It's in His Kiss Holiday Romance Collection (14 page)

His nose turned pink.

“You want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“You’ll think I’m nuts.”

“Try me.”

He sighed. “Okay, but it’s going to sound crazy.”

“I doubt it.”

His hands gripped the golden colored blanket. “Every time I even tell the whitest of lies, my nose turns red. It’s like some kind of barometer or something.”

“And?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“You’re leaving something out.”

“No, I’m not.” He sneezed. “Okay. Yes. Gramps had it right. I’m on Santa’s Naughty List. There. I said it. Gramps and me, we’re both loony.” He stood and walked over to gaze out the window.

She laughed, thinking how she wished she could tell him about Mrs. Claus and the Bells women, but that was something she could only tell to someone she knew would never, under any circumstances betray her trust. If that person betrayed her, she would lose her connection to Mrs. Claus forever.

He turned back to her, disappointment stained his face. “I knew you’d think I’m crazy. You should probably leave.”

She stood and went over to him. “I’m not laughing at you, I promise. It’s just that being from the Bells family nothing that happens in this town strikes me as crazy. Especially this time of year.”

His forehead wrinkled. “What does that mean?”

“I can’t tell you. It’s a secret, but if you’d just taste the cookies and tell me what’s missing, someday … maybe …”

She grabbed the box of cookies off the dresser and handed it to him. He hesitated for a moment, staring into her eyes. She wanted to kiss him in the worst way, but now was most definitely not the time, so she went back and sat down in the chair.

Box in hand, Rudy crashed on the bed and dug around inside the now open box, pulled out a gingerbread girl and deliberately bit off its head while staring at Jenny.

Ouch!

Jenny had a crush on Rudy ever since they first kissed under the mistletoe in Sugar Plums when they were five years old.

It was Rudy’s idea, of course. Back then he continually tried to kiss her or see her panties. She liked to wear red ones, with three rows of ruffles on the backside just in case she ever gave him the pleasure, which she almost did on one occasion. It was Christmas Eve and they were helping Gramps pack up an extra large order of gingerbread boys and girls for the party in the town square. Jenny was all set to pick up the back of her skirt and shake her ruffled booty when Rudy’s gram walked in and spoiled the moment.

That’s when she remembered seeing red ruffled adult panties at Always Christmas department store. She just might have to make a quick stop.

She waited as he chewed and swallowed. “The sugar’s wrong, or missing. I can’t exactly tell, but this cookie is really bland.”

“Can you fix it?”

He shook his head. “Not this one. This one needs exactly the right ingredients.”

She stood. “Then you need to get dressed and come help me find your grandma’s recipe book. It’s in the house somewhere, but Gramps can’t remember where she hid it.”

“You don’t understand. When my grandmother hid something, it was hidden forever. It’s a waste of time.”

She walked in closer, ready to do some major teasing. Knowing perfectly well that under all of Rudy’s newfound bravado still lurked the little boy who wanted to see her red, ruffley underpants. “Do you want to know my secret?”

“Baby, I’ve been trying to know your secrets since we were five.”

She ran her index finger down the bridge of his nose and across his lips. “Then Mr. Naughty, come help me find that book to save your grandpa’s bakery and you’ll learn all about me.”

He reached out to pull her in closer, but she managed to slip from his arms. “Not until we find that book … and certainly not until you take a shower.”

A sly sexy smile creased his lips. “Will you join me?”

“The book first, remember?”

“Give me ten minutes,” he said and headed for the bathroom.

“I’ll tell housekeeping they can come by and clean up your room. Meet you at Sugar Plums.”

She left his room feeling as though she was finally on the right track to accomplish what Mrs. Claus had asked her to do.

At least she hoped so. There was no telling if Rudy would come through, especially since he was on Santa’s Naughty List.

But first she needed to make a quick stop at Always Christmas.

Chapter Three

Rudy and Jenny had spent the remainder of the day searching every drawer, cupboard, desk, trunk and dresser in the house, which included everything shoved into one side of the attic. They even looked behind pictures hanging on the walls to make sure there wasn’t a hidden safe. Jenny was relentless and Rudy could hardly keep up.

