The Everyday Elf book had been a huge success. The money helped Liv make a down payment on a roof for her house, and workers were going to start as soon as it got a little warmer. After that, she and her mom would put the place on the market and look for something smaller that would be easier for Mrs. Sanders to navigate.
But aside from the monetary rewards, publishing the book had unleashed Liv’s creative side. She’d already written the text for a sequel, and we’d shoot the photos for that in the fall. Today’s project was a book about her students, their hopes, their dreams, their tentative understanding of the world. She’d been interviewing them individually during recess and after school.
“Just pretend I’m not here,” I said as I moved around the classroom, taking shots. A couple of the kids giggled. Clearly, they weren’t savvy enough to ignore a six-foot-two guy moving past their tiny desks and chairs. I felt like a fucking giant around here. But maybe that was okay, because I wasn’t the only magical creature. There was an elf here, too.
Grinning, I studied Liv as she redirected the students. “Let’s get into reading groups. Whose turn is it for the bean bag chairs?”
“The blue group,” four or five kids shouted, and they hastened over to claim their spots. Liv got another group started on some tasks and then went to work with five kids who appeared to be in the red group.
My gaze kept returning to her as I moved around the classroom, taking shot after shot. She was so good with them. She was so good with everyone. Including me. Loving her made me want to be a better man. And I was getting there. I still fucked things up a lot, but I wasn’t drinking. I hadn’t had a drink since before Christmas Eve. And all because of her.
When I had enough candid shots, I moved to the back wall which was filled with bookshelves, cupboards, child-size coats on hooks, boots on the ground, and dozens of other things. But the clutter was what I needed. Surreptitiously, I checked on the items I’d set up earlier in the day.
Ten minutes before the bell, it was time. The kids were at their desks, heads bent over an assignment, and Liv joined me in the back of the room. “Are you finished?”
“Just need a few more. But being back here gives me an idea.” I stepped forward and cleared my throat. “Kids? I’d like to try a few more configurations. Can you all look to the front of the room and raise your hands as if you were answering a question? Just look forward and raise your hands. Good job, guys. Just keeping looking forward.”
I moved back to Liv’s side. She had an adorable frown on her face. “But what good is a shot of them raising their hands if there’s no teacher at the front of the room?”
“Who said anything about a shot?” I set my camera on an empty desk and took her face in my hands. Leaning in, I kissed her long and hard. Her body melted against mine and her arms wrapped around my neck. We remained locked together until tiny giggles brought us back to our senses. Well, it brought Liv back to her senses, and she sprang away from me. If it’d been up to me, I would’ve kept kissing her for the rest of the afternoon.
“I think Mr. Young wants a group shot now,” Liv said, her face bright red and her lips swollen.
“I do indeed. How about we all line up in front of the back wall?”
She helped me organize the kids into rows, the taller ones in the back, the easily distractible ones seated in the front with a toy to keep them busy. Once they all were in place, she took a seat right in the middle. The kids all crowded toward her, wanting to be the one closest to her. I didn’t blame them, but it took us a while to get them in rows again.
Finally, they were ready, and I re-checked the lighting. Then I looked through my camera, making sure I could get them all in the shot… as well as the special items I’d planted along the back wall.
I checked each one to make sure.
Up on the top shelf of a bookcase were wooden alphabet blocks that spelled out the word “will.”
Over on the top shelf of the cubbies, small brass letters spelled out “you.”
On a lower bookshelf in front of a set of children’s dictionaries, hand-written letters made to look like a child’s writing spelled out “marry.”
And lastly, on a file cabinet by the window, magnets spelled “me.” Next to them, a candy cane and a peppermint candy formed a question mark. It seemed appropriate.
Smirking, I winked at the woman I loved. She hadn’t glanced at any of the words, even when she’d passed right by the filing cabinet earlier.
But I’d make sure she noticed it when we got back a proof copy of the book. And I hoped with all my heart she’d say yes.
I was pretty sure she would.
Santa and his elf.
What could possibly be more perfect than that?
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Also by Sophie Brooks
Charming: A Cinderella Billionaire Story
He’s a bad boy trying to be good…
Ford’s gone from hard-partying playboy to responsible CEO. Since he inherited his father’s billion-dollar corporation, he has everything to prove.
He also has a secret.
Her name is Autumn, and her voice is perfect. Sometimes sweet and innocent, sometimes sultry and seductive, but always exactly right.
Ford can’t help wanting a real relationship with the woman on the other end of the phone. He just has to make sure she never learns how much he really knows about her… and why.
She’s a good girl pretending to be bad…
Autumn’s job at the fantasy hotlines helps pay the bills—and with a younger sister to raise, she has a lot of bills.
The shy 23-year-old is good at role-playing. She’s an innocent girl next door for one caller, a naughty nurse for the next… anyone but herself.
