Oh Nights Divine

Chapter 1

I t was getting harder to find the perfect rude Christmas gift for Grandma. After all, what do you get the woman who's lived a wilder life than you have?

But somehow, Keely had found it. She'd gleefully anticipated her grandma's shocked and delighted expression, her admission that it was the best gift ever. Maybe even better than all the previous ones.

And then her order had gotten lost.

Now Keely was on the phone, waiting for someone in customer service to answer, hoping they could easily resolve the mix-up. Grandma had set this crazy competition into motion years ago and Keely wasn't about to disappoint her. Or concede defeat.

She really didn't want to start over, trying to find something else with the mad Christmas rush just around the corner.

She glanced quickly at the oven timer, making sure the cookies didn't need to come out yet. She'd hate to burn a batch because she had gone into a trance, hearing over and over how her call was important to them while she was on perma-hold.

At least their music was festive. She began to hum along to "Jingle Bell Rock", tempted to join in the chorus. Which she would only do if she was sure nobody could hear her warbling. She took a big breath and—

"Thank you for patiently waiting. This is Travis. How can I help you?"

Keely's heart almost stopped. Maybe he could help her figure out how to use a defibrillator over the phone, because not only had he almost caught her trying to sing, his voice was unbearably sexy.

Is that why he was hired as a customer service rep? Helping people with stray packages and stray thoughts of—

"Uh, sorry. I'm trying to figure out what happened to my order. I thought it had shipped but haven't received anything yet."

"I'll be happy to assist. Do you have a tracking number?"

She had to pause for a moment, to get her mind straight. It wanted her to say something like, "I wish I could track you down and see if you come close to matching that sexy voice . "

But that wasn't her. Not lately anyway.

"Yes, I have it right here." Keely calmly read off a series of numbers and letters and heard him doing some fancy-fast typing.

"Okay, I see the problem." He typed a little bit more and then added, "It says it shipped but it's also listed as sitting in the warehouse."

"Can't make up its mind, huh?" She laughed. "Sounds familiar."

He laughed, too. "It won't be a problem. I'll get the computer unconfused here, and then it'll be sent on its way. If you could just confirm your name and the address we're shipping it to."

"It's Keely Monroe," she said, then rattled off her address.

"Okay, that's definitely what we've got here." There was another burst of typing and then he added, "It should be there in two to three business days. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Oh, it's my grandma that's the inconvenience." At his surprised laugh, Keely added, "I love her dearly but it's getting harder to buy anything for her. So these zipper earrings are perfect—" Hadn't Grandma always said her favorite part of a man was his zipper? "Now I can quit worrying she'll disinherit me over this impossible quest of who can find the rudest Christmas gift."

"We definitely want to prevent that." He paused. "I actually have some challenging recipients on my shopping list."

"You've got everything possible to buy there! You can shop from the comfort of your own, er, warehouse."

That made him chuckle. "True. Except it's a family business, so none of my relatives would be surprised when they opened their presents."

"You just need to shake it up a little. Aunt Suzy can get the kiss-covered boxer briefs, and I'm sure Uncle Joe will be thrilled with the Kiss the Cook apron."

"I like it. We can do the Yankee Swap thing, too, so no matter what I buy, everyone ends up with what they want." His laugh made Keely feel warm and fuzzy in a lot of places. "Looks like you just saved Christmas for me."

"Oh, I'm glad to hear it. After all, you did the same for me."

"Can I help you with anything else today, Keely?"

A thousand things ran through her mind, but she stopped them before they could sneak past her lips. They weren't paying him so she could practice her dormant flirting abilities.

"No, you've done a lot. Thanks again."

"Not a problem. We're always striving to provide five-star service." This time he hesitated, as if not sure he wanted to continue what was obviously his customary spiel. "I hope you'll leave a review about your experience today."

"I'll be happy to do that. The world revolves around reviews, doesn't it?" She nearly cringed at that. Hopefully he wouldn't mark down her flirting skills for that little misstep. "Thanks again, Travis. I'll make sure to mention you're the anti-Grinch."

He chuckled, and that was a five-star experience, too, just like his voice. Well, to be honest, that was more like a ten-star experience, but she wasn't sure how to explain that on a survey.

"Hope you have a wonderful holiday," he said.

"I will. You, too."

Keely hung up the phone, almost sad that the conversation was over. After all, how many five-star experiences had she had lately?

She sighed. Only this one.

The oven timer dinged and she rushed to remove the cookies, putting them on the cooling rack, and sliding in the next cookie sheet.

Everything had worked out perfectly. No burnt cookies. Grandma's package all sorted. This particular Christmas was off to a great start.

***

T WO DAYS LATER, KEELY came home from her job at the bakery, thrilled to see a box sitting on her doorstep.

"Yay!" she said, although no one was there to hear her. "Travis, you came through. And don't mind me talking to you when I know you can't hear." She picked up the package and unlocked her door. "Or at least I hope you can't hear, because it's kind of weird me talking to you when I'm the only one taking part in this conversation."

She laughed and set the package on the kitchen counter. What a relief to cross Grandma's gift off her list. She knew how much Grandma looked forward to this every year, and Keely always wanted to surpass the previous year's present. Hopefully this would do it.

It was the last thing on her list, which was too bad in one way. She was tempted to order more things just so she could talk to Travis again.

He sure had left an impression. She probably had, too. She grinned. Fingers crossed Travis hadn't put her on a list of "customers to avoid at all costs".

Keely took her house key and ran it down the tape on the top of the box. She flattened the side flaps, and dug through the packing material, blinking at what she saw.

