Mistletoe and Mr. Right

by Sarah Morgenthaler

  Really, it was beyond her why Zoey didn’t do this for a living instead of giving tours. Probably because tours were what Zoey loved. Makeup was only something she did.

  Lana didn’t know what that was like. She’d been raised that what she did was who she was. And who she was was a businesswoman.

  “I should have studied marine biology,” Lana mused. “I might have liked swimming with dolphins for a living.”

  Zoey moved onto her lower lids. “Random comment of the night number four. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were nervous.”

  “I’m going out with a man who I like very much, one who absolutely deserves better than my lifestyle and relationship timetable. One who likes me despite my accidentally grazing him—”

  “Shooting him.”

  “It was definitely a graze. And because a tattooed woman with a helicopter told me I shouldn’t ask him out, I marched right up to him and did it anyway. Either tonight will go badly, in which we will both end up disappointed, or tonight will go wonderfully, in which we’ll both end up disappointed. I’m scared to death,” Lana said under her breath.

  “I was wondering what pushed you into saying something. You never could resist a challenge.” Lana couldn’t open her eyes, but she could hear her friend’s amusement. “You know you’re going to make that poor man’s eyes fall out, right?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The dress. The heels.”

  “Is it too much?” Lana risked Zoey’s handiwork by opening her eyes and glancing down at herself in concern. “Honestly, he gave me very little to go on.”

  “He’ll be in jeans. I don’t know if he owns anything else.”

  “Maybe this is too much.” She glanced down again, brow furrowing deeply enough that she could feel the lines. “Is the dress too dark for winter?”

  “Fret with your eyes closed,” Zoey encouraged her. “Or you’re not going to be ready in time.”

  “Wouldn’t that be the perfect social faux pas to start the night?”

  “Lana, this is Rick. He’s a nice, sweet man. I think that’s why everyone’s so worried about him. He’s kind of…a duckling.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Ducklings are really good with other ducklings, but when they’re alone, anyone with a heart is going to want to protect him.”

  They had both been very good at ignoring the figure in the corner, but at Zoey’s comment, the third wheel in the room snickered. “If Rick heard you describe him as a duckling, he’d never get over the shame.”

  “Hush, Graham,” Zoey said. “No one is listening to you right now. Open your eyes, Lana, and look up.”

  “Is there a reason you brought him?” Lana asked her friend, dutifully following her directions.

  “The brat brought himself. Graham, be useful and tell us what you think of Lana’s dress.”

  Lana couldn’t see his face, but she could hear Graham’s voice, only half joking when he answered. “I think two more dresses worth of material and she might have something she won’t freeze in.”

  “Graham.”

  “The dress looks fine. L already knows she looks fine.”

  “It looks great.” Zoey shook her head. “Ignore him.”

  “What do you think? Is this a terrible decision?” Lana asked Graham.

  At Lana’s question, Graham rose and crossed the room from the corner Zoey had long since banished him to, sitting on the next station’s chair.

  Taking Lana’s hands, Graham squeezed her fingers. “No. You two like each other. That much is obvious. Just take it easy on him, okay? And take it easy on yourself. I don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”

  Not for the first time since she’d walked into Rick’s and asked him out, Lana wondered if she had made a mistake. But would it hurt him more to cancel? Especially when she didn’t want to cancel. Lana wanted this night for herself.

  A night with a man she was attracted to, one whose kind voice and strong hands she couldn’t get out of her mind.

  Hating that she’d begun to doubt herself, Lana squeezed Graham’s hands once before letting go, resting them in her lap. Having few real friends meant she was overly susceptible to their opinions. It was highly possible that between them, Zoey and Graham could convince her to stay home. It was possible a part of her wanted them to try.

  “Well, I’ll do my best not to break any unsuspecting hearts,” Lana told him, aiming for her normal breeziness, but even she could hear her joke fall flat.

  Graham gave her a sympathetic look. “We know you wouldn’t do it on purpose, darlin’. I’m just worried about the accidental heartbreak on both sides.”

  “If I promise to be on my best behavior, will you be able to keep yourself from sneaking around and spying on us tonight?”

  “Why would you think I was going to do that?” Graham asked, trying for casual and innocent, but it was clear by the way he wouldn’t meet her eyes that Lana had busted him.

  “Because it’s the middle of the dinnertime rush. You’re here, not at the Tourist Trap, meaning you closed. And you wouldn’t have closed during nonpeak hours when the locals get to finally show up and eat your food in relative peace. Unless you two have big date plans, you’re spying on Rick and me.” Silence, then Lana arched an eyebrow. “Unless your big date plans are to spy on Rick and me?”

  “It’s almost as if you know me, darlin’.”

  “Not my fault if you’re predictable,” Lana said smoothly.

  Chuckling, he leaned back in his chair and turned in a circle. “Okay, fine. Maybe I was. But someone else put me up to it.”

  Zoey’s eyes widened, then her cheeks went bright red. “I can’t believe you outed me,” she hissed.

