Page 51 of The Naughty List Agreement

“That sounds…”

“Dangerous? A world in which people only do the right thing out of fear isn’t one you’d want to live in,” he said.

“Luckily we don’t have to, because it’s just a story.”

“Right. Like Santa Claus.”

“Exactly.”

She couldn’t take her eyes off Nick. His thick chestnut hair had been styled to fall to the left and a red Santa cap perched neatly on his head. His beard looked thicker today, though was still nicely trimmed. He wore his leather duster-style coat that was decorated with hand-tooled imagery. Leaning in, she ran her finger over an image of eight reindeer pulling a large sleigh. The detail was breathtaking.

“Like it?” he asked.

He was being too agreeable. She already liked him more than was smart and nothing would change the fact that they wanted different things. Last night had been torture, thinking of him out on a date with another woman.

Remember that, Cora.

“How’d the hockey date go?”

He shook his head. “It was a bust. She didn’t really like hockey.”

“Oh, is that another deal breaker?” Sports weren’t really her thing, which was totally fine since she wanted to take him to bed, not marry him.

“It is.”

“Yet another reason why we aren’t right for each other,” she said. “I don’t get the obsession with watching other people do something … anything really. It’s not just sports.”

“A lot of people would disagree with you,” he said, a cheeky grin on his face.

“That’s what makes me unique.”

“That’s not the only thing, Cora.”

“What else do you like about me?” She couldn’t resist flirting with him when he seemed so willing to hand out compliments and looked so cute doing it.

“Your tenacity, your legs, the way you strive really hard to make Christmas special for Pine Falls,” he said. “And that’s just for starters.”

She couldn’t help preening under his gaze. “Oh. There’s more?”

“My turn. What about me?”

“What about you?” she teased, though she knew very well what he was asking.

“Anything that makes me special in your eyes?”

Too many things to list. She almost wished she could go back to seeing him as just an annoyingly hot but old-fashioned toymaker because now she saw the way he cared about everyone, how he gave one hundred percent to everything he put his mind to, and, most importantly, how he was always there when she needed him.

She cautioned herself not to get used to it. Right now, their goals aligned. Once Christmas was over, he’d be out of her life. And then what would she do?

There was no way this … this feeling had anything to do with the Magic Coffers or the Nice List. Last night’s date hadn’t worked out because she wasn’t Cora. It was that simple. He hadn’t planned on coming to Pine Falls early today, but he’d given in to temptation when he saw her in the Yuleglass. The Yuleglass was the ancient mirror that allowed him glimpses into the mortal world and when he’d seen how lonely she seemed, he’d wanted nothing but to be by her side.

This conversation was dangerous. It added fuel to a fire that he should be trying to put out. But was fighting a losing battle. He wouldn’t win today—maybe not ever. He wanted her. He wanted her so badly. He wanted her under his Christmas tree, a fire roaring in the large hearth warming their naked bodies while shadows of the flames danced over her creamy skin. He wanted everything that Cora had to give and he wanted her to want him the same way.

She was not unredeemable. She was just hurt and sad, and he wanted to make her happy.

“I don’t mind your distinctive taste in flannel shirts.”

She winked and he got hard. That was all it took.