Page 16 of Christmas with the Denton Billionaires

Silence settled between them, and his bare chest prickled under her gaze. He might have left his shirt off on purpose.

“Well,” she began, rocking back on her heels, “In that case, I’m going to go shower.”

“I already did.” He flashed a grin.

“Oh? Did you?” She clucked her tongue. “Okay. Very nice. Well, I’m going to…” She wandered into the bedroom, and the bathroom door shut a moment later. He smirked. This felt like a small victory somehow. And very possibly the small amount of evidence he needed that Amelia MacTaggart was definitely interested in him.

Josh managed to get lost in his work as he drew up a list of proposed additions to the hotel. He could feel the same sort of blind determination that overtook him whenever something became imperative for the family business. By the time Amelia came back out, he had a two-page list of proposed changes ready for her review.

He glanced up at her, hearing the record screech in his head. Her damp hair was tousled and down, reaching her shoulders and her usual glasses were perched on her nose but they weren’t giving him librarian vibes this time. Not with the heather gray spaghetti-strap tank top and yet another pair of booty shorts she was wearing. His gaze swept her body noting that her nipples were two tight points beneath her shirt as she settled into the chair across from him. His mouth parted as he watched her.

“Okay, I’m ready. I was thinking we could call to have a printer brought up?” She glanced at him as she reached for her laptop. “Or no?”

He forced his mouth shut. “That’s a good idea.” His cock pulsed, reminding him that he couldn’t evenlookat her now. He’d be sleeping on the couch tonight, for sure. The last threads of his restraint were about to dissolve, and he didn’t know what might happen once he made the decision to go for it with the hope that he wasn’t reading all the signs wrong.

A hard knock sounded on the door, and he surged to his feet to answer it. “That’s probably breakfast.”

“Oh, goodie,” she said, voice huskier than normal, giving it a sexy rasp liable to send him over the edge. “I hope you got pancakes. With strawberries and cream.”

“You’ll have to wait and find out,” he called out as he opened the door. He’d love to lay out strawberries and cream all over her sexy body, but that might be going too far. For now. The server had a full tray of food on his cart, and he wheeled it in, setting everything up on the long table facing their work area. Josh tipped him a twenty-dollar bill before he left, and then got to work unveiling the spread.

“Coffee, soy milk for your weird ass, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, granola, and a fruit bowl.” He popped a slice of cantaloupe into his mouth and chewed as he looked back at her. “Happy?”

He knew the answer without her needing to say a word. She shone, basically bouncing to her feet to load up a plate. Josh popped a grape into his mouth as he watched her pick out her breakfast.

“That all you’re gonna eat?” she asked as she forked a pancake onto her plate, followed by a waffle.

“Nah, I might have some yogurt.”

She huffed, tossing a grape at him. “Loser.”

“Damn. Is that a challenge, MacTaggart?”

“No, Denton, it isn’t, but thisisvacation breakfast,” she said, adding a pile of strawberries on top of her pancakes. “Which means, one of the few mornings of the year Idon’tstart with yogurt or granola.”

“Fair enough.” He forked a waffle onto a plate to appease her but still loaded up a bowl of yogurt. When they settled back into their chairs, Amelia eyed him cautiously.

“I don’t understand how you can eat without a shirt on.”

“Um, pretty much the same as eating with a shirt on.”

She snorted, cutting a fat bite out of her pancake.

“You can give it a try,” Josh urged. “See what it’s like.”

“Ha ha.” She forked the pancakes into her mouth. “Not happening. I wouldn’t enjoy my food if I was eating naked.”

“I didn’t say anything about naked,” Josh said, feeling even more of his professional façade crumbling away. “But if you want to take it there, I mean, I’m game.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he was thankful she couldn’t tell how hard his heart pounded in his chest. That look she’d given him though—that was a sign he needed to stay in his lane.

“So, take a look at this,” Josh barreled on, quickly changing the subject as he turned his laptop toward her. “I’ve come up with a list of proposed renovations that we could include in the plan for Cedar Grove once Denton Hotels acquires it.”

Amelia sat cross-legged on her chair, popping strawberries into her mouth as she read. Her brows slowly knit together the more she read.

When she was done and handed the laptop back, all she said was, “This looks…interesting.”

“You don’t sound enthused.”

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