The Christmas Grinch - Rebel Hart Page 0,33

sleeping on your living room floor would do either of us any favors,” I quipped.

“You carried me to bed?” She smiled for a moment, but it quickly faded into something more awkward. “Sorry for...for last night, I guess.”

My heart panged with a rush of doubts and uncertainties. I hadn’t planned any of this. It just sort of happened. I needed time to sort through it all, but time was what I didn’t have...with her expectant eyes on me.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” I insisted. “It takes two to tango.”

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and cradled my own aching head for a minute before going in search of my clothes, scattered across her apartment floor. She emerged from her bedroom, wrapped in a silk floral robe, a few moments later.

“Hey, Chris...I was thinking…You don’t have to keep going along with all of my demands. I’m sorry I dragged you into all of this. Sometimes I get so stubborn and caught up in how I want things to be, I take it too far. I love Palmers and want the store to do well. I’ll write a good feature for you.”

There it was. The thing I thought I wanted. To be off the hook. So why did I suddenly not want it so much?

“I told you before. You have nothing to be sorry about. Besides, I’m kind of looking forward to seeing how the Malones celebrate Christmas with the extended family. Your sisters and parents are a hoot. I can only imagine what all of your crazy aunts, uncles and cousins must be like.”

Her eyes grew wide. “What?”

“You invited me last night. The Malone family Christmas feast. You don’t remember?”

She buried her face in her hands, cringing. “Oh god. Sorry. No, I forgot I mentioned it.”

I paused for a moment as a weird silence fell over the room. “Unless...you changed your mind. I don’t have to…”

“No, no. It’s okay. Of course you can come. You deserve a home cooked family meal for the holidays, considering how your own family is. And I owe it to you after putting you through all of this.”

I buttoned up my shirt and crossed the room. “As I’ve said over and over again, you don’t have to be sorry and you don’t owe me anything. Last night was more than enough,” I winked before leaning down to kiss the adorable tip of her nose. “I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yeah. See you tonight,” she smiled.

I was playing it cool, but the panic set in the moment I walked out her door. I didn’t have time for a relationship, or the energy or desire for one. Not that Hazel seemed to be in any rush to find one for herself. But with this piece hanging over both of our heads, it complicated things. One wrong move and lord knows what kind of angry seething vengeful thing she might fire off about me and the company. I couldn’t very well lie or play along with anything just because of that though.

But that wasn’t what landed us in bed...or rather her living room floor the night before. I wasn’t trying to do anything...except indulge in something I suddenly couldn’t resist. I tried to keep reminding myself...All I had to do was keep my head on straight and get through our one last commitment to each other. After the dinner that night, we could go our separate ways. We could laugh the whole thing off. That was what we both wanted, right?

I went to work for a while then went home to shower and get ready to pick her up. When she appeared out front by my car and driver, I was taken back once again. Whether she was done up in a formal gown, had just woken up, or was all cozy in a knitted sweater...she looked great and my body was finding it harder than ever not to respond.

“You ready?” I asked as she climbed in.

“I’m ready. The real question is...are you ready? These dinners can be a whirlwind.”

“Well, you saw the gala. Surely if I can handle that, I can handle a small family dinner.”

She laughed. “Oh, just wait.”

I knew what she meant within ten minutes of being at her parents’ place. Every room was filled with members of her family, half of them closely resembling her or her parents. It was kind of fun to search from traces of Hazel’s features in their faces each time I met another one. But they