Sleigh Bells in the Snow (O'Neil Brothers 1)

ood and maybe the occasional one of the chefs at work.” She was talking too fast and too much.

She knew it.

He knew it.

He leaned forward, still watching her. “What happens if you don’t talk about work?”

“You’re paying me to talk about work.”

“Your light was on at 2:00 a.m. and you were up again at five. Why don’t you sleep, Kayla?”

The knowledge that he could see her cabin from his barn gave her a jolt. “If you saw that, you must have been awake, too.”

“I was working on budgets and forecasts. Not my favorite occupation for two in the morning. And now I want to forget about work.”

She didn’t want to forget about work. It was vitally important to her that she didn’t forget about work or she’d start thinking about him and the chemistry. And that kiss. Oh, God, that kiss.

He was a client and she wasn’t used to blurring the lines.

“Tell me about growing up at Snow Crystal.”

“I’d rather talk about you.”

“I’m boring.”

“Most people who work hard, play hard.” He sat back as Tally removed their plates. “You don’t seem to be one of those.”

“I have fun doing what I do. My clients are beneficiaries of that.”

“I can think of at least ten minutes earlier today when you weren’t thinking about work.”

That moment had been simmering between them all day.

“What happened earlier was a mistake, Jackson.”

“You think so?” His gaze flicked to hers. “Generally I know when I’m making a mistake. Coming back here sometimes feels like one. Working at 2:00 a.m. always feels like one. Kissing you, didn’t.”

Desperate, she latched on to the one part of the conversation that wasn’t personal. “Why does it feel like a mistake to have come back?”

“I’m not going to let you do that. I’m not going to let you shift this conversation.” His gaze was locked on hers. He didn’t look away. Not even when Tally delivered the main course to the table—rack of lamb served with baby vegetables and crushed herbed potatoes. “Tell me why you were willing to work over Christmas.”

“You heard Brett—I feast on difficult. Except right now I’d rather be feasting on this. Élise is a fabulous chef.” Kayla focused on the food on her plate, wondering why being close to him made her nervous. “I’m not going to be able to move tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow I’m giving you a ski lesson. You will have sweated off the calories by lunchtime. So you don’t see your folks during the holidays?”

He wasn’t going to let it drop.

Kayla put her fork down, leaving her food untouched. “What was it you said today in the forest? Something about preferring it straight? I’m going to give it to you straight, Jackson. This may come as a shock given that your home seems to be a sanctuary for decorations and a breeding colony for gingerbread Santas, but not everyone is addicted to Christmas. Some of us don’t like the holidays too much. In fact—” she hesitated and then decided it was time to be honest “—I hate it. It’s my least favorite time of year. I was willing to work over Christmas because it seemed like the perfect escape. Does that answer your question?”

CHAPTER NINE

IT DIDN’T BEGIN to answer his question, but that was probably because he had a bunch of them.

“You came here to escape Christmas?”

“I thought it might be easier.” She picked up her knife and fork and sliced through the lamb. “I thought I had more chance of avoiding festivities here than I did there. You promised me a secluded log cabin. It sounded appealing.”

“And then you found out my family makes a big fuss of Christmas.”