by Piper Stone
“What? No,” Haylee whimpered.
“Look, just see what happens. It can’t be that bad and maybe it’s time they knew how you felt about them—”
“No, it is that bad. Ame, I sent them my panties,” she cried falling onto the sofa again. “I’ll have to leave town. No, I need to break into the house and…”
“You’ll get caught and won’t be able to talk your way out of it. I know you.”
“Then I’ll just go and visit Mrs. MacPherson and tell her I need the bathroom and go into the study and…”
“That could work, but you’ll get caught. Then you can’t say you don’t know where the bathroom is, you’ve been there hundreds of times already. And you’ll make everyone suspicious since you have no business being in James’ study at all.”
“You’re right. What am I going to do, Ame?”
Ame gave another one of her big theatrical sighs and Haylee sat up again. Could her cousin have a solution after all?
“You need a disguise. Every year Mrs. MacPherson has a massive Christmas party at the mansion. She invites a different orphanage each year and showers them with gifts and food and everything else. It’s tonight. James and Alex are away and are not expected back until tomorrow evening. I’ll make a call and have you attend as one of the Santas. I’ll also call a place where you can pick up a costume. That way no one knows it’s you and you can wander into the study and look for this damn gift of yours. If anyone asks what you’re doing, just say you got lost while you were looking for the bathroom.”
“I can do that. I can definitely do that.” She couldn’t do that. She could definitely not do that.
“Or you could just let them find the gift and see what happens, Haylee.” Ame was repeating herself. “This might not even work and if you tell them the truth, their reaction might surprise you.”
“I don’t want surprises and I will do it. It will work.” Haylee squared her shoulders. How hard could it be? It had to be done. There wasn’t any other way and honestly, she’d give her right arm to get her panties and that blasted note back. “I’m doing it.”
“Fine. I’ll text you details in a bit then. And Cuz? Just don’t get caught.”
“I won’t. Santa stealth mode all the way.”
“Oh God,” Ame sighed.
After wishing her cousin a lovely remaining honeymoon and thanking her profusely for her help, Haylee hung up and stood perfectly quiet as she gathered herself. Right.
She made a cup of tea, then forced herself to sit down and drink it calmly. She succeeded until Ame texted her; then myriad degrees of panic set in immediately. But her cousin knew her too well and had written out everything for her in point form. First, calm the hell down, followed by steps two, three and four, which were put on clothes, drive to Ferris Costume Design, pick up package for Haylee. Steps five to ten were equally explicit and by the time Haylee reached step fifteen, she could hardly recognize herself.
Completely padded underneath, she looked like a happily round and plump jolly Santa Claus on the outside. Ho ho ho.
Ame called minutes before she was meant to leave, and after a video call, determined that no one could ever say that behind the velvet red and white suit was a mere hundred pound brunette.
Haylee had been so busy getting into the festive character outfit, that she didn’t have time to freak out properly. Well, not until she was parked and the sprawling mansion that was holding her dignity hostage stood before her. No time to chicken out. All she had to do was mingle subtly, hand out presents, laugh in a deep gruff voice and then wait until she could wander off, grab her gift, and poof, disappear.
Immediately after she entered, she was told by a very matronly woman with perfectly coiffed hair to stop dallying, and start being Santa. Haylee mutely followed the woman and the other Santas, five others in total, into the house she had loved almost all her life. The rich decadence of the place was not in any way cold and unwelcoming. Marge and Henry MacPherson were the kindest people on the planet and their love and warmth showed up in their magnificent house too. They loved to have Ame and Haylee run around the place when they were younger, while Maggie, their housekeeper kept everything running smoothly for them. They’d always wanted little girls, always teasing their son and his best friend Alex for being utter rascals when they were younger and then brooding teenagers later.
With her heart pounding in her ears, Haylee managed to not give herself away and gave a good rendition of Santa Claus as she allowed her group of kiddies to touch her beard, poke her belly and tell her what they wanted for Christmas. For a time, she forgot her problems and actually enjoyed giving out presents, struck by the season’s spirit. Her heart ached for the children who had lost their parents at such a young age. She had lost her beloved mum just years ago and the pain never went away. But seeing the smiles on all the children made her smile too.
Once the kids were taken to the hall for a food feast, Haylee knew the time had come. She bit into a cookie and had a sip of milk, because that’s what the kids had brought her to eat, while she waited for a few more minutes until they were elbows deep in treats. Then she made her way back into the heart of the mansion.
Surreptitiously, she padded up the staircase. The house with its hundred rooms was completely quiet now, as even the staff was in the soundproof hall with the children, Mrs. MacPherson and the other Santas. She knew exactly where the study was. It had belonged to James’ father and his grandfather before him. Now that both James and Alex ran MacPherson Enterprises, they spent a lot of time in that study, even though Alex had his own gazillion dollar penthouse in the city. The house was still both their favorites.
