Page 29 of Naughty Heart

Hesitantly, I reached for the card and took it from him. My fingers accidentally brushed up against his, and even though it was entirely unintentional, when I left the office to go purchase the decorations, I could still feel his touch lingering on my hand.

8

EVELYN

“Those don’t come assembled?”

At Malcolm’s query, I nearly burst out laughing. “Is that a serious question?”

He stared at me, dumbfounded. “Uh, yeah.”

Shaking my head, feeling amused, I felt it was best to clarify. “Wreaths can be purchased already done. When I went out shopping and saw what was available, nothing was catching my attention. But beyond that, the prices for some of them were ridiculous. So, I decided it would be best to start with a simple spruce wreath and purchase the things needed to decorate it myself.”

“What kind of price difference are we talking about here?”

I’d never really had the chance to have free rein to purchase whatever I wanted in a store like that. While I had a feeling Malcolm didn’t necessarily care so much about the cost, I couldn’t bring myself to overspend simply for the sake of it.

So, I hadn’t gone overboard when I went shopping earlier today. Having needed to take the bus, I could only carry so much anyway. I picked up some smaller items, wishing I would have been able to get even a four-foot tree. Unfortunately, they came in bulky boxes, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get that along with the three bags’ worth of stuff I’d purchase back to the office.

Either way, I was determined to have both of our offices feeling far more festive before the day was over, which was the reason I was now sitting on the couch in Malcolm’s office with the wreath in my lap, and all my supplies spread out on the small coffee table in front of me.

I returned my focus to what I was doing, snatched a berry pick off the table, and started to push it into the spot I wanted it on the wreath. As I worked, I answered, “Well, that depends. There were a lot of options, and some of them were several hundred dollars. At a minimum, I saved you seventy-five bucks. But if I’d have picked out one of the nicer wreaths that was already decorated, it’s a couple hundred dollars I’ve saved you.”

“You could have spent the money and saved yourself this hassle,” he reasoned.

After reaching for an ornament to fasten to the wreath, I glanced over at him and said, “This isn’t a hassle at all. I mean, if you’d prefer I do it when I’m at home and not here, I can do that. But this doesn’t bother me in the least. Plus, it’s going to look way better than the pre-made ones.”

As I returned my focus to the wreath, Malcolm replied, “I don’t want you to take any work home. That’s not fair to you.”

Even though Malcolm seemed to be the kind of guy who didn’t have a care about the money he spent—he sent me to the store with his credit card, for crying out loud—there was something I couldn’t begin to ignore.

Malcolm was excellent at his job.

Maybe he hadn’t done everything he could do to make his staff excited about coming to work and being productive, but it was clear he valued people’s hard work and believed they should be compensated fairly. It felt good to know I was working for a man with that level of kindness and compassion.

“That’s nice of you to not have those kinds of expectations. And in all seriousness, if me being here doing this is bothering you, I can take care of it in my office,” I offered.

“You’re fine where you are, Evelyn.”

With my focus on the wreath, my head was pointed down toward my lap. And at the sound of my name coming past his lips, I had no choice but to close my eyes. I was beginning to love the way he said my name, and I had no clue how to ignore that feeling.

Following a momentary pause, I got back to work on the wreath. I’d successfully affixed several more pieces to it when a thought popped into my head. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure,” Malcolm answered.

“What is Christmas like in your family? I imagine it had to be so much fun as a kid.”

He let out a laugh. “Yeah, we had a great time. I don’t think I have one single bad memory of Christmas. It was always just time together first thing in the morning as a family of four before the relatives came over and stayed for lunch and dinner. Christmas was always a big celebration. It still is. Every holiday is like that in our family.”

I stopped what I was doing to look at him again. “Really? Does someone different in the family host every year, or is it always your parents?”

“Always my parents. Apparently, the tradition started several generations ago. Once the Westwood kid got married and had his first baby, hosting duties passed on to him.”

My eyes widened. “So, that’ll be you someday.”

He nodded. “I guess so.”

Something changed in his expression, and Malcolm was staring at me with a look I couldn’t read. Unable to handle the pressure I felt under the intense scrutiny of his gaze, I returned my attention to the wreath. Just a few more pieces, and it would be done.