Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
A slow smile bloomed. “Next Christmas it is, then.”
Eventually, everyone else departed, leaving Conrad and Jane alone at last. They strode to the cottage hand-in-hand. Inside, she could only gape as she scanned the living room. Broken Christmas tree ornaments. Shredded toilet paper lay strewn across the wood floor from one side to the other. Piles of the stuff topped the kitchen table, and spanned atop the couch, near Cheddar, who lay with his snout resting on his paws, his eyes round and projecting a message: It wasn’t me.
“What happened here?” Conrad asked, clearly trying not to laugh.
“Can’t you guess, officer? Rolex wanted us to have a white Christmas.” The fur-baby sat on the coffee table, a ribbon of tissue stuck to one of his fangs. “Such a sweet darling.”
“Sweet. Yes. That is, in fact, a word.” He kissed Jane on the lips. “Meet me back here in twenty minutes? I have a present for you.”
A gift exchange! Though she wanted to insist they get started right away, she nodded. Twenty minutes was just enough time to race through a shower and change into clean clothes.
Heart thrumming with excitement, and dang it, giggling like a schoolgirl, she flew into her bedroom to rush through a shower. Being with Conrad was certainly better than being without him. But what gift had he gotten her? And would he like the gift she’d found for him?
She was practically bubbling over by the time she donned a delightful Christmas vest, a handcrafted gift from Fiona and headed downstairs with thirteen seconds to spare, gift in hand. A laugh burst from Jane when she spotted her boyfriend. He’d showered, too, and changed into worn jeans and a plain white T-shirt that read “Curse Breaker.”
Could this man be any more perfect?
He’d even had time to clean up the mess and ignite the logs in the hearth. Golden firelight gave the space a magical glow. He held a thin rectangular box gloriously wrapped in white Japanese chiyogami paper with gold polka dots embellished by a gold bow and a miniature bell.
When she stood before him, their eyes met, and he smiled.
“For you,” she said, holding out the gift in her hands. Mid-size, square and wrapped in a map of Aurelian Hills. “Merry Christmas, Conrad.”
“Merry Christmas, Jane.” He offered her the box he held.
“Ready, set, go,” she cried, and they both laughed as they tore into the packaging.
Inside a bed of tissue, she found a nameplate with roses etched along the edges, and gold lettering across the center. Jane Ladling, AS, MM, FMR
She traced her fingertips over the length of each engraving, her eyes watering. He also traced his fingertips over his present. A plaque bearing the words: Sheriff Conrad Ryan. Bad Guys Don’t Stand a Chance.
Again, they grinned at each other. But this time, there were all kinds of emotion in the undertone.
“Looks like we had the same idea,” she said. “But what does the AS and MM and FMR stand for?”
“Amazing Sleuth, Miracle Matchmaker, and I’m not going to tell you the last one yet. I’ll know when you’re ready.”
Oh, she loved it so much more! But what did he mean, he wasn’t going to tell her? She must know now, now, now. “First Mystery Responder? Forever Miss Risky? Fated Mate Regulator?”
He snorted. “You aren’t even in the ballpark, sweetheart.” With a flourish, he produced another present, tucked beneath a pillow on the couch.
“What? There’s more? That’s wonderful because…I have something else for you, too.” She raced to the kitchen and tugged open the cabinet beneath the sink and pulled out a second gift.
Joining him, she stared down at the packages they held. Both wrapped in matching brown wrapping and stamped with The Treasure Room, the premier showplace for the crafters of Aurelian Hills.
“Oh, I can’t wait a moment longer,” she told him, her nails ripping into the paper before the final word left her lips. Jane gasped when she spotted two pictures in a frame. The first was a candid shot of Rolex looking at her with absolute adoration. Directly below that was a selfie Conrad had taken with Cheddar and Rolex, who glared at her boyfriend with murder in his beautiful eyes. Adorable.
Her throat tightened and she blinked quickly to ward off tears. “Three of my favorite men. Okay, you open yours.”
With a grin, Conrad tore into his package. He smoothed back the tissue to reveal a frame. Instead of photos, it was a map of Aurelian Hills. His new home in the Palisades was circled with a line hand drawn ran across the map, leading directly to her cottage.
“So you’ll never lose your way,” she told him.
The muscles along his neck worked as he gazed at the map, then his focus shifted to her. Hunger and need and love for her blazed in his amber eyes. “Never.”