Full Moons and Candy Canes
Page 1
Table of Contents
Epilogue
Books by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Nancy
Norm
Thank You
Afterword
Heart of the Wolf
Hope
Carter
Full Moons and Candy Canes
Alyssa Rose Ivy
Copyright © 2017 Alyssa Rose Ivy
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written approval of the author.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover design by MG Book Covers & Design
Created with Vellum
Contents
Books by Alyssa Rose Ivy
1. Nancy
2. Norm
3. Nancy
4. Norm
5. Nancy
6. Norm
7. Nancy
8. Norm
9. Nancy
10. Norm
11. Nancy
12. Norm
Epilogue
Thank You
Afterword
Heart of the Wolf
Hope
Carter
Books by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Flight (The Crescent Chronicles #1)
Focus (The Crescent Chronicles #2)
Found (The Crescent Chronicles #3)
First & Forever (The Crescent Chronicles #4)
Soar (The Empire Chronicles #1)
Search (The Empire Chronicles #2)
Stay (The Empire Chronicles #3)
Savor (The Empire Chronicles #4)
Storm (The Empire Chronicles #5)
Seduction’s Kiss (The Allure Chronicles #0.5)
Lure (The Allure Chronicles #1)
Lust (The Allure Chronicles #2)
Lost (The Allure Chronicles #3)
Love (The Allure Chronicles #4)
Dire (The Dire Wolves Chronicles #1)
Dusk (The Dire Wolves Chronicles #2)
Dawn (The Dire Wolves Chronicles #3)
Forged in Stone (The Forged Chronicles #1)
Forged in Ice (The Forged Chronicles #2)
Forged in Fire (The Forged Chronicles #3)
Forged in Light (The Forged Chronicles #4)
Hunt (The Grizzly Brothers Chronicles #1)
Heat (The Grizzly Brothers Chronicles #2)
Torn (The Pteron Chronicles #1)
Heart of the Wolf (The Heart Chronicles #1)
Corded (The Corded Saga #1)
Cornered (The Corded Saga #2)
Shifter’s Fate (Willow Harbor #1)
The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (Hazards)
The Hazards of a One Night Stand (Hazards)
The Hazards of Sex on the Beach (Hazards)
The Hazards of Mistletoe (Hazards)
The Hazards of Sleeping with a Friend (Hazards)
Shaken Not Stirred (Mixology)
On The Rocks (Mixology)
Derailed (Clayton Falls)
Veer (Clayton Falls)
Wrecked (Clayton Falls)
Beckoning Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #1)
Perilous Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #2)
Enduring Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #3)
Life After Falling
Full Moons and Mistletoe
Full Moons and Candy Canes
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1
Nancy
“What do you mean you can’t go?” I stared at Leif as if he had two heads, which would have been less surprising than the words that had just come out of his mouth.
“I can’t go. I’m leaving to visit my parents that afternoon. The flight was way cheaper than if I flew out the next morning.” He stretched his arms out along the back of my hand-me-down black leather couch. He was sitting on the cushion with the tear down the side, so from where I was sitting I could almost pretend the couch wasn’t twenty years old.
“And you couldn’t have asked me to pay the difference?” Not that I had loads of extra cash sitting around, but I would have spent the money to avoid the embarrassment I was about to face. “You know I would have paid it.”
“Maybe this is a good thing.” His expression was serious despite his words. He had to be kidding. Good for me?
“How in the world is my having to find a date for the Christmas ball in three days a good thing? You’re my best friend. You look amazing in a tux. This is kind of your job.” Technically he was one of two of my best friends, but the other was happily married to the man of her dreams.
He smiled, and it just annoyed me more. Leif and I been close friends for years now, and he’d never let me down before. “There are plenty of other guys who look good in a tux. Maybe some who even look better.”
“Did you really just admit that?” Now I was worried. Leif wasn’t bashful about owning up to his good looks.
He laughed. “You know I like to help you out. I like when you help me out too, but eventually we’re going to have to actually meet people.” He put his feet up on my wooden coffee table. I didn’t mind; the white veneer had been chipped many times over.
“So now I’m not a person?” I knew very well that’s not what he meant, but there was no way was going to admit it yet.
“You are, and you know exactly what I mean. Eventually we’re going to have to meet people we want to spend our lives with—and before you start trying to talk me into a single at thirty-five pact, forget it. We have many things, Nancy, but chemistry isn’t one of them.” He put his feet down and straightened up.
His words didn’t sting at all. I’d never harbored romantic feelings for Leif even if I did find him aesthetically pleasing. “I know, but you look really good in a tux.”
“You’ve already said that.” He crossed one leg over the other. “What about the guy from Forest Ridge? Alex’s brother-in law?”
