Page 47 of Evergreen Christmas

Nate looked down at the pan of cookies before him, removed the lid from a container sitting nearby and began carefully stacking the cookies inside. “Sorry about that,” he said. “Tucker has a habit of sticking his nose into other people’s business.”

Jordyn laughed softly. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. But . . .”

He reached for another cookie, but her hand covered his, her soft fingertips resting lightly over his knuckles as she stilled his movements.

“He has a point,” she continued. “I don’t mean to put you on the spot again, Nate. But I have to admit, you’re confusing me, and I thought you intended to be honest, seeing as how you were so upfront when I asked if you were interested in me.” Hesitating, she asked softly, “Why did you really come to Chestnut Ridge today? And why did you ask me over? You made it clear to me you aren’t available, so I don’t understand why—”

“Because . . .” Nate turned his hand over, weaving his fingers between hers and squeezing gently before his mind could talk his heart out of it. “I’ve reconsidered my answer.”

Chapter Ten

How anyone could be expected to look sexy the night after eating three dozen Christmas cookies was a mystery to Jordyn, but as she stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom, scrutinizing her appearance, she had to admit that she’d given it her best shot.

“Jordyn, darling?” Holly called through the closed bedroom door. “How does it fit?”

“Tight.” Jordyn eyed the hooded Santa dress with fuzzy white trim, a wide black belt and shin-high boots. “And short.” She frowned at how much of her bare legs the miniskirt exposed. “I’m gonna freeze my butt off!”

But she supposed baring her legs in twenty-degree weather was a small price to pay in order to win Sexy Santa’s Eggnog Nod contest. Even though, she thought, tapping her chin, she still wasn’t exactly sure what the contest entailed. From what the Nanas had told her, she needed to look her very sexy best.

Stomach rumbling uncomfortably, she placed her hand over her belly and grimaced.

The cookies Nate had taught her how to bake had turned out beautifully and were even tastier than she’d hoped they would be. Only problem was that presenting beautiful, tasty Christmas cookies had been only half of the Christmas Cookie Crumble contest. The second half entailed participating in a cookie-eating contest in which the participants sat at a long table loaded down with the fresh-baked Christmas cookies, which they were expected to stuff into their mouths as fast as they could.

Having been seated directly next to Tucker, Jordyn had struggled to be on her A-game. No matter how fast she had shoved cookies into her mouth, Tucker continued to beat her, scooping up multiple cookies at a time with one hand and downing them in almost one go.

Jordyn scowled at her reflection, her lips twitching with humor as she recalled her loss and subsequent fitful night of stomach upset.

At least Tucker had been honest when he’d warned her he’d win. Turned out, Nate’s brother was a piggish, bottomless pit! Not only had he devoured all of his cookies and eaten half of hers, but he’d also started on a third pile of cookies the participant beside him had baked. It hadn’t taken long for everyone to realize that Tucker had that win in the bag. By the time the timer dinged, signaling the end of the eating competition, Jordyn had already overindulged, her stomach straining the buttons on her jeans.

And today—oh, gracious! Today was even worse. From the moment she had rolled out of bed this morning until an hour ago when she’d begun prepping for tonight’s contest, her stomach had been growling angrily. She had barely been able to down her morning cup of coffee and had not been able to even entertain the thought of consuming anything else all day. Even now, her stomach roiled, begging her to crawl back into bed, pull the covers over her head, and sleep.

“Jordyn?” Holly knocked on the door. “I don’t mean to rush you, but you need to come on out. The contest is starting in half an hour and it’ll take at least ten minutes to get to the town square. You need to leave soon.”

“You don’t want to be late, do you?” Kandy asked on the other side of the door. “You really need this win.”

Stifling a groan, Jordyn rubbed her aching belly once more. She could just see the Nanas now, huddled on the other side of the closed bedroom door, wringing their hands, hoping she had it in her to pull off one more win. And they were right—she desperately needed one. As it stood, she was in fifth place on the Tree Scoreboard, directly below Nate and far below the Stone family. If she wanted to have any hope of winning the Christmas Crown for the Nanas, she had to do well in tonight’s contest.

“Okay.” She sucked in a strong, cleansing breath, squared her shoulders, and opened the door. “How do I look?”

The Nanas stared back at her. Eve gasped, Kandy grinned, Holly squealed, and Carol Belle nodded with satisfaction.

“Good golly, girl!” Carol Belle said. “You’ve got this one in the bag.”

“Well, now,” Eve said, holding up one finger. “She is gorgeous—no doubt about that—but we can’t underestimate the competition. Sandy Simmons wins the sexy portion of the contest just about every Christmas, and I’ve already heard that she’s chosen a killer outfit for this year.”

“Oh, fiddlesticks,” Carol Belle said, frowning. “That gal’s got nothing on our Jordyn.” Smiling, she reached out and brushed a fuzzy piece of lint from Jordyn’s sleeve. “You’re gonna knock ’em dead. I know you will!”

“You look stunning!” Kandy clapped her hands together. “Absolutely stunning.”

“But you’re missing one thing,” Holly chimed, digging into the little red handbag she carried. “You need a hint of Raunchy Red,” she said, holding up a small tube of lipstick. “My beautician, Patty Dalton, told me this is the trendiest color of the season. Here”—she nudged it toward Jordyn—“slather some on.”

“Oh, there’s no need for that.” Kandy pushed Holly’s hand away from Jordyn. “She looks beautiful just as she is.”

“Well, it couldn’t hurt. It can only help. Don used to love it when I wore red lipstick! He’d be all over me in . . .”

Jordyn frowned as Holly’s voice trailed away, her expression changing to one full of regret. “Who’s Don, Holly?”

“A boyfriend of mine,” Holly whispered. “Well, an exboyfriend. And nowadays, not even a friend. Not after the way I behaved. It seems our bad romance ruined any chance of us remaining friends, and our friendship is what I miss the most lately.”

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