Page 97 of Santa's Girl
“Hi,” I said sweetly, tilting my head just enough to let the light catch on my earrings. “You look like someone who knows how to dance.”
He blinked, surprised. Then smiled. “I do, in fact. And you look like someone who shouldn’t be alone for even a second tonight.”
He offered his arm. I took it.
As we walked back toward the dance floor, I didn’t look for Bear.
No. Not Bear.
Calden.
But I hoped—prayed—that he saw me.
That it burned.
22
CALDEN
Iwasn’t looking for her.
Why would I?
This gala was part of a deal struck months ago—show face, stroke checks, shake hands with the senator and the mayor, all for some charity campaign that helped kids I’d never meet. My name—myrealname—was printed on the donor banner behind the stage. Cameras clicked. Champagne was passed. People I barely knew asked about my holiday plans.
And all I could think about was Becca.
How I left things. The look on her face when I told her I'd "think about it"—Christmas, the one thing she asked for. The pain behind her smile.
I was chewing through guilt and shaking another politician's hand when I saw her.
Well—not her.
Caroline.
Hair like wildfire and eyes that could cut glass, stomping toward me like a candy-cane-fueled missile in heels.
"We need to talk."
She didn't care who I was talking to. Or what I was wearing. She got close and hissed under her breath like a woman possessed.
"Billionaire bachelor or MC outlaw president? You better be a twin and have a crazy brother back in a mountain cabin polishing his truck, or I swear I'm gonna kick you in the balls so hard you'll cough plaid."
I blinked.
Jinx appeared from the shadows like a damn magician in a tailored suit. "Easy there, sugarplum. Not here, little tiger."
He slid an arm around her waist to stop her from slapping me, but her fury didn’t die. If anything, it got hotter.
"Where is she?" I demanded.
Caroline glared. "Probably somewhere on heartbreak hill drowning in champagne."
My stomach dropped.
“I saw her go toward the exit,” Jinx supplied.
I was moving before I finished thinking. Through the gold-trimmed doors, past the art deco hallway, and out into the cold.
