A prickle raced across my skin that had nothing to do with the wind. Matt Delaney had been Grant’s cousin. He was the agency’s golden visionary until the accident that took his life the year before I joined the agency.
Grant never talked about it, but everyone knew their grandfather had been grooming Matt to take over Snowbelt. Now Grant was the one in the hot seat, carrying Matt’s dream and trying to prove he could do more than skate by on charm.
My eyebrows pulled together. “That’s happening now?”
Tom nodded. “It’ll be Grant’s first official task as acting director. The plan is to announce the news along with his promotion at tonight’s luau. They’re already compiling names for the new team.”
I chewed on a marshmallow, letting that sink in. Matt’s dream of a cold case team had been floating around forever. It was a way to combine the best of Sunbelt and Snowbelt and tackle the cases no one else could crack. The miracles everyone else had written off as lost causes.
The idea had always intrigued me, and I told my boss that if it ever happened, I wanted in—even if it meant moving. The new team would be based at the East Coast headquarters, home turf for the lifers who still believed Christmas magic worked best in below-freezing temperatures.
Amateurs.
The holidays still counted, even with heatwaves and iced spiced-rum lattes. But a team dedicated to giving lost love stories and fading traditions a second chance? That hit close to home. I wanted the chance to prove that faith, and a little stubborn determination, could outlast failure.
Tom’s grin turned conspiratorial. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but your name’s on the shortlist. Logistics already got thememo.” A warm rush of pride lit my chest. Then Tom added, “As long as everything checks out, you’re in. But it’ll mean high visibility. The board will be watching every move you make.”
The warmth fizzled, leaving behind a cold knot of dread. Extra eyes on me were the last thing I needed while my magic was glitching. Not to mention my disastrous public display with Grant.
Tom must’ve read my face. “Don’t take it personally. We all know Grant. Everybody likes him.” He coughed lightly into his fist when he noticed my nose scrunch. “Well, almost everybody. Grant’s great at the holiday party circuit, but no one expects him to take this seriously. There’s an agent pool going around that he’ll tank it, in case you want in.”
I bounced my soaked sneaker against the pool deck, considering it. It was a solid bet, and I could use the extra money, but something about the way Grant had shielded me on the platform made me reconsider. “I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Suit yourself. If this plan goes sideways, the board won’t let him try again. They’re watching him and everyone involved extra close.”
My gaze swept the tent until I found Grant. He had a towel slung over his shoulder as he followed a tall, silver-haired man away from the pool. His grandfather and head of the board was recognizable even from a distance.
Of course, Grant had to make this work. It must be killing him that my name was on the list to join his new team.
The next few days would be tricky.
Tom tipped his head toward the beach as Grant and his grandfather disappeared behind a cluster of palm trees. “Seeyou at the luau?”
I tossed back the last of my cocoa and managed a smile. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
Chapter 4
Grant
If there was adignified way to plunge into a pool bobbing with ice cubes while tangled with your tug-of-war partner, I hadn’t found it. Then again, nothing involving Valerie Spellman ever left me looking professional or feeling particularly ethical.
I tore my gaze off Valerie and the guy from Team Mistletoe, plotting over cocoa like old friends. She was huddled under a towel, wet hair plastered to her cheeks, a far cry from the polished princess dripping with sunshine she usually portrayed. And still, even half-frozen and bare-faced, she could turn a rival into a wingman with one curve of her lips. Well, except for me. I was never on the receiving end of a genuine smile.
All of mine were laced with poison.
Which was for the best. She was gorgeous, there was no denying that, but I wasn’t a glutton for punishment. One real smile and she’d probably trap me in one of her magical meet-cute snares. The kind that would have me mail-ordering her flowers from the East Coast. But I was smarter than that. I had no plans to add to the flower graveyard she watered with the tears of her minions.
It was no secret that the two of us were each other’s office villain. Some people had work spouses; I had a work arch-nemesis. Valerie might use her magic to bring other people together, but with me, every word and every look was a targeted strike.
And I didn’t just take it; I gave it right back. It was the strangest relationship in my life, and oddly, it felt like the only real one. At least it had a pulse, unlike the glazed-over, quietly condemning encounters with my family.
“Walk with me.” My grandfather’s voice cut through the still-roaring crowd.
He didn’t wait to see if I’d listen. These days, I always did. There was a time I would have slept straight through his calls, passed out after staying up till dawn. The funny thing about that time, though? He never called. I only ever saw him at Christmas, standing stiff in a suit while my extended family posed next to a professionally decorated pine tree for the family photo.
For three hundred and sixty-four days out of the year, I didn’t exist.
Until the accident.
