Page 9 of A Very Titan Christmas (Titan #14)

Silverberry Ridge, Vermont

The sky above hung low with the threat of snow flurries, while the cold, clean air held the scent of sugar and pine.

The threat of bad weather held off, but it didn’t matter if it rained or snowed.

If they held off doing things in Silverberry Ridge until they were certain of good weather, they’d never do anything at all.

Rachel and Eloise entered the Christmas marketplace and were greeted by the happy murmur of voices.

Rachel’s camera hung around her neck, and her notebook was ready for insider tips and quotes from the locals and Silverberry Ridge visitors who mixed and mingled in the town hall parking lot that had been transformed for the weekend’s marketplace.

Rows of vendors hawked handmade crafts and holiday presents.

The scent of delicious treats coaxed them closer.

Rachel took a deep breath of cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar and readied to enjoy time with her mother.

Together, they would search for the perfect Vermont merchants to include in her article.

She took a picture, imagining how it would look in the magazine, as Roman, one of the two men on their security detail, spoke to Eloise. Rachel focused her camera and snapped another picture, trying to ignore how she could sense Bryce standing behind them.

Roman spoke into the communication device on his wrist and threaded through the marketplace ahead of them.

Security details had occasionally accompanied Rachel since her father had been elected to office while she was in college.

As he gained seniority, the security presence had increased.

She appreciated the sacrifices the agents made to keep her family safe, but they were not a significant factor in her life.

With Bryce behind her now, she was more than aware he followed her.

Eloise refastened the scarf around her neck. “Ready to shop?”

Rachel squeezed her mother’s shoulder. Work and family. Those were the only things that should have been her focus. “Lead the way.”

An hour later, Rachel realized she should’ve had a Christmas marketplace game plan.

She had two oversized bags in hand but had yet to cover a third of the vendors.

Presents for friends and family filled one bag.

The other was almost as full but weighed a great deal more because of every business card, flyer, and menu she’d snagged.

The problem was that everything she came across was ideal for her article.

They paused again. If Eloise wasn’t talking with someone, she was busy on her phone.

Rachel should have realized that their mother-daughter shopping time would include a large percentage of socializing.

Everyone knew her mother, and every conversation bored Rachel to tears.

Her bags dug into her arms and shoulders, no matter how she repositioned them.

Eloise strained to see who was farther down the aisle, then shot her hand into the air.

Rachel followed her gaze. “Who are you waving at?”

Her mom quickly assessed her. “We need to get rid of your bags.” She looked over her shoulder. “Where’s the security detail?”

Roman closed in on them as though Eloise had an emergency. Rachel could feel Bryce coming closer. “Why?”

“Because we have lunch plans.”

“No, we don’t. We’ve been eating our way through the marketplace.”

Bryce reached them before Roman. His professional demeanor seemed cool and distant. “Ma’am?”

Her insides fluttered. She would have sworn she didn’t have a thing for security guys. Their muscles and gruffness hadn’t done a damn thing for her before, but apparently, they did now. That wasn’t exactly great news.

“Can you take her bags?” Eloise asked.

“Wait, no.” Embarrassment warmed her cheeks. “That’s not his job, Mom.”

“I’m sure he’s happy to help.” Eloise looked up as a third man, whom Rachel had never seen, joined them. “Thomas.”

Thomas didn’t look as though he worked with Bryce and Roman.

Dread curled in her stomach. Eloise used the same voice to greet Thomas as she had with Greg.

Thomas was older than Rachel by about ten years.

He was handsome and overdressed for the Christmas marketplace.

The more she watched their interaction, the more confident Rachel was that her interfering mother was about to play matchmaker again.

“Rachel.” Eloise cleared her throat. “I’d like you to meet a friend of your father.” She glanced at the bags in Rachel’s hands, raised her eyebrows expectantly, and nodded at Bryce. “Give him your bags.”

Bryce reached to take them, his neutral expression cemented in place.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“Not a problem, ma’am.”

Did Bryce just ma’am her? Her irritation faded when his fingers brushed hers. Electricity skittered from her fingertips to her elbow, and the hair on her arm stood as if an arctic blast had rolled over her. Icy heat rolled down her spine and colored her cheeks.

Rachel forced her attention back to the conversation with her mother and Thomas. She extended her hand to the attractive, well-dressed man who was about to be put in an awkward position.

“Thomas Nguyen is a neurosurgeon based out of Boston,” Eloise said.

