Page 2 of Wrapped with a Beau

Immediately, involuntarily, and absolutely inconveniently, her eyes well with tears.

The lawn ornament slips from her fingers, clattering to the floor. Her leg gives out and she collapses in an elegant heap. A jumble of swears erupts from her mouth. If Goliath guesses most of them are aimed at him, he doesn’t make a peep. Instead, he crouches.

Through her blurry vision, she can make out two things:

One, he does not look at all pleased to see her. Which is a shame, because two, he’s gorgeous.

Even if he is a thief. An exceedingly well-groomed and well-dressed one, if that belted, expensive-looking coat and thick red scarf are anything to go by.

He raises a sharp dark brow, a shocking contrast to his platinum-blond hair. “Are you done?”

She’s too busy tentatively massaging her injury and mulling over which adjective would perfectly describe the striking shade of his blue eyes when she realizes he’s speaking to her. “What?”

“Whatever tantrum you’re throwing,” he says. “Are you done?”

“Excuse me?”

Now he’s the one to look annoyed. “I’m not repeating myself a third time.”

She gapes. “You’re not even going to ask me if I’m okay?” She gestures at her knee.

His eyes flick down as if to ascertain it’s not serious, then back to her face. There, he holds steady, almost as if he’s mapping her for clues. Elisha scowls and juts her jaw out, breathing through her nose.

“I’m not in the habit of inquiring after the well-being of people who break and enter,” he drawls finally.

“I didn’t ‘break’ in,” she says with finger quotes and a scoff. “I’m protecting this house!”

He bristles at the implication that it needs protecting from him, the sharp line of his jaw growing even more taut as he sets his mouth in a grim line. “Ah, yes. The woman dressed like a deranged elf who escaped from the North Pole strikes terror in my heart.”

She glances at her slippers and pajamas. Okay, rude. Accurate, but rude. Not one to let a good tit-for-tat opportunity slip by, she says dryly, “Guess that explains your scream.”

He shoots her a dour look. “I did not scream.”

She smiles sweetly. “If that’s what you need to believe.”

His jawline is so rigid that she’s surprised she can’t hear teeth cracking. “So, either you’re part of the neighborhood watch, or you like to play at being a knight and defend unguarded houses.”

Well, when he puts it like that, her actions sound childish rather than brave. Now it’s her turn to quietly fume. “Something like that.”

Goliath plays along. “And that’s the best armor you have?”

She rolls her eyes. “What can I say, my chain mail is in the wash.”

He nods at the candy cane. “Along with your sword, I’m guessing.”

“Bite me.”

At that, he almost smiles. Worse, her own lips threaten to curl. She stomps down the urge.

“I don’t want to argue with you,” he says, even though he’s giving a great impression otherwise.

“Wow, the view must be awesome from your moral high ground. Last I checked, intruders don’t get to act offended when they’re caught in the act.”

“Know a lot of them, do you?”

Elisha huffs. His voice is silky, with a hint of a New York accent, and manages to sound both amused and taunting at the same time. Mostly taunting. “Yeah, we all hang out in the same bar. You should come to our weekly Intruders Anonymous meeting.”

“I guarantee that you’ll never see me in any bar you frequent.” His smile is like a paper cut. “And, as it happens, I’m not an intruder. I own this house.”

---