All I Want For Christmas: A Sweet Serenade Christmas Novella by Janalyn Voigt Page A

perfect.”
    Showing him around her turf held a certain appeal, but she wasn’t ready to commit to anything at the moment. A change of subject seemed safest. “So, what did you buy me for Christmas?”
    “Something special.”
    “Care to give me a hint?”
    “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
    “Well, I’m not buying you anything.” She tried her best to hide her smile. He was always talking about the garden he cherished, so rather than purchasing his present, she’d crafted a hanging birdbath featuring a jumping dolphin to give him.
    “Is that so?” He cocked an eyebrow with an expression on his face that told her he was onto her.
    The smile broke out anyway. She’d never been any good at hiding her feelings. “Well maybe a candy bar.”She glanced at her watch and yelped. “I have to go. There’s a meeting with the new manager. Something about revising our forms.”
    “Sounds fascinating.”
    “Don’t laugh. In insurance, forms are a big deal.” She jumped to her feet.
    “I’ll take your word for it.” He held the door for her and followed her outside onto the sidewalk. The Belltown district was quiet this early, with only the occasional car swishing past on the street. “How many managers does that make now?”
    “I’ve lost count.” The high turnover rate at her company should lead to opportunities for someone like her. Except that wasn’t how it was working out.
    “You’re prettier without the frown.”
    She raised a shoulder, at a loss for a reply to such a backhanded compliment.
    “See you Monday.” He stepped backward, ready to turn.
    “Monday.” She raised her half-finished mocha in salute, then followed the sidewalk for two blocks to the towering building clad in black marble where G. W. Brown, Incorporated occupied the penthouse suite. She punched in the security code and pushed the glass lobby door inward, then tossed her empty cup into a trash can. One of the elevators opened with a bing. She stepped inside, grateful no one else was waiting. Riding the elevator up so many floors still made her a little nervous even after three years of working for Brown. Stopping and starting at other floors made the ride take longer. The car bumped upward to the twentieth floor, where it binged again as the doors slid open. Hailey stepped out with relief.
    “Hold that elevator!” a familiar voice called as the man of her dreams hurried down the hallway toward her. Corey Wilson’s dark suit showed off his athletic build, and his blue-and-beige tie matched his eyes and hair.
    She stared at him for several heartbeats, but then recovered enough to put out a hand and keep the doors from sliding shut.
    He dove past and turned inside the elevator, flashing his perfect teeth in a smile. “Thanks.”
    The elevator doors thumped shut between them.
    Hailey released the breath she hadn’t known she was holding. The man was gorgeous, but that was the most he’d said to her in a month. He was too busy chasing Evangeline in the claims department. Hailey shoved the dreary little thought aside, but it dogged her all the way to her desk.

Chapter 2
     
    “Do you remember issuing the homeowner policy for Robert and Sarah Owens?” Taylor Davis hissed the question.
    “Huh?” Wrenching her mind from the Lloyds of London policy open on the desk in front of her, Hailey peered at the woman chewing her lower lip. Wearing a gray tweed suit that complimented wings of gray that swept back from her forehead, Taylor certainly knew how to dress for success. That must have been what landed her the underwriter position.
    Think charitable thoughts, Hailey. Mother would have said. She tapped her pen on the desk just to make it click. “I remember the policy.”
    “What should I say about the pond? The agent is on the line asking if the homeowners can be exempted from fencing it in because they have no children.”
    The woman had to have lied on her employment application. Why else would she be ignorant of a basic