He had a nice handshake, friendly and soft. She imagined all surgeons pampered their hands and that Bryce’s were strong and rough and just as capable. “Nice to meet you.”

Her mom cut Rachel a sharp look that ordered her to put a little more pep into her part of the conversation. “Rachel’s single and lives in Philadelphia.”

Rachel sliced Eloise with a look that was just as pointed in return.

“She’s a writer,” Eloise added, “who can work from anywhere.”

“Your mother said you might relocate to Boston.”

“Did she?” Rachel managed through gritted teeth.

“Absolutely,” Eloise confirmed. “She’s actually working right now.”

That was it. Rachel was done. She couldn’t leave Silverberry Ridge and lose her cover article.

Still, she wouldn’t subject herself, Thomas, Greg, and whoever else Eloise had lined up to this charade.

“I’m sorry if there’s been a misunderstanding, but I’m not moving to Boston.

I live in Philadelphia. I actually love Philadelphia. ”

“But she could move,” Eloise offered, hearing nothing of what Rachel explained.

“But I won’t, Mom. And”—she winced—“I’m sorry if Eloise said something that made you think—”

“Rachel.” Eloise clucked like she was scolding a kindergartner.

Thomas flicked his gaze between them as if watching a tennis match. “I’m sorry, I—”

“I’m seeing someone.” Rachel glared at her mother.

Thomas inched away as if understanding he’d walked into an entirely different situation than he’d expected.

“You are not.” Eloise scowled and reached toward Thomas as if she could catch the man about to escape. “She’s not.”

“I”—Thomas gestured vaguely behind him—“have to take a call. It was so nice to meet you, Rachel.” He took another step back. “I’ll catch up at the senator’s next fundraiser.”

Thomas skedaddled.

Eloise hissed, “You are not seeing anyone.”

“I am. God, do you not see how incredibly uncomfortable you just made that man?”

“You know he wants kids. I could have grandchildren sometime soon if you—”

“Mother, do you hear yourself?”

Eloise flicked her wrist like she was batting a gnat. “You’re just saying that because I’m trying to help.”

“Not true, and I don’t need help.”

“Who on earth are you dating?”

“Him.” Rachel pointed in the direction Bryce had walked.

Eloise wheeled around. “Him who?”

“Bryce Richmond.” Rachel’s heart hammered in her chest. Why had she said Bryce?

She could have lied about anyone else. She could have made someone up.

A mystery man who she’d met on the trail between hot chocolate and the Christmas marketplace.

She could’ve said she’d sat on the stone fence, stared at the mountains, and met a man she’d instantly fallen in love with.

Literally, she could have offered anyone but Bryce.

Now, she didn’t have a clue how to warn him—or convince him to go with her story.

Without missing a beat, Eloise flagged over Roman.

Roman was a big guy like Bryce and as attractive as Thomas and Greg. He wore a wedding band. Did Bryce? Oh God. Oh no. That Bryce could give her butterflies after all these years was irritating—and she didn’t even know if he had a significant other.

Roman approached. “Ma’am?”

“Where’s Bryce?” Eloise demanded.

Whelp, this was going to be awful.

Roman glanced the way Bryce had gone and pressed his lips together. “Do you need something out of your bags?”

“No, I need to speak with him.”

Roman flicked his gaze between the two women, but he nodded, strode back, and whispered into a communication device tucked into his jacket sleeve.

“He’ll be back in a moment,” Roman said.

The three of them waited. Roman shoved his hands into his pockets. Eloise smiled at someone she knew. Rachel shifted from foot to foot and had yet to devise a plan to warn Bryce.

She could run up to Bryce, wrap her arms around him, and whisper a warning, but there was a fifty-fifty chance that he would balk like she had an infectious disease.

That would leave Rachel mortified and her mother emboldened to continue her antics.

Because a little hiccup, like her story falling apart, would not slow down Eloise’s matchmaking if Rachel were exposed as boyfriend-less.

Bryce reappeared without her bags. Her stomach flutters morphed into a roll of nausea.

She couldn’t look at him and wouldn’t look at Eloise.

Roman seemed to sense something was off.

He straightened like a brick wall and planted his feet shoulder width apart, making it known he wouldn’t let his battle buddy be eaten alive by Eloise.

Rachel willed her feet to move toward Bryce. She could intercept him and somehow explain the situation, but she was stuck in place.

Bryce noted the seriousness rolling off Roman and squared his shoulders like he was in a military lineup. “Ma’am?”