LITMIR.BIZ

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wanted you to know,” Patience added.

      “Thanks for telling me. This is a great idea. I can’t wait.” Noelle felt a slight twinge and knew that was about wanting to be in love herself. While she was totally happy for her friends, she wanted a little of that love magic, too.

      It would happen, she told herself firmly. She only had to believe. She knew that life was a precious gift. She was going to enjoy all of it, including her friends’ triple wedding.

      “We want you to be our attendant,” Felicia told her.

      Isabel grinned. “Look at it this way. You only have to buy one hideous dress.” She held up her hands. “And it won’t be hideous, I promise. I’ve already pulled three different dresses that are great.”

      “I’m honored,” Noelle said sincerely. “For all of you thinking of me. This is going to be such a surprise for everyone. Let me know if you need any help with anything.”

      “You’re extremely busy with your store,” Felicia pointed out. “But your offer of assistance is very supportive. Thank you.” She smiled. “Consuelo also offered to help, but I knew she didn’t mean it. She was backing out of the door as she said it.” The smile broadened. “Maybe I’ll invite her to be a bridesmaid.”

      Patience’s eyes widened. “Are they to that point?”

      Isabel shook her head. “I’m sure Kent would propose in a heartbeat, but Consuelo needs a little more time to settle into what she calls the hell of being normal.”

      Noelle chuckled. “That sounds like her.” She glanced at the time on her cell phone and groaned. “I have to get the store open. Thanks for telling me your secret. I’ll keep it to myself. And thank you for making my first ever Fool’s Gold Christmas even more special.”

      Noelle waved as she dashed out and headed for her store.

      She was pleased to find she really was genuinely happy for her friends. They were all in love with terrific men. Men she had absolutely no interest in. She told herself that what she would take from the upcoming wedding was that love was in the air and if she was lucky, she would catch a little for herself.

      She turned on 4th Street and raced toward her store. She still had to restock the stack of throws she kept by the stuffed animals. They had been a last-minute addition to her inventory and were huge sellers. Apparently, Christmas was when everyone wanted an extra blanket or two to toss on the sofa.

      She was reaching for her keys when she saw someone standing outside of her store. A tall, handsome someone with piercing blue eyes and a smile that made her stomach start the Macarena.

      “What are you doing here?” she asked Gabriel as she approached. “Did you decide you really need a nativity made out of local gourds?”

      Gabriel stared at her. “You have one of those?”

      “Of course. I pride myself on stocking the unusual.”

      “Or the extremely strange.”

      “It’s Christmas,” she pointed out. “Or it will be in six weeks. When else would someone want a gourd-based nativity?”

      As she spoke, she opened the front door and flipped on the lights. He followed her inside. She turned on the trains, then started the music. She was unwinding her scarf when she shifted back to find him standing in the middle of the store.

      He looked better than he had. More rested, less gray. Although he still seemed tired. The shadows remained in residence beneath his eyes.

      “What’s up?” she asked, shrugging out of her coat.

      “I want to talk to you about a job.”

      She laughed. “Right. If you’re looking for a present for your mom, I can give you some suggestions. We have some really pretty ornaments she might like.”

      She disappeared into the back room to put her coat away and tuck her handbag into her desk’s bottom drawer. When she straightened, Gabriel was standing close enough that she could see the various colors of blue that made up his irises. She could inhale the clean scent of him and catch a hint of the heat the man generated.

      “I want to come work for you,” he said.

      “That’s insane. You’re a doctor. This is retail. I sell Christmas stuff.”

      “I know what you do. You need help and I need...”

      She waited, confident this had to be a joke. When he didn’t speak, she shook her head. “I’m sure they would be thrilled to have you volunteer your services at the local hospital.”

      “I need a break from that. You’re looking for someone to stock shelves and work the cash register. I can do that.”

      “You’re injured.”

      “Just my left hand. I’m right-handed.”

      She put her hands on her hips. “What’s going on? Are you filming this for a YouTube video? Famous doctor punks innocent store owner? I’m not eating a live bug for you.”

      “No live bugs.”

      “Not a dead one, either.”

      “Why can’t I apply for the job?”

      “Because you’re grossly overqualified.” She touched his arm. “What is this about?” she asked again.

      He drew in a breath and stared into her eyes. “I need to be doing something with my day. I’m stuck here for over a month and I have nothing to do. I can’t work in a hospital right now.” He opened his mouth, then closed it. “I can’t.”

      Noelle hated to admit she didn’t know all that much about the wars her country had been fighting for over a decade. She saw what was on the news and those special reports on the magazine shows, but that was it. Her only firsthand knowledge came from what she’d learned from the men her friends had gotten involved with.

      This past year a bodyguard school had opened in town. The principals were all highly trained former military people who had risked their lives to protect those at home. Isabel’s fiancé, Ford, had been a SEAL. Consuelo had served and done secret stuff, Gideon had been in the army, and so on.

      She’d heard bits and pieces, knew there were ghosts and nightmares and the kind of damage that couldn’t always be seen. It made sense those helping the injured would suffer in their own way.

      “I’m going to make a series of statements,” she said slowly. “I’d like you to respond to them.”

      “Now you sound like Felicia.”

      “I should be so lucky.” She drew in a breath. “You’re in town because of your hand and maybe what you do for a living. It’s something you need a break from.”

      He nodded cautiously.

      She hesitated, feeling her way through an emotional minefield. “You don’t see your family very much.”

      Another nod.

      “So being around them is intense. And parents are inherently complicated. Plus there’s the whole they don’t know Carter and what do they want from you.”

      Nod.

      “My amazingly charming store has a good emotional vibration and you feel comfortable here. Plus, you’re really excited about the gourd nativity. Did you know they’re made by a guy named Lars, a local farrier, who also trims Heidi’s goat’s hooves.”

      His mouth curved up. “Now you’re making stuff up.”

      “I’m not.” She paused. “You really want to stock my shelves and ring up my purchases?” Noelle had to press her lips together as she wondered why a perfectly normal question suddenly sounded incredibly dirty.

      “It would be the highlight of my holiday season.”

      “I can’t

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