Mistletoe Magic (Paradise Place Book 6)

by Natalie Ann

  “Product is for prisses,” he said.

  “And we know you only wear a tie when you need to.”

  She looked at him in jeans and a fleece jacket. Nothing prissy there at all.

  “I like to be comfortable.”

  “Me too,” she said. “When we are done here can we go to Hobby Lobby again? I want to get more decorations for the house. I bet they’ve got a ton of new stuff.”

  “I didn’t realize you were going to be like Mrs. Claus.”

  “You think I’m like Mrs. Claus? I thought it was more like the elves got drunk and threw a party, then threw up glitter the next morning.” She held her sleeve up. “Every time I walk out the door to get the mail I get glitter on me from the wreath.”

  “It is kind of fancy,” he said of the blue-and-silver-covered item she picked up last week.

  “Gaudy. I know. I knew it when I bought it, but I’m rebelling this year.”

  “You can rebel all you want. It’s your life so live it the way you want to.”

  “I’m going to,” she said, bumping her shoulder against his chest. It was about as high as she could go. She liked that he was that much taller than her. He didn’t have to be muscle-bound for her to feel safe in his arms. He just had to be himself.

  “Robin?”

  She turned and saw Alex’s parents standing there. Of all the rotten luck to see them in the mall on a Saturday. She wasn’t sure they ever went to the mall, now that she thought of it. At least if you listened to Alex talk about all the help they had that seemed to manage their lives.

  “Hi,” she said back and glanced at Brian. She wondered if they’d remember him or not.

  “You’re Robin’s lawyer, right?” Alex’s mother said.

  Guess so. “Yes,” he said back.

  “I hadn’t realized you were dating anyone,” Alex’s mom said.

  “We haven’t talked since the divorce.” And she wanted it that way.

  “I know. I’ve reached out and I understand why you want your space. It’s just we miss you.”

  She looked at Alex’s father. He was looking anywhere but at her so she doubted the statement that was just made.

  “It’s for the best. We know that.”

  “I know,” Alex’s mother said. “You look good. Your hair looks so pretty.”

  “Thank you,” she said back. Patrice Fischer always did compliment her. She hadn’t wanted to believe they were nice people in the beginning and so down to earth with their wealth, but they’d proven her wrong.

  They were good people who had a spoiled child they were trying to rein in. Or control. Yeah, control was the better word. Alex didn’t want to be controlled and the truth was, she did feel bad that he felt he couldn’t be himself at times.

  Not enough that she’d forgive what he’d done to her. Ever.

  “We’ll let you get back to your shopping,” Patrice said, taking her husband’s arm and pulling him away.

  “That was awkward,” Brian said.

  “Tell me about it. It’s not their business who I date, but they seemed pretty uncomfortable with it all.”

  “It’s a hard situation, but it’s in your past.”

  “You’re right. It is. And that is where it’s staying.” She threaded her fingers through his and pulled him along. “Let’s get that shopping done.”

  Brian had recognized Patrice and Richard Fischer right away but had hoped they wouldn’t notice the two of them together or at least call Robin out.

  He didn’t get that wish.

  At least Robin didn’t seem upset over the interaction.

  They hadn’t talked about Alex anymore since Tuesday when he’d slipped and made that comment about Alex putting a front on for everyone and Robin thought she was a fool.

  From the two times he’d seen Alex’s parents they’d seemed genuine. Richard never said much, but he gladly deposited the money in Robin’s account with no questions asked. Richard just wanted to put it all behind him and Brian suspected that he had no problem with Robin not wanting to stay in communication with them.

  But like Robin just said—it was in her past. He was her future and he wanted her to know that.

  “So are you going to let me pick out some decorations for your house? Maybe you can get some for mine too.”

  “I’d love that,” she said. “Can we stop and see your house after here? I haven’t seen it yet.”

  He hadn’t thought much of it, but she was right. They hadn’t been to his house once. Normally he went to hers because of the dogs.

  “We can do that. You don’t need to get home to Luke and Leia?”

  “It’s only a few hours. Not a big deal. They like being in their crate and napping now.”

  “Okay. Then let’s finish up and get some decorations for my house.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  An hour later they were pulling into his driveway. “This is much bigger than I thought it was going to be.”

  “Average for this area.”

  He went in the garage. She got out and followed him. “Are you going to give me a tour?”

  “You know I am,” he said, laughing. “If you wanted to see my house before now you could have just asked.”

  “I guess I didn’t think much of it until now. But I’m glad we are here.”

  “Am I going to be able to get you in my bedroom?” he asked.

  “Why don’t we start there now,” she said, laughing.

  He grabbed her hand, they dropped their bags, and raced upstairs.

  Yep, this was his future right here and he had to find a way to make her see that.

  16

  My Boyfriend

  On Tuesday, Robin walked into the shelter and saw Cooper Winslow there already.

  “How are the puppies doing?” Cooper asked.

  “Good. They are pretty acclimated now. The biggest problem I’m having is the Christmas tree. I had to put a gate around it. It looks silly, but my other option is to have the decorations all over the place and destroyed.”

