Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 21003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Caroline’s all warmth and sparkle, the kind of woman who bakes cookies for strangers, hums along to carols, and believes snow is “magical” instead of a hazard. Unfortunately, she’s also seen my grumpy side, and decided I’m not her future Mr. Claus.
Now I’m the one chasing her, desperate for another taste of her holiday magic and the kind of Christmas cheer I’ve spent years avoiding. The problem? Winning her over might mean letting go of the walls I’ve built and risking my heart in the process.Maybe she’s willing to compromise
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Parker
One more strand of lights, and I’m going to jump off the damn ladder myself and make it look like an accident. I think my sister has gone nuts this year. Why she felt the need to include me in her holiday nonsense is beyond me.
I am the proverbial Scrooge, the grumpy holiday miser. I give to charities via monetary donations, but that’s it. You can’t count on me for anything else. There is no way I’ll be showing up at events, toasting in a red Santa hat or some goofy tie. I don’t buy gifts for anyone except for Chloe. It isn’t like she has a family yet, so there’s no need for all this decorating overkill.
Still, here I am on a Sunday, on my only day off, nearly twenty feet in the air hanging up lights because the company Chloe hired flaked out, taking her money with them. She doesn’t trust anyone else, and she doesn’t want me to bury the bastards for robbing her. I’m still going after them.
With Christmas less than two weeks away, Chloe doesn’t have much time to hire anyone else, and I couldn’t stand to see her cry anymore. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. She’s my sweet little sister with a heart of gold and the soul of an angel. Once I’m done, I can go inside and watch the football game. The Bears are playing the Browns, and I can’t wait to see the Bears kick their asses.
I go to move and realize my puffy Chicago Bears coat is stuck between the house and the ladder. “Shit.” How am I going to get out of this without falling to the ground? Damn it, how did I get into this situation? It’s cold and windy, but at least it has stopped snowing. Last week, we had over two feet of snow. Maybe it’s enough to break my fall.
I take a calming breath and think. I gently move my body backward on the ladder, but the stiff breeze reminds me that I’m high off the ground, and I grip the rungs fiercely. Fuck. I’m so screwed. There’s no way I want to be laid up in the hospital when I have a business to run. My company can’t function without me.
I drop my head forward and stay like that for a moment. I try to breathe calmly and think of a safe solution. Nothing’s coming to me besides a good case of windburn and frostbite.
“Hey, are you good up there?”
“Aah,” I yell and nearly fall, but grip tight and hold onto the fucking ladder. My coat tears, freeing me while I cling to the deathtrap in the air. “Are you crazy?” I bark down at the voice below. I affix the last light with the final clip and then come down to scold the nut who dares to startle someone high up. “How dumb are you?” I barely get my feet onto the ground when she starts her babbling apology.
“I’m so sorry.” She apologizes before I turn my back, and I’m surprised she stays for the earful she’s about to get.
“What the hell is wrong with—?” I start shouting at her when the words freeze in my mouth. I’m shocked by the instant way my heart speeds up.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I saw the ladder jerk and sway, and I thought you were going to fall. Then you weren’t moving for like five minutes. I came out here to check before I called for emergency services.”
“Five minutes? That’s an exaggeration.” She’s probably right, but I’m not admitting anything.
“No, it’s not. Are you okay?” I’m not really okay, although I won’t tell the beautiful stranger the truth.
“I’m fine. I was in the middle of dealing with these stupid lights that were knotted, and then I was annoyed as fuck that I agreed to take up a dangerous task for nothing.” There’s no way I’d tell her that I got myself stuck up there like a dumbass. Not when I’m staring at the most enchanting being in existence with her pretty pink and brown winterwear, looking like a winter wonderland that needs to be explored and I want to be that frontiersman.
“Oh. Well, I’m glad you’re fine. So glad you weren’t having a seizure, stroke, or anything. Now I’ll go.” I shake my head. That pretty little thing isn’t getting off that easy.
I step closer, getting less than a foot from her, and the whiff of cinnamon hits my nostrils and I breathe her in. I take another deep breath and then introduce myself. “I’m Parker Ames.”
“Yeah, I’m late.” She walks away and goes across the street into a nice car, driving away from me as if that’s fucking acceptable. Who is that little brat? And why am I so affected by her?