Your Christmas Love

by Layla Hagen

  Oh my God, I wanted to hug the living daylights out of him. All three of them, actually. Renovating my house before Christmas had not turned out to be one of the best ideas. Delivery of materials was unreliable, workers were overbooked. I planned to cover the furniture in the living room with plastic, so Winston and I could paint on Saturday.

  But honestly, I’d never anticipated that just moving the furniture around could take so long.

  “Thank you so much!”

  Blake winked. “Hey, what’s the benefit of a bazillion Bennetts if not to help each other?”

  That was honestly the family motto. I did feel a little guilty though, because Christmastime was a stressful period for everyone. Christopher and Sebastian had their hands full at Bennett Enterprises—demand for jewelry went up at this time of the year. Blake’s restaurants were booked with Christmas parties and whatnot.

  We got to work immediately. Everything was so much easier and quicker when you didn’t have to do it by yourself. Besides, it was always a hoot to have them here.

  “Just saying, if Daniel and I had had the identical twin card to play, things in the Bennett clan could have been completely different,” Blake said. I smiled to myself. Christopher had an identical twin, Max. They’d been dubbed the serious brothers, even though they’d always been pranksters.

  “Doubt it,” Christopher said.

  The two sets of twins were forever in a competition with each other.

  “Hey!” Sebastian said. “How about you focus on work? Sienna and I are twice as quick.”

  We finished in under one hour.

  “When are you painting?” Sebastian said.

  “Saturday.”

  “We can drop by and help you,” Blake said.

  “No, no. I won’t hear of it. I know you’re all busy at Jenna’s house.”

  Christopher cocked a brow. “But you won’t be able to finish by yourself in one day.”

  The tips of my ears were red. Shit, could they tell? For some reason I wanted to keep my day with the boss to myself. I was an easy prey for the Bennett men to sniff out that I wasn’t going to paint alone.

  “I’ll make do,” I reassured them as I bid them goodbye.

  ***

  On Friday, I was on pins and needles. Especially when a certain grumpy but sexy-as-hell boss reminded me that I’d see him on the weekend too.

  “Let’s grab breakfast first on Saturday morning,” he suggested after I gave him my address. We were in the food court on the ground floor, discussing my idea of adding a permanent entertainment center. Even though he didn’t plan to add it right away, we wanted to get a cost estimation.

  “There’s a great deli in your area.”

  “No time. I’ll have some sandwiches ready.”

  “Sienna—”

  I shook my head, pointing a finger at him. “You don’t get to make the rules.”

  “I’m your boss.”

  “Not in my home, you’re not.”

  “We’re still at work.”

  “Making plans for the weekend... at my house.”

  Winston’s eyes flashed. I could tell he wasn’t used to anyone saying no to him. He was about ten feet away from me, but even from a distance, I couldn’t ignore all that masculinity rolling off him. I tried, but it was becoming increasingly harder.

  Thank goodness the ground floor was already bustling with activity as early shoppers ate breakfast before hitting the shelves.

  He cocked a brow. “You’re feisty.”

  I grinned. “I know. Besides, I’ve upgraded you from dictatorial and grouchy to just grouchy. Don’t lose all that progress over a breakfast. There’s a lot of work to do. If we eat breakfast out of the house, we’ll start too late.”

  His eyes bulged. “You’ve upgraded me... I see. How come?”

  “I have my reasons.”

  Plus, I think that deep down you might be a dreamy, romantic guy. Because who else would bring his mom chocolate?

  Nope. I absolutely did not want to look deep down. I wanted to keep things on the surface. Piercing green eyes, sinful lips. That surface was far too hot to be of any help. I lowered my gaze to the notepad I was holding, focusing on it as if my life depended on memorizing the words I’d scribbled there.

  “I’ve got a good enough idea for what we want to ask for a cost estimation, but I’ll stick around to take some measurements. You can go back to your office,” I said.

