Have Yourself a Naughty Little Santa (23 page)

Ricco smiled, rolled off the bed, and grabbed her up to his chest. “I just did. Thanks. Now let’s get in the shower so we can get all sweaty again.”

• • •

K
IMBERLY WOKE TO SUNLIGHT STREAMING THROUGH
her window and the aroma of fresh brewed coffee. She stretched and reached over to where Ricco had passed out after another round of really good sex. She sprang up in the empty bed. She knew he wasn’t in the bathroom.

Wild thoughts ran through her head, different scenarios of his having had his fill and sneaking off to his own room, not man enough to tell her he was done and thanks a bunch, the sex was great. She washed her face, brushed her hair, and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater. She couldn’t pull her boots on fast enough. She was halfway down the stairs when she heard his deep, robust laughter. “Jase, I never would have pegged you for the marrying type. Congratulations.”

As her pace slowed, she heard an equally deep male voice. “You and me both, brother. You and me both.”

“Are you sure you want to stick around with this guy, Jade? He has a habit of taking off like a tomcat and only coming back when he’s hungry.”

A deep, sultry, extremely sensual voice ruffled the downy hair on Kim’s neck. “He can go as long as he wants. Just so long as he doesn’t tomcat around.”

Kim walked into the parlor and stopped dead in her tracks. The black-haired goddess sitting on the love seat next to a dark-haired Adonis struck her dumb. Now that was the kind of woman she saw Ricco with. Not her, a plain-Jane blonde.

“So Cinderella joins us,” Ricco said, coming up to Kim and taking her hand. The handsome man on the love seat stood and extended his hand. “Jase Vaughn.” He turned beaming eyes down to the beautiful creature beside him. She smiled warmly up at Kim. “My fiancée, Jade Devereaux.”

Kim extended her hand to Jase’s big warm one. Wow. “Kimberly Michaels.” She shook the big hand, then the soft, finely boned one of Jade. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

Jade’s smile widened. “Ricco has been telling us about the dilemma Evergreen finds itself in and what a whiz you are with the numbers. I wish you the best of luck.”

“Thank you,” Kim said, feeling a wee bit out of her class at the moment.

“Ty and Phil are on their way up for a few days, but he says Phil has to puke every other mile, so he’s not sure when they’ll be here.”

Ricco grinned. “Pregnant?”

“Yep, due in May.”

“How about Reese and Frankie? He said they were going to try and make it out for a few days before heading to Sedona.”

“Snowed in on the ranch right now.”

Ricco nodded. “I’m glad those two managed to work things out.”

Jase nodded and sat back down next to Jade. “I wasn’t sure there for a while, but they seem to be okay with six months in the city and six months on the ranch.”

Ricco poured Kim a cup of coffee from the urn on the sideboard and pulled her to the other love seat, then down next to him. He sat back and stretched out a long arm behind her on the backrest of the sofa.

“Is Ricco in trouble?” she asked Jase.

His ocean blue eyes widened in surprise. Then he smiled. “If I know my man there, it was one hundred percent justifiable, and that being the case, he’s not in any trouble.”

“How do you determine that?”

“An IA. I’ll start by interviewing witnesses, including yourself. When I’m done with witness contacts, I’ll write a report. In the meantime, Ricco will be interviewed by one of the DA’s investigators. It’s arduous but necessary.”

Kim sipped her coffee and nodded, feeling stressed out for Ricco. She glanced up at him; sensing her anxiety, he smiled and squeezed her shoulder. “It’ll all work out. It always does.”

“Ricco tells us you’re into real estate. Are you into commercial or residential?” Jade asked.

Kim’s hand shook as she set the coffee cup down on the end table. “Both, mostly corporate buyouts, but I dabble in an occasional residential property here and there.”

“Is that why you’re here in Evergreen, or are you just vacationing?”

“A little of both,” she said quietly. Suddenly lying seemed really dirty. “I have a client who’s interested in property here. I’m trying to get the lay of the land.”

Jade sipped her coffee. “Ricco told us what’s been happening. How terrible for everyone here.”

Kim nodded, feeling very uncomfortable in the hot seat. Jade must have sensed her unease, because she smiled softly and sat back, leaning into Jase’s arms. Kim looked up at Ricco, and he smiled down at her. Not caring his friends were just across the room, he put his hand beneath her chin and raised it up to his lips. He smiled and said, “I didn’t get to say good morning.” His lips brushed across hers and heat swelled in her body. The sound of the front door of the B&B opening and then closing didn’t stop her from melting into Ricco’s arms and lingering there.

“I can see why you didn’t want me to come up,” a familiar male voice said much too close. Kim stiffened and broke away from Ricco. She thought she was going to throw up.

