“Much, much better,” he said. And before she could move away, Ezra put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. “I’ve got a better idea. How about if you stay right here,” he said, nuzzling her neck.

She gave him a quizzical look and started to say something, but then his lips found hers.

His kiss was tender, even hesitant at first, but his lips were warm and Ivy found herself responding in kind, sliding her arms around his neck and melting into his embrace with an urgency that took her by surprise.

He parted her lips with his tongue, and as she moved her hands beneath the Santa jacket she felt, then heard the buzz coming from the front pocket of his jeans.

“Nooo,” he muttered. “Not now.”

“Turn it off,” Ivy whispered, running her hands up his bare chest. “We’re busy here.”

He inhaled sharply and groaned.

“Can’t,” he whispered as he dug in his pocket for his phone.

He looked up from the caller ID screen. “It’s the boss. We’ve got an offer pending on my listing, but the buyer wants to close before the end of the year, which means I’ve got to scramble to get the contract drawn up.”

“Oh.”

He unbuttoned the jacket of the suit and quickly stepped out of the oversized pants, then folded the suit into the cardboard box. “Hate to kiss and run, but if I ignore her she’ll just keep texting.”

“It’s okay,” Ivy said. She stooped down to pick up the hat, which had somehow fallen off during their heated embrace, and handed it to him.

“Gonna need this.”

He grinned and she felt a sizzle of electricity run down her spine.

“I’ll stop by later after I get all the paperwork submitted. You know, to help get the tree set up and everything.”

“Yeah.” Ivy laughed, making a shooing motion. “That too.”

Chapter 16

The longer Ivy stared at the massive Christmas tree the more she longed to get it set up, decorated, and lit. But without a stand, that was impossible. Remembering what Ezra had said about checking for a stand in his barn, she decided to check in her own toolshed.

When she went outside to search, she was shocked at how much the temperature had plummeted. Sunday night’s snow had melted and then frozen, and the ground was icy and slick. The shed was full of rusty tools and mysterious-looking farm implements of all sorts, but there was nothing even remotely resembling a Christmas tree stand.

She decided to check on her hens before she returned to the house, to make sure that they were snug in their new home. She heard the chickens clucking as she approached the coop, and when she opened the door to check on them her girls came running excitedly toward her. She checked the water in their bowl, breaking the thin layer of ice on the surface, and distributed an extra cup of mash and placed fresh straw in their nesting boxes.