Frosted: A Christmas Story: The Holiday Haters, #1

By Teshelle Combs

 

Jackson Frost is…the worst. And his billionaire status doesn't make him any less of a villain. But when he takes it too far, freezing over the rivers and lakes of his Colorado town, and a displaced mermaid shows up on his doorstep…Jack is in for the Christmas adventure of his awful little life.

Does the villain get the girl?
You bet he does.

This delightfully wicked short story is part of the Holiday Haters series. Meet holiday villains, indulge in their romantic misdemeanors, and get your laugh on.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Teshelle Combs
• Release date: May 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224141685

Book preview

No. No Christmas, no ornaments, no tinsel, no mermaids. No.

Episode 1: Barista

It’s damn cold in Denver .

And I know I’m supposed to love it, seeing as I made it that way, but no. It’s cold. I buttoned my coat—Stefano Ricci pea coat, double-breasted, cashmere—and squeezed past a woman who’d either huffed one essential oils bottle too many or hadn’t spent enough time fondling her crystals.

Mind the black ice, she said to me with an ineffective smile. It’s a cold one.

More black ice. Got it. Honestly, that was my favorite kind of ice to make. Mean ice. Naughty ice. But it always did its job.

By the time I made it to the outdoor coffee table at the most deflated cafe ever franchised, I’d stomached all I could manage of the city.

Jimmie was already waiting for me, her mittens dangling at her wrists and her coffee cup warming her fingers. She scowled at me, her nose red.

You’re late.

You’re welcome.

It’s a good thing I didn’t bring Mira. She might have died from the cold waiting on you to show.

Kids are resilient. Builds character. I sat down, hoping beyond hope that the table wasn’t sticky. What is she now? Twelve?

"She’s four years old, Jack. Jesus."

You’re already mad, huh?

"She’s your niece."

And like you said, it’s a good thing you didn’t bring her. Then she’d do that ‘Uncle Jack’ thing and manipulate me into a quasi-consensual embrace.

Hugging. It’s called hugging. Jimmie narrowed brown eyes at me. And by that ‘Uncle Jack’ thing, you mean adore you?

I groaned, signaling to the coffee woman that she was awful at her job and should have already come to take my order. Yes. Adoration. Irritating at its best. Irritating at its worst.

Jimmie sighed, leaning back in her chair. Let’s get this over with, shall we?

I gestured to nothing, rage simmering in my otherwise icy bones. You are the one who summoned me, Jimmie. What the hell do you want?

I heard a rumor.

I scoffed, Shouldn’t listen to those. Finally, the coffee person dragged her feet over to my table. Get me a—

Merry Christmas, what can I get for you this morning? And she smiled a pretty smile.

How about a heaping cup of don’t-interrupt-your-customers-while-they-order?

"Jack, Jimmie hissed. Then she addressed the girl, whose smile had dripped right off her face like an icicle at the turn of the solstice. Ignore my brother. He’s awful. And he’ll take an iced coffee. No milk, no sugar. Just black and bitter. She leaned on her elbow, her face solemn. In fact, if you have any dregs at the bottom of your machine. Or like...just a cup of grounds with water mixed in—"

Oh, the barista mumbled. So...um...?

Jimmie grinned and winked. A black iced coffee, honey. I’m just playing around.

The girl nodded, scurrying away like Jimmie had asked for a cup of fresh blood. I knew a guy who wouldn’t mind that...blood on the rocks...but you have to wait for Valentine’s Day for his story. This one’s mine. Keep up.

So what now, J? I asked my sister. My older sister. Because she aged and I couldn’t. And because I generally maintained my youthful exuberance and tenacity for life while she’d transmorphed into something called a ‘mom’.

"I called a family meeting because...Jack, you’ve been overdoing it. And you know that I