Page 112 of Christmas with the Denton Billionaires

The man who exited the car looked slick and rich—perfectly styled blond hair and an ear-to-ear grin. She couldn’t tell if he was about to hit on her or sell her insurance.

“Mara, right?” he asked.

She blinked, looking around discretely. He had to be talking to her…but how did he know who she was?

“Uh, yeah.”

The man stepped forward, his long overcoat reaching past his knees. He offered a black-gloved hand. “I’m Ryan Casewell, one of the network executives behind the gingerbread competition. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

She blinked a few times, timidly offering her hand. Part of her didn’t believe him. The other part wasn’t surprised that she could tell from first glance that he was some sort of big-city industry type. “Wow. Nice to meet you.”

“Enjoying the competition?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s…” Her mind went blank. “It’s been a real experience.”

“So what’s it like to compete against a celebrity like Chris?” That smile kicked up a notch, glimmering and smarmy. “I bet you’re the star of your family now, huh? Small-town girl going up against Chef Chris?”

Her lips thinned, and she couldn’t tell if her plasticized smile had melted into a grimace. “Oh, you know. It’s just been so thrilling for all of us. What a joy it is to be in the vicinity of Chef Chris!” She couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “Every day I ask him for a new autograph to add to my growing collection.”

Ryan smirked just as a second car pulled in next to his. Someone else got out, followed by Chris. She chewed on her lips as she watched him. His face lit up when he spotted her.

“Mara!” He jogged over to her. “I was about to call you. They asked you to be here too?”

“No, no.” She waved her hand dismissively toward Ryan. “I just ran into him on my way home.”

Chris squeezed her arms, making her forget, momentarily, how annoyed she’d been. “How did your appointment go?”

“Very well.”

“I want to hear about it. But I think I have to miss dinner.” He frowned. “Don’t hate me. These guys showed up on a whim today to talk business, and they want to talk over dinner. Can I come over after?”

She tried not to feel disappointed as two more slick businessman types joined Ryan on the sidewalk. She offered a small smile to Chris, trying to put her feelings aside. She understood—she just wasn’t so sure she’d be willing to receive him later, whenever that was.

“Text me when you’re done,” she said. He squeezed her wrist before walking away with the other men. She watched them go for a moment, feeling Ryan’s words reverberate through her.

Maybe he was right.

She was just the small-town girl in the shadow of a celebrity.

She needed to wise up before it was too late.

13

CHRIS

Chris hummed to himself early the next morning as he worked on the smaller details on his gingerbread skyscraper. He’d woken up in an excellent mood. Better than excellent, actually.

He’d woken up in a stellar mood. Because everything was on track, and he was about to get the show of his dreams.

The surprise arrival of the network executives always spelled either celebration or disaster, and in rare cases, both at the same time. But last night had been pure celebration. Based on the pilot episode of this competition and the rave response from test audiences to the holiday-themed competition, the execs were giving his globetrotting cooking show the green light.

Exactly what Chris had been gunning for all these years. And finally, it would behis.

He started whistling as he pumped out tiny green dots across one of the windows of the skyscraper. He’d hated canceling on Mara the night before, but he was sure they’d make up for it, andsoon. It would have been sooner if he’d had his way, but when he texted about going over the night before, she claimed she was already in bed and not feeling well.

So tonight would be the night. It had to be. Because he was just shy of breaking out in hives from wanting to spend another night with her.

He paused to check his phone. Odd. It was almost nine thirty and Mara wasn’t here yet. She was always early, just like him. He glanced around the room. Mara’s team was hard at work on whatever task list she’d left them with, but no Mara.

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