Page 38 of Run, Run Rudolph (Fairy Godmothers and Other Fiascos #2)

~ Tamara ~

I didn’t know what Haden was thinking—as usual—but he was sporting a slightly evil grin.

He shot me an in-cahoots look so tender and filled with affection that, even though I didn’t know what he had in mind; I knew I was game.

This man was quickly becoming my ride-or-die, and I couldn’t help but wonder what something deep, meaningful and long-term between us might look like.

Because although we’d only kissed a couple of times tonight, I felt incredibly close to him, as if this was a step we’d always been meant to take.

Haden was quiet, but protective. Understanding, but also willing to prod me along when I got worried and started to seize up. And most of all, he wouldn’t let me deal with a crisis alone.

A true ride-or-die. And, to boot, his kisses were heavenly, and his woodsy scent was something I wanted to bottle and sneak sniffs of until the end of time.

I caught myself leaning in, angling for a kiss, flinching when Kade spoke.

How had I forgotten he was in the back seat?

Then again, I realized that when Haden was around, he had a subtle way of eclipsing everyone, my focus narrowing in on him like some sort of homing beacon programmed deep inside my DNA.

No wonder Kade got so loud and demanding around him.

And no wonder he’d tried to push us apart with a few strategic lies.

Haden was the man I was meant to be with.

“Sure is cold.” Kade rubbed his bare hands together.

“Get some gloves,” Haden said mildly, a sting of irritation in his tone.

“Dude,” Kade said, arms out. “Seriously? It’s the season for being nice, and all that crap.”

“It’s called a blizzard. Dress for it.”

“Thanks, Mom .”

Jannifer pulled up before the brothers could escalate their bickering to fratricide.

Eager to escape, I braced myself before opening my door to the full arctic blast called the great outdoors.

Some Canadians loved to go out in the cold, and found it invigorating and bracing, but personally, give me a thick blanket, a cup of coffee, and a book or horse magazine any day of the year.

“Ready to pay way too much for a bunch of ground up plants in capsule form so we can save Christmas?” I muttered, dropping my feet onto the snow-covered street.

A wintery blast hit me and, despite my layers, I shivered.

The temptation to give into Estelle’s urging, and make a wish to be warm was like a tauntingly sweet devil on my shoulder.

Haden came around to my side of the truck, letting his shoulder brush mine. “Next year, let’s take a page out of Char’s book and go to Mexico for Christmas.”

Unable to help myself, I smiled, filled with hope that something like that might actually happen.

I knew it was just a passing comment, but the idea that Haden could be thinking about there being an ‘us’ in twelve months—a strong, travel together on couples’ trips, kind of strong…

Well, it did funny things to my heart and mind.

“I’m in,” I replied with a grin.

Haden and I hung back while Kade chatted up Jannifer, where she was standing by her store’s front door, jingling her keys like she was searching for the right one. She was watching us all, no doubt trying to figure out what was really going on.

She wasn’t wearing any makeup, and her calf-length parka revealed the cuffs of her pyjama pants. Wordlessly, she unlocked the store, made her way through the dark room like an expert, flicking on lights, then turning off the store’s alarm.

Seriously? Was she afraid of break-ins? Who’d bust their way in for a bunch of supplements?

Broke bodybuilders? Besides, nobody used cash anymore, so it wasn’t as if money was left on the premises each night.

Honestly, it was probably a difficult time in history to be a regular thief.

Especially with Lady MacBeth smoking on the rooftop a few buildings down.

Kade stopped just inside the door and looked around as the lights came on, catching my eye and then performing a fake cringing jump away from me when he realized he was beside a rack of organic vegetable chips.

With wide eyes, he took a giant step away from them, staring at me in manufactured fear.

Haden glared at him, inserting himself between us.

“How are you feeling, Tamara?” Kade asked in a tremulous voice, peeking around his brother’s wide shoulders. “Not mad for any reason, are you?”

“Want me to kill him for you? I promise to dig the hole deep enough nobody ever finds him,” Haden muttered.

I shook my head, feeling steamed. Seriously. You throw a couple of bags of chips at a guy, and he never lets it go. Okay, so I sorta whipped them at him while yelling insults at the top of my lungs. Not my finest moment.

“Too bad we didn’t break up in the canned good aisle,” I muttered to Kade.

Haden choked on a laugh.

Kade, cheeks pink, crossed his arms and glowered at us. “I don’t like it when the two of you hang out.”