The thing was, he really did want to find the recipe book, if for no other reason than someday he’d like to bake again, when he had kids of his own. A fact he could never admit out loud, even to himself. Up until he found Jenny again he truly believed if what you did for a living couldn’t make you rich, you needed to find another calling.

Rudy had put his dreams aside soon after he and his family moved away, but now, being in North Pole, spending time with Jenny, and seeing Gramps, he had come to realize how much he missed this crazy town.

In their search for the recipe book they’d found baby clothes that probably belonged to Rudy, his dad, Gramps and other family members, old pictures of his grandparents when they were young, fur coats that were probably hidden away when they became politically incorrect, old shoes, hats, gloves, fancy aprons, a reel-to-reel tape recorder, a few porcelain-faced dolls, three percolators, a rotary Princess phone, and his grandmother’s wedding dress.

But no recipe book of any kind.

“It’s just not here,” Rudy said plopping himself down on the living room floor.

The room looked exactly as it had when his grandmother was alive, overloaded with all things needlepoint. Rudy had vivid memories of his gram spending all her free time on one project after another. On every surface and in every corner of the tiny room sat pillows, purses, wall hangings, Christmas stockings and even an entire stuffed needlepoint choir.

Gramps hadn’t moved a thing.

“I’m not giving up yet. I think we should take another look through the things in the attic. It’s got to be there. We’re just not seeing it.”

“Did you ever consider that maybe it was accidentally thrown away?”

Jenny sat on a chair across from him. Her face was smudged with dirt, and thick strands of her rich dark hair had fallen out of the clip. A light sheen of sweat covered her skin and the more Rudy stared at her, the more he wanted to make love to her, right there on the living room floor. Jenny was simply the most beautiful woman he’d ever known.

Unfortunately, Gramps slept only a few feet away. Not the best place for a tryst, but not completely impossible with a little discretion.

“Have you not been paying attention?”

He felt the smirk on his face all the way down to his toes. “Oh, yeah, I’ve been paying attention.”

She rolled her eyes. “Can you ever think of anything else?”

“Not when you’re around.”

“I must look like hell.”

“You never looked more beautiful.” He moved closer to her chair.

She stood and walked a couple feet away from him. “Our deal was we have to find that book first, and I’m keeping you to it. Your grandparents never threw anything away, that’s now obvious. So, it’s here. We just haven’t found it yet.”

Rejected once again, Rudy leaned back on his elbows. “So what if we don’t find it and the bakery has to close. Would anybody really care? I mean, let’s face it Jenny. Most department stores across this country have outlawed even saying Merry Christmas to a customer. And some towns have made it a crime to display Christmas decorations. It’s a dying holiday, at least the way it used to be.”

“True for other towns and cities, but this is North Pole, Maine. If we’re not about Christmas we’re just another small town. Like all the others. We’re not special anymore.”

“I never knew you cared so much about this place.”

“It’s my home. It’s where I grew up. It’s where my memories are kept. I love this town, don’t you care what happens to it?”

“I—” He stopped himself. If he didn’t say what was in his heart, his nose would probably light up the entire room. He took a breath and let it out, slowly. He was skating on extremely thin ice. “Yes, I care about the town, the people, Gramps, and you. Especially you.”

“Then if that’s true, we can’t give up. Besides, your grandfather bakes Santa’s favorite gingerbread cookie in the entire world.”

Rudy doubted it, even though she seemed adamant. “Yeah. Right. In the entire world. Be careful or your nose might turn red. This thing might be contagious.”

“I’m not lying.”

“My grandfather’s gingerbread cookie is Santa’s favorite.”

“Yes.”

He sat up. “And you know this for a fact?”

She nodded, smiling.

Rudy got it. She was teasing him. He laughed. “Too bad that’s not true or Gramps could be rich. This whole town would be rich.”

She stared at him, deadpan.

He said, “Come on. You can’t know that.”

“Can’t I?”

He stood and walked over to her. “Are you saying the recipe book contains Santa’s actual, all-time favorite cookie in the entire world? And you know this, absolutely. How?”

She shook her head. “Umm, not yet. I’m still not sure—”

He was standing right in front of her now. “Of what? That I’ll betray your trust?”

She stood, and turned her back to him, walking out of the room. “Worse. That you’ll betray my love.”

