Free Cole's Christmas Wish by Tracy Madison

Cupcake.
    Unexpected warmth trickled along her skin. Cole . She lifted her chin, and her eyes found him instantly. Again,
he stood outside, waiting for her. Like always, he looked tall and strong, solid
and...yeah, sexy. He also looked, Rachel admitted to herself, incredibly,
unbelievably happy. Well, why wouldn’t he be happy? He was in love.
    She forced her lips into a smile, raised her hand in a wave and
continued to march forward, even though all she wanted to do was climb back in
her car and run for the hills.
    Where she could hide until she found a way to deal.

Chapter Five
    I nstead of fighting the crowds at the mall,
Cole had decided to stick with the small, local shops that dotted the streets of
Steamboat Springs. It was, perhaps, a somewhat dangerous choice. The merest
mention of his “girlfriend” to a friend—or heck, an acquaintance—they might bump
into could, depending on said friend or acquaintance’s reaction, burst his plan
into smithereens in three seconds flat.
    But come on, how romantic could a shopping mall possibly be?
Not very. Alternatively, the picturesque beauty surrounding them, the quaint
stores and everything else that attracted tourists to his hometown held charm
and appeal and yes, to Cole’s frame of mind, the perfect romantic setting. Okay,
maybe perfect was a bit of a stretch, but it beat the mall in spades.
    “How do you want to do this?” Rachel asked in a clipped,
all-about-business way. It seemed she was taking her agreement to help very
seriously. Cole couldn’t quite decide if that was good or bad. “Talk as we roam
or grab a coffee first, come up with a few ideas and then tackle them one at a
time? Actually,” she said with a sharp, decisive nod, “let’s go that route.
We’ll get everything done faster.”
    “Nah. Where’s the fun in that?” Speeding the process along was
not on his agenda. His hope was to spend the entire afternoon with her, not just
a few hours. “I like the roaming and talking idea. And,” he said with a grin, “I
was thinking I could help you, too.”
    Rachel arched an eyebrow. “With what?”
    “Your Christmas shopping, of course. I know you’re not done
yet,” he teased. “You always wait until the last minute. Your mom’s love of
shopping did not rub off on you.”
    She gave a faint shrug. “True enough, but I’m not ready to
shop. My tree isn’t up yet.”
    “And you can’t shop until you have a place to put the gifts,
right? Well, we can take care of that today, too.”
    Shaking her head, she said, “Can’t. Promised Andrew we’d do
that together. Maybe tonight. Or tomorrow. Or...Well, it will be soon.”
    Disappointment hovered in her voice, and that bugged Cole. He
was well aware of how much Rachel loved Christmas, and therefore, everything
that came with—including decorating.
    “Hey,” he said, “don’t look so glum. If Andrew doesn’t find the
time to pick out a tree in the next day or two, I’m sure he’ll understand if you
and I do so. As you said, he’s a good guy, and good guys prefer their
girlfriends to be happy. Right?”
    “Right.”
    “Then let’s focus on shopping.” He rubbed his hands together.
“It will be fun, I promise.”
    “Uh-huh. Fun. Why, I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”
She did that blink-blink-pause-blink thing of hers and her eyebrow arched a
smidgen higher.
    “Me, too. Glad we’re on the same page,” he said with equal
sarcasm.
    “Are you ill? Or...I don’t know, delusional? You hate shopping
as much as I do.”
    “Typically,” he agreed, taking her by the hand. “But this is special shopping, and it’s Christmas, and
therefore, I’m looking forward to it.”
    “Uh-huh. Definitely ill.” She smiled, but it looked forced. One
way or another, he’d get a real smile out of her before the day’s end. Firming
her shoulders, as if readying herself for battle, she said, “Well, then, Mr.
Christmas Spirit, let’s get going. It’s freezing out here.”
    He