Miracle Under the Mistletoe. Tracy Madison

here.”

      He entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing a couple of beers before sitting down at the kitchen table. Jasper, who must have heard the commotion, came in to investigate. Seeing Grady, he leapt into his lap with a meow.

      “Well, then let’s talk.” Grady scratched the area between the cat’s ears. Jasper purred like an engine going into overdrive and snuggled in. The traitor. “Maybe we can work something out.”

      She narrowed her eyes. Her husband was absolutely up to something, but damned if she could figure out what. She hated—oh, how she hated—when he had the upper hand. She almost grabbed her keys and left him there alone, but what would that prove? Only that he’d driven her out of her house. With her cat in his lap, no less. Uh-uh.

      Giving in, she took the seat across from him. “What do you want? Is it Jasper? Do you want my cat, Grady?”

      “Hmm. I hadn’t thought about Jasper, but yeah, maybe I do.” He slid a beer over to her. “Have a drink. Let’s see what we can come up with that will be beneficial to both of us.”

      She twisted the cap off the bottle but didn’t take a drink. “You obviously want something. Just tell me what it is.”

      “I think the first question to answer is what you want. So, what do you want more than anything else right at this minute?”

      Cody. Always Cody. Followed by Grady… Well, the normal Grady. Not this insane version of Grady. “You to get the hell out of this house. Now, preferably.”

      “See? Now we’re getting somewhere. That’s a reasonable want, and certainly doable.” He swallowed a gulp of beer. “Now, we need to figure out something that will get me to leave. So, Olly. What are you willing to do to put me back in my apartment tonight?”