Once inside the study, she shut the door and sighed in relief. She had made it and with James and Alex away, her chances of being caught snooping in the study were considerably lower. She switched on the light, then stopped short as her gaze collided with a mountain of gifts piled up in one corner of the room. Clearly Mrs. MacPherson had had a hand in the Christmas decorations now gracing the very manly study. She could just imagine James and Alex sucking up all the Christmas cheer to make Mrs. MacPherson happy.
And great, she couldn’t pick out her gift if her life depended on it. It could be any one of them. Did she use red sparkling paper with little Santas on it? It seemed that was the standard wrap. Oh hell.
There was only one way; she’d have to make a mess – meaning that she had to open all the boxes that could potentially be hers until she found it. And really, no one would know it was her anyway. She was only taking back what was hers.
Feeling horribly guilty for opening presents that were sent to James and Alex, she got to work. She reasoned that she wouldn’t have used a very big box, since she’d found the box in her office. So maybe it was one some stationery had come in. She avoided the really big ones and began opening the smaller ones. She groaned softly to herself as her shaky hands tried to open the presents with the hope that if she unwrapped them properly, she could re-wrap them and leave no trace that the gifts had been fiddled with in the first place.
After just one box took her more minutes than she had, she had to resort to a messy crime scene. She ripped into the boxes, whimpering now uncontrollably. And then she heard it – the sound of footsteps, two sets, coming closer.
She froze, the silk tie in her hand slipping back into the box she’d just torn into.
No. That can’t be…
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.
She didn’t have any time to hide and really where could she hide, in a Santa costume with padding that made her twice her size?
The door started to open. She had no choice. Barely preventing herself from tripping over her boots, she made a frantic dash toward the door, hoping they would be so stunned by the rush that by the time they reacted, she would have… probably rolled down the stairs, and out the door.
She should have known better. James and Alex were too smooth to be stunned. They caught her effortlessly, one of their hands on each of her arms as
she tried to push her way between them. They practically lifted her off the floor and brought her back inside the room.
“Not so fast, Santa.” Alex chuckled as they placed her back on her feet in the center of the room and regarded her with their arms folded over their wide chests.
“Not until you tell us what you’ve been doing in my study,” James added.
She was sure she was going to hurl, but forced herself to breathe. Then again, it might have been the distraction she needed. No, oh God, no. Hadn’t she provided enough humiliation already without adding more?
She peered at them for a split second, then lowered her gaze to their ludicrously expensive shiny dress shoes. She couldn’t give herself away. But memories of what had happened a month ago came back with a vengeance. Her cheeks turned a painful red at the thought of their actual opinion of her, and sadly, none of it could be good. When they’d confronted her, she had fled like a shameful coward. She hadn’t seen them in person since that crazy night when her whole world had spiraled backward.
It had been Mr. MacPherson’s birthday and they were celebrating it right here in this house with only a close few people. Auntie Maggie was always invited to all their functions and so were Haylee and Ame. But then the night had ended with Mr. MacPherson suffering a heart attack, which turned out to be angina. Later, she had made sure to visit Mr. MacPherson in the hospital for a few minutes before anyone could see her. She had made it her mission in life to never again see the MacAveries. Ever.
But here they were. And she was caught red-handed.
She didn’t have to imagine their scents. They were here in the same room with her. James, unearthing her darkest desires with his woodsy scent, and Alex making her shiver with desperate want with his ocean fragrance cologne.
This was not good. This was not staying clear of them forever.
Oh, Ame, I got caught.
Chapter 2
There was no way out. She’d just had to confess everything. But then she realized that she was wearing a Santa suit, which meant that she was in disguise, which meant they didn’t know it was her – yet.
She sneaked another look at them. James, perfect at age thirty, was sinfully gorgeous with his green eyes and thick, long lashes and that little scar at the end of his silky eyebrow that he had gotten mountain climbing. His hair was short and dark, brushed back with nothing but his fingers. His no-nonsense demeanor, now dusked with a five o’clock shadow accentuating his sculptured jaw, always made her want to kneel for him without being asked.
And then there was Alex, sun-blond with a smile that made her want to giggle shyly like a schoolgirl and play with her pigtails. But his devilish eyes, a blend of gray and blue, his strong masculine lips chiseled to flawlessness and his absolutely tantalizing sexy voice poured over her and she soaked her panties every time without fail.
She had to escape, quickly.
Finding her deepest and gruffest voice and adding some weird accent to it too, she said, “Sorry, not bathroom,” and made her way toward the door. It was never going to be that easy.
They stood closer together and blocked her way.
Oh, kill me now.
“Oh, we don’t think that’s true at all, little Santa,” Alex said, grinning at her.
“Want to start again and tell us what you were doing with our gifts?” James’ stern voice caused her spine to straighten.
She turned and looked at the mess she had made of their gifts, which other people had painstakingly gone shopping for and then neatly wrapped. Thanks to her eggnog-infused moment of weakness when she’d sent them her panties with a damning card attached, it now looked like a six-year old had ripped through them. Boxes were scattered, gift wrap strewn amongst ties and mugs and pens.