He hurried over to her, took her by the arm, spun her around to face him and kissed her as if she were already his. As if they had always been lovers. Just holding her in his arms aroused him. Sent his pulse racing. When their tongues touched a fire smoldered deep inside him. He held her tighter, closer, needing to feel her body against his, wanting her more than he ever thought possible.

They separated, staring in each other’s eyes. “I could never hurt you, Jenny. You’ve got to know that.”

Her gaze momentarily fell to his nose, but Rudy knew he was telling the absolute truth. There would be no tells this time. No red nose to give his lying thoughts away.

Her face beamed with delight. “I believe you.”

Their lips met again, this time with more intensity, and more passion. She pulled away, guiding him toward the stairway that led to her attic bedroom. When they reached the stairs, she walked up backwards, pulling him along by the front of his gray sweater.

“We still haven’t found the book. That was our bargain.” She said it with that teasing little grin Rudy knew so well from when they were kids. It always meant she was thinking of something devious, something wily.

“You said it was in the attic. We’re going up there to look.”

He quickly moved up to her step and kissed her, again. A softer kiss this time, more romantic than dirty.

She turned away from him for a moment and walked up the final three steps. Her round hips swaying seductively as she went. “We can look while we’re in bed.” she said as she slipped out of her red T-shirt, revealing a black lace bra.

“Oh yeah. There will be plenty of looking.” He pulled off his sweater, and started working on unfastening his jeans.

“I have a surprise for you, Rudy Christopher Raindear.”

They were in her bedroom now, facing each other.

“I love surprises.”

He slid his arms around her waist, his hands caressing her silky skin. She wiggled out of her jeans and they fell to the ground. She stepped out of them. “You’re going to love this,” she told him. “If you even remember. I bought these especially for you.”

She turned in his arms. He let her go, watching as she swayed her butt showing off the cutest pair of red ruffled panties he’d ever seen.

“I don’t believe it. Finally! I used to drift off to sleep dreaming of those panties. But how—”

“Shh,” she said, holding a finger over his lips. “From the first time I saw you in the bar, I hoped this moment would arrive. Now that it’s here, I’m a little scared.”

He took a deep breath and let it out. “Me too.”

They kissed again and fell back on her bed with Jenny on top of him, landing on one of his grandmother’s needlepoint pillows. Something immediately jabbed his back. It felt hard and uncomfortable.

“Are you okay?” Jenny asked.

“No. Something’s poking me. What do you have on this bed, rocks?”

“Just some of your grandmother’s pillows.”

It was as if they both came to the same conclusion at the same time. “I’ll get a pair of scissors,” Jenny said jumping out of bed.

Rudy rolled over slipping the pillow out from under him, and felt for the square object in the center of the ornate pillow with Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer staring up at him.

Of course!

Jenny returned with the scissors and sat on the bed, cross legged, all full of little-girl-giggles and fun. As if she were opening a present on Christmas morning.

“Do you know how beautiful you are?” he told her, sweeping a strand of hair off her lovely face.

She leaned over and gently kissed him. “Thank you, but let’s open this. I’m so excited.”

Very carefully, Jenny cut the side of the pillow open, and pulled out the matting first, then she pulled out a book and held it out, reading, “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

“She hid a Christmas poem book inside a pillow?”

“Your grandma was a clever woman.” Jenny opened the book, and fanned the pages until she came to a cutout of the remaining pages in the center, and tucked inside was a small, ancient looking journal entitled: Cookies Santa Loves.

“I knew it was here!” Jenny said, and jumped up on the bed clutching the book to her chest while she spun around using the mattress as a trampoline.

Rudy watched with complete delight. He’d never seen anyone so happy. He’d forgotten what that feeling could look like. Before long he was up doing a little dance on the bed with her, careful to avoid hitting his head on the slanted ceiling.

Moments later they were in each other’s arms, touching, tasting and caressing until Rudy thought he wasn’t going to make it through this alive. She had gently tossed the book to the floor, along with their underwear as they slid down onto the bed, the heat reaching a fever pitch inside Rudy’s body. He wanted nothing more than to love her, love every inch of her and for the first time in his life, Jenny Bells was willing to love him back.