Page 70 of The Naughty List Agreement

She had no response to that. She was all in her head, remembering her teenage dreams and wondering what it was about Nick that made all her emotions bubble to the surface. Normally she could keep everything tamped down, stuffed in a box where she pretended they didn’t exist.

But not with him.

Nick made everything different. The life that she’d known suddenly didn’t make sense without him next to her. It was as if she’d been standing behind a window watching the world go by and now with Nick at her side, she was out there in the world. Living it.

Today when she’d been in the toy village with all the vendors and visitors she’d felt … alive. In a way she hadn’t before. Like ever. There was no need to straighten garland or fixate on how to make things better. She’d just vibed with the crowds, feeling the joy and excitement.

It touched her. She’d created this, but for the first time in the five years that she’d been running Winter Wonderland she’d actually experienced it. If she thought about it too much, she’d cry. She’d accomplished that secret wish she’d wanted to long ago. She’d created a Christmasy world that was accessible to everyone.

Little Cora wouldn’t have felt left out or odd if she’d visited.

A tiny bit of sadness seeped in knowing her mom would never have brought her, but maybe she would have attended with her class. The way that she hoped every child in Pine Falls would. More than anything she wanted that.

“Why’d you bring me here? I thought it was to sleep with me but now I’m not sure.”

Nick turned to skate backward, taking both her hands in his. He slowed their pace. He was direct, making eye contact with her and giving her no place to hide.

She liked him. Really liked him.

Not just his hard ass and strong arms. She liked the way he laughed easily and crouched down to talk to children. She liked the way he helped out Hannah Waters and ensured that all the other vendors were comfortable and had a chance to succeed at the Winter Wonderland too.

This was a man she could fall for.

Maybe was already falling for.

And that should be setting off warning bells for her. Maybe that’s what this emotional knot in her throat was. A loud alert that she was on thin ice.

But then his lips turned up in that smile that made her want to return it, as he slowed to a stop and let her body bump against his. He lowered his forehead to hers. There was no hiding from his gaze which bore straight into hers.

“I brought you here because I didn’t want the day to end. Being with you, Cora, is something of an addiction at this point. And I never want to stop.”

CHAPTER 18

Everything about this felt dangerous in its simplicity. Not because of the deadline. Not because of the mantle. Because being with her felt natural. Effortless. He wasn’t measuring compatibility or calculating how to increase Gold Lumen. He was skating beside a woman who made him forget to calculate at all.

Every part of him was just content to be here with Cora. Confessing how much she meant to him might have been a misstep, but to be honest he had no plan around her anymore.

Something had changed and he could no longer pretend it hadn’t.

“Addiction… That sounds dangerous,” she said.

“Yet I feel safe with you.”

“Same. Ah, what am I doing?” she asked, but it was more to herself. She pushed away from him, separating them.

“Cora?”

She groaned. “I … I have to know. You’re really being there for me, and everyone else. Is that for real? Are you for real? Or is this some game you’re playing?”

He skated toward her until she put up her hand. “Stay there. I can’t think when you’re close to me.”

She messed with his head too. That was where his certainty about her came from. She had to be the one for him. The way she had him rattled and tied in knots. This wasn’t casual. She didn’t belong on the Naughty List; she belonged by his side.

“Nick? Are you going to answer me?”

“It’s real. I’m not playing a game. I genuinely like helping people. One good deed always feeds another one. The more I can make those around me feel valued, the more they will do the same for others.”

She shook her head. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”