“Once.” Chloe swatted at her black braids falling into her face. “It was an awfully boring movie. I can’t really blame them.” She shuffled her papers and put on her meanest game face. “Okay, time to find our leading man. Vicky, send the next one in!”
They proceeded through another half dozen auditions, each worse than the last. Laurie was kind and encouraging throughout, but Chloe had begun to lose her patience. By the final off-tune rendition of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, she was practically snarling.
“You were off pitch the entire song,” she snapped at Darren Evan, the slightly chubby rent-a-cop guard who worked at the school. “And those dance moves looked like you were in the middle of an electric shock therapy.”
“But it was a solid effort,” Laurie added, side-eyeing her friend. “I could really tell you were into it.”
“You were into something, but it wasn’t good,” Chloe replied with a dramatic sigh.
Darren Evan didn’t seem phased by the criticism. He tipped an imaginary hat and sailed out the door with a booming laugh.
“That wasn’t very nice.” Laurie looked at her friend with her big wide green eyes. “I’m sure you hurt a couple of those guys’ feelings.”
Chloe crossed her arms and sat back in the pew. “Well, they hurt my ears. We’re never going to find my Joseph. I can’t put on a musical about the most romantic and perfect couple in all time without my flawless Joseph.”
She thought about her family and how she’d been bragging about this play for weeks - ever since the Pastor had told her that he’d picked her play. They were all coming to see it, along with the majority of New Hope. She had to find the perfect guy.
“How’s auditions coming, ladies?”
As if sensing her desperation like a shark in bloody water, Ashley Lynn came strolling into the sanctuary. Her furry pink sweater clung to her torso and tucked into a black leather skirt over black tights. She smiled as she swayed from side to side, revealing gigantic bleached teeth that hurt to look at.
“Fantastic, thanks for asking.” Chloe slammed her notebook closed with all the scribbles she’d made about their candidates. “In fact, I think we’re almost done here. This is going to be a wonderful year for the Christmas service.”
Ashley Lynn flung her Brazillian blowout behind her shoulders and sighed. “Nothing can beat last year’s service though. You do know that I was the writer, director, and star of last year’s play?”
Chloe bit the inside of her cheek to keep from growling. Of course she knew. Ashley Lynn had practically written the headline in the stars, calling attention to herself at every instance.
“It’s just too bad that I didn’t have the time to do it again this year,” she purred. “What with my thriving attorney practice and hosting the holidays for my huge family, I just couldn’t find a spare second. But I told Pastor Steve, you can bet that Chloe Walker would be a good option. She doesn’t have nearly the time constraints I do.”
She wanted to rip that unnatural December tan right off her bronzed skin and stuff it down the back of her skimpy sweater. It felt like she’d always been competing with Ashley Lynn, even though their mothers were good friends.
They’d finished the same undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, but Ashley Lynn had gone on to law school while Chloe got her master’s in accountancy. Despite the framed degree in her room at home, she’d never felt like she’d measured up to the perfection that was Ashley Lynn.
“That’s great,” she finally managed to say through gritted teeth. Her cheeks felt like they were going to burst into flames.
Ashley Lynn frowned, her glossy lips pushed into a pucker. She patted her on the shoulder, speaking in a patronizing tone. “Don’t worry, Chlo. It’ll be good, even if it doesn’t measure up to last year’s play. Everyone will know you tried your best. And that’s what counts.”
Laurie grabbed her friend’s arm and kept her from going after Ashley Lynn as she sashayed back down the aisle without another word. It was a good thing, too, because right at that moment Pastor Steve came into the sanctuary to tidy up the room after this morning’s sermon.
“How am I ever going to find the right guy?” Chloe demanded, stomping her feet. She threw herself into a pew and pouted.
“Isn’t that the question we all ask?” Laurie smiled softly and sat next to her.
“Very funny.” Chloe hadn’t had much luck in hunting down a guy for her personal life, either. But that was a sore topic for another day. Today, she needed the perfect man for the perfect part.