  He jutted his hands in his pockets, tilting his head slightly.

  “Why, afraid that I’ll get my way if I stay here any longer?”

  I smiled, shrugging one shoulder.

  “No. Can’t boss me around in my free time, Winston.”

  That amusement grew even more pronounced. “We’ll see about that.” A knowing smile played on his lips. I instantly felt as if he’d come closer, as if there was a wall separating us from the bustle of the food hall. Goose bumps broke out on my skin as he passed me on the way to the elevators. Once he was gone, I took a deep breath.

  Yup, Winston was the reason for my jumpiness today, no doubt about that. When I’d accepted his help, I hadn’t banked on this energy between us growing so intense. Canceling our weekend plans now was out of the question. I needed to have the walls ready as soon as possible. There was no getting around that. My fellow Bennetts and Hensleys had gone above and beyond, helping me with the renovation. I hadn’t wanted to hire a team because I would’ve had to take time off to supervise them.

  I’d only planned small changes in the beginning, and then I started adding so many things that it became a renovation project.

  I’d scheduled everything down to the minute. If it weren’t for Winston’s extra project, I would have been on time with everything.

  No, I couldn’t back out of our weekend plans. Besides, the arrangement did have some perks... chiefly, the fact that I’d see Winston do some physical work. I could already imagine him wearing a thin shirt—I was keeping my fingers crossed for a sleeveless one—all sweaty and flexing his muscles in my living room.

  There was a real risk I’d never look at him the same after that, but oh hell, that sight was definitely worth the risk.

  In the afternoon, Mara approached my desk. She kept looking over her shoulder.

  “Mara, hi! What can I do for you?”

  “Are we still on for trying to make the boss participate in the Secret Santa game at the Christmas party?” she asked.

  “Shhh... don’t say that out loud.”

  “Winston’s cooped up in his office with his door closed.”

  “Ears of a bat, that one.” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “Haven’t brought it up yet, but I have a good feeling about it.”

  I felt as if Winston and I were making progress. But he’d only just accepted the decorations. If I brought up Secret Santa now, I could lose all the progress we’d made.

  Baby steps.

  Holding the Christmas party the week after Thanksgiving had been my idea. The store usually had the employee party closer to Christmas, but I’d attended it last year, and everyone had been too stressed to enjoy it. The final bonus announcements were the next day, and every discussion had centered around that. Besides, I’d found the party to be a little stiff.

  This year, I was organizing it. Secret Santa had also been my idea. We’d done that at the company I worked for previously, and it had been an excellent way of bringing people closer.

  I wanted to convince Winston to participate as well. Having the boss join in a common activity would go a long way in everyone warming up to him.

  “You do?” Mara lifted her eyebrows.

  “Yeah. He’s not the ogre everyone thinks he is.”

  Her eyebrows went even higher. “Aha. If you say so. Anyway, any chance you can tell me who’s buying my present? Then I can drop them hints.”

  I waggled my finger at her. “Mara! That’s cheating.”

  Everyone knew who they were buying gifts for, but not who was buying them gifts.

&nb
sp; She grinned. “I know. But I’d rather cheat than end up with a crappy present.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  I’d organized the drawing, so I could technically look up who’d been paired with whom, but I definitely wasn’t a fan of cheating.

  Besides, if I convinced Winston to participate, I’d have to run the pairing program again.

  “One little hint?”

  “No chance.”

  Mara sighed. “You’re mean.”

  “No, I just believe in following the rules.” I laughed as Mara left, wondering about Winston and his rules. I tried to tell myself that he wasn’t attracted to me, that I was just imagining things. It was safest if I told myself that.

  I’d done my best to stay out of the boss’s way after this morning, but when six o’clock came around, I had no choice but head to the meeting room. Winston was already inside, and he was every bit as irresistible as he had been this morning.

  “No more breakfast talk,” I warned.

