Page 14 of The Billionaire's Christmas Baby Surprise

Billie found most of her staff in the break room having lunch. They were so thrilled at the prospect of the funding — and so excited about the giant check — that Billie felt her spirits lift. She might have to work with a man she wasn’t all that fond of, but she’d also secured the funding that her charity needed to run their Christmas program. That was something to celebrate.

CHAPTER 8

MAX

Max straightened his Sweetest Surprise T-shirt and examined himself in the mirror. He wasn’t sure where Stephanie had gotten the T-shirt and half-expected that she’d had it made up herself. Either way, she’d said it was important that he looked like a real participant in the charity’s work, not just a funder.

Still, Max would have been happy taking a few photos and getting back to work if it hadn’t been for Billie. She’d insisted that Max actually pitch in and get his hands dirty, so he would. At least for twenty minutes or so, and then he’d need to get back to the office. The pre-Christmas rush was in full swing now that Thanksgiving was over, and he had a lot to do.

Max sighed. He had a lot to do nowrightnow— but instead of working, he was about to leave for Sweetest Surprise’s outreach center, where he’d be decorating for Christmas. Max was almost certain that he’d never hung a Christmas decoration in his life. The closest he’d come was giving the all-clear for Bluebell Diner locations to put Christmas trees in their restaurants each year.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t take long.

Max headed down the elevator to the parking garage, where his car waited. Sweetest Surprise was only a short drive away, but Max was grateful for the heating in the car. Tomorrow was the first day of December, and he could feel it in the air. Christmas decorations were starting to go up around the city, from strands of colorful lights on businesses to trees on the sidewalks. The crisp smell of pine seemed to be everywhere, and Christmas carols had begun to play in every store and restaurant.

Billie was probably in her element. Max was just waiting for it to be over.

For a moment, he wondered what it might be like to feel so excited about a holiday. He’d never really looked forward to Christmas, not even as a child. The decorations and special food hadn’t made up for the way his father had always run off to the office, even on Christmas Day. Nor had they made up for the fact that his family didn’t believe in gifts.

Max put all thoughts of his father out of his mind as he pulled up outside the Sweetest Surprise Outreach Center. Outside, a pair of teenage girls in warm jackets were stringing up a set of Christmas lights across the front doors. They smiled at him as he went inside.

The entryway was buzzing with activity. A few volunteers were hanging up paper snowflakes, probably made by the children the center supported. Another was switching out the doormat for aHappy Holidays!version, while another was assembling a fabric snowman from a box.

“Where could I find Billie?” Max asked the volunteer with the snowman.

“She’s in the main activity room,” she told him. “Just through there.”

Max followed the volunteer’s directions though a doorway and into a large room. It was clearly made to be multi-use. Folding chairs lined one wall, along with several large folding tables, and the open storage closet showed boxes markedArt Supplies, Projector,andTable Tennis,among others. A fresh, as-yet-undecorated pine tree stood in the far corner beside a large window. In the center of the room, Billie was sitting cross-legged on the floor, untangling a string of Christmas lights. Stephanie was already there, engaged in conversation with a photographer. “Jingle Bells” played over a portable speaker.

Max crossed the room to Billie, his shoes squeaking on the polished wooden floor. She looked up at the sound, but her expression remained neutral.

“Hi, Max.”

“Oh, good, you’re here.” Stephanie hurried over to him. “All right. We need a few shots of you and Billie decorating the tree and hanging lights.”

“Right.” Max surveyed the decorations on display. “Where should I start?”

“Would you mind helping me with this?” Billie held up the tangle of Christmas lights. “If you grab the other end, we might be able to straighten it out.”

“That’s not the best for photos,” Stephanie said hesitantly.

“Maybe not, but it is what needs to be done.” Billie’s tone was calm, but Max sensed that she was a little annoyed. “After the lights are untangled, we’ll put some baubles on the tree, and youcan get some shots of that. In the meantime, feel free to help with another string of lights.”

Stephanie obediently picked up a string of small white lights and began undoing a large knot. Max was grudgingly impressed that she was actually helping, but he didn’t have long to think about it. He joined Billie on the floor.

“This is quite a mess.”

“I know.” Billie shook her head. “Some of the volunteers who helped take down the decorations last year were in a bit of a rush. It’s hard to supervise everything.”

“I can imagine — you have a lot of volunteers. I saw a few on the way in.”

“Sure. Everyone wants to volunteer puttingupthe Christmas lights. The volunteers to takedownthe Christmas lights aren’t usually as enthusiastic.” Billie gave a what-can-you-do shrug, and Max felt bad that he was also just here to put the decorations up. By the time they came down after Christmas, their partnership would be over, and he would be back to his real work.

That was for the best. He was hopeless at untangling lights.

After a few minutes, Billie managed to undo the final knot, and they both stood. The photographer followed them to the tree, where Billie and Max each hung a few ornaments. Then he got a few shots of them draping a garland of lights over a table in the far corner. As they posed, Max found himself very aware of how close Billie was to him and how she smelled faintly like peppermint and vanilla. He also noticed that her smile for the cameras wasn’t anywhere near as radiant as her usual smile,which made sense. Max wasn’t all that excited about posing for staged pictures either, not when he should be working.

“We should be good,” the photographer said after a few minutes. Stephanie looked at the camera and approved the shots. When Max leaned over to check the photos, he saw an image of himself and Billie sitting on the floor with the Christmas lights, both laughing as they tugged on a particularly tangled section. Max hadn’t even known that the photographer was taking pictures at that point, but he liked this one. In the photo, Billie had her head thrown back in laughter, and Max was grinning at her. They looked like two people who actually got along.

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