Ben pulled the pillow over his head, trying desperately to ignore the incessant buzz of his alarm. He flung his hand out but it wasn’t his alarm. He squinted at the clock. “That better be 7:50 p.m.,” he muttered.

The shrill ring of his doorbell finally scraped at his consciousness. “Fucking fuck.” Whoever was leaning on it as though it was their job was going to pay. He’d been up sketching until after three. And it was his goddamn day off. He fumbled out of bed and nearly walked down the stairs before he remembered that he slept in the raw.

That was one way to get rid of whoever was at the door.

He tugged on a pair of workout shorts and a shirt before shuffling down the stairs. When the blasted bell went off again he growled his way to the door and swung it open. “What the hell do you— Oh, for God’s sake, I promised I’d take down the lights today, not at eight in the fucking morning.”

His landlord winced and twisted her fingers together. “Actually,” she pointed to the note on the door, “I left that this morning before I left for work. And now I have an even bigger problem.”

A jaw-popping yawn was his first answer. “Look, Miss Tucker—”

“Darcy.”

“Darcy.” He decided he liked the way it felt on his tongue. And that was dangerous. He should have stayed in goddamn bed. His landlady’s teeth chattered as she held the collar of her coat up under her chin. Sunny yellow hair whipped around her face. In the searing light of day, her pretty eyes were even more captivating. And that little tidbit was a sure sign that he needed coffee. Now. “Do you want to come in?”

She was going to saw her damn bottom lip off before she answered, so he reached out and took her arm, dragging her inside. “It’s freezing.”

“Didn’t you get the email that it’s winter?”

Ben looked down at himself and then back at her. “I was sleeping. You’re lucky I have this on.”

Those evergreen eyes widened and a bit of his grumpiness slipped away. Maybe she wanted a better look at him. “I know, and I hate to bother you, truly. Truly,” she repeated. “I know we kind of got off on the wrong foot yesterday.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Actually, I think your foot might still be in my ass from yesterday.”

Darcy brought her cupped hands up to her lips and blew into them. “Can we sit for a minute?” She looked around his living room. “I mean if that’s okay.”

“It’s your house,” he said, stepping down into the living room. Three large boxes of decorations were clustered around the fireplace. “You made that clear yesterday.”

She hunched up her shoulders. “I had a really awful day yesterday, and it’s no excuse, but I came home to find that Christmas threw up on my house.” She sighed and sank into his couch. “It wasn’t my finest hour.”

He sat across from her. Luckily he’d actually picked up the house yesterday. Christmas decorating always equaled a major overhaul inside and out. “No, but I should have mentioned it to you, I suppose.”

It was her house, as she’d explained. But he did use LED lights to keep down the cost. Anything he did wouldn’t have increased her electricity bill more than a few pennies.

She slid off her coat. A lightweight gray sweater hugged her shoulders and scooped low on her neck to emphasize her collar bone and elegant neck. Not the right time to notice all of your favorite spots on a woman, Hartley. Especially this woman.

Darcy pushed up her sleeves and leaned forward. “Speaking of those decorations.”

He sighed, leaning back and lacing his fingers over his belly. “I told you I’d take them down.”

“No, actually. I’d left you the note to leave most of them up. Maybe tone them down to a more traditional look, but keep most of them.”

He sat up. “Why the change?”

“Once I’d calmed down I thought about how much work you’d done and how much Carly loved your decorations. She’s the head of the beautification program for Oakwood Gardens.”

She was too much. She didn’t care about the work he’d done. “So now you’re in with the bigwigs and all is fine?”

“Not the bigwigs, just the Association. They’re always on me to decorate with the rest of the neighborhood. You saved me the trouble.”

“Glad I can be of service.”

She blinked. “I didn’t mean it that way.” Darcy rubbed her forehead. “Look, you’re brilliant.”

Ben laughed. He didn’t need his rather lovely landlady to stroke his ego. “It’s okay, I get it. Since you hate Christmas, it’s a tough sell.”

“Hating Christmas is a major understatement, but it’s for a good reason.”

Ben quirked his brow. “There’s no good reason to hate Christmas.”

“I work retail—at a department store.”

Ben leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Okay, you might have a reason to dislike it, but hate it? C’mon. With all those happy kids and the—”

“The miserable mothers with children they’ve dragged to every store since they opened? Or would I love the kids that that are let loose in the store like it’s their own personal playground? Or better yet, that parents think the toy department is a daycare and can just let the kids play there unsupervised while they shop?”

“Okay,” he held up his hand, “I get it.” He had a feeling there was still more to it.

“And that brings me back to why I’m here. A holiday hiccup that is making my boss twitchy has landed in my lap and I’m wondering if you could help me.”

“Oh yeah, the deal is sweet as hell from where I’m standing, darlin’. You deign to let me keep up my ornaments and now you want a favor?”

