Chapter 3
Cora had come to bargain and Nick was ready for it. His two dates had been dismal failures, he needed a win—but not at any price. He wasn’t going to be negotiated out of his comfort zone/morals—there was too much at stake.
He pulled out the piece of paper with his must-haves list.
But he wouldn’t forget his secret agenda.
Cora must be given every opportunity to redeem herself. He had a small window before Pete Krampus showed up in Cora’s life to dole out punishments. Regardless of his dislike, Nick had to get her on the Nice List.
“I want you to rehire the other vendors you fired.”
“Done. Is that it?” she asked. He had her over a barrel. He’d use that to his advantage—and hers. It would benefit her to get off the Naughty List too.
“Not quite,” he said. “You’re my other demand.”
“Me? Don’t get creepy on me.”
Getting Cora on the Nice List would cause a huge boost in Gold Lumen to fill the Magic Coffers. Restoring a thread in the Yearweave wasn’t easily done, so the resulting magic was pure and strong.
“Not like that. I want you to work beside me.”
She blanched. “I’m seriously in demand at the event.”
“That’s my condition.”
“Forget it!”
“You need me,” he said, leaning back and regarding her coolly.
“I don’t,” she said, but they both knew it was a lie.
“You wouldn’t be here otherwise,” he said. “You talk a pretty game about the holiday but you don’t understand the real meaning of Christmas. Work with me and learn it. Together we can pull off a miracle and spread the true magic of the season.”
“We’ll see.”
“Not acceptable.” Left to her own devices, she wouldn’t mend her naughty ways.
“All I can commit to is maybe.”
“I’m not negotiating with you. Take it or leave it.”
Cora stayed calm by taking a sip of her cocktail, letting the gin do its job. There was something about him that made her want to— Ugh. She refused to have a meltdown in front him.
“If I do this, what will it entail?”
“Shadowing me.”
Uh, what? She’d have to be next to Mr. Big and Muscly every day? That was not a good idea. “What exactly do you do? You’re the boss, right, so lots of meetings?”
Nick leaned in, his inked forearms flexing. That twinkle was back in his eyes. The snow globe in her belly flipped over and shook, as if it were in the hands of a toddler.
“I do it all. You’ll have to wear the same garb as my other workers so you fit in.”
“Will I have to dress like you? Because I have standards and that”—she gestured to him—“isn’t up to mine.”
“A flannel shirt is warm and durable. Plaid’s classic. And who doesn’t like jeans?”
She had a lot to say about jeans and a flannel shirt, but none of it would help her win this argument.
Her reluctance wasn’t actually about fashion.
She didn’t want to spend the next month trailing behind Nick Bari as he showcased his outdated methods and traditional—read, tedious—life while she should be out chasing deals and marketing the heck out of Winter Wonderland.
Still, she had to close this deal tonight.
“I … I can make it work,” she said.
“Stick with plaid. You’ve a good eye for it,” he said.
“Thanks,” she said, surprised by his unexpected compliment. “Now, I need to show off my star toy on The Today Show on Friday. Did you work on my suggestion for the dollhouse? With a bit of zhuzhing up I can make them work.”
“Glad to hear.”
Sarcasm. She wished it didn’t make him even sexier.
Gah, what was wrong with her?
“Could you rig it up so kids can connect their devices to it. Make it a smart home?” she suggested.
“Kids love to do the same things as their parents. Like, a home they could customize inside. Maybe some posters for the walls. That would really sell. Lots of accessories that can be sold separately.”
Nick considered her for a long time. She squirmed under his assessing gaze. After the concessions he’d won from her, she wasn’t about to back down now. If the toy didn’t sell, none of this would matter anyway.
“You know toys, but I know what sells and you … well, your shop was pretty much empty,” she said.
Nick gave her a hard look that would have melted a lesser woman. Or at least, that’s what she told herself. “I need something with the wow factor.”
Nick’s arms bulged as he crossed them over his chest. “The wow can come from imagination.”
“If no one buys your toys they’ll never know, will they?”
“Are you done?”
“Excuse me?” she spluttered.
“Are you done telling me everything you don’t like about my toys?” he said in a hard voice. More softly, he added, “I have a prototype to show you. This way,” he said, standing up.
He didn’t wait to see if she followed so she was gifted with the image of him stalking away. Her gaze lingered on his butt so she raised her eyes, only to find his slim waist and the breadth of his shoulders. For the first time she really looked at him.