"Oh no! This isn't what I ordered."

She sat down on the couch, trying not to give in to disappointment. It might be easier just to get something else for Grandma. But a normal gift wouldn't do. Not to mention there weren't many places to get gag gifts for her scandalous grandma. Especially not at this late date.

Keely picked up the phone, dialing the customer service number, her heart beating a little faster at the thought of talking with Travis again. That was silly. She didn't even know him, and surely he wasn't the only customer service person there. But hey, 'tis the season. What better time to indulge in a little fantasy?

Besides, it never hurt to get her heart rate up. That aerobic activity helped to offset the extra cookies she always consumed this time of year.

"Hi, this is Stacy. How can I help you?"

Keely's heart sank. "Oh, uh, is Travis there by any chance?"

"He's on another line. I'll be happy to resolve your issue."

What now? If she pushed, they'd think she was some kind of weirdo. But she didn't really want to have to explain everything all over again.

"I was hoping Travis could help, since he knows the history of this crazy order." She took a breath, ready to start giving the details when Stacy said, "Hold on, it looks like he just got off the line."

That news made Keely's heart go from skipping to jumping like it had found a trampoline in her chest. Maybe she should add a defibrillator to her order.

"This is Travis. How can I help you?"

"Hi, Travis, it's me again. Keely Monroe."

"Hi, Keely. Did the package arrive?"

Maybe she was imagining it, but he sounded glad to hear from her. His voice was warm, still sexy, and she was almost glad her order had gotten messed up. Talking to him was like a gift she'd given herself this Christmas.

"It did arrive. Unfortunately it was a different item than the one I ordered. I don't think Grandma will see the humor in a set of fourteen graduated-size drill bits. Actually, she probably could. I just don't want to hear her complaining about how much she needs a drill."

Travis laughed, and she felt herself feeling all kinds of swoon-y. She hadn't felt swoon-y for so long she couldn't remember how to handle it.

"I apologize that you had to call back. This isn't typical of our customer service."

No apology needed, Travis. It's my favorite part of the holiday season so far.

Before she could say that out loud—well, the first part—she could hear him typing wicked fast. Her mind didn't even think about nimble fingers or manual dexterity. Hardly at all.

"Luckily we've still got this item in the warehouse. I'll be happy to overnight it, at no cost to you. And I'll include a tag so you can return the drill bits."

"That's amazing! Thank you, Travis. You're awesome."

Keely told herself to hang up the phone, and she almost listened to herself.

But a wild strand buried deep in her DNA—no doubt donated from her rowdy grandma—took over. She heard herself adding, "In fact, I'll buy you a coffee if I ever come across you in real life someday."

Travis didn't say anything, and Keely instantly thought, I've gone too far , which is something she never let happen. His sexy voice and their little banter had obliterated her cautious nature, and now she'd made things awkward.

She opened her mouth to say it was just an expression, but he beat her to the punch.

"How about tomorrow?"

Keely gulped, and then waited for her heart to start beating again. "Did Santa arrange a field trip here for his elves?"

He laughed. "No, I actually live in the next town over. I could bring the package to make sure everything is right this time."

Oh. What should she do? It was fun when it was all theoretical, never thinking there was a possibility of seeing each other. But there wasn't any point in trying to be anonymous. Not now. He already had all of her info—her address, her phone number—on his computer screen.

"Never mind," Travis said quickly. "It was a crazy idea. I didn't mean to put you on the spot."

"No, you didn't. I was just doing a quick Google search to see if Santa ever hired any serial killers. Looks like the man in red has a pretty good track record."

He laughed again. "If you're sure..."

She wasn't. Not entirely. But she was pretty sure it wasn't company policy to show up in person whenever a package went missing.

Which meant Travis wanted to meet her, too.

Keely's stomach fluttered. "Let's do it. I'd really like to thank you in person for the Christmas miracle you pulled off. How about Perktastic? You know where that is?"

"I love it there. What time?"

"How about four-ish?"

"Works for me," he said. "How will I recognize you?"

"I could wear a bright red nose, but it would be awkward if Rudolph decided to swing by." She loved that it got another chuckle from him. "You can order a coffee and they'll ask your name for the cup. When I hear them call for Travis, I'll know it's you. I'll introduce myself."

"That's good. Better than my suggestion: wearing your tracking number on a nametag."

She laughed. "It would take at least two name tags. You know how long those numbers are." She paused. "Is Travis a nom de customer service? I've heard some places change names every time they answer the phone, to make it seem like they have a massive customer service department."

He chuckled again. "No, Travis is actually my name."

"And mine is Keely. Which of course you already know." She exhaled. "I really appreciate you going the extra mile here."

Saying that out loud helped keep up the pretense this was simply him providing stellar customer service—not her getting to meet the sexy voice she'd been fantasizing about.

That good intention lasted until he said, "It's my pleasure, Keely. I'm looking forward to it."

A voice that sexy shouldn't be allowed to use the word "pleasure". Not without some kind of warning. It sent an unexpected flash of heat throughout her body, and her vocal cords were the first casualty.

"I am, too," she squeaked out. "See you tomorrow." That time she sounded more sultry than silly. Hopefully.

Keely hung up the phone. Now she had to figure out what to wear for a coffee meeting with someone she'd never seen. Oh, and spend the next twenty-four hours not talking herself out of going.

Which would probably take about forty-eight hours to accomplish.

Still, she felt a stirring of excitement. She was right. This Christmas really was going to be a good one.

How could it be anything else?