Chapter Nine Charlotte
CHAPTER NINE
CHARLOTTE
S on of a nutcracker. There might be an issue with being too competitive. Penny handed us sheets of paper explaining the rules, but she held up her finger first.
“I downloaded the app for our team. It has the instructions for us for the Lost Days of Christmas games.” Penny studied her phone with an intense expression on her face. “I split us into teams for different tasks based on our skills. For the first round, Charlotte and Hayden need to head to the lobby for wrapping and drink-making challenges. The rest of us will head to Tinsel Town for the scavenger hunt portion to solve riddles and meet up with you in thirty minutes.”
“Shouldn’t we all be together?” I asked, confused why there were two challenges at the same time. It had nothing to do with being alone with Hayden, but more about wanting to be near my brother and Penny to do whatever I could to help. They bickered a little at dinner. Nothing major like what Hayden and I overheard, but enough to make Hayden and me share a glance.
Penny rolled her eyes. “You hate the teams. I can adjust it?”
“Pen, no.” I pulled her into a hug, feeling awful that I stressed her out for a second. I wanted to do the opposite of that! “I’ve never done anything like this, so I was curious. Hayden and I will totally be fine.”
“My sis is just concerned that she and Hayden won’t beat us.” Christian smirked.
“Not true. We’ll kick all your asses,” I fired back, forgetting our mission to help save the wedding. Hayden cleared his throat, signaling me to stop. By some grace of a Christmas angel, I shut up.
“The app breaks down each competition with points, right, baby?” Christian slung his arm around Penny. She leaned into him, which was a great sign.
“Yes. Then, after the final round, the points are totaled.” She frowned. “Why do you have your crazy face on?”
“I have a wager for you, Char. We need a DJ for our wedding…”
“Oh! Yes, we sure do. Great idea, babe.” Penny pinched Christian’s side. “I forgot how sexy being competitive was on you.”
“Calm it down.” Garrett pointed at them. “What’s the wager?”
“If we beat Hayden and Char, then they DJ our wedding.”
I shook my head. “I love you, but I refuse to DJ your wedding.”
Penny grinned, a sparkle dancing in her eyes. “Mm, we’ll see about that.”
“Whoa, we need our side of the wager.” Hayden winked. “I say they do a planned dance. Something to really embarrass them.”
“Hm, we could do better, I think. Matching outfits too? That we pick out?”
Hayden nodded. “I’m in.”
“Now we’re talking.” I clapped. “Okay, deal. It’s on.”
Christian narrowed his eyes at me but kept his arm around Penny. That seemed really great, so maybe betting was bringing them closer?
“Now that that is settled, we can head to our separate portions and meet back up in thirty minutes for the final round. Don’t let me down.” Penny put her hands in the middle. “Let’s all cheer on three. One… two… three. Go, team!”
Garrett, Christian, and Penny bundled up, since the Tinsel Town Riddles started outside. I was grateful to not do that because I had been cold since the car accident. Wrapping presents and making drinks—even with Hayden—was more my style.
“Shall we?” Hayden gestured to head toward the main lobby. He barely took a step before he stopped, frowning at his phone. “Shit.”
“What is it?”
“It’s my mom.” He rubbed his eyebrow as he stared at his phone. “She set up an interview with her next-door neighbor’s daughter, Frankie.”
“An interview for…?”
“Watching Gwen.” He rolled his shoulders. “She wants the interview for Monday afternoon. I just… why would she think Frankie is a good fit? I’ve tried finding someone, and they never work out.”
“Gwen goes over there all the time, right? Frankie has probably met her. You should interview her. You can’t avoid it for too much longer, Hayden.”
“Look, you’re right, but…” he said, closing his phone. “I want to have fun tonight and not worry about my life back home. Could we leave it alone for today?”
“You’re helping me with coaching stuff, I can help talk through this.” My stomach twisted. I wanted him to let me in, let me be his friend. Friends helped each other!
He cracked a knuckle before meeting my eyes, and his face softened. “I’d like that, but tomorrow.”
“First thing then.”
He laughed, like I had wanted him to. His shoulders relaxed, and we continued our pace toward the main lobby. It was a short five-minute walk. “You better bring your A-game, Coach. I’ll avoid the wedding if I have to DJ it.”
