Page 29 of Falling for the Grinchy Bad Boy

“What, are you the only fireman in this entire town?”

He smirked. “No. Just the unluckiest one.”

I slumped back in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. “This is… actually my worst nightmare. I knew they were up to something.”

“Who?”

“No one. Nothing. This is such bullshit.”

“I know.”

We stared at each other for a long, tense beat. The last time we’d been this close, there had been kissing. One reckless, unforgettable kiss the summer before I left for college. A kiss we both knew had been a mistake.

But damn it had been so good.

I cleared my throat and gestured at the empty chair. “Fine. Sit. Let’s just do this. Clearly we’ve both done something bad enough to have the universe come for us.”

He let out a strangled laugh.

I frowned at him as he sat down. The table didn’t feel nearly as big as it had a few minutes ago.

“Why are you laughing?” I asked.

“Because I’ve decided the universe hates me. I guess it must be true.”

I sighed. There was no way out of the situation. I’m stuck. I can’t disappoint Aunt Victoria. She is helping me out. I don’t have anywhere else to go. I’m going to be stuck with him for the next month.

Yeah me.

I pushed one of the folders toward him. “So, here’s the schedule. These are the events, the setup times, contacts for the vendors and volunteers⁠—”

“Joy.” The tone was just like the one he used when he lectured me at the school after the cocoa fiasco. “We need to get one thing straight first. Whatever this is, it doesn’t have to be awkward.”

My stomach fluttered, traitorous thing. “Right. Agreed. We don’t have to dig up the past.”

“Good.” He leaned back, arms still crossed. “Best we don’t talk about that summer.”

“The summer that didn’t happen.” I gave him a too bright smile.

His mouth twitched like he was holding back a retort. “Exactly.”

Totally forgettable.

I couldn’t help poking at him just a little. It was childish. I had no right to try and insult his kissing skills. And unfortunately, he was damn good at kissing. Every kiss since his had fallen just a little short. Either too much tongue. Drool. Or just blah.

Cooper Frost knew how to kiss.

Which was why I was so glad we mutually agreed to never speak of that one kiss that had never, ever happened.

Cooper made a point of scanning the mess on the table. “Seriously?”

“What?” I frowned.

He gestured at the table. “What the hell is all this?”

“I need to be organized. I’m taking on a project that means a lot to a lot of people. And I’ve never done anything like this. I did a little research.”

“Great,” he muttered. “This month just gets better and better.”