Tis the Season for Love

“See! Harley agrees! It’s our first Christmas morning together, and it should be special,” Luke exclaimed, wriggling out of his dad’s hold and springing off the bed. He pulled on David’s arm until he got up, and I waited until they left the roo

m to follow behind them—after I put my pajama pants back on. I’d lost them in the sheets when David and I had made love in the middle of the night once we were done wrapping all the presents from Santa and putting them under the tree.

It’d taken us about five hours to get them all wrapped, but it only took Luke twenty minutes to rip through them. By the time he was finished, there was wrapping paper everywhere and we were left with no doubt that we’d done well with the selection of presents this year. While we cleaned up and got brunch ready, he happily played on the floor next to the tree. He didn’t get up until the doorbell rang, and then he raced for the door.

“Tyler!” he shrieked, pulling my little brother inside to show him all the toys he’d opened. While they chattered about which presents were the best, David and I greeted my parents. Just as we got them settled in the living room, the bell rang again.

This time, I was the one who hurried to the door to greet my best friend. “Holly!” I cried as I pulled my friend close and peered into her eyes. “Come in. You look flushed. Are you coming down with something? Is she sick?” I asked her husband, Jacob, as I gave him a hug and tugged them both inside the house.

“That’s one way of putting it,” he laughed.

“Oh, no!” I sighed in disappointment. “I had a special surprise all set up for everyone, but we have to go outside for it. You won’t be able to if you’re sick, not with the white Christmas we’re having.” I peered outside, looking for any sign of David’s friend who was loaning us a sleigh and horses again this year. When I didn’t see him, I shut the door and turned back to our guests.

“I’m not that kind of sick,” she giggled, pressing a hand to her lower stomach. “It won’t hurt the baby for me to be outside.”

“Baby!” I shrieked. “Oh my gosh, we’re going to be pregnant together! When are you due? We think it’ll be mid to late September for me.”

“You’re pregnant?” my mom cried, getting up to come over and give both of us hugs. “What a wonderful surprise!”

“Pregnant?” Tyler and Luke echoed in unison, turning to look at each other. “Ugh. Babies. We didn’t think about that with our—”

“Plan to fix Harley and I up with each other?” David finished for them.

They looked at him in shock. “You knew?” Luke asked.

“Yeah,” he answered, smiling at me. “Don’t forget that Santa knows everything, and I have an in with the big guy.”

It was one he’d continue to have for years to come since I couldn’t wait to bring our baby to the mall to visit Santa. Only the best Santa would do, of course. The one played by their daddy.

Ride My Sleigh Tonight

Grant St. Nicholas Calvin owned a chain of Christmas themed stores, but he had no love for the holidays. Not until Kristen Delancey walked into his office and stole his heart. She was the holiday miracle he didn’t even know he’d been wishing for, and he’d never let her go.

Chapter One

Grant

The cuckoo clock mounted on the wall behind my desk started jingling a Christmas tune, announcing it was noon. I spun around in my chair and glared at the ridiculous piece of wall art.

Despite the poison in my stare, the damn thing finished its tune before sending the little Santa back inside. Pivoting back to face my desk, I stabbed the intercom button on my phone.

“Grace, get that fuc—damn clock off of my wall.” I swallowed the curse, not wanting to offend my secretary. She had been working for my family’s company longer than I’d been alive and was like a second mother to me. Which meant I feared her as much as I loved her. It was a good thing she was so damn good at her job because I didn’t think I’d ever be able to fire her.

“We’re back to this again?” she sighed audibly through the speaker. “You want me to take down your grandfather’s clock? The one he made? The one that hung in the first store he opened until your father died? That clock?”

Oh, and she had the motherly guilt trip thing down pat.

“No,” I growled and punched the button to hang up. Rubbing the slight pain in my temples, I brooded silently and wished fervently for this day to be over.

“Your one o-clock is here early.” I almost jumped out of my chair when Grace’s voice shattered the silence, and my eyes flew up to find her standing right in front of me.

“Fuck, Grace! How do you do that?” She was a like a fucking ninja, always stealthy. I ran my hands through my dark hair before scrubbing them down my face and scratching my beard.

“Language, young man,” she scolded with a disapproving shake of her head, causing her silvery-gray curls to bounce. Grace was in her early sixties, had four children and nine grandkids, but you’d never know it. Her face had aged beautifully and she’d maintained her petite figure, making her look years younger than she was. Her hair and makeup were always impeccably done, and she was always dressed stylishly in her business suits and heels.

