They didn’t get to trimming the tree until much later in the day. “You need a fireplace going and a Christmas movie on TV to give us the right ambience to decorate,” Connor said as he tested the white twinkle lights for the tree.
Arianna smiled. The man was clearly a fan of the holidays. He also looked extremely sexy in his jeans and a black thermal Henley with his hair a little messy, the beginnings of a shadow on his jaw. “I’ve got Christmas cookies and hot chocolate with marshmallows, chocolate sauce, and chocolate chips on top. Does that help?” she asked as she carried the platter of cookies into the living room. His expression said not much.
She put the cookies on the side table and moved to stand by the tree. “We do have music.” At that moment Kenny G’s Miracle: The Holiday Album played softly in the background. Connor didn’t look any more impressed, but he looked even more gorgeous captured in the glow of the pink tree and white lights, which may have been the reason she said, “How about once we’re finished decorating, you unwrap me and we make mad, passionate love under the Christmas tree?”
“Still not sure about the mad, passionate part, but unwrapping you under the tree would definitely—” He was interrupted by a pop, pop, and then the string of lights in his hands went out. He sighed. “Looks like we’re heading to Holiday House today instead of tomorrow.”
Comet had broken several Christmas decorations—which was why he’d been banished to Glamma’s bedroom—and Arianna had planned to replace them tomorrow. “A visit to Holiday House will put you in the Christmas spirit. Since we’re downtown anyway, why don’t we grab a bite at Jolly Rogers or the Salty Dog?” she suggested.
“Sure, and, ah, maybe we could stop by Merci Beaucoup. Talk to the owner about designing your dress for the Christmas Ball.”
For years, Mayor Hazel Winters had hosted an open house at her home the week before Christmas, inviting her staff, the heads of departments, and members of the town council. But with their mandate to bring the town together, Connor and Arianna had decided to open it up to everyone who worked at the town hall as well as the local business community. The only place big enough to hold such an affair was the ballroom at Greystone Manor.
Connor had offered to foot the bill for the entire evening, of course, but Arianna didn’t think it fair to him and had decided they’d charge twenty dollars a head. Two-thirds of what they raised in ticket sales would go to cover the cost of the buffet—it was a cash bar, and the entertainment (aka the Gallagher Boy Band) and room rental were free. The other third would go to support programs at the community center.
Which would be getting another injection of cash, thanks to everyone who’d sent money to Arianna and her grandmother back in September. Last week, in an open letter in the Gazette, she’d thanked everyone for their generosity and told them of her plans to donate the money. If they didn’t agree with her decision, she encouraged them to get in touch with her. The only people she’d heard from were those who offered their wholehearted support for her initiatives. Evie, the owner of Holiday House, would help Arianna with the dispersal of funds.
“Sound like a good idea?” he asked.
She frowned at his tentative expression. “Why are you looking at me as if I’ll be angry?”
“I’m just not sure where you’re at with your hand, so I thought you might be upset I suggested you design a dress for the ball.”
“Me? I thought you said talk to the owner about designing the dress.”
“I kinda did, but I was hoping once we got there and you talked about it with her—”
“What? You thought I’d miraculously be able to sketch again?” She shook her head, angry at him for ruining what had been a perfect day up until then and had looked to be heading for a perfect night. “I’ll never be able to draw like I used to. In all likelihood, I won’t be able to draw at all. I can’t even sign my name yet.”
He reached for her damaged hand. “Don’t, please,” she whispered.
He ignored her, and her stomach turned when he brushed his lips across her fingers. “You might not be able to draw like you used to, but that doesn’t mean you can’t design anymore, does it?”
She pulled her hand away. “I don’t see how. I can’t sketch out my vision on paper well enough that someone else could create what I had in mind. I won’t be able to personally add the special touches that made my gowns unique.”
“I’m not saying it would be the same, but if you found someone who shared a similar vision, had similar taste, don’t you think you could work together to create a dress you’d be proud to put your name on?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I haven’t thought about it.”
“Maybe you should. It can’t hurt to think about it, can it?”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “What are you up to now? You’ve already talked about this with the owner of Merci Beaucoup, haven’t you?”
“I might have mentioned something about it.”
“I don’t know why. If the town council and Hazel choose me to…That’s it, isn’t it? You don’t think I have a chance of being the one they pick, so you’re going to make sure I have something to fall back on.” She pushed him away. “I don’t believe you! And I can’t believe I slept with you again! Every time I do, I discover that you’re trying to screw me over.”
“Now, honey, I think you might be overreacting just a—”
“Do not honey me, Connor Gallagher. You need to leave.”
He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Babe, be reasonable. Your heart isn’t in this.”
“And yours is?”
“Of course it is. I’ve been working my ass off, and you know it.”
She did, but that didn’t mean she’d been sitting at her tiny little desk twiddling her thumbs…thumb. “You may not think my initiatives are as important as the projects you’re working on with the police and the fire department, but they’re important to me and the families of Harmony Harbor. And let’s not forget the business community. They still won’t even speak to you. So there.”
“So there?” He raised an eyebrow as he clearly struggled not to laugh.
