Page 17 of A Christmas Collin

I pull a chair over with a laugh, but before I can sit, Josh clicks his tongue. "No song means no beer and no chair for you, Mr. Wright."

Danielle throws me a crooked smile and tips her head to the stage.

One of the bartenders grabs the mic. "Sign the list and sing the song. Titles are in the binder. Who's next?"

"I think that's our cue, Collin." Danielle beams, not even bothering to hide her excitement. She leans in close to whisper in my ear, "Don't worry. I sing so bad that no one's going to even pay attention to how nervous you are."

"Jelly Bean, for the last time, I ain't scared."

"Prove it."

Ah. Two words that always push me to make questionable choices. With a sigh, I walk away from the table and toward the stage. The bartender is an acquaintance, familiar with me since they get their car fixed at my shop.

Her smile widens as she announces me as the next singer. "Oh, this ought to be good. Come on up, Collin. Song choice?"

I flip the binder open and see the tune I'm going to use just to show Danielle how much stage fright I don't have. Karaoke isn’t my idea of a fun night, but there’s a secret thrill in knowing I’m about to surprise the hell out of my woman.

The soft intro ofYou're Just Too Good to Be Trueby Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons plays, and I hold Dani’s gaze, my mouth quirking up.

The lyrics come to me effortlessly, one wholesome foster home memory of long ago playing in the back of my mind. Each word hits the right note, and the melody builds until my favorite part of the song comes up.

"I love you, baby, and if it's quite all right, I need you, baby…"

Everyone's eyes are on me, full of shock, awe, and, more importantly, admiration. By the time I close out the song, everyone's on their feet, and Danielle's standing at the table, clasping her hands in front of her, her eyes shiny with tears.

"Aw, don't cry, Jelly Bean," I tell her as the next person takes over the karaoke stage. My thumb swipes the stray tear falling down her cheek. "Is my singing that bad?"

"How? When? It's beautiful."

"Mr. Fucking Perfect." Josh snorts and rolls his eyes.

"No." I turn to face him, tired of being the object of his scorn, even though I don’t remember doing anything to him. "Remember the whole ‘not having a family’ thing? You know the reason people call me Leftie, Josh? It's because when I was six, the boys' home I was placed in, an orphanage … Every kid got adopted but me. I was the only one left. So no, I'm not Mr. Fucking Perfect, far from it, and I don’t even give a shit." I shake my head with pity for him as I grab a beer, toss it back to take a long swallow, and walk away from the table.

9

DANIELLE

My heart aches for Collin—it always has when I think about his life before he came to our house—but the realization washing over Josh's face is one I don't want to relive. Evelyn's watering eyes mirror mine, but her tears aren't from Collin's stellar performance. She's just as moved by the tale of his origins as I was when I first heard the story.

"No one ever wanted me," Collin whispers into his beer as I sit on the stool beside him.

"That's not true," I tell him, nudging his shoulder.

"You're right. I take that back." He grins and tips his beer toward me. The bartender hands me a bottle, and I toast Collin.

"I wanted you back then, and I want you even more now," I admit shyly, looking down and unable to meet his eyes.

Collin turns to face me, spinning me on the stool until my legs are locked between his. He leans forward to kiss me, and just like that, it feels like no one else is in the room with us. My handreaches down to validate as much, his crotch hardening under my touch.

"Mm, Jelly Bean, don't start nothing you can't finish. I'll bend you right over this bar." His voice is low and gravelly, making all my lady parts tingle with desire.

"You promise?"

"Aw, back to being bad, I see. I'll have to teach you a lesson about stirring up trouble. If you think I won't punish you in front of all these people for getting me riled up, you're mistaken, Jelly Bean."

"Don't threaten me with a good time," I shoot back, taking a swig of my beer and licking his lips.

Collin downs the rest of his glass, palms the back of my head, and pulls me in for a kiss so passionate, my toes curl. I moan with every swipe of his tongue across mine. Thankfully, the awful sounds of Evelyn singing old-school hip hop, with Jake Heffen himself cheering her on, draw everyone's attention away from us.

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