I don’t question it more, because my need for this taste is stronger than any misgivings. Moving closer, I inhale her scent, and then go in for her delectable mouth.
Meow! The cat jumps onto my shoulder and rubs against my face. I snap out of whatever spell Merry’s put me under and set her on her feet.
The cat tries to press its nose to my cheek, but I pluck it from my shoulder and put it on the ground. It prances around my feet as Merry shakes her head at it.
I straighten my coat. “As you’ve failed to perform your initial task to my specifications—”
“But I—”
“Ms. Harper. Now is not the time to argue.” I cross my arms over my chest and ponder giving her that spanking she so desperately needs. “As I was saying, in order to rectify this situation, I need you to move directly along to your second task.”
She tangles her fingers together. “Okay. I’m ready.”
“The Miss Reindeer Valley Pageant is tomorrow night.”
“Oh, that’s right!” Her eyes light up. “I love watching all those pretty girls in pretty dresses with—”
“Indeed. Now, for this part of your work, I need you to be particularly crafty.” I smirk as I give her the instructions. She takes it all in, her eyes opening wider and wider as I explain exactly how I want her to ruin the entire affair.
Her cat perches on my shoes, its tail wrapping around my legs. I frown at it, but it doesn’t seem to take the hint.
When I’m done, I point at Rudolph. “Leave him here. I’ll handle Ms. Graham in the morning. Now give me a house key.” I hold out my hand.
“A house key? To my place? Um, okay.” She turns and goes to a small desk, then digs around for an inordinate amount of time before pulling out a key. “Here. Is that part of the job?”
“It is now.” I take it, pocket it, and open the front door. “Lock it.”
“Right.” She glances at Rudolph. “We have to keep the treasure safe.”
I stare down at her, my heart still pounding from when I held her close. “Indeed we do.”
6
Merry
“You hear about Rudolph?” Ruby asks me. Her cheeks are more flushed than normal, her lips puffy too. There is no missing the twinkle in her eyes either. She’s in love. It looks good on her. I couldn’t be happier that she’s finally going to get her happily ever after.
“Let’s not speak about such things. You know I can’t lie to you, so it would be for the best if we just don’t discuss it at all.” I take a sip of the hot chocolate she made me before she joined me at the bakery.
I’d been tickled when Ruby told me she was coming back to town. We’ve been best friends since kindergarten, and I hated that she was so far away. It hurt when she went off to a fancy college in the city, but I knew she had to get away from Reindeer Valley. Not from me, obviously, but from Knox.
She thought some space would help her get over her crush, but no such luck. Since the second she landed back in town to help with her grandmother's bakery for the holiday season, Knox has been all over her. Pretty sure he had a hand in getting her back here.
It wasn’t long after Ruby left for college that Knox got his head out of his ass and realized what had slipped through his fingers. Any time I ran into him after that, he was always asking me about her. Sometimes I think he ran into me on purpose so he could try to get some information about Ruby out of me. Though I never told Ruby any of that. If he wanted her back, he was going to have to work for it, and he clearly is.
“Oh gosh, what are you up to? You look guilty of something.”
I hate that I have such an expressive face I can never hide anything. “You’ll have to wait and see.” I wiggle my eyebrows.
“All right, I’ll let it go for now. I need to wrap up a few things so I can get out of here.”
“Are you going to the Christmas Pageant?”
“Nah, we all know Nora is going to win it.” She rolls her eyes.
I’m a bit relieved Ruby won’t be going. Not that I don’t want her there, but it will be easier to do my job if she’s not.
Ruby can’t stand Nora for a lot of reasons. Nora was a real jerk to her in high school. It also doesn’t help that Nora’s been in love with Knox for years. He doesn’t give her the time of day, and he never has. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t give anyone the time of day in any kind of romantic regard.
All Nora cares about is what other people think. She wants Knox because he comes with money and a wealthy last name. He’s also not hard to look at, but Knox can be a lot like I am. Easy to please and down to earth, mostly. We don’t need anything fancy.
“I don’t think it’s Nora’s year. She won last year.”
“No one wants to hear her pitch a fit.” Ruby wrinkles her button nose. “It’s easier to give her what she wants than to deal with the consequences. She'd lose her mind if she didn’t win it.”
True. I hadn’t thought about that. I wonder what she would do if she lost. I suppose we’re about to find out later on tonight.
I give Ruby a hug and kiss on the cheek before I slip on my new winter coat. It was outside my door this morning. It even had a giant black bow on the box. It’s one of those cape coats in a deep red. It looks and feels expensive and is named after a fancy sounding berry. A Burberry. With the fur around the collar, I’d think the name Furberry would be better, but what do I know?
It’s not a long walk over to the auditorium. It’s already filling up. I hold my bag close as I slip into the back to find Spencer. I’m going to need him to pull this off. He takes everything so dang seriously, so I know it’s not going to be easy.
When I pass the girls getting ready, they don’t look the least bit excited. Except Nora. I spot her off to the side practicing her speech for when she wins. All the girls have had to do a handful of things to try to win the Christmas pageant over the past few weeks. Tonight, the winner is going to be announced followed by a small parade in their honor outside. Seeing how down all the other girls look makes me feel a bit better about my plan.
I don’t much care for the idea of anyone losing except Nora. She’s messed with my best friend for far too long. Always making her little jabs at her. I think she’s known for as long as I have that Ruby holds Knox’s heart. That’s why Nora went out of her way to be rude. It’s hard for me to feel bad for her. She’s got this coming. I think a bit of humbling is exactly what she needs.
“Spencer!” I call when I spot him in front of one of the mirrors, fussing over his bow tie. “Let me help you with that.”
“Merry Harper.” He spins around to face me. “I’m all yours.” I fight not to roll my eyes as I fix his bow tie. I peek over and spot the envelope sitting on the vanity with the winning name inside.
It’s hard to make small talk. Spencer is a giant flirt. He was a bit of a dork in high school, but he put in some time at the gym, got himself some contacts, and now flirts with anything that moves. Pretty sure he even got Nora into his bed at one point.
“There you go.” I get him all fixed up. “You like my new coat?” I ask, giving a spin around for him. He snags me around the waist, stopping me mid-twirl. The heck.