Page 51 of Santa's Girl
Don’t tempt me to upgrade.
I laughed out loud,buried my face in the pillow, and blushed like a teenager.
Me:
Save it for tomorrow. 6pm.
Sharp.
Bear:
You better be ready.
I’m not holding back.
My heart did a little flip. Then another.
And even though I didn’t sleep much the rest of the night, it didn’t matter.
Because tomorrow?
Tomorrow was the first date.
And I had a feeling I’d be ruined for anyone but him.
12
BEAR
Iwas at the bar in the clubhouse, laptop open, one hand nursing a mug of black coffee, the other scrolling through Google like it held the meaning of life.
“Holiday date ideas. Pigeon Forge. Romantic. Unique. Not ice skating. Not sleigh rides. Not cliché.”
Jinx walked by, saw the screen, stopped in his tracks, and whistled low.
“Well I’ll be damned,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Boss is Googling date ideas.”
I didn’t even look up. “Keep walking.”
Jinx leaned in, grinning. “This for Blondie?”
“No.”
His grin got wider. “Ohhh. This for yoursnowbird.”
I looked at him sideways. “You done?”
“Just getting started.” He spun on his heel and shouted across the room. “Yo! Axe! Pico! Diesel! Come get a load of this — Bear’s planning adate.”
Footsteps. Laughter. Chairs scraped. And suddenly I was surrounded like a wolf in a trap.
“Movies, man,” Axel said, dropping into the chair next to me. “Can’t go wrong with a Marvel flick and some popcorn.”
“Burger bar,” Pico offered, dead serious. “Fries, root beer float. Chicks eat that up.”
“She’s not a chick,” I muttered. “Or seventeen. I need something more grown up.”
“Aw, listen to him,” Grease said. “Gone soft.”
