Sweet Cinderella (A Christmas Novella) (The Klaus Brothers Book 4) (8 page)

“Okay, Klaus. Spill. How’d it go today?” Shirley mixed a gigantic martini with Gregor’s superior cocktail equipment. His bar kicked ass!

“Good. And bad.” Gregor had changed into khakis and a cashmere sweater. As far as she could tell, it was his “casual” look. The casual dudley boring look. His hair was looking slightly more wind-blown than usual. And his goatee was turning a bit rough. That was interesting.

She, of course, was rocking a red flannel shirt, striped leggings, and floral boots. You could never have too many patterns. Not possible.

“What happened?”

“Hannah had a wonderful day. So did the boys. You were right about the flowers and the ice skating. All of it.” He poured himself a scotch. “And . . . um . . . I did okay, too. Once I got into the swing of things.”

Shirley frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s been a while since I went ice skating. And out for hot chocolate. I’m not used to indulging in pointless activities.”

Shirley laughed. “Pointless? You mean
fun. Fun
activities. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Haven’t you read Stephen King?”

Gregor did not look amused. “I work, Shirley. A lot. I don’t have time for fooling around.”

“Was it weird and awkward? Did you have stilted conversation? Tell me.”

“No. Nothing like that. I was just . . . rusty. But I got the hang of it. I even learned how to play Nerf basketball.” He arched a brow. “I’m looking forward to crushing Oskar.”

“You really need to get a life, Gregor. You might even find that you like it. Those
pointless activities
can be fun.”

He smiled. “I did have fun. Surprisingly.”

“And how’d you do with Hannah?”

“She’s adorable. She loved the skating and our trip to the café.” He rubbed his forehead and winced. “But she still has her doubts about us being together.”

Shirley actually felt a small bit of pity for the iceman.

“She told me she doesn’t want to see me anymore. To be honest, I’m not sure what to do.” Gregor scrubbed a weary hand over his face.

“What do you mean? We made that whole plan. You just follow the plan. You’ll be fine.” She took a sip of her drink and coughed. Holy mackerel! That was some seriously good vodka!

Gregor looked at her warily. “Hannah is so sweet. Is this really a good idea? I’m . . . manipulating her. Using the boys. Using whatever is at my disposal to get my way. That’s how I always do things. Is this . . . ethical?”

She sputtered on a gulp of vodka. “You’re joking, right? Ethical? Are you crazy? All is fair in love and war. You want Hannah, and let’s be honest. She wants you, too. She is sweet on you and she’s just running scared. You’re a good guy, a rock, responsible. You would never get her hopes up and then crush her.” Shirley narrowed her eyes at Gregor. “You wouldn’t do that, would you?” So help her, if Gregor did anything to hurt Hannah, she would personally make him pay. Damn the consequences.

He shot her a scathing look. “I’m not interested in some sort of casual fling. I want Hannah . . . long-term. For some reason that’s how this seems to work in my family. The Klaus men fall hard, they fall fast . . . they fall forever. Hannah is
mine
.”

She clucked. “Now that’s more like it, Klaus. Relentless. You have a plan to follow. Get to it.” She popped an olive into her mouth. Hannah would probably fight this, but in the end, she deserved to find love again.

Even with an Iceman.

Hannah opened the door in complete shock.

He was here. Again. Gregor Klaus was like a mosquito that just wouldn’t go away. It kept buzzing and buzzing.

Forever.

“Surprise.” Today he held a bouquet of Paperwhites and Pepperberries in his arms.

She was under siege. And falling under so fast, she was terrified.

On Monday, he’d appeared at their door and whisked Hannah and the twins off to see the sea lions at the Central Park Zoo. Then he took them out for peppermint cupcakes.

On Tuesday, they’d browsed up and down Fifth Avenue to view the holiday windows. Afterward, he’d treated them to a pizza dinner at Gino’s.

On Wednesday, he’d shown up with matinee tickets for
Elf
. The boys had exploded with excitement. It was their favorite Christmas movie. Four hours later, they were covered with greasy popcorn stains and could barely hide their adoration for Gregor Klaus. He’d shot her a smug grin as he kissed her good night.

On Thursday, he’d taken them to the New York Botanical Garden for the holiday display and train show. The boys were spellbound by the model trains, and Hannah was enchanted by the gorgeous flowers. That night he’d ushered them into an Italian bistro where the boys giggled over plates of spaghetti and she and Gregor shared a bottle of red wine. By the end of the evening, his perfect outfit was marred by stains—Matteo had accidentally dropped a meatball covered in sauce on Gregor’s designer slacks. She’d been horrified. He didn’t seem to care at all. Evidently, money was no object for Gregor Klaus. He kept purchasing tickets and food, getting them special VIP entrance to events. Things she could never hope to do.

On Friday, he’d arrived with a crew of babysitters and had spirited Hannah away for a romantic date at the Met. They’d spent hours admiring the dazzling Christmas tree and Crèche, and then exploring the myriad galleries. Gregor had pried out the story about David and his illness. He seemed genuinely concerned about her and the twins.

Every day she fell deeper and deeper into trouble. And she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. At some point he would look around their ratty apartment and think ‘
What the hell am I doing here?
’ Right? It was just a matter of time.

There was no way that ordinary Hannah and sophisticated Gregor Klaus would end up together. That only happened in her dreams.

She crossed her arms as Gregor entered the apartment. “Don’t you ever call first?”

He chuckled and handed her the flowers. “I’d rather show up in person.”

