Chloe shook her head and stood. “Well, delaying isn’t helping anything. Thanks for the tea, Santa. But I’ve got to go. The quicker I get on the road, the better the drive will be.”
I stood up too. “No. You aren’t leaving.”
She wheeled around and stared fiercely up into my eyes. Our closeness caught me by surprise, and all I wanted to do was lean down and kiss her.
With a feistiness I didn’t know she had in her, she said, “I’m a big girl, and I can handle myself. I don’t need to be saved by Santa tonight. I’ll drive slow. Twenty miles an hour. I’ll befine.”
She was heading to my front door fast. But I got there first, right behind her, pressing the door shut with my hand as she tried to turn the knob.
“No, ma’am. You’re staying here. There have already been fifteen accidents reported between here and Fernwood. You’re not driving off the mountain onmywatch.”
She whipped back around, and now we really were too close. Her pretty green eyes were stormy. “I don’tneeda knight in shining armor. Ineedto get back to Fernwood so I can work my shift tomorrow. I’ve got bills to pay.”
Now I was the one wincing in discomfort. The words tumbled out of me before I could stop them. “How much do you get paid for a shift? I’ll give you the money.”
I couldn’t handle the idea that she might drive off the edge of the road tonight. No one should be out there tonight, even in a good vehicle. And her old sedan looked rickety as hell. I bet she didn’t even have snow tires on that thing.
The expression on her face changed. “I-I couldn’t take your money.”
“It’s a done deal. Call your boss and tell them the roads are bad, so you won’t be in. What do you get in a shift? A hundred dollars? Two hundred?”
She stuttered out, quietly this time, “But I don’t even know your name.”
Shit. I was getting in too deep with this one.
I’d successfully evaded womankind for years. And all it had taken was her hopping in my sleighonetime. Now I was lost. Myheart was already leaning towards her whether I wanted it to or not.
“I’m Tex. Tex Harris. And I’m not trying to trick you into sleeping with me. I really am worried about you getting out on these roads. You don’t know the mountain the way I do. It’s not safe out there. Not tonight.”
Chloe swallowed hard.
I could tell she was thinking about it. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she said, “I’m Chloe Simmons. Nice to properly meet you. Are you sure about this?”
No. Not at all.
“Yup. Never been surer in my life.”
“And no sex. I’ll sleep on the couch,” she announced.
“Uh, there’s only one problem with that.”
“What?”
“I don’t have a couch.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she stammered out, “So we’d be sharing a bed?”
Something warm and out-of-control raced through me. A frisson of energy flew between us. We both wanted each other. Bad. That had been obvious from the first moment we’d seen each other a few weeks ago.
If we shared a bed, I wouldn’t be able to promise to keep my hands to myself. But I could damn well try.
Chapter 7
Chloe
“I know it sounds weird. But it’s happening.”
I was on the phone with Astrid in Tex’s bathroom, whispering to make sure he couldn’t hear me.
