Page 9 of Warming Up Coco (Santa Daddy)

“The snow’s picked up,” I noticed. The black Tahoe I had rented was almost covered completely in snow.

“Hey, you two.” Our waitress popped by with a smile and impeccable timing. “How are the cookies?”

“Amazing!” Coco answered. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a better one.” She picked up a second and ate it with a smile.

“I’m glad, honey. Is there anything else I could bring you two?”

“Just the check.” I pressed my lips together. “Is this a normal amount of snow?” Diane looked out the window and shrugged.

“Well, snow up in these parts can be a little unpredictable,” she shared, and I could have sworn her blue eyes almost sparkled. “The news is saying the storm is going to turn into a blizzard, but not until two more nights or so. You should be okay to make it to Serendipity. I just hope this storm doesn’t cancel all their events. That would be a shame.”

“Events?” Coco asked, and I could see the excitement start to bubble up inside of her.

“Yeah, hun, they have all sorts of Christmas stuff going on up by the lake. You two lovebirds will enjoy it.”

“Oh, umm…” She glanced at me, and I could tell she was waiting for me to correct Diane. Over my dead body. “That, umm, sounds lovely, but I don’t think we will have time, right, Lucas? With work and stuff? Wait, who did you say we were meeting?”

“I didn’t.” I turned to look at our waitress. “Could we add two lunches to go as well? Something that will keep, if possible.”

“Of course.” She winked at me. “I got you two covered. I’ll be right back with your things and the check.” I nodded and picked up another cookie. I chomped down before chugging the milk.

My head was filled with what would happen if this blizzard did indeed kick in earlier or snowed us in. I quickly realized I couldn’t have planned anything more perfectly. The idea of being alone with my little temptress for a couple of days during the holidays sounded perfect.

I picked up a third, three cookies more than my system was used to, when Coco coughed, drawing my attention to her. I tried to mask the surprise of finding her staring at me.

“What?” I clipped a little too brusquely, and I saw some of the light in her eyes dim slowly.You big fucking idiot!

“Ah… there you are. I was starting to think you got abducted by aliens las night or something,” she teased, but I could almost see her building up the bricks around her.

“Hmm,” I huffed.

“Lucas, it’s a cookie, not medicine.” She pointed at the fourth cookie in my hand.

“Excuse me?” I asked, meeting her gaze on me.

“The cookies.” She pointed. “You’re eating them like you hate it more than you hate me.” She rolled her eyes, and something ugly sank in the pit of my gut.

Is that what she thinks?It couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I don’t hate you,” I whispered, never taking my eyes off her.

“Really?” Her lips twitched, and my hands suddenly itched to swat her perfect ass and try to tame a little bit of the brat I saw shine through here and there. They clenched beneath the table. I didn’t even know if she had the same interests I did when it came to the bedroom. “You could have fooled me.”

“I don’t,” I reassured her, but I knew it wasn’t enough.

“Right.” Her eyes dropped, and she reached for another cookie, but it was the last one. I watched the hesitation before her eyes met mine. “Want to split it?” she asked, ignoring the conversation we’d just had.

“Coco,” I started, but our waitress had amazing timing yet again.

“Here you two go.” She dropped a big brown bag with handles lunch on the table. “That little something you asked for is also in the bag, and here is the check.” She handed me the slip.

“Thank you.” I grabbed my wallet from my pocket and pulled out two crisp hundred-dollar bills. “Here you go.”

“Oh! That’s too much, umm…”

“Merry Christmas,” I mumbled, ignoring the way Coco stared. Like she could hardly recognize me.

“Thank you. That is incredibly generous. Have a good stay and drive safe.”

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