Blame It On Christmas

“She likes pralines.”

Jonathan drawled the three words with a straight face, but J.B. knew when he was being taunted. “You’re suggesting I buy her candy?”

“Candy...flowers... I don’t know. My sibling is a complicated woman. Smart as hell with a wicked sense of humor, but she has a dark side, too. She’ll make you work for this, J.B. You might as well be prepared to crawl.”

J.B. took a swig of his drink and tried not to think about Mazie at all. Everything about her flipped his switches. But he couldn’t go there. Ever.

He choked and set down his glass until he could catch his breath.

Hell’s bells.

The Tarleton progeny were beautiful people, all of them. Though J.B. barely remembered Jonathan’s poor mother, what he recalled was a stunning, gorgeous woman with a perpetually sad air about her.

Jonathan and Hartley had inherited their mother’s olive complexion, dark brown eyes and chestnut hair. Mazie had the Tarleton coloring, too, but her skin was fairer, and her eyes were more gold than brown. Amber, actually.

Though her brother kept his hair cut short to tame its tendency to curl, Mazie wore hers shoulder length. In the heat and humidity of summer, she kept it up in a ponytail. But during winter, she left it down. He hadn’t seen her in several months. Sometimes J.B. dropped by the Tarletons’ home on Thanksgiving weekend, but this year, he’d been tied up with other commitments.

Now it was December.

“I’ll take the candy under advisement,” he said.

Jonathan grimaced. “I’ll see what I can do,” he conceded. “But don’t count on any help from me. Sometimes if I make a suggestion, she does the exact opposite. It’s been that way since we were kids.”

“Because she was always trying to keep up with you and Hartley, and you both treated her like a baby.”

“I suppose we could have been nicer to her. It wasn’t easy growing up in our house, especially once Mom was gone. Poor Mazie didn’t have any female role models at all.”

J.B. hesitated. “You know I would never do anything to hurt her business.”

“Of course I know that. Don’t be an ass. Your wanting to buy her property makes perfect sense. I can’t help it if she’s being deliberately obstructive. God knows why.”

J.B. knew why. Or at least he had a fairly good idea. One kiss had haunted him for years, no matter how hard he tried not to remember.

“I’ll keep trying. Let me know if anything works on your end.”

“I’ll give it my best shot. But don’t hold your breath.”

Two (#ua4061c73-9f49-5e7a-a9ca-9313ce16030a)

Mazie loved Charleston during the holidays. The gracious old city was at her best in December. The sun was shining, the humidity occasionally dipped below 60 percent, and fragrant greenery adorned every balustrade and balcony in town. Tiny white lights. Red velvet bows. Even the horse-drawn carriages sported red-and-green-plaid finery.

She’d be the first to admit that summer in South Carolina could be daunting. During July and August, tourists had been known to duck into her shop for no other reason than to escape the sweltering heat.

She couldn’t blame them. Besides, it was the perfect opportunity to chat people up and perhaps sell them a gold charm bracelet. Or if they were on a tight budget, one of Gina’s silver bangles set with semiprecious stones.

Summer was definitely high season. Summer brought an influx of cash. The foot traffic in All That Glitters was steady from Memorial Day until at least mid-October. After that it began to dwindle.

Even so, Mazie loved the holiday season best of all.

It was funny, really. Her own experience growing up had certainly never been a storybook affair. No kids in matching pajamas sipping cocoa while mom and dad read to them in front of the fire. Despite the Tarleton money, which provided a physically secure environment, her parents were difficult people.

But she didn’t care. From Thanksgiving weekend until New Year’s Day, she basked in the season of goodwill.

Unfortunately, J.B.’s sins were too heinous to include him on Santa’s good list. Mazie still wanted to find a way to make him suffer without putting her own business in danger.

When the real estate agent called the following day with another offer from J.B., Mazie didn’t say no.

Not immediately.

Instead, she listened to the Realtor’s impassioned pitch. When the woman paused to catch her breath, Mazie responded in a well-modulated, exceptionally pleasant tone of voice. “Please,” she said politely, “tell Mr. Vaughan that if he is hell-bent on buying my property, perhaps he should come here and talk it over with me in person. Those are my terms.”

Then once again, she hung up the phone.

This time, Gina was polishing an enormous silver coffee service they kept in the front window.

She hopped down from the stepladder and capped the jar of cleaner. “Well,” she said. “You didn’t hang up on her. I suppose that’s progress.”

Mazie frowned at a smudge on one of the large glass cases. “I thought I was nauseatingly nice.”

“Most people think being nice is a good thing.”

“True. But not always. We’ll see what happens now. If J.B. wants this place, he’s going to have to show his face.”

Gina blanched and made a chopping motion with her hand.

Mazie frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”

The other woman was so white her freckles stood out in relief. And her eyes bugged out of her head. She made a garbled noise.

When Gina continued her impersonation of a block of salt, Mazie turned around to see what was prompting her friend’s odd behavior.

A gaggle of middle-aged women had entered the shop together. The tiny bell over the door tinkled, signaling their presence.

While Mazie and Gina were deep in conversation, J.B. Vaughan had slipped in amid the crowd of shoppers, topping the women by a good six inches.

“I think she’s surprised to see me,” he said. His smile was crooked, his gaze wary. “Hello, Mazie. It’s been a while.”

His voice rolled over her like warm honey. Why did he have to sound so damn sexy?

The man looked like a dream. He was wearing expensive jeans and a pair of even more expensive Italian leather dress shoes. His broad shoulders were showcased in an unstructured, raw linen sport coat that hung open over a pristine white T-shirt. The shirt was just tight enough to draw attention to his rock-hard abdomen.

Oh, lordy. She had demanded he come in person, but she hadn’t realized what she was asking for.

She swallowed her shock and her confusion. “Hello, J.B.” A quick glance at her watch told her there was no way he could have gotten there so quickly. Unless he had already decided to challenge her refusal to sell face-to-face. “Have you talked to your real estate agent this morning?”

J.B. frowned. “No. I just came from the gym. Is there a problem?”

Mazie swallowed. “No. No problem.”