Page 55 of Sexted By Santa
“Leave the table, darlings. I’ll clean up later. Let’s take coffee in the living room, hm? I want to hear more about each of you.”
Christian pushed his chair back, standing. “Nonsense. I’ll clear the dishes. You shouldn’t be left to deal with it.”
Hugh stood too. “I’ll help.”
“Oh, I can help too,” I said, scrambling to get to my feet.
Aunt Henry trilled a laugh. “So many gallant gentlemen. Christian, Hugh, thank you.” She looked toward me. “But, Jaxson, you simply must come to the living room so that I can get to know you better.”
She circled the table and linked arms with me. “You don’t mind a little grilling, do you, darling?”
I glanced helplessly toward Christian. He smiled and shrugged helplessly. “Go easy on him, Henry.”
“I’ll be very gentle,” she said in a teasing voice that made me laugh.
“You’ll be okay?” I asked Christian, glancing toward Hugh, who was already clearing some dishes at the other end of the table.
Christian nodded. “I can handle it. Go on. I’ll be in shortly.”
With little choice in the matter, I allowed Aunt Henry to pull me away. Barry and Teresa volunteered to bring the coffee, but Darius, Lydia, and Fynn joined us in the sitting area of Henry’s living room.
It wasn’t that the room was overly large, but Henry had segmented it into a cozy seating area separate from an almost gallery-like display of art and antiques. There was no Christmas tree. It made me think again of how Christian said Henry’s decorations were subdued. Was that for his benefit? She seemed loving enough that it wouldn’t surprise me. Instead of the traditional tree, a collection of vivid red poinsettias were arranged on tables on either side of the settee where she guided me to sit.
“These are beautiful,” I said, touching one velvety petal.
Henry sat beside me. “Aren’t they? The older I get, the less I want to fuss with a tree, but these add a festive air.”
I smiled. “I thought you might skip the tree for Christian’s benefit?”
Fynn gave an amused snort, drawing my attention. He’d taken a seat in the armchair on the other side of the coffee table. “I take it his attitude about the holidays hasn’t gotten any better. He was such a bear at Christmas.”
Henry chuckled. “He’s been a better sport lately, hasn’t he?” Her eyes twinkled at me.
“He did tell my daughter she was on the nice list.”
“The nice list?” Fynn seemed utterly puzzled.
“Oh, he was dressed up as Santa at the time.”
“What?” He looked aghast. Whoops. Maybe that was information Christian wouldn’t want shared.
Henry seemed delighted. “Didhe? I’d hoped this volunteer role would do him some good.”
“He’s playing Santa?” Fynn looked as if he couldn’t get his head around it.
“Doesn’t sound like Christian,” Darius said dubiously from his seat on an ottoman.
Lydia, who’d taken a seat directly on the floor by his feet, snorted indelicately. “That’s putting it lightly.”
“Well, I’m very grateful he was willing to help out,” Henry said in a tone that put that line of conversation to bed. Then she turned to me. “So tell me, how did you and Christian meet?”
“The question of the hour,” Fynn murmured, eyes sharp and trained on me.
I was his neighbor for years, but I wasn’t surprised he didn’t remember me. Fynn hadn’t spent any time outdoors, leaving the yard work to Christian. He generally only left the house to make a beeline for the car. He’d never glanced my way more than once or twice.
I debated how to answer Henry. Barry knew we’d connected via the hookup app, but I hardly wanted to share that version of the story with Christian’s aunt and his ex-husband.
“We’re neighbors,” I said.
