Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
If I was being completely honest, I kept up with some of it year-round, like the gingerbread cookies. To say I had Christmas decor coming out of my ass was an understatement. Not only was my attic filled with decorations but my garage and basement were too. I had to buy an extra storage shed in my backyard to hold even more decorations, but I’d yet to build it.
I made a mental note to book a handyperson through that referral service I used for a cleaning crew. I needed someone to help me set it up. I had no idea how or where to begin assembling something that large. I always felt terrible asking Felix to help me with honey-do lists around my house, but he was insistent I do. He never let me pay him, which made matters worse. I mean, we casually flirted sometimes, but it was harmless fun. He wasn’t my boyfriend, and we’d never gone on a date, so there was no reason for him to do those things for me.
Taking the puppy out to potty one last time before bed, I laid him in his crate, and he whined instantly. Nothing I did would make him stop crying. I hated that I had to do this, but he needed to be crate trained, or I at least had to try. By the time three thirty in the morning rolled around, I got an unexpected text from an unknown caller.
Throwing the silk pillow off my head, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand. Blinking away the haze and darkness, I slowly read the words on the screen.
For the love of God… can you please make that tiny terrorist shut the hell up?
Nicholas?
Noelle: How did you get my number?
Nicholas: It’s funny how numbers work. It’s the same one you’ve always had.
Noelle: Considering you never used it after you left, I figured you forgot it, but it wasn’t until you changed your number that I got the real message.
The bubbles kept appearing on and off my screen, indicating he was writing and then deleting what he was trying to text back until another message dinged through.
Nicholas: Clocks.
Noelle: Clocks? What does that mean?
Nicholas: Put a clock in the fluffy dictator’s crate. It’s supposed to mimic their mother’s heartbeat.
I hated listening to him, but I didn’t have much of a choice if I wanted to get any sleep. First, it took me a second to find a clock. Thankfully, I had one in the guest bedroom. I placed it near his face, and he immediately leaned against my hand like he didn’t want me to leave.
I was a sucker, lying down where I was so he could snuggle against me. He was still technically in his crate, and I called that a win. Little by little, the tiny dude calmed down, and I texted Nicholas again.
Noelle: Better, your highness?
Nicholas: Indeed, my queen.
Now, there was no hiding or fighting it this time.
I smiled…
CHAPTER 5
NICHOLAS
Ididn’t know what I hated more, the fact that everyone who walked through those custom, gold-lattice, iron doors that were bent to look like it was a Christmas tree early the following morning was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed or the fact that I had to be there. What made matters worse was that everyone kept congratulating me as if I’d won the grand prize when it couldn’t have been further from the truth.
At least it was for me.
“Oh my God!” Mrs. Sanders fawned over me, grabbing my face to blow air kisses in my direction. “Look at you!”
She was the sweetest woman and my old man’s secretary for the past thirty years. She was basically part of the family at this point. It was her outfit that caught my attention the most. She was decked out in a head-to-toe Christmas tree outfit, including the gaudy jewelry hanging off her skin.
I wish I could tell you she was the only one dressed like that, but I’d be lying. Out of the ten people in the room—including my brother and father, who were both board members—I was the only one dressed in a pair of jeans and a button-down, sporting a beanie.
It was fucking freezing outside. The temperature had dropped overnight since it started snowing. I lived in a warmer climate now, and I didn’t own clothes thick enough to handle this frigid weather anymore. Plus, I never really cared for this weather. Most of the board members were dressed in some sort of Christmas apparel, whether a tie, a vest, or some socks. You’d think the dress code was holiday attire.
I guess the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
Everything about this town was still the same, from the decorations to the displays and lights. I was almost certain you could see Mistletoe Town from space, bright and beaming off the globe from the holiday light shows. There was practically a snowman on every corner and a nutcracker soldier not far behind it.