Page 268 of Santa Daddies
“But I feel good now.” Mostly. “I can’t go back to bed. I want to make cookies. Maybe do some work. And decorate that tree.”
He eyed her for a moment, then he crossed his arms over his chest. “Compromise.”
“Do you know the meaning of the word?” she teased.
Jesus, Alice. Be careful.
“Sassy,” he said, but he didn’t look annoyed. “Maybe you are feeling better.”
“I am.”
“You may sit on the couch. You are going to do nothing more than read or watch television or eat. No work.”
“But . . . but . . .”
“It’s that or bed,” he told her sternly.
“I want to make cookies.” She pouted. “And I need to work.”
“Why do you need to work? Do you have a book due?”
“Well, not until the end of January,” she admitted.
He raised an eyebrow. “So you could take a week off for Christmas?”
Alice swallowed heavily. “I have to work to support myself.”
“Baby, I know that’s scary. But you don’t have any expenses right now. Just have a break. You’ve been running on empty since you left George. When have you had time to sit and breathe?”
She hadn’t. Wait. “No expenses? But I have to pay . . . you . . . or not.” From the look on his face he did not like where she’d been going.
“My woman doesn’t pay for anything.”
Her breath caught and not because of his insistence that she didn’t pay for anything.
“Your woman?”
Anson grasped hold of her hips. “I know you might not be there yet. But that’s where we’re headed to. If you need more time, I get that. It’s not long since you left George and that was a fucked-up relationship. I will wait. I will go slow. But you will be mine. Whether that’s today, next week or next year, I will wait.”
She shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not like he hadn’t said a few things. But he seemed so . . . so certain.
And what do you want? To still wait?
She’d thought that she did. But with each moment she spent with him, she became more uncertain.
Anson cupped her cheeks. “It’s all right, baby. It’s too much. I know that. You don’t have to say anything. But you are resting today. If you are still feeling good tomorrow, you can get up and get dressed.”
Alice swallowed heavily. She really wanted to give in. To be his.
“Also, if you want to slip into Little headspace at any time, I’m all for that. Your Little needs to trust me to look after her too.”
Her mind was reeling.
“Come on, let’s make you a bed on the couch and I’ll get you some breakfast.”
How was this her life right now?
She was snuggled up on the couch under a comfy blanket. The fire was roaring. There was a large Christmas tree next to the fire. And a Christmas movie playing quietly on the television.
