Christmas Clash (7 page)

Dan's bookstore would attract the educators in town and people who enjoyed buying local—aka the folks who regularly stood up for local businesses and would be their best lobbying group. They knew what to do and how to do it. Candace made a mental note to speak with Dan privately this week so she could corner a specific few of his regulars at the bookstore.

Luke looked like—Luke. Even-keeled, judgmental, and handsome. He'd said nice things, sure, but that didn't mean he wasn't judging. He wasn't a dummy. He needed her help and he needed buy-in from everyone at the table, and fighting with her in front of the group wouldn't get him either. Part of her appreciated his tactics. Who knew Luke could be diplomatic? She was finding out a lot of new information about him lately: Diplomatic, James Brand hater, and possibly a pepper jack cheese fan.

A shiver ran down her spine. She wanted to know more.

Mabel, with hands folded in front of her, nodded slightly as she sat back in her chair comfortably. Mabel had a steady crowd of people at her coffee shop who wouldn't be happy at the government was interfering. Informing them would be excellent; they would surely talk about their disapproval over their fancy dinners. Candace was all too familiar with dinners that didn't separate business from professional. There was one scheduled next week sometime for all of the Ellison portfolio employees. Having Blake, and now his wife, Halle, there made them much easier to breeze through.

She could use her connections to get people's attention and to lean on the council. And, she knew just the people she'd contact. Frank would be the first call she'd make when she got back to Kiss from a Rose.

But for now, she settled for handing out sheets she'd typed up around coffee cup number four. She'd listed each of their businesses and ideas, such as sleigh rides, hot chocolate, food, and live entertainment, that might draw the public to their block-wide event.

“Here is what Luke and I were thinking,” Candace continued. “You can, of course, choose what you actually provide as entertainment for the event at your location. But please let me know so we inform the media correctly.”

She waited for each of them to look over their sheet of paper and catch up with her train of thought. Luke caught her eye and she focused on him.
Is he smiling?
Was that flash of approval directed toward her? Maybe, after all these years, she was finally winning him over. He wouldn't be such a bad friend to have. They were going to be neighbors for the foreseeable future. A truce with him would be good for business.

When her nerves calmed down, the group discussed the plan of attack. Happy with the meeting, they filtered out one by one. Soon she was left standing in the room with a man who wasn't a stranger any longer. His green eyes made her smile. Butterflies circled her stomach and threatened to flutter over with excitement.
Well, that's new.
It was unnerving.

“Good meeting.” Luke stood close enough she could smell his sweet woodsy scent.

She prayed her face didn't betray her and her butterflies. “Thanks for your support, too.” She knew his support was only due to their shared interest, but it still felt good.

“My pleasure.”

The way he said
pleasure
made her wonder—with dirty thoughts. Did Luke Carrigan know the state he'd put her body in, or were the shivers he sent through her by accident?

“Why do you do that?” She searched his eyes as her mind caught up with her mouth.

“What?” His expression didn't change and she wanted to smack him.

She was done with his toying. Candace took a step back when he stepped closer. Her gaze strayed to the balcony before settling back on his gorgeous green eyes set on her.
What's happening?
She smiled tightly and, this time, stood her ground.

“You know exactly what I'm talking about,” she said.

“No, I don't.” He shook his head back and forth once.

Oh, he knows.
Before her mouth did whatever it pleased by starting this line of conversation, she would've guessed no, but now she knew better. His words were intentional, as well as his gaze and affect.

“Yes, you do.” She boldly stepped forward; they were practically touching. Her heartbeat quickened even though she willed herself to calm down. Luke was no one to get excited over. “You know exactly what you're saying and how you're saying it. What I can't figure out is why …” She let the soft ending of her sentence trail to silence.

Her gaze dropped to his lips. She intentionally held it for him to see and rubbed her glossy lips together. Was she really thinking about kissing him? Nah, she only meant to call his bluff. This was one helluva game of chicken. He would walk away and then she'd have the upper hand.

