Page 69 of Another Christmas from Hell

“It really was,” Cayley assured him as she paused to scoop up a big forkful of that apple pie before she climbed onto his lap.

“What else do you want?” Bryce asked, placing his hands on her thighs as he leaned forward and made it easier for her to feed him that bite of apple pie.

“You mean besides an entry-level supervisory position where I can let the power go to my head?” Cayley asked, looking thoughtful as she went to scoop up more of that apple pie, only to sigh when Sean stole it.

“Besides that,” Bryce murmured, reaching up to gently run his fingertips along her jaw.

“I would like veto rights on the color selection for Thomas House,” Cayley said, nodding solemnly.

“I’ll think about it,” Bryce said, watching as her gaze dropped to his lips.

“Then, I suppose we have a deal,” Cayley said as she reached up and cupped his face in her hands as she leaned in and-

“Oh, come on!”

-proved beyond a doubt that she wanted him.

CHAPTER38

“I’m trying to glare at you,” came the announcement that had her biting back a sigh as she looked up, only to look back down at her phone when a chime drew her attention and-

You could do better!

-had her lips twitching as she read the text message from Johnny. The James brothers were definitely an entertaining group, Cayley thought, only to amend that thought when she looked up to find Sean watching her.

“Bryce bought Thomas House?” he asked as he studied her.

“Last time I checked,” Cayley said, glancing down at her watch, only to bite back a sigh.

She was running late, Cayley realized as she quickly glanced back down at her laptop and finished what she was working on even as she couldn’t help but wonder if she was going to have time to run to her aunt’s bakery before it closed. Tonight, Bryce was cooking her a romantic dinner and she was in charge of dessert, which meant that she really needed to move her butt, finish what she was working on, reply to Connor’s email, grab her bag, race to her car, risk a speeding ticket and pray that her aunt had something suitable for a romantic dinner before racing home, and taking a shower before she spent an incredibly romantic night with the man that she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about all day and hope that she had enough glitter for the night ahead.

“Why would my sister and Connor sell him a house that they already had a buyer for?” Sean murmured, making her frown as she looked up to find him watching her curiously.

“They already had a buyer?” Cayley asked because this was news to her, but then again, she was still going through everything that Rerum Highland Construction had planned.

They were booked solid for two years and had a waiting list that could easily fill up the next five years. It was her job to go through everything, figure out the best way to get everything organized so that they met deadlines and stayed within budget. Right now, she was focusing on the projects that were set to start this spring and work her way through the rest of the projects planned for the rest of the year.

Nodding, Sean said, “They offered all the houses they’d bought to build their portfolio to the waitlist for the Dawson Project.”

“That makes sense,” Cayley murmured as she shifted her focus back to her computer and quickly pulled up the Dawson Project folder, glanced through the files until she came to the file marked “Waitlist” and clicked it open. There were over a hundred people on the waitlist and around twenty of them had an asterisk by their names.

“So, the question is, why would Rory and Connor risk pissing off a client by selling Thomas House to Bryce?”

That was actually a good question, Cayley thought, frowning at the list before clicking out of it and searching for the file of Rerum Highland Construction’s properties and realized that Sean was right. They had a buyer for every property, including Thomas House and-

It was Bryce.

Frowning, she glanced through the rest of the list, noting the familiar names. “Craig is buying the house across from Mr. MacGregor on Dawson Road?” Cayley asked, glancing up to find Sean frowning as he stood up and made his way around her desk.

“What are you talking about?” Sean asked, reading through the list as she slowly scrolled down, noting the properties that had Brian and Johnny listed as the buyers and-

“What the hell?” Sean murmured, frowning when they came to the property with his name listed as the buyer.

“Your sister owns the building for The Firehouse?” Cayley asked, throwing Sean a questioning look because she thought the Anderson family still owned the old firehouse.

She knew there had been talk a few years ago about selling the building, but as far as she knew, it was just talk. Jess mentioned buying the building a few times over the years but decided against it since she wouldn’t be able to handle all the renovations the old building needed between the two apartments upstairs and the restaurant. That had been followed by debating moving the restaurant but decided against it since the location was perfect and she didn’t want to have to start all over again. But that might all change when Jess found out who Rory and Connor were planning on selling the building to, Cayley thought as she watched Sean’s expression turn from confused to…something deeply disturbing that didn’t bode well for her cousin.

Not. At. All.

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