Christmas in Lucky Harbor Read online

  The smile was devastating and contagious, damn him. “I’m trying. But there are problems.”

  “Yeah. It’s called life.”

  “The mortgage is in arrears. I think the property is actually upside down on its loan. Which is a mystery to me, because like you said, I believe this place meant something to Phoebe, sentimentally anyway. But if she wanted us to keep it, why did she leave every last penny in a trust for someone else?”

  He paused, as if carefully picking his words. “There are things you can do. Talk to your original lender, for one. Get an appraisal and refinance. And have you actually verified that there are no funds other than the trust? You’ve talked to the probate attorney and have a list of Phoebe’s assets and accounts? Because that might lead you to… other avenues.”

  “There you go,” she murmured, a little surprised to find that even more attractive than his butt were his brains. “Sounding like more than a pretty tool belt again. Maybe even like a… lawyer.”

  “And that’s bad?”

  She didn’t answer, didn’t know how. It wasn’t exactly a rational fear she was carrying around.

  “Let me guess,” he said. “It’s one of those things you don’t want to talk about.”

  “Definitely.”

  Their gazes collided.

  Held.

  Time seemed to stand still, which was not only odd, but silly. Time never stood still, not even for sexy superheroes. When he pushed off the Jeep and stepped close, her pulse immediately kicked into high gear. “Thanks for coming,” she whispered. “I—”

  Slowly, purposefully, eyes still locked on hers, he invaded her personal space bubble.

  She sucked in a breath as heat spiraled within her.

  “You…” he said, trying to help her along.

  “I can’t remember a single thought in my head.”

  Gentle but firm hands settled on her hips, and he backed her into the Jeep.

  “What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Giving you a new thought.” Leaning in, he covered her mouth with his and kissed her, his tongue teasing lightly, keeping it soft until she moaned. Then he deepened the kiss into a hot, intense connection that had her head spinning and her blood pumping as their bodies molded together. Unlike last night’s tender kisses, this was a little demanding, and a whole lot wild, and when he slid a thigh between hers, she lost her ability to think.

  Last night, he’d been seeking permission. Not this time. This time, he buried his fingers into her hair and claimed her mouth, pulling her in even closer, a hand caressing down her back as if to soothe as well as incite, claiming another little piece of her heart in the process.

  Sneaky bastard.

  She’d tell him so, but her tongue was a little busy. So were her fingers, first enjoying the play of the muscles on his back, then holding on tight just in case he had any ideas about trying to get away. Because she wasn’t done, not even when Izzy gave a little whine of unhappiness at sharing her man.

  Maddie slid her hands over Jax’s shoulders, reminding herself that enough was enough, but she tugged a thrillingly rough groan from deep in his chest so she tightened her grip instead. By the time they broke apart, she was completely out of breath. If it wasn’t for the Jeep at her back and the thigh he still had wedged between hers, she’d have dropped to the ground in a puddle of lust.

  “Maddie.”

  His voice was low and gravely and sexy as hell. “Yes?”

  “I’m going to touch your face now.”

  Remembering last night and her mortifying reaction, she should have been grateful for the heads-up, but she was still dizzy from the kiss. “Oh. Well, I—”

  He ran his hand up her arm, to her shoulder, over her throat, going slowly, achingly slowly, so that by the time he cupped her jaw, she was quivering, all right, but not from fear. Lifting his other hand, he slid a curl from her temple, tucking it behind her ear. With her pulse somewhere at stroke level, she closed her eyes to better absorb his touch. His fingers were warm and callused. Strong, though not using that strength against her, but in a protective way. And in spite of her admittedly irrational fear of men, her body and heart wanted him.

  Bad.

  “Maddie.”

  “Huh?”

  There was amusement in his voice. “Are you still giving up men?”

  He was pressed against her, deliciously warm and hard. Everywhere. She wanted to give him a chance, but she’d meant it when she said she wasn’t ready. She needed a clear head first, and her life straightened out. A relationship of any kind at this point would be ludicrous. “Yes,” she said, but it came out as more of a croak. She cleared her throat and said it again. “Yes, I’m still giving up men.”

  He studied her face, then gave her a very small smile before backing away, pulling his keys from his pocket. “I’ll be in touch.”

  “Just the minimum,” she reminded him. “That’s all I need.”

  With a nod, he got into the Jeep, nudging Izzy to the back seat. He rolled the window down for the dog, and Maddie reached in to stroke her soft, silky coat.

  “Just the minimum,” she repeated softly, taking a step back as two warm doggy eyes laughed into hers, silently calling her out as a big liar.

  Chapter 10

  “Smile… it makes people wonder

  what you’re up to.”

  PHOEBE TRAEGER

  Two days later, Jax was in his home office plowing through paperwork. He’d put together the bid for Lucky Harbor Resort and emailed it off to Maddie. He’d handled all his city council duties, but being Lucky Harbor’s mayor for his second term now was a relatively easy position to manage and didn’t take much of his time. He was signing accounts-payable checks that his part-time office worker Jeanne handed to him one at a time.

  “Electric bill,” she said, standing over him like a mother hen, even though they were the same age. Her headband had reindeer antlers with bells on them that jangled with every bossy statement she uttered. “Gas bill,” she said, bells jingling. “Visa bill. And here’s my paycheck. Thanks for the raise.”

  He slid her a look, and she laughed. “Kidding. You already pay me too much. Oh, and here’s the bill for those supplies you sent over to the Patterson family. Nice of you to do that, since they lost everything in the fire. So… who’s the woman?”

  Jax pushed all the checks back at her. “What woman?”

  “The one you were kissing on the pier the other night.”

  He arched a brow, and she grinned. “Oh, come on. You can’t be surprised that I know.”

  “Call me naive, but I’m surprised.”

  She shook her head, like You poor, stupid man. She gave him that look a lot. He put up with it because she ran his office with a calm efficiency that was a relief to him. He hated office work.

  Jeanne was flipping through the checks, putting them in some mysterious order that worked for her. “Jake told his sister, who told Carrie at the grocery store, and I happened to run into my sister today when I was loading up your refrigerator. And by the way, you were down to an apple and a piece of leftover pizza. I also found what looked to be a science experiment growing in a Tupperware container. I made an executive decision and tossed it. How do you live like that?”

  “It’s called takeout. What did you put in my refrigerator?”

  “Fruit, cheese, beer, and a loaded pizza.”

  “I love you.”

  She laughed. “If that was true, you’d tell me about the woman.”

  He smiled but kept silent. Mostly because it would drive her crazy, but also because he didn’t feel like sharing. Truth was, he’d been thinking about Maddie for two days now, and not as a future client. He thought about strangling whoever’d hurt her. He thought about how in spite of that hurt, she’d seemed so honest and artless—not like the women in his past. She was obviously afraid but doing her damnedest to move forward. He admired that.

  He’d also given a lot of thought—a lot—to how she’d l