“No way.” I shook my head. “Nuh uh.” There was no way I was giving my other best friend’s brother-in-law a call.
“Why not? I bet he’d look really good in a tux.”
“Not a chance that’s happening.” There was no way I was asking him to come. It would be better to face the ball alone.
“Why?” Leif pressed his hands into the couch cushions on either side of him. “Because he’s a wolf?”
“Leif…” It’s not that the existence of shape-shifters were a secret, but it still wasn’t something you talked about a lot. Not to mention I wasn’t going to let Leif insinuate I was somehow discriminating against a man for his duel nature. It wasn’t about the wolf inside him. It was about the man on the outside. Or really the way that man made me feel, which was completely and utterly vulnerable.
“Hey… just saying. It’s not like he’s going to go all hairy on you at the ball.” Leif grinned, and I knew he was picturing exactly that.
“If you’re going to be like this, get out.” I pointed to the door.
“And you said you didn’t want me to leave.” Leif laughed.
“I didn’t want you to leave and miss the ball.” I stared at the black and white analog clock on the wall. The hands proclaimed it was two thirty in the afternoon. It was really six. One of these days I’d pull over a chair and fix it.
“Sure, sure that’s what it is.” He made no move to get up. “I'm starting to feel used.”
"Not used. Appreciated for some of your fines
t attributes.” I wanted his company at the ball far more than his body in a tux, and he knew it. Leif helped calm my nerves, and he kept me social when I needed to be. I would need both of those things at this ball.
"What about that Forest Ridge guy. Was he Ned?" He wouldn’t drop it.
"Norm." A shiver ran through me as I said the name. It wasn’t from the cold or any sort of fear. It was over the memory of a kiss that never should have happened.
"Don't you think Norm would look good in a tux?"
"He's a wolf. Didn’t we already establish that?" I pushed the unwanted memory of the kiss far away.
"So? Wolves can't wear tuxes?" Leif smirked.
"They didn't even wear blazers at Alex's wedding." I leaned back in the only other seat in the room. I’d gotten a great rental deal on the apartment from my cousin, but that didn’t mean I had the extra money for furniture.
"It was on the beach." Leif knew full well considering he’d been my plus one for that occasion. We’d been helping each other out with those sorts of events for years.
"So?" I closed my eyes and tried to stay calm. There was another option. There was always another option. I opened my eyes. “Whether he’d wear a tux or not, he's not going to want to come."
"Why not? What man wouldn't love to go to your dad’s ball with you?" Leif waggled an eyebrow.
"It's not my dad’s ball. It’s a charity event.” I hopped to my feet. I was too impatient and stressed to sit down any longer. “It's for a good cause and—
"It's your dad’s ball.” Leif interrupted. “Why you are even going is beyond me."
"Because my father is trying to repair our relationship. I have to try too." I tried to play it off as if my decision was normal and nothing major, but it was. I hadn’t said more than a few words to my dad for years, not since his reaction to our mom’s disappearance. He begged me to stop looking for her—which of course I wouldn’t do. He threatened to cut me off financially—which he did. I still wasn’t going to accept any of his money, or stop looking for my mom, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t talk to him once in a while. And fine, it didn’t mean I couldn’t try to get new information from him about my mom’s disappearance. None of my other leads were going anywhere.
"Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. See, it's all about your dad." Leif cocked his head to the side.
"Fine," I grumbled. I would rather admit that than tell him the truth about my reasoning. "That still doesn't mean Norm’s going to want to come."
"He'll want to go for you." Leif rolled his shoulders back. “Trust me.”
I shook my head. "Nope."
"I've seen the he way that man looks at you." Leif got that annoying know-it-all expression on his face.
"Oh yeah, yet you couldn't remember his name?’ I tried to play it off as cool as I could, but I’d been part of the kiss. I knew Norm felt something for me—the problem was I knew that something wasn’t what I needed in my life right now.
He shrugged. "We remember the important things."
“Who is this ‘we’ you talk about? I remember lots of things.”
“Yet you don’t seem to remember how much you like Ned.” He pulled out his phone and glanced at what I assumed was a text.
“Norm. His name is Norm.”
“Whatever. The fact that you care about his name says it all.”
“So, you did know his name…” I narrowed my eyes.
“This isn’t about me. It’s about you.”
“No, it’s about you leaving me hanging after you RSVP’d yes.” I brought things back around to the ball again. It was safer than talking about Norm.
“No, you RSVP’d me yes.”
“You verbally agreed.” He had agreed over a month ago.
“I have to see my parents. Don’t you want me to see my parents?” He gave me his best attempt at a puppy-dog face.
“Of course I do. I want you to see your parents one day later.”
“I’m not going to spend all day arguing with you. Invite him or don’t. You could also always go alone.”
