Christmas Baby for the Billionaire (South Shore Billionaires 1)

“Well, I’m willing to look at some options. No guarantees, but I’m not saying no.”

A brilliant smile broke over his lips. “It’s a maybe, which is way better than no. I’ll take it. And I can show you some examples of nice properties for us.”

She also wanted to ask him about citizenship for the baby, because she couldn’t imagine having her baby outside Canada. But that didn’t have to be decided tonight. The fact that they’d come up with the beginnings of a plan was huge.

That she’d be facing a lot of changes meant she had a lot to think over. Work, for example, and how long she’d stay at the hotel before the baby was born. Living arrangements. Possibly listing her own house, if she decided to move.

He got up and took their plates into the kitchen, stopping to load them in the dishwasher. “Come on,” he said, once they were out of sight. “Come to bed and get some sleep. We have Mom’s on Saturday, but tomorrow I have another surprise for you. Something I haven’t done since I was a kid.”

“Oh?” Her interest piqued, she lifted her head and peered around the corner at him. “What’s that?”

He came back and held out his hand. She took it. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.” He tugged on her hand, and she slipped off the stool. “But I promise you’ll like it.”

“You haven’t steered me wrong yet,” she admitted, and let herself be pulled closer, so that his arm was around her as they made their way back down the hall.

At the junction to their bedrooms, he stopped and looked into her eyes. “If you want to sleep in your own bed, I understand, but if you want to stay with me, I’d like that, too. It’s your choice.”

Spending the night seemed like a big deal, but then, if they were really going to give this a shot, she couldn’t keep shying away from intimacy. At some point she had to trust that he was as good as he seemed.

“Your room is fine,” she said, butterflies settling in her stomach at this new step in their relationship. “But I’d like to get my pajamas first, if that’s okay.”

“If it makes you more comfortable,” he answered, tapping a fingertip on her nose and smiling. “Don’t do it on my account.”

Heat crept up her cheeks, but she tried to enjoy it. Sharing a child made the stakes high, but there was no reason why this couldn’t turn out to be a good, healthy relationship. Why it couldn’t be a real future. It was a dizzying and sobering thought.

She scurried away to get her comfy boxer shorts and top. Tonight they were sharing his room. Tomorrow, some sort of surprise. And then night after that, she was meeting his family.

If that didn’t sound like a guy who was serious about moving forward, she wasn’t sure what did.

CHAPTER TWELVE

JEREMY KNELT BEFORE Tori and tightened up the laces on her skate. “Is this too tight?”

“No, it feels just right.”

He gave the ends another tug, then tied the knot and bow. “Okay, then. Give me your other foot.”

Skating at Rockefeller Center was something he’d done as a kid. While his mom had come to the city to shop, their nanny at the time would take them skating and then off to some other adventure—and lunch—since dragging three kids around had cramped his mom’s style, and his brother and sister weren’t old enough to be left to their own devices. There had always been a trip to see Santa Claus, too. He’d loved that at first; his siblings had been much older and had rolled their eyes. Some years he couldn’t remember; he’d been too yo

ung. Another, though, he’d asked for some video game system while sitting on Santa’s lap.

Christmas morning arrived. No gaming console. His mother had been quite put out at him when he’d complained, and said how was she to know he wanted it? Maybe because he’d mentioned it only a million times and put it in his letter to Santa.

Despite that unfortunate memory, today actually brought back a lot of good ones, including lacing up skates and the hot chocolate that was to follow. Besides, as a kid, the last thing he would have wanted was to be dragged from store to store.

“Jeremy? You okay?”

He lifted his head and met her gaze. “Yeah, sorry. Just got caught up in a memory and forgot to keep tying.”

“I hope it was a good one.”

He smiled and tugged on the laces. “It was. I came here a lot as a kid.” He gave the bow a final jerk and sat back. “There you go. All set.”

She waited as he put on his own skates. “I did not expect this for a surprise today.”

“It’s not Christmas without the tree here and skating. And hot chocolate.”

Tori pulled on thick mittens. Today she wore the older jacket that zipped up in front, which was better for skating. But she wore a new hat, he realized, and grinned. It had a hole in the top, and her dark ponytail came out and trailed down the back of her head to her neck.