Page 56 of The Naughty List Agreement

“Are you counting on me changing my mind?” she asked him in a small voice.

“I’m counting on the magic of Christmas for both of us,” he said. And patience. It would take a lot of both to win Cora.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath,” she warned. “In the meantime, I haven’t received any details of what I’ll be doing tomorrow. Buddy just told me to be at the booth at ten.”

“We’ll be manning the shop for the first four hours with a break for lunch,” he said.

“I’m going to need to take a walk through the toy village to make sure all the vendors are set up in the morning. I should be at your booth by ten.”

“That’ll do. You don’t have to be early.”

“Why are you insisting I work with you?” she asked. “It’s just to get back at me, right?”

“It’s not supposed to be a punishment. That’s not my style. I hope you’ll catch a glimpse of the magic of the toy village when it’s full of vendors and excited families. The energy is electric.”

Cora didn’t seem impressed. “We’ll see. Be prepared for screaming and crying too.”

“I never thought you’d be afraid of a few tantrums, Cora.”

She was laughing at him. “Fine. But you’ll sing a different tune by the end of the day. Want to make another wager?” She seemed to like those, and he wanted her to enjoy the day as much as possible.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Movie night, you and me. Winner picks the movie.”

“What about finding Mrs. Right? I don’t want you to disappoint your family, Nick.”

“I’m having fun with Ms. Wrong,” he said.

“Okay, what’s the wager?”

“That you won’t be aggravated by the kids tomorrow.”

“It doesn’t seem fair to you when I know myself,” she said. “Also, when I win, I won’t be choosing a Christmas movie.”

“Winner’s choice. That’s the deal.”

Winner’s choice. What an odd way to put it. Cora could safely say that she’d never been a winner in her life. Sure, she’d gotten a job by beating out a less qualified candidate so technically maybe that counted as winning but it had never really felt that way. If you were the right candidate then you’d earned it, not won it.

At this moment, she wanted to win. Wanted to have Nick at her place watching her favorite movie and eating buttery popcorn and maybe making out while it played in the background. Okay, no maybes about it.

The problem was, he was still looking for a wife. Her first ever boss Lisa had been married to a man who hadn’t wanted children. She’d stayed with him until she hit forty, hoping he’d change his mind but he hadn’t and they’d ended up divorced. Marriage … wasn’t for her. Deep down in her core, she feared it more than anything else.

She could never offer Nick what he was looking for. It just wasn’t in her to open up to a partner … well, to anyone. To be that vulnerable wasn’t something she was willing to risk. And it would be a big risk. Nick needed a wife to keep his job, and that was a lot of pressure on a marriage.

It was the kind of outside pressure that in Cora’s mind mirrored the pressure on her parents when they’d been forced to marry. It would be awful to slowly lose the fun, the heat, and the laughter that she and Nick shared now as they gradually started to hate each other. She didn’t think she could bear that.

One by one, the lights were switched off in the festival grounds and soon they were shrouded in the almost darkness with only the glow of the safety lights around them. It wasn’t the soft illumination of the holiday lights but like a harsh burglar-catching beam.

Nick raised his hand and brushed his fingertips gently over her cheek. She felt herself leaning into his palm and knew she’d already decided to accept this latest wager.

“Deal,” she whispered, closing her eyes.

Nick took her hand in his and together they walked toward the parking lot. That snow globe was back, dancing around and sparking her tummy with frosty snow and fevered anticipation. This man had her tied in knots—the kind of knot she couldn’t unravel easily.

Rationally, what they were doing made no sense, but she was doing it anyway because when she was around him she felt something she thought might be bliss. She couldn’t deny herself.

Not anymore.