My Fake Christmas Fiance (Kane Christmas #1) - Julie Kriss Page 0,40

thinking the same thing I was.

We were supposed to have a little fun, but instead we’d had incredible sex. We worked together. We were supposed to get married the day after tomorrow.

What the hell were we going to do now?

Chapter 17

Wes

One day. Penny and I had one day to get married. To be precise, we had to be married in thirty-four hours or the merger would be off.

It was Thursday, the day after our long lunch hour in my bed. That had been—I didn’t know what that had been. I had no words for it. No words for how good it had been or how Penny had looked naked and arching beneath me, her lips parted as her legs gripped my hips and I slid in and out of her. It had thrown me for a loop, and I’d barely thought about anything else since.

But I had to get my head straight and talk to her about my plan. No matter how muddled I was, the clock was ticking.

Penny wasn’t in her office. With Christmas—and the annual Kane holiday party—so close, everyone was loosening up, the atmosphere casual and excited. I’d even seen one of the HR guys wearing a hockey jersey. The holidays were coming, Kane had had a great year that had started disastrously and turned around, and everyone was in a good mood.

I took off my jacket and loosened my tie. I unbuttoned my cuffs and rolled my sleeves halfway up my forearms. Then I left my office and went looking for Penny.

People greeted me in the halls, giving me smiles and high fives. A woman in the sales department was playing Christmas music on her phone, and a few of her coworkers were singing along while the rest were pelting her with wadded-up paper, shouting good-naturedly for her to turn it off. There was a table piled with baked goods people had brought from home, and Rhonda had a glass of eggnog on her desk that she sipped from delightedly all day. I suspected it was spiked with rum, and I didn’t care.

I found Penny in the fourth-floor break room. There were red and green Christmas lights strung across the ceiling, and Penny had turned the main lights down so she was standing in dimness lit with red and green. She was looking up, her chin raised and her expression delighted as the lights glinted on her glasses.

She looked beautiful.

I took a moment to appreciate the sight—her curls pinned back in the vain hope that they would behave, the elegant line of her neck, the way her sexy mouth curved in a way that was unself-conscious. She was wearing a creamy white sleeveless top under a sweater, which was casual for Penny. It made her look soft and luscious enough to taste.

Which made me think of her naked again.

She noticed me just as the thought crossed my mind, turning her head to see me standing in the doorway. I must have had some kind of look on my face, because even under the Christmas lights I could see her cheeks flush.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” I replied. I could stare at her forever, but I had to get my head straight. I’d put off talking about this long enough.

I still didn’t want to talk about it. I tried not to analyze why.

“You like the lights?” I asked, moving into the room and coming closer to her. Not too close, because that meant I’d want to touch her. And once I touched her, I’d put off this conversation again.

“They’re beautiful,” Penny said. “You know, I’ve spent my entire career in the Christmas business, but it wasn’t until this year that I really understood how magical Christmas is. I always just thought of it as a job.”

“Christmas isn’t a job, it’s a calling.” I was half joking, but I kind of believed it. I’d certainly spent my entire career trying to make Christmas special for people, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Penny smiled at me. “I never thought of it that way, but I guess you’re right.”

I took a breath. “Penny, we have to talk about what happens tomorrow.”

She bit her lip. “I know we do.”

“I have a plan.” I wanted to take her hand, but I stopped, forcing myself to get the words out. “I’ve been through the merger agreement, and without our fathers to sign a new agreement, the marriage part is iron-clad. But the agreement doesn’t say anything about divorce.”

She blinked at me. “Divorce?”

I nodded. The