His breath quickened and his eyes fixed on her lips. Her breath caught.
Is he going to kiss me?
Was she going to let him? Yep. She sure as hell was. Ignoring his personality, he was smokin' hot. Confusion turned to want, and then her mind blanked.

“Some mysteries are best left to the imagination.” His low voice rumbled over her body and down to her light purple painted toes.

Her plan had backfired.

He searched her face, and a flash of want filled his eyes before indifference took over, and he walked past her. She heard his footsteps down the wooden stairs. Each step nagged at her heart strings. Now
he
had the upper hand.

• • •

“'Ello.” Frank answered on the first ring.

Candace smiled. The gruff voice on the other end of her phone had been protecting her for as long as she could remember.

“Hey, Frank. Did I catch you at a good time?” Her stomach settled and she took a deep breath. Everything was going to be all right.

“Sure. Whatcha need?”

“This city council stuff has become serious. Real serious.” She paused and briefly considered her choice of words going forward. “I'm doing what I can, but I'm worried it won't be enough. I need something, anything, to save my business and all the others down here.”

“I've been following the situation. Wondered when I'd hear from you.”

Her smile turned into a wide grin. “I kept forgetting to call.” The man had intuition. She didn't know where he came from or how he'd partnered with her dad, but Frank was an asset.

“I started looking into the council members already.”

“Anything good?” She turned on the faucet in the big basin in the back room to fill a watering container.

“Petty crap here and there. Nothing motivational. Yet.”

“I need something that's a game changer. Think outside the box.” What the hell? Her in-the-box thinking was getting her only so far. Frank brought years of experience with these types of situations to the family business.

“I'll let ya know.”

The line went dead and Candace stared at her phone before darkening the screen.

“Want to grab an eggnog or cherry pie after work?” Candace busied herself with a bouquet of white lilies, red roses, and fresh frosted pinecones on the island counter on a cold afternoon one week before Christmas and one Saturday away from the council's fateful vote. Man, she sounded desperate. She couldn't remember being this in need of a friend in a long time.

“Got a gig with my band tonight. Want to come?” Sophie looked at her with hopeful eyes. “We can hang out. It's low key.”

Sophie obviously had picked up on her tone. Candace felt pathetic. She hated feeling weak. A large part of her relationship problems stemmed from her inability to naturally show vulnerability.

“Sounds fun.” Candace made sure her voice sounded light as she focused on the holiday bouquet.

Letting loose sounded perfect. Candace had time to grab a quick peanut butter and red plum jelly sandwich before getting ready. She slipped on black pants, a silver shimmery top, and put on her reddest lipstick. She finished her outfit with crimson closed-toe booties. It had been a long time since she'd dressed up for fun. Holiday parties and the dreaded council meeting, sure, but this was purely for excitement. And excitement deserved flashy heels.

She grabbed a matching red diamond-encrusted clutch, then made her way across town to the Bombay Club. She found the last parking spot on the block and hurried inside. The cold air clung to her body, but she didn't want to deal with a coat in the club—maybe not the smartest sacrifice. It took her a half hour, and one drink, to warm up.

She sat with Sophie's band mates—all girls and all punk rockers. She'd met one or two of them before and had seen Sophie perform numerous times, but tonight the group was exceptionally hilarious. She mouthed “thank you” to Sophie as the band made their way backstage to get ready for their performance.

Candace pulled her phone from her clutch to check Facebook; maybe she'd even post about being at the club. For once she had something cool to write. She was about to stretch out her hand to capture a good angle for a selfie when his voice cut through the crowd.

“This seat taken?”

She straightened. Seats were sparse, but that probably wasn't why he was asking. She titled her head up and to the side and looked straight into Luke's eyes—his beautiful, many-shades-of-green-she'd-never-seen-before eyes.
There goes letting my hair down.
Her heels might have been rockin', but they weren't stand-all-night-in-one-place comfortable. She'd have to sit by him.