“Sorry,” I grumbled.

“Since your appointment is early. Why don’t I order in some lunch, and you two can go ahead and get acquainted?”

Something in her tone made me glance at her face, and I frowned when I saw a sly smile shaping her lips. Her blue eyes were sparkling, making mine narrow suspiciously.

Her countenance was odd considering the woman I was meeting with worked for the company I was hoping to sell my mine to. I’d inherited SWS (Santa’s Workshop Shop. Yes, you heard that right.), my family’s company that ran a chain of Christmas stores, when I was twenty-two and my parents died in a car crash on Christmas Eve. Running the company hadn’t interested me, but I felt obligated to pick up the baton, so to speak. Now, I was sick to death of Christmas and felt like I’d done my time. I wanted out so I could live a life where I could ignore the holiday season in peace. Grace had made it abundantly clear that she was against the decision. Especially since Denning & Co intended to expand and open stores all over the country. Basically turning Holiday Cheer into the Walmart of Christmas stores. So, why was she all of the sudden happy to facilitate the meeting?

“This meeting shouldn’t take long. I’ll have a late lunch afterward.”

Grace frowned and planted her hands on her hips. “Grant St. Nicholas Calvin”—I winced at the reminder of my ridiculous middle name—“I know your mother taught you better. Don’t be rude, especially not on Christmas Eve.”

I sighed and gave in with a wave of my hand. I’d learned to pick my battles with Grace. She smiled and patted my cheek before doing an about-face and leaving my office.

My head was bent over my desk, studying some reports when there was a soft knock on my door. Then it opened, and someone stepped over the threshold. “Have a seat,” I instructed without looking up. We’d recently started importing some of our toys and ornaments to get the cost of production down and make restocking quicker. Yet, our sales were down for almost every Holiday Cheer store and had only picked up after our big push for Black Friday. Most companies operated in the red all year, making up their profits on the busiest shopping day of the year. Not that we were in jeopardy of going under or anything, but selling would be much easier if the numbers were increasing rather than the opposite.

Finally pushing the reports away, I raised my head, only to have my jaw drop. Before me sat the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She had deep brown eyes, a pert nose, and thin, pink lips that made my mouth ache to kiss her. Her oval face was framed by wild, brown curls that draped over her shoulders and fell to the tips of her breasts. Gorgeous fucking tits. They were small but high and round, a perfect handful and my hands itched to cup them.

She wore a red sweater-dress, but I couldn’t see where it ended or anything about the lower half of her body as it was hidden by my desk. But, I instinctively knew it would be every bit as delicious as the rest of her.

Lust barreled through me and as I swelled in my slacks, I was grateful for the heavy oak barrier that hid my aroused state.

“Do I have something on my face?” she as

ked as she patted her creamy skin, looking for whatever she thought had caused me to stare. If only she knew…

I shook my head and cleared my throat, attempting to dispel the fog surrounding me and get back on a steady, professional footing. “No. I’m sorry, you ah, look like someone I know,” I fibbed. “Kristen Delancey, I presume?” I refrained from reaching out to shake her hand, afraid that touching her would snap my control.

She nodded and smiled, showing off a set of small, white teeth, and a dimple in her right cheek. Fuck, everything about this woman from her body, to her smile, to her bedroom voice made me think of sex. I wanted to bend her over my desk and bury myself inside her from behind. I’d pull on all that gorgeous hair and fuck her fast and hard until she came so hard she saw fucking stars. Then lay her out on the surface and lick—

“Yes. I apologize for being so early”—her voice broke through my dirty daydreams and I tried to concentrate on what she was saying—"I was going to wait in the lobby but your assistant insisted that you wanted to go ahead and have our meeting over lunch.”

“Well, I didn’t”—what the fuck was I saying??—“Yes, I thought we could discuss things with some food.” I smiled genuinely, suddenly grateful for Grace’s meddling. Not that I’d ever tell her that.

“I’m so excited to work with you on the Holiday Cheer stores,” she gushed sweetly. “We used to come see Santa at the flagship store every year. The sleigh rides were always my favorite part.”

I chuckled. “They are still a hit with kids and adults alike. In fact, a friend of mine borrowed the horse and sleigh on Christmas Eve two years ago to romance his girlfriend into accepting his proposal. Since she’s now his wife, I guess the magic still exists.”