Page 13 of Father Christmas

"Weren't you dating a girl named Renee a couple months ago, too?"

"Why are you talking about Amber and Renee? They weren’t serious girlfriends. We were just fooling around. I was serious about the last one. But then she dumps me because she doesn't think I'm mature enough."

Noel suppressed a sigh, all too familiar with his son's tendency to shirk personal responsibility. Ever since the divorce, his ex-wife had coddled the boy, sheltering him from the consequences of his actions.

"I'm sorry to hear that. But relationships are a two-way street. Perhaps you could reflect on how you might have contributed?—"

"Me?" Elvin interrupted indignantly. "I gave that woman everything."

Noel bit his tongue. He couldn't help feeling he had failed his son. Losing custody after the divorce meant he only had weekends to try and instill discipline in the boy. But his ex-wife's permissiveness prevailed.

Before Noel could respond, Mindy emerged from the bedroom, wrapped in a robe. Her eyes widened at the sight of Elvin. Noel watched a myriad of emotions cross her face—surprise, discomfort, even a flash of panic.

"Mindy, this is my son, Elvin," Noel explained, giving her an apologetic look. "Elvin, Mindy Evergreen."

Elvin's gaze darted between them. The wheels turned slowly before realization dawned. "Wait...you and my dad? Seriously?"

"This is not happening." Mindy's voice was more of a croak than a whisper.

"Wait? Is this how you're getting back at me? You're fucking my dad?"

Noel knew he should be saying words. But he was having an out-of-body experience. His soul was looking down at the train wreck of a scene, wondering how to get back into his body.

"I can't believe this." Elvin actually stomped his foot. "First the divorce. Then you cut off my credit cards when I turned twenty-one."

Noel had cut off his son's credit cards after the kid had maxed them out not once, not twice, but three times on a weekend bender.

"And now you jump into bed with my girlfriend."

Noel slammed back into his body. "She hasn't been your girlfriend for weeks. And frankly, the way you treated Mindy wasn't right."

Noel felt more embarrassed about his son's lack of sexual prowess than the debt.

Elvin looked incredulous. "Oh, so you're taking her side now? Unbelievable."

"There are no sides here," Noel said evenly. But there actually were. Noel sidestepped his son to move closer to Mindy. "Can't we talk about this calmly?"

Elvin threw his hands up in disgust. "Forget it. I don't need this aggravation." He stormed toward the door.

"Elvin, wait?—"

But his son was already gone, slamming the door behind him. Noel sighed, turning back to Mindy with an apologetic expression. She stood there, shell-shocked. He wondered if her soul was now hovering outside of her body.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

While she'd been stretched lazily in bed, the sheets tangled around her bare legs, a satisfied smile playing on her lips and the memories of last night with Noel still lingering, Mindy had thought she'd heard another voice. She immediately brushed it off as a nightmare trying to intrude into her perfect dreamworld.

Except it wasn't a dream; she was thinking about it. It was a real live memory that she had experienced just hours ago. Noel, his strong hands caressing her body, his beard tickling her neck as he trailed kisses down to her breasts, their passion cresting again and again. She sighed contentedly, snuggling into her pillow. He was everything she had been looking for: kind, attentive, and so very skilled in the art of pleasure.

She knew there was an age difference between them. Knew she should probably care about it. But not enough care that she was going to give the man up.

Because Noel was a man. One thousand percent man. With his own home and business and plan. He wasn't going to rely on Mindy for any of that. She wasn't going to have to make decisions for him, or clean up after him, or cross her fingers sothat she could eek out a tiny tremble of an orgasm before he got off.

Noel Kringle was perfection. Perfection that she had fallen for within twenty-four hours. It had been lust at first sight. But after spending a day and a night with him, love was on the horizon.

Mindy saw it clearly. She saw a future with him. She saw a life with him. And she wasn't giving it up. Not the reality and not the dream, no matter how much she kept hearing the nightmarish voice of her ex-boyfriend.

A faint sound from outside the bedroom snapped Mindy from her reverie. She tensed, straining to listen. Was that... Elvin?

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