“Can we help?” Patience asked. “Host a dinner or something?”

Isabel nodded. “Ford is a master at dealing with a big family and we can all be buffers. Just say the word.”

Noelle nodded, not wanting to say anything in case she sounded too eager. Because where there were Felicia’s soon-to-be in-laws, there was also likely to be a certain handsome doctor. Maybe he would like her to rub his back or gaze adoringly into his eyes. She was up for either. Or something more adult.

Which only went to show she had been manless for far too long.

“Thank you,” Felicia said. “I appreciate the show of friendship.” She pressed her lips together. “Enough about me. We wanted to talk to Noelle for a reason and she has to be at her store soon.”

The three women turned to her. Noelle had a sudden need to worry about having something stuck in her teeth. “What? Don’t freak me out. This is my busy period. I couldn’t take the pressure.”

Patience reached for her hand. “We have something to tell you.”

“It’s a good thing,” Isabel added quickly, then sighed. “The best.”

“We’re getting married,” Felicia added.

Noelle exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She squeezed Patience’s fingers, then picked up her latte. “Duh. You’re all wearing engagement rings. I’m blinded on a regular basis.”

It was true. Each of them sported a diamond ring of impressive size. Noelle resisted the urge to cover her face and moan, “My eyes, my eyes.” But she wasn’t sure her friends would get the humor.

“You know I’m happy for each of you, right?” She sipped. “Do you worry I’m upset?”

“No,” Isabel told her. “It’s not that at all.”

“Then?”

“We’re getting married at Christmas,” Patience said in a rush. “Christmas Eve. After the Dance of the Winter King.”

“Oh, wow. That’s great.”

Noelle had never seen the Dance of the Winter King, but she’d heard all about it. Fool’s Gold did Christmas in style. Christmas Eve day began with a live nativity and ended with the production, put on by the local ballet school. Afterward those attending went to midnight services at the various churches around town.

“We haven’t told anyone,” Felicia added. “Our fiancés know, of course, and Dellina. She’s assisting us in planning the weddings. We thought with having everyone already at the convention center, it would be convenient.”

Isabel rolled her eyes. “And romantic. It will be a surprise.”

“But we 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 pay much more than minimum wage.”

“Not a problem.”

“Even though you don’t need this job, I have to be able to depend on you.”

“I promise not to go snowboarding without clearing it with you first. But the day after Christmas, I’m gone.”

“My busy season ends the day before Christmas, so we don’t seem to have a timing issue.” She hesitated, sure there was something she was missing. Only she couldn’t figure out what it was. The bottom line was she needed help and a responsible, attractive man was offering. She couldn’t think of a single reason to say no.

“Okay then. I guess you’re hired.”

Chapter 4

Noelle opened the store the next morning with an expected burst of anticipation and enthusiasm. Sadly, she knew the cause. In a perfect world, she would be able to fool herself for at least a few days. But she’d never been very good at convincing herself of anything that wasn’t true. She had always had a streak of realism that now reared its ugly head.

She had a thing for Gabriel. The handsome, wounded doctor pushed all her buttons. He was funny, nice, kind and elusive. Or in the feline vernacular—catnip.

She didn’t know why it had to be like that. Why couldn’t she be wildly attracted to some normal, local guy who’d been living here for fifteen generations and wanted to get married and have five kids? She supposed one of the reasons was that she hadn’t met anyone like that.

“Well, if I do, I’m all over him,” she murmured as she went through her pre-opening ritual. She turned up the heat, made sure the trains were running, checked the selection of Christmas music on her iPod and then moved toward the cash register. She had just finished counting ones, fives and tens when someone knocked on the still-locked front door.

Her stomach gave her a name before she even looked up. Sure enough, Gabriel stood there, right on time, still tall and, worse, smiling.

“Hi,” she said, unfastening the lock and letting him in. “You’re here.”

“As promised.”

“That’s nice. Where did you park? I like to save the spaces out front for customers.”

He shrugged out of his coat. There was a light dusting of snow on his hair and he wore a navy sweater that brought out the deeper blue tones of his eyes. He could have stepped out of one of those funny “woman to woman” Christmas cards.

“I walked.”

She stared at him. “Down the mountain? It’s, like, five miles or more. Are you insane? It’s freezing cold and snowing. You can’t walk that far in this weather. Oh, my God, I’ve hired a crazy person.”

He dropped his coat onto the counter and put his hands on her shoulders. “Breathe.”

“I’m not going to faint.”

“No, you’re going to pop a blood vessel. Breathe.”

She was less interested in breathing than the feel of his large hands holding her. If only he would pull her closer or maybe cop a feel, she thought wistfully.

“I’m staying in town,” he said. “My parents rented a little apartment for the holidays. It’s not much more than a studio. They decided to stay at Gideon’s when they saw how much room he had, so I took the rental instead.” He dropped his arms to his sides and shrugged. “It’s plenty big enough for me and they get more time with Carter.”

She decided not to comment on the sudden lack of hands on her arm and instead focused on the conversation. “It was getting too intense?” she asked.