I blush. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I should make you laugh more,” he tells me. Vincent seems like he wants to say more. “So do you know why my feelings toward Christmas are the way they are?”

I nod. “Yes, Ariel told me, since Rig told her, so it made it easier to understand. I don’t like it, but I understand.”

Vincent scrunches his eyebrows together in confusion. “Why does it matter so much to you? It’s just a holiday.”

“It isn’t just a holiday. It’s magic. That feeling you get when you wake up on Christmas morning to see the tree all lit up, and presents beneath the tree, and the stockings hung by the chimney with care, and…”

Vincent scoffs. “Let me guess. They hope that St. Nicholas soon would be there? I’ve heard this same song and dance before. It is not a happy time for me. Sorry to disappoint you.”

Now I’m getting angry. He’s just going to brush it off. “You can’t hate Christmas forever!”

“I disagree since it has caused me nothing but pain in the past, and unfortunately, the present.”

This is getting me nowhere. “Care to be up to a challenge?”

He raises an eyebrow. “A challenge? Sweetheart, I’m Vincent Henderson. I never back down from a challenge. It’s in my DNA.”

“Good, then we’ll go to the mall. And if you don’t love everything in the mall that has to do with Christmas, I’ll back off, and secretly love the holiday from afar. But, if you love it, I get the satisfaction of being right and bestowing the love of Christmas back into you. Deal?” I extend my hand out to shake his hand. Vincent seems unsure, but grins wide and grabs my hand. Instead of shaking it, he pulls me forward until I’m flush against his hard body. I inhale when his lips gently brush against mine. My breath hitches at the soft caress. His hand comes up and brushes softly against my cheek before closing his mouth over mine, stealing my breath in a kiss. Just as I go to deepen the kiss, he breaks the kiss and teasingly smiles.

“You’ve got yourself a deal, firecracker.