Page 54 of The Naughty List Agreement

Their lips met. Damn. This was the kiss she’d been longing for since she’d fallen near the tree and he’d caught her. He tasted minty and manly and it was addictive. She felt a pulse of heat between her legs as his tongue rubbed over hers.

“Got it.”

The photographer.

Double damn.

There was both amusement and heat in Nick’s eyes.

“Time for caroling,” she said, trying to regain control over the moment and leading them back to the risers, which were surprisingly full. She hadn’t ever been in a choir so stood to the side.

“We can’t do this without you, Cora,” Nick said.

Fliss linked her arm with Cora. “Let’s go together.”

They took a position on the bottom riser as Nick cleared his throat. Someone handed him a mic and he spoke to those on the risers. “This is just for fun, so relax and enjoy it. I think we’ll start with ‘Oh, Christmas Tree.’”

He sang out a middle C so that everyone could tune themselves to it. Cora was impressed with the people around her. Fliss even tried it, but Cora didn’t. Singing in a group wasn’t her thing. It made her feel vulnerable. On her own, she could belt it out with the best of them, but in front of an audience…? It was too cringey. It reminded her of her teenage years when she wanted to be invisible.

And then Nick started singing. His voice was as clear and beautiful as she’d suspected it would be. She mouthed along with the song until Fliss elbowed her in the side.

“What are you doing? You sing in your office all the time.”

“I can’t sing for others to hear.”

“It’s not about being perfect,” Fliss whispered.

“What is it about?”

“Joy.”

Joy. There was that word again.

She sang in her car but it didn’t matter if you were any good when you sang on your own. She knew she wasn’t anywhere near as good as Nick and hated to be less than perfect at anything she did. Telling herself that it didn’t matter wasn’t as easy as you might think. She battled with herself, then finally on the last chorus managed to actually sing one word—tree.

Nick winked at her as he moved into “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” It was hard to tear her eyes away from him. He wasn’t like any other CEO she’d ever met. He was enjoying every moment of this singalong—he seemed to enjoy everything he did.

But mostly what she noticed was that Nick always stepped up.

He wasn’t just there for her whenever she needed him. He was there for everyone.

And rather than feeling jealous of his attention being directed elsewhere, she felt warm and fuzzy inside—not at all like the snow globe being shaken in her belly, but like a big, squishy hug.

How was she going to spend the next month with this man and not fall for him?

CHAPTER 14

The Magic Coffers were at their highest level so far this year after the tree lighting. Cora’s smile was wide and bright as she moved through the crowds, greeting townsfolk and laughing as she went along. She was magnetic, working the crowd. It was hard to reconcile this figure with the name he’d put on the Naughty List only a week or so ago.

There was no reason for him to hang around except that he wanted to. He knew he would go on no more dates with anyone but her. That’s what his gut was telling him, though his brain hadn’t quite made sense of it all yet.

That made her his most important priority right now. He intended to woo her hard. It was the only option left to him. Part of him couldn’t wait to get back to the Yearweave tapestry to check on Cora’s knot. Tonight, the tree, the mistletoe, and the singing had surely softened the darkness in it—maybe even started unraveling the tangle.

He found her near the front gates under the mistletoe again. “What are you doing?”

“Taking one last look at the park before it opens tomorrow. I love it like this—when the lights are all on and it looks so pristine because right now there are no screwups.”

“Screwups? What do you anticipate happening?” he asked, moving closer.