“We’re both in agreement there.”
He opened the door for me, ushering me in, and my mouth fell open. Son of a snowman.
Since we had left to head to dinner, the place had been completely transformed. Twenty tables were set up in a circle, each containing ten boxes and several rolls of wrapping paper. Christmas music blared from the speakers, and it was like a million sprigs of mistletoe had exploded from every corner.
Was Santa playing cupid this trip, because what the mistletoe-loving heck? They were everywhere! I couldn’t take a walk without encountering three of them. I’d have to dance my way across the lobby. But the snow globes! There were at least two hundred placed on end tables and shelves.
Hayden gaped at the lobby, the same wonderment crossing his face. “Holy shit.”
“It’s almost a Christmas porn created for people like Christian and Penny.” Green and red lights were everywhere. Snowflakes hung from the ceiling. Snowmen stood in corners, some moving.
“Do you think they bring wrapping paper into the bedroom?” he teased.
“My parents were always telling him to wrap it up,” I said, absolutely losing it over our joke. I cackled.
Hayden too let out a deep, delicious howl of laughter. He squeezed my shoulder—the uninjured one—and smiled. It had been a long time since I saw the full effect of a Hayden grin. My stomach flipped over ten times, and a flurry of butterflies danced in my gut, because damn, he was so handsome.
“Do I have something on my face?” He frowned. “You’re staring at me weird.”
“Honestly?” I scrunched my nose. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen your real smile. Looks good on you. Happiness suits you,” I said.
His eyes warmed just as our phones went off. He pulled his out of his pocket. “We’re table eight.” He squinted and jutted his chin toward the back.
“Getting old, eh? Need some glasses soon?” I teased as we walked over toward our station. There were two pairs of scissors, four different strands of ribbons, and two dispensers of tape. Every table seemed to have the same supplies, with a large pile of boxes sitting in the middle. We had to wrap as many as possible in the time frame. I removed my jacket and placed my hands on my hips. It was almost game time.
He grunted. “I have some, thank you very much. You wait until you’re this close to thirty and talk to me.”
“I’m going to need to see proof of these glasses, Hayden.” I counted the tape a table over and frowned. “Wait, they have more tape than us. Not fair.”
Hayden froze and noted the difference. “Unacceptable.”
I counted another table with more bows than us too. “Who is in charge around here?”
“That would be me.”
I spun and grinned when I recognized whom the voice belonged to. It was my buddy from earlier. This time, he was dressed fully as Buddy the Elf. Yellow tights, green jacket and hat, the whole thing. “Brendon, my man!”
“Ah, glad to see you’re doing okay.” Brendon smiled, his eyes dropping to my sweater. “Very festive shirt.”
“Oh, this old thing?” I refused to blush. “Felt like going a little wild tonight.”
“I can see.” Brendon stepped closer, his minty cologne washing over me. The man smelled like a candy cane. It was wonderfully strange. “Now, was there a problem?”
“Yes.” Hayden joined us, his chest touching my back. His warmth spread through my sweater, heating me up from proximity alone. What was he doing standing so close to me? We’d had a wonderful truce going on for hours. Sure, I still had a crush and got butterflies when he touched me, but I had stopped obsessing over it.
But he touched me.
I didn’t hate it, if I was being honest.
“All teams should have the same number of supplies. I’ve found three discrepancies, which puts us at an unfair disadvantage.” Hayden used his stern Daddy voice, one that shouldn’t affect me in any way.
It was bossy and direct. Yet… my thighs clenched together. In my deepest, darkest fantasies, I wanted Hayden to boss me around in bed. I wanted him to walk me through everything he dreamed of, and I’d do it, without a second thought. But this wasn’t that at all. This was a silly Christmas competition with Brendon the Elf in charge.
My sweater was a little too heavy. Maybe they could open a window? Or extinguish one of the million fireplaces they had going. It’d ease the growing heat in the lobby.
Brendon blinked. “You’re right. They should be the same. I’ll make sure we double-check.”
“See that you do.”
Brendon took off toward another person wearing a full Santa suit, and once he was out of view, I hit Hayden’s arm. “Don’t be mean to Brendon. He reports to Santa.”
“Okay,” he scoffed. “He was staring at your chest the whole time.”