Damn, he was hot.
Which she was totally going to ignore.
Crossing through to the back room of Frosty Jack’s to a portal, Nick tried not to let his irritation with Cora cloud his judgment.
He was tempted to point the handle toward Pete’s realm, the Thornreach.
A few minutes in the dark forest realm of twisted roots, iron chains, and crimson embers would tame her haughtiness with fear, but that kind of punishment was Pete’s style, not Nick’s.
Cora probably needed a reckoning with what lay ahead of her, but Nick had to try for redemption.
He’d underestimated how aggravating dealing with her was. His frustration from his failed dates colored his attitude toward her, and that wasn’t her fault.
“What an odd room,” she said. “I expected wall-to-wall casks for the taps and crates of stock.” She was observant. Probably one reason for her success with Winter Wonderland.
“That’s all stored in the basement.” She tipped her head to the side as she listened, making her hair swing around her neck. He admired how it swished and fell, kissing her skin on its way past. She made him feel as if he was the entire focus of her attention.
“This is a private entrance for Jack’s friends,” he said, not wanting to reveal that it was a portal to all the realms in the Yearweave. He should pick up the pace before someone like Krampus arrived and spoiled everything. He led her through the portal to his realm.
Delicate flakes of snow fell from the clear, cold night sky and landed gently on trees that glowed with stored Lumen. Cora shivered.
“I should have put on my coat.”
He projected a wave of warmth toward her and self-consciously brushed his hands up and down her sweater-covered arms to disguise its source.
She stopped shivering. Her cheeks flushed, her brown eyes wide as she gazed at him in wonder.
There was a sweetness to her he’d never noticed before, but there was another undercurrent as well.
Hunger.
Or was that coming from him?
“This way. My helpers have been hard at work and we have a fully working model house.”
As they stepped into the workshop, she went right over to the workbench where he’d left the model of the house. Nick connected his phone to the house and, as Cora approached it, he hit a button to turn on the lights.
Putting her hand on her hip, she canted her head to the side. “Does it do anything else?”
It was going to take more than lights to impress Cora. “What would you like it to do?”
“Something more than just light up.”
“What does your house look like?” he asked her.
“It’s a simple A-frame house made of white and brown river stone with steps leading up to the front door. There’s a window on either side of the door and a pitched roof.”
With a few flicks of his fingers he adjusted the specs to her description, changing the outside of the house to match.
“What about this?” he asked.
She gasped, reaching toward the house.
“Wow, Nick! I love it. This is amazing,” she said. “What do you call this house?”
“Custom Home,” he said.
“That’s lame.”
Nick tempered his annoyance. “Why does it need a fancy name?”
“What about … WonderHaus? It sounds magical. It’s the kind of name that opens up possibilities.”
Cora vibrated with energy. Waves of light were radiating off her as magic was pumped into the room. Nick felt laughter bubble up inside him in response, a rising tide of energy and inspiration to match her enthusiasm for what he and his team had created.
It was the first time that he truly believed she could be redeemed.
Cora surveyed his space. It was cozy and snug, organized but not obsessively so, clean but not clinical. Obviously he wouldn’t be mass-producing the product in here. There was a long workbench along the far wall and a leather apron draped over a stool near it.
The bench was lined with figurines. She picked up a pine marten that seemed as if it had been startled and frozen in place. The workmanship was exquisite. The animal was so lifelike she expected it to feel soft and furry in her hands.
Next was a woman. Wearing a long skirt and vest, her hair thick as it flowed around her shoulders. The expression on her face was wistful longing.
“Who is this?” she asked. Nick must love this woman. The details in the figure of the woman were even more delicate than the pine marten. Was he married? If so, she really needed to stop noticing him as a man. He was off limits.
“Please don’t touch the things in my workshop,” he said.
She put it down like it had burned her. “Is it your wife?”
“I’m not married.”
Well, that was … good news?
It was hard not to notice how magnetic he looked in his own surroundings. His flannel shirt and worn jeans suited him here. They suited him everywhere, actually. Not her style, but on him? Oh yes, they suited him.
She wanted to ask again about the woman, but it wasn’t her business. Her business was the WonderHaus. “What about production? How fast can you make ten thousand of them?”
“We have the wooden house pieces already available in our warehouse. We can deliver all orders by Christmas Eve.”