Page 2 of Texting My Secret Santa

I choose this moment to emerge from my bedroom. Asher arrived late last night, so I haven’t seen him yet. I’ve got a plan to raise my eyebrow at him, all cocky, and then oh-so-innocently ask where his clothes are.

Instead, I stop. My mouth almost falls open.Almost. I stop it from happening because it would be embarrassing.

He’s wearing just a towel, steam rising from his body. His hair has turned slightly silver since I last saw him. His eyes haven’t aged at all, the same piercing blue. He was lean when he was in his late teens and early twenties. Now, he’s bulked up, muscles layering his body, his chest throbbing. He’sripped. What sort of workout program is he on? Jeez.

He does a double take. “Holly?” he says in disbelief.

“Yeah,” I say quietly, suddenly finding it difficult to be as sassy as I’d planned.

“You’re …” He blinks. “Did you move my clothes?”

What was he about to say before he cut himself off? I’m what, Asher? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I wasn’t the only one doing some checking out here.

“Move your clothes? What are you talking about?” I say innocently.

“I left my clothes here.” He nods to the table by the door. “The extractor fan is on the fritz. It gets steamy as hell in there.”

He’s not wrong. Steam is still rising from him like he’s burning up, like the sight of me is making him hot—probably not.

Do I want that?ShouldI? I decide not to answer either of those questions.

“I moved nothing,” I tell him.

“Hmm, guess it was a Christmas ghost, then.” He turns away, showing me his broad, muscled back. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve got more than one suit.”

He walks down the hall. Only when he reaches the end, turns, and faces me do I realize I’ve been standing here ogling him. I quickly dart down the stairs of the two-story high-rise. Dan is sitting at the kitchen island, playing one of his self-improvement podcasts.

“Are you okay, Holly?”

“What? Why would you ask that?” I squeak.

He looks at me strangely. “You look startled. I thought you’d have a big smile on your face. It’s our special Secret Santa announcement today. Two weeks to go before Christmas. This is usually when you put the spirit into overdrive.”

“I’m fine. Just need my morning coffee.”

“Okay,” he says, but I can tell he’s suspicious.

Nothing happened. I just played a funny trick—a prank. I was getting payback for all those comments when I was a kid. Sure, it didn’t go to plan, but it’s not like I’m sitting here, thinking of his muscular body and his eyes, the same blue as the northern lights in the Alaskan sky.

No way. That would be Christmas-cracker nutso.

Asher joins us, wearing the same suit I hid in the library. I guess he must have gone looking for it. He seems even more infuriatingly handsome when he’s clothed. Dashing, that’s the word.

“Sorry for taking so long,” he says, walking to the coffee machine. “A Christmas imp moved my suit into the library.”

Dan looks at me. “The library?”

“What are you looking at me for?” I mutter.

“Well, Holly, because I know I didn’t move his suit, and there’s nobody else here.”

Asher smirks at me as he sits next to my brother. The years melt away. He makes me feel like a kid again. Just like back then, the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s never had much Christmas cheer.

“Don’t worry. I’m a big boy. I can take a few pranks,” Asher says, smirk firmly in place.

Dan rolls his eyes. “Sorry, Asher. You know what kids are like.” It’s an unsubtle dig.

“Yeah,” I say sarcastically. “Twenty-three-year-old kids who keep your video marketing alive.”

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