Page 8 of A Little Christmas Caper

“Don’t encourage them,” Nick scolded playfully as they all took their seats. Somehow, Derek had maneuvered them so that Nick was sandwiched in between Michelle and Allison.

What the hell was that man up to now?

He didn’t have a chance to ask, as Derek immediately launched into host mode. “So, Michelle, Allison. Tell me a little bit more about yourselves. I have the paperwork you filled out, of course, but that only tells me so much.”

“What do you want to know?” Allison asked, practically beaming at Derek. A strange knot formed in Nick’s stomach, and if he didn’t know any better he would say he was… jealous?

But no. Surely he wasn’t jealous because a woman he’d just met, who was involved with someone else, was smiling at another man. That would be ridiculous.

Doing his best to ignore the uncomfortable feeling, he forced himself to focus on the conversation happening all around him.

“What do you do for a living?” Derek asked.

“I’m in marketing. Social media, mostly. I make sure my clients have a presence online, and I help them cultivate a voice and a brand across all of their different social sites.” A hint of pink colored her cheeks as she shrugged. “I know it probably seems silly, but I enjoy what I do.”

“It isn’t silly.” Michelle gave her a stern look, making Nick wonder how many times they’d had this particular conversation. “You work hard and your clients love you, because you’re damn good at what you do.”

The color in Allison’s cheeks deepened, but she sat up straighter and the look she sent her girlfriend’s way was so full of gratitude and love, it was almost too intimate to watch.

“I think that sounds like fun!” Sadie bounced in her seat. “Do you post funny stuff, like Wendy’s does?”

“Sometimes. It depends on the client.” Allison dropped her voice to conspiratorial whisper. “The ones with a sense of humor are my favorite, though.”

“Maybe you should set up a consult, Nick.” From across the table, Derek smiled, a little smug around the edges, confirming Nick’s suspicions that he was up to something. “I keep telling you that you need a website, at least.”

“You don't even have a website?” The horror in Allison’s voice sounded genuine, as did the look of shock on her face as she slapped a hand over her heart. “Sacrilege!”

She was too cute for words. “I do just fine without one, Miss Allison.”

“Allie, please. I’m only Allison when I’m in trouble,” she added with a cheeky grin. “And I’m sure you do great. Nothing beats word of mouth, especially with the local community. But honestly, you’re missing out on a huge market. And you’re a Christmas tree farm. What about the off season? How much business are you getting January through September? We should—”

“We’re supposed to be on vacation, babygirl.” Despite the slightly scolding words, Michelle’s tone was clearly amused.

“If we’re supposed to be on vacation, how come I saw you sneaking onto your laptop when you thought I was napping?” Allison—Allie—teased right back.

“Touché.”

Fuck, the pair of them were more tempting than Chef’s chocolate mousse. He definitely needed to get Derek to work his magic, sooner rather than later.

In a poor attempt to distract himself from drooling over women who were clearly off-limits, he turned to Michelle. “What do you do for work?”

“I’m a software engineer.”

“That sounds…” He searched for something polite to say, but Michelle beat him to the punch.

“Boring?” she suggested with a deep, throaty laugh. “It can be. But I enjoy it, and like my Allie girl, I’m damn good at what I do.”

“Yeah you are.” Allie giggled and reached for the wine that had been poured during their conversation. Leaning across him, she clinked her glass against Michelle’s and the two shared another intimate look.

“So, Nick the Christmas Tree Man”—pale eyes dancing with amusement, Michelle tilted her head to the side, and he got the distinct impression he was being sized up—“whatdoyou do when it’s not Christmas time? Do you stay hidden away in your workshop, making toys with your elves?”

“In a sense.” Finally, steady, familiar ground. “You can’t just plant some seeds and wait a couple years for the perfect Christmas tree to grow. We spend most of the year planting, treating for insects and fungus, shearing the trees, things like that. It’s pretty much a year-round operation.”

“See?” Eyes lighting up, Allie bounced in her seat. “That’s all stuff you could be sharing with the public! People love to see the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff that goes into a business.”

“Allison.” This time, Michelle’s voice held significantly more warning, and on his other side Allison huffed loudly.

“I’m justsaying,” she mumbled.

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