12 Gifts for Christmas

She’d said she wanted to win the contest this year… .

Apparently she’d been quite the busy girl last night.

Hot-gluing wrapping paper to the giant empty boxes that’d go under her tree, Mari couldn’t get Declan’s words out of her head. She’d just bet naughty was nice. Especially the way he did it. He’d gotten her all hot and bothered with just a kiss. What could he do with a little naked action? She fanned herself.

She was in the middle of a heat flash when she heard someone stomp up the porch steps to where she was working. She glanced over, her smile sliding away when she noticed how angry Declan was.

“Hello?” she said.

“Want to explain something for me?”

Frowning now, she got to her feet. She had a feeling she’d want to be standing. Or ready to break into a run.

“Explain what?”

He didn’t say a word. He just pointed. Mari stepped over to the porch rail and squinted across the street. It took her a few seconds to realize what she was seeing.

His display was a wreck.

“You think I did that?” she asked in horror.

“Darlin’, you’re the only one with anything to gain.” Looming over her, he blocked the sunlight, his anger enveloping her like a shroud.

“Right,” she snapped, smacking her hands against his chest to push him away. She’d be damned if he’d try and pull that bad-boy intimidation crap on her. “Because nobody else competing in the holiday contest wants to win.”

He narrowed his eyes for a second, as if he were considering her words. Then he shook his head.

“Not as much as you do.”

“How did I get dibs on all that ambition?”

“You’re the one with the most to lose.”

Mari opened her mouth to blast him then closed it again.

“You think I’d go as far as sabotaging your work just to get your confession?”

“No.”

Her shoulders relaxed a little.

“I think you’d sabotage my work to get out of sleeping with me.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and stalked back across the street.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

MARI was pissed.

Declan didn’t give a damn.

Refusing to look over at her house, he hauled the ruined lumber off the stage. He kicked aside an empty paint can, sending it ricocheting off a plywood donkey as he hauled the mess over to toss in the back of his truck.

“Dec?”

Softening his glare, he turned around. “Yeah, Aunt Amanda?”

“I’m running into town to get more lights for the display. Do you need me to pick up anything?”

He took in everything on the lawn. Other than the irritation factor, the actual damage was minimal. Some paint, a few broken boards. A minor ding to his ego and crack in his heart. No biggie.

“Nah, we’re okay. It’s mostly cosmetic. I’ll have things back on track by this evening. You’re still gonna win,” he vowed.

He’d wanted to win when he’d agreed to build the display. He’d really, really wanted to win when he’d bet on the contest’s outcome with Mari. But now? Now he’d do whatever it took to make sure they did.

“This isn’t your fault, you know,” she said quietly. “Don’t own this obnoxious act, Declan. This isn’t about you, it’s about someone cheating and being mean.”

“Could be,” he responded, giving her a grateful hug. He didn’t agree, but he didn’t want her worrying, either. “How’d you get so savvy?”

“Oh, please. I raised Rita Mae. That girl could have given you a run for your money when it came to trouble. And don’t get me started on the things Layla and Alison got up to.”

Declan laughed, just as she’d intended.

But as soon as she left, so did his smile. The Cole girls had nothing on him when it came to trouble. Even Rita. But him? Even when he didn’t go searching for it, trouble still followed him.

Maybe he shouldn’t have accused Mari of sabotaging his display. At first, he’d figured nobody else had anything to gain. But an hour of hauling debris had given him plenty of think-time. Enough to realize that he’d been an ass to assume that Mari was the only person who might have an issue with him. After all, most of the town would probably be happy to see the back of him again. And he’d been even more stupid to believe that Mari would do anything so hurtful.

For the first time since he’d stormed away from Mari, Declan glanced across the street. She’d added an inflatable holiday globe to the landscape and was now arranging three-foot-tall candy canes along the walkway. He watched her bend over to wiggle one of the sticks into the hard dirt and gave a hum of appreciation at the way her backside swayed with the effort. He was going crazy with wanting her.

Declan shoved his hands into his pockets and contemplated the situation. He could leave things be and let Mari stay pissed at him. That was probably smarter. Or he could go over and apologize. The words might burn his throat. But for another one of her sweet smiles, it’d be worth it.

And maybe if he offered to help her hang a few balls, he could finagle a kiss or two.

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