. It lay dormant on the coffee table.

“Is there coffee left?” Noelle asked.

He nodded, embarrassingly relieved that he didn’t have to look quite yet. “I made a whole pot.”

“Great. I’m going to grab a cup. Give me yours and I’ll get you a refill.” She held out her hand and waited while he finished the last swallow. “You can tell me about the weather when I get back.”

Okay, the pajama bottoms weren’t so bad after all, James decided as he watched her walk to the kitchen. Although, he would much prefer her bare legged.

The woman was definitely under his skin, big time.

Leaning forward, he picked up the phone and pressed the weather app. As the radar loaded on his screen, he saw it was clear all the way to the coast. No excuse against flying home.

Fantastic, he thought, shoulders feeling heavy.

What a difference a few days made. Two days ago he couldn’t wait to get out of the place. Now here he was dragging his feet.

Again.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Noelle asked as she came around the corner.

Handing him one of the mugs, she took a seat in the opposite corner and waited.

“Smooth sailing,” he replied. “Not a snowflake in sight. I’m back to thinking you had a hidden snow machine yesterday for ambience.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me if Ned considered it,” she replied. “I know at one point he was looking for a way to make snow in July.”

“Did he?”

“Apparently years ago he used soap flakes, but they got in the water and caused all sorts of problems. After that, Belinda put the kibosh on summer snow plans.”

“Good thinking.” He was beginning to think Ned Fryberg had been more than a little on the eccentric side. Envy twisted in his stomach. “Must have been fun, hanging out at their house as a kid.”

“More like insane,” she replied with a grin. “Ned was forever coming up with ideas. And they weren’t all for the store. He went crazy at home too. You should have seen the to-do he made over Halloween. One year, he turned their living room into a haunted tableau. Kevin and his mom played haunted mannequins.” James tried to picture the scene in his head. “What were you?” he asked.

“A flying monkey. Ned thought scary mannequins should be bigger than the fifth graders.”

“I’m afraid he had a point there.” Turning sideways, James rested his elbow on the back of the sofa, and propped his head with his hand. “I bet you made an adorable flying monkey.”

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