“I mean, look at it?” I faced him, sticking it out. “It’s ridiculous! Of course he’s going to look. That is the point!”
“You want him looking at you like that, Charlotte?”
Oh no. He’d used his deep voice again. His eyes darkened, and he clenched his jaw.
The butterflies tripled in my gut, a whole swarm of them overtaking my senses. “Him specifically? Perhaps not. But I’m single, Hayden. Sometimes a girl just wants to flirt and have fun, maybe kiss under a mistletoe. If Brendon is the guy, then who cares?”
Hayden’s nostrils flared again, and his gaze dropped to my mouth.
The holiday music disappeared, and the people around us stopped existing. It was just Hayden and me, and he was looking at my lips. My body tingled like it was surrounded in Christmas lights, and a small, tiny groan escaped my mouth.
His gaze snapped to mine, his eyes dangerously wide.
“What. The fuck. Was that sound?”
Oh no.
I stared, my mind blaring the alarm. Run. My throat dried up. I didn’t mean to let that throaty moan escape. My vision blurred as we stared at each other, his gray eyes penetrating my fickle shield. His pupils dilated as he stepped closer to me with one hand raised toward my face.
What is happening? I froze.
“Okay, folks, the competition is starting in two minutes! Make sure you’re at your table. If you’re not sure, download the app or ask one of us here!” Brendon yelled into the microphone, the sound penetrating whatever bubble had formed around us.
I jumped a foot in the air. Hayden sucked in a breath and moved so fast that I would’ve been embarrassed if my heart weren’t on the verge of shutting down. He had put several feet of distance between us as he ran a hand over his face. His body language screamed regret , which wasn’t great for my ego.
I had been doing so well, being friends with him and not letting my crush sneak through. But he broke the rule and stared at my mouth. I used all my strength to compartmentalize and get into competition mode.
Thank goodness for Brendon speaking a little too loudly into the microphone. It forced all other thoughts from my mind.
“Every table should have ten boxes, tape, scissors, and four options for wrapping paper. The first round is to wrap as many as you can in ten minutes. The more detailed the wrap, the more points. Bows and ribbons get you extra points, and neatness and creativity do as well. I’m starting ‘Jingle Bells,’ and when it stops, it’s go time!” Brendon cheered.
“Shit. Okay. Speed and details. We can do both.” I stretched my arms above my head, wiggling side to side. I wanted my arms’ full abilities.
“You look ridiculous.” Hayden set his jacket down on the chair like a normal person, amusement crossing his face. “Are we arm wrestling for wrapping paper?”
“Nope. We have to cut straight lines fast and use details. Are you good at cutting paper?”
“Most of Gwen’s gifts are in giftbags with tissue paper. That’s a no for me.” He crossed his arms and eyed the materials.
I imagined this was how he looked on the field. Guilt ate at me knowing I had never seen him coach at the college level. He had just started his job there when everything went to hell, so I’d missed out on a lot of things, like how serious he looked while making a game plan. And hot, but that doesn’t matter.
“Penny might not actually want to win this thing if she put me on this activity.” He gripped the back of his neck. Then his gaze flicked to mine, his gray eyes sparkling. “I’d rather continue the conversation we were having before Bernie interrupted us.”
“What?” I organized the materials by color. That felt important. Christmas colors needed to be coordinated so we used the correct ribbons and bows. Scissors sat in a nice row, and I frowned at the tape. If one of us ripped off a bunch of pieces and prepped them, that would speed things up.
“Charlotte.” Hayden drew nearer to me, his warmth and scent surrounding me.
I blinked up at him, noting the heat in his eyes that wasn’t there before. Wait. His words hit me again and clicked. We were talking about the sound I accidentally made. My face heated as questions swirled in my dumbfounded brain.
“Nothing to talk about. I had… heartburn and burped?”
Good gravy, I am the worst. I cringed and rubbed my temples, wishing I could just wrap myself in this paper and be shipped to the other side of the world. That would be preferable to lying to Hayden.
My dignity had reached a new low.
I felt more than heard Hayden’s laugh as he leaned toward me. “Liar, but I’ll follow your lead. Plus I refuse to be a DJ at Christian’s wedding. We have a few more minutes. Let’s make a plan.”