  “Puppies like to get into everything. Is the little girl more outgoing now?”

  “Leia,” she said. She’d told him the puppies’ names the next time she’d seen him. She tried to cut him some slack though since he saw animals all day long. Except he’d been flirting with her and hinting for a date the entire time she’d been volunteering here and yet couldn’t remember something simple like that?

  “That’s right. Star Wars. Luke is the other.”

  Okay, she should take back her negative thoughts. “Yep. He’s not so protective of her as he was in the beginning.”

  “That’s great. Maybe you wouldn’t mind speaking at the Christmas party in a few weeks.”

  “Christmas party?” she said.

  “Oh yeah. This is your first year here. The Saturday before Christmas we have a big holiday party. More like a celebration to get people in to adopt some puppies. It’s a big fundraiser too. It’s only our second year. Last year was a hit. Anyway, we like people to talk about success stories with adoptions.”

  “Oh, I’d love to.” She felt like a fool for not realizing this was going to be happening, but she’d been so absorbed in her own personal life and just coming in to help out. She wasn’t even here last Thursday because she’d gotten a call saying there wasn’t anything to do, they didn’t have a shipment coming in.

  So she took the day off and spent it playing with her pups and tinkering around the house. She even went to the mall again to try to find the perfect Christmas gift for Brian.

  “Invite anyone you want,” Cooper said. “They are working up invitations that should be ready next week if you want to take some and hand them out.”

  “I definitely will,” she said. “Maybe I’ll have Brian give some to his family and his office.”

  “Brian?” Cooper asked, his ears perking up.

  “My boyfriend.” She figured it might be best to get that out in the open now and it would stop the flirting. She had no problem be
ing friendly with people, but she wanted people to know she was dating someone.

  Even the girls at work had asked why she was smiling so much lately and she’d confessed she was in a relationship. They all had questions and she ended up being the center of attention that she hated so much.

  She answered a few of those questions, got some sly looks over dating an attorney and then quickly went back to work. No one knew she was divorced there. There was no reason to say anything. All she’d said was she was single.

  She didn’t even tell anyone where she bought her new house, just saying in Colonie. She was glad no one asked specifics. Since she kept to herself so much, plenty gave her that space.

  “Oh. I didn’t know you were dating anyone. Sorry if I stepped on any toes,” he said quickly. “Didn’t mean to make anyone uncomfortable.”

  “No,” she said. “It’s fine. I’m a private person.”

  “Yeah. I like that about you. I am too. My biggest problem is I spend too much time with animals that I don’t always relate to humans as well. Or get signs or signals when they are right in my face.”

  She laughed. Cooper wasn’t a bad-looking guy at all. Actually he was pretty good looking, but she always felt he was kind of cocky. But now she was wondering if he was just as awkward as her and trying to hide it.

  Didn’t matter and she wasn’t going to belabor it either. Not her problem.

  “I never noticed anything. No worries either way. So how many are we expecting today?” she asked.

  “I think we’ve got two shipments coming so I hope you’re ready though I think it’s only five from one and eight from another.”

  “That’s still a lot of dogs,” she said. Normally they only got about eight to ten with each shipment. And one shipment at a time though that wasn’t the case today. It was sad, but it seemed like more and more dogs were being abandoned. She was just happy they only dealt with dogs and not cats here.

  She went in the back room where the bathing stations were and started to set stuff up knowing it could be a long day ahead of them.

  “Wow you look beat. Hard day?” Brian looked over to where Robin was sitting on the couch looking like she just woke up. The minute the dogs heard his voice, they jumped off her lap and came running toward him hopping up on his legs.

  He held the pizza up and out of the way even though the dogs weren’t anywhere close to getting it.

  “Yeah.”

  “Lots of dogs delivered today?” he asked. He put the pizza on the counter and started to get plates and napkins down. Robin finally got up from the couch and made her way over to him, leaning up on her tiptoes and giving him a kiss, then almost sinking back down to the floor.

  “Yes,” she said. “I’m starving, but I’m almost too tired to even eat. There were thirteen dogs delivered today. Thirteen little balls of fur that wouldn’t sit down.”

  “Does any puppy ever sit?” he asked. He moved her to the stool and put a piece of pizza on a plate in front of her. “Here. Eat.”

  “Thank you. You take such good care of me.” She took a big bite of the pizza. “Anyway. Eight were a Jack Russell mix. Oh my, they were into everything. Everywhere I turned one was running in another direction. It was only Cooper and I and we were both exhausted by the end of the day.”

  “Cooper the vet?” he asked. He’d heard the name one too many times to think the guy might have a thing for his girl.

  “Yes. I found out there is a fundraiser in a few weeks. I made a comment about bringing some invitations home and giving them to you for your staff or family.”

  “And what was his response? Yes, I’ll hand them out. Not sure if anyone will go, but my mother has been making comments about missing having a dog at home and since she’s retired, it’s possible she might sneak in and get one.”

  “Cooper was surprised I was dating someone. He apologized if he stepped on toes.”

  “And why is that?” he asked grabbing his own slice.

