Chapter One
Thorne
I park my truck and head to the entrance of Pine Peak Tree Farm. The place is bustling with people looking for the perfect pine, but I already picked out the best one this morning. Earl, Pine Peak Tree Farm’s owner, cut it and tagged it as sold by wrapping a red ribbon around it. I was going to load it up right then, but realized I’d forgotten the rope to secure it in my truck bed. Now I’m back, rope in hand, and that beauty is ready to take home. Seven gorgeous feet of dense pine that’ll make my cabin look cozy and Christmassy instead of empty and lonely.
I spot Earl near the front office and raise a hand. He waves back, already heading in my direction. “Thorne! Got your rope this time?”
“I do,” I say as I hold up the coil. “Where’d you stash my tree?”
“Should be right where we left it, over by—” He stops mid-sentence and frowns as he looks past my shoulder. “Wait. Is that your tree? It has to be, because yours is the only one I tagged with a red ribbon.”
I turn and see a flash of red bobbing through the rows of uncut trees. That’smyribbon, all right, tied aroundmytree as it’s dragged across the lot by a woman in a white puffy coat.
“What the hell?” I demand, moving toward the woman before Earl can say anything else.
She has both hands wrapped around the tree trunk, hauling it toward a silver car with out-of-state plates, like Grand Theft Christmas Tree is totally normal. That’s what she’s doing, right? Stealing? Because usually, trees get hand-delivered to your car or your cabin,andno one working here would sell a tree that’s already been sold, hence the red ribbon and all.
Luckily for Earl, I don’t take kindly to thieves.
“That’s mine,” I say once I’m within earshot of the woman.
She stops and turns around with a raised eyebrow and… fucking hell. She’s beautiful. Light brown curls escape from under her cream knit hat, and her full cheeks are pink from the cold. She’s got curves that involuntarily make my hands flex at my sides. I guess the idea that thieves can’t be stunning is completely wrong.
“Yours?” she asks, pure defiance in her gorgeous green eyes. “I paid for this tree. I have a receipt.”
Okay, fine. If she has a receipt, she’s not a thief. But she’s still stealingmypine. I take a deep breath and try to remain calm. “Don’t you see the red ribbon tied around the branches? This is the tree I picked out this morning.”
Her eyes flit to the ribbon before landing back on me. Her gaze is so fiery and heart-melting that I have to remind myself I’m angry at her. “Some kid named Jason sold it to me. He didn’t mention anything about it being claimed already.”
“That’s because Jason’s nineteen and probably overwhelmed because the place is packed with people trying to buy a Christmas tree. He made a mistake.”
She frowns, then shakes her head. “That sounds like a logistical problem, not a me problem, sorry.”
I scoff. Is she serious? She clearly is because she’s opening the trunk of her car now. A trunk so tiny that no tree would ever fit into it anyway. She spreads a blanket out on the floor of the trunk, then grabs the tree.
I take a step closer to her. “Don’t you dare shove that in there, lady.”
She snorts. “This ladydoesdare. I paid for this tree fair and square. Possession is nine-tenths of the law, so I’m taking this pine to my rental cabin.”
Every logical part of my brain screams at me to let Earl sort this out, pick another tree, and move on with my day. But there’s nothing logical about what’s happening in my body and brain right now. It’s like everything is short-circuiting, and it’s all because of her.
“You’re not taking this tree anywhere.”
“Oh yeah? Watch me,” she says and tightens her grip on the tree.
I’m moving before I think it through and close the distance between us. I wrap my hands around the tree trunk, just above hers. She freezes, and her head snaps up. Her eyes are shooting daggers at me, but I don’t care because she’s close enough for me to see flecks of gold in her green eyes. And the cute freckle just above her lip that makes me wonder what she tastes like. Not to mention the silver earrings dangling from her earlobes, making me wonder if they’ll dangle when she’s naked and…
I shake my head.Bad idea, Thorne. Very bad idea. You’re arguing with this woman, not appreciating how hot she looks.
“Let go,” she says, but her voice isn’t quite steady anymore now that I’ve got a grip on the tree.
I shake my head. “You first.”
“I paid for this tree.”
“I claimed it first.”
“That’s not how retail works.”
