Holiday Sparks Read Online Free PDF Page B

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.
    And no.
    No ideas.
    As he watched her walk 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