Kiss Me in Christmas

by Debbie Mason

  “Why not?” Both he and Gage asked at almost the same time.

  “It’s a conflict of interest. When we arrest Martinez, I can’t afford to have even a hint of impropriety come out at the trial.”

  “That’s the reason you want Cat off the case?” Easton asked.

  “Honestly, no. But it is the reason I moved out of the ranch. I was going to talk to her about it that morning, then I saw the poem. I didn’t handle it well and left. It didn’t help that my grandmother was there at the time and Cat got defensive.”

  “So what’s the real reason you want her off the case?” Easton asked.

  The agent glanced at Gage before answering Easton. “Given the circumstances, all I can tell you is that I don’t want Cat anywhere near Martinez when this goes down. And, Easton, it’s going to go down. You’re protecting a man who is about to piss off…Look, I can’t tell you what we’ve got on Martinez because we’re on opposite sides right now. But believe me, he’s not who you think he is.”

  “I ran him, Grayson. Nothing popped. He inherited a pile from his old man, who was squeaky clean, by the way, and now Martinez uses his millions to collect art. We’re advising him on security and updating his system.”

  Grayson shoved his hands in his pants pockets and rocked on his heels. “So you’re not providing physical security?”

  “Only for a couple of weeks when the pieces for the exhibit arrive. And during the exhibit itself.” As the event had been well-publicized, Easton wasn’t telling the agent anything he didn’t already know. “If—and I highly doubt it will—but if anything went down, you have to know Cat can handle herself. And you out of anyone understands the hell the FBI and Denver PD put her through over Upton. She needs to know you trust her. That you have complete faith she can handle herself and the job. She’s good at what she does, Grayson. One of the best.”

  “I know she is. And if I wasn’t in love with her…Okay, tell me this: what if it was Chloe?”

  Easton laughed. “Be serious…Chloe? The woman doesn’t know how to shoot a gun, and at the first sign of trouble, she’d either be screaming at the top of her lungs or hiding under a bed.”

  Grayson sighed. “Don’t be obtuse. You know what I’m getting at. If Chloe had Cat’s training and was protecting a man you knew was about to make a move on the territory of one of the biggest drug car…” The agent swore and shoved his fingers through his hair. “This is what I’m talking about. I’ve already said too much.”

  Easton was glad he had for two reasons. For ten seconds, he’d walked in Grayson’s shoes and understood why he didn’t want Cat involved. If it was Chloe, Easton would react the same way. Which meant, no matter how much he denied his feelings for her, he was probably falling in love with the damn woman. And now that Easton had an idea what the FBI were looking at Martinez for, he had to figure out what they should do about it. He needed to have a conversation with his brother.

  “Don’t worry about it, Grayson. Nothing you’ve said will leave this room, right, E?” Gage said.

  “Since McBride Security involves not only me, but my brother and Cat as well, no, I can’t guarantee that.” He held up his hand when both men began to protest. “Hear me out. Now that I have a lead, I’ll dig deeper, widen my search. If there’s anything to find, I’ll find it. So the information will come from me, not from you, Grayson. Once we know what you know, we’ll decide as a team how to move forward. But we don’t provide security for drug dealers, so if my intel matches yours, you might want to start thinking how you can use that to your advantage. We’re already on the inside, and Martinez trusts us.”

  “You’ll take Cat off the case?”

  “Don’t put me in the middle. Like you said, this is between you and Cat. Have you talked to her?”

  “After I reamed out my grandmother, I tried to call. She wouldn’t pick up.”

  “You hurt her when you left the ranch, Grayson. And I’m sure the picture of you and Chloe only made matters worse. She’s off today. Why don’t you go to the—” Easton began.

  “I have to head back to work. I’ll try and stop by the ranch tonight.”

  “She won’t be there,” Gage said. “They’re meeting at my place to plan Vivi’s baby shower. Why don’t you join Easton, Chance, and me at the Penalty Box tonight? Kick back and have a couple of beers.”

  “I might just do that. Thanks,” Grayson said and headed for the door. He turned before opening it. “I’ve heard Martinez has a very interesting collection of sculptures with more on the way. I bet they’ll be real popular at the art exhibit.”

