Page 14 of Daddy Christmas

I pouted.

He merely dipped his biscotti in his coffee and took a bite, all while watching me, and it was becoming unnerving. This whole morning, in fact. It hadn’t ended the way I’d imagined or anticipated. He wasn’t mad—I didn’t think so, at least. He’d barely acknowledged my apology, which had been cut off.

Before last night, he’d been seemingly eager to get rid of me as quickly as possible whenever we’d been in the same space. Now I’d learned he’d checked out my social media to find out what foods I liked, and he’d asked around about me at work.

I bit into my breakfast sandwich instead, and it was amazing. Eggs, melted cheese, and sausage on a croissant. Heaven!

“You don’t owe me a gift basket of any sort,” he said after a while. “I appreciate your apology, but that’s unnecessary too. It’s been an interesting week.”

Interesting?

Interesting?!

“I’ve learned a lot.” He smiled to himself and took a sip of his coffee.

I scrunched my nose and reached for my cocoa. “You’re very cryptic, sir.”

That got me another chuckle.

“You’re very talkative, boy.”

I liked it when he called me boy. He’d done that last night too.

“Sorry.” I had to drop my gaze before I could be accused of staring too much. The deep blue color of his eyes did me in. And the way he expressed the power he held. No, wait, that was wrong. He didn’t express it at all. And that was what made it so irresistible. A man of true assertiveness didn’t feel the need to showcase his strengths or tell people how he was. It was simply there for the rest of us to discover on our own.

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” Mr. Abrams leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. “I rather enjoy how expressive you are. It’s a good trait in people. I have some experience with the opposite, and that didn’t end well.”

I couldn’t look down any longer. He was offering up information about himself without any prodding.

“Former employee or relationship?” I took another huge bite of my sandwich.

His mouth twisted into a rueful smile. “The latter. Which, ironically, made me close myself in when it was over. My divorce essentially turned me into the reason I’d wanted a divorce in the first place.”

Oh. “You were married.”

He inclined his head. “It was a disaster.”

“That sucks.” I had some more of my pancakes too, even though I was starting to feel full. “When was this?”

He hummed, thinking. “Must’ve been…five years now—since we divorced. We were together for twelve but only married eight months.”

Damn. I suddenly felt unsettled, like I was standing on shaky ground or something. Like I had no business being here. My longest relationship had lasted a year, and it was difficult for me to get attached properly. And I wasn’t even gun-shy. The men I’d been with simply hadn’t ticked enough boxes for me to relax fully.

“So you’ve been the grinch since then?” I asked.

He let out a little laugh and finished his coffee. “Yes, you can say that. I bought this place, spent my free time remodeling it—when I wasn’t traveling—and I stopped meeting new people. I stopped socializing.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, then took a gulp of my juice. “You must’ve gotten hurt.”

He tilted his head. “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know what thing other than betrayal would result in closing yourself in like that.”

He grew pensive before he eventually offered half a nod. “I suppose you’re right. There were a lot of empty promises, and it put a dent in my ability to trust.”

I put down my fork, unable to eat another bite. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” I wasn’t sure it was only the food that was giving me a stomachache. “Can I ask, um… I mean—was this an ex-wife or an ex-husband?”

He smirked faintly. “Ex-husband.”

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