Page 6 of Enemies to Lovers

The scent of pine and cinnamon greets me as we walk in, and the sound of more people than I care to be around travels from down the hall. I help Joy out of her coat before shucking mine and hanging them up.

I glance at the muted tones of my very boring outfit. I’m not dressed for a party, no less a Christmas party. Bright colors are distracting, and it’s a test day.

Joy lets out a hefty sigh. “Just fyi, I have to say hi to my boss, who is a nightmare when drunk, and I guarantee he’s drunk already.”

“Got it.”

She tucks her arm into mine again, leading me toward the source of all the noise. My heart beats loud in my ears, and I count the steps it takes to get to the door.

On step twenty-two, a short, thin guy bounces up to Joy, a giant smile pushing his round cheeks so far his eyes almost look closed.

“Joy to the World!” he sings, opening his arms wide. “Mind if I hug you?”

Joy meets my gaze for the briefest of moments before swinging it back to Mr. Jolly.

“No thanks, Russ.” She bumps me with her hip. “This is Miles. He’s a good friend.”

Russ turns his arms to me. “Hug, Miles?”

Heat blazes through my ears. “Uh…”

Russ busts a gut, dropping his arms. “Only fooling, only fooling. It’s nice to meet you. Though, you look familiar. Hasn’t Joy brought you in the past?”

I shake my head. “First timer.”

He narrows his eyes. “Hmm, you pulling my leg? I remember you being a jokester.”

“That’s Ransom,” Joy corrects before I can.

“He’s my brother,” I add, but Russ doesn’t seem to be listening anymore, leaning in with a hand raised to his mouth.

“Get to the eggnog before it’s all gone. This year has been the best, I tell you.”

Amusement pulls at my lips. “Will do.”

He pulls back with a wide grin. “Oh, Logan is here.” Then he bounces past us toward the door where a tall, thin blond guy stands.

“Told you,” Joy says with a laugh. “The boss is a bit…” She makes a goofy face.

I scratch at my beard. “When you said ‘nightmare’ I wasn’t exactly picturing overly friendly.”

“He’s just very in-your-face.” She puts her palm up in front of her nose. “And when he gets a little bit of the happy juice in him, it gets worse.”

My nerves travel from my gut down my arms. I wring my hands together, hoping they disappear soon. If he’s the worst person I have to meet, I think I can handle—

“Miles?”

My neck spins at the familiar trill, and standing next to the thin blond guy is his complete opposite, round cheeks and all.

“Val…”

Joy lifts a brow at my less than enthused groan. Val excuses herself from Russ and her brother—a guy I only know by name and face, even though we grew up together. She skips past a group of people raiding the snack table, bouncing right up to my side.

“What are you doing here?” we ask at the same time. She’s cheerful; I’m grumpy as hell.

She laughs and answers first. “Logan works here.” She juts a thumb over her shoulder, then nods to Joy. “I’m Val. I’m one of Miles’ classmates.”

“Val Johnson,” Joy says, and I give her a face at her betrayal. Yes, I’ve talked about Val. Complained about her. Almost on the weekly. “I’m Joy.”

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