  “I’ll be sure to take a closer look at them.” And at the Colombian artist for whom Martinez was holding the exhibition. Easton glanced at his watch. “Should have what we need to make a decision by the time we meet up at the Penalty Box.”

  “Look forward to hearing what you find out.”

  As soon as the door closed behind Grayson, Gage said, “This is out of my jurisdiction, so I’m not involved with the operation, but, E, Grayson’s not bullshitting you just to get Cat off the case.”

  “I didn’t think he was. Don’t worry, Gage. I’ll handle it.”

  His brother nodded and said, “See that you do.” Then he rested his chin on his steepled fingers, his eyes narrowed. “All right, now that we’ve got that out of the way, it’s time to come clean. What’s going on between you and Chloe? And don’t say nothing because I was watching you when—”

  Easton got up from the chair and headed for the door. “Wish I could stay and chat, but I have work to do.”

  “Don’t think you’re off the hook,” Gage called out as Easton closed the door. “Tonight we’re getting to the bottom of the deal between you and Chloe.”

  “Big mouth,” Easton said under his breath when he caught Jill’s triumphant smile. And he didn’t miss her reaching for the phone either.

  * * *

  Chloe stood beside Ty in front of the bathroom mirror. He spritzed her with a sample of her new perfume, then spritzed himself. “Um, that smells so delish, I wanna eat it. Are the lawyers making any progress with Linda?”

  “No, and obviously I can’t say it was my sister in the pool. After today, she’s not going to cover for me. And because I listened to Easton, releasing a statement now that I intend to sue won’t have any effect. I should have gone ahead and done it when I wanted to. Everyone despises me anyway.”

  “I understand what you were trying to do, Diva,” Ty said as he picked up a can of hairspray. He lifted a piece of her hair and sprayed the roots. “And while well-intentioned, you really didn’t think it through.’“

  He was right. She’d been so intent on proving to Grayson that the kiss her sister shared with Easton hadn’t been a passionate one that she hadn’t noticed Estelle sneaking back into the alley. “I know. And now Estelle’s mad at me, too. I should go back to LA, Ty. I know you want me here for your grand opening, but no one else does. I’ll end up ruining your special day if I stay.”

  He set the can of hair spray on the sink. “You’ll ruin my day if you leave.” He moved behind her and put his arms around her, meeting her gaze in the mirror. “The Chloe I know and love doesn’t give up. And she certainly wasn’t the woman I saw cowering in the corner at Naughty and Nice today.”

  “You love me?” Emotion tightened her throat, and the words came out on a whisper.

  He rocked her back and forth. “Of course I do, you silly goose. Now no more of this nonsense about leaving. Let’s go have some fun at the Penalty Box.” He smiled and fluffed her hair.

  “What about Estelle?” Instead of breaking the news gently like she’d planned to, the older woman had found out Chloe had been attempting to reunite her sister and Grayson during a heated exchange. Realizing what Estelle had done and what that meant for Chloe’s already strained relationship with her mother and sister, she’d kind of lost it on her manager. So did Grayson.

  When they returned to Ty’s apartment, Estelle had retreated to the bedroom with
Fluffy and refused to come out. Once Chloe had calmed down, she’d tried to make it up to her manager through the locked door. It wasn’t Estelle’s fault, and Chloe was worried about her.

  Ty steered Chloe from the bathroom. “She’ll be fine, Diva. If she loves Grayson, and I know that she does, she needs to start focusing on his happiness and not her own.”

  On one hand, Ty was right. But Chloe thought it might be better if Estelle stopped living through Grayson, and in some ways Chloe. Maybe it was time for her manager to focus on her own career and love life. Just because she was seventy-seven didn’t mean her career was over. As for her love life, Chloe already knew two men who were interested in Estelle. And they were just the ticket to cheer her up.

  So when Ty stopped in front of the closed bedroom door and knocked, Chloe pulled her phone from her purse and sent a text to the cavalry.

  Ty called through the locked door, “Duchess, Chloe and I are going out for a couple of hours. Call if you need us. And when we get home, if you don’t come out of your room, we’re breaking down the door.”

