Yours for Christmas (Fool's Gold series) Read Free

pulled her arm back. “We’ll get a schedule together. Discuss it with the girls at the FWM meeting. They can sign up their parents to help with that, too.”
    “There’s a meeting?” he asked.
    She nodded. “We’re both going to have to be there. I know most of the girls because of Chloe, but they’ll have to meet you and we’ll discuss supplies for decorating.” Her glossy lips curved into another smile. “I can’t wait.”
    “Me, either,” he lied, thinking it would have been so much easier to take on the flying monkeys.
    * * *
    K ENNY WALKED INTO Taryn’s office and stalked over to her desk. “You have a lot to answer for,” he announced, doing his best to look intimidating.
    Unfortunately for him, Taryn had spent the past few years dealing with three former NFL players and not much got to her. Instead of looking nervous or even guilty, she simply raised her eyebrows and waited.
    “You and Angel are bailing,” he told her, his tone accusing. “On your Sprouts. There’s a toy drive and I got hauled in to the whole thing.”
    “What are you talking about? How did you know about our trip? We just decided a couple of days ago to spend a month in Fiji. We haven’t told anyone yet.”
    “Someone told Mayor Marsha. I just got back from a meeting with her. I’m going to be working with Bailey Voss on the toy drive. It’s not like I could say no.”
    Taryn’s mouth twitched, but it wasn’t nearly as sexy as it had been on Bailey. Because he knew Taryn was laughing
at
him rather than with him.
    “It’s not funny,” he grumbled.
    “It kind of is.” She rose and walked around her desk toward him.
    As usual she wore some fancy designer-suit thing and was barefoot. Because she wore stupid shoes that were too high to walk in all day. She put her hands on his chest and stared into his eyes.
    “Thank you for helping my Sprouts with the toy drive.”
    “You owe me.”
    “I do. I don’t know how Mayor Marsha found out, but she did and you’re a really good guy for stepping in.”
    He made a growling sound in his throat. No way she could mollify him with a few compliments. He was tougher than that.
    She smiled. “Seriously. It means a lot to me. Those are my girls and I want them to have a good holiday.”
    He shook off her touch and glowered. “I said I’d do it, okay? You don’t have to convince me.”
    “No, but I would like it if you’d at least pretend it might be fun. Unless...” The humor fled her violet eyes and worry replaced it. “Oh, Kenny, I didn’t think. Is this going to be too hard for you? I can ask Jack or Sam.”
    Kenny was sure their other two partners would agree. And while that would free up his time, he wasn’t one to walk away from something he’d already said he would do.
    “I’m fine,” he told her. “Bailey has the details figured out. It’s the holidays, right? I can help kids who need toys.”
    Taryn wasn’t fooled. She continued to study him. “I worry about you. You need somebody in your life.” She held up a hand to stop him from talking. “Not just friends, but someone special. Someone to fall in love with.”
    “I’m fine.” The truth, he thought. He was completely fine. As for falling in love—well, he wanted that, too. But so far it hadn’t happened. He liked women but he hadn’t found the one. When he did...he would be all in. As long as she didn’t have kids. That was his only caveat. No single moms. No exceptions.
    “I want you to be more than fine,” Taryn told him. “I want you to be happy.”
    “I will be.”
    One day, he thought longingly. Because there was someone for everyone. Even a guy like him.

CHAPTER TWO
    T HE FWM MEETINGS were a lot louder than Kenny would have guessed. He knew that there were only eight seven-year-old girls in the room, but it seemed like there were more. Of course all the girls had brought at least one parent. Adding the Grove Keepers along with him, that was a fair number of people in a smallish