“Too bad,” Haden growled. “We’ve decided we’re besties.”

“Best friends for life,” I chirped, shaking off a mitt so I could lift a crooked pinkie finger in the air, hooking it on Haden’s like some sort of secret handshake.

“You guys are really annoying when you’re together,” Kade complained, but I could see the corner of his mouth quirk upward, the start of an unwanted smile.

“We try,” Haden said lightly.

I went to drop Haden’s finger, knowing we were pushing on Kade again.

But Haden gently twisted his grip, catching my hand in his so he could pull me to him.

I felt my eyes widen, and my mouth fall open.

Was he going to drop me into a backward dip and kiss me right here in front of everyone?

But instead, he lifted his arm, spinning me in a tight circle, then out, before back into his arms. I felt like a dancer on stage, graceful despite my clunky winter boots.

With a small smile, even more special than an in-cahoots one, he said tenderly, “‘Curiosity keeps leading us down new paths’.”

“Liking the Walt Disney quote,” Jannifer said.

“Lame-o nerd,” Kade grumbled. “Tamara doesn’t like showoffs, you know.”

Haden still had his gaze locked on mine. He gave my hand a squeeze before releasing it while saying, “Curiosity is never a bother.”

I held in a sigh. Haden thought I was special, and was telling me I’d never been a bother, unlike his brother’s claim. This, right here, was the most romantic thing I’d ever experienced.

The room was silent for a moment, nobody quite knowing what to say.

Haden had made a declaration. To me, it was one of love and affection, but what the others saw, I wasn’t sure.

All I knew was that Kade would likely get downright upset if he figured out that his brother and I had romantic feelings toward each other.

It wasn’t his business, and he’d learn about us soon enough.

But right now, I wanted to savour being with Haden and the tender bloom of affection between us without a dark cloud marching in and putting a damper on it all.

I hurried over to Jannifer, clearing my throat.

“Thanks for doing this, Jann.” She gave me a severe look, and I quickly added “—ifer. Jannifer.” I cleared my throat. “I—we—really appreciate it.”

She grunted frostily, her eyes darting to the brothers who were waiting near the door. They both had their arms crossed, and were glowering at each other.

“What do you need?” Jannifer asked. I held up the list from Hugo. She gave me a strange look, then grabbed a small basket. “When did you take up alternative medicine?”

“Um. Just…I. Um.”

Still casting me a suspicious look, she began walking down her aisles, flipping bottles of pills into a growing collection as she went.

It didn’t even seem as though she was paying any attention to what she was doing.

Either she knew her store like the back of her hand, or I was learning the truth about herbal supplements—it didn’t matter what the label said, as long as you believed it was going to help you, it would.

“Uh. It’s actually for a friend.”

Her gaze was cold. “You don’t believe in alternative medicine?”

“I—it’s for a friend,” I repeated.

“They’re not well?” She was eyeing the list with a practiced eye, and I felt a stirring of doubt. Her eyes met mine. They were cold, hard, and totally unimpressed with me.

“They’re not well,” I repeated slowly. Maybe we weren’t being as clandestine as I’d assumed. Maybe she could look at the listed ingredients and figure out exactly what we were up to.

But there was no way she could guess that it was for a reindeer.

Right?

“Are you part of this?” she asked casually, as she passed Kade on her way to the shelf along the far wall. Her tone was much friendlier with him, and about nine hundred degrees warmer.

“It’s a surprise,” he said, dropping his arms and grinning.

“A surprise?” She was drinking him in, her body leaning toward his.

He leaned an elbow on a nearby shelf. “For Christmas.”

“Really? That’s interesting. What kind of surprise?

” She’d completely forgotten her task of filling the basket and had sidled up beside Kade.

She was pretty when she wasn’t scowling.

She had great hair—the kind that always had that slightly voluminous tousled look—and what I think you’d call Cupid’s bow lips.

I bet she could do a sexy pout without appearing farcical.

“I’m not sure.” Kade shifted, looking my way.

Oh, boy. We did not want anyone asking for details about this.

“Is that everything?” I asked Jannifer, peering into her basket.

She shot me a dirty scowl.

Honestly, we didn’t have time for her to flirt around the bush—or in this case, an oblivious Kade. We had a major holiday to save.

“Kade, weren’t you asking me earlier if I knew what Jannifer was doing for Christmas Eve?”