“I’m done talking to you. You can leave now.” She closed her eyes, and almost immediately she felt his face coming closer to hers. “Do not even think about—” He kissed her. “Connor!”
“Look at me.” He clasped her chin with his fingers.
She huffed out a breath before doing as he said. “What?”
“I love you. I just got you back. I don’t want to lose you again.”
“I love you too, but I don’t like you very much right now.”
“No? I like you,” he said, leaning in to kiss her just below her ear.
She shivered. “Of course you do. Because you want to have sex with me, and I don’t want to have sex with you.” She was such a liar. But it didn’t matter what her heart or body wanted. Whether Connor believed her or not, this job was important to her.
“Ever?”
“We’ll talk about it after Hazel and the town council make their decision on Christmas Eve. Until then I think it’s best if we’re friends, not lovers.”
* * *
Along with the director of the senior residence, Arianna took Hazel and several members of the town council on a tour of the facilities, explaining the benefits of having a child and elderly care center combined.
Arianna had initially come up with the idea of opening an affordable day care on-site, but the more time she spent at the senior residence, the more she thought about Glamma and how, if her memory problems progressed, an elderly care center would be the perfect solution for not only Glamma and Arianna, but for other overwhelmed caregivers who wanted to keep their parents or grandparents at home but needed a break.
Although Arianna was getting ahead of herself. There was still no sign Glamma was coming home for good.
“Arianna’s right. We have plenty of seniors in Harmony Harbor who don’t require full-time care. Both they and their caregivers would benefit greatly from the center Arianna is proposing, as would the preschoolers. In my opinion, it would be a win for the entire community,” the director said while Arianna handed out the information packets.
“You’ll find studies that support our belief in the project as well as a cost analysis in your packet, but we wanted to give you a better idea by showing you the concept in action. If you’ll follow me, we have a group of children and seniors busy at work together in the dining room. They’ve broken up into teams to participate in a gingerbread house competition.” Arianna smiled as they rounded the corner and laughter, along with the smell of gingerbread, greeted them.
The director gave her a furtive thumbs-up.
Arianna’s positive feelings vanished the moment she walked into the room and saw Connor sitting at one of the tables, helping two preschoolers and an older man.
Of course the members of the council and Hazel spotted him right away and hurried over to admire him and the gingerbread house.
She should have known he’d show up. Over the past few days, he’d been her shadow. Every meeting she took, he’d arrive five minutes before her or five minutes after. And he had an annoying habit of charming everyone in the room, just like he was doing now.
“Do you mind?” he asked Hazel, gesturing to the information packet in her hand. “Arianna is very closemouthed about her projects.” He winked at her.
If people hadn’t turned to look at her, she would have flipped him off. Instead, she said, “Connor, I need a word, if you don’t mind.”
“Anything you need, partner. I’m your man,” he said, fueling the flames of her annoyance higher.
As soon as he reached her side, she spoke through her teeth while smiling for their audience. “If you keep this up, you’re going to end up my frenemy instead of my friend.”
“Because I like making gingerbread with the old folks and the kids, you’re going to frenemy me?”
“Do not pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. You’re trying to undermine me, Connor. Get a leg up on me.”
He pressed a hand to his chest, which was lovingly encased in an indigo V-neck sweater that did wonderful things to his eyes. “I’m wounded.”
“You are not. And stop calling me ‘partner.’ We’re not partners.”
“We could be if you weren’t so competitive.”
“Pot, meet kettle.”
He grinned. “Yeah? Okay, here’s the deal. You get yourself on a gingerbread house team, and if yours wins, I’ll stay out of your way until the twenty-fourth. If I win, you can’t complain when I show up at your events or meetings. You have to be…nice to me. Very nice to me.”
“We’ve already had this conversation,” she said, glancing at the older gentleman and two preschoolers at Connor’s table, her gaze passing over their semi-completed house. “All right, you have a bet.” She thrust out her hand when he leaned in to kiss her.
An hour later, as the judges, who were residents of the senior home, stopped by each table to view the entries, Arianna knew she was in trouble, and it had nothing to do with who had the more beautiful gingerbread house because, clearly, she did. It had to do with who was the best schmoozer, and Connor took the prize.
When they pinned the blue ribbon on his table, he looked over at Arianna and waggled his eyebrows.
It didn’t take long for Arianna to get her revenge. Two days later she was at the fire station bright and early, helping wrap the toys and put together the Christmas baskets for local families in need of some holiday cheer. Several of the firefighters, as well as Hazel and the council members, were wondering what had happened to Connor.
Arianna smiled as she packed another basket, saying to Hazel, who was working beside her, “You know Connor. He stretches himself too thin. Always double booking meetings. Forgetting whom he’s meeting with next. I’m sure it slipped his mind that he volunteered to help today. It’s such an important community event that I marked it in red, just to be sure I didn’t forget.” Right after she’d wiped it off Maura’s and Connor’s planners and calendars.
Connor’s cousin Liam, looking handsome in his uniform, came to stand in front of her. Fighting a grin, he offered her his cell phone. “Someone wants to talk to you.”
“I’m a little busy right now,” she said, knowing full well who it was.
Liam shared that with his cousin and then laughed. “He says, ‘Game on.’”