Page 21 of The Naughty List Agreement

“I believe I will,” she said. Her eyes flitted over his shoulder. “Hello, Cora.”

“Hannah. And Nick. I’m surprised to see you both together. Did you figure out your factory problems?” Cora asked Hannah.

Cora stood next to their table, her long legs right in his line of sight. He tore his eyes away as Hannah told Cora about the arrangements she and Nick had made. “We’ve agreed to a trial run over Christmas.”

“That’s good.”

“It is now I’m finally going to have my own booth at Winter Wonderland.”

A server came by and asked if Cora was joining them. Nick was going to politely say no, but when he glanced at Hannah to gauge her reaction, she nodded as if she wouldn’t mind. The server left to bring over an extra chair and place setting.

“Please, join us,” he said begrudgingly. “We were about to order dessert and I know how much you love sweet things.”

“How do you know that?”

“All those syrupy marshmallow mochas,” he said, grimacing.

Hannah laughed and Cora joined in.

“Don’t pretend you don’t like a little sweet treat every now and then,” Cora said suggestively.

Hannah raised her eyebrows and Nick coughed to cover his physical response to her presence. Under the table, Cora’s foot brushed his calf as she crossed her legs, and he couldn’t tell whether or not it was accidental. Of course it was accidental. This was Cora Quill, the micromanaging “Queen of Christmas” whose name he’d written on the Naughty List only yesterday, the woman who’d unceremoniously fired him five years ago, and the least suitable person conceivable for him to take to bed when he was supposed to be looking for a wife.

And yet, he imagined running his fingertips across her skin, all the way from her delicate foot and ankle to her own shapely calf, over her knee and up to her soft inner thigh, all the way up⁠—

He knew he was blushing and he hated what she’d managed to achieve with nothing but an innocent touch. She hadn’t meant anything by it—she couldn’t have—and if he caught her eye, he would see a silent apology there. But when he raised his gaze, he caught the tail end of a knowing twinkle in Cora’s eye as she allowed her tongue to trace the corner of her parted lips.

At least now he knew she’d done it on purpose. But why?

And, more importantly, what was he supposed to do about it?

CHAPTER 6

If there was one thing she hated about herself, it was that she couldn’t leave well enough alone. There was no justification for crashing Nick’s date with Hannah after Fliss left, yet here she was like some over-jolly third wheel, sipping champagne and acting like she was happy to see the woman she envied more than any other on a date with the guy who stirred… Well, it was complicated.

The jazz trio had taken a break, and the background music was Michael Bublé singing classic Christmas songs. He had a great voice for it, but Cora preferred more poppy songs like the “Christmas Wrapping” song by The Waitresses. Actually, that one really appealed to her because it made her feel seen. She forgot things, she missed dates and worked too hard. But it was her life.

“We were just talking about our favorite Christmases,” Hannah said. “You always seem so full of the holiday spirit, I bet you have some happy memories.”

As a child, she’d learned that no one wanted to hear sad holiday stories. Kids at school had been uncomfortable when she’d described her true situation and that was when she’d started with the white lies. It hurt no one if the other kids thought she had a loving family and did all the things she overheard others mentioning. Luckily, she didn’t have to fib anymore. She’d gathered a few nice memories since she’d started working for the Winter Wonderland and Cora had no problem trotting out her greatest hits. This was familiar ground.

“Well, my second year as Winter Wonderland festival director, everything was perfect. Everything. The tree didn’t have a bad side, the toy that Next Gen brought us sold like you wouldn’t believe—no glitches with it. Attendance broke the previous year’s record. And that was the first time I got to go on The Today Show. Dream come true.”

Lifting her champagne flute toward the others, she winked at Hannah and took a sip. Cora noted that Nick was drinking red wine. Watching the way his throat moved as he swallowed made her feel warm and toasty inside.

Hannah looked pretty tonight and fragile. December was going to be hard on her. In a way, this proved Cora was right to stay single. She’d always known that marriage wasn’t for her. Her parents had soured her on the institution when she was a child, but seeing Hannah’s heartbreak first-hand reinforced it. Even if Cora could fall in love—something she wasn’t entirely sure she believed in—she never wanted to be the way Hannah was now.

It hurt to see all those emotions on the other woman’s face. Hannah cared a lot—maybe too much. It was dangerous to let herself be that vulnerable. That was definitely part of the reason why Hannah rubbed her the wrong way. She was everything Cora knew she’d never be.

“What about you, Hannah?”

“Oh my, well, the first Christmas we had with Sophie. Everything was different that year, more special in a way. Like, for the first time I realized what the holiday was really about. We didn’t buy a lot of toys. Instead, we took time together and with her. Showing her the lights on the tree and in the neighborhood. Spending time with the grandparents. It was the same when Max was born.”

Sounded lame. Immediately Cora recognized envy. Whenever she dismissed something so quickly, she knew it was down to the green-eyed monster.

She took a healthy swallow of her champagne and signaled the server for another glass. “Nick?”

He leaned back in his chair. He looked so different tonight in a suit. Sexy and corporate. It was hard to not stare at him, but he was ticking all of her boxes. Making her heart beat a little faster. Making her want to say something shocking and stir up trouble with him.