  Chloe smiled when she received an immediate response to her text. “Estelle, Fred and Ted are on their way over. You have less than ten minutes to make yourself…” She trailed off when the door flew open to reveal a disheveled Estelle.

  Ty and Chloe exchanged a look, then they each took an arm and led Estelle to the bathroom. By the time Ted and Fred arrived, the older woman had forgiven Chloe and was ready to receive her suitors in style.

  Ty grinned and high-fived Chloe as he closed the apartment door. “Well done, Diva.” But on the way down the stairs, his grin turned into a grimace. “Let’s hope Nell doesn’t find out you’ve been matchmaking. After today’s escapade with Grayson, you’re on the top of her shit list. And the top of Nell’s shit list isn’t a place anybody wants to be.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  As Chloe soon discovered, she wasn’t only on Nell’s shit-list. Up the street, she spotted Easton with his brothers and Grayson. While the McBrides were dressed in worn jeans and T-shirts that showed off their broad shoulders and well-developed muscles, Grayson had on his black suit from earlier in the day. And the sigh-inducing foursome were headed for the Penalty Box, too.

  Well, Ty was sighing. Chloe was inwardly dying. She hadn’t spoken to Easton since the kissing photo went viral. Hers and Grayson’s.

  She drew back, tugging on Ty’s hand. “I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

  Ty frowned. “Why not?” He followed her nervous glance. “Right, you haven’t explained what you were up to with James Bond to the White Knight. Seems like they’re getting along okay. But don’t worry, the way you look tonight, the White Knight will forgive you anything. You’re totally rocking that black dress, Diva.”

  Her bandage dress was pretty fab, and her Prada sandals with the jeweled straps were totes awesome. She just wished Ty hadn’t thrown away all of her false eyelashes. She still felt naked without them. But he’d made up for the loss by giving her smoky eyes and rock-star hair. Now if only her inner diva hadn’t decided to take a hiatus.

  Ty tugged on her hand. “Work it. Chin up, boobs out.”

  Maybe she didn’t need her inner diva after all. She had Ty.

  “Hello, boys. You’re looking as studly as ever,” he said when they were a couple of yards from the men.

  The four of them stopped in front of the Penalty Box and, almost as one, crossed their arms. “Chloe, you are not going into the bar dressed like that,” Gage said.

  Chance and Grayson murmured their agreement while Easton’s gaze moved intently, and slowly, from her shoes to her hair before he met her eyes. There was no denying he was as ticked as the other men, but there was also a gratifying glint of heat in his eyes. And the evidence of his desire was enough to give her confidence a boost. She added an extra sway to her hips and tossed her hair, about to say something along the lines of “you’re not the boss of me” only better, when the next words out of Gage’s mouth stopped her cold. “Ty, I thought you were supposed to be at my place helping the girls plan Vivi’s shower.”

  Chloe’s attitude shriveled up and died. She looked down at the sidewalk, hoping no one noticed the heat rising to her cheeks. Earlier, she’d called her mother to ask if she could come over and explain what happened with Grayson. But Liz told her she didn’t have time to talk. Now Chloe knew why. Ty squeezed her hand.

  Then she heard Gage say, “Why are you all…Oh, I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Obviously,” Ty snapped, pulling Chloe past the men. He held open the door to the Penalty Box.

  She hung back. “I don’t want to keep you from your plans, Ty. You should probably go—”

  He gave her a gentle shove. “Please, why would I want to plan a baby shower when I can be hanging out at the bar with you?”

  If Ty wasn’t a hairstylist-slash-makeup artist, he would have been a party planner. She didn’t want him to feel obligated to spend the night with her. “No, I’m serious.”

  “So am I.” He pulled her the rest of the way into the rustic-looking sports bar with its exposed log walls covered in hockey memorabilia. The jerseys and hockey sticks belonged to the Penalty Box’s owner, Sawyer Anderson, a former captain of the Colorado Flurries. Tall with a lean, muscular build, his dark blond hair half-hidden beneath a baseball cap, Sawyer manned the bar.

  He lifted his chin when Ty and Chloe took their seats on the high-backed black leather barstools. “What can I get you two?”

