Barb handed out sealed envelopes, each containing a paper with the names of random items chosen for the scavenger hunt this year. With a smirk, Sameera realized that Esa’s head start wouldn’t do him any good. He must have realized the same thing, because he sheepishly returned and stood peering at the paper beside Calvin, the two young men already talking strategy.
“This is afriendlycompetition,” Barb reminded the group, eyes lingering on Esa. “We’re going based on the honor system.” Her tone implied her misgivings about this particular group’s honor, but she soldiered through. “Whoever finds the items has to ring a bell.” She handed out red-ribboned cowbells to each couple. “Our volunteer judge will decide which team gets the point, and any arguing with the judge will get you immediately disqualified. And this year, the prize isn’t only the honor of picking out the tree. There will also be a special treat from Hilda’s Bakery.”
Esa fist-pumped, and everyone laughed.
“Who’s the judge?” Sameera asked.
“That would be me,” a voice called behind the group. Sameera turned around and came face-to-face with a beautiful blond woman, eyes crinkled in a welcoming smile, windswept hair loose around her shoulders. Withher sharp features and blue eyes that shone turquoise in the weak afternoon light, she looked like she belonged on a holiday movie set. She was dressed in soft-pink fleece leggings that hugged her shapely legs, a white parka, and an oversize woolen scarf snug around her neck. Sameera had to stop herself from looking around for the camera crew following Margot Robbie’s doppelgänger. Next to her, Esa’s mouth hung slightly open.
“Hi, Tom,” the vision said shyly.
“Hello, Emily,” Tom answered.
“We’re searching for a diamond, a star, something golden, a familiar tune, good luck, and Santa’s helper,” Sameera said, squinting down at the list. “Are you sure your stepmom doesn’t have a side hustle making cryptic puzzles? I have no idea what any of these clues mean, or where to find them.”
Sameera and Tom were walking around the large tree lot, their steps muffled by a dense undergrowth of snow and pine needles, and it felt like they were all alone in a forest. So far, Sameera had managed to stay focused on the task at hand. She could hear Esa’s whoops faintly to the left, but no one had rung the bell to summon the goddess Emily.
Knowing that Tom had an ex-girlfriend in Wolf Run and coming face-to-face with the stunning reality were two different things. Not that Sameera was jealous. You had to care to feel jealous, and she was entirely without care. Completely careless. She flipped her heavy wool scarf over her shoulder to demonstrate her carefree attitude, and ended up stumbling.
“All right?” Tom asked, helping her up.
“I’m perfect,” she said, hoping the red on her cheeks would be attributed to the chilly temperature, and not embarrassment. “I was just ... thinking really hard. About the scavenger hunt. I think we’re looking for a piece of coal. Coal makes diamonds, right?” She checked beneath a tree for a bag of coal, because why not? She looked up to see that Tom had stopped following her, and was standing still in the middle of the path. “Did you find something?”
“I’m sorry,” Tom said.
She stood up, uncertain. “About Barb’s cryptic clues?”
“For behaving like an ass,” he said. “You were right to call me out. I had no right to introduce you as my girlfriend to Hilda. And I should have talked to Barb about our real arrangement. I’ve been acting like a spoiled toddler ever since you got here. No, I’ve been behaving like Blake.”
She gasped. “Not Blake!”
“I’m really sorry, Sameera,” Tom said. “Can you forgive me?”
Sameera wasn’t used to people apologizing to her. Blake constantly took jabs at her, and Hunter had never said sorry for committing credit fraud and ruining her life, and Sameera had been too brokenhearted to legally do anything about it. At work, her entire job revolved around neither admitting nor accepting culpability. Even her parents had never acknowledged the role they had played in their estrangement, how their inability to adjust their strict expectations, combined with an overall lack of communication, had contributed to her yearslong deception. “Never apologize” was practically a mantra in her life. It was strange to have Tom, a near stranger, admit he was wrong, to take responsibility for his mistake, and to ask for her forgiveness. She wasn’t quite sure what to do, actually.
Tom took a step closer, then another, and then that intense gaze was examining her as if she was the most interesting thing in the tree lot, and possibly the entire town. Which couldn’t be true, because Miss Alaska was nearby, keeping a well-shaped ear out for any ringing cowbells while presumably dodging a barrage of marriage proposals from passersby.
Which made her wonder if Tom had ever proposed to Emily.
Focus, Sameera,she told herself. A gorgeous man was apologizing to her. Also, of course, he had proposed to Emily. Hell, Sameera had just met the woman, and she wanted to get down on one knee, too. Or at least, get some skin care tips because Emily’s skinglowed.
“Thank you for admitting you were acting like a big dumb toddler,” she said, and his lips twitched in that half smile she was starting to get addicted to. “You’re so different here.” She shouldn’t invite his confidence, but despite her firm reminder to herself to remain impartial, she couldn’t help but wonder about Tom Cooke.
He rocked back on his heels, hands buried in his pockets. “It’s this place. Every time I return to Wolf Run, it all comes back. The same frustration that chased me away. My dad, going on and on about family legacy, and what he expects from me. I start to feel ... trapped.” His eyes were an intense blue now, glowing with their own light. “None of which is your fault. I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable. My family baggage is my issue to deal with, not yours. Especially since you’re doing me this massive favor. I’ll tell Barb and Rob the truth about us.” He quirked a smile at her. “And you were right earlier. Barb doesn’t just solve cryptic crosswords; she also makes them for the local paper.”
An answering smile tugged at Sameera’s mouth. “Game recognizes game.”
Tom ducked his head. “I’ve been a terrible fake boyfriend.”
“You really have,” Sameera agreed. “While I’ve been setting the gold standard. You’ll have to make it up to me.”
“Deal.” He held out his hand to shake, and she grasped it. His hand tightened in hers, and even through the layers of mittens and gloves, she could feel how warm he was. His eyes darkened as he met hers, and suddenly, his gaze turned hot, and hungry. Sameera shivered, wetting her lip, and his eyes followed the movement.
The sound of a cowbell made them jump apart, and they laughed awkwardly.
“I bet that’s my dad,” she said. “He’s the most low-key Malik, but don’t be deceived. He manages to win most of our games. We’re convinced he cheats.”
“It’s always the quiet ones,” Tom said. He let go of her hand, and his expression returned to its usual geniality. “I think you had the right idea with the coal. I know where we can find something golden, and I’m pretty sure ‘good luck’ is the old horseshoe Emily’s mom nailed over the entrance to the storage shed. Come on.”
