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Declan held the door open, peeking back in to wink at her. “Consider them a gift.”
“Worst gift ever,” Holly called out, trying to suppress a smile. The snakes were a nice touch, and she could appreciate his espionage and underhanded tactics. She’d have done the same if there was anyone in town she could get information about Declan Gallagher from.
Declan shut the door without responding and Holly’s gaze followed him as he passed in front of the display window. The shop was silent for several beats before Erica said, “I don’t want to pry, boss, but was I interrupting something?”
Holly ignored the question, the warm lull of Declan’s proximity still wrapped around her like a fleece blanket and the scent of his cologne lingering. She lied about his cologne stinking. She actually loved the sharp, spicy scent of it and had been in the process of breathing it in before Erica showed up.
Still, this newfound pseudo respect for Declan—and fine, Holly could admit a slight attraction for the man—had thrown her for a loop. If Erica hadn’t walked through the door and interrupted them, would they have ended up making out on top of the counter?
A little tingle of excitement tickled the small of her back at the thought, but she shut it down. She wasn’t actually interested in Declan, was she? They didn’t even like each other.
Right?
Turning the volume back up to forty, she waited a few moments before she heard Declan call out through the wall, “Don’t make me come back over there, Elf!”
Holly grinned. Oh, I wish you would.
“Okay,” Erica said, drawling the word, “we’re not going to talk about all that chemistry with the handyman, but the snakes?”
“I’ll take care of it,” Holly said, adjusting the volume down slightly. She needed time to think about what she wanted to do next. “And then I have to deal with a dirty, betraying rat.”
“Um, I still have so many questions, but I’ll start with—who’s a rat?”
“My sister or my brother. One or both are in for it.” An idea popped into her head and Holly grinned, thinking she had something that would really get Declan’s attention. “Would you open the doors for me? I gotta step back and make a TikTok real quick.”
“No worries, I got this handled.” Erica hung her coat up behind the counter, watching her with amusement. “Not gonna lie, boss, that smile is a little scary.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not for you,” Holly said, snagging her phone from her purse and heading for her storage room. She’d set up the space to make videos and posts complete with back drops, lighting, and a few different costumes. She picked up her green velvet elf hat and covered her ears with her hair so the attached ears of the hat would sit nicely. When she had her phone in the holder and everything ready, she pressed the red record button.
“Hello, fellow adventurers! Have I got a mission for you!”
CHAPTER 8
“Mistletoe hardware, declan speaking.”
“Why do reindeer like Beyoncé so much?” a woman asked.
“What?”
“Because she sleighs! Remember that, okay?”
“Remember—”
The line went dead and Declan hung up the store phone with a frown. He’d been getting calls like that all morning, but that was the ninth person in less than twenty minutes, and he had a niggling feeling Holly was behind it.
The phone rang again and Declan picked it up with a brusque “Mistletoe Hardware.”
“Bad day, sunshine?”
Declan recognized the cheerful voice and found himself smiling in spite of himself. “I’m guessing I have you to thank for all the festive jokesters?”
“You’d be correct, and it’s just getting started. Do you have a favorite so far?”
“No, they’re all horrible,” he said.
“Then why are you smiling?” she asked.
Declan looked up and spotted Holly outside the window, smirking at him with her cell phone to her ear.
