Page 85 of Sexted By Santa
“I’m glad you were brave,” I added, finally speaking up. “I really had fun watching you twirl.”
“Thanks for all your work to put this together, Mrs. Kroger.”
The teacher, a young woman with dark hair pulled into a braid, gave a nervy laugh. “Oh, it was no trouble. I love working with the kids. Speaking of…I really have to move on and talk with some of the other parents.”
“Of course,” Jaxson said.
“Wait!” Tori squirmed out of Jaxson’s hold and hit the floor. “I wanted you to meet Christian.” She grabbed my hand. “He’s my daddy’s boyfriend.”
My stomach flip-flopped, and I shot a panicked look at Jaxson.
“Nice to meet you,” Mrs. Kroger was saying, unaware of the bomb that Tori had just dropped. She wasn’t supposed to know we were dating yet…Had I screwed up somewhere, said something I shouldn’t have?
I shook Mrs. Kroger’s hand, mind still spinning, and watched her excuse herself. Then Jaxson turned to Tori. “I never said I was dating Christian.”
The bottom fell out of my stomach. Would Jaxson deny it, try to claim I was only a friend? Maybe he still wasn’t ready for Tori to know. Maybe he didn’t believe in me, in us, enough for that yet.
“The holiday party was a date,” Tori said.
“Just a friendly, non-serious date,” Jaxson countered. “I told you it didn’t mean he was my boyfriend.”
“But now you guys are together a lot, and you always look at each other all sappy like you want to hug all day.” Her forehead scrunched up. “Doesn’t that mean you love each other?”
Oh, from the mouths of babes.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Should I…”
I waved at the exit as I began to edge away. Jaxson had made me no promises about when he’d tell Tori, and if he wasn’t ready, I didn’t want to make the conversation any more difficult for him.
He snagged my arm and drew me closer. “No, stay. Like Tori said, we’re boyfriends. That means you get to share the awkward talks with my know-it-all daughter.”
Relief swamped me. Jaxson had said more than once that he’d tell Tori about us soon, but I hadn’t been totally sure what “soon” meant in real time. Now that this secret had been revealed, we could begin an open and honest relationship, one that was balanced and equal. My heart fluttered at the possibilities unfurling before me, a happy future with a relationship that I didn’t mess up for a change.
Tori just looked confused. “Was I not supposed to know?”
Jaxson shook his head. “It’s not that. I was just worried about how to tell you, and how you would feel about it, but you already had us all figured out. You’re too clever.”
Tori giggled. “Iam. I’m really smart!”
She beamed at both of us, and I had to laugh too. We’d been working so hard to maintain boundaries, to give Tori time to get to know me better to ensure this went smoothly, and she was ahead of both of us.
“Okay, smarty pants,” Jaxson said. “Let’s get out of here.”
We swung by the classroom to remove Tori’s giant snowflake and bundle her up in a coat and scarf. As we headed for the car, Jaxson dropped back to murmur in my ear, “Get Sir Elton John when we get home. Then come over. You’re staying the night.”
The bossy tone made me shiver, as did the visuals of what exactly might be in store later. “I can do that,” I rasped.
“And bring those glasses,” he added with a wink.
I felt giddy as I climbed into the car, ready to spend another evening with my boyfriend and his daughter. Perhaps my daughter too someday soon. My family.
This time, the shiver down my spine had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with serendipity.
* * *
Tori was wound up from the performance, hyper enough that Jaxson had to check her glucose monitor and adjust her insulin settings at least once. It was difficult to wrap my mind around how blood sugar worked and the fact it could be affected by so many things besides food. I didn’t know how Jaxson managed it all, but the man was impressive as hell.
While Tori played with Sir Elton John—some sort of chase game tonight that led to excited barking and squeals—Jaxson and I did our best to be patient. Knowing we could be intimate again once Tori went to bed should have made it easier. Instead, sexual tension simmered between us, growing thicker by the minute.
