Bad Engagement (Billionaire's Club #10) - Elise Faber Page 0,56

Christmas present for him!

How did she not have a Christmas present?

It was two days away. They would be sitting with her family at her parents’ house with presents all around, and she hadn’t bought him anything.

Of course, a week ago she hadn’t thought she’d needed to do any more buying.

But . . . he meant a lot, had done more to transform her life, her heart in less time than any other person she had ever met.

And he deserved a present.

A good present.

Because he’d given her the gift of time, of courage, of cracking open the door to her heart.

“Well, you can’t just get him a door, Kate,” she muttered, throwing back the covers and blinking against the bright before she got out of bed. Shower. Clothes. Present. Dinner. That was her plan.

She’d feed him, coax him into staying the night.

And in the morning, she’d make him breakfast then see him off to work properly.

Perhaps with a blow job.

Talk about presents.

“You’re a dork, Kate McLeod,” she said to herself as she walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Hot water paired with shampoo and conditioner went a long way to shaking off her hangover. It did not, however, help her figure out what to get Jaime for Christmas. Because what did one get their fake fiancé, their lover, the man they wanted to build something serious and long-term with . . . that they’d only known a week?

A book, maybe, she considered as she blow-dried her hair.

Or perhaps a T-shirt? He looked really good in T-shirts. Except that wasn’t really personal now, was it?

She wanted something thoughtful, something perfect for this man she was just starting to know, but this man she also already knew down into the deepest parts of his heart.

Jaime was . . . well, he wasn’t perfect, but she thought that he was perfect for her.

She wanted her gift to show that.

To be the beginning of—

“You’re making this too big, you dope,” she muttered to herself, shutting off the blow dryer and staring at herself in the mirror. Shining red hair, so bright she used to hate the garish color. Over the years she’d grown to appreciate it somewhat, just as she felt deep down that she could grow to appreciate herself.

To not shut people out and blame it on them.

To be strong enough to be open.

No more asshole superpowers. Her new one was going to be . . .

Brown eyes stared back at her, question in the depths.

Then she smiled and picked up her tube of moisturizer.

“Being happy is going to be my superpower,” she promised. “To stop being such a weakling and grab on to my happy.”

Nodding, she slapped on some makeup, slipped into a festive sweater and boots, a scarf, and her cozy jacket. A cup of coffee and a piece of toast later, and she was prepped to brave the last-minute Christmas shopping crowds.

Confident. Strong. Excited.

Little did she know what awaited her at the mall was going to shatter all of that.

She’d gone from searching for the perfect gift for Jaime that would express exactly what she was feeling in her heart to just wanting to find any gift.

Everything was cleared out.

Crumbs.

Proverbial, that was. All she had were proverbial crumbs. Oh, and a tabletop ping pong set.

Somehow that didn’t scream true love.

Sighing, she set the box down and knew she was back to the drawing board. She was probably being too picky, should just snap up some lingerie and wrap herself up as Jaime’s present.

Except, how was he going to open that present with her family on Christmas?

They did a small exchange before the neighborhood started traipsing through. Her family would expect her to have gotten Jaime something, and she didn’t even want to attempt a conversation with her brother and dad that insinuated Jaime had already gotten his present earlier.

Bow-chicka-bow-wow.

Nope. No, thank you. She liked all of Jaime’s body parts exactly where they were.

Of course, she could always get him lingerie and something else.

A slow smile curved her lips as she walked out of the entrance to the shop. The kiosk in front of her sold bands for smart watches, but one in particular caught her eye, and she knew it would be perfect for him to open in front of her family.

Then she went to the ridiculously expensive lingerie store and spent far too much money on lace. Red, because it was his favorite color.

It was as she was walking out of the store, carrying an extra bag filled