Quinton didn't know how much more of this he could take. No, he wasn't referring to Kiara sniffing what felt like all the candles that the quaint shop in Gale, Colorado had to offer but to being a fraud. Under the calm facade of his chipper demeanor his nerves were riddled like a second-grade teacher's the day before Winter break. He had trained for situations like this. He'd completed three successful assignments like this but somehow his current situation felt different. Beneath the lies in his mind, he had to personify, he knew the reason for his difficulty was because of the feelings he developed for the woman before him reaching for yet another candle.

"Mmm," She hummed after a deep inhalation of the soy wax mold like a reindeer then turn the concoction to his nose.

He leaned forward and took a whiff instinctually ignoring the fact that she was rewiring the fibers of his being; the objective of his mission took a backseat while her felicity and safety were paramount.

"Peach Cobbler?" He guessed and she nodded pulling the candle to her for another smell. He grinned at the smile drawing on her face, the face that visited most of his dreams once her was assigned to the case almost a year ago. "Is that synonymous with Christmas?"

She shrugged depositing the reindeer in the shopping caddy he carried with a strong grip because of its growing girth. "Anything sweet and cinnamony is Christmassy to me."

And that was good enough reasoning for him, "We should make that for dessert tonight."

"We?" She stated with glee and curiosity stopping in her tracks. "How is that going to happen when you can't bake?"

Yes, I can. I worked in a bakery during high school to pay for repairs on the used car my parents picked up on a lot for two grand. But that was Amir Brooks not Quinton Frazier.

He ignored the truth that fought to resurface and uttered, "But I'm a fast learner."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes playfully then surveyed the line at the counter ahead. "Let me checkout before Uncle Sam cuts us off." She held out her hand.

He fished the card from his back pocket but didn't release it when she tugged at it. "You got to pay the fee first."

Kiara's eyebrows knitted leaning back as her hand still clung to the card, "Fee?"

"Yes, fee." He smirked coyly, his eyes lowering to her lush lips then back to her mesmerizing brown eyes.

"You really trying to get that second kiss aren't you." She shook her head as if he should be ashamed of his self but the smile that grew on her face told him she wasn't annoyed at all.

"By any means necessary."

"You better be happy I kinda, sorta like you." She playfully rolled her eyes then lifted the heels of her snow boot covered feet to give him a peek he wished was a second longer.

"On the cheek?"

"A kiss is a kiss." She wiped the card from his grasp and heading to the line.

"Newlyweds?"

Quinton turned to the direction the robust voice came from to view a husky middle-aged man and quipped, "Yes. How can you tell?"

"The little flirting all in the open." He flicked the Santa hat on the Nutcracker that danced to "Joy to the World" when you pulled down its jaw. "And we heard a new couple rented the Miller's cabin." He extended his hand, "Ivan Wallace."

Quinton shook the man's hand, his mind rolled through the Rolodex of identities he inhabited and replied, "Nicholas Cane but you can call be Nick."

"Nick." The man orated his name if he was trying to commit it to memory then released his hand. "How long are you and your beautiful wife going to be in town?"

"Four days." He answered pushing his hand in the pocket of the puffer vest remembering the reason why his handler and he created the fictious dating profile to begin with. "We're from Texas and she wanted to experience a real White Christmas."

"Well, we have enough white for ya." He glanced over his shoulder out the window viewing the heaps of snow the plow pushed to the side earlier that morning.

Quinton nodded in agreement then the man continued with an excited wag of his finger, "You know I'd be a bad neighbor if I didn't invite you to this little event my wife plans every year around this time with a sleigh ride through pines. You can see the Flatirons in the distance. She'll love it." He nodded to Kiara standing in the slow-moving line perusing the objects strategically placed near the checkout counter. "They'll be s'mores, hot cocoa, and enough firewood to keep warm. We're a small community but the town will shows out."

"Really," Quinton's eyebrows as if he was being enlightened of information he hadn't already been brief on. "Good to know. But we already made plans for tonight."

"Good thing it's tomorrow night then." Ivan tapped his shoulder.

"Okay." He nodded eagerly knowing the fact beforehand. It was the many reasons he insisted they came to town making their presence known so he could get to know the locals in search of the mastermind he'd been hunting for months and the murderous elf Kiara saw. "We'll be there."

"Good. Good." The man said catching sight of a woman with graying hair that beckoned for him with a quick gesture of her hand.

Quinton turned back to the line seeing Kiara was closer to the counter contemplating how he was going to get her to agree to spending an evening in a caravan through the snow. All he knew was he had to be there and he couldn't leave her alone.