Tinsel (Lark Cove #4)(25)

Kaine spotted Piper and left Dakota’s side, coming to her side and making sure she didn’t slip on the snowy sidewalk.

“I can walk on my own,” she told him. “I’ve been doing it for over thirty years.”

“Just let me help you.” He didn’t let go of his wife as he opened her door on their SUV. Just as she’d expected, two tiny and unhappy voices were shouting in the backseat.

“Bye!” Piper waved at me as Kaine jogged around and got in the driver’s side.

“See you tonight.” He gave me a jerk of the chin, climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled away, leaving Dakota and me standing outside in the snow alone.

“Good morning,” I said. It felt awkward. Why were we awkward?

Because you almost kissed yesterday.

“Hey.” Dakota’s breath billowed around his handsome face as he walked me to the passenger side of his truck. He stayed a foot away, but the heat between us was enough to chase away the winter chill.

“It’s the big day.”

“It is. You ready for this?” That deep voice paired with those dark eyes sent a rush of desire down my spine. It pooled between my legs and made me slightly dizzy.

There was no ignoring my attraction to Dakota. Forcing it away was impossible. The magnetism between us was going to keep pulling us together until one of us finally gave in. Maybe Piper was right. Why resist it?

This didn’t have to be anything serious. A kiss, or something more, didn’t mean we’d be walking down the aisle. For once, maybe I would give casual a try.

I’d show myself that I didn’t need a man. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the company of a hot one for a few days.

Was I ready for this?

“Hell yes.”





“I found one more bag of confetti hidden underneath the streamers.”

“Goodie,” I deadpanned.

“Oh, stop.” Sofia laughed, opening it up to sprinkle the confetti across the bar.

I’d hoped to keep Thea’s box of decorations a secret, especially the confetti. That shit was a pain in the ass to clean up. But Thea must have known I had no plans to decorate because she’d sent Sofia a text on the drive to the bar this morning. The first thing my helper had done was find the decorations and start decking the place out.

Thea had bought so much crap, it had taken Sofia hours. Not that there had been much else to do. The lunch hour had been dead, and I doubted we’d see a soul until seven or eight, when the party was scheduled to begin. The decorations had at least kept Sofia busy.

And as much as I didn’t want to spend the extra time taking it all down, it was nice to see her so excited. Sofia’s eyes sparkled brighter than the plastic gold tiara she’d put on her head.

“What do you normally do on New Year’s Eve?” she asked, wadding up the now-empty confetti bag and tossing it into the garbage.

“Work.” If I wasn’t bartending here, I was somewhere else. There were always one or two out-of-staters who wanted a private bartender for their intimate parties. They were boring as hell, but the money was stupid easy. “What about you?”

“Normally, I’d spend the day getting ready for a party or two.”

“I’m scared to ask what that entails.”

She sighed. “Facial. Massage. Pedicure. Manicure. Makeup. Hair. Dress. The works.”

“Guess today you’ll have to settle for dressing up the bar instead.”

“I guess so.” She adjusted the tiara on her head. “This is different but better than I’d expected. So far, today has been one of the best New Year’s Eves I’ve had in ages. I’m not usually the one who decorates for parties. This is fun. Really fun, actually.”

Damn. I reached into my jeans pocket and pulled out the last bag of confetti I’d stolen earlier to throw away when she wasn’t looking.

“Here.” I tossed it to her. “Go nuts.”

Sofia’s smile hit me square in the chest as she tore into the bag. Those eyes shone bright, like I’d just handed her keys to a new car, not a ninety-nine-cent bag of confetti.

She’d gone all out today, arranging items for maximum visibility. Hats and tiaras, like the one she was wearing, were placed in various spots around the room. We’d find a bunch of them trampled on the floor by the end of the night. A banner announcing the year was strung across the jukebox. The chances of it surviving to midnight were slim. Gold foil horns that were going to drive me crazy by ten o’clock were on every table.

But I wouldn’t tell her any of that.

“Looks good in here.”

“Thanks.” She spread out the confetti on a cocktail table. “You’re the third person to give me a compliment today.”

“And the first two?”

“Piper when I saw her earlier. And my mom when I talked to her this morning. She said she was proud of me for working here.”

“She should be proud.”

“Well, I don’t get compliments like that much. It felt good.” She finished with the confetti and came to sit across from me at the bar. “Did Thea and Logan tell you about the magazine?”

“They mentioned it.”

“It was humiliating.” Her shoulders fell. “It is humiliating. I guess I’d always just thought that my family saw me as useless, no matter what I did. Then the article happened, and I realized the world saw me that way.”