Page 63 of Her Holiday Heartthrobs

I purse my mouth but don’t argue. Whatever he’s planning, there’s nothing I can do to stop him.

I’ve learned what a lost battle looks like from being a mom. I generally choose a third of them, and lose half of those.

Henry read a bedtime story to Paxton and now he is all tucked into bed. Jackie stays in the apartment while I escort all of them down to the car. Poor Liam being at their beck and call on a Saturday like this. Still, he smiles at me and steps back into the car.

I get a soft kiss from Henry, Eli, then Jake. I know I’m going to be missing them tonight.

As they leave, I can’t help but ask myself what it might look like if I had the room for Paxton to have his own bed. Can I trade that for something different? More?

Cherishing the fact that my son still wants to sleep in my arms—at least to start with—I fall asleep happy. And wake up to a delivery I didn’t order.

A giant, real Christmas tree with someone to decorate it. Garland and lights up around the walls. Stockings with their own shelf attached beside the couch, then filled with wrapped treats. A bag full of holiday foods. Enough to graze on all day.

Finally, a red poinsettia with a card settles on my tiny kitchen table. I open the card, fancy and pressed with gold.

Because I love making you smile.

Shaking my head and truly smiling, I snap a selfie of my happy grin and send it to Eli.

Beautiful, Eli texts back, and I’m a goner.

JAKE

I hate parties. Especially mandatory parties, like the one we’re hosting at the office for Christmas. Eli and Henry force me to stay for an hour, and usually, I make a quick exit.

Not tonight.

Because tonight, Paige is here, and she’s as brilliant as she was at the investor dinner. She chats with everyone, turns people’s attention from me, which is probably why I’m sticking to her back.

It’s torture not to touch her like I want, like I’m used to in private. I’ve been behaving myself all day, and I just want my fix of her softness, of her scent, of the way she melts against me, of the way she gasps and moans so quietly…

This train of thought is not helping. My hands clench into fists before I slip away to grab myself a drink and refresh Paige’s. She’s chatting with Doreen, so she’ll be occupied for a while. When I come back, they’re laughing and Paige’s eyes sparkle at me.

Our fingers brush when she takes the new drink and her cheeks are flush from the liquor. Christmas cocktails. Hers iswassail, which isn’t as weird as the other options, and it makes her mouth redder. More kissable.

Fuck. This party has become more torturous than the others because I don’t want to get away from her. She’s here, but I can’t have her yet.

It takes all of my control to behave myself.

Eli and Henry pull me away from her again.

“You being stuck to her like that is going to raise some eyebrows.” Henry clinks his glass against mine.

“And start some rumors,” Eli adds, sipping his drink and looking around the room.

True rumors. Fuck, I don’t want to hide it. I want to be able to touch and kiss her whenever I feel like it.

But the last thing we need is more rumors. The ones from ten years ago were hard to detach ourselves from when we moved into the hotel industry.

Half downing my glass, I glare at the pair of people passing and they scamper off faster.

Eli slaps my back. “There’s the surly beast we’re used to.”

I huff at him, following Paige’s progress as she talks exuberantly with her team. I’m so enraptured with her that I nearly miss Henry’s assistant slide into our group, looping her hand through Henry’s elbow and leaning into his arm like she belongs there.

He stiffens but doesn’t pull away immediately. She blinks up at him with sultry eyes and anger builds in my chest as I stare at her.

“Sabrina. How are you enjoying the open bar?” It’s a gentle prod from Henry to let her know she’s being inappropriate, but the girl doesn’t seem to get it, nuzzling in closer, her breasts pushed up against his bicep.

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