Nick!

She moved away from Ricco, but he caught her hand. She yanked it away and stood, feeling very guilty. She didn’t look at Ricco’s friends; she stared at Nick instead, and her anger erupted. “Why are you here?”

“Why are you kissing that man?”

Ricco came to stand behind her. She wanted to just melt into him and let him take her out of the room, but she couldn’t. She would have to face her fiancé sooner or later, and it looked like sooner was here. Kim took a deep breath. Not wanting to make a scene, she stepped toward Nick. “I can explain.”

“Explain what, Kim?” Ricco asked.

She stiffened and turned to face him. Very discreetly Jase and Jade moved from the sofa to the kitchen. Kim stood between both men and closed her eyes. She took a big, deep breath, but before she could utter a word, Nick stepped past her and extended his hand to Ricco. “I’m Nick Gold, Kimberly’s fiancé, and if you touch her again, I’m going to kick your ass.”

Kim cringed. She could barely glance at Ricco, who looked as if he had just been kicked in the gut. The color drained from his face and his eyes looked shocked. Slowly, anger replaced his shocked expression. Kim shook her head. “No he’s not, not yet, not until—” She almost let her reason for being there slip. She swallowed hard, suddenly unable to get air into her lungs.

“You can tell him now, sweetheart. He served his purpose.”

Kim whirled around to Nick. “What are you talking about?”

“Pumping him and his family for all of the juicy information. I trust you documented everything.”

“What the hell is he talking about, Kim?” Ricco demanded.

She whirled back around to face Ricco. “Nothing! I—”

“Kimberly is Land’s Edge’s number one shark, and her job was to exploit Evergreen’s weaknesses so I could capitalize on them.” He grinned at Kim. “And she delivered, as she always does. That’s what I love so much about her,” Nick threw at Ricco.

Kim froze where she stood and felt her blood drop to her feet. Suddenly she was very cold and very afraid. But not for herself.

Ricco nodded and stepped back from her. His face clouded over so quickly that she could not read him. But she knew what he was thinking, and it broke her heart. “You almost had me, Cinderella, you almost had me,” he softly said, and with his words she crumbled inside.

He turned and stalked off to the kitchen. She turned to go after him but stopped after three steps. Would it matter? Their time was up in just a matter of days anyway. Yet she took two more steps toward the kitchen when she heard the back door slam shut. She stepped through the threshold to see Jase and Jade looking at her, shock clearly written across their faces as well. “I-I didn’t mean to fall in love with him,” she whispered, then turned and ran back to the parlor, where Nick stood holding his Gucci bag.

“It’s been a long trip here. Where’s your room?”

She felt like she was outside of her body, watching a play. She saw herself point up the stairway and say, “Vixen suite.” She watched him go up the stairway and heard Esmeralda asking Jase and Jade why her brother had stomped past her. Kim stood alone in the parlor, not knowing what to do. She wanted to go upstairs and calmly tell Nick to fuck off, then run after Ricco and tell him—what? That she wanted to keep seeing him even after Christmas? That she loved him? The thought struck her numb.

She wanted to be angry with Nick for barging in on her time here and telling the ugly truth to Ricco, but could she blame him? For the first time since they’d made their agreement to marry, he’d acted like he was remotely invested in her as a woman. She started to laugh. How ironic was that? After all this time, her fiancé actually showed he cared.

Her laughed turned sour, then to a strangled sob.

It didn’t matter. Not now. Not anymore. She’d lost something more precious than her marriage to Nick. She’d lost the trust and respect of the only man who had put her on the pedestal she had so desperately wanted, only to take herself off because of her own duplicity.

S
EVERAL MINUTES LATER
E
SMERALDA CAME INTO THE
salon and stopped short when she saw Kim. Their gazes locked. “I’d like you to leave,” Esmeralda said tersely.

Kim’s heart fell to her feet. “I—”

“Just go,” Esmeralda said and swept past her and out the front door.

Slowly Kim walked up the stairs. For a long time she stood at the door, not wanting to go inside. She turned the knob and pushed open the door to find Nick sprawled out on the comforter, the sheets in a heap on the floor beside the bed. The scent of sex swirled in the warm room.

“This room smells like a cathouse.”

Kim closed the door and pressed her back against it. She closed her eyes and envisioned Ricco laying on the bed, a damp towel draped around his narrow waist. When she opened her eyes, she saw Nick. “I want you to leave.”

“Not on your life. I’m too close to clinching this deal. I’m going to call Evergreen’s hand. I’m going to personally make the next offer.
Personally
. I’ve already contacted the council.” He looked at his watch. “In one hour at city hall.” He lay back into the striped pillows, put his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes. “I didn’t peg you for the sex kitten type, Kimberly, but I have to say it’s a pleasant surprise.”