Yes. We must win. Focus on the competition.
“Your head is finally in the game.” I eyed the layout of our assembly line. “I’ll cut while you tear up a hundred little pieces of tape. You can place them on the edge of the table, leaving a little bit hanging so I can grab it. Then once I wrap, you cut and tie ribbon. If I have time, I could curl it.”
“Nah, I can curl ribbon. Can’t wrap worth shit, but curling? I’m the best. I could beat Bernie at it, I guarantee it.” He puffed out his chest, looking mighty proud of himself.
“Interesting flex.” My lips quirked. “How do you know how to curl ribbon?”
“My mom showed me to ensure I wasn’t a total failure once they move away. I might not wrap well, but I would sure as hell make Gwen pretty bows. That girl loses it at the sight of rainbow ribbons. She once kept one for a month in her bedroom.” He sighed, the smile disappearing. “I’m not handling them moving away well.”
Oh lord. Daddy Hayden was sweet, but the vulnerable one? The one talking about real feelings? I was a puddle of emotions. A snowman-in-the-desert type of puddle.
“Penny and I can help. I happen to be great at wrapping. It was expected of us at age three. My mom took us to classes. My friends would do fun things while Christian and I were stuck at Macy’s with a bunch of older women.”
Hayden laughed. “How did I not know this about you?”
“There’s quite a bit you don’t know about me,” I said, tensing at the way my voice deepened in hidden meaning.
“Hold on to your reindeer, smell the candy canes, folks, it is about to start!” Brendon yelled into the mic so loud that the speaker distorted. “Three, two, one, go!”
I slid the scissors down the green-and-red-polka-dot wrapping paper. I aimed for an easy square to fit the smaller of the boxes. “You preparing the tape?”
“Yes, Chef.”
I snorted. “Don’t make me laugh with scissors! Isn’t that the first rule of parenthood?”
“Not sure. Didn’t read that book.”
“Damn it, Hop.” I chuckled again as I cut my third paper. “This is good, right? I should wrap some?”
“Yes, so I can bow them up.” He glanced at the tables next to us. “They are going to town, but there is no zhuzh. We can bring that.”
“How do you even know that word?”
“There’s a lot about me you don’t know.” He repeated my words back to me, his voice dropping an octave.
Goose bumps exploded down my body. He nudged me with a proud smile on his face. “Focus, Char. You seem too distracted.”
“Ugh.”
I wrapped three boxes, using the pre-cut tape and smoothing down the paper in crisp angles. They looked good. Once I confirmed they were acceptable, I cut more squares. I even doubled up the paper. See, work smarter, not harder.
The music blaring over the speaker seemed louder and more techno. It was off-putting and intoxicating. My pulse matched the beat as we worked in unison. “I’m glad it’s you and me doing this.”
“Penny knew we’d work well together. We’re coaches. We remain calm under pressure and can compartmentalize.” Hayden worked on a tricolor bow that was gorgeous. Watching his large, calloused hands curl the delicate ribbon was an experience.
“Mm, you might be right about the coaching part, but I’m not the best compartmentalizer right now. My mind is racing.”
“Oh, so is mine, Char. I have a lot of things on my mind, most of them about you. But I can focus on the task at hand—winning the overall competition while also getting a better score than Christian. I do it on the field all the time.”
That intrigued me. The comment about me, sure, but the field. “How do you do it on the field?”
We kept working quickly together as he spoke. “Emotions run high. You want the best for your players but also the team. My goals don’t always align with the guys. My job is to win once the game starts. How do I balance their egos, their wants and dreams, with my own? How do I deal with bullshit calls and adrenaline? What if my baby girl was sick all night and I got no sleep, but I have to show up and lead the team? I push the bullshit aside and focus on what matters in that moment. No use worrying or thinking about shit I can’t fix then and there.”
“I can do that most of the time, but I let emotions creep in too much.”
“That comes with experience. You’ll get there.”
He passed me one of my paper squares, and I started on the ninth box. This wrapping paper design showed elves sledding, which made me smile. It was kinda cute. “I wish these boxes had something in them instead of just air. We could donate something to a shelter or a school.”
Hayden stilled. “Damn, that’s a good idea. Make sure to tell Barney that while he’s staring at your sweater .”
