total her car for any dent over three hundred dollars because thatâs all her car was worth. Sheâd be out a car or the money, since that was the amount of her deductible. Maybe she could just hang a wreath over the bumper until she sold Noel his house and got her commission. The car was still drivable; that much at least was good news.
She looked out the window of the bedroom Elena slept in when she stayed over. At least for part of the night. By morning Elena had usually finagled her way into Hollieâs bed. It was still snowing. If it kept up she wasnât going to be able to track down that Barbie doll for Elena until tomorrow.
Her whole holiday was off kilter because of the man in her living room. And worseâshe was off kilter. Noel Hawksley was a distracting man. He made her remember she was a woman. A sexual being.
She smiled as she picked up the game he wanted to play. Off kilter or notâshe planned on winning that round with Noel.
She didnât win.
Noel played the game like Attila the Hun. Even knowing Noelâs aggression was fueled by his need to be thought of in a certain light, Hollie wasnât a good loser. Not for the second time. Heâd sent her straight to jail without passing go to collect her money one too many times.
âThatâs it. I donât want to play anymore,â she announced when he gloated over his second win.
âBut itâs still snowing and Iâm not playing Candy-land,â he said, and polished off the last cookie on the shiny red plate.
âIâm going to get some stuff done, like wrapping the presents I bought yesterday. Want to help?â she asked, knowing he wouldnât.
âIâm all thumbs,â he insisted. âMind if I take a nap here on the sofa by the fire until it stops snowing? You will wake me up when it does, wonât you?â
âSure, go ahead,â she agreed as he toed off his loafers andâfinallyâloosened his tie. It didnât escape her notice that he was a perfect fit for her long sofa. Sheâd been torn between a love seat and a sofa, and had settled on the long, overstuffed sofa in yellow-and-navy chintz.
He didnât even look out of place on the chintz.
She decided not to notice and went to get her packages to wrap.
By the time Hollie had gathered up her packages, Noel was snoring softly in front of the fire. It was just as well he hadnât offered to help; he would have given her a lot of grief over how she wrapped her presents. Christmas brought her creativity to full bloom and every year she did something different in the way of wrapping.
This year sheâd decided on white wrapping paper, which she tied with bright red yarn. Then, with the help of a glue gun, cotton, glitter, buttons and bows, she personalized each package with Santas and elves and reindeer, before using red marker pens to outline the recipientâs name, which she then filled in with red glitter.
It wasnât an idea she expected ever to repeat because it was extremely time-consuming ⦠over-the-top Martha Stewart. Still, when she had all the gifts personalized and stacked under the tree they did look awfully festive and special.
Noel had proved to be a deep sleeper. He hadnât moved once.
She watched him sleep and thought about her feelings for him. Instant annoyance had given way to a begrudging attraction of sorts. She could imagine him as the lonely boy at boarding school and forgive him much because of it. Sheâd had the same loneliness for a companion growing up. As she was making allowances for his broody behavior, his expression shifted. He moaned and a sexy smile crossed his lips.
She hoped he was dreaming of her. No, what was she thinking? She didnât wantâ Well, if she were smart she wouldnât allow her thoughts to linger over questions like how it would feel to have his lips linger over hers for real. Was he a good kisser? Would a kiss from him
She looked out the window of the bedroom Elena slept in when she stayed over. At least for part of the night. By morning Elena had usually finagled her way into Hollieâs bed. It was still snowing. If it kept up she wasnât going to be able to track down that Barbie doll for Elena until tomorrow.
Her whole holiday was off kilter because of the man in her living room. And worseâshe was off kilter. Noel Hawksley was a distracting man. He made her remember she was a woman. A sexual being.
She smiled as she picked up the game he wanted to play. Off kilter or notâshe planned on winning that round with Noel.
She didnât win.
Noel played the game like Attila the Hun. Even knowing Noelâs aggression was fueled by his need to be thought of in a certain light, Hollie wasnât a good loser. Not for the second time. Heâd sent her straight to jail without passing go to collect her money one too many times.
âThatâs it. I donât want to play anymore,â she announced when he gloated over his second win.
âBut itâs still snowing and Iâm not playing Candy-land,â he said, and polished off the last cookie on the shiny red plate.
âIâm going to get some stuff done, like wrapping the presents I bought yesterday. Want to help?â she asked, knowing he wouldnât.
âIâm all thumbs,â he insisted. âMind if I take a nap here on the sofa by the fire until it stops snowing? You will wake me up when it does, wonât you?â
âSure, go ahead,â she agreed as he toed off his loafers andâfinallyâloosened his tie. It didnât escape her notice that he was a perfect fit for her long sofa. Sheâd been torn between a love seat and a sofa, and had settled on the long, overstuffed sofa in yellow-and-navy chintz.
He didnât even look out of place on the chintz.
She decided not to notice and went to get her packages to wrap.
By the time Hollie had gathered up her packages, Noel was snoring softly in front of the fire. It was just as well he hadnât offered to help; he would have given her a lot of grief over how she wrapped her presents. Christmas brought her creativity to full bloom and every year she did something different in the way of wrapping.
This year sheâd decided on white wrapping paper, which she tied with bright red yarn. Then, with the help of a glue gun, cotton, glitter, buttons and bows, she personalized each package with Santas and elves and reindeer, before using red marker pens to outline the recipientâs name, which she then filled in with red glitter.
It wasnât an idea she expected ever to repeat because it was extremely time-consuming ⦠over-the-top Martha Stewart. Still, when she had all the gifts personalized and stacked under the tree they did look awfully festive and special.
Noel had proved to be a deep sleeper. He hadnât moved once.
She watched him sleep and thought about her feelings for him. Instant annoyance had given way to a begrudging attraction of sorts. She could imagine him as the lonely boy at boarding school and forgive him much because of it. Sheâd had the same loneliness for a companion growing up. As she was making allowances for his broody behavior, his expression shifted. He moaned and a sexy smile crossed his lips.
She hoped he was dreaming of her. No, what was she thinking? She didnât wantâ Well, if she were smart she wouldnât allow her thoughts to linger over questions like how it would feel to have his lips linger over hers for real. Was he a good kisser? Would a kiss from him
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