Page 20 of The Naughty Or Nice Clause

“The village is self-sustaining?” she asked, thinking how wonderful but also isolating such a place could be.

Klaus stopped her as they reached the side of the house. “You don’t want to know why I need you to act as my fiancée? Instead, you want to know about howsustainablethe village is?”

“Are there really wolves?”

“Yes. White wolves, to be specific. They roam the mountains and the woods, but they rarely come close to the village. The lampposts are always lit, and they don’t dare to cross them,” he said.That’s some relief.“Wolves and the village? Seems I don’t pique your interest in the slightest.”

She was well beyond ‘piqued’, but her safety had seemed like a higher priority than his twisted reasons. “I figured you were less likely to open up about your family, considering…”

“The frosty welcome from my sister and brother? They want me to take over the family business. My dad always wanted me to fill his boots.” He said it quickly. Like tearing off a bandage.

“And you didn’t want to?” she asked, daring to look at him. He looked disturbingly relaxed without his suit and tie.

“I wanted out. The village is like one giant family, but stifling. When you aren’t given the freedom to choose, it can soon feel like a prison,” he told her.

“You’re the one who trapped me here,” she reminded him.

“Trust me, the irony isn’t lost on me.”

She looked around. Despite being stuck in Yule, she thought this winter wonderland was beautiful.I haven’t seen the village yet; maybe there’s more to this place than meets the eye.

“Why don’t you give it a chance this year? Your family obviously want you here.”

“I came to visit. To help. That’s it.” His voice was as stern as though they were back in the office.

“If being a Klaus means what I think it means, though I can’t think about that too much or my brain will collapse in on itself, then… you’re kind of required this time of year.”

She had seen his father’s portrait at the end of the hallway. The red suit, the white beard: his heritage was obvious, even if it defied all logic.

“You saw the portrait.” Klaus sighed, and she nodded. “You aren’t reacting as I thought you would.” He frowned, as though waiting for her to combust.

“How am I supposed to react? My insides are screaming, but I don’t think my brain has quite processed the insanity of it all,” Lyla explained, trying to maintain her calm facade.

“I’ll do the job,” he said suddenly, and she almost felt… relieved?Then again, what Christmas lover wants Santa to quit?“If you stay,” he finished.

“I don’t understand why you insist on me staying! Your family were perfectly cordial. If you play Santa—”

“You don’tplayat Santa. It’s a serious job. I insist on you staying because if I don’t have some tie to the outside world, I’ll get sucked into the role. Into what they want me to become. If I make the decision to stay, I want it to be my own, and not because of some forced sense of duty.”

Lyla understood about duty. She had taken on her family’s crumbling business, and she didn’t want to lose what her grandfather had built. Unlike Klaus, though, she had never felt forced into it; she wanted to help out of love for her grandfather’s memory, and because she genuinely loved being a part of something that brought joy to people.

“I’ll maintain our facade, but you have to be nicer to your family. It’s clear how much the loss is affecting them; try not to make it worse,” she pleaded.

“Make it worse? How am I possibly making it worse? This is how I am,” he said defensively, stepping towards her.

“I don’t believe that. I saw the smile on your face when you saw your brother, and you even hugged your sister. You aren’t a completely heartless tool. Those are not the actions of a man without a heart.”

He suddenly found the icicles hanging from the side of the house fascinating, and she considered that she might have been a little too harsh.Why does he have to bring out the worst in me?

“Just be a little warmer. Aren’t Klauses meant to be warm and jolly?” she teased, earning herself a low chuckle. She walked towards the house, and he followed.

“Why do you care about how my family see me?” Klaus asked, folding his arms over his chest. She didn’t like the way he was looking at her – like he was looking through her.

“Because if you make nice and you decide to stay, then I get my company back,” she confessed, and he snorted. It was almost a smile, and the warmth in his eyes nearly melted her resolve to loathe him.

“Always working an angle. Naughty or nice, I don’t think you would like it if I left. What would make your life interesting if I were to disappear?” His hand grazed hers as they stepped onto the wrap-around porch, and she wondered if it was an accident or intentional.

“There was plenty in my life before you appeared.” Even she didn’t believe the words as she said them. Her life had been simple, predictable – which was comforting, but not exciting.

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