She moved to the armoire and pulled her bag out from the bottom drawer. She began to pack. She needed separation.

“What are you doing?” Nick asked from the bed, his gaze locked on her.

“I was asked to leave.”

Nick laughed. “It will only be temporary; you’ll own this dump by the end of the week.”

“I don’t want to own this dump. I just want to go home.”

He sat up and hopped off the bed. Slowly, as if weighing her acceptance of him, he came closer to her. He reached out a hand and touched her cheek. “I can make you feel like he did.” He moved in closer. While he smelled really good, he didn’t smell like Ricco, and his touch did nothing for her. No, it did—it made her want to pull away. He raised her chin up to look at him. His clear blue eyes quietly questioned her. When his lips lowered to hers, she expected to feel repulsed. She only felt nothing.

And after what Ricco had done to her she would not be satisfied with nothing the rest of her life.

Slowly she pulled away from him. “I don’t want to marry you, Nick.”

He stiffened and backed away. “Because that guy gets you off?”

She gasped at his crudity. “No, because when you touch me I feel nothing.”

“Fine! Fuck him all you want, just be discreet about it.”

She shook her head and felt the hot rush of tears. Nick would never cherish her over all other women. He cherished what she could bring him. Money. And the status her last name would bring. And with perfect clarity, she understood. He was like all of the rest. He’d never wanted her.

She moved past him, packed her overnight case, then opened her drawer. A small wrapped box was tucked into the fold of her sweaters. A small note written in Ricco’s handwriting attached to it read Do Not Open Until Christmas. Her heart rate accelerated, and she put it along with the sweaters into her suitcase. She was done in less than fifteen minutes. Nick watched her the entire time, a nasty scowl twisting his face.

Several minutes later she was in her car and driving south out of Evergreen.

• • •

R
ICCO STORMED DOWN
M
AIN
S
TREET LOADED FOR BEAR.
Son of a bitch!
How could he have been so blind? He’d been played by a pro. She’d made damn sure she’d snagged him at the Legacy, and it had been easy pickings for her after that. And he had fallen for it! He’d actually—He punched the air with his fists. He’d actually thought there might be some way they could still see each other after the New Year. It was only a forty-five-minute flight from San Jose to L.A.—or a five-hour drive, or four hours the way he drove. They could meet up on the weekends and see where things went.

Son of a bitch! He’d trusted her!
He’d actually thought she could help the town. Holy hell! When his mother found out she’d played right into the Wicked Witch’s hand, she would be beside herself and blame the fall of Evergreen on herself.
Shit.

He needed to tell his mother what was going on. She’d be down at the city office this time of day.

When he walked through the door, he knew by the tight expression on her face that she knew something was up. “Ez called. Apparently Kim’s fiancé is the CEO of the company trying to buy us out.”

Ricco scowled. “Apparently.”

“Where are all of the documents?”

“Locked up in Ez’s safe.”

Leti sat back in her chair and let out a long breath. “We meet with Mr. Gold in half an hour. He’s making another offer. I don’t know what we can do.”

“Kim said something about those in town who had liquid assets pooling them to the tune of three and a half million to cover the balloon payments to buy time.”

Leti shook her head. “We don’t have that kind of money.”

“She seemed to think we did.”

“Then,
mijo,
she knows something I don’t.”

• • •

R
ICCO STOOD BEHIND HIS MOTHER AT THE COUNCIL
meeting. He scowled when his father walked in assisted by Esmeralda, who pushed a stroller with Krista sleeping soundly inside. The room swelled with residents. Every person who had a stake in Evergreen was there. Nick walked in like the conquering hero in a town who wanted to be left alone. The tension in the room was palpable. Nick stood smug and alone before them all.

His presence stirred their emotion; realizing he might have made a mistake coming in alone, Nick lost some of his bravado. Ricco seriously doubted that if the mob let loose on the prick, he’d lift a finger to stop them. Anger and jealousy swirled inside him. The guy was as tall as Ricco, blond and dressed in what was obviously threads straight from Italy. Not that Ricco didn’t appreciate fine clothes: He did, but this guy’s shoes cost more than what most people made in a month. And he was Cinderella’s fiancé. Ricco shook his head in disgust.

He had not seen that coming. Not. At. All.

“My name is Nicholas Gold, and I am CEO of Land’s Edge Development Corp.” Boos and hisses erupted. Nick stood quietly and let it die down. “I’m going to cut straight to the heart of the matter. Evergreen is in trouble. My solution is paying each one of you twenty-five cents on each dollar of your current property value.”

