Page 18 of The Naughty List Agreement

Pete’s influence no doubt, Nick thought. These people were enjoying seeing her get her comeuppance. The spread of Black Lumen was already taking effect in workplaces around Pine Falls. Nick understood where these two were coming from; these people might also have fallen victim to her ax the way he had, but he couldn’t forget the flash of vulnerability he’d seen on her face last night. Or the sad truths she’d revealed, perhaps unintentionally, about her childhood.

If he had to guess, he’d say that Cora had been let down in the past. Usually when a person relied only on themselves—like Jack did—it spoke to a complicated relationship with their childhood and the people that were supposed to care for them.

The hostess came over with Hannah following her.

Hannah wore a cream sweater over a long black velvet skirt. Her makeup was light and natural, and her hair was twisted into a bun. She looked stylish and elegant but also comfortable in her own skin. This could be it. What if she was the one, right out of the gate?

That would make everything much easier. She could be Mrs. Claus by Christmas, Nick would keep his role as Santa, and humanity would be saved from drowning in fear and shame as a result of Pete’s punishing methods.

He was perhaps getting ahead of himself, though. He hadn’t yet spoken a word to this woman and he was already planning their future together.

“Sorry I’m a few minutes late. The kids sometimes get a little anxious when I try to go out,” she said. “But it’s good for them to see me leave—or at least that what’s my therapist said.”

“All good,” he said to Hannah as they followed the hostess to their table. “How many children do you have?”

“Two. Sophie who’s seven and Max who’s four,” she said. “You don’t have any, right?”

“Nope,” he said. He hadn’t really given kids much thought. The length of his lifespan meant he still had ages before he had to think about having them.

Hannah glanced down at her menu. She seemed suddenly nervous.

“I like kids,” he said to reassure her, but didn’t know what to say after that. She took a sip of her water. Her tension made him want to do something to overcompensate but he found himself suddenly tongue-tied. She had an aura of goodness about her, which he liked. She smelled like vanilla and wore two bracelets that looked like they had been made from dried pasta spray-painted gold. It made him smile. He just knew that Christmas for her would center on her kids—their joy, their comfort, their experiences. So far so good. Martha would be pleased with how this was going, he thought.

As he watched her scan the menu, he sensed echoes of sadness and loneliness beneath her kind face. She seemed overwhelmed and he wondered if this was her first Christmas without her husband.

Grief was the one emotion he never allowed himself to dwell on. When Ana died, he’d focused on work to help get him through. If he kept busy, he wouldn’t be able to think about the dark hole of loss and sorrow beckoning him into its depths⁠—

Wow, it’s been a while since anyone spoke, he suddenly realized. Maybe I should say something?

“So … do you follow hockey?” he asked.

She looked up, startled but also a little relieved. “I don’t. Honestly? I haven’t been to a game since I was in high school.”

“Why high school?”

“We had a team and the guy I dated was on it.”

“You’re sort of hockey adjacent,” he offered.

She laughed—that was a good sign, wasn’t it? “Yeah. Maybe when Max is older he’ll play but for now I don’t have time.”

“What do you like to do with your time?” he asked her, feeling more and more confident. This was going well.

Hannah talked enthusiastically about her business and her streaming channel, and the activities she did with her children. It was clear her kids and her business took up pretty much all her time, but it sounded like they were broadly a happy little family. They ordered their meal and carried on chatting.

But then suddenly, when their starters were being delivered, Nick felt a chill shiver down his spine, as though Jack had sent an arctic blast toward him. He turned abruptly to discover the source of the frosty nip and spotted Cora striding toward the bar wearing a very short gold sparkly skirt with her glorious legs on full display. Her hair was up, leaving the long expanse of her neck visible and he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her.

A spark that had nothing to do with Christmas spirit ignited deep in his gut, making his cock jump and his blood feel hot and heavy as it thundered through his veins. This was not supposed to be happening, not when he was on a date with a lovely woman who so far seemed like a very suitable candidate for becoming Mrs. Claus.

Cora was all about celebrating wins and she’d had a big one today. The board had been blown away by Nick’s WonderHaus. Of course they were enamored with her food and drink offerings as well, but she’d had a handle on that for the last few years. She’d hoped her partnership with Next Gen Toys would net the same result but to be honest they’d come up lacking last year. Even without the scandal, Cora had been on the lookout for a replacement.

She one hundred percent hadn’t expected it to be Mr. Cozy Flannel Toymaker but oh, well.

“It’s packed tonight,” Fliss said, coming up behind her. Her assistant was a few years younger than Cora’s thirty-two. She had white-blonde hair that she habitually wore in a single braid down her back. Her ears were covered in silver earrings and cuffs, the largest one a pair of snowflakes that dangled from her lobes. She had an easy smile, funky taste in clothes, and a can-do attitude that had made her essential to Cora’s success. She also believed firmly in consequences—an outlook Cora found refreshingly practical during the chaos of December.

“Because they have the best cocktails in town,” she said, deciding to have a pomegranate martini. She scanned the bar for an empty table but could only find a tall table close to the bar that was still occupied but the drinks looked empty. “Maybe they’re leaving.”

Cora picked up her glass and headed toward the table before stopping dead and turning back to Fliss.