  “I can’t believe you were going to let me take the blame.” He stole her fingers and pressed a quick kiss to the inside of her wrist. Zoey smiled up at Graham as if unable to help herself, then she adjusted her glasses higher on her nose. For some reason, that simple action always made Graham look like he was about to drop to one knee and spout love sonnets to her.

  “All right, ladies. I’ll get out of your way.” He dipped his head to press a kiss to Zoey’s cheek, then headed for the salon exit. Pausing, Graham looked over his shoulder. “Hey, L? You look gorgeous. Every man deserves a heart attack in heels at least once in his life.” Whistling a little Christmas tune, Graham slipped out of the salon.

  Zoey watched him go, sighing the sigh of the truly smitten. “Is it me or does he keep getting hotter? Even when he’s extra annoying, I want to jump him.”

  “I think he’s perfect for you,” Lana replied. She could list his best attributes, but if Graham could be enough of a gentleman not to comment on her dress, Lana supposed she shouldn’t tell Zoey that his rear end was fabulous.

  “Lana? Are you sure we can’t…”

  Lana waited until Zoey was finished with the last stroke of color on her lips before shaking her head. “No way. I’m so nervous right now, I can’t even imagine having you two sneaking about in the shadows.”

  “You did it to me the night I met Graham.”

  “Yes, but that was entirely different.” Lana adopted a mock snooty tone. “Montgomerys sneak about. They are not snuck about on. We do have reputations to maintain, you know.” Reputations that preceded her. Worrying wasn’t her style, so Lana took a deep steadying breath. “This will be okay.”

  “This will be great. Be yourself. Rick already likes you or he wouldn’t have said yes.” Zoey leaned back and studied her handiwork. “And Graham’s right about one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  Shooting her a wink, Zoey all but smirked. “You are definitely going to give him a heart attack.”

  * * *

  Trying to get somewhere on time in a town full of moose was easier said than done. Sometimes the suckers just wouldn’t
move.

  Rick honked his horn again, hoping this time the noise would do more than earn him a long, annoyed look. “Come on, Dude. I have places to be.”

  The moose remained in the center of the road, staring at him through the windshield.

  Since the relocation of Ulysses the previous summer, an opening had been left for the next most annoying town megafauna. Dude was firmly in the running. The juvenile bull moose had never figured out the concept of roads…what they were, why they were, how it was a good idea to stay off them. For some reason, Dude preferred the Moose Springs public roads for his transportation needs. And when one played a game of automobile/moose chicken with Dude, the moose always won.

  Rick edged the car toward the far side of the road, trying to skirt around the massive animal.

  “Take it easy,” he said. “No big deal. Just a—”

  Midsentence, Dude’s switch flipped, and he attacked the passenger’s side of the car without warning. With a curse, Rick hit the gas, one arm coming up instinctively to protect himself as hooves struck faster than he could get away.

  The thump was better than shattering glass would have been. As he looked in the rearview window, the moose was already trotting off. Rick drove the necessary distance to put himself safely out of reach of a return moosing, then he pulled off the side of the road. Climbing out of his car, he checked out the damage. Sure enough, a nice, large dent now caved in his quarter panel.

  “Really? Dude, you suck.”

  The moose always had lived up to his namesake.

  He took out his phone, snapped a quick picture, and added it to the town’s message board. Keeping track of the local naughty moose sightings was one of their pastimes, and it helped the next person know which areas to avoid.

  Only as he started back up the road did it occur to Rick that he’d announced to everyone that he was going to the resort in the evening. For once, Rick didn’t care about being the center of the town’s gossip. He was proud that he had a date with Lana Mont—just Lana tonight. If anyone had a problem with it, they could mind their own business, because he was freaking ecstatic.

  It would have been nice not to show up in a dinged car, but Rick was grateful a colossal piano hadn’t fallen out of the sky to land on his head. As he pulled up to the front of the resort, Rick saw a figure waiting for him on the bench beside the tall wooden entry doors.

  “Hey there, Rickie boy.” A friendly shoulder pat was not nearly good enough to compensate for Graham’s unexpected and unwelcome presence.

  Rick frowned. “Please tell me you didn’t scare off my date.”

  “Naw, L has nerves of steel. I showed her every baby picture of you that I could find, and she still insisted on going through with tonight. I think the lady has designs on you.” When Rick looked at him, Graham sighed. “Why is everyone so serious tonight?”

  Rick reached up to adjust the tie he wasn’t wearing, then groaned. “Don’t know, and I don’t care. If you don’t mind, I have to be in there.”

  “It’s weird, right? Picking someone up from a hotel? It’s like the biggest front porch in Alaska.”

  “Graham…”

  “Do you think Hannah will flick the lights on and off on you two if she catches you kissing later?”

  “This is me leaving,” Rick said, taking a step.

  The valets were ready to open the doors, which always made Rick uncomfortable. They swung open with a creak.

  “Reminds me of Jurassic Park,” Graham said. “You don’t know what bloodthirsty creatures are in there, waiting to be unleashed on us.”

  “I’m assuming you’re not including my date in that description.” Rick was about to tell Graham that he wouldn’t mind a velociraptor taking his friend down, then he stopped dead in his tracks.

