Mistletoe in the Snow (New Hope Sweet Christmas Romance 1)

“Fantastic, thanks for asking.” Chloe slammed closed her notebook with all the scribbles she’d made about their candidates. “In fact, I think we’re almost done here. This is going to be a wonderful year for the Christmas pageant.”

Ashley Lynn flung her Brazillian blow out behind her shoulder and sighed. “Nothing can beat last year’s pageant though. You do know that I was the writer, director, and star of last year’s play?”

Chloe bit the inside of her cheek to keep from growling. Of course she knew. Ashley Lynn had practically written the headline in the stars, calling attention to herself at every instance.

“It’s just too bad that I didn’t have the time to do it again this year,” she purred. “What with my thriving attorney practice and hosting the holidays for my significant family, I just couldn’t find a spare second. But I told Pastor, you can bet that Chloe Walker would be a good bet. She doesn’t have nearly the time constraints as I do.”

She wanted to rip that unnatural December tan right off her bronzed skin and stuff it down the back of her skimpy sweater. It felt like she’d always been competing with Ashley Lynn, even though their mothers were good friends. They’d finished the same undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, but Ashley Lynn had gone on to law school while Chloe got her master’s in accountancy. Despite the framed degree in her room at home, she’d never felt like she’d measured up to the perfection that was Ashley Lynn.

“That’s great,” she finally managed to say through gritted teeth. Her cheeks felt like they were going to burst into flames.

Ashley Lynn frowned, her glossy lips pushed into a pucker. She patted Chloe on the shoulder, speaking in a patronizing tone. “Don’t worry, Chlo. It’ll be good, even if it doesn’t measure up to last year’s play. Everyone will know you tried your best. And that’s what counts.”

Laurie grabbed her friend’s arm and kept her from going after Ashley Lynn as she sashayed down the aisle without another word. It was a good thing, too, because right at that moment Pastor Steve came into the sanctuary to tidy up the room after this morning’s sermon.

“How am I ever going to find the right guy?” Chloe demanded, stomping her feet. She threw herself into a pew and pouted.

“Isn’t that the question we all ask?” Laurie smiled softly and sat next to her.

“Very funny.” Chloe hadn’t had much luck in hunting down a guy for her personal life, either. But that was a sore topic for another day. Today, she needed the perfect man for the perfect part.

“He’s out there, somewhere,” Laurie said. She patted her friend’s knee and stood to leave. “You’ll find him.”

She stared at the wooden pew in front of her. A determined fire had sprung to life behind the black irises of her eyes. She clutched her notebook to her chest and nodded her head. “Yes, I will. And if I have to drag him here, kicking and screaming, you bet I will.”

Chloe didn’t see the slightly frightened expression on her friend’s face. She was on the hunt and nothing could stop her.

Chapter Three

Jordan managed to avoid Eddie on his way to his car, waving at the man sitting in the cloud of smoke on the hotel’s front stoop. If he didn’t get to the foundation soon, he had a feeling his boss was going to appear in a burst of flames right in front of him and sick her horde of flying monkeys on his back. As much as he would like to tell her to go kick the bucket, he needed money to pay for rent. And gas. And food. And all those other unfortunately necessary things in life.

He had just managed to coax his Grand Am back onto the road in the direction of town when he spotted a stalled blue Chevy up ahead. Normally, he wouldn’t have given something like this another glance, but the woman who got out of the car took his breath away. With tantalizing ebony skin and braids that dropped to the middle of her back, she was a beauty. Tiny waist and curves in all the right places. She was wearing a purple suit jacket and a skirt that hugged every bit of her hips. In all of Podunk Minnesota, he never expected to run into someone like her.

His palms began to sweat as he turned the wheel and pulled in behind her. Classic first sign that he was probably going to say something wrong or give her the wrong impression. It always happened that way. Still, she was a damsel in distress. He couldn’t chicken out now and leave her stranded.

A quick glance in the rear view mirror assured him that he’d managed to wipe off that mustard stain from his grab and go lunch. He turned off his car and got out, forcing his face into a neutral expression. If he smiled, she’d think he was too eager. If he frowned, she might think he was some sort of serial killer. Little things like that made a big difference when it came to women.

“Are you okay?” Jordan slammed his door shut and rounded his car. She had the trunk of her car open and was staring at him suspiciously. Standing this close to her, he could tell she probably only stood up to his chin. “Did your car die?”

“Flat tire,” she replied flatly, her eyes never leaving his face. “I’ve got a spare.”

“Let me show you how to do that,” he said, practically jumping toward the trunk. She flinched, but he pretended not too notice. Too eager, he scolded himself. Back off. “That is, if you want me to.” He held his hands up defensively and grinned at her. “I”m Jordan, by the way.”

“Chloe…” She frowned but didn’t seemed frightened. Her eyes were scanning him over, taking in every little detail from the missing button on his jacket to the shine on his fancy dress shoes from Barney’s, the one splurge he’d allowed himself this year. Gesturing at the wheel packed in her trunk, she cocked her hip and rested her hand just above it. “Show me what you got.”

“Great.” He rubbed his hands together and leaned over the trunk to talk stock of its contents. A light breeze had picked up, just enough to seep into his clothes and make him shiver. Chloe wasn’t wearing a coat, even in this weather. He pulled off his jacket and handed it to her. “First things first, put this on. You’ve got to be freezing.”

She cocked his head at him, but didn’t refuse it. Instead, she swept it over her shoulders and nodded at him in thanks.

He pulled a wrench out of the trunk and grinned at her. She looked so pretty in his jacket, he’d almost forgotten how to speak. “Alright, first thing I’m going to do is have a look at your nuts.”

“Excuse me?” She pulled back her chin with an incredulous look. Her dark brown eyes opened wide.

“I mean your lug nuts,” he said, the blood rushing to his face. “The things that keep the tires in place.”

There he went again, losing the connection from his brain to his mouth. He would’ve taken the wrench to his head for saying something so stupid, but that was guaranteed to put the last nail in the coffin of this relationship. Instead, he shrugged nervously and walked past her toward the tires, giving her a wide berth.

“You want to loosen them,” he explained as he kneeled by the flattened tire. “Then we can jack it up.”