Holiday for HIre(9)

Mentally, she started making a list. She’d have to work on his vowels, buy him some appropriate attire, create a fake job…she’d need lots of time to groom him. Good thing she’d thought to hire him for her Christmas needs .

This could actually work .

“Ian, I think you can be my man too.” Literally. But not really. Just pretend-like. “I wasn’t being crazy when I asked about the seasonal decorating. I think it could be a win-win for us. We get to know each other, and I don’t have to climb on a ladder. That was one question you didn’t really answer, though. Do you think you could help with that ?”

“Well, what exactly are you looking for ?”

“Let’s see. I need the lights strung .”

His heavy chuckle had her squirming in her chair .

“I am fairly certain I’d have no problems stringing your lights .”

Oh.

Oh .

She ran her tongue over her lower lip. “And I’d need some garlands hung .”

He didn’t miss a beat. “I’ve been told that I hang well .”

Funny, she’d just been thinking about that, as embarrassing as it was to admit, even to herself. But were they thinking about two different things? And were garlands even actually involved ?

“Will you need your tree trimmed?” Ian asked now .

She still couldn’t tell if they were talking decorations or innuendo. She’d give him the whole truth this time, because the truth actually was the truth. Tree or not .

“I usually do the trimming myself. But it would be nice to have some help. Some places are hard to reach, and all .”

“I was concerned about that,” Ian said, in that deep rumble. “A proper tree requires a ladder, and if you aren’t interested in climbing up — ”

“It’s going…down…that I’m more concerned with.” She hoped that was enough to keep him going. Jane had never talked dirty before on purpose, much less in code that may or may not even be dirty .

Just in case, though, she slid her panties off. It made her feel like she was the wicked one, having them off while she sat in her desk chair and fantasized about how Ian, um, hung .

“Oh, I have no problem going down .”

Where was that Christmas magazine fan ?

“I can assure you, Jane,” every time he said her name she felt a little zing down to her core, “that I have never met a Christmas project that I couldn’t handle. It’s always been my favorite holiday, and I can help with everything from stuffing your stockings to sweeping your chimney. I’ve got this season under wraps .”

Sweet Santa on his sled, all she could think about was unwrapping him. Jane didn’t care if it was innuendo or not, she needed a few moments alone .

“Excellent.” She hoped he didn’t notice how breathless she was. “I’ll email you the address.” They settled on a date and time, then she hastily hung up to dive into her crisp cotton sheets and relive the conversation with visuals .

Afterward, though, that inner voice again. He was just trying for a paycheck, Jane. You hired him to pretend what you say is interesting .

It was true, it was true, and she’d do best to remember that. But wasn’t it okay to understand they were pretend feelings and still be turned on ?

No, that way lies disappointment .

Jane could kick her inner voice right in the teeth for these hard truths. But what she couldn’t do was disavow it—because it was right .

Even if he was truly that compatible with her, she wasn’t going to actually date this guy .

Ian, sweet as he might be, couth as she could make him sound and act, would always be an illusion. He’d never be the guy she could and would eventually marry .

End of story .

So why did that idea make her eyes prick ?





4





I t was the day after Thanksgiving—Black Friday, known for the extraordinary shopping deals. For Jane, who made all her Christmas purchases before Halloween, it was Decorating Day, though she had hit up Macy’s early that morning for some last minute trimmings .

More importantly, this year it was the day she and Ian had agreed to meet up. She’d wanted to get together sooner, but putting up even a string of lights before Thanksgiving was uncouth, as every true Christmas enthusiast knew, and that was the guise she’d used to lure the man to her house so many weeks before the event she’d hired him for .

When he, at last, rang the bell, she forced herself to take a deep breath and count to five before opening the door, so as not to appear too eager. Still, she couldn’t help the smile that erupted at the sight of him. Even after all the time she’d spent staring at his pictures online, she was startled by his rugged good looks the same way she was startled when she bit into a chocolate-covered cherry—she expected the candied fruit she found inside, and yet it always came as a surprise to her taste buds. A delightful surprise .

And so, Ian Brooks was a delightful surprise to her eyes .

It worked out to be a benefit for their first—er, second—encounter, as it was easier to pretend that she’d never seen him before. And she was definitely pretending that. No way was she admitting that she’d looked him up online, nor that she remembered him from a very brief moment in the dark more than two months previously .