Darcy’s chin dropped to her chest. A hank of lemon-blonde hair fell out of her messy twist. Texture was his downfall and between the fluffy soft sweater and her finger-grip-worthy hair, he should jam his hands under his thighs before he did something stupid.

She made a huffing sigh sound. “I’m not doing this right.”

Ben stood up. The urge to brush her hair back and tell her everything was going to be all right made him itchy. “What’s the problem?” He hated to see anyone miserable. That was all. But then again, she hated Christmas. And that just wasn’t natural.

She peered up at him through heavy bangs. “I need your talents at the store. Can you do what you did to the front of my house on a fifteen-foot spruce?”

He rubbed at his biceps. “Wait, did I just hear you right? You want me to come to your store and—”

“Make Christmas explode all over my front end. Money isn’t an object.” Her words came out in a rush.

Ben grinned. The absolute misery on her face was epic. “And I get full creative control?”

She nibbled at her lip again and Ben wanted to brush his thumb over the full, raspberry-colored flesh. And that wasn’t going to happen. She’d probably bite his finger off.

Darcy lifted her chin. “Within reason.”

He had a feeling within reason meant micromanaging him into a safe little display like every other store. “Sorry, darlin’. I’m not interested.”

She stood quickly. “Okay, wait. You can have as much creative control as I can get out of my boss. How’s that?”

He drummed his fingers on his arm. Her eyes drifted to his chest, then his arm and back up to his face. He tucked his hands under his arms. And again, her eyes strayed to his sleeve of ink. Maybe the good little girl next door liked tattoos. “I only have today.”

“That’s perfect, because I need it done today.”

Maybe it was her earnest eyes that were just a little wild, or maybe it was the fact that she’d swallowed her pride to come and ask him to help her, or maybe he was just insane. He heard himself say, “All right. Turn your pretty butt around and go back to work. I have to go shopping.”

Her mouth hung open. “Pretty butt?”

“Well, it is. I got an eyeful when you were tearing apart my work.”

“I—” She cut herself off with a shake of her head. Dammit, she was cute when she was all flustered. “All right. It’s Blackstone’s Department Store.”

He whistled. Blackstone’s was old family money. “Really? And you want me to decorate it?”

“I need Christmas perfection and that seems to be you.”

He laughed. “Now it suits you that I’m a Christmas freak?”

“Yes.”

“Just like that?”

“Look, Ben…can I call you Ben?”

“I think you should at this point.”

“This very unruly and very miserable customer tore through the store with his daughter’s bike and took out half the front of the store’s decorations. Desperate doesn’t cover it.”

Ben’s breath stalled in his chest. That was coincidence. “Daughter’s bike?”

She tucked her hands into her sleeves. “Yes. He lost it. I just can’t get over how upset he was.”

“And you didn’t call the cops?”

“We did, but we don’t have a good image of him on our video surveillance. And in the commotion, I didn’t get a license or ID.”

Ben rubbed his biceps again. Christ. It couldn’t be. “Okay, darlin’. Why don’t you go back to the store. I need to get some supplies and my computer.”

“Why?” She shook her head. “And stop calling me darlin’.”

He smirked at her. It kept slipping off his tongue. “Now that I know it bugs you, I definitely won’t.”

Her eyes flattened and her nostrils flared.

He smiled wider. “You’re kinda gorgeous when you’re mad.”

She made a disgusted snort and turned. “If I wasn’t in such a bind I’d—”

“You’d what?”

She picked up her coat and stuffed her arms into the holes before he could think about holding the jacket for her. “I’d have the lights off the front of the house so freaking fast.”

“Temper, temper, Miss Tucker.”

“I hate Christmas!” She stalked to the door and jerked it open.

“Hey, wait.”

She swung around, a lock of hair falling into her face before she blew it away. He grinned at her and plucked a scarf off his coat rack. “It’s freezing out there.” He wound the simple navy fleece around her neck.

Her eyes widened before she muttered a thank you as she stomped down the stairs. He watched her go. Superior ass didn’t even cover it.

Ben swiped his hand over his jaw. He was well past scruffy and headed for beard. The tattoos and the rough face probably wouldn’t go over well. He climbed the stairs two at a time and started planning as he quickly shaved and showered. He scrubbed a towel over his hair and body, swiping it over the fogged up mirror. His hair was too shaggy. It was all right when he was beardy, but now he looked like a boy band reject.

“Stupid baby face,” he muttered, splashing aftershave on with a hiss. With a grunt, he slapped the towel over the bar and went into his bedroom to pick over his clothes. After five minutes of staring, he grabbed his usual jeans. He was not dressing up for this woman or her store. For fuck’s sake, it was bad enough that he’d shaved.

