Page 10 of Naughty Santa

Joe had his own apartment, right next door to Mom’s house, so he was around to cut the grass, take out the garbage, and toss a ball to Jaden. It wasn’t for everyone, but Joe wouldn’t have it any other way.

Family first.

Jaden nodded. “I ate.” Then he asked Paris, “Can I take Louis outside on his leash?”

“Um.” She swallowed visibly, the idea clearly making her nervous. “I don’t think he likes the cold.”

“How about we walk you home?” Joe asked her, with a friendly smile. “We’re about to close up the store anyway.” Joe had seen her suitcases in the back, so she had to be eager to get to Lydia’s house and get settled finally. “Jaden can walk the dog, and I’ll walk you.”

“Very funny. Don’t quit your day job,” Paris joked back before leveling him with a curious look. “Oh, hey. What is your day job? Do you work here too?”

“No. I own a construction business. I do renovations and general contract work.”

“So you’re good with your hands?” she asked cheekily.

Joe couldn’t help himself. This woman was bringing out a side of him—a naughty side—he very rarely revealed. “Verygood,” he said in a low, gravelly voice that proved he wasn’t talking about construction work at all.

Way to stay determined, Joe. You big fucking idiot.

He mentally reprimanded himself, telling himself to STOP looking at the pretty woman.

Especially when Paris replied with a sexy-as-sin grin and a wink.

“Uncle Joe built me a treehouse.” Jaden was down on his knees now, carefully petting the small dog.

“How nice of Uncle Joe.” Paris smiled down at Jaden. “Do you want to walk Louis to Lydia’s house with me?”

Jaden hopped up excitedly. “Yes!”

“Will you drive my suitcases down to the house?” she asked Joe. “I don’t think I can walk in snow and roll my bags at the same time. I have a lot of skills but maneuvering in a blizzard isn’t one of them.”

If Paris thought a couple of inches was a blizzard, she was in for a rude awakening.

“Tell you what. I’ll walk you down, then I will bring your bags over.” Joe glanced down at her fuck-me boots. “I anticipate you needing a hand just staying on your feet.”

“I do my best work off my feet,” she teased.

For a second, Joe thought she was still flirting and was amused, but then her eyes widened as she realized how that sounded. She glanced at Jaden like she was mortified to have inadvertently sounded sexual in front of a kid. It made Joe like her even more. She may be upscale compared to North Pole standards, but she was being super cool with his nephew.

“Sleeping, I mean! I love to sleep. And I clearly need more right now. I took the red-eye and it was brutal. Loud people on phones, screaming babies, turbulence.” She wrinkled her nose and covered her cheeks. “And now I’m babbling.”

Joe felt bad for her. He didn’t travel very often, and when he did, he hated it. Delays, cramped seats on planes, not being in control. He liked to be in control. “You’re not babbling. The red-eye sounds horrible. Have you eaten anything today?”

Food ruled Joe’s life. But then again, he was a guy. He needed protein every two hours, or he wanted to chew nails.

She shook her head. “Just organic chickpea puffs.”

“I don’t even know what the hell that is, but it sounds about as filling as swallowing sawdust.” Joe went behind the desk and opened the drawer. “Lydia’s house key.” He held it up to show her. “Let’s get you home and feed you. We can order takeout, or I bet I can rustle up some spaghetti out of Lydia’s cupboard.”

“Thanks,” she said, looking a little confused but a lot appreciative. “That’s really sweet of you. But…”

“But what?” Joe asked.

She shook her head a little. “But you don’t even know me.”

That surprised him. “So? You’re Lydia’s niece. You’re new in town. It’s called being neighborly.”

“I think Louis needs to poop.” Jaden pointed to the little dog anxiously pacing back and forth on the concrete floor.

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