Merry and Bright(41)

And she was singing at the top of her considerably tone-deaf lungs, which had him grinning. The woman could do anything, which made her quite possibly the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

Yeah, he’d made the right decision to quit, because there was no way he’d ever pull out the rug from beneath her.

She deserved more.

Knowing she couldn’t possibly hear him through the music blasting in her ears, he walked into the room, getting in her line of sight just as she executed a little ass shimmy that made him laugh.

When she saw him, she jumped. “Sorry,” he said as she pulled out one of the earplugs. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t.” Couldn’t. That was the underlying message she wordlessly imparted. “Lori’s bugging me to finish decorating.”

“She told me to come to the living room.”

Hope’s eyes narrowed as she gripped the top rung of the ladder. “She did, did she?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you’ll have to excuse her. She got married and her brain turned to mush.” She stretched out some more lights to hang.

He reached up to help hold the lights for her. “Weather forecast is looking pretty nasty,” he noted.

“Hopefully it’ll hold.” She used the staple gun on the lights, then looked down at him. “I’m sure you have other people to gouge the soul from.”

“Is that what I’ve done, gouge your soul?”

“No.” She sighed. “I do realize you’re just the messenger.”

“Was. I was the messenger.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I quit my job.”

“What?”

“Yeah. I’ve known for some time that I’ve been needing a change.”

She stared at him. “You quit your job.”

“I’m thinking of starting my own business, where I get to pick my clients.” He was looking forward to that. “A small accounting and financial service—right up my alley.” And under those circumstances, he could see himself on the other side. The good side. Fighting for this woman. This smart, sexy, stubborn, gorgeous woman whose only crime had been to trust a member of her family.

“Are you crazy?” she asked, backing down the ladder. “Have you seen the news? We’re in a thing called a recession. Now’s not a good time to be without a job.”

“I’ll be okay. Hope, about your loan.”

“I’ll be able to pay it.”

“How?” he asked frankly, worried that Edward would do exactly as he’d just promised and come here himself. He slid a hand on her arm. “I saw the For Sale sign on the adjacent lot to this one, which you also own.”

“Well technically, the bank owns it. But if it sells before I get my money back, then everything’s good.”

Except that properties weren’t moving, not in this market. “What if you got investors to buy your lot?”

“Look, I realize that you no longer work for Edward, and frankly, that says a lot about you, but I’m not about to blindly trust you. I’ll do this. My way.” She reached into a bag for a fistful of greenery and looked around for a place to hang it. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Lori insisted on this stuff going up.” She headed for the huge, tall mantel.

“It’s mistletoe.”

“I think I’d know mistletoe.” She stretched up to hold the stuff in place while she nailed it with the gun.

He waited until she’d reholstered the staple gun, until she’d turned to face him before putting a hand on the mantel on either side of her. Leaning in close, until their lips were only an inch apart, he waited for a reaction.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth and went to half mast.

He loved how she put herself out there, no fa?ade, no hidden agenda. It was one of the most attractive things about her, and he shifted even closer. His mouth brushed her cheek now, then the corner of her lips, and when her hands came up to grip his shirt, he kissed her.

She immediately leaned into him, making that same soft sigh of pleasure she’d made last time, the one that made him instantly hard. She tasted like warm, sweet, giving female, like forgotten hopes and dreams, and when she moved against him and slid her tongue to his, he thought he might die of the pleasure.

“Okay,” she murmured, pulling back, eyes still closed. “Maybe it’s mistletoe.”

He ran his thumb over a smudge of dirt on her jaw and let out a rough breath. “Yeah.”

“That stuff should come with a warning.” She turned, and with her tool belt slapping against her hips with every step she took, she walked out of the room.





6


Hope strode into the kitchen and headed straight for the sink, where she downed a full glass of cold water.

It didn’t help.

She stared out the window at the still falling snow and put a hand on her heart to keep it from leaping right out of her chest, because holy smokes. Holy smokes could that guy kiss. She set down the empty glass and found Lori standing in the doorway grinning at her.

Hope sighed. “Saw that, did you?”

“Seriously. You ever hear of behind closed doors?”

“I know. God.” At least no guests had been roaming about. Real professional, Hope.