Nice Until Proven Naughty
“Because I already turned him down,” she says, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.
“What? When? You didn’t tell me about that.”
“Last year he gave me a Christmas card that said all I want for Christmas is you. He followed it up with a Will you make that wish come true?”
“And?”
She frowns. “And I gave him every excuse I could think of as to why we can’t be together.”
“No!”
“Yes! I’m horrible. I’m the worst person in the whole entire world, and I don’t deserve someone as wonderful as Ben.”
I point a firm finger at Dani. “That’s not true, and we both know it. You’re just as wonderful as he is, and you deserve each other. Tell me what you said to him.”
“I told him I didn’t think it was a good idea to date because we work together, and we’re better off as friends.”
“Oh God, Dani.” I slap a hand to my forehead. “You did not say that.”
Lip between her teeth, she nods.
“And he still looks at you with stars in his eyes?”
“That’s the thing, he doesn’t look at me like that. At least not anymore. I used to feel the heat every time he looked at me. I always knew he felt something more, but I ruined it. Now he just looks at me with general kindness, and I want the heat back, Naughty,” she whines. “I need your help.”
“Anything.”
“I need to be more like you.”
I’m shaking my head before all of the words even leave her mouth. “No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. I need a make Nice naughty plan. You’re confident and sexy. Men are drawn to you. I need that for a day or two, so I can draw Ben back in. I need to see if I can get a rise out of him. Something—anything—to show he still likes me.”
“Trust me, he still likes you.”
She blows out a breath. “Will you help me or not?”
“Of course, I’ll help you. But mark my words, you don’t need to be anyone or anything other than your wonderful self.” I take a breath and think about it for a second. “When did you say he gave you the card?”
“After our last Sal’s company Christmas party.”
“When is that?”
Dani’s eyes widen. “In four days.”
“Then we’ve got four days to come up with a plan.”
4
Naughty
“Umm…” Avery scratches her head and looks at my outfit.
“What?” I look down at the Santa dress I wore to a costume party three years ago. Red velvet hugs my curves. The skirt hits mid-thigh and has a fuzzy white border. I paired it with candy cane striped knee-high socks, red heels, and a cute Santa hat. “You guys said I needed to dress up like Santa.”
She points to a box on the table. I peek inside and pull out an oversized Santa costume. “Oh. I didn’t realize you already had one.”
“You might get a little cold in that.”