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“What else?” Nick asked, and she was surprised at the depth of his interest.
“Well, I’ve only really seen that one part of the hotel, so I can’t really comment on the rest. Maybe invest in wooden tree ornaments that aren’t so easily broken. It must be costing a fortune to replace all the ones the kids break… oh, and maybe even a child-minding service based at the playground, fun competitions to keep the kids amused. Snowman building or something. The lodge must have so many patrons who choose to buy stocking fillers and gifts in the Christmas village rather than bring them from home if they’re staying for Christmas Day. It’s hard to do that and keep things as a surprise when you have children tagging along all the time. I’m sure it would be a great alternative income stream.”
She rubbed her hands together. “Oh, and hot chocolate makings in the rooms if they don’t already have them. But special ones, which include festive flavored creamers and mini marshmallows. I remember thinking just how much I wanted one of those when I arrived.”
She gave a self-conscious laugh. “But listen to me, blathering on about things that don’t concern me. What about you two? Are you not working tonight, Jaxon?”
Jaxon gave her a lazy smile. “No, it’s my evening off, followed by a full day away from the restaurant tomorrow, too. So, I have a suggestion for you. How about I take you around some of the sights to make up for the days you’ve wasted so far?”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Holly demurred, even though her insides lit with delight at the thought. “I’m sure your free time is precious.”
“It would be my pleasure. And besides, a lot of the things I have planned are places I need to drop in on anyway to finish my Christmas shopping. If you’re up for joining me, perhaps my company will help you feel a little less like you’re on your own.”
She threw an uncertain look at Nick, wondering how he might feel about it. “Please, go. You’ll be saving me from being dragged along. Things are too crazy at work for me to take much time off.”
Holly couldn’t stop the broad smile that lit up her face. “Well, in that case, I’d love to. But be warned, I expect to find out all the hidden gems that the tourists don’t always know about.”
Jaxon grinned and topped up her wine glass. “Deal.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
The following morning, Holly slept past the time she should have gotten up.
Cursing, she jumped out of bed, seeing she had less than forty minutes to get showered, dressed, and breakfasted before she and Jaxon were due to leave. The last thing she wanted to do was make him late after he’d been good enough to involve her in his day and provide her with some much-valued company. Holly had already discovered that doing things alone wasn’t half as much fun as sharing that enjoyment.
Grabbing her toiletries, she rushed through her morning ablutions and dived into the shower.
It wasn’t until she started to dry herself that Holly realized that in her rush, she’d forgotten to bring any clothing in with her.
“Damn,’ she muttered as she wound the fluffy bath towel around her.
Poking her head out of her bathroom door, Holly looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear, then made a sprint for her bedroom.
Except she didn’t quite get that far. Instead, in her haste, she barreled straight into a firm, muscled chest.
“Ooof,” the breath was knocked out of her, and the words were on the tip of her tongue to apologize, when she sucked in a breath full of familiar frosty pine, which she knew didn’t belong to either Nick or Jaxon and looked up to find Kris staring at her intently, his gaze unwavering, as his hands molded her shoulders to prevent her from falling.
Holly shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, feeling suddenly self-conscious.
“I, umm, sorry,” she said cautiously, pulling away from him and bending down to fetch her toiletry bag, which had fallen to the floor.
There was an abrupt curse behind her. Shit, did she just flash him?
Straightening again, she stammered. “I forgot to take my clothing into the bathroom.” It sounded lame even to her own ears.
Kris still said nothing, but his expression was conflicted, and he looked like he was battling with himself.
Maybe he was trying to keep a civil tongue in his head for once.
“I’ll just, err, get out of your way.” She kept her head down, not wanting to make things any more awkward. Noticing her hairbrush had escaped from her toiletry bag, she went to dip down and fetch it, but she never made it that far.
Instead, she found herself roughly pushed against the wall, Kris leaning into her, his gaze darkening. "You have no idea what you're doing to me," he growled, his voice low and rough. Before Holly could react, he reached out, grabbing her by the back of the neck, his eyes narrowing. “Or maybe you do. Maybe you know exactly how to push all my buttons.”
Holly gasped, her heart racing as he dragged her closer to him, her lips only an inch from his. She could feel his hot breath on her face, and although she knew that she should be pushing him away, she found herself frozen, unable to move.
And then his lips were on hers, crushing her mouth with a fierce intensity that stole her breath.
She knew she should extract herself, but instead of pushing him away, her hands had risen up to curl around his muscled biceps instead.
