Tanya Michaels - Mistletoe Hero

The week he’d spent working for her had ensured that he would never look at her and see a beautiful woman.

“I wanted to apologize for my knee-jerk reaction to the pirate fundraiser,” she said, her expression beseeching.

“Good idea,” he said. “Mrs. Momsen’s right over there.”

“Fair enough. I’ll talk to her as soon as we’re done. Have to say, I never would have expected to see you here, but I’m glad-”

“Gabe!”

Arianne bounded toward them with all the restraint and self-consciousness of a puppy, a complete contrast to Tara’s studied expressions and come-hither voice.

Despite whatever chaos Arianne had wreaked on his life, he’d choose dealing with her over Tara Hunaker any day. He flicked the latter a dismissive glance. “If you’ll excuse us?”

He stepped to the side and waited for Arianne to reach him.

At close range, her smile was nearly blinding. “You were magnificent! ” She threw her arms around him.

Gabe stiffened. She was hugging him? People didn’t hug him. He wasn’t…He didn’t-“Miss Waide?” Unhand me.

Not that her embrace was unpleasant. Quite the contrary. She was soft and lush, round in exactly the right places despite her diminutive size. Her warmth radiated through him, the scent of raspberries teasing his senses. He was startled by the urge to pull her tight and breathe her in.

His newfound claustrophobia kicked in with a vengeance, and he jerked back a step. He half expected her to look stung by the rudeness, but instead, her rueful smile was apologetic.

“That was probably overkill, hmm?” she admitted. “I do tend to come on strong.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” he deadpanned.

“I just wanted to say thank you before you disappeared into the night. You made sweet Mrs. Momsen’s entire year, agreeing to help with that ship.”

He shifted his weight, unused to this level of gratitude. When he fenced in someone’s backyard, they usually just handed him a check. “Hey, she’s the one who had the good idea. I’m just the hired muscle.”

“Except that we’re not paying you,” Arianne reminded him with a laugh. “Oh, but we’ll definitely reimburse you for the supplies. Jennifer Gideon is the PTA treasurer-just make sure she gets your receipts. And we’ll help with construction, too. It’s too much work for one person in such a short time frame. Patrick and I-”

“You have a lot of experience with carpentry?” Gabe interrupted.

“I helped my brothers build a tree house! Although, technically, it collapsed,” she added, not looking the least bit abashed by this admission.

He raised an eyebrow.

“It was an educational experience! Now that I’ve learned from my mistakes, I-”

“Night,” Patrick called as he walked past toward the exit. “It was nice to meet you, Arianne.”

“You, too.” She shot the man one of her uninhibited, all-encompassing grins, and something sharp shifted inside Gabe.

Something like…possessiveness? Though he’d told himself he didn’t want to be saddled with an unrelentingly cheerful sidekick, he was growing accustomed to-maybe even appreciative of-those smiles.

“And I’ll see you this week for that pool game?” Patrick asked. But he didn’t give Gabe a chance to answer before he quickly shifted his gaze back to Arianne. “Hey! Why don’t you join us? You and Quinn? That is, if you think she’d-”

“Oh, she would!” Arianne assured him, her tone delighted. “It’s a date. So to speak.”

Gabe simply stared, his strange new to-do list slipping further out of his control. Four, go on double date.

QUINN SHIFTED in the passenger seat-she’d been uncharacteristically fidgety in the ten minutes since they’d left her house. “So would you classify this as a date, or-?”

“If it’s not, you certainly went through a lot of trouble with your appearance for no reason,” Arianne teased. “I lost count of the times you’ve asked how you look.”

Quinn sniffed. “Only twice! But I see your point. I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I? It’s not like I never date.”

“True, but when was the last time you went out with a guy you were really interested in? If it helps your nerves at all,” Arianne offered, “I think he likes you, too. I got the impression Patrick only asked me to come play pool because he was using me as a way to invite you.”

“Well, I appreciate you sacrificing your Thursday night for my sake,” Quinn said.

Arianne sent her a sidelong grin. “Hey, there are worse ways to spend an evening than shooting pool with friends.” And Gabe .

What were his thoughts on tonight’s outing? When Patrick had asked her about making this a foursome, she’d seized the chance to help Quinn jump-start her love life, not pausing to check with Gabe first. Arianne hadn’t spoken directly to him since Tuesday night’s volunteer meeting, although she had left a message on his cell phone that Kasey Kerrigan had put a deposit on the ball pit and that the principal had approved their walk-the-plank benefit.

She turned the car into the parking lot of the pool-hall-slash-dance-hall. On Tap was a favorite local hangout, known for its outdated jukebox and eye-watering hot wings. To kick off the weekend, the owners offered half-price pool and various drink specials on Thursdays, so Arianne wasn’t surprised to find that the lot was nearly three-quarters full.

“You’re sure you aren’t the tiniest bit anxious?” Quinn asked as Arianne parked the car.

“Me? Why would I be?”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “Gabe Sloan? Maybe you remember him? Guy you asked out who said no, and yet here you are on a-”

“It’s definitely not a date for us. We’re more like…the chaperones for you and Patrick. But don’t worry. I promise to turn a blind eye if you two crazy kids want to make out.”

They got out of the car, and Arianne spotted Gabe’s red truck among the other vehicles. A frisson of anticipation zinged through her-involuntary and completely unwise. Still, she heard herself ask, “Just for the sake of argument, if I wanted to know how I looked-”

Quinn flashed a thumbs-up. “Gorgeous. Different but gorgeous.”

“Thanks. I think.”

Though both women were wearing dark jeans, Arianne’s top was nothing like her friend’s fuzzy pastel sweater. Arianne had second-guessed her first choice-a long-sleeved V-neck-because of how revealing it would be when she leaned across the pool table. She didn’t need to distract her opponents with cleavage to win. Instead, she’d gone with a black turtleneck that looked fairly dramatic with her coloring. She’d braided her hair and selected a pair of long silver earrings Rachel had given her for Christmas one year.

The noise hit them before they’d even reached the front door-a buzz of voices, billiard balls clicking against each other as they spun across the green and the guitar-heavy angst of an ’80s hair-band ballad. Inside, Arianne felt absorbed by the sound and energy of the crowd.

“There they are,” Quinn said from behind her.

The men had already secured a pool table and were selecting cues. Gabe took a practice shot, and Arianne’s mouth went dry as she watched the play of muscles beneath his T-shirt. The scuffed leather jacket he’d worn the other night was draped over a nearby chair.

Quinn laughed suddenly. “I feel like I missed the uniform memo.”

“What?” With disciplined effort, Arianne did not check out Gabe’s denim-clad backside as he bent again.

“You two look like twins. Or at least partners in crime,” she amended.

Gabe and Arianne were both clad in monochromatic black. Patrick was more colorful in a red-and-blue-striped shirt with khakis. He brightened visibly when he spotted the women approaching.