Except with Ford. He’s the one man who never asks for fake moans or empty flirtations. He wants the girl behind the fantasy… the real Autumn. And she can’t help wishing he were more than a voice in the night.
When Autumn’s in danger and Ford rushes to her rescue, their unlikely connection becomes a Cinderella story. But Autumn has a secret of her own… one that could tear apart their fairy-tale romance.
Tempting: A Cinderella Billionaire Story
Penny’s new boss is her baby’s father, but neither of them knows that...
Blake
Wealth, charm, and a good time. That’s all I can offer a woman, and that’s how I like it.
Until her. The pale beauty from the masquerade ball captured my attention in a way no other woman has. Her charm, wit, grace… for once in my life, I want to offer someone more, but I can’t. After one amazing night, she vanished, leaving me without a name, a number, or even a glass slipper.
A year and a half later, she still dominates my thoughts. I’ve lost interest in one night stands. I don’t even look at other women. Not until I meet my new personal assistant. Penny is a young single mother, and there’s something familiar about her...
Penny
Every night since the ball, I’ve fallen asleep thinking of him. The gorgeous, kind, funny man I shared the most amazing night of my life with. I told him things I’d never told anyone. I felt things I hadn’t felt in years.
When the clock struck midnight, we got separated. I left without his name or number, but he left something for me. Nine months later, my daughter was born. I love her with all my heart, and I wish more than anything I could find her father.
But now that I’m back at work, the gorgeous billionaire CEO
keeps me busy. His hot-as-sin looks and his wicked grin tempt me to let him become more than my boss. I know that’s not a good idea, but somehow it feels like I’ve known Blake for a long time instead of just a few short weeks...
Shameless Boss
How can something fake feel so right?
Ethan
I need a wife. My grandfather won't turn over the reins to the family corporation until I'm married. Old-fashioned, crotchety bastard.
So I humor him and tell him I'm engaged. Oh yes, Grandfather, she's gorgeous, charming, etc. That'll get him off my back for a while, right? Until he tells me that he's met her. WTF?
I should come clean, but then I find out he thinks she's the hot-as-hell brunette that I've been eyeing for some time. So I do some quick thinking.
And some even quicker lying.
Kate
Yesterday, I gave my two weeks' notice at Grant Industries. Today, I'm engaged to the CEO, Ethan Grant. He made an offer I just couldn't turn down.
All I have to do is to pretend to be his fiancée long enough for him to gain control of the corporation. Then we stage a breakup, call the wedding off, and I walk away with an all expenses paid trip around the world.
A fake engagement comes with some definite perks. Ethan was born to wear custom-made Italian suits. He can make me laugh one moment and make my panties melt the next. In a few short weeks, I feel like I've known him my whole life.
But to him, this is just a business transaction. Only a fool would fall in love with a fake fiancé, right? Luckily, I'm no fool. Or at least I wasn't before I met Ethan...
Bad Boys By Night
They’re good guys by day and bad boys by night…
Meet your new book boyfriend! Will it be Callum, the scorching hot celebrity chef of Cheyenne's dreams? Or Jake, Fiona's ex-boyfriend who will stop at nothing to win her back? Or Luke, who is Darcy's friend but wants to be so much more? Or Ian, whose wife Alyssa challenges him to make their relationship sizzle again? Or maybe Justin, who finds out how hot it can be when he and his girlfriend Lily take their relationship in a new direction?
Five sizzling hot men. Five happily ever afters. No cheating. No cliffhangers. Read through Kindle Unlimited or buy on Amazon!
Excerpt from Shameless Boss
Blurb:
How can something fake feel so right?
Ethan
I need a wife. My grandfather won't turn over the reins to the family corporation until I'm married. Old-fashioned, crotchety bastard.
So I humor him and tell him I'm engaged. Oh yes, Grandfather, she's gorgeous, charming, etc. That'll get him off my back for a while, right? Until he tells me that he's met her. WTF?
I should come clean, but then I find out he thinks she's the hot-as-hell brunette that I've been eyeing for some time. So I do some quick thinking.
And some even quicker lying.
Kate
Yesterday, I gave my two weeks' notice at Grant Industries. Today, I'm engaged to the CEO, Ethan Grant. He made an offer I just couldn't turn down.
All I have to do is to pretend to be his fiancée long enough for him to gain control of the corporation. Then we stage a breakup, call the wedding off, and I walk away with an all expenses paid trip around the world.
A fake engagement comes with some definite perks. Ethan was born to wear custom-made Italian suits. He can make me laugh one moment and make my panties melt the next. In a few short weeks, I feel like I've known him my whole life.
But to him, this is just a business transaction. Only a fool would fall in love with a fake fiancé, right? Luckily, I'm no fool. Or at least I wasn't before I met Ethan...
* * *
Chapter One
“How do you think it went?”