He dragged a long-sleeved thermal down from his armoire, then tucked it back in. No way was he covering up his tats too. It was going to be hot as hell in the store. He pulled on a black t-shirt and snaked his skull belt through his loops. He wasn’t changing for any damn woman, let alone one that worked for corporate America.

He gathered the soundboard he’d soldered together. He’d been working on an in-house treatment like his outside setup. It was modified to play a softer version of the songs, and could be synchronized with other lights in the house. From the banisters to the mantel to the tree, it could all be set up to play songs in a series or as few as one an hour. Perfecting the kit had taken years.

He was going to give it a test drive in his house, but the department store would be a better plan. With a little ingenuity he could show it off and maybe sell a few kits by next year. He stacked his soldering tools into his soft-sided duffel and tucked in the board and his laptop. On the way, he stopped at a home store and bought bulk lights. Unsure whether she needed more than that, he tossed a few animatronic deer in the basket along with beach ball-sized ornaments.

If there was one thing Ben knew, it was color. He’d gone to school for graphics but had fallen in love with the tattoo gun halfway through his sophomore year. He’d altered his degree to hone his talents in illustration and color theory. And decorating an arm was no different than decorating a tree. It was all about the right colors. He grabbed balls in varying tones of gold and red. The purples and blues were too close to the shade of a spruce’s green needles. The warm colors would make for a better pop.

A few more oversized ornaments and he moved on to the fat retro lights. He liked the blend of new and old. The red and gold would make for a great traditional palette that would work well for a department store.

A few hundred dollars in the hole and he was back in his truck. Blackstone’s was close to the big box stores on the strip. He pulled in and parked around the back of the store. A beefy guy hopped off a forklift and tipped his sweaty ball cap back. “Can I help ya?”

“I’m looking for Darcy Tucker.”

He looked from Ben to the truck and back. “For?”

“Christmas display.”

“Oh yeah. She mentioned to be on the lookout for you. Need help with the supplies?”

“If you have a pallet jack and a big bin I should be able to back up the truck and we can do it in one go.”

The guy looked as if he could bench-press him with a truck to spare, but when he grinned, his face transformed and he looked like a happy puppy. “Can do. I’m Petey.”

“I’m Ben.”

“Pleased to meet ya.” Petey scratched his head and replaced his hat. “You’re going to save Darcy’s bacon. Our boss is on a rampage for the store to be showroom-ready for the holiday weekend. Even has a Santa coming in to appease the kids as the parents shop.”

Ben loved Christmas but there was no way he was coming out after Thanksgiving in the mess of retail hell. He did most of his shopping online.

“Well, let’s see if we can get the store in fighting shape. I’ll pull around the truck.”

Ben backed in and the two of them unloaded his supplies in a few minutes. Petey jacked up the bin and pulled the crate in for him. “Miss Blackstone will freak if I let you do it. Store policy and all.”

“Ah.” Ben nodded agreeably and followed the burly man. He chattered on aimlessly and Ben listened with half an ear. He was already plotting the store makeover. And adding to his shopping list.

The department store wasn’t exactly on his top ten places to shop so he was unfamiliar with just how large it was. The Christmas tree dominated the front. Even without all the garlands and lights she was magnificent. Full and a deep green. Very much like Darcy’s eyes.

He frowned.

Not why he was here. He had a job to do, and he needed to keep his eye on the prize. Perfecting the display would go a long way in helping out his financial situation. The lights had started out as a bit of fun, but if he could get that moving maybe he’d actually be able to build his house fund again. He didn’t regret going into business with his best friend Cesar, but he hadn’t been prepared for just how much of a financial drain it could be. Especially when his partner preferred partying to worrying about overhead.

He came around the bend and the entirety of the registers and shoppers came into view. It was still early in the day but there were a few people shopping already. He spotted Darcy speaking to a coworker. The minute she realized he was there her entire body language changed. She actually stood taller, if that was possible. It was a novelty to have a woman be nearly the same height as him.

Made for a few interesting ideas.

No.

No ideas.

As she walked toward him, he decided a few ideas weren’t necessarily a bad thing. Her legs were distracting as hell. She had a loose-limbed grace that he rarely saw outside the models that frequented his shop. But without the arrogance.

And the pull he felt was annoying. She ate up the length of store between them. Slim navy pants made her legs look even longer. There wasn’t an ounce of gawkiness to Darcy Tucker. In fact, she had more curves than he’d originally thought. She hid under shapeless clothes most of the time.

“Thanks so much for coming, Mr. Hartley.”

“Considering you’ve seen me before my toothbrush, I think Ben will do.”

Her friend joined them and her eyebrows rose at his last statement. The silent conversation that ensued between Darcy and her coworker was fascinating. He had a feeling Darcy was going to have some explaining to do. And he decided he liked that she blushed and wouldn’t look him in the eye.

The little dark-haired woman peered up at him. “So, Gigantor. Are you going to fix our store?”

