Page 15 of The Bad Boy's Secret Santa

I quickly shakethatthought away. What we have now is fun and familiar. But in a few days, Eli will return to his normal life, and I’ll stay behind in the little town that has come to mean so much to me.

“Do you want to talk about the questionnaire?” I ask, hopeful that I can distract myself from these troubling thoughts. If I startto get my hopes up that Eli might actually be my true love after all, I’m doomed just to get my heart broken again.

“Not tonight, dear. I need to see to these pies.”

“Need any help delivering them?”

“Thank you, but I have it handled.” She wraps a loaf of poppy seed bread and hands it over. “We’ll talk about the questionnaire another night, okay? You’ll come over for Christmas Eve dinner?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Bring Eli.” With a quick hug, she rushes me out the door. I nearly tease her about having a hot date, but the door closes in my face before I can. It’s only then I realize she didn’t answer a single question I had about the Secret Santa event.

Chapter Nine

ELI

“This is such a generous donation,” Linda, the director of the local animal shelter gushes. Her smile stretches her cheeks as she stares at the check in disbelief. I may have gone a little overboard, but animals have always held a special place in my heart. Every single one here deserves to find their forever home, and hopefully this donation will help that process along. “Are you sure about this?”

“If I could adopt them all, I would.” I catch Piper’s surprised expression. I never had a pet growing up because Roy wouldn’t allow animals in his house. And once I left Alpine Valley, I didn’t have an ounce of stability those first few years. It wasn’t a fair environment to bring a furry companion into. Maybe, once we’re settled in the city, we can adopt one together. “Will this be enough?”

“It’s more than enough,” Linda reassures. “Will you hang on a moment? I need to grab Jenny so she can take a picture.”

“A picture?”

“This will be front page news!” Linda’s gone before I can adamantly oppose the attention I donotwant. I suppose I’ll be long gone before the story actually runs. Maybe I should just go with it.

“Just how muchwasthat check, anyway?” Piper’s suspicion is warranted. Although Roy did stash several thousand dollars away over the years, it wasn’t as much as I’ve let Piper believe. We burned through my inheritance on day three of giving money away.

“Does it matter?”

“And since when are you an animal guy?” Piper teases, nudging me with her elbow. The scent of her peppermint shampoo momentarily overpowers the strong wet dog smell. When we arrived, the pups had just come in from a very snowy recess. My coat will likely need to be dry-cleaned, but I don’t mind.

“You have something against that?”

“What? No. I just…I don’t remember you ever mentioning that you wanted a pet. Likeever.”

“I kept a lot to myself back then,” I admit.

The somber expression on Piper’s face makes me immediately regret my word choice. I still owe her an explanation for why I left, but I promised Wilma I’d let her talk to Piper first. I put an arm around Piper, tugging her against me. My entire body pulses with electricity at the proximity.

“Eli,” she says, flickering her blue gaze up to mine.

“Yeah?”

She stares at my lips, wetting her own. I wonder if they still taste like peppermint and coffee. Her palm slides beneath the open flap of my coat, the heat of her touch searing right through my shirt. My cock has been half hard since I left her apartment yesterday morning, the taste of her on my tongue.

“I know about?—”

“Where should we stand?” Linda’s cheerful, booming voice shakes us from our moment. Moments we’ve been having a lot lately. Moments that remind me I’ve never stopped loving Piper Stanton. Moments that promise this is finally our time. Christmas morning, I’m asking her to run away with me again. But this time, I’m going to give her the life she deserves. This time, I’m going to get it right.

“Over there,” Jenny directs. “With the sign behind you.”

I hardly notice the whirlwind of action happening in the reception room or the dog cradled in my arms until it licks me on the cheek. The flash of a cell phone camera snapping dozens of pictures is little more than a minor distraction as I feel the heat of Piper’s hand on my bicep.

“We can’t thank you enough, Mr. Winchester.”

“Eli, please.”

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