Snow One Like You Read Online Free Page B

he
asked.
    She bit down on her bottom lip,
decided, “Fragrances. There will still be holiday parties through
the first of the year. Scent is all part of dressing
up.”
    “ My grandmother wore Bed of
Roses.” He scrunched his nose. “A little overpowering. I knew
exactly where she was or had been at any given moment.”
    “ Sometimes a spritz goes a
long way.”
    “ You always smell nice,” he
said without thinking.
    “ Romance ,” she gave him the name. “The
scent of poetry, linen sheets, and soft breezes. Or so the
fragrance claims.”
    Linen sheets appealed to him. Soft
fabric twisted around naked bodies. He exhaled sharply, and walked
away while he still could. Before his erection stood at attention.
Again.
    The overhead lights blinked while he
was in the storeroom. Twice. Recovered. He located the box she’d
requested. Returned. He removed the masking tape, flipped back the
flaps. “Shelf or glass table?” he asked her.
    “ Table. No straight lines.
Stagger the bottles. Be creative.”
    Creative, huh? There were only six
bottles, and he decided to test each one.
    “ Do so lightly,” Allie
warned, with his first spray.
    He kept at it. Alone, the
lavender of Promise Her Anything smelled delicate and womanly. Adding the
sandalwood of Hollywood Legend cleared his sinuses. The clove of Regal , along with the
iris oils, tweed talc, and sharp lemon in the remaining three,
created a strong, unpleasant odor. One that made him sneeze. Then
cough. His eyes watered. “My creativity stinks.”
    Allie glanced his way. She fanned her
face. “Retail is not your calling. They’re not supposed to be worn
together. There’s pine air freshener under the kitchen sink,” she
said. “You can finish the display later.” She sneezed herself.
“Much later.”
    He located the freshener, sprayed the
mixed fragrances out of the air. Forest remained. Outdoorsy. A bit
strong, but far better.
    She laughed at him then. “You’ve never
worked a fragrance counter, have you?”
    “ Can’t say that I
have.”
    “ I did, in college. Janice Jayne’s Boutique .
Part-time. The skin absorbs oils. Showers didn’t help. I was a
scented-advertisement for all women. The sexy, athletic, shy,
dreamer, smart, sassy, homemaker and career-minded.”
    “ I liked you best when you
worked at Benji’s Burgers during high school. You smelled like French
fries.”
    “ Grease stuck with me,
too.”
    “ Nothing was worse than
when I mucked stalls for Randall Kane’s sleigh horses. I did the
Road Apple Two-step all summer. My boots were never
clean.”
    She grinned at him. “We’ve had some
crazy jobs.”
    “ That we have.” He liked
her smile. Honest. Happy. Sincere. There wasn’t a phony bone in her
body.
    He winked. Slow. Effortlessly. He
valued their friendship. Steadfast and long-standing. They’d taken
care of each other. Always. One kiss had changed everything. For
the better, he hoped. Only a second would tell where they stood.
Physically and emotionally.
    “ Next trip?” he asked,
returning to the storeroom.
    “ Box marked
hats.”
    He tucked the long, rectangular box
under his arm on his way back. He cracked it open. Looked inside.
Found an accumulation of styles. “Where do you want
them?”
    She pursed her lips. Thoughtful.
“Santa and elf hats and reindeer antler headbands go in the sale
bin near the front door. Spread out the New Year’s Eve items. Lots
of glitz.”
    He got sidetracked, and played a
little. A Santa hat went on his head, and he took Allie a pair of
reindeer antlers. Gently placing them on her. They looked at each
other and laughed. The first real laughter between them in two
weeks. It felt good. This happy connection. Relaxed and
fun-loving.
    “ You look silly,” she told
him.
    “ You need a red nose with
those antlers.”
    “ Rudolph. My
hero.”
    “ He’ll need GPS to locate
Snowbound in this blizzard.” Howling rose beyond the window pane.
“That wind is wicked.”
    Rhys went back to the box