“Wyatt likes you, you know. And my brother is an excellent judge of character.” Hunter’s gaze searches my face. “My daughter likes you, too.”

“I know.” I worry my bottom lip. “The nickname was a strong clue.”

“Practically kidnapping you and demanding you attend her family holiday gathering was another one?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “Is she always that…forceful?”

“Only if she loves you.”

“I…” I don’t know how to tell Hunter that my relationship with Hannah is a bit lopsided.

He smiles softly. “It’s okay if you don’t love her back in the same way.”

“She’s just a lot.”

“She is.”

“Raising her must have been hell.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “I mean, yes. To the outside observer, that’s a likely guess. But no. I love being Hannah’s dad. I love how willful she is. It’s going to take her far in life, even if it does sometimes knock the wind out of anyone trying to make her slow down.”

I blink in surprise. It’s not what I expected him to say. It’s…better.

And the guilt that missed me earlier now floods my chest like a dam burst.

I have been a horrible friend to Hannah. “She really is remarkable.” A lump forms in my throat. “And, um… I should go back to my room.”

“Why?” He frowns. “Cara, wait?—”

“I can’t get between you and Hannah.” I shake my head and go to step around him. “She might not believe in Santa anymore, but she still believes you are the world’s greatest dad, and I can’t be a part of ruining that for her. Or for you, for that matter. If we do anything more than what we’ve already done, I think you’ll regret it in the morning.”

Chapter 12

Hunter

Oh,fuck no.

I catch Cara’s wrist as she tries to slip by. “Wait. Don’t go back to bed just yet. I’m not going to regret anything, I swear.”

She glances at the closed door. Down the hall, my daughter is sleeping.

And fuck, I know she thinks it’s wrong, but the jolt of off-limits temptation doesn’t stop me. If anything, it fires me up. It just underlines how right our connection is.

“Cara, I’m a grown man. I won’t deny that I was shocked to seeyouwhen I opened the door, because for the last week,youhave been wholly separate from the rest of my life.A fantasy. But that was just a stupid, immediate reaction. I’ve spent the rest of the night thinking about you. All of you. Not a fantasy, not my daughter’s friend, but the very real woman in front of me. And I’ve been looking at you in this silky top, wanting to unwrap you. It can’t be a coincidence that you show up on my doorstep on Christmas Eve. Even if you had to be delivered here by my daughter.”

Cara huffs a little protesting breath. “Then maybe it’s just me who has a problem with looking her in the eye, knowing that I’ve called her dad Daddy.”

I laugh. God, that’s funny. Genuinely. “Okay, fair deal. Call me Hunter if you’d rather.”

Her lower lip plumps out in a pout.

I lean in, heart pounding with confident anticipation. “You don’t want to, do you?”

She shakes her head a little. “No,” she admits.

“Then we have a little secret to keep, don’t we?”

Desire wars with the duty of friendship, and she twists her face.