Striding through the lobby of Grant Industries, I paused to look at my right-hand man, Robert Tremont. “It went great and you fucking know it.”
Rob grinned. “Yeah, it did. I was just being modest.”
I clapped him on the back. “Sharks who close a deal like that aren’t modest. They’re badass.”
Rob nodded, but with his baby face, he looked more like an overeager Boy Scout than a cut-throat wheeler and dealer. However, he was learning. He’d been with my company for five years, and I doubted I could get through a day without him to keep me organized.
“Are you coming up?” Rob paused by the elevator, but I shook my head. For a moment he looked confused, but then he glanced at the massive clock on the west wall of the spacious entryway. “Oh, right. It’s almost 10:30. Enjoy your stalking.”
“Piss off,” I said, good-naturedly. He wasn’t so much of a Boy Scout that he couldn’t give me shit from time to time. Waving him off, I walked back past some security guards and made my way toward the front entrance.
With so many people coming in and out of the trio of revolving doors, I’d be less conspicuous here. Of course, it didn’t help that half of them said, “Good morning, Mr. Grant,” when they passed by.
I glanced at my Rolex; it was 10:28. Two minutes to go. My phone rang as I kept my eyes trained on the elevator doors. I put it to my ear without looking at it. Only a half-dozen people had my private number, so it was either Robert, my secretary, the head of security, or one of my grandparents.
“Ethan, m’boy. How’s my company doing today?”
“Just fine, Grandpa.” My grandfather, Walter Grant, founded this company when he was just twenty-one. He ran it for over fifty years and wasn’t entirely ready to give up the reins even now, a fact I was painfully aware of. “Rob got the Wrights on board.”
“He did?” My grandfather sounded surprised. “I didn’t think he had it in him. You had good instincts when you hired that young man.”
I nodded, my eyes scanning people moving throughout the lobby. Good instincts—but not good enough, in my grandfather’s opinion. I’d been Chief Executive Officer for three years now. Three years in which Grant Industries had made great financial gains. I was the leader of our family corporation in every way except by title—my grandfather still retained that for himself. “And how’s the president of the company doing today?
“Can’t complain, can’t complain. Except your grandmother’s making me get up at six every morning for a walk.”
“Six? Ouch.” I hit the gym every morning at 5:30, but I was thirty-one, not seventy-three.
“So listen, Ethan, I wanted to talk to you about the delay at the Springfield facility…” My grandfather continued on, but I lost track of the conversation because the elevator doors had just opened and there she was. 10:30 sharp—just like clockwork. If clockwork involved a gorgeous brunette in a tight pencil skirt.
She walked to the coffee cart on the far side of the lobby, her gorgeous bronze waves swirling around her shoulders as she moved gracefully across the room. Today she wore a thin white short-sleeved blouse with colorful beaded bracelets gracing her slender wrists. Her shirt was tucked into a caramel-colored skirt that hugged her curves from her waist to just above her knees.
Her tight skirts were my favorite—they made the sway of her hips more pronounced as she walked across the room in three-inch heels.
She was lucky today. There were only two people in front of her at the coffee cart, which meant she wouldn’t have to wait long for her chai tea latte. I’d asked the barista once what her order was, but that was the extent of my snooping. I didn’t know her name. I didn’t know what department she was in. I’d purposefully avoided finding out so I wouldn’t be tempted. Whoever she was, she worked in this building, so she therefore worked for me. Which made her off limits, at least in my book.
Even if I had time for a relationship, it wouldn’t be with someone who worked for me. That was asking for trouble. Still, I couldn’t help wondering what her name was. What her voice sounded like. What it would be like to take her to a five-star restaurant.
“Ethan?” My grandfather’s deep-throated rasp brought me back to reality.
“Yes, Grandpa?”
“What�
�s the status on the—”
“Don’t ask him that!” The new voice in my ear meant my grandmother had joined the conversation. Though my grandparents lived in a mansion with an elevator, a humidor, and a wine cellar, they still had a landline in every room. Apparently, my grandmother had picked up an extension. “Ask him about the girl.”
As silently as possible, I groaned. This again.
“That’s right m’boy. You’ve been pretty tight-lipped. We want to know everything about the most important person in your life.”
And there it was. The fundamental difference between my grandfather and me. By all outward standards, my life was a complete success. I was CEO of a multi-billion-dollar corporation. I was steering that corporation into the future. Stocks had risen substantially during my time at the helm. But to my grandfather, the man who founded the company from scratch, it wasn’t enough. Not by a long shot.
To him, success was measured in having a wife. And children to carry on the Grant family name. He and my grandmother had been married for nearly fifty years, and it pained them that I was single. Never mind that most of my friends were. Never mind that some people never married at all. To my grandparents, I wouldn’t be a true success until I fell in love and got married.
Bad Boy Santa: A Second Chance Christmas Romance Page 7
