Page 27 of Mission: Merry Christmas
“What will happen next?” Her phone rang from the kitchen.
Drew laughed. “Three guesses who that is.”
She let it go to voicemail. “That’s the first time I’ve ever known him to deliver one of those baskets personally. He is determined to get you on his team. He won’t give up easily. You could probably talk him down a few percentages on his fee.”
“No way. I’m committed to Gabe. And besides, I’m making more than enough money as it is.”
“Just as well. Tom has no filter, no tact, no idea about boundaries. No loyalty either. All he wants is the next big deal.”
“Come on. Sit with me. His driver will call to let me know when he’s off the island. Until then, let’s just hang out by the pool and get back in Christmas mode. We can talk through what’s left to do on that plan you wrote up. I know how you love plans.” He took her hand, singing Jingle Bells as he led her outside.
Drew quit singing when they got outside. “I have to admit, it felt pretty good to kick that guy out of my house.” They sat in the loungers under the pergola. “He’s going to beg you to come back, Avery, and then you can give have the satisfaction of telling him no.”
“I won’t lie. That will feel good. It won’t fix not having a job, but it’ll be a start.”
Not even thirty minutes later, Jax called Drew to let him know that Tom Ware’s helicopter had just taken off from the airport.
“He’s gone.” Drew tucked his phone in his pocket. “Time to shop. I’ll drive. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is it to get everything on that list in less than two hours, so we can get back and spend the rest of the night making Christmas magic.”
He hummed a few bars of theMission Impossibletheme song, then waited for an answer.
She hummed along with him. “I’ve got the list. Let’s do this before we self-destruct.” They ran out the door and hopped in the golf cart. “We’re going to make even Santa Claus proud.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lateon Christmas Eve, they finally had completed every single task in their extravagant plan. Drew shut off the living room lights and turned on the tree.
“It looks fantastic,” Avery said. “Better than I’d ever dreamed.”
Borax and pipe cleaner snowflakes she’d spent all day making now hung from the ceiling on fishing line at all different heights. Each one varied in size and shape, just like the real thing.
“Nico is going to go wild. Heck, my sister is going to go wild, too. She loves snow. By the way, during the snowball fight, her arm is as good as mine, so watch out.”
“Good to know.” Her face squinched. “I throw like a girl.”
He reached over and tickled her. “Maybe you should be on my team, anyway.”
“Works for me,” she said wriggling away with a squeal.
“You are really ticklish!”
“You discovered my one weakness,” she teased.
Drew got up and walked over to the stack of presents next to the Christmas tree. “Look at this.”
“What? Did one of the bows fall off?” She got to her feet to get one from the hall closet where they’d tucked away all the wrapping supplies.
“No. Come here.” He sat in the floor.
She ran through her mental checklist wondering what could be amiss. Confused, she walked over to him.
“This is for you.” He handed her the box. “From me.”
She paused, lowering herself next to him. “You bought me a gift?”
He reached under the tree again. “And this one. I bought you two.”
“Drew. I didn’t get you anything. Why did you—”
