Out of that van had come two burly-looking guys along with an extendable ladder and several huge bins of Christmas decorations. The guys were real pros, or so I'd guessed, considering that they'd managed to decorate the exterior of that massive house –andall of those trees – in just under two hours. Even so, it had been nearly dark by the time they'd finished.
I shook my head. "It must be a mistake."
Gwen laughed. "What?"
I looked to my cousin. "Trust me. There's no way on Earth that Cole Henster wouldeverdecorate his house."
"But hedidn'tdo it," Gwen said. "He had other people do it."
I gave another shake of my head. "Nope. Not even that."
My sister spoke up. "I'm with Lexie. The guy's a total Scrooge."
I had to smile. Harper had never even met the guy, not in person. But her loyalty warmed my holiday heart.
As for Gwen, she looked unconvinced. She turned to Harper and said, "You're just saying that because she's your sister."
Harper shook her head. "It's notonlythat. I just think there's another explanation, that's all." She brightened. "Like maybe his girlfriend made him do it."
What?For some stupid reason, I wasn't liking this explanation at all. Happily, I could cross it straight off the list. "He doesn'thavea girlfriend."
I knew this because there'd been lots of speculation among the women in the office when Cole Henster had first shown up. The office gossips had gone straight to work and had discovered that he had never been married and that he wasn't seeing anyone in particular.
But of course, this was months ago. With a little frown, I added, "Or at least he didn't have one whenIworked there."
Harper said, "Yeah, but he might have one now."
The thoughtstilldidn't make me happy. It wasn't that I had a thing for him. It was just that Mister Scroogypants didn't deserve the kind of girlfriend who loved Christmas enough to have the house decorated.
No, he deserved theotherkind of girlfriend – the kind who celebrated Christmas by "accidentally" torching the dorm's Christmas tree.But enough about my college roommate.
As far as the decorations across the street, I hardly knew what to think.But then it hit me."I know! It was the decorating company – they got the wrong address."
My sister nodded. "Yeah, that's a good one, too."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "WellIthink it's nice that he decorated."
I felt my gaze narrow. "Do you like him or something?"
This made her snicker. "No. Butyoudo."
I drew back. "What?"
"I saw the way you were looking at him." Gwen turned to my sister and said, "That's why the blinds are closed. She's afraid he'll see her."
I practically snorted. "No kidding. But that doesn't mean I like him."
Ignoring this, Gwen told Harper, "You should've seen her. She was practically drooling."
What the heck?"I wasnotdrooling. I hate him. He's a total monster."
Gwen gave my sister a significant look. "By monster, she means a sexy vampire."
I sputtered, "That's not what I said."Not exactly, anyway.
But Gwen was on a roll. "Andshe called him pretty."
Again, I spoke up. "Yeah, well, pretty and sexy aren't the same. Like…" Desperately, I tried to think. "I think both ofyouare pretty, and I don't want to get inyourpants."
