Page 36 of Persuaded

“I’m gonna hit Manhattan.” He flashed a grin. “Christmas shopping.”

Tejana shivered. “Two days before Christmas? It’ll be a zoo, Finn.”

“It’s always a zoo.” And he always hated it, but the idea of getting away from New Milton appealed. The last thing he wanted was to run into Josh or Liz tomorrow. “So, you guys got a list for Santa?”

Tejana snatched a little envelope from the kitchen table. “No, but you can get this while you’re there.” Her smile verged on the smug side of sweet.

He took it from her, grimaced at the twee little Santa sticker on the back. “Really?”

“Dude,” Sean protested. “We’re all doing it. Secret Santa is fun!”

“Fine”—he ripped open the envelope—“but don’t—”

Joshua Newton.

There it was, written in Tejana’s curling handwriting. Joshua Newton, of all the goddamned stupid pieces of—

“Problem?” Sean watched him with his sharp lawyer eyes.

“Uh—” He could ask to swap, but that would look too weird. For all Sean and Tejana knew, he and Josh were barely acquaintances and he didn’t want to make them curious. They were both way too smart. “No, it’s—I’m just thinking. Five-dollar limit, right?”

“Right,” Sean said. “So no one feels awkward.”

Finn folded the paper, slipped it into his pocket and pasted on a smile. “Guess I’ll see what Bloomingdale’s can do for five bucks.”

But as he headed to his room, he couldn’t ignore the treacherous flutter in the pit of his stomach—he got to buy Josh a Christmas gift.

Damn fool, he told himself as he climbed into bed.

He drifted to sleep thinking of falling snow.

Chapter Eleven

Christmas day dawned picture-postcard pretty, with a fresh fall of snow and misty skies in pastel shades of pink and blue.

Joshua took the drive slow—Finn was right about his tires—and pulled up in Sean’s driveway without incident. Frankly, he was impressed the car had started at all, but Don had promised him the new battery he’d installed would do the trick. So far so good.

He wasn’t sure what the dress code would be, so he’d opted for a smart shirt and then thrown a heavy sweater over the top. A little scruffy, but he liked it; it made him feel comfortable. God knew comfort was going to be in short supply for the next few hours.

He hadn’t seen Finn since the carol singing, three nights ago. Time had done its usual trick of stretching and twisting his memories, so now he couldn’t be sure if he’d imagined that needy rasp in Finn’s voice, or the startled look on his face as he’d backed away.

Even in the frosty morning, the memory made him hot all over. He wouldn’t allow himself to hope, but he couldn’t quash the feeling thatsomethinghad almost happened.

So he approached the door to Sean’s house, bedecked by a generous wreath of real holly, with anxious anticipation. His fingers tingled as he pressed the doorbell. It played “Deck the Halls!” and Joshua grimaced. That was probably Finn’s idea.

“Joshua!” Sean grinned like the Ghost of Christmas Present when he flung open the door. “You came. Awesome!”

He smiled at Sean’s exuberance. “Of course, thank you for inviting me.”

Sean laughed and grabbed his shoulders, hauling him inside. “Hey, Joshua is here!” He called it out like the whole house had been waiting for the news. Joshua wondered how much he’d had to drink already. It was barely noon.

Tejana hugged him in the hallway, took his coat, and ushered him into the living room. It was unrecognizable from the austere space of his childhood, dominated by a huge Christmas tree that stood in front of the French doors that led out onto the lawn in summer. A couple of sofas and love seats were dotted around, a real fire crackled in the fireplace his father had never used, and boughs of holly lay across the mantelpiece.

Liz and Matt were already there, Matt plugged into his phone with headphones on while Liz talked to Don and his wife, Jude. Poor Matt—couldn’t be much fun spending Christmas with your mom’s new boyfriend. Joshua could hear Dee and her girls in the kitchen, and beneath their laughter rumbled Finn’s unmistakable voice.

“Hey, everyone,” Joshua said. “Merry Christmas.”

He shook hands with Don and kissed Jude on the cheek. Liz smiled and hugged him, then touched her son’s shoulder. “Matt—say hello.”

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