She took a deep breath and tried to remember her rehearsed speech. She looked away from his probing eyes. They saw way too much.

Hannah cleared her throat. “Unfortunately, I’m busy today. I won’t be able to spend time with you. I have to work. I have a huge backlog of papers to edit. And I’m volunteering at the animal shelter later. So . . . sorry. Maybe we could get together some other time.”
As in . . . never
. Not unless Hannah wanted to get her heart broken into a million pieces.

He said nothing. She fidgeted for a few moments, and then finally gave in and looked at his face. He was furious.

“I don’t understand you, Hannah. Why are you pushing me away?” He took a step closer and backed her up against the wall.

She huffed out a shaky laugh. “Are you kidding me? I don’t understand
you
. You could be attending an opera at the Met, and instead you’re sharing greasy popcorn with my boys at a matinee. You cannot convince me that’s your first choice for entertainment.”

He pressed his body against hers, and she gasped.

“I loved every second of that day. Watching the boys laugh at the movie, seeing your eyes shine with delight.” He leaned down until his mouth was almost touching her.
Almost.
“And I know you enjoyed it, too. I could tell.”

“Of course I did.” She darted her eyes away from his probing gaze. “I’ve been lonely.”

Gregor kissed her softly on the forehead and she struggled not to cry. “It makes me feel better knowing that you enjoyed yourself this past week.”

She finally looked into his face. “Don’t you understand? It was only supposed to be one night. Just
one
night.” Her voice cracked.

Gregor frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“The gala. I wanted one night of magic, to keep my hopes up. To help me get through the Christmas season. I wasn’t looking for anything long-term. But you keep coming back!”

His eyes blazed. “I’ll never be satisfied with just one night. Neither will you.”

“You’re wrong. I know where this is heading—the boys and me being heart-broken.” Hannah began to tremble. Every time Gregor touched her, she came alive. This was a dangerous situation. She needed to put an end to it.
Now.

She tried to push him away. He wouldn’t let her.

Relentless.
He was relentless.

Well, she could be relentless, too. And if it meant her self-preservation, she needed to step up her game.

She pushed with all of her strength and he finally backed up with a frown.

“Gregor, I’m asking you to leave. We both know this thing between us has no chance. I don’t think you’re shallow. I just think that you and I have very different lives.” She looked away from him and blinked back tears. “Please. I need to work.” She buried her face in the bouquet of flowers and inhaled their lovely scent. “Th—Thank you for the flowers.”

He leaned close to her face and whispered in her ear. “I’m leaving so you can get your work done today. But understand this.
We’re not over
.”

After the door clicked shut and Gregor stomped away, Hannah finally let the tears fall.

She wished that could be true.

C
hapter
8

Gregor was in a snit.

A big honkin’ snit.

Shirley perched on the edge of his desk—which was now covered with bowls of candy, homemade paper snowflakes, and postcards of Harry Styles—and waited for his next directive. It was clear as day that Gregor was moving onto Plan B.

She squinted her eyes. Gregor looked . . . different. A little bit mussed up. And his outfit was ridiculous. He had dark grey trousers paired with a hoodie sweatshirt that said “
I CLAP FOR SEA LIONS
” from the Central Park Zoo.

She coughed. “Nice sweatshirt, Klaus. That’s not your normal get-up.”

Gregor frowned. “The boys and I got matching sweatshirts at the zoo. They loved the sea lion show.”

“Nice. Pretty soon you’ll be wearing ratty blue jeans.”

Gregor shot her a look to kill. “Enough about my clothes. We need to talk. I did everything you suggested. I took Hannah and the boys to all of their favorite activities. We had an intimate date. I tried to show her that we’re compatible, but she’s fighting me.” He downed a generous gulp of Scotch. “No matter what I do or say, she’s running scared.”

“Well, you are sort of a scary guy.”

Gregor stalked over to his desk and Shirley cringed.

“Just kidding. Not really scary. More like . . . a little bit intimidating . . .”

“Enough!”

Gregor yelled it loud enough to make her jump. “Calm down. We’ll figure this out.”

“I know what I have to do. I’m just not sure how to do it.” Gregor had a gleam in his eye that made her nervous.

“What are you talking about?” She unwrapped a banana-flavored sucker and popped it into her mouth. Time for anxiety-candy-consumption.

“It’s time to seduce Hannah. She practically melts when I touch her. If I could just have one night with her, I know I could convince her that we belong together.”

“Ewwww. Yuck. I totally don’t want to hear about this part.” Shirley covered her ears. “La la la la la . . . I can’t hear you.”

Gregor ripped her hands off her ears. “Hey. I need some help.”

“Oh, no. Gross. I am not helping you with—”

Gregor rolled his eyes. “I need help with a spell.
Zeit einfrieren
.”

Her eyebrows shot up to her forehead. “
Zeit einfrieren
? Time Freeze? Why do you need that spell?”

“Hannah would never leave the boys alone for a whole night. She feels guilty enough about the gala. But if that Time Freeze really works, we wouldn’t have a problem.” Gregor planted both hands on his desk and boxed Shirley in. “Can you get it to work?”

She let out a long breath. “Yeah. I think so. It makes time freeze in the Sudenwelt, so that anything you do during the spell takes place in exactly one second of Suddie time. You could literally spend months with Hannah under the spell, and when she gets home, it will be exactly one second later in real time.” Shirley tossed the lollipop into a trash can. “It’s a pretty cool spell, actually. One time—”