Page 14 of Wrapped Up with the Three Scrooges

My head snapped up so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash, the half-tied ribbon falling limply from my suddenly clumsy fingers. “How did you… I’m not…” I sputtered, feeling heat creep up my neck as Katie’s grin grew wider.

“Sophie saw you two arrive in his car.” She scooted her rolling stool all the way to my station and leaned closer, lowering her voice. “Spill.”

“There’s nothing to spill. He gave me a ride and bought me breakfast. That’s all.” Even if his thumb lingered on my lip. Even if I’d wanted him to kiss me so badly I’d forgotten how to breathe.

“Right. And I’m secretly Mrs. Claus.”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed another package to wrap, this one containing a watch that probably cost more than my entire college education. A lot of good that college education was now.

As I measured out the paper, my phone pinged with a flight alert: prices to Portugal had jumped again. Why did my parents have to retire to somewhere so far away? Couldn’t they have picked Florida?

I hadn’t spent Christmas alone since... well, ever. Even though going home would mean enduring Mom’s passive-aggressive comments about my choices and Dad’s awkward attempts to relate to me, it beat spending the holidays in a musty motel room watching Hallmark movies alone.

But between the room, food, and trying to save for a security deposit on an apartment that didn’t have hourly rates, there was no way I could swing a ticket home. Maybe I could pick up another job. Or find one that would extend past the holidays.

“Miss Christmas Spirit.” A familiar voice made me jump, and I nearly dropped the watch. “Ready to go?”

Levi stood by my station, keys twirling around his finger, looking unfairly gorgeous in his charcoal gray slacks and black sweater.

“Go?” I glanced at the clock. Five already? Where had the day gone?

“Can’t let you walk home in this weather. Besides, your car’s still out of commission, right?”

“Oh, um, you don’t have to.”

“I know I don’t have to.” His smile softened. “I want to.”

Katie made a small squealing noise beside me that she poorly disguised as a cough.

“I...” I looked down at the half-wrapped watch, then at the small pile of packages still waiting.

He glanced at my wrap sheet. “You’re ahead. Those can wait until tomorrow,” he said firmly. “Come on.”

“I should really finish these.”

“Emery.” He stepped closer, voice dropping so only I could hear. “Let me take care of you.”

Those six words shouldn’t have affected me the way they did. Shouldn’t have made my knees weak and my pulse race. Shouldn’t have had me immediately reaching for my poor excuse of a coat.

But they did. God help me, he’d melted my resolve like snow on a hot sidewalk. I struggled to maintain any semblance of composure, knowing I was fighting a losing battle against both the weather and his charm.

“Fine.” My voice was far more breathless than I’d intended.

His answering smile was brighter than any Christmas light I’d ever seen.

I followed Levi through the office, painfully aware of the stares burning into my back. Katie wasn’t even pretending to work, her phone probably already buzzing with texts to spread the latest gossip. Blake actually dropped his prized scissors, nearly stabbing his foot.

Great. Because I needed more reasons for people to talk about me.

I even caught sight of Ronan in his office, arms crossed as he glowered down at us. The intensity of his stare made me stumble slightly, and Levi’s hand automatically went to the small of my back to steady me.

“Are you okay?” He was completely oblivious to the death glare from above.

“Fine.” I was very aware of his touch through my thin jacket. “Just... clumsy.”

We exited into the parking lot and hurried to Levi’s car. The wind made it feel like it was at least twenty degrees colder than it was. If only Christmas was in July or if I lived in Australia.

As we walked side by side, I couldn’t help but notice how different this felt from this morning. The same car, the same man, but now my stomach was doing Olympic-level gymnastics for entirely different reasons.

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