Tanya Michaels: Mistletoe Hero

“I appreciate your help with it this week,” Gabe told the other man.

Nick and Shane McIntyre had played high school baseball together and been friends in all the years since. So considering Shane’s animosity toward Gabe, Nick’s easygoing assistance and jovial attitude had come as a pleasant surprise. Maybe Gabe had been too quick to make assumptions about people.

“Don’t mention it. I had fun,” Nick said. Then he adopted a mock glare. “Even if I was helping ‘the competition.’ I hear you’re the one to beat for Mistletoe Man of the Year.”

“More like the long shot, but if by some chance I did win, you’re welcome to take my spot on the parade float.”

Nick laughed. “Hey, I don’t need your pity. If you win, I’ll start mounting my campaign for next year early. If you don’t need any more help, I’m off to stake a place in line.”

Gabe looked around. None of the attractions were open yet. “Which line is that?”

Nick jerked his thumb toward the library. The streets had been closed to vehicular traffic for the day, and around the corner from where they stood, in front of the building, were myriad stalls and games. “Kissing booth, dude. Somehow they talked Candy Beemis into donating half an hour of her precious time, but later in the day it will be Holly Devereaux, oo la la, and Arianne.”

“Arianne Waide ?” How had he not known about this? The woman he wanted to kiss every time he saw her had neglected to mention that she’d be selling her kisses to anyone who walked by. Jealousy flared inside him, and he was glad Nick left before glimpsing his dark expression.

It’s for a good cause , he told himself. When that failed to lower his blood pressure, he reminded himself that it was none of his business whom Arianne bestowed her kisses on. Hadn’t he walked out of her life three nights ago? She certainly hadn’t made any attempt to contact him since, which was telling.

I miss her . He squelched the thought. Breaking off contact was for the best. If he felt her absence after only three days, what would it be like if he kept seeing her and then moved away? The Kennesaw job, which he knew he wouldn’t be getting, had actually been his strongest lead in Georgia.

“I like you, Mr. Sloan,” the interviewer had told him. “But the truth is, I’ve seen three other applicants who already have experience on all the machines we use. We also function as a pretty tight crew. You work alone on most of your jobs?”

Alone. Yep, that about sums me up. In the end Gabe had thanked the man for his time and got back in his truck, not sure if he was relieved, disappointed or both. He’d never thought he would be glad to see the Welcome to Mistletoe sign.

Then again, he’d never been driving back toward Arianne.

“Mr. Sloan?”

Gabe turned to find the mayor offering a handshake.

The other man nodded toward the partial ship deck. “Have we given this thing a test run into the pit yet?”

“Yes, sir. Nick Zeth and a couple of his firefighter buddies were knocking each other in, and everything held up just fine. But I plan to stay close today and keep an eye on it. Safety first, right?”

“That’s the spirit! And thanks again for putting this together. It’s never easy to ask constituents for money, especially in these economic times, so if we’re going to take donations from them, I’m glad we found a way to make it fun. Speaking for the citizens of Mistletoe, we appreciate your help.”

Gabe almost strangled on a disbelieving laugh. Fourteen years ago, he’d expected to be run out of town on a rail-with his father leading the charge-and now the mayor was thanking him for his efforts on behalf of the town?

“I’m sure I’ll be seeing you later,” the mayor said. “I suspect I’ll be taking the plunge multiple times today. Probably with my wife holding the other end of the sword.”

Festival-goers were beginning to descend on town square; the noise level was increasing exponentially. People calling greetings to each other, volunteers testing out the sound systems in the bingo tent and at the gazebo, kids crying and laughing. And somewhere close by, a man letting out a wolf whistle.

He thought he recognized Nick’s voice hollering appreciatively, “Helloooo, saucy wench.”

A woman’s laugh. Arianne .

“That’s Captain Saucy, Pirate Queen, you scurvy knave.” She sounded lighthearted and sexy.

It was frankly a bit depressing to learn that while he’d been standing here thinking about how much he missed her after such a short time, second-guessing how he’d left things the other night, her mood hadn’t been dampened one bit. Then again, Arianne had always been irrepressible. It was one of the things he loved about her. In a manner of speaking.

He rested one hand at the pocket of his jeans and strolled casually forward. Did he look convincingly like someone just scoping out the lay of the land, or was it obvious he was a poor sap pining for the sight of a beautiful woman and onetime lover?

As he rounded the corner of the library, he nearly collided with Arianne, which meant she’d been coming to see him . He smiled, feeling happier than he had all week.

“Hey, sorry about that,” he said. “I just- What are you wearing? ”

“My swashbuckling pirate garb.” She cocked her hip, beaming at him. “You like?”

Too bad Gabe had only a false veneer of a ship and not the real thing. He wanted nothing more than to toss Arianne over his shoulder and take her to his bunk to have his wicked way with her.

Gold hoop earrings peeked out through her long blond hair, which was loose and flowing beneath a jaunty brown tricorn. Although the dark corset-style leather vest she wore stopped short of being inappropriately risqué, it did enhance her cleavage enough that he couldn’t stop remembering how she looked beneath her clothes. She had on a ruffled, off-the-shoulder long-sleeved cranberry shirt that hung down just low enough to cover her butt. Her dark brown leggings fit like a second skin, and he found himself fascinated by the thigh-high boots that somehow made her petite legs look a mile long.

At her hip hung a plastic cutlass, but he could have told her she didn’t need a weapon. One look at her and men would line up to surrender.

“Holly said she’d dress up for the booth, too,” Arianne told him, “but apparently our definitions of costume aren’t quite the same. She’s wearing a sundress with a bandanna around her neck, a black-and-white hat with the skull and crossbones on it and a parrot broach on her shoulder. Think I went overboard?”

“Isn’t that the theme of the day?” He managed a tight smile, still trying to get his desire under control enough to speak intelligently.

“Usually I pull out all the stops for Halloween, but I may not be dressing up this year, so today’s my one big hurrah.”

“You look…wow.”

“Thank you.” She ducked her head, and he realized that she seemed more timid today than he’d first realized. Was that why she’d been speaking so quickly-not babbling exactly, but not calm, either? She swallowed. “I was on my way to find you.”

“Yeah?” He must be the luckiest man in a hundred-block radius to have a woman like this seek him out.

“I wanted to know about your interview.” She shifted her weight, meeting his gaze, composed again. Had he imagined her flash of nerves? “How’d it go?”

“I didn’t get the job.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

Was she? Would he want her to be?

“Gabe.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Are you busy after this? I was hoping maybe we could talk.”