  “Are you jealous?” she asked, stopping mid bite. “No reason to be.”

  He didn’t think he was, but he supposed it came off that way. No, he was wrong. Yes, he was jealous. He’d admit it. “I guess I might be. But now he knows you’re dating someone and I’ll be showing up for that event next to your side.”

  “I hoped you would. Anyway, I’ve never had anyone be jealous of me before. I guess I was a little jealous when I was in your office the other day too.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I just got the feeling Molly might have been upset we were dating. Like maybe she had a thing for you.”

  “I started to think it too. Honestly, she made a comment about us dating when you left and I told her my private life had nothing to do with work.”

  He didn’t want to say that Molly commented on his past dating with ex clients. No reason to go into that here.

  “So she did have a thing for you?”

  “I don’t think so. If she did, she doesn’t now. I’m her boss so that is off limits. And she isn’t my type either.”

  “She’s not much different than me.”

  He started to laugh. “Are you kidding me? You two are nothing alike. She’s shy and sort of boring and dull.”

  “You said she’s a Pitbull when she sinks her teeth into things too. That’s nothing like me. But I’m shy and could be considered dull.”

  He reached his hand over and tucked her hair behind her ears. “You’ve got an internal shine to you. Nothing dull there. You’re not shy, just a little timid. And you’re a little Pitbull too. You knew what you wanted and you went after it. I’m thankful every day for that too.”

  She smiled and that shine he said she had, it just lit the room right up.

  “Me too,” she said. “Why are people so interested in our dating lives now? I never got any interest before I met Alex. After I divorced I didn’t get as much but I purposely moved and didn’t tell anyone I was divorced or from who.”

  Because she didn’t want to be hit on for her wealth. “I’m not sure why anyone cares. I only care about you,” he said.

  “Aw. That is the sweetest thing.”

  He wanted to be insulted that was the result of his statement. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but it wasn’t that.

  “Yeah, sweet, that’s me,” he said going back to his pizza.

  She looked at him and then started to laugh uncontrollably. “I’m so sorry. That came out wrong. I’m so tired. I shouldn’t be, but I am. It makes me loopy.”

  “It’s fine,” he said, smiling at her. If he was hurt he was keeping it to himself. It was not the first time he’d kept that to himself. That maybe he was feeling something for someone and they didn’t feel the same.

  17

  A Place Of My Own

  Robin let the dogs out to run in the backyard. Brian had left for the day. They’d gotten into the habit of him staying at least on Saturday nights. Next weekend was going to be a busy one for them, being the weekend before Christmas.

  A party at Meena and Troy’s on Friday night and then the fundraiser at the shelter on Saturday.

  But this Sunday, Brian left after a nice breakfast that he’d cooked for them, saying he had laundry and things to do around the house. She suspected that he might be going shopping for gifts too but wasn’t going to call him out on it.

  She was going to take this time to play with her pups since it was sunny and forty with no wind. Couldn’t really ask for a better winter day in her mind.

  “Robin,” she heard from the backyard.

  There was Livi trying to jump up to be seen. “Hi, Livi,” she said back and waved her hand.

  “Can I come play with you and the dogs?”

  “Of course,” she said. The pups loved it when Livi chased them.

  “Let me go tell Blair where I am.”

  She watched as the little girl ran into Blair’s shop in the back. She made a mental note that she still had to stop into The Healing Touch and check it out. Maybe she’d get some lotion
s or candles to add to Meena’s, her mother’s, and Brian’s mother’s gifts too.

  A minute later she saw the gate open, Livi come running through and then Blair waving her arm. “She’s not going to bug you, right? Send her home if she overstays her welcome.”

  “She’s fine. The dogs love her.”

  Blair nodded her head and went back to her shop, Livi running in circles and the dogs chasing her, barking, and jumping at her legs. Robin took that time to find the balls and then start rolling them around, handing one to Livi to do the same.

  Thirty minutes went by easily and Livi showed no signs of stopping her racing around the yard and the dogs didn’t either.

  But Blair came over with a basket in her hand, saying, “Livi, your father is looking for you. He said you two had something planned today?”

  “Oh,” Livi said, “I’m going to pick out your Christmas gift. Thank you, Robin, for letting me play with Luke and Leia.”

  “My pleasure,” she said and watched Livi run back home.

  “And thank you for letting her play with the pups. She is still on our case wanting one. I know Philip is thinking of it, but I’m just not sure now. Definitely not something big. And this is for you.”

  She reached for the basket and saw a variety of lotions and candles in there. “Thank you. I was just thinking I needed to run to your shop to pick up some gifts for Christmas.”

  “You can come right to the back and shop if you truly want to. But no pressure.”

  “Really?” she asked. “That would be nice. If you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. I’m home most mornings working in there.”

  “Then maybe Tuesday I could sneak over before I go volunteer at the shelter. And speaking of that, do you have time for a cup of coffee or tea? We’ve got a Christmas fundraiser and I said I’d hand out invitations, but please don’t feel like you need to go or contribute. I just want to do my part and spread the word.”

  “I’d love a cup of coffee and a visit,” Blair said and followed her into the house.