“Umm, not me,” she fibbed and proceeded to go around them.
They weren’t letting up. In fact, Alex turned, locked the door to the study, then pocketed the key in his suit trousers.
Oh dear, they were going to interrogate her.
James moved to the fireplace and started a fire. The soft flames cast light on all the pretty Christmas decorations expertly hung around the room. Mrs. MacPherson always insisted that all the rooms in the mansion to have that lovely warm cozy Christmas feel and James’ study was not exempt.
“All right, little Santa, explain.”
Little Santa, and maybe she was little. Because even padded up into a cuddly soft ball, they towered over her in height, being well over six feet. The strength and the power they had over her, physically and emotionally, took her breath away.
Crap, what was she going to do? Tackle Alex and wrestle the keys from him? She wouldn’t even be able to topple him over if she ran head first into him. And then there was James; she would need to go through him next.
Panic reached its limits and clouded her mind. She couldn’t think straight.
“We have all day,” James said, standing with his legs apart, his arms crossed.
“All day,” Alex confirmed as he slipped his hands into his trouser pockets.
She cringed on the inside. Why would this happen to her? They weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow, Ame had said so. Why was this cruel trick being played on her?
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
They said nothing, regarding her patiently. They had the balls to play this game much longer than she could. She would never outlast them in a stand still and stare competition. She’d start blurting things out when the silence got too heavy for her. She turned and looked at the pile of gifts. Where was her present? She had only had about three or four more gifts to open and none looked remotely close to what she vaguely remembered of her gift wrap. She just needed more time. She swung her head to face them again.
Silently reiterating how much time they had to wait for her explanation, James took a seat on the leather couch gracing the magnificent study, his legs spread wide as he removed some imaginary fluff from his always immaculate suit. His enigmatic eyes gave nothing away. In fact, she felt as if she were in his boardroom and he was waiting for her to impress him.
Alex dropped his frame down next to his friend and business partner, and brought his right ankle to his left knee, amused as could be. The smile had not left his face yet.
She took a deep breath and formed a strategy in her mind. Think on her Santa boot-encased feet and maybe she could escape. Okay, she had plans. Tell them some crazy story and see if they believed her. And if that didn’t work, change the plan. Say nothing. She was never, ever, ever going to tell them the real reason why she was caught snooping in their study. It would be one thing if they had opened her gift when she was halfway across the world, but a totally different thing, if she had to admit what she was doing and have them demand proof of her explanation in person. No way did she want to be in the same room, same continent even, with them when they opened the box to find her panties – and her handwritten confession.
Oh, God on earth, what the heck was she thinking doing that? She was normally so levelheaded, obeyed the rules, was generally a good girl. Three damn spiked eggnogs had turned her into a crazy careless person, gifting panties all willy-nilly.
On top of everything else, a part of her brain had officially turned into a puddle. All she could remember in vivid and agonizing detail was that crazy night of Mr. MacPherson’s birthday party. Her life had been changed forever and basically set in motion this big fat mess she had created.
She had to play this cool. She pulled the fake beard down and tucked it under her chin. Here goes nothing. “Surprise,” she said, smiling brightly.
James MacPherson glanced at his friend for a second time since walking into the study. The first had been when they opened the door to find Haylee Phillips trying to disguise herself as some sort of Santa. Granted, the costume did do a great job of concealing her identity. What it didn’t conceal from either him or Alex was that ever so subtle scent of hers. Even as faint as it was with her locks covered in that over-sized Santa hat of hers, they knew it was her t
he instant they’d opened the door.
And what an unusual surprise she’d turned out to be. In fact, they had matters to discuss with her and had planned to do it after Christmas. But now, since she was here, they might as well get started. They would have gotten to it sooner, those matters, but since the night of his father’s birthday when he’d had a heart attack, James and Alex had done nothing but work to close a deal he had been focused on. The old man wouldn’t rest otherwise. Now with it wrapped, they could once again concentrate on something else – her. Haylee Phillips, the woman they wanted between them, forever.
“We could smell the scent of your hair the instant you were between us, beautiful. Vanilla and honey, right?” Alex said. That tidbit of info seemed to shock her.
“Why you are here, though, is still something we haven’t figured out yet. So, enlighten us,” James instructed her. He was finding it hard to hide his amusement at the sight of her. He glanced at the disrupted pile of gifts they received every year from their employees.
They might be grown men, arrogant with their power, not afraid to take what they wanted, but his mother had made a rule that held, no matter how many billions they raked up between the two of them. When someone took the time to send them a Christmas gift, they had to take the time to unwrap the present themselves and send handwritten thank you notes. It was very important to her and since they’d foregone almost all other traditions, they kept this one. It was the one that made her the happiest, anyway.
What exactly was their little snooper looking for in their pile of presents? Both James and Alex couldn’t wait to see what tale she would come up with; especially since they had an inkling of what she’d been doing; more precisely, what she’s been looking for. Well, more than an inking. They were dead sure of her motives. James was also eager to get it out of the way so they could start with the real thing – having her.
