Page 41 of Sexted By Santa
Jaxson slipped an arm around my waist, making me tense, and leaned in close. “Maybe you should have stuck with Door Number 1. He’s gorgeous.”
I bristled. “There’s more to a man than how he looks.”
“That’s fair.” Jaxson rubbed a soothing circle on my back. “You’re tense. Try to relax.”
I exhaled a gusty sigh. “Tense seems to be my default setting lately, but I’ll try.”
Jaxson’s closeness and warmth was comforting, but the signals it sent to my body weren’t torelax.My skin prickled at our proximity, my inner core heating as my awareness of him heightened.
Ella came to a stop in front of us, smiling. “Barry, Christian, why am I not surprised to see you two together?”
“We’re peas in a pod,” Barry said, though it couldn’t be further from the truth. We had very little in common, which was probably what made our friendship work.
She turned her gaze to Jaxson. “I see you’ve finally brought your boyfriend for us to meet.” She extended her hand. “I’m Ella, head of the department where Christian teaches.”
“Jaxson Hicks,” he said smoothly, shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yes,verynice to meet you,” her brother said with a wolfish smile. “I’m Grant.”
He clasped Jaxson’s hand after Ella withdrew, lingering longer than necessary. I glanced at him sharply, not missing the look of invitation he was giving Jaxson.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” I said abruptly, extending my hand so he’d have to break contact with Jaxson.
Reluctantly, Grant shifted his gaze toward me, a politely distant smile on his face now as he released my date and gave me a brief shake. No lingering touches for me, apparently. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Ella won’t stop telling me that you’re just what I need.” His gaze shifted to Jaxson. “But it seems we both prefer a different kind of man, hm?”
Ella laughed awkwardly. “Oh stop, Grant. I just thought you two would get on well. No harm done.”
I begged to differ. Ella’s matchmaking attempts had been stressful for me as I’d lied, evaded, and then had to produce a fake date—all to circumvent her without insult. I glanced sidelong at Jaxson, who continued to rub my back soothingly. I’d scored a pretty good fake date, all in all. As long as Grant didn’t steal him away.
“It was kind of you to think of me,” I said, “but as you can see, my dance card is full.”
She smiled. “I’m happy to see that. We’ve all been curious about this mystery man—and worried about you, too, since everything with Fynn…”
I stiffened. I hated that the whole department knew about my divorce. It was humiliating enough to be left without people whispering about it in the hallways. It’d gotten better as time went by, but there was still this curiosity about my love life that had never been present while I was married.
Ella wanting to set me up with her brother was just one example of my colleagues getting too invested in my private life. I missed being the boring married guy no one meddled with.
Jaxson wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in close. It felt almost protective, and I shot Grant a smug look as I leaned into Jaxson’s warmth.
“Christian isn’t really the type to go shouting from the rooftops about his love life,” Jaxson said firmly, a note of censure in his voice. I couldn’t talk to my boss that way, but I was happy to let him do it.
“No, of course,” Ella said.
“But I’m so happy to be here with him,” he added, sounding so incredibly genuine I had to look at his face. He seemed sincere as he smiled at me.
“I’m happy too,” I said, heart fluttering.
Jaxson might be putting on a show, but having his arm around me felt so good, so real that it confused my senses. His eyes met mine and held. Tension seemed to build until the room disappeared.
My lips parted, so desperate for a kiss that they vibrated with longing. Fake or not, I wanted to feel that. Jaxson was a gorgeous man, just as gorgeous as Grant or Fynn, but he was abetterman too. I might not know him super well, but I knew that much. He was hard-working, devoted to his daughter. A man with principles and integrity. Compared to him, my ex had been an empty, vapid shell—a pretty exterior but not much more.
Jaxson’s head dipped—and my heart leapt in excitement. But his mouth only brushed my cheek in a chaste kiss.Damn.
I fought down disappointment as our eyes met again. Jaxson’s seemed full of messages I couldn’t comprehend.
Barry cleared his throat, reminding me we were in a crowd of people. As the fog lifted from my head, I felt myself flush. Right. I’d told Jaxson no kissing and no PDAs, and I was fairly clinging to him and begging wordlessly for the exact opposite.
“Hope that was okay,” Jaxson murmured.
