Page 18 of His Off-Limits Christmas Gift

I frowned. “But why you? How are you not taken?”

He chewed on his lower lip for a moment, hesitant.

“How are you not available?” I asked, genuinely lost. He was sexy. Successful. Charming and all-around likable. He had that golden retriever sort of energy in some of those books I used to read.

“I’m not,” he admitted. “Not emotionally or romantically available, at least.” He raised his warm gaze to me, and I hated the pain that lingered there. “I was married before.”

“You were?” I gawked at him. “How did I not know that?”

“It was a small ceremony. Very quiet. Very simple and businesslike.”

I winced. “An arranged marriage?”

He laughed a bit. “No. Nothing like that. Yasmin?—”

I snapped my fingers. “Okay. That rings a bell. I know Brandon mentioned her before here or there.”

“Yeah. Yasmin was her name. We were married for six months, and I found her cheating.”

“Ooh. I’m so sorry, Nate.” I set my hand over his, wanting to offer sympathy, but the touch seared me. Just that little contact sent electricity up my arm. It was too much, too soon. Or ever. He was my boss and shouldn’t have been on my mind to touch at all. I snatched my hand away.

“Ironically, I found out about her infidelity in a lousy way. Apublicway. And she’d dumped me just before that revelation of her cheating was shared.

“What do you mean,public?”

He glanced away, perhaps uneasy about sharing this much.

“Sorry. I don’t want to pry for details. I only want to wrap my head around this.”

“You’ve heard about the holiday party, correct?”

I nodded. “I vaguely knew about it before coming here to work. My parents went one time, I think?”

“Yeah. They’ve come as guests. Brandon usually comes. It’s a big to-do. Lots of staff bring friends and family. The Malley, Inc. holiday party is a legendary affair, not a typical potluck in the breakroom with a white elephant gift exchange.”

My brows spiked up. I couldn’t control my surprise. “Wait. She dumped you at the Christmas party?”

When he nodded, another chunk of my heart cracked for him. That had to have been so terrible, cruel and just nasty. Who’d do that but a heartless person?

“In front of lots of people,” he confirmed. “My parents were there. Her family was there. Just about every family friend and business acquaintance. You name it, they were there.”

“Damn, Nate. That is harsh.”

“So harsh,” he agreed, “that I am still unavailable because of it. Everyone saw me at my worst moment. The hardest moment of my life. It’s been six years, and I still can’t help but dread when the party is coming up.”

“Wow.” I shook my head, sad and mad on his behalf. “You, of all people, to dread a party. Brandon always said you were the life of a party, no matter what.”

He chuckled. “Well, frat parties in college were a whole different vibe.”

I smiled a bit. It didn’t shock me that he’d resort to humor, especially during a somber conversation like this. He relied on smiles and laughter to get through life. That wasn’t to say he was an airhead, an idiot who couldn’t be serious. He was, but his love language was humor and happy comments, not this.

“Which brings me back to my deal.” He cleared his throat and sat up more. His physical tells told me plenty. He was not in the mood to go any further down memory lane about Yasmin or how she'd ended her marriage with him.

“Your proposal for a deal.”

“Correct,” he said. “Do we have one?”

“For you to mentor me?” I pointed at my chest. “Out of the goodness of your heart? Just because?” I huffed. “That doesn’t sound like a deal. What would you get out of it?”

---