Chloe contemplated the display of cashmere with a purse of her lips. "What do you think?"

Tess shook her head. "I think a sweater is a very impersonal gift for the man you're half in love with."

Chloe flushed. If half represented what she was feeling for Oliver, the whole thing would consume her alive. She put the forest green pullover back on the rack, picked up another one, a deep blue she thought would work very well with blue eyes. "The sweater is for Clark. I already have Oliver's present."

"Right. I forgot you sweettalked Oliver into spending Christmas in Smallville. Subzeros temperatures, the Luthors next door in a town who houses only two restaurants and one cafe, it's the perfect getaway."

"Not you, too…"

She'd gotten the lecture—twice— from Oliver, albeit the second one half-heartfelt while she lied on his chest in bed. He'd even offered to fly Lois, Clark and Martha Kent to Star City. As if bringing her family to a city neither had ever visited before and reopening the Queen Mansion would put her less on the radar that holing up at the farm for a few days.

"Christmas without snow and cold is not really Christmas."

"You're crazy."

"That's what Oliver said, too."

Chloe considered another red pullover, but the blue was nicer. She walked to the cashier to pay for her purchase, Tess trailing after her. She'd gotten Lois a state-of-the-art recorder, curtesy of Queen Industries, and bought a very nice scarf for Martha. The wine degustation session was technically for Hal, but the basket of munchies and homemade appetizers that came with it were Tess. Too bad if the two accused her of meddling later. It was Oliver's idea anyway.

"So are you going to tell me what you got Lover Boy, or will I have to wait until Hal tells me?"

"Don't call him that…" Chloe hesitated. She loved her idea, and she was pretty sure Oliver would feel deeply about it, but if she couldn't pull it off, or if it was too hard for him to listen to it… "Oliver likes the story of Robin Hood. I found an audiobook of the version his mother used to read him before bed."

Sort of.

"That's it?" Caught right-handed in her semi-lie, Chloe had the decency to blush. Tess gave her her trademark knowing stare. The redhead no doubt was imagining a set of lingerie and candlelight. Chloe chose not to clarify. Tess sighed. "At least it's not a sweater."

She blinked against the glare of the late afternoon sun reflecting on the sidewalk. The temperatures had gone down in the past three days, but it was still too warm to really feel like Christmas. Lights on palms trees were the most ridiculous thing ever. Next the gigantic inflated reindeer someone had decided to put next to the fountain of the plaza.

"Are you getting Hal anything?"

A whiff of warm cinnamon caught her nose. Chloe turned her head toward the bakery just in time to see the clerk bring fresh rolls in.

"I bought us tickets for Zatanna Zathara Mistress of Magic's show. I heard it's really good and Hal is bon public enough to enjoy it even if it's not up to par— Hey, where are you going?"

"Hungry."

The scent of sugar and spice made her tastebuds danced in anticipation and her stomach clenched. Chloe winced. If she wanted a pastry so badly her head emptied of everything else, surely she'd manage to keep it down.

The clerk's smile behind the counter of the bakery was sunny as the delicacies on display. "Hi, welcome to Buttercup, what can I get you?"

"Hello. I'd like a cinnamon roll, please and… Tess, what do you want?"

"Huh, I'll have a brioche."

The French pastry was as lustrous and round as a golden globe. Chloe hesitated. She wanted a bun, but the brioche looked amazing… The young woman behind the counter waited with a knowing smile. The glistering spiral won. "A cinnamon roll and a brioche please."

"Of course. Can I bring you some coffee to go with that?"

Chloe growled under her breath. "No thank you."

Tess snorted. She glared, "Are you laughing at me?"

Tess hooted the guffaw she couldn't contain any longer. "You look like those fluffy things that try to look fierce when they're just adorable."

She harrumphed and thanked the clerk who also sported a big goofy smile. Chloe tried not to roll her eyes and settled into a huff. She was barely seated when she bit into her pastry.

Annoyance melted in buttery delight. The dough was light as a cloud. The sugar kissed her lips like dream, when Oliver caressed her mouth leaving her hungry for more… Chloe moaned in pleasure, closing her eyes to enjoy the subtle taste of cinnamon on her tongue.

"Wow, I didn't know you liked those so much."

"I…" Chloe's ears started burning as she realized how she must have sounded.

"You should ask them for the recipe. I'm sure Oliver would love to taste the goods…"

"Oh, that's very funny. You're absolutely hilarious, Tess," Chloe admonished. Her face was red hot and she tried very hard not to think about Oliver's wicked mouth.

