of the Christmas events here at the hotel. Trimming the tree. Caroling. Helping with Santacon. And, of course, the gingerbread house.”
I gulped.
Decorating a tree.
Caroling.
Spreading holiday cheer.
“Yeah,” I squeaked. “I can do those things. If that’s what I have to do, I can do it.” I nodded as though it made my high-pitched assertion more viable.
“Are you sure about that?” he taunted me.
“Oh, I’m sure,” I retorted.
His eyes dropped lower and lingered. My breasts tingled under the heat, and I was about to lay into him for staring at my chest when I realized what he was looking at—the Santa hat stuffed carelessly under my arm.
Huffing, I yanked the hat out of the package and plopped it on my head. Of course, it was too big, so I quickly tugged it to the side before it fell over my eyes.
“See?” I plastered on my best people-pleasing smile.
“I’m not sure I’m quite convinced,” he said with a low chuckle. “But I’m willing to give you a chance, Miss Jolly.”
I planted my hands on my hips, my chest swelling against my shirt. I caught the quick flick of his eyes down to where my breasts strained against the fabric and felt a small sense of retribution that he might have to suffer through this just as much as I would.
“Oh, don’t you worry, Mr. Nicholsen,” I assured him with equal amounts of sincerity and sass. “I’m going to be the jolliest Grinch this side of the Pacific.”
His laughter thickened, melting over me and making me shiver. “Glad to hear it.”
My smile didn’t reach my eyes as I plucked a red drink from a passing tray and took a sip.
“But, I have to say, you’ve proven me right about this holiday,” I quipped tartly, drawing his intrigue. “It’s nothing more than blackmail and bribery wrapped up with cards and candy canes. It’s essentially piracy led by the jolly Captain Kris Kringle.”
Saint threw back his head and laughed, the sight making my stomach flutter. Though my smart remarks were made with the snarkiest intentions, I bit my lip and then gulped down my drink to stop from laughing, too.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone compare Christmas to piracy,” he replied with a bright smile.
“A jolly captain, iconified by his hat. A magical sleigh instead of a ship. And, if going to Walmart on Black Friday isn’t a prime example of pillaging, I don’t know what is.” I shrugged. “Seems similar enough for me.”
“I see,” he said, his warm voice lingering like a blanket over my skin. “But I also don’t think anyone’s ever accused me of blackmail before, either.”
I fought the urge to wince. That would just have to be tacked on to the growing list of things I shouldn’t have said to my boss.
“Blackmail or bribery, Mr. Nicholsen. I guess you could look at it either way.”
He pulled his tongue over his lower lip, the movement so quick I almost missed it, but so sexy it made my knees shake.
“Is it the name?”
“What?”
“Is it because of your name you don’t like Christmas?” he clarified.
I coughed, choking on the air that was supposed to keep me alive.
“Not everyone needs to be a Christmas fanatic, Mr. Nicholson,” I informed him, refusing to get anywhere near the truth—and my name was only the tip of the iceberg. I leaned in close to the fire that radiated from him before I tacked on, wryly, “Even Santa has a naughty list.”
As soon as the words were out, I wished I could pull them back. In this scenario, the mention of anything naughty only made the thoughts I was trying to ignore—the thoughts about my hot boss—glare at me insistently.
It wasn’t bad enough my boss was named after good old Saint Nick. It wasn’t bad enough I’d confessed to being a Grinch. And it wasn’t bad enough that instead of being surrounded by holiday spirit for the next three weeks, I had to take part in it.
No, the worst part of this entire situation was the demanding burn of attraction I felt for my boss and that deceptive promise twinkling in his eyes.
I knew better than to believe that promise. I swore I did.
“Maybe if you gave Christmas a chance,” he said with a grin that I wished didn’t make my pulse skip erratically. “Maybe these few weeks will change your mind—they sure did for me.”
I looked at him curiously. He was baiting me, I could tell. But I wasn’t going to fall for it. I wasn’t going to