  Rick nearly swallowed his tongue when he lifted his head and saw his date.

  Conceding to the temperatures by wearing a cowl neck, long-sleeved sweater dress and thigh-high leather boots, Lana must have failed to consider what that absolutely devastating inch of bared skin between the tops of her boots and the hem of that curve-hugging dress would do to him. The jacket over her shoulders did nothing but accentuate what was beneath, and Rick couldn’t breathe, let alone move toward her or say hello.

  A heavy hand smacked him on the back hard enough to force the air out of his lungs.

  “Now, since Lana has no one else to watch out for her—” Graham started to say, but Lana breezed right past him. She linked her arm in Rick’s.

  “I’m perfectly capable of doing so myself. Now please, scurry off.”

  “I really think you two should talk about what a big step this is. Has either one of you signed an abstinence pledge?”

  Rick was going to kill him. Slowly but surely, he would strangle every last breath from his friend.

  Ignoring their third wheel, Lana turned to Rick, her liquid dark eyes raising to his. It felt like getting punched in the stomach but in the best of ways. He didn’t know what she’d done with her eye makeup, but he couldn’t stop staring at her.

  “Are you ready to leave? I’m famished.”

  Hungry. She was hungry. Rick could fix hungry.

  “You might want to say something to her at some point tonight, buddy,” Graham supplied helpfully. “Zoey and I have the night free. We can double-date this thing if you need some wingpersons.”

  Lana leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “If we get in the car, Graham stops being a part of our evening. But it’s your choice, Rick. I’m flexible.”

  Did she have to use that word? What was left of his brain officially gave up, lying down in the gutter and rolling around like a happy dog scratching its back.

  Rick swallowed again, trying to make his mouth work properly. “Let’s save the torture for another night.”

  Lana beamed at him. “Perfect. Now, if you’ll excuse us…”

  Walking was something he was still capable of. Rick led her to his car, where a valet had stolen notecard number fourteen: “Open the door for her.” The valet probably had no idea why their politeness earned a frustrated look from him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slender woman in glasses peering through the expansive windows of the resort lobby. Zoey gave him two thumbs-up in encouragement.

  “Is it me or are these two extra invasive tonight?” Rick grumbled. “They’re worse than parents on prom night.”

  Lana shot him an amused look before noticing the damage to his car.

  “Oh, what happened?” She stopped before getting in. “This wasn’t here earlier. Did you get in an accident?”

  “Just an angry Dude,” Rick said. “Moose kicks in car doors are a fact of life around here. I’ll pop it out when I get home.”

  “You know how to do that?”

  “If it’s only the metal and nothing structural underneath…yeah. It’s a few screws and a plunger.” Not really a big deal, but she seemed impressed. And Rick really wanted to impress her.

  He probably should have worn that tie.

  “If kicking cars is a moose thing, do you think a sleigh would lure it?”

  “The Santa Moose? I sure hope not. It’s going to be an awfully scary Christmas Eve parade if that’s true. Let’s not give it any ideas.”

  Lana shuddered. “Oh dear. Yes, let’s not.”

  When Rick had gotten ready for tonight, he’d figured he’d wing it with the restaurant. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to plan for a nice night on the town. But the only really nice places to go were in the resort. Considering she lived in the resort, taking her to dinner there seemed far too akin to taking her to her own kitchen on a date. There weren’t many restaurants in Moose Springs, but Rick was willing to take her to her favorite.

  “Does anything sound good?” he asked her as they pulled away from the curb.

  “I’m guessing the Tourist Trap is off the men
u now since Graham is here and not there.”

  Rick nodded, trying not to notice how her dress slipped up a few inches as she crossed her legs. “If you’re cold, I can turn up the heater.”

  He started fumbling with the dials, somehow having forgotten how to operate his own vehicle.

  A slender hand touched his. “You look very nice tonight, Rick. I’m perfectly comfortable. And pick whatever restaurant you’d like. I’m just happy to be spending the evening with you.”

  He’d never been at such a loss for words. She was just so damn beautiful.

  “You’re gorgeous, Lana,” Rick said, finally going for honest and pathetic instead of suave and capable. “I’m still trying to figure out what to say.”

  And wouldn’t you know it? Lana slipped her fingers through his, the prettiest blush on her face.

  Maybe he wasn’t so bad at this after all.

  * * *

  Every place seemed worse than the last.

  Rick kept driving, his left hand gripping the steering wheel harder with each mile that passed. His right had stayed loosely holding Lana’s slender fingers in his own. Nothing seemed good enough for her, each choice of sandwich shop or dive bar subpar and unappealing.

  He almost turned into a biker bar just outside town out of sheer lack of anything left, but as much as he liked the people who frequented the bar, he wasn’t taking Lana in there. At least not in that dress.

  The dress that cost him a little more of his sanity every time she shifted, knowing he needed to keep his eyes on the road instead of on her.

  When they finally reached the one-stop market outside town, Rick knew he’d passed the point of no return.

  “Oh, are we going somewhere new?” Lana perked up, her fingers squeezing his in excitement.

  “Umm…yeah.”

  Apparently, they were going someplace new to both of them.