Making those kinds of pastry required patience, she knew. The right temperature, the right touch… Oliver was patient, too, when it suited him or he wanted to torture her. Torture had seemed his favorite game last night… And this morning. He just loved to make her beg… Stop it.

Her gaze fell on the eclairs and the chocolatines, those puff pastries filled with a dark chocolate bar. Dark cocoa had the same color of Oliver's eyes when he gazed at her with that ridiculously adorable look…

"Quit it, or I'll have to send you back to him early and you promised me Girl night. You are not backing out of take-out and Christmas movies."

They paid for their snacks and headed to the bus stop to get back to Salinas Point. The vehicle was only half-packed so they found seats in the back. Chloe looked out the window while the bus ambled through the busy street.

Tess wrinkled her nose. "Gah, I hate buses. It sure saved us the trouble to park downtown, but really this one smells of onions and—" The redhead froze mid-rant. "What is that ho doing here?"

The next expletive startled Chloe so bad she dropped her purse on the floor. "Who?"

"Nadia Rochev. The…" She cut herself just in time before another very inappropriate word passed through. "Did I tell you they rehired her behind my back? Come on. We're off."

"What? Where?"

"I want to know what business brings that vipère to a club on a Thursday afternoon. Come on!"

Chloe scrambled to her feet to follow her thunderous friend down the bus and onto the sidewalk.

In the daylight, the Oktober district looked like any other street of a busy city. Maybe a little more run down, with the same passé look Las Vegas offered during the day when its dazzling lights were off and the strass were not yet to be seen. Unlit neon stood guard above the arc of empty doorways. People milled about, sunglasses perched on their noses, performers or early patrons.

The statuesque brunette that irked Tess so glared down at a man in a grey suit with a small scar across his chin and a purple bruise on his left cheekbone. He ducked his head and opened the door for her then went back to his stony vigil.

Tess made a sharp turn into the alley next to the club. "Hold this."

She thrusted her mini backpack into Chloe's hands.

"Huh? Tess? What are you going?"

The blonde glanced left and right as her friend pulled her shirt off her pants and started unbuttoning it. Within seconds, the redhead had the sides looped and tied above her navel. The lace of her bra showed in the newly created decolletage. Tess pulled her hairband off then fluffed her hair into a mass of flames. "What do you think?"

"Huh…"

"Purse."

Chloe obeyed faintly. The connecting dots had trouble spelled all over them, in blazing Cyrillic letters.

"Dang, no lip gloss. I'll do without. Come on. Let's see if they're hiring…"

"You're… Oliver will kill us."

"Only if we get caught, ma chérie."

She turned the corner before Chloe had even closed her mouth. "Hello there… Mon nom est Thérèse… I have an appointment with your manager."

Chloe allowed herself to squirm under the doorman's stare. Let him cast her in the supporting role of the flamboyant singer. She didn't mind flying under the radar one bit.

"He said he liked my voice…" Tess giggled.

Chloe wished she could have recorded the silly sound to shame her later. On a whim, she slipped one hand in her purse to grab her phone, pawing at it blindly.

"No show tonight, Krashnya."

Tess pursed her lips, made a show of licking them. The nostrils of the man flared. "Of course not. I need to rehearse, learn the acoustics of the room…"

The redhead stepped into the man's space, all smiles and fluttering lashes. Chloe swore she saw him swallow his tongue. Chloe vaguely wondered if Hal reacted the same way when she teased him. She would pay good money to see that.

"Come on, big guy, you let Nadia in, why not me? I am nicer than she is. Much nicer…" Tess drawled.

"You know Nadia?"

"Of course!" Tess beamed. Chloe felt her stomach rolled under the combination of nerves and rich food. She forced a smile to stretch, adding her grain of salt to Tess' backstory. "They're rivals…"

The man looked dubious. Chloe prayed he came to a decision quickly, either send them on their merry way or open the door. Her head swam a little, her tongue unable to wet her dry lips.

Time stretched.

The heavy panel moved in front of them, finally. Another man in his mid-forties appeared, impeccably dressed in a black stripped suit with a pearl grey Henley. He said something in quick Russian. Tess' new friend sidestepped to let them pass. Chloe tried her best not to latch on her friend's hand as the feeling they were ushered into the lion's den caught her throat in a crushing grip.