Page 31 of The Naughty List Agreement

“No. I’ve got this. I made some good progress tonight on both fronts. I’m getting to Cora’s heart. She’s used to hiding behind her polished image and her shiny newness, but underneath, I suspect she craves something cozier.”

“Suspect or know? A lot is riding on this, Nick. If you can’t crack her, is there another non-believer you can turn?” Jack asked.

The tension was back. Just like that. One hockey game wasn’t a solution to his problem, though his mind felt clearer. He was still turned on whenever he thought about Cora.

“Black Lumen has been picking up the slack for a while now. Just say the word and I can double the workload for my elves,” Pete said. “If you fail, I’m going to have to anyway so I might as well start now.”

“I’ve got this. It’s hard because she’s never been a believer, but I have a lead. I’m going to talk to my dad tomorrow. I need to know more about the girl behind the woman.”

The others didn’t look confident, but Nick wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. Not with Cora. She’d kissed him under the mistletoe while Christmas snow fell around them. She’d been touched by the magic, he’d felt it in his core. He held that close to his heart, kept it to himself because it was between them.

He’d caught a glimpse of the real woman, the one he knew would believe if he could only unlock the magic of Christmas for her.

Cora woke on Thanksgiving morning a bit out of sorts. Everyone was celebrating with their families, which made her loneliness more acute. Cora had declined Mrs. French’s invitation to join the family for dinner. Mrs. French fancied herself a matchmaker and always had a bunch of single guys lined up for Cora to meet at her dinners. The gesture was well intentioned, but it only made the moodiness that had been dogging her for days worse.

She should be in a bubble bath, listening to music and chilling out, but she was too on edge. She’d gone out for a drink with Fliss last night to celebrate a win with the board and ended up envious of Hannah Waters, of all people, flirted with Nick Bari, of all people, and then wrapped herself around him like ivy and kissed him as though her life depended on it. And then he’d left. And she hadn’t even got him to agree that she wasn’t needed in his booth.

Thanksgiving was the worst. She couldn’t drum out that part of her that liked to dream. That liked to pretend she was part of a large and loving family, that she was successful enough to be included by the people in her life, that she was worthy of being loved.

Not that she needed to be included. Or loved. Not when there was work to do.

Pouring herself another cup of coffee, she grabbed her laptop and went to the writing desk that she’d bought for herself—an antique Louis XIV piece that she’d had shipped from France. Her mom would have called it a dreadful waste of money.

Cora shoved that out of her head. Too bad her mind kept drifting back to Nick. She should have grabbed him by his ridiculous Santa tie and dragged him to her bed. She shook her head. That snow falling just as they’d gotten to her house had felt like pure magic.

Except that was as ridiculous as believing in Santa. Nick had been so weird about it, so convinced, and it had stirred long-buried memories of the hope and excitement she’d felt on Christmas morning when that present had been waiting for her … then the disappointment when she’d realized it was only from her new stepmom. Of course her dad hadn’t bought her a gift. That wasn’t his way.

Her phone pinged and she grabbed it like a lifeline.

Unfortunately, it was a text from the one person she was pretending she wasn’t mad at. He’d totally had a point when he mentioned their working relationship, but one hot hookup wasn’t the end of the world.

Of course he was looking for someone steady. Someone permanent. Someone who believed…

Curiosity was the only reason she opened the text.

Nick

Happy Thanksgiving. Got plans?

Cora

Gobble, gobble. I’m working.

Nick

Cora, no! Want to join my family for dinner? We eat at 3 pm because it’s a holiday.

There were a thousand reasons she should say no, but she wasn’t going to.

Cora

I’ll be there.

Nick

Come at 2 pm?

Cora