3. Falling For Them

Falling For Them

Nova

36 Days until New Year’s Eve

I moaned in pain as my alarm clock blared. I reached a hand out to feel around for it and hit the snooze button before rolling over and stuffing my head under my pillow. It felt like I had tiny little people in my head with pickaxes trying to excavate their way out. Too much wine, not enough solid food. At thirty-three, I don’t handle my alcohol like I used to. Gone are the days when I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after a night of drinking sans hangover.

The alarm blared again, and I quickly silenced it, the sound making my head throb. I felt around for my phone and emerged from my pillow cave to see if I had any missed notifications. I was confused for a few minutes when I saw the Tempted Hearts email that I had a match. The memory of signing up for the dating app came back to me. While I planned to ignore it, curiosity had me opening the email anyway. I clicked the link to see my match, bringing me to the website.

The profile picture was of a champagne flute instead of a person, which was already suspicious. However, I had little room to talk since my wine-addled brain made my profile picture a Christmas tree last night. I read through the profile and what they were looking for. This looks promising, I thought as I sat up in bed. Three men needed a date to a New Year’s Eve party. They weren’t looking for anything long-term. I noticed the little red envelope in the top corner and clicked it, finding a message from my match. The message said they would like to meet to discuss terms and find out if this was an arrangement we could all benefit from, as I wasn’t looking for anything long-term either.

I chewed on my bottom lip as I contemplated my choices. I knew nothing about these men, but one date was a pretty easy trade-off to have company during the holidays. I could do one date. Before I could chicken out, I replied to the message with my name and the address for Icing, saying that I’d be there all day and would love to meet them. Dropping my phone onto the mattress beside me, I hoped I hadn’t just made a big mistake.

I spent more time than I should have in the shower trying to wash away the hangover, but soon, I found myself in my bakery kitchen. My home away from home. I loved this kitchen. My hangover turned into a dull roar as I concentrated on baking the cupcakes we would need for the day and preparing the fillings and icing. I always made my signature breakfast cupcakes fresh each morning. I had cinnamon roll cupcakes, French toast cupcakes, and cheesy eggs and bacon cupcakes for those who preferred a more savory treat. I could have gone the simple route and provided muffins, but this wasn’t a muffin shop; it was a cupcake shop.

Icing on Top was known for its unique cupcakes. I even had a dill pickle cupcake. People tended to turn their noses up at it until coerced into trying it. Seeing the surprised look on their faces never got old. Today, in protest of Caffeinated Charm dropping all of their pumpkin products, I was also making a pumpkin spice cupcake.

A couple of hours later, Stef, one of my employees, came through the kitchen door holding two to-go cups of coffee. “Sup, boss?” the teenager greeted cheerfully. “I know how you feel about pumpkin, but I thought I would bring you your first peppermint mocha of the season.” She set the cup on the table next to me and looked around as I thanked her and took a sip.

I moaned as the delicious combination of mocha, peppermint, and coffee slid across my taste buds and down my throat to warm my belly. It wasn’t that I didn’t like other flavors. It’s that I preferred pumpkin spice above all others. I was a bit of a basic girlie, and I wasn’t ashamed.

“It looks like you got a good start on the baking today. Do you need help or want me to start filling the display?” Stef asked.

“If you could start filling, that would be great,” I answered. “I’m running out of space and have a few dozen more to decorate.”

“You got it, boss. Is Jared coming in today?”

“No, he asked for the day off. He’s still out of town with his parents. Just us today,” I replied. I employed two high schoolers, and they were lifesavers. They allowed me to stay in the kitchen and bake or leave early—flexibility I didn’t have when I opened the shop eight years ago. I didn’t take it for granted now. Dad and I spent more time here than at home when I first opened the shop.

I finished up my baking and then helped Stef with the morning rush. Black Friday tended to bring in a heavier crowd. Once the morning rush was over and everyone returned to their shopping, I decided to use the opportunity to decorate the outside of the shop for Christmas. I hauled out the ladder and the box of lights from the closet and dragged them outside.

“After last year, don’t you think you should hire someone to do that?” Stef asked, not bothering to hide her laugh at the memory.