“But I RSVP’d for two.” And I really wished I hadn’t.
“And it’s your father’s event. Who’s going to care?”
“I’ll figure it out. Enjoy your visit.” I didn’t want to be mad at Leif. He only went back to Wisconsin to see his parents once a year, yet the selfish side of me was angry with him.
“I’m not leaving for a few days.”
“I know.”
“Come on, Nancy, you aren’t actually mad.” He stood up and walked toward me.
“No.” I agreed. “Not mad. Disappointed.”
“Well there’s always another option.”
“You changing your plane ticket?” I let the tiniest glimmer of hope fill me.
“That’s not happening. Move on from me.”
“Fine. What’s this other idea?” I slumped down in the chair. Who needed good posture anyway?
He sat down on the arm of my chair. “Look online.”
“Excuse me?” I had to have heard him wrong.
“Look online. Say you’re looking for a last-minute date. An ad or what not.”
“An ad? For a date to the ball? Are you kidding me?” I may not have been insulted about his lack of chemistry comment, but suggesting I post an ad? Was he crazy?
“No. I’m entirely serious. If you are dead set on having a date, find someone interested.”
“And what, pay them? Because that’s not happening.” Hiring an escort wasn’t something I would ever do.
“Maybe having the opportunity to attend the ball with such a beautiful date will be enough for someone.”
“Sure.” I rolled my eyes.
“Then call Ned. I’m sure he’ll come.” He pulled me into a hug. “Don’t miss me too much.” He broke the hug, despite my wishing he would hold on just a moment longer. It had been far too long since I’d been given a proper hug. I was still thinking about my last hug—and my last kiss—as Leif let the door close behind him.
2
Norm
“Why the hell would I care if you went away that week?” I stacked the glasses back behind the bar. It wasn’t my job—I owned the place now—but when your staff doesn’t show up, you don’t have much of a choice.
“Because it’s Christmas…” My older brother knocked the top of his now half-empty beer over the concrete counter top.
“And that matters to me because?” I started on a new stack of glasses.
“Because it’s Christmas. Need I say more?”
“I can hold down the fort for a few days.” When you’re the younger brother of the Alpha of your pack, you get pretty good at doing things like that. Being second in command was a far easier job, and I was glad I wasn’t in charge all the time.
“Nah, that’s not the problem. I have plenty of guys here for that.”
“Then what’s the concern exactly?” I had a pretty good idea where the conversation was going, and I wasn’t interested in seeing it through. Maybe a customer would save me from it. Or an employee. Where the hell was Janie? She was running over an hour late.
“It’s Christmas, bro.” He took a swig of his beer.
“I do realize what Christmas is. Birth of—”
“I’m not asking you to define it. I’m asking you to recognize that being alone on one of the most important holidays for families might be difficult.”
“Until last year you didn’t give a damn either.” There had been some positive changes in Ryder since he reunited with Alex, but he was getting too sappy for his own good.
“Yeah, but Alex and Langdon changed everything.” He smiled. Yes. Sappy.
“As will that new baby Alex is carrying.” He was about to become a father of two, and this time he’d be around for the baby stage. He and Alex had a convoluted history—but at least in the end it had all worked out for them.
“Yeah, and you’re part of our family too. I want you to know you’re invited.”
“Nope.” I
shook my head. “Not happening.” I’d known the conversation would go in this direction, and I wasn’t having it.
“Why not?” He leaned forward over the bar. “Ever think it might be fun?”
“What could possibly be fun about it?” I draped the dishtowel across my shoulder.
“A weekend at a ski lodge? What isn’t fun about that?”
“A weekend at a ski lodge with you, Langdon, and Alex. I’m not intruding on your family time.”
“It’s not—”
I interrupted him before he could go any further. “Save your breath. Enjoy your trip guilt free. I’m good here.”
“Alex is going to nag you about it too.” He set his nearly empty beer bottle down on the counter.
“I figured as much.” And I would have the same response for her I had for him. No.
“She’s harder to say no to than me.” He made a valid point.
“I know. I’ve had a soft spot for her since I found out who she was.” But that didn’t change my answer.
“Speaking of Alex…”
“Yes?” I needed to tread carefully, I wasn’t entirely sure where he was turning the conversation.
“Have you talked to Nancy lately?”
The mention of Nancy’s name sent waves of awareness through me. “No. Why would I have?” I hadn’t talked to her in months. Not since she ran away after I kissed her.
“Because you two work.” Ryder leaned forward on an elbow.
“We don’t work.” I stepped back and returned to stacking glasses.
“You do.”
“Ok, get out of here.” His talk about the ski vacation was one thing, but now he’d crossed a line. Nancy had felt something in that kiss too. I was sure of it. But she’d made her feelings clear when she fled from me as if I was monster.