“He’s out there, somewhere,” Laurie said. She patted her friend’s knee and stood to leave. “You’ll find him.”
She stared at the wooden pew in front of her. A determined fire had sprung to life behind the black irises of her eyes. She clutched her notebook to her chest and nodded her head. “Yep. And if I have to drag him here, kicking and screaming, you bet I will.”
Chloe didn’t spot the slightly frightened expression on her friend’s face. She was on the hunt and nothing could stop her.
Chapter Three
Jordan managed to avoid Eddie on his way to his car, waving at the man sitting in the cloud of smoke on the hotel’s front stoop. If he didn’t get to the foundation soon, he had a feeling his boss was going to appear in a burst of flames right in front of him and sick her horde of flying monkeys on his back. As much as he would like to tell her to go kick the bucket, he needed money to pay for rent. And gas. And food. And all those other unfortunately necessary things in life.
He had just managed to coax his Grand Am back onto the road in the direction of town when he spotted a stalled blue Chevy up ahead. Normally, he wouldn’t have given something like that another glance, but the woman who got out of the car took his breath away.
With tantalizing ebony skin and braids that dropped to the middle of her back, she was a beauty. Tiny waist and curves in all the right places. She was wearing a purple suit jacket and a skirt that hugged every bit of her hips. In all of Podunk Minnesota, he never expected to run into someone like her.
His palms began to sweat as he turned the wheel and pulled in behind her. Classic first sign that he was probably going to say something wrong or give her the wrong impression. It always happened that way. Still, she was a damsel in distress. He couldn’t chicken out now and leave her stranded.
A quick glance in the rear view mirror assured him that he’d managed to wipe off that mustard stain from his grab and go lunch. He turned off his car and got out, forcing his face into a neutral expression. If he smiled, she’d think he was too eager. If he frowned, she might think he was some sort of serial killer. Little things like that made a big difference when it came to women.
“Are you okay?” Jordan slammed the door shut and rounded his car. She had her trunk open and was staring at him with suspicion looming in her dark eyes. Standing this close to her, he could tell she probably only stood up to his chin. “Did your car die?”
“Flat tire,” she replied, her eyes never leaving his face. “I’ve got a spare.”
“Let me show you how to do that,” he said, practically jumping toward the trunk. She flinched, but he pretended not too notice. Too eager, he scolded himself. Back off. “That is, if you want me to.” He held his hands up defensively and grinned at her. “I”m Jordan, by the way.”
“Chloe…” She frowned but didn’t seemed frightened. Her eyes were scanning him over, taking in every little detail from the missing button on his jacket to the shine on his fancy dress shoes from Barney’s, the one splurge he’d allowed himself this year. Gesturing at the wheel packed in her trunk, she cocked her hip and rested her hand just above it. “Show me what you got.”
“Great.” He rubbed his hands together and leaned over the trunk to take stock of its contents. A light breeze had picked up, just enough to seep into his clothes and make him shiver. Chloe wasn’t wearing a coat, even in this weather. He pulled off his jacket and handed it to her. “First things first, pu
t this on. You’ve got to be freezing.”
She tilted her head at him, but didn’t refuse it. Instead, she swept it over her shoulders and nodded at him in thanks.
Pulling a wrench out of the trunk, he tried to keep from staring at her. She looked so pretty in his jacket, he’d almost forgotten how to speak. A warm flame had burst to life in his gut and spread every time he glanced at her. He shook his head to get a grip.
“Alright, first thing I’m going to do is have a look at your nuts.”
“Excuse me?” She pulled back her chin with an incredulous look. Her dark brown eyes opened wide.
“I mean your lug nuts,” he said, the blood rushing to his face. “The things that keep the tires in place.”
There he went again, losing the connection from his brain to his mouth. He would’ve taken the wrench to his head for saying something so stupid, but that was guaranteed to put the last nail in the coffin of this relationship. Instead, he shrugged nervously and walked past her toward the tires, giving her a wide berth.
