Page 4 of The Bad Boy's Secret Santa

“I’ll handle this. Ladies, I’ll be right with you. Eli, condolences on your loss. How can I help you?”

Grandma’s words blur in my brain as I snatch my purse from under the table, nearly tossing the gift bag out in the process. I focus all my energy on the bag, refusing to look back at the man who broke my heart all those years ago. Determination to find my true love this Christmas has increased tenfold, if only to rub it in Eli’s smug face.

I slip out the side door and follow a narrow hallway as far away from the main event room as possible. I don’t stop until I find an empty meeting room on the opposite end of the building. After flipping the deadbolt so I can’t be followed, I drop my purse onto a table and fall into a chair.

My body shakes from the sudden jumble of emotions: surprise, anger, resentment, hurt. Plus half a dozen more I’ve yet to identify.

“It doesn’t matter that Eli’s back in town,” I tell the little gift bag, focusing on its glittery green dots. In this bag, the name of my true love awaits. And there’s nothing Eli Winchester can do to fuck that up for me. This gift bag containsmyChristmas miracle, dammit. “It’s not like he’ll stay long anyway. It’s not like he cares about Alpine Valley.”Or me.

I gently dump the contents out onto the round table, discovering a sparkly green business card-sized card face down.

“This is it.” I take a deep breath and flip it over.

My heart plummets into my toes.

Either there’s been a horrible mistake or Santa is playing the cruelest of jokes on me this Christmas. Because the card contains the name of the last man on earth I’d ever marry:

Eli Winchester.

Chapter Three

ELI

Piper Stanton is back in Alpine Valley.

Livingin Alpine Valley.

If I hadn’t seen her with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it possible. She had big dreams to chase. Dreams bigger than this little town. I thought it was far more likely I’d stumble across a post or online article touting her big success than run into her in our hometown.

One we were both so damn eager to leave behind as teenagers.

I wasn’t prepared to see her in the flesh. Wasn’t prepared for that sweater she was wearing that damn near gave me a hard on. Even if her narrowed gaze was shooting daggers of fire my way.

God, that woman is sexy when she’s mad.

Thank goodness for Wilma. The old woman’s cool, suspicious expression might as well have been a bucket of ice water dumped over my head. Just what I needed to cool the fire so I didn’t give the ladies a show. I didn’t expect Wilma to go easy on me. She’s always been protective about Piper. But Ialso didn’t expect her to pull me to the side, give me a hug, and extend her sympathy.

“If you’ll just sign here, Mr. Winchester, the estate is all yours.” Mr. Giles, the local probate lawyer, says with a hint of annoyance. As if he’s said it more than once. He hands me the pen that will transfer my late uncle’s life possessions into my name. Reminding me thatthisis the reason I agreed to come back. To settle the estate and put my past behind me once and for all.

Piper…well, she was an unexpected bonus. Red hasalwaysbeen her color, but damn, it looks even sexier on her now than it did a decade ago. What I wouldn’t give to mess up the lipstick she was wearing. Or to see it smeared around the base of my cock.Focus, Eli. Not the fucking time.

“You sure we can’t just burn the place to the ground?” I say to Mr. Giles, my chuckle coming out strangled. I clear my throat when I notice he doesn’t smile back.

“The place is in great selling shape. Your uncle took meticulous care of it.”

There’s the reality check I needed. My half-mast cock settles right down.

Of course he did.Roy put all his attention into his material possessions, leaving little to nothing left over for the nephew he never wanted to take in. I bet he threw a fucking party the day I skipped town.

“Would you like me to put you in touch with a realtor?” he offers.

“Sure, that would be great.”

Mr. Giles slides the house keys across the desk as he pushes out of his chair, but I can’t seem to pick them up. I’m sure as hell notsleepingthere. “Let me grab that number for you from Dawn up front,” he says.

As I wait, an email notification lights up my phone. My gaze is drawn to the lit up background image I’ve used for years. It’s a picture of Piper and me at the annual tree lighting. Holding onto one another as if our life depended on it. Piper beams that radiant smile toward the camera lens, but I only had eyes for her. It’s the last happy memory of us together—the last true smile Piper ever had for me.

“What a night,” I mumble under my breath.

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