Page 117 of The Holiday Heartbreaker

“Do you have any more presents for me?” he asked.

And she thought of the other bit of lingerie that she had bought. “I just might.”

“Good. Because I have to tell you... Having presents I don’t have to share is probably my favorite part of the whole thing.”

She felt the same way. She just wished that it were true.

Because she did have to share him. With his demons. And she didn’t know if there was any way around that. She really didn’t.

HE SHOULDN’T LET them sink into this. It wasn’t smart. And he knew it. But he was basically living at her place. It was stupid as hell.

He should have kept a better line drawn around all of it. He really should have kept a better line drawn around Christmas.

Christmas had been...

Well. If he could’ve imagined a perfect Christmas, that would’ve been it. It was just that he didn’t think Christmas was perfect. Because it reminded him of too many things. Too many awful things.

It had snowed buckets that day, and in the two days since.

And he shouldn’t be lying in bed way past work time with Elizabeth right now either. Another on the long list of things he shouldn’t be doing.

He was, though. Naked and wrapped around her in her bed. Having gone from never having shared a bed with a woman for the entire night to having done it every night possible except that one when he’d gone and indulged his hangover.

“You know what I think we ought to do,” he said, not really thinking the words through before they came out of his mouth, all rusty from sleep.

“If you say sex...”

“I mean, I’m always going to say that. But I was thinking a sleigh ride.”

“A sleigh ride? Who’s doing sleigh rides after Christmas?”

“Me. Brody McCloud.”

“You don’t have a sleigh.”

“I assure you that I do.”

“No way.”

“I do. With a harness. With bells on.”

“I bet you look cute in that,” she said.

“Oh, Lizzie, you really do want me to play dress-up, don’t you? I’ll get a pirate costume one of these days.”

Except they knew that there were only about five days left until “one of these days” wouldn’t come anymore. Because it was going to be New Year’s, and then Benny would come home, and that was it.

“Yes. A pirate costume with a black mask, and above all else, I want you to say...‘as you wish.’”

“I think that’s a whole different fantasy.”

“I have a lot of them since hopping into bed with you.”

“I think you had them before that.”

“Since meeting you,” she said. “But do you really have a sleigh?”

“Yes. I would never joke about something this serious.”

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