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Emily nods, her smile lighting up her face. “Yes, she did.”
Just saying her name gives me a pang in my chest I wish wasn’t there.
The feeling of dread in my gut is like a fucking cancer.
Mom raises a brow in my direction before holding up her phone and taking pictures. “Need to get some shots in before the crowds get here.”
Stella turns to me and hugs me. “Thank you so much for doing this, Jake. You really saved our asses.”
I return the hug. “It was no trouble. Your niece did all the work.”
Stella sighs. “That girl is talented.”
In more ways than you know.
“Here are the keys to the shop and Santa’s truck. I’ll be around town if you need anything.” I drop the keys into Stella’s gloved hand.
“Thanks again, Jake.” She kisses my cheek. “Go enjoy the festival.”
“I plan to.”
I kiss Mom’s cheek and wave as I cross the lot.
“Oh, Jake?”
I turn back to Emily.
“Last time I saw Lia, she was at the hot chocolate truck with her cousins.”
She winks and smiles before following Mom and Stella into Santa’s workshop.
I narrow my eyes.Does she know? Surely, Lia didn’t tell her…
Nah, that isn’t Lia’s style.
I can’t ignore the pull I feel, wanting to see her again. Get her alone to find out what happened to my sexy, dirty-talking Lia and why the closed-off, colder Lia has reappeared.
I cross the street that’s been blocked off to traffic and is lined with festive Christmas booths.
Dusk falls, but the Christmas festivities have just begun for the weekend. People mill around the main square and surrounding streets that are lit up with strings of lights and holiday cheer.
I head to the line of food trucks parked along the square, and sure enough, the Reynolds clan is holding court around the truck touting homemade gourmet hot chocolate.
As I draw closer, Delaney Reynolds—former star TV host of his own renovation show,Property Ace—points to me. “It’s Jake Henderson, man of the hour.”
“Yeah, all we’ve heard about for the last week is how great you are for bailing Mom out of a major hole,” Noah, the eldest of the Reynolds siblings, chimes in. “I’m about sick of hearing your name to be honest.”
I chuckle. “Hey, not my fault y’all are slacking in the son department.”
“Fuck off,” Noah mutters, smiling into his hot chocolate.
My eyes find Lia’s before they drift down her body.
She’s a walking wet dream, holiday style.
Her dark hair is down, swirling around her shoulders. The strands stand in stark contrast to the waist-length white puffer jacket she’s wearing. Red skinny jeans fit her curves like a glove, making my mouth water. Even her white fur-lined boots are sexy as hell with their intricate laces running up the length of her calf.
I want to unlace those boots with my teeth and then lick my way up her legs until I get to her center.