  He pointed to his open laptop and our dinner. “We’re not on your territory yet, Sienna.”

  Fire sparked in his eyes. The professional environment around us had been a buffer. But tomorrow at my house? All that would be gone.

  Chapter Nine

  Sienna

  On Saturday, I groaned when my alarm clock rang at six. I usually slept in on weekends, but now, duty called.

  I was still half-asleep when I started sanding the walls, dressed in overalls and with my hair pulled into an old-lady bun at the back of my head. I had a Christmas movie running in the background. I’d watched this particular one so often that I knew the dialogue by heart. Even though I’d covered the TV with a sheet of plastic, it didn’t take away from the experience.

  I got so lost in the movie and the activity that I completely lost track of time. I winced when the doorbell rang. It was nine. Winston was here. Shit. Shit. Shit. I’d planned to shower and change before he arrived, but I couldn’t just let him wait on the front stoop.

  Drawing in a deep breath, I opened the door. Winston’s eyes bulged as he took stock of my appearance.

  Damn. This might be the weekend, but I didn’t want to appear unprofessional. There was nothing I could do but soldier on, though. I led him inside.

  “Decided to make headway?” he asked.

  I yawned. “Yeah. I usually sleep in on Saturday, but...” Yet another yawn swallowed the rest of the sentence. “I made sandwiches.”

  Grabbing the plate, I held it up to him.

  “No poison, I promise.”

  “Why? Already approved your vacation days.”

  “Yes, but you still have to paint my walls.”

  It was only after drinking another cup of coffee and eating two sandwiches that I was awake enough to take stock of his appearance. Oh, la, la. He rocked work jeans and a sweater perfectly.

  He stared at the TV. “You weren’t kidding about playing Christmas movies in the background.”

  “No, but for you, I’ll shut it off. Can’t torment you this early in the morning.”

  “That’s an unexpected act of mercy.”

  “I’m much nicer when I’m half asleep.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  I felt ridiculous in my overalls with my messy hair. But I’d feel even more ridiculous if I went to shower and change now. I was going to keep working anyway. I did head to the bathroom to brush my hair and pull it up in a high ponytail though. I almost put on makeup.

  That would be ridiculous.

  I splashed some water on my face, happy I was finally waking up. When I returned to the living room, Winston was already sanding the walls. He’d gotten rid of his sweater. He wore a white shirt that was so thin he could just as well be naked.

  I allowed myself a few moments in which I did nothing but check him out. A girl needed to take some time for herself and indulge. Nothing wrong with that.

  “I can feel you looking at me,” he said lazily, glancing at me over his shoulder. Aha... nothing wrong until I got caught in the act.

  “I was just assessing your skills,” I said as nonchalantly as possible.

  “And? Did I pass the test?”

  “With flying colors.”

  “So why don’t you get to work too?”

  “Maybe my devious plan was to get you here and let you do all the work. Boss you around for a change.”

  “That’s not how it works, Sienna.”

  He was doing that thing again where he was turning my knees weak even from a distance. Those alpha vibes were traveling at the speed of light.

  With shaky legs, I got to work. He was just doing me a favor. Because I was doing him a favor. We were basically scratching each other’s backs. And then my thoughts derailed completely... I could imagine my fingers scratching that perfectly toned back, and those abs. Yum.

  Damn. I needed to concentrate on my task. I had trouble reconciling the bossy suit from the office with the man in front of me.

  I was starting to believe that Winston really might not be the hellish boss I’d pegged him for, just under a lot of stress. Sometimes that could stretch one’s tolerance and patience.

  The more time we spent on the rebranding campaign, the more I believed that this wasn’t just change for the sake of change. He was under a lot of pressure; I just couldn’t imagine from whom. He was the boss. His parents were calm, gentle people from what everyone told me, so I couldn’t imagine the pressure coming from his family’s side.

  Not having a movie run in the background meant silence stretched between us. I’d never done well with silence, so I started talking.