“Hayden.” I swatted at him, curious at his jealousy. “What is it with you and that guy?”
He grunted as he bent low to tie together a bright gold-and-silver ribbon. The grunt and delicate ribbon were so opposite that it was endearing as hell. “I don’t like how he looks at you.”
“Because he’s flirting? It’s harmless, and I enjoy it. Some people might find me cute, Coach, even if that’s gross to think about.” It was easier to say this while focusing on a task that used my hands. I had to focus on the scissors instead of his reaction.
“Charlotte.”
“What?” I kept my head down, taking my time to wrap this box a little more slowly than the others. I could feel the weight of his stare boring into me. It was almost physical. My neck broke out into goose bumps, but I refused to face him. I checked the large timer displayed on the wall, and it read three minutes. “Keep cutting ribbons, please. We have three minutes left to see how many we can finish!”
“Look at me.”
“No, we don’t have time.” My voice was on edge, a little too high and whiney. Hayden needed to remember the goal. “Please, we can’t lose!”
He placed his hand on mine, removed the scissors, and used his other one to turn my face toward him. His thumb grazed my lower lip, and his dark gray eyes were almost silver. He was so intense, so serious, as he stared me down. “You are fucking beautiful.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh. ” His eyes danced with amusement. “This just proves I’m great at compartmentalizing.”
“Wait. What?” My mind was fuzzy. It had to be the car accident, or the drinks, or the fact that Hayden had touched my lips and said I was beautiful. The man who told me he’d never care for me or see me that way had said those words to me. My axis shifted. If he thought I was beautiful, then why not say those words three years ago?
He chuckled, the deep vibration of his laugh wrapping itself around my soul. The sound of his joy was like a huge bear hug, squeezing around you. He moved his fingers across my jaw, his nostrils flaring. “I understand I’ve said things that made you think I only see you as Christian’s little sister. I’ve done a damn good job at hiding my attraction to you.”
Attraction. To me. Hayden Porter attracted to Charlotte Calhoun. What in the ever-loving holiday hell? He said those words! To me! With his mouth! I was gonna stab him.
“Two-minute warning!”
I eyed the tables around us, and they had more gifts wrapped but fewer ribbons. “Hayden, we’re going to lose.”
“Maybe this round, but it was worth telling you you’re beautiful.”
Compartmentalize.
What a great time to learn to put my emotions in little gift boxes and wrap them up and store them deep in my mind. The hurt I felt at what he said that night three years ago? Wrapped up tight. The confusion I felt now? Double wrapped it. The lust and desire I had from him touching me? Yeah, I used a whole spool of ribbon to tie that one up. Winning the competition was key. Saving the wedding was our only goal.
Like an evil game master, the music became louder as time ticked down. Hayden and I worked fast, like we’d done this our whole lives. Cut, wrap, tape, ribbon, repeat. We put finishing touches on four more boxes, so we had fourteen wrapped perfectly, each with curled ribbon.
“And time is up! Drop the wrapping materials!” Brendon yelled. “We’re going to have our judges come around and take score with our holiday rubric!”
“I think we might come in third. They have more presents.” I frowned, chewing the inside of my cheek. As someone who grew up with the motto If you ain’t first, you’re last , this didn’t sit well with me. Plus I really didn’t want to DJ the wedding, but… if that meant there was a wedding, would we have to suck it up and do it anyway?
Brendon came up to our table and slid me a grin.
I returned his smile and even added a little hip pop to my stance. “How’d we do? Any inside information?”
“Dare I ask you to meet me over there and I can give you a preview?” he teased. “There’s a nice-looking mistletoe waiting for us.”
“I like your style, Brendon. For an elf, you’re just my type.” I blew him a kiss.
He caught it, laughed, and moved on to the next table.
Hayden glared at me.
“What? I told you. I like flirting. I haven’t had a date in years. Wait, I sure have, but I haven’t had a good one. Not one where I can laugh or be myself. If I want to make out with a guy in an elf costume, who cares? I just want to be kissed, dang it!”
His nostrils flared, and he reached toward me. “When you say things like that—”
“Alright, the next competition starts in thirty seconds, folks! We’ll have the scores updated in the app, but we were running a little behind, so we’re moving on to the next round. Get back to your tables and get ready!”