Ben smiled wide and held out his hand. “I’m sure going to try. You are…”

She blinked and shook his hand. Her dark eyes took in his tats. People couldn’t help but look. The bright red, green and blue ink was meant to attract attention. Cesar was a genius with ink and used him as a test subject to try out the brighter and deeper inks that were coming out. “Jaime.”

“Pleasure.” He clapped his hands together and both women pried their eyes away from his ink sleeve. “Now, where’s all my power? I’ve got work to do.”

Darcy kicked into action. Those long legs headed to the bare tree. “I see you have some materials already.”

He followed her over to the tree. Keeping his eyes at the back of her head was far more difficult than it should have been. “Yeah, just some foundational things. I’m going to need more. So what exactly can I get my hands on?”

Son of a bitch, he needed to stop thinking about his hands and this woman.

Intent on her body language, his chest tightened. Darcy linked her fingers together, her knuckles going white before her grip loosened. She tapped one thumbnail against the other. His girl was nervous.

“Right. Well, I—” she turned to him, “I just have to say one thing first. I really don’t know how I’m going to thank you, Ben. I can finesse a schedule tighter than a marine sergeant, but you ask me to do this and… Well, I’m just lost.”

Surprised that she’d own up to not being able to do something, he jammed his hands into his pockets. He didn’t want her thanks. The minute she mentioned the broken bike and ragey behavior, he’d had a really bad feeling. Blackstone’s was right around the corner from the shop his brother worked at. And just how many little girls had a bike injury out there right now? There had to be a few. It was a common thing for kids—he was just being paranoid.

His niece Brittany was the only thing that his brother John cared about. Add in his already dodgy behavior and it wouldn’t surprise him to find out his brother had done something stupid.

Now Ben just had to figure out a way to make sure John didn’t get into any more trouble.

He punched up the wattage of his smile, pleased to see a return bend to her distracting mouth. A little too pleased. She had a mouth made for a long, hot kissing session followed by a bottle of wine and a whole lot of sweaty foreplay. And damn if he didn’t like foreplay.

Foreplay and Darcy Tucker was not a good idea. He had to remember that.

“I’ll just put you down in the ‘you owe me one’ column and collect later.” Fucking hell. He was not going to collect later.

She tucked her hands into her sleeves. There sure must be something interesting about her shoes, because she kept staring at them. “Sounds good to me.”

He laughed. “That was a joke.”

“No, I pay what I owe. And this is business.”

“It’s a favor for a friend.”

She finally met his gaze. “We’re not friends.”

That only made him smile wider. “We could be if you did more than grunt at me on your way into your side of the house.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You’re no better.”

“We’re both to blame.”

She took a deep breath. He watched her consciously relax her shoulders and draw in two breaths. “I will be deeply in your debt if you pull this off.”

“Darlin’, there’s no if. This will be awesome.”

The corner of her mouth twitched. “Confident.”

“This is my element.”

“I seem to remember.”

He couldn’t stop grinning at her. “Let’s see if I can outdo our house.”

Her pupils dilated and her gaze dropped to his mouth. “My house.”

She certainly wouldn’t let him forget. “Your house,” he said with a shrug.

She took a step back. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Before she could disappear, he touched her arm. The softness of her sweater lured him closer. “What am I allowed to play with?”

She licked her lips. “Sorry?”

He quirked a brow. “What areas do you want me to work on besides the tree?”

“Right.” She cleared her throat and looked around. The front end was neat and tidy but as sterile as a doctor’s office. “The surrounding platform. The chair that will have Santa on it. And the checkout stations. Just make sure that the cashiers can move around easily and that customers won’t trip.”

“I’ll concentrate on the tree area and do the register stations after hours. What time do you close?”

“Oh.” She looked more than uncomfortable. He was going to impress the hell out of her and he couldn’t wait. “Nine.”

“Okay, I’ll work on the big stuff. I’ll need to go out for more supplies. Do you want me to bring you back lunch?”

“I—” She looked so surprised at such a simple kindness. There was no way a beautiful woman like her wouldn’t be used to male attention. It just couldn’t be possible.

“I have to get something for myself anyway,” he said, trying to alleviate whatever it was that wouldn’t let her ask for help. Knocking on his door must have really burned her ass.

“You don’t need to trouble yourself.”

“We’ll need to talk over the plan sometime. Might as well eat while we’re doing it.” Christ, what was it about her that made him want to push for more? Not good, Hartley. Not good at all.

“I brought my lunch.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

She unearthed a small electronic tablet from a holster at her hip and hugged it to her chest. “If you need anything just flag me down. I’ll be running around most of the day.”

He nodded and moved to the bin. Petey had brought him up a ladder and a shaggy-haired man hovered along the sidelines. He was average in every way except the way he watched Darcy. That, Ben didn’t like.

At all.