“Yes.” She turned back to the deafening stage.

“Perfect.” He slid out the chair next to her and sat, scooting it in so they practically touched legs.

She rolled her eyes. Of course he'd put his butt in the chair. He had no regard for her or her feelings. A chill crept up her arm to her neck. She was missing something here. When had her body started betraying her when it came to Luke friggin' Carrigan?

“Do you always watch Sophie play?” He leaned close and heat radiated from his cheek to hers.

“When I can.” She tilted her head but made sure to keep a safe distance from his scent. “Have you seen Orange Heart perform before?” She took note of his dark jeans, slip-on brown leather loafers, and blue polo and decided not to acknowledge his cuteness. Men had looking good so easy when it came to clothing.

“No. Sophie invited me.” He turned and their eyes locked.

“When?” Before she could stop the word it tumbled pathetically from her lips. She made herself hold his gaze. She froze her face and prayed he didn't notice that she still wanted her lips to touch his.

Why hadn't Sophie said anything? Either she'd asked Luke there to hit on him or—or, what? Candace had no idea what had gone through Sophie's head.
It doesn't matter. More power to the both of them.
Candace and Luke obviously didn't have anything but a professional relationship, which was one step up from the disdain they'd cultivated for decades.

“Today. Said she was worried and wanted a warm body in the seat.” He indicated the crowd surrounding them. “Worried for no reason.”

“They have a faithful following.”

The waitress bought Candace a refill and Luke a beer.
I'm drinking the same thing he made me last night. Perfect.
She was going to try to glide by that embarrassment. She sipped her Moscow Mule and out of the corner of her eye could see Luke smile right before the beer bottle hit his lips.
Caught
.

Luke leaned over and she could feel his hot breath on her neck as he spoke, lowly, in her ear. “You can just admit that I know what you like.” He lingered close.

A siren deep in her belly awakened, her lips fell apart, and she blinked twice, keeping her face toward the stage.

Before she could say anything, the loud strums of electric guitar rang. Luke returned to his space, leaving her cold. She ignored the confusing moment and focused on Sophie and her rock band. They covered some great '80s music and performed original songs of their own. The nagging image of Luke sitting next to her stifled her enjoyment. She could smell his sweet scent and remained hyper-aware of his actions the entire time. When he shifted, her heart beat faster. When he reached out his hand for his beer, she licked her lips. Every time he brought his hand up to scratch the back of his head or touch his scruff, she about fainted wondering if his hand would somehow land on her thigh. Her nerves were shot.

“You like?” she asked.

“Yeah. Good music,” he shouted over the drum of music.

“That's not what I'm asking.” She winked, but it wasn't one of those coy winks. It was obvious. Probably subtlety wasn't in her drunk repertoire.

Still, Candace sipped beverage number four. She streaked her hand on the sweating mug. Why did she go over her drink limit when she was around Luke? Safety. The only explanation was she knew he'd never let anything bad happen to her. His gruff exterior housed a caring man—one she was comfortable with. Her cheeks were hot and the fact that she could bite down on her teeth and barely feel her jaw relax worried her. Drink number four would be her last of the night. She had work to do tomorrow.

“You're going to have to elaborate.”

“Sophie.”

“Sophie?” His confusion seemed genuine through her vodka and ginger beer goggles.

“The reason you're here. Sophie. You like her.” Normally she'd cringe at the words flowing out of her mouth—they sounded cheery, their implication not so much.

His empty chuckle held a meaning she'd probably be able to decipher under normal circumstances.

He grabbed his beer and drank. “You think I'm here for Sophie? As in, because I like her?” The beer bottle balanced on his thigh as he swiveled his body to face her.

“Yeah.”

He calmly set his beer on the table as the crowd hummed around them. The background swirled, but he came into focus—cheekbones accentuated by his brows gave his face a provocative glint. She wanted to lean to kiss him. Unspoken words passed between them—and she had no clue what those words were. He wore a serious expression as he searched her eyes.