  Before she could respond, her barstool spun around, putting her eyes level with a wide white-T-shirt-covered chest. She looked up and met Easton’s frowning gaze. “I know you’re upset they didn’t invite you to the planning thing, Chloe, but don’t do anything stupid. Okay?”

  She crossed her arms and looked away. “I’m not upset.”

  He cupped her chin, drawing her gaze back to his. “Yeah, you are. And I don’t blame you. But you gotta know that little lip action you pulled with Grayson didn’t win you any friends.”

  Now it may have been perverse, and perhaps not the smartest thing she’d ever done, but it kind of ticked her off that Easton didn’t show any signs of being jealous of said lip action, so she decided to poke the bear. “It wasn’t a little lip action, it was a lot.”

  He brought his face closer to hers. Close enough that his warm, minty breath fanned her cheek. “Are you trying to piss me off, Scarlett?”

  “Yes, is it working?”

  His eyes on her mouth, he nodded. “It is, but I wouldn’t recommend you take it any further. I want to forget about that picture with you and Grayson. Just like I’m sure you want to forget about the one of me and Cat. Am I right?”

  “Yes,” she said, with a pout in her voice. She was having fun until then. She didn’t appreciate the reminder. It didn’t seem fair that everyone was mad at Chloe when what Cat had done was far worse. She was engaged and had thrown herself at Easton. Yet no one held Cat accountable for her actions. No doubt she was at that very moment planning Vivi’s baby shower with the extended members of their family.

  “Good, then we’re on the same page.”

  She chewed on her thumbnail. “Are we?”

  “I think so, but we can talk about it later.” He pulled her thumb from her mouth. “Right now, I have a few things I need to discuss with Grayson and my brothers. Okay?”

  “All right.” She nodded. He swiveled her stool to face the bar. Ty, holding a pink frothy drink, grinned around the straw and waggled his eyebrows at them.

  A group of men sauntered by, giving the three of them a once-over. They sat down at the end of the bar. Easton’s eyes narrowed, then he shared a silent exchange with Sawyer, and the bar owner nodded.

  “Stay out of trouble. I’ll be keeping an eye on you,” Easton warned, giving Chloe’s shoulders a light squeeze before heading across the planked floor to where his brothers and Grayson sat. Both Ty and Chloe watched him walk away.

  Ty grinned at her when Easton took a seat at th
e table. “Aren’t you glad you listened to Uncle Ty? That man is totally into you.” He nudged a pink frothy cocktail toward her. “Things are looking up. Sawyer even named a drink after us. He called it the Diva.”

  Three Divas later, Chloe and Ty were drawing attention with their laughter. They were having a great time reliving memories from their As the Sun Sets days. But while Chloe welcomed the attention from a certain hot man sitting with his brothers and Grayson, she didn’t like the leering glances the five disreputable-looking men at the end of the bar were shooting their way. And a moment ago, she’d caught an off-color remark about Ty. The bar had steadily filled up as the night wore on and Sawyer was busy. Too busy to keep an eye on them as Chloe imagined had been the meaning behind Easton’s earlier silent exchange with the owner.

  She set her empty glass on the bar and took Ty by the hand before he could order another. “Let’s dance.”

  “I’m so down with that. I thought you’d never ask.” He jumped off the stool. As they wound their way through the tables to the dance floor, Sawyer called, “You two behave out there or I’ll throw you in the box.”

  The penalty box, for which the bar was named, sat to the left of the dance floor. A white bench enclosed by white-and-black-painted boards, it had an electronic clock affixed above. “Oh, that sounds like fun. Does Sawyer get in the box with us? Because if he does, we are totally getting thrown in.”

  “He doesn’t, “Chloe said, dragging Ty after her. They didn’t need to draw any more attention to themselves. At the thought, Chloe wondered if maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. But she forgot all about her misgivings when their jukebox choice blasted from the speakers, and she and Ty started to dance to “Heroes” by Alesso.

  They each turned to face in the opposite direction and did some slow, perfectly timed body rolls. Out of the corner of her eye, Chloe caught a glimpse of Easton. His legs were stretched out, and he was watching her with an amused look on his face. Just for him, she added a couple of booty pops. His beer froze halfway to his mouth, and he slowly straightened in his chair.