  “It’s good I’ve already done the upper floor. We should finish this in the evening.”

  “Why do you live by yourself in a house this big? Does it have two bedrooms?”

  “Three large ones and a smaller one. I lived here with my siblings for a while, before Victoria and Christopher got together, and then we moved into his penthouse. But I’ve always loved this house, so when it was time for me to get my own place, I came here. We moved here after losing my parents. It had been shabby back then too, but we’d made it a home. Victoria is a decorator, so she knows how to turn any space around.”

  “How come there is such a huge age gap between you and your siblings?”

  “They had Victoria when they were young, and I was a late surprise. After me, they adopted Chloe and Lucas. My parents had always wanted a big family. We did so many things together as a group. Decorating for Halloween and Christmas was always a huge deal.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t hung any Christmas things here.”

  I placed my free hand on my hip. “Do not mock my love for Christmas.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” His lips were curled into a smile. Oh, this insufferable man.

  “I just wanted to finish the renovations first, so the decorations don’t get all dirty.”

  “You and my mom would get on well,” he said.

  “How come?”

  “I can’t explain. She’s just as exuberant about everything as you are.”

  “Everyone’s always praising your parents. I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot by not meeting them.”

  “They’re great people. Hard workers. They have respect and understanding for everyone.”

  “Don’t they miss the stores?”

  He barked out a laugh. “They love the stores, but they like their retirement even more. They didn’t take vacations very often before. Now they’re making up for that.”

  “Sounds like they’re enjoying themselves.”

  “They are.”

  “Did your mom like the chocolate?”

  “Loved it. I’ll buy two boxes tomorrow for dinner.”

  “Why? What did you do?”

  “Who said I did anything?”

  “Aha. So you’re just buying her sweets for no reason at all?”

  “Is that illegal?”

  “No, just unexpected.”

  “Why? Doesn�
�t fit with the dictator you’ve painted me to be? I’m sorry... grouchy, right? Unless you’ve upgraded me again?”

  My heart was beating out of my chest. There was more to him than the brilliant man I was learning a lot from. I was curious to know more, and he didn’t seem opposed to opening up. “I’ll reconsider... depending on how today goes.”

  “So, I’m on probation right now?”

  “You could say that.”

  “Let me get this straight. I offer to paint your walls, and I’m still on probation?”

  “You could have an ulterior motive.”

  His eyes flashed. Oh my God, he did have one. I was about to ask what it was, then decided not to. Sometimes ignorance was bliss.

  Except now that was all I could think about. Tearing my gaze away, I focused on the portion of the wall I was currently sanding, and then the next one. Before long, I got lost in the rhythmic task. I was still talking Winston’s ear off.

  “Can’t believe you’re willingly spending your Saturday doing this.”

  “Sounds like it should earn me points.” I jumped, because his voice sounded much nearer than I’d expected. Somehow, I was right next to him again. How had I ended up here? It was as if I was gravitating to him without even realizing it.

  I smiled to myself. “It is.”

  “Anyway, it’s a reward for me.”

  “How?” I asked, perplexed.

  “As you said... ulterior motive.”

  This push and pull were messing with my mind, and my senses. Winston was looking at me as if I was wearing some sexy lingerie, not dirty overalls. My breath caught. My pulse jackhammered in my ears. I wanted to look away—move away—but I couldn’t.

  I had no idea how to navigate this. The tension was all-consuming. I wasn’t just aware of him; I was more aware of myself.

  “I knew it,” I said in a teasing tone. “You’re here to make me work.”

  He curled his lips in a half smile. Clearly, work was the last thing on his mind. But I clung to this excuse and started talking about the rebranding campaign. It was neutral ground and kept me distracted from the ulterior motive.

  Six hours later, my back started to hurt, but I persisted. We’d used coarse sandpaper, then a thin one before applying a coat of paint. We had half a wall left, and we still had to apply a second coat.