The assembly erupted into a fearsome rebuttal. Once again Nick waited. Ricco watched the faces of the people who had taken him and his family in so long ago. Never once had they asked anything of him. All they had done over the years was give, and more than anything he wanted to come through for them. He had a decent nest egg put away. Maybe there were others who would make the same sacrifice. He swallowed hard and strode out toward Gold.

“We have until the end of the year to pay the deferred payment and interest and, by so doing, keep what we have. Until then we will not entertain any offer from you. Leave before your safety cannot be guaranteed.”

“On the thirty-first my offer will be half of what it is now.” Nick turned to the assembly. “Can this town come up with three point six million in ten days?”

A collective gasp rose. Nick drove the last nail in deeper. “Then make good on the monthly payments after that? Because if the loan that’s tied to each and every one of you in one way or another goes into default, then you lose everything.” He turned to the council. “Cut your losses now. And when I rebuild here, you will all have jobs. Secure jobs. Jobs with benefits.”

“You’ll have jobs, all right,” Kim said as she strode into the room. “Nonunion minimum-wage jobs and benefits with enormous deductibles. This place will turn into Potter’s Field.”

Nick smiled despite her eruption. “For those who don’t know her, my soon-to-be vice president of acquisitions, Kimberly Michaels.”

She turned on him. “Ex-fiancée and never-to-be vice president.” She turned to Evergreen. “You have time, precious little time, to pool your resources together and pay off the balloon payment.” Smugly she turned to Nick. “I read the fine print. Technically there is a tenday grace period after the payment date.” She turned to the town. “So in effect you have until January ninth.”

Nick’s deep laughter rang throughout the room. Kim knew that laugh, and it terrified her. It was the laugh of a man who had hedged his bets and had the final ace in the hole. “Did you read the deed, Kimberly? It clearly states the loan can be called at any time with no grace period. I’m calling the loan.”

“You can’t. Only the consortium can call it.”

Nick reached into the breast pocket of his jacket. “I just bought out the controlling share of Marcus Rand.”

Kim had her own ace in the hole. “I’m sure when the cops catch up with your terrorists, they’ll have a lot to say.”

“Tahoe PD nabbed the guy who got away the other day,” Ricco said, striding toward Nick. “How do you feel about doing time in Quentin for second-degree murder?”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“You hired those thugs to terrorize the town. One was killed in the commission of a felony. That makes you as accountable as if you’d taken part.”

“Prove it.”

“I intend to.”

The energy in the room turned dangerous. The crowd had galvanized, and they drew closer together, moving toward Land’s Edge’s CEO. “Nick, you had better leave here before you get hurt,” Kim said, keeping a wary eye on the progressing mob.

He shook his head and looked at her with utter contempt. “I can’t believe you fell for the crack. What happened to my shark?”

“She got a conscience. Now go.”

He turned to face the assembly. “On the thirty-first my offer will be ten cents on the dollar.” He stalked out of the room and bedlam ensued.

Once Kim had everyone quieted down, she said, “Two things have to happen for this to work. One, we need almost four million cash in ten days. Secondly, Evergreen cannot continue to live and die by the weather and economy. There has to be something to come before and after Christmas.”

“We don’t want any big corporation coming into town!” Jerry, the florist, said. “It’ll ruin everything.”

“And no big box store either!” Maddy said.

Kim smiled. “Miss Maddy, you don’t have to worry about a box store in Evergreen. There isn’t enough population to support it.”

“That’s another thing, we don’t want a bunch of strangers coming in and messing up the ecology,” someone else said.

For almost an hour Kim listened to the town debate and voice what they didn’t want. When they were done, she asked them, “Do you want to stay here?”

A resounding yes erupted. “Then you will have to make some sacrifices on your end,” she replied.

A collective groan followed. Ricco stepped up. “Listen to her, all of you!
Our lives
,
our livelihoods
are at stake here, and all you can think about is your own selfish needs? Have we all been living a lie all of these years? What happened to the caring people who took my family in? We need to come together as one unit and trust that the man or woman standing next to us has our back. Getting pissed off and laying down or walking away isn’t an option. Fight, damn it! Make some concessions and let’s get this town back on its feet!”

“Easy for you to say, Ricco, you come and go, your life isn’t tied here. Stay a year, then tell me I have to make concessions,” Peyton challenged.

Ricco turned on Peyton. “Life, my friend, is about making concessions. The status quo is killing us. I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to make things work here. I have money I’ll gladly give, but I won’t do it if there isn’t a plan, as Kim said, to go forward. It’s the twenty-first century, for Christ’s sake. Let’s move with the times.”

But try as they might, once the tallies were counted, they were not only two million dollars shy of the goal but they also had no viable means—not even an idea—for a future of financial security. It seemed that the small town of Evergreen would have nothing to celebrate on Christmas Day.