Page 79 of Santa’s Little Faker
He’d made good money but he’d broken her heart with his thievery.
He was still adorably dramatic when we sat down in my big chair and he wiggled to try to distract me. “Alright, Trippy, what did you steal and who is the money going toward? Another cute girl with a bad haircut?”
He’d always been an adorable sucker.
“No.” Slouching over, he let out another long sigh. “This time it’s selfish. I don’t regret it, though. Nope. I was smart and I deserve my reward.”
He was just as insane as the rest of them.
“What was your reward?”
I should’ve expected the answer but the grin threw me for a moment. “You.”
Lord.
“Explain.” I was hoping we could do it the easy way, but when he started studying my ceiling, I knew I’d have to give him a push. “I was doing some research yesterday and I’m pretty sure I’m the only man in town who can see your profile on that stupid site.”
His grin said I was right, but the confession followed quickly. “If you answer all the questions…all the questions…just right it narrows down the algorithm so your profile doesn’t show for nearly anyone else but one or two people.”
Well, that explained a few things.
“So…me and your stalker?” When he went back to trying to find every flaw in my ceiling, I knew I was right again. “Trippy, is there a Secret Santa?”
His frown worried me.
“Technically yes.”
His pleased expression worried me even more.
“How technically?”
“Well.” Wiggling again, he looked more like a naughty kid than a sexy brat who was trying to make me hard. “The regular Santa didn’t get me what I wanted last year, so he just needed some help.”
And we were losing our bigness very quickly.
“Did you ask Santa for me last year?” His nod made me wonder what I’d missed, but we could come back to that another time. “Did you actually go sit on Santa’s lap?”
Yep.
“Yes, grown-ups do that too. I saw lots. But he didn’t know what to do so I had to help.” Orlando’soh wellshrug said he really didn’t think there was anything wrong with whatever he’d done. “I thought and thought and thought and then I figured it out.”
“Let’s try this again. Is there a Secret Santa, and if there is, who is it?” When I could almost hear the wheels in his head grinding to figure out a good answer, I did my best to look concerned and slightly sad. “I’m trusting you to be honest, Trippy. You don’t want me to worry.”
Bingo.
His glare was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. “That’s cheating. Terrence said so.”
Fucking hell.
“Is he your Secret Santa?”
No, but I was close based on how much drama Orlando radiated as he slumped into me.
“Enzo was his Secret Santa. Terrence liked it. A lot.” Shrugging, Orlando still didn’t actually seem to understand manipulating me had been wrong. “He’s smart and Enzo had good ideas. We helped him.”
“Just to make sure I have this straight…you don’t have a Secret Santa but Enzo was the real one and that was just for Terrence?” When Orlando nodded without looking like he had to confess anything else, I sighed. “Was that the right thing to do?”
“Yes.” Popping up, Orlando looked like he thought I was stupid. “I did a good job and I was Santa’s helper. He didn’t know how to get you for me.”
