Page 25 of Single Dad Billionaire Boss

“What were you thinking?” Jacob cried. He shut the door and took the bag of presents from me. “There’s a blizzard out there. What could you have possibly needed that you risked freezing to death?”

“A little dramatic, don’t you think,” I said as my teeth chattered.

“The car was less than ten yards from the door and I had gifts to put under the tree.”

Jacob made me take off my thin jacket and steered me to the hearth, where he quickly started a crackling fire. I kneeled on the rug, rubbing my hands together. With an exasperated huff, Jacob removed my wet shoes. He draped a blanket over me and then I heard his footsteps recede. Kitchen sounds came next, and I curled into a ball and pulled the blanket over my head.

A few minutes later, when Jacob returned, he sat next to me on the rug and nudged a cup of tea at me. I carefully sipped the warm, sweet liquid and chattered out a “Thank you.”

“I thought you could hold it to warm up your hands,” Jacob said, setting the cup on the table behind him. “Come here. You’re frozen. I’ll warm you up quicker.”

Still a little dramatic, but I scooted over to him, and he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. The warmth of the fire, the soothing cup of tea, the heat of his body slowly seeping into mine—it would be too easy to let myself sink into his warmth, to give in to my desire to be held by him for any reason. I stiffened my body a little. I had to have some restraint. I could tell Jacob must have felt that bit of resistance as he rubbed my arm to work the warmth back into it. He pulled his hand away from me as if he were touching a hot stove.

At last, I managed to scoot away a little. “I think I’ll be okay now. Thank you.” Jacob offered to get me more tea as I cradled the mug gratefully. “This is really nice of you. You even put a cinnamon stick in it.” My voice was thick with emotion. I cleared my throat. “I won’t go outside again like that. I will be certain to dress appropriately next time.”

“I hope whatever is in that bag was worth it,” Jacob grumbled. I could tell he was doing his best not to be grumpy. Or was it just an act?

“Presents,” I said. “You wouldn’t want to miss out on your Christmas gift, would you?”

“Yes, if it meant you didn’t risk life and limb to bring it inside.”

“You’re being grouchy,” I said with a little smile.

“And that’s funny?”

“Overprotective and grumpy is your love language,” I blurted out, and then immediately regretted it. I clapped a hand over my mouth. “Oh no! I’m sorry.”

Jacob’s expression grew stony. “If you say so,” he said, and quickly got up to busy himself in the kitchen. I smacked my palm against my forehead.

Just because I knew it to be true, it didn’t need to be said out loud.

Chapter14

14

Jacob

Zoe barreleddown the stairs and shrieked when she saw the bounce house. She crawled inside it and rolled around. Then she got to her feet and started jumping. I videoed some of her antics, then sat back with my coffee and just enjoyed watching her have so much fun.

“I am never getting out of this!” Zoe screamed. “Gonna stay in here forever! Wheeeee!”

“She’s gonna need a bath if she keeps jumping that way,” Ella said, giving me a mischievous look.

I smiled. “Yeah. I should’ve looked for one with an attached bathroom.”

“You done good,” Ella said. “Look at that smile.”

Zoe was beaming. She was also sweating and her cheeks were flushed. We coaxed her out with some orange juice and the promise of more presents. She grabbed a box with five bows stuck to the top and handed it to me proudly. When I opened it, I found a framed picture of Zoe with Vera the Vulture and Eva the Eel.

“It’s for your desk at work!”

“To scare me into doing a good job?”

Zoe giggled. “To make you wanna hurry home to me and myscary henchmen.”

“I love it,” I said, giving her a hug, and then Zoe bounced over to Ella with a present. She opened it—a weird hamster plush with big shiny eyes and a note that read“HAMPster.”Ella grinned and gave Zoe a squeeze.

“Thank you, Zuzu. It reminds me of the first day we spent together when the hamster got loose in your classroom.”

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