“You want to loosen them,” he explained as he kneeled by the flattened tire. “Then we can jack it up.”
She opened her mouth in confusion, but he just grinned to himself. All that time watching Youtube tutorials wasn’t going to waste. Of course, he’d never had to change his own tire. AAA was a life-saver. It didn’t mean he couldn’t impress some young female with his talents, though.
“Are you from New Hope?” he asked over his shoulder as he loosened the first nut. It was especially tight, so he had to throw some weight into it. “I just got here on a job assignment.”
“Yep, born and raised.” She stood over him, pulling his jacket in tight.
He loosened the last bolt and looked up at her. “And you never left?”
“I went to school at UMN. Got my master’s degree then came back.”
Nodding along and thoroughly impressed, he abandoned the wrench to find the jack in her car. “You didn’t like the twin cities?”
She shrugged and rolled her eyes. “I’d liked it. But I love New Hope. This is where my family and friends live. Minneapolis might be shiny and new, but it has nothing compared to the warmth and comfort of a small town. You’ll never find a better place to belong to.”
He liked the way she clearly spoke her mind, unapologetic and fierce. Her brief testimony made him forget what he was doing, so the tire swayed a bit as he jacked the car a little too high. “Oops.” He lowered it a few inches until the tire barely lifted off the ground. “That’s better. You just need enough room to take it off the axle. Like this, see?”
She nodded slowly, her lips pursing in a way that made Jordan want to claim her mouth with his own.
Instead, he removed the lug nuts and pulled off the flat tire, rolling it around to the trunk. Picking up the fresh one, he gave her a reassuring smile and then pushed it on the axle. “Nothing to it. Next time you have a flat, you’ll be able to change it easy. Although I’ll bet a woman like you has no trouble flagging down help.”
She raised one eyebrow and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. He ducked his head, feeling his heart racing. The only thing left to do was ask her to dinner. He might only be in town a few weeks, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun.
“Say, um…” he began, his mouth running dry. He busied himself with the jack and began to lower the car. “I don’t suppose…”
“Wait!” She flung his coat on the top of the car and snatched the wrench from the spot he’d left it on the ground. “You’re not done.”
He watched her expertly twist the lug wrench in her hand, kneel down in her tight skirt, and screw on the bolts that he’d managed to forget to reattach. She tightened them all and then proceeded to lower the jack and stash the tools in the trunk. When that was finished, she grabbed the flat tire and threw it in the car.
All that time, he hadn’t managed to close his mouth. This woman didn’t need his help. She’d been fooling with him, laughing as he’d stumbled through the process of getting the tire changed. The way she’d flung those tools around, she’d probably changed a few dozen tires in her short life.
When the trunk was packed, she slammed it shut and grinned at him, flashing her straight white teeth. “Thanks for the help.”
He licked his lips, suddenly feeling a lot less macho. “I don’t think you needed any help.”
“Maybe not.” She gave him another grin and shrugged, handing him his coat. He could still feel the warmth of her skin in its thick wool. “But, you were fun to watch.”
His eyes shined as he looked her up and down. She was more than just a beautiful woman, that was for sure. An educated, poised, and strong woman. If he’d been intimidated before, it was nothing to what he felt now.
“I guess I’ll be seeing you,” she said, backing toward her driver’s side door.
“Yeah.” He gritted his teeth, willing himself to ask her to dinner. Ask for her number. Ask for anything! But he couldn’t make the words leave his mouth.
“Good-bye, Jordan.” Her eyes danced with laughter as she got into her car and started it up. She took off like a rocket, leaving him in the rear view mirror.
The only thing he could do was kick himself as he let her drive away, knowing that their chances of meeting again were slim to none. So much for a damsel in distress. She had needed a knight in shining armor just about as much as he needed another hole in the head.
That was some woman.
Chapter Four
Laurie nearly fell over her own feet and planted her hands on the top of Chloe’s desk. “You did what?”
“I left him standing on the side of the road, his mouth hanging open,” she replied, blinking up at her friend.
