it than it ending up in the trash.”
So they loaded up the town as best they could in his car. The gingerbread town was large enough that he had to put half of it in his trunk. Then Rick turned to the Christmas elf at his side, drawing her into his arms.
“Lana?”
“Hmm?” She’d all but buried herself in the hug, so Rick made sure to squeeze her a little tighter.
“They’ll warm up to you.” Leaning in, he murmured into her ear, “You’re worth warming up for.”
For the first time that afternoon, her composure slipped. A brave, watery smile was the closest to tears she was going to let him see.
“Maybe not yet. But I will be.”
* * *
The Christmas party at Moose Springs Resort had been a flop. Rick’s pool tournament was anything but that.
“Wow, this place is packed.” From her shorter height, Zoey had to go up on her tiptoes, craning her head as she looked for Graham. “His truck’s outside, but I don’t see him.”
“He’s talking with Rick by the bar.”
Linking her arm through Lana’s, Zoey adjusted the glasses on her nose and led the way through the crowd. Warm greetings met her, including many chin nods and cheerful hellos. Even though Zoey had only been living there since July, she was already one of them.
Not for the first time, Lana checked the rising smudge of jealousy she felt for her friend. Zoey was able to fit into her environment in a relaxed, easy way Lana never could. Her time in Moose Springs had only made Zoey shine.
Today, Lana was feeling the lack of polish on herself keenly.
“Hey.” Rick’s solemn expression shifted into a small smile when he saw her. “Look.”
When he nodded his head to the side, Lana followed Rick’s gaze to a single pool table that wasn’t being used for the tournament. Instead, a large piece of plywood had been laid on top of the table, draped in a piece of white cloth, with her gingerbread town set in the middle. He’d put a miniature train track around the town, complete with the most adorable miniature train chugging along.
Children gathered on benches set around the table, leaning over the track and giggling when the train bumped their arms as they decorated the parts they could easily reach. One father held his son over the table so he could add a candy cane to the front of the gingerbread police building.
“You did good,” Rick told her quietly, coming up behind her. “They might not have realized it earlier, but they know who did this for their kids.”
Moved beyond the ability to speak, Lana nodded. A warm hand rested on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.
“Are you playing?” she asked him, turning.
“Naw. It’s too much to run the bar and run the tables.”
“Do you want some help?”
Rick had all the help he needed in Diego, but Lana decided to keep him company at the bar. Designating herself the pizza mistress, Lana contentedly kept the oven full and the slices coming for those who needed a snack as they played. More than once, Rick stole a moment he didn’t have to snug an arm around her, pressing a kiss to her neck.
Lana didn’t know the person who ended up winning the tournament, but she bet Rick could have beaten them. Then, because a gingerbread town was meant to be eaten, she helped Diego put the different buildings on paper plates to send them home with anyone interested, wrapped carefully in plastic wrap.
A few appreciative smiles were sent her way and even a murmured thank you or two.
“See? We’re not so bad,” Rick told her as the last of the people left.
“Just half-bad?” Lana said as she helped clean up. She and Diego had already closed the kitchen and wiped down the bar, freeing Rick to get the floors swept and mopped.
She’d never noticed Diego leaving, but she did notice that once Rick’s nephew was gone, Rick’s attention had turned a lot more to her than to the floor he was mopping.
Never had Lana wanted to grab someone by the collar and push them onto a pool table this badly. But it had been a long day, and she knew Rick had to be exhausted.
“I should probably take off,” she told him.
Rick nodded, dipping his head to press a soft kiss to her cheek. “You okay to drive in this?”
“A little snow never hurt me,” Lana said. “See you tomorrow?”
“Definitely.”
So she took her raging sex drive and tucked it into her