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got to work on their drinks as the one at the window said, “That’ll be four fifty.”
    Levi handed him a hundred-dollar bill.
    The guy stared at it. “Dude, I can’t make change for that.”
    “Keep it.” Levi pushed the money across the counter.
    “You want to pay me a hundred dollars for two cups of cocoa,” the guy clarified.
    “It’s a fundraiser, right?” Levi said. “That’s my donation.”
    The guy was still looking at him strangely, but he took the money. “Well, then you can have free refills. Forever.”
    Levi grinned and accepted the two cups. “Deal.”
    He offered one to Hailey.
    Hailey Conner. She was the mayor here. He wondered how people would feel about their mayor getting kissed by the stranger in the town square.
    “You okay?” he asked when he realized she was staring at him.
    “Stunned, actually.”
    He smiled and sipped. The hot chocolate was delicious. Practically perfect. But it would never beat the taste of this woman’s lips. “That was a hell of a kiss.”
    She nodded. “And that was a lot to pay for hot chocolate.”
    “I have a feeling this will be the best hot chocolate of my life.”
    Her eyes widened at that. “Have you had a lot of hot chocolate over the years?”
    And just like that it was clear they weren’t talking about hot chocolate. He grinned. “Probably more than my share.”
    She gave a little snort like that didn’t surprise her. Levi had been told before that he gave off a womanizing vibe. Whatever that meant. He didn’t know any other way to be. None of the men in his family knew any other way to be. They loved women and women loved them, and Levi hadn’t been raised to see that as anything other than awesome.
    They walked toward the middle of the square. Around the gazebo, there were several benches and a surprising number of them were occupied. There were actually a number of people in the square. Families with kids at the gingerbread house and petting the reindeer. Couples walking hand in hand or cuddling on the benches, cups of various hot drinks in hand. Clearly, the people in Sapphire Falls were used to the brisk temperatures.
    Or maybe it was that he was from Vegas and his hide was too thin for the cold air. By this time next year he’d be adjusted, he thought with a grin. He took in the scene before him and a deep breath of what he could only describe as Christmassy air. It was, admittedly, a cozy scene, and Levi was suddenly a fan of colder weather. What a great reason to get a pretty girl in his arms.
    The square was brightly lit. The four huge trees were completely decked out from tip to trunk in lights and ornaments—some of which also lit up. The street lamp posts were all twisted with tinsel that sparkled and reflected the lights. Then there were the giant lighted candy canes, plastic oversized ornaments, and the gingerbread house that had lights around the eaves like any good home in a Christmassy small town.
    “Want to sit?” he asked, indicating a bench that faced one of the trees. She’d wanted a tree, he’d brought her to the middle of four gigantic ones. That was how Levi did things—big, bright and better.
    He frowned. He might need to squelch those urges a bit. If Phoebe was any indication of the women in Sapphire Falls, they weren’t impressed with overspending and big flashy gestures. Phoebe was down to earth. It stood to reason that a friend of hers would be the same.
    They sat on the wooden bench and Levi stretched his arm along the back behind Hailey’s shoulders. She cuddled up against his side and he felt the heart he’d recently rediscovered expand.
    This was nice.
    This was the freaking epitome of nice.
    He could get used to this.
    They could sit here in the spring and look at the tulips coming up around the gazebo. They could come in the summer and watch the Ferris wheel turn. He knew there was a Ferris wheel from Joe’s photos of the summer festival that went on each June. Hell, they could ride the Ferris