Page 31 of Christmas With the Jerk

Thorne seems to sense the shift in my mood. He props himself up on one elbow, his eyes searching mine. "We've got this, Woodley," he says, his voice steady and sure. "Together, we can handle anything."

I nod, feeling a renewed sense of determination. We're a team now, in more ways than one, and I believe him. We can dothis—we can win this account and prove to everyone, including ourselves, that we're more than just the sum of our parts.

Thorne leans in to kiss me and I don’t want it to end but I’m starting to feel anxious about getting ready. I don’t want anything else to derail this. “You know, I could lie here all day with you. But we have a call in a few hours.”

“I know. But you feel so good. Five more minutes?”

We agree we should begrudgingly leave each other to get ready, but I agree to five more minutes. We have had a crash course in making compromises between us and I’d say we are a fast study.

TWELVE

Thorne

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire / Jack Frost nipping at your nose.

8:14 am

The room isquiet except for the soft hum of the heater and the sound of our breathing.

I’m still lying in his bed with my hand resting on his muscular thigh. I’m staring up at the ceiling, my body still buzzing from everything we’ve been through already this early int he morning.

The sheets are tangled around us, warm and comfortable, and for a moment, it’s like the storm, the presentation, everything fades into the background.

Five minutes is much too short.

Woodley shifts beside me, pulling the blanket up to her chin, her eyes twinkling as if she is smiling at me through them. I turn myhead to look at her, feeling a strange mix of contentment and disbelief.

I didn’t see any of this coming—her, us, the way we’ve managed to work together in the middle of all this chaos. But here we are.

She lets out a soft sigh. “Maybe we should go over it again before I go shower,” she suggests, her voice still scratchy from the sex.

“I know I keep saying it, but I feel like I need to review again. I know, I’m insane.”

I chuckle, reaching up to her face to move a strand of hair. “Yeah. We’ve been over the deck a million times. I think we’re about as ready as we’re going to get.”

She smiles, her lips curving up in that way that always catches me off guard. “You’re good for me. Because if I recite that damn presentation one more time, I might really lose it.”

I laugh softly, shifting onto my side to face her. “Same here. At least with the video conference, we can wear whatever we want from the waist down.” I grin. “Hell, we could be naked under the desk, and no one would know.”

She snorts, burying her face in the pillow. “That’s true. Though, I’m pretty sure that would distract me more than help.”

I shake my head, still grinning. There’s a lightness to all of this, something I didn’t expect to feel. Everything seemed so tense, so critical just a little while ago, but now, lying here with her, it all feels easy and right.

Like we’ve already won, even though the real test is still ahead of us.

The snowstorm is still raging outside, but in here, it’s warm. Comfortable.

I glance at the clock on the nightstand. It’s over three hours until the call. We’ve got time, but I know she is getting anxious about getting everything set up. Sooner than later, we are going to have to drag ourselves out of this bed and into professional mode.

“Are you getting in the shower now?” She asks.

“I guess if you’re making me,” I say, though I don’t really want to move. “Eleven forty-five, right?”

She nods, stretching a little under the covers. “Yeah, three hours and some change. When you put it like that I guess we do still have some time.”

“Perfect.”

“We’ll do the call from my room, if you’re good with that, since it has a desk. I’d rather not try to balance my laptop on a hotel bed for something this important.”

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