Page 58 of Christmas with the Denton Billionaires

Jules cleared her throat, smoothing the swaddling blanket over Noelle’s chest. “Well…I don’t know.”

“We have everything at the hotel. Everything you could possibly need. And I have to admit, I wouldn’t mind spending more time with Noelle, since we won’t know how long she’ll be with us.” He ran his fingers over Noelle’s little arm as she punched a tiny fist up out of her swaddle. Clearly his swaddling skills weren’t the best if the baby could get out of it. “It’s your call, but just think how easy your commute to work will be if you don’t have leave the hotel.”

A strange smile drifted over her face. “So you want me to be your roommate until the gala?”

He laughed. “Sure. Or after, if you wanted to stay through Christmas.” He looked around at her apartment, which looked sterile without any decorations up. “The hotel is far more festively decorated and our chef puts out an amazing Christmas dinner complete with my mother’s chocolate cake. What do you say? Want to be holiday roommates?”

“And nobody in the hotel will think it’s strange if a random woman and a random baby just start…living with you?”

“Not the strangest thing to grace the doors of my penthouse. Besides, a temporary but beautiful wife and child will make the holidays more bearable.”

The words popped out of his mouth before he could think better of them. Jules’s brow arched. “Upgraded already from roommates to wife and child? That was quick.”

Heat crept under the collar of his shirt. “You know what I mean. ”

“So what are the stranger things that have graced the doors of your penthouse? If a sudden family isn’t the weirdest thing.”

He paused, tilting his head in thought. “Okay, this might be the weirdest thing. But my point still stands. We’ll be more effective working together. And if the weather continues to be cold and snowy, you won’t have to worry about commuting.”

Jules smiled and nodded. “You’re right. It does make sense. Let’s do it.”

A grin spread across his face, and warmth bubbled up inside his chest. This was absolutely the wildest thing he’d ever suggested—ever stumbled upon—but damn, it feltright.

As he waited for Jules to pack a bag and get the baby ready to go outside again, his mind swirled with thoughts. She brought up a good point about the temporary wife and kid living in his penthouse. People absolutely would notice—everyone took a high interest in who and what came up and down the elevators to his apartment. It was only natural, he supposed. As a thirty-something eligible bachelor in Manhattan, his name came up frequently in the tabloids, and women often courted him aggressively.

He could have anything and anyone he wanted within the world of women, but he rarely indulged. That didn’t mean he didn’t sometimes dip his toes into the waters—but really, he was too busy for a proper relationship. Or even a superficial one, which he’d tried once. After that spectacular but beautiful failure with a woman he’d tried to keep around for public events and “being seen,” he realized that he needed to hold off on dating until he reached the pinnacle of his career. Family and relationship stuff could come after he reached the top.

And he was damn close to that top. Especially if his father made the announcement Mitch was expecting at the Christmas Gala.

Once Jules and Noelle were back in the car, anxiety started churning in his gut. Thinking about the gala always tied him up in knots. It wasn’t about the event planning. He’d already seen Jules’s plans and approved of them but rather, the cycling worry about whether his father was finally prepared to hand over the reins.

Mitch had been preparing for this position since college. And one of the hardest parts about his climb was his father Mitchell Senior. The man had exceedingly high standards, but not just in business. In every aspect of life. Since Mitch’s mom had passed, his father had turned into even more of a hardass. And really, he could understand. The man was filling a void with work and perfectionism.

But that need for control impacted his family as well as it bled into every aspect of Mitch, his brother Josh, and their cousin Chris’s lives. For Mitch personally, his father had always been extremely vocal about who Mitch allowed on his arm. It was Victorian-style classism; only the best and most-educated women could have a place in Mitch’s life. Anything less than that was simply unacceptable.

Things were different for his younger brother Josh. He’d shown no interest in taking over the company. If anything, quite the opposite. Not only did he get the girl, but he also got his dream job and home in Cedar Grove, which at this time of year, looked like something out of a Hallmark Christmas movie. Then there was Chris. While he’d been raised alongside the brothers after his parents died, his cousin had never shown any interest in working for Mitchell Senior.

Not for the first time, Mitch thought about what it would be like to walk away from Denton Hotels and do something entirely different. He hesitated to imagine what the blowback would be from his father. As it was, once he found out what was going on, he’d be furious, and Mitch worried that he would pull back from his planned big announcement. Which meant that anything longer than temporary with Jules and Noelle would be positively disastrous.

Still, he wanted to allow himself this little respite from his regular life. Bringing in Jules and Noelle promised to make the holidays a lot more interesting. And even though he had it all—anything a person could want—there was one thing he was sorely lacking in life.

Warmth.

10

JULES

Tuesday

Jules yawned as she stumbled out of the bedroom in the bleary morning hours. This was day three in the penthouse—her second morning since deciding to become Mitch’s holiday roommate, or wife, depending on how you looked at it—and it still seemed unreal. Using this place as her remote office was one thing; cohabiting with Mitch the COO hottie was another altogether.

She walked around with a constant lady boner in this place. In just three days, she’d come to appreciate all his different phases. Work Mitch, who wore the impeccable suits. Relaxed, After-Dinner Mitch, who unbuttoned the work shirt and rolled up the cuffs of his sleeves. And then there was Nighttime Mitch. Her favorite one. The guy who wore those cotton tees and soft shorts and had an easy smile that lit her up inside.

All those Mitches were the man of her dreams, so it was hard to choose which one she was more attracted to. And each time she caught herself fantasizing about him, while feeding Noelle or working on the gala planning, she tried to stop herself.

But it didn’t stop her from masturbating in the shower each morning, thinkingexclusivelyabout what he might look like under those clothes.

Blue-gray light filtered through the huge windows overlooking Manhattan. Noelle had woken up for a feeding, and now Jules needed some water. On her way to the kitchen, she heard some strange grunting.

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