Page 25 of Santa's Baby

“How did you? What did you?”

“He told me he didn’t enjoy seeing his daughter come out of my bathroom in a towel. I told him it was none of his business, but for what it's worth, I like it so fucking much it hurts because you’re the ray of sunshine I’ve been waiting my whole adult life for.”

My jaw drops.

My heart explodes.

It takes me two tries to find my voice again. “And what did he say to that?”

“He said he wanted to punch me. I said I understood. He told me not to hurt you, and I promised I wouldn’t.”

“That’s it.”

“Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“It’ll take some time for him to trust this, but. . . he’s known me a long time, Neely. He can see that I’m changed because of you. You did that.”

I throw myself at him, and he spins me around. “I love you,” I whisper as I kiss him. “Also, I’m probably going to be jealous of some of the ladies at the retirement home. So just be warned about that.”

“I’ll keep them all at arm’s length because I’m a taken Santa.”

“By me,” I say in a little girl voice.

“That’s right. You’re Santa’s baby girl. Nobody else gets inside these suspenders.”

I giggle.

He kisses my nose. “Glad we got that cleared up. You looked so worried when I came inside.”

“Oh, that. . .” I wave my hand. “Parents and stuff.”

“And irrational jealousy,” he adds.

I roll my eyes. “Damn it, I thought I hid that better.”

“You have an expressive face.” The corner of his mouth quirks up. “Never change, Neely. Always be too innocent for this world.”

“I’m not—”

He cuts me off with a kiss. “I like the innocence,” he murmurs.

Oh.

I smile shyly. “Okay.”

“Shall we go?” He grabs my coat and scarf from by the fireplace and helps me get dressed for outside. He loans me a pair of gloves and brings a blanket to cover my legs in his truck.

“We’re going less than a mile,” I point out.

“You. Collapsed.”

“All right, blanket it is.” I snag my purse.

ChapterEleven

Ford

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