A Diamond For Christmas: Kisses on Her Christmas List / Her Christmas Eve Diamond / Single Dad's Holiday Wedding

“A partnership. My side of the bargain is that I need help. Your side is to provide that help. It’s win-win.”

She laughed again.

And something soft and warm floated through Rory. He hadn’t exactly forgotten what it felt like to be in the company of a woman, but he had forgotten some things. Like how everything around them always smelled pretty. Or how their laughs were usually musical.

“I love it when you laugh.”

Shannon took a step back, and though she’d pulled away before, avoided him before, this morning it gave him an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. She had a real problem with him complimenting her.

After nearly three days together he should be at least allowed to compliment something neutral like her laugh.

“Why does that make you mad?”

She started walking again. “It doesn’t make me mad.”

“It makes you something because you stopped laughing. Pulled away.” He paused, watching her race away from him. “Now you’re all but running away.”

“We have work to do.”

“And we also spent the weekend together. We can’t spend the week behaving like strangers.”

“Not strangers, just people working out a business deal.”

Catching up to her, he said, “Ah, so this is your business face.”

She motioned a circle in front of the bright red jacket of her suit. “This is the whole business demeanor.” Then she sighed. “Look, I’m seriously trying to sell you my store. It would help if you’d forget that I love to sled-ride. And that I can’t cook. And I haven’t even started decorating for Christmas yet.”

He studied her pretty blue eyes, which were shiny with what he could only guess was fear that something personal might cause him to walk away from their negotiations. His voice was soft, careful, when he said, “Why would that help? People who like each other usually make better deals.”

She looked away. “Friendships can also backfire.”

Ah. “Did you have a friendship backfire?”

“No, I’m just saying—”

“And I’m just saying relax. We like each other—” For once he didn’t try to deny it. All weekend long he’d been coming to know her, getting to like her. Being trapped in her little house with a strong desire to kiss her hadn’t been good. But in a store filled with people and with a business deal to discuss she had nothing to fear.

Or was that he had nothing to fear?

No matter. They were both safe.

“We got to be friends over the weekend. I’ve even asked for help with Finley. Surely, I should be allowed to say you have a pretty laugh.”

She stiffened. Then, as if realizing she was making too much out of nothing, she drew in a breath. “Yes. Of course, I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry. Just relax.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

They spent an hour in human resources and returned to her office to pick up Finley for lunch. In the huge, bustling cafeteria they drank milk shakes and ate French fries. But Finley tossed her head back and covered her ears when “Here Comes Santa Claus” replaced the more sedate Christmas song that had been playing.

“You know what puzzles me?” Shannon said, tugging one of Finley’s hands away from her ears. “How can you watch cartoons?”

Finley’s eyes narrowed.

Shannon picked up a French fry. “I mean, they’re not any more real than Santa. Yet you like cartoons. Wendy told me you did.”

Finley’s mouth scrunched up.

Shannon dipped her fry in ketchup. “So why don’t you start thinking of Santa the same way you do a cartoon character?”

Finley glanced at Rory and he laughed. “It sounds perfectly logical to me.”

Finley raised her gaze to the ceiling as if she could see the music.

“Listen to the words and pretend Santa is a cartoon character.”

Finley’s face contorted with little-girl concentration, then she smiled. “It’s funny.”

“Of course, it is. That’s why people like to listen. It makes them laugh.”

As if to prove that, Finley giggled.

Rory laughed, too. But when he realized he was laughing and Finley was laughing because Shannon had turned Finley’s hatred of Christmas songs into acceptance, his laughter stopped.

This woman was really special.

Really special.

She wasn’t just pretty or sexy or even really smart. She was attuned to life. People. It was as if she saw things other people missed and knew how to use that information to make everybody feel wanted, needed…happy.

He said nothing as they returned to her office and deposited Finley with Wendy. But when they entered the office for the buyers that afternoon, he noticed something that he probably could have noticed that morning if he’d been clued in to look for it. These people loved her.

“So what are you going to do, Shannon, if the store sells?”

That question came from Julie Hughes, a woman in her twenties who gazed at Shannon with stars in her eyes, as if she were the epitome of everything Julie wanted to be when she got a little older.

“I’m not sure.” Shannon smiled, casually leaned her hip on the corner of Julie’s desk, clearly comfortable with her staff. “This is only Mr. Wallace’s first day here. He may look around and decide he doesn’t want to buy us.”

“He’d be crazy,” Fred Cummings said, leaning back in his chair. “We make a ton of money.” He pointed at Shannon. “Due in no small part to changes this woman made after her dad let go of the reins.”

Shannon laughed. “I did a few things. They’ve only been up and running a few months.”

Fred said, “Right.”

But Rory got the message. Fred wouldn’t push anymore because he wouldn’t insult the last company president, Shannon’s dad, in front of Shannon. But it was clear things hadn’t always gone so smoothly at Raleigh’s Department Store.