Page 3 of The Naughty List Agreement

He sighed as Martha hit save and closed the app. “I have to get back to work.”

“I’ll see you at the meeting,” Jack said and disappeared into the portal, presumably heading for his home in Shivervale. Portals connected all the realms in the Yearweave, sort of like trains in the mortal world.

Nick’s phone pinged as messages from the dating app trickled in. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Lumen barometer dip even further. Without allowing himself to overthink the situation, he accepted all the potential matches and set up two back-to-back dates for tonight at Frosty Jack’s.

No one could say he hadn’t tried.

He looked down at the Naughty List and decided Cora had earned a place on it. He reached for his pen and inked her name in elegant, curling letters. There. Done. Nick looked up as the head elf from Pine Falls, Vermont emerged through the portal. Buddy rarely visited him, so Nick was immediately on high alert.

“Cora Quill is here to see you,” he said without preamble. “She’s brought you this as a peace offering,” he added nervously, holding out a cup of coffee.

Speak of naughtiness and Cora Quill shall appear.

The Queen of Christmas was a title Cora had worked hard to earn. People visited her Winter Wonderland in record-breaking numbers, and this success gave her the sense of satisfaction she’d craved for so long. It had taken a lot of hard work and tough decisions to mold the month-long festival into something that matched her vision. She wanted visitors to feel like they’d stepped into a Hallmark Christmas movie and to leave the event inspired to make this their best holiday season ever. Cora had set the bar even higher this year, going above and beyond … and then this very morning her star toy company Next Gen had been implicated in an embezzlement scandal. So now, less than a week before the festival, she was without a toymaker, which was an unthinkable disaster. She desperately needed someone to step in and save Christmas.

Unfortunately, the only person she could think of was Nicholas Bari. Sure, his toys were … traditional—read “old-fashioned”—and he was absolutely the last person Cora wanted to go to on her knees for a favor, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. She hoped he could be a grown-up about her having to fire him five years ago.

It wasn’t like she expected him to be all ho, ho, hello. The man was allowed some pride, after all, but he’d kept her waiting ten minutes. She’d shown up unannounced and of course this was a busy time of year, but this was starting to smack of petty, childish revenge…

In her defense, when she got nervous and anxious she got extra bitchy.

Not bitchy precisely, just more … exacting. The more difficult the situation, the frostier her tone and her bearing became. She hoped it made her seem confident, or at least hid her nerves, but feared it did neither. She tried singing her favorite carol in an effort to relax.

Nick’s innate masculinity might appeal to the moms who brought their kids in and get the dads onside as well. His wooden toys might not be attention-grabbing, but they were quality. Always important.

But, hell, she just didn’t like him. He was like those scratchy Christmas sweaters that rubbed her the wrong way.

His sincerity about Christmas and the way he talked about the magic of the holiday and its influence on the world had made her uncomfortable. Part of it, no doubt, was down to her own childhood experiences. She couldn’t remember anything magical about Christmas. Magic wasn’t real, and hoping for it only left you disappointed. Carefully curated coffees, cookies, and toys were concrete. You could hold them and enjoy them and they came with a guarantee.

Still, Nick was a businessman and businessmen liked making money—everyone did—and his stockroom was probably overflowing with his outdated toys because he hadn’t been participating in Winter Wonderland. Surely he’d welcome this invitation.

Her gut didn’t agree. She imagined this is what being inside a snow globe would feel like—being aggressively tossed and shaken about as gentle flakes of snow fell around her. “I don’t want a lot for Christmas…” she started humming, hips swaying unconsciously in time to the tune.

She looked about her disapprovingly. His workshop didn’t display any of her expertly recommended decorations for the season. It felt like a personal slight. To overcome her annoyance, she began to twirl and dance in time to the music in her head, taking in the scent of fir and pine in the air thanks to the fresh garland that hung from the eaves. The twinkling lights woven through the branches sparkled joyfully, creating a cozy vibe. She spotted dried oranges, cinnamon sticks, and pinecones nestled in the fat swags of greenery and grudgingly accepted that it was a nice touch. On the mantel were brightly painted figurines of Santa and his elves making toys and trails of red velvet bows and dangling ornaments. Cora scoffed at the Santa—she’d never believed in him, of course—but the overall effect suited this shop. She began to sing out loud as she shimmied and spun past the crackling fire and hand-embroidered stockings hung from the mantel.

All of the handmade toys on the shelves sat in neat rows with only a delicate ribbon tied to them and a discreet price tag. She walked through the aisles unconsciously trailing her fingers over her favorite pieces and belting out the song to hide her annoyance at how long she was being kept waiting. “All I want for Christmas is yooooooou!”

“Wow, really?” came a familiar deep, rumbling voice. “A few years ago, you couldn’t manage more than a single sentence in a very discourteous email.”

She let out a high-pitched screech. “You scared me!”

He might be her nemesis, but Nicholas Bari could still rock a flannel and a pair of jeans in the kind of way that should be illegal. Her eyes dropped involuntarily to his ass, but she managed to cover up the action by smoothing her hair and fluttering her eyelashes. Phew.

“Sorry. I guess you were expecting applause.”

She rolled her eyes. His blue eyes twinkled, no doubt because he’d caught her off guard, the bastard. She watched rosiness bloom in his cheeks and hoped it wasn’t because he’d spotted her checking out his ass. But damn, he looked ruggedly sensual.

Everything that normally didn’t appeal to her. And it still didn’t, she told herself. If her pulse hammered in her throat, it was because he’d scared her half to death. Or because of the animosity he stirred up in her.

“I was. As usual, you’ve disappointed me.”

“Why are you here, Ms. Quill? If you’re trying to soften me up, you can keep those sickly-sweet marshmallow drinks at home. Health is important to me.” Was he intentionally lifting his shirt to reveal his abs, because if so… Damn him and his hair that was way too thick and curling around his face like he was some kind of rugged angel.

“Sounds like you could use a little sweetness,” she said with a forced smile. This was going about as well as she’d expected.

“Noted. Again, why are you here?”

Taking a deep breath, she launched into the speech she’d practiced in the car on the way here. “As you know, Winter Wonderland is the Christmas event for families all over Vermont, New York, Massachusetts and beyond. We get national coverage. This year’s festival is set to be another record breaker. Since I’ve taken over, the event has grown bigger and better.”