The Best Little Christmas Shop

‘When you came in at Xander and Giselle’s, you didn’t happen to overhear …’

‘Yep.’

I risked a look up. He was grinning. Damn.

‘I didn’t mean … it’s just that what you heard …’ Cal moved his head a smidgeon to the side, encouraging me to continue with my explanation, the smile still firmly in place. ‘What you heard was out of context. It’s really not what it sounded like.’

‘OK,’ he replied, with a tone that implied he didn’t a believe a word of it.

‘I should go. Thanks for the lift.’

‘My pleasure. I’ll see you around.’

‘Ummhmm,’ I said, noncommittally, waved, and took the few steps to where the metal stairs ran up to my little dwelling.

What I hadn’t taken into consideration as I ran up the staircase was that the sleet, now coming into contact with the cold metal, was freezing over. As I neared the top, one leg went one way and the other went in the opposite direction. I was so glad George wasn’t there because the expletives were out and proud before I even thought about it as I wrapped my arms around the banister and hung there for a moment, a foot dangling in mid-air either side of the steps.

‘Lexi!’ Cal’s concerned call came as I heard the car door slam. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Parfait!’ Oh God, now not only did I look an idiot, I sounded like one. What on Earth had possessed me to channel Giselle right at that moment, especially since I could guarantee this was not a situation my elegant friend would ever find herself in?

‘Stay there. I’m coming up.’

‘No! Don’t! I’m not going to be responsible for you breaking your neck,’ I said, flinging my feet around in mid-air, trying to get a purchase on the step. Unfortunately, every time I tried, it slid straight back out.

‘And I’m not going to be responsible for leaving you like that.’ The stairs reverberated through my arms as Cal’s bulk stepped onto them.

‘Jesus,’ I heard him mutter.

‘What’s the matter?’ I tried twisting around to see him.

‘Nothing. It’s just slippy. Don’t look back at me. Just hold on.’

I flung my feet again and managed to get one on the step, at least lessening the strain on my arms momentarily before it slid and joined the other. On the plus side, I was no longer a starfish.

‘Here. Hold on to me.’ Cal’s voice was now right behind me.

‘Umm … that would mean I have to let go.’ I glanced down at the bare branches of the bushes beneath me. ‘So I think I’m going to go with a no. I’m fine. I’ll just wait here until it thaws.’

Cal’s laugh was deep and warm and I could feel it in his chest as he wrapped an arm around me, the other gripping the metal banister.

‘Let go. I promise I won’t drop you. Xander and Giselle would never forgive me, not to mention my son.’

‘Ummm …’

‘Trust me.’

I turned my head as much as I could to try and see him. He leant forward and met my eyes.

‘Let go.’

Squinching my eyes closed, I did. Cal pulled me back up and lifted me a couple of steps up so that we were both standing on the coir mat that lay outside my front door. Cal was big and the mat was small so it was kind of a squeeze. A little bit of my brain sent out an alarm that this should bother me. Another bit smacked the alarm with a hammer and the noise stopped.

‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome. You need to get some salt or grit on these. That could have been nasty.’

‘As opposed to just incredibly mortifying,’ I mumbled as I fished around in my pocket for my key.

‘I wouldn’t go as far as saying “incredibly” …’

I tilted my head up to face him in the half-light of a waning moon. He was smiling and doing that thing that made the world disappear.

‘I would,’ I replied, plunging the key into the lock, and giving it a turn. Risking a look back up, I saw that the smile was still there.

‘You sure you’re OK?’

‘Perfectly.’

‘Parfait?’

‘Oh crap. You heard that too.’

‘I’m hearing a lot this evening.’

I rubbed a hand over my face. ‘Like I said, that thing before was out of context.’

‘I’d love to know what it was like in context then.’

‘I don’t remember.’

Cal laughed, deep, warm, and worryingly sexy. ‘That’s such a cop-out answer.’

I shrugged.

He quirked a brow at me. ‘And so’s that.’

‘It’s my speciality.’

‘Is it now? I shall have to remember that.’

‘Actually, if you could just forget the whole evening, that’d work better for me.’

‘But not me.’

I let out a sigh.

‘Go on, get in before we both freeze.’ Cal squinted against the shimmering moonlight. ‘It’s actually turning to snow now. And for God’s sake, be careful going down those steps tomorrow.’