Page 8 of Santa's Dirty Secret
“Have I ever said no when you offered?” I ask.
He chuckles softly. “I suppose not.”
His laughter makes the butterflies in my stomach flutter wildly.
"I think it will go nicely with your dress," he continues and hands me the box. "You look like freshly fallen snow."
“That’s what I was going for,” I say, twisting my body so the light catches on the crystals and they begin to sparkle.
I open the box and see a silver diamond-encrusted snowflake necklace inside. It's way too much of a gift for me to accept, but I can't find the words to try and fight him on this.
“It’s the most beautiful thing in the world.” I pull it from the box.
"Almost," he says, and I look up at him. His eyes are on me, and I don't miss the double meaning of his words.
“Will you help me put it on?” I turn and run my fingers into my curls and lift them off my neck.
Nick clears his throat and takes the necklace from my hand. He opens the delicate chain and reaches around my neck to clasp the two sides together. I can feel each warm puff of his increased breath against my skin. His fingertips brush gently down my neck and over my shoulders before he comes to his senses and clears his throat.
“We should probably get going,” he says.
I turn and see that he’s backed up into the hallway, putting some distance between us. Instead of calling him out on it, I decide it’s best not to point this out before we even leave. So, I grab my mother’s white faux fur shall and lock up the apartment door. Nick tenses when I loop my arm in the crook of his elbow, but he doesn’t pull away.
He’s not going to make tonight easy on me to convince him there is something here between us. So I might just have to up my game.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 5
OceanofPDF.com
NICK
I feel like every guy in the room is staring at Alexis. Many of them turn away when they see me glaring back at them, but one pair of eyes don’t blink or turn away.
Jasper Woodson, he's the son of one of my clients and womanizing douche bag. He's the type of guy that has never heard the wordnoin his life, but I’m willing to be the first to do so if he doesn’t stop trying to undress Alexis with his eyes.
I wrap my arm around her waist and turn so I'm standing in front of her to block his view. She seems oblivious of the attention she's garnering in the room. Instead, her attention is on the way the ballroom is decorated. They probably spent a small fortune bringing in professionals. But I know that Alexis could have done all this in her sleep.
Jasper starts moving in the crowd closer to us, his eyes never leaving Alexis.
It was a mistake to bring her tonight. I know I'm playing with fire, trying to pretend that there isn't anything going on between us. I'd be a moron to think that she doesn't want something more. But I know that what I feel is more than some passing crush she might have on me. That's probably why I was willing to push aside logic and invited her here tonight. I'm the one who is risking my heart in this scenario. I'd never be so cavalier with Alexis's heart.
“Should we find our seats?” Alexis asks.
We move around, looking for our table. A few organizers from the event stop to talk to me about making an additional donation. When Alexis is distracted talking with the man's date, I take a moment to pull him aside.
“How much for you all to stop circling like sharks for the rest of the evening?” I ask quietly enough that only the man can hear me.
He looks taken aback by my bluntness. "I'm sorry, sir, it was never our intention—"
I hold up my hand to stop him. Tonight is my only chance to spend some one-on-one time with Alexis, and I'm willing to pay any price to make sure we don't continue to be bothered.
“How about a hundred grand?” I ask.
The man’s eyes widen, and he nods.
"Good." I reach into my pocket and hand him my card. "Call this number after the new year, and the check will be sent over."