Last year the lights and I got into a slight scuffle, and I somehow tied myself to the damn ladder. I stuck my tongue out at her as I shoved the door open. “I’m perfectly capable of hanging Christmas lights on my own,” I replied.

“I’m not so sure of that,” she called after me as the door fell shut.

Little brat. I was smart when I took the lights down last year and put them away neatly so they didn’t tangle. Smiling at my brilliance, I opened the box and then stared down at the contents, my smile turning to dismay. How the hell did that happen? The strings of lights were not neatly waiting in the box. They were a rat’s nest of knots. Seriously, is there some anti-Christmas gremlin that sneaks around throughout the year tangling lights? An elf that got fired and made it his life’s mission to inconvenience others trying to display their holiday spirit?

I pulled the ball of lights out of the box and started the untangling process. A look to my left showed Stef inside, laughing. At least this time, I wasn’t trying to untangle them while on the ladder. As I worked, my mind wandered to my Dad. He always helped me hang the lights. His absence last year had been a fluke. He didn’t usually go Black Friday shopping, but one of the ads caught his eye, and he decided to go to the mall in the next town. He had a good laugh when he heard what had happened.

Fuck, I missed him. I missed his laugh and the sparkle he got in his eyes when he was teasing someone or trying to pull a fast one. I missed how I could talk to him about anything I wanted, and he would sit quietly and listen without judgment and then offer his advice. I knew if he were here, he’d be telling me to pick myself up and that Paul had never been worth my time, to begin with. Then he would remind me that I was a strong, independent woman, a business owner of one of the most successful shops on Main Street, and I didn’t need a man to increase my value. Dad was always my biggest supporter, and he loved Christmas.

I finally got enough untangled lights to start hanging them on the gutter. Buying new lights was probably easier, but here we were. I was getting the last lights hung when a man spoke from below me.

“Should you be up there?” he asked with concern. Truthfully, probably not. We had gotten an overnight winter mix, and the sidewalks were still a little slushy, but I was being careful.

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you,” I replied without looking at him as I stretched to hook up the last lights.

“If you’re certain,” he replied doubtfully. “My name is Lincoln West. This is Grant Cromwell and Benjamin Ashford. We’re meeting Nova Lane here. Would that be you?”

My hand froze partway to its destination as my head whipped around to look down at them in shock. Sure enough, I was looking down at the three billionaire owners of Triple Tech. The three of them were crowded around the bottom of the ladder, looking up at me with varying degrees of amusement. I got the impression that they knew very well that I was Nova.

Lincoln, easily the tallest of the three men, was the closest to me, with his hands on the ladder to steady it. His short blond hair fluttered in the slight breeze as he looked up at me with those baby blues and had a tan that you don’t usually see this time of year in the mountains. Benjamin was positioned behind me, and it looked like he was getting ready to insist I come off the ladder. His buzzed light brown hair and fair skin made his deep brown eyes pop, eyes that were watching me like a hawk. To escape his scrutiny, my eyes shifted to the final man who made up this influential trifecta. Grant was standing further back between the others. His expression was guarded, and his olive-toned skin, hazel eyes, and wavy black hair that flirted around his ears made him look quite broody. He was the shortest of the three, but not by much.

They were the three most eligible bachelors in Sunflower Falls, and I could understand why. My heart pounded in my chest as I studied them. Never mind their money; they were sex on a cracker made of sex. There wasn’t a woman around who hadn’t fantasized about them at some point, myself included. It was the oldest story in the book. A hot, rich man swoops in and sweeps the girl off her feet, except in this story, there are three of them. I felt a little tingly at the thought of them being here for me until a cool dose of reality washed over me. It was a fantasy.

Well, this was a waste of everyone’s time. I felt a little disappointed, but I knew there was no way they would be interested in a lump like me. I continued my descent and lost my balance because the universe had to get its laughs. Lincoln quickly acted and caught me as I fell off the ladder. Embarrassed, I tried to wiggle out of his arms. “You can put me down,” I told him as my cheeks reddened. “I’m too heavy for you to hold me like this.”

His arms wrapped around me tighter, halting my movements. “I don’t know,” he purred. “I think you’re perfect, and I’m rather enjoying myself. However, it might be a little too soon for you to fall for me. We’ve only just met.”