Page 40 of Her Holiday Heartthrobs

When her eyes open, the vibrancy of those baby blues is back as she looks at her son. She’s moving toward him without a second thought, and I can’t seem to move as she gathers the little boy up in her arm and tucks the blanket around him.

The way he snuggles into her makes my heart expand and simultaneously burns me with jealousy. I’ve wanted a family for so long. A wife and children.

And the woman I want has a child already. Her own little built-in family.

Before I know it, I’m lowering myself onto the couch cushion beside her.

Blue eyes blink at me from under a mop of light-brown hair, his hand is curled around his nose as he sucks his thumb. Paige pets his hair back from his forehead and plants a kiss there, lingering.

“Paxton. This is Henry.”

He stares at me but doesn’t acknowledge me otherwise. I tug gently at his elbow as a way of greeting him. “Hi, Paxton. Nice to meet you.”

Paige sighs. “I know I shouldn’t let him suck his thumb at his age, but when he’s sick, I just can’t seem to keep to it.”

“No judgment here.”

Her smile is a half frown. “Thanks. Plenty of self-imposed judgment to go around. And see, Paxton, my boss had to come make sure I wasn’t lying about having a family emergency.”

A hot flash of embarrassment douses me. “I didn’t?—”

The teasing glint in her eyes stops me.

“I was worried about you.”

Slowly, her hand reaches out to me, and I take it, linking our fingers together. A cartoon runs softly in the background as I take in Paige as a mom, cuddling her sick kid to her chest, nuzzling his forehead.

Paige murmurs low. “I think it’s time for some more Tylenol, Bub.”

Paxton squirms and scrunches his nose.

“I know you don’t like it, but it’s that or another cool bath.”

The boy blows a raspberry back at her, and I can’t help but smile.

“Well, those are your choices, mister. We can’t let your fever get back over a hundred, or we might fry your poor little brain. You don’t want that, do you?”

A small grunt.

“Think you can sit here with Henry for a minute?”

The tiniest nod melts my heart.

“Alright. Here we go.” She stands with him in her arms and turns to deposit him beside me. The moment she lets him go, he slumps against my side, thumb still firmly in his mouth and eyes on the TV.

It doesn’t last long before he’s looking up at me again. Strange just how intelligent this little guy seems. Must get that from Paige.

The longer we stare at each other, the more I wonder about where Paxton’s father is. Who his father is. He’s what, roughly three? Gestation times and the possibilities take my mind for a quick detour before Paige returns with a little cup of purple medicine.

Paxton is a trooper and takes it with only a little coaxing. Paige is sweet but firm, and once he has it down, he asks, “Halloween?”

Her smile is gorgeous when it’s all for him. “Of course, stinker. Halloween it is.”

She grabs the remote and scrolls to a Halloween-themed kids show and nods me toward the kitchen. “We need to get some food in that little belly.”

Paxton nods and focuses on the TV. I wait until we’re beside the fridge to brace her shoulders with my hands.

“He’s okay?”

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