“Chloe Walker…” Gemma Rink, the director of the New Hope Foundation and the final piece to their dynamic trio, dropped herself into a folding chair and stared at her friend with big brown eyes ringed in dark lashes. “You mean to tell me,” she said with mock anger, “that a beautiful man showed up in the middle of nowhere to rescue you and you didn’t even get his number?”
“No.” Chloe sunk into her chair and leaned her elbow on the desk. “He didn’t ask me. You should’ve seen him acting all macho and trying to change that tire. That boy hadn’t changed a tire in his life, but he sure looked fine pretending.”
“Why didn’t you ask him?” Gemma demanded. An ornery smile pulled at her lips as she poked her friend in the side. “You’re always telling us there are no more rules. And you were right. Look at where that got me.” She held up her left hand and flashed a gorgeous white gold setting with a one carat diamond in a princess cut.
The girls sighed and gazed adoringly at the ring. Lance Barkley had just proposed to Gemma last weekend. It made all of them squirm with happiness that one of their own was getting married.
“I guess you’re right,” Chloe said eventually. “But maybe I’ll still run into him. New Hope doesn’t have many places to hide. If he’s working on a project here in town, chances are good.”
Silently she swore that she’d do better next time and drag up the courage to ask him out. Gemma was right. She was always preaching to them about how the rules no longer existed and how women needed to exert their confidence and strength. If she could go back in time and slap herself, she would. It was silly to think she’d been so tongue-tied and shy. Chloe Walker didn’t do shy.
With an afternoon full of work left to do, she brushed off the disappointment and got busy. There were numbers to be crunched and spreadsheets to be analyzed. Not to mention, paychecks to be written. They couldn’t make it through the holiday season without a little money in the bank accounts. Gemma and Laurie would be on her rear end until she got the paychecks deposited.
A few minutes later, she ignored the tinkle of the front door as someone entered the office. It was probably UPS delivering a package. Or Gemma’s mom dropping off a batch of gingerbread cookies - her favorite. Laurie mumbled a greeting to the visitor and Chloe kept her he
ad down, concentrating on the books. It wasn’t until she could feel two sets of eyes on her, did she manage to tear her gaze away from her desk.
“How can I help…? You!” She shot out of her chair and pointed a finger at the man standing in front of her.
Tall, dark, and handsome didn’t even begin to describe him. He towered over her with a smooth head and a dazzling white smile. Underneath his jacket hid his noticeably muscular arms. She remembered the delightful shiver that had gone down her spine when he’d handed her his coat, so gentleman-like. The same man who had attempted to change her tire only a half hour ago stood in front of her, a boyish smile pulling at the right side of his face.
“Chloe, we meet again.” Jordan set down his briefcase and extended a hand. His voice was smooth and bold, like a dark amber caramel that melted slowly on her tongue. “If I’d known we were going to work together, I would’ve offered you a ride. You didn’t say you went to school to be an accountant.”
She looked at his hand as if it were an alien object. “Well, I didn’t plan on it. I wanted to be a lawyer, but Professor Garret changed my mind. He’s the best teacher I’ve ever had.”
Jordan’s smile slipped right off his face and he gaped at her. “You don’t mean Richard Garret? As in, chief CFO for the Minnesota Vikings? That’s only my dream place to work.”
With a shrug, she took his hand and gave it a little shake. “Yeah. He started working there just before I graduated. Sends me a Christmas card every year with a purple Vikings theme.”
She could tell the wheels were turning inside Jordan’s head, but couldn’t understand what was getting him so excited. And the bigger question: what was he doing here? Had he followed her? Her daddy had warned her about those kind of men. But he said they were going to be working together. That didn’t make sense.
“Mr. Davis is here from the State,” Laurie offered as the silence between the two of them stretched on into an awkward phase. “To do the audit.” She looked up at Jordan for help.
Caroling in the Snow: A New Hope Sweet Christmas Romance - Book 2 Page 2
