Santa's Perfect Package: A Collection of Holiday Romances

by KB Winters

  And I might be the thing to come between them.

  With that depressing thought, I stopped for more Thai food than I could eat in one setting, but I could definitely finish it off for lunch and dinner tomorrow. A couple bottles of gin and vodka, because hey, a girl needs options. I couldn’t be that girl, that woman. No matter how much I wanted to, which meant I’d probably finish all the Thai and at least one bottle of booze.

  Then my doorbell rang.

  “Hey, Tasha.”

  “Hey. Got enough for two?”

  I laughed. “Got enough for four, so we’ll eat good. Everything okay?” I could tell by the look on her face and that subdued greeting that something was up.

  “Yeah. No. I don’t know.” She kicked off her shoes before she followed me into the kitchen. “Trish is getting back together with Bradley.”

  “What!” That shit was not a question. That was, even at our age, a total violation of every friend code known to man. And woman. “How could she?”

  Tasha shrugged. “Says she’s in love.”

  I skipped over the cartons of food and pulled out the gin, vermouth and olives, whipping up two quick martinis and filling her glass two-thirds. “Asking for heartache if you ask me, which no one did. But I thought you had Charlie now.”

  A smile played on the edges of her full mouth, but her lively brown eyes were dimmer than usual. “I do, even though he won’t be back for two more weeks,” she pouted, and then took several long sips of her drink. “Damn that’s strong. Thank you. I don’t want Brad. I mean what kind of guy knowingly plays friends off each other? I only gave her shit because she acted like I was somehow in the wrong, because of course he’d want her for more than a quick lay.”

  Shit. My heart broke for Tasha. She was brash and loud and sometimes crass, but she was a good woman and a damn good friend. “Honey he wanted you both for a quick lay because men love variety.” I tried not to let those words of wisdom hit too close to home. “The only difference is that she’s dumb enough to give him a second chance.” Which I couldn’t believe, damn her.

  “I just can’t believe it. I knew we had some beef over his dumb ass but I still thought we were friends. I was wrong, Annie. So damn wrong.”

  “So was I, but fuck any girl who violates the code.” I held up my glass and we clinked them harder than we needed to, spilling a little over our hands. “Screw Trish. May she reap what she’s sown.”

  “Hear, fucking hear! Now let’s get out of these dumb work clothes, get comfy and drunk. Not necessarily in that order.”

  “Sounds good to me.” We went to my bedroom and I pulled out sweats for us both.

  “And you can tell me how that threesome of yours went.”

  I froze for just a second but then I realized that I didn’t just want to talk about it, I needed to. Tasha would listen without judgment and offer up a good dose of laughter to make it all easier. But I needed some liquid courage before I said anything. I waited another fifteen minutes until we were both comfortable at opposite ends of the sofa with the Thai food on a tray between us. “It was incredible, Tash. More intense and exciting, and so much more satisfying than anything I’ve ever had.”

  “Damn girl,” she shivered. “So why do you look like someone ran over your puppy?”

  I took a long sip of martini, letting the brine burn a little as I told her all about their strange behavior over the past few weeks. “Can I be the girl that comes between them for my own selfish needs?”

  “Girl, relationships are all about being selfish. Mostly. You want what you want, and your pesky heart won’t take substitutions. Why do you think you’re coming between them?”

  “They don’t even mention each other, Tasha. And when I bring the other up, both of them just brush it off and change subjects. They’re friends. Best friends.”

  She took a bite of satay and chewed deliberately, clearly thinking of what she wanted to say. Contemplative Tasha didn’t come out often but when she did, it was worth a listen. “They’re men, Ann. They don’t want to hear about another man, even if it’s their friend. You just assume you’re coming between them but really it’s stupid male ego.”

  I thought about her words. Maybe she was right. “Still, they don’t want to do it again.”

  “The sex?”

  “Hell, I don’t know. I wouldn’t turn away another night like that one, hell plenty of nights like that one. But I like hanging out with both of them, too.”

  I finished off my glass and let the booze go straight to my head. Suddenly, with my eyes squeezed tight, I saw an image of us. All three of us, sitting on this sofa with my head in Jasper’s lap and my feet in Bryce’s. Eating together. Laughing together. Loving together.

  Living together.

  “Oh. Shit.” I looked up and Tasha was staring at me like I’d grown a third eye.

  “What?”

  “You want them both. Like in a relationship.” She clapped and fell back against the arm of the sofa, laughing her ass off. At my expense. “I bow down to you, oh great one.” She laughed and bowed while holding up her plate to avoid spilling. “The rest of us are out here just trying to get one man and you found two hot studs. Instead of testing them out and picking one, you decided to keep them both. You are definitely the mob boss of gangster romance.”

  I stared for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. “You’re completely insane, Tash.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Blame me because you’re a sexual goddess. So, what are you going to do?”

  I blinked. “What do you mean? There’s nothing to do since clearly they aren’t interested.”

  “Come on, Annie, for real? Talk to them. Tell them you want to date them both. A real relationship. All they can say is ‘no’. If they do, then they’re not the man . . . uhm . . . men for you.”

  I wondered if could be that simple. Just ask them. “That’s what you’d do? Just ask them?”

  “I would. Because I want to get as close to my dream as possible. The only way to do that is to voice it.” She shrugged. “As you can see it so rarely works out for me, but lucky for me, the journey is fun as well.”

  Was it my dream to have Jasper and Bryce together? In a relationship that was more than just sex? “I’m not drunk enough to answer these questions yet.”

  Tasha stood and wobbled a little. “Then I will make the next batch!”

  “Make it dirty,” I called after her.

  She laughed. “Do you know who I am?”

  “The craziest person I know? You used to be, but I think Trish has taken that distinction. But you are my dirty girl.”

  “Damn if you talk kinky like that to your sexy men, they’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand. Or other areas.”

  I shook my head, letting my thoughts wander as Tasha made more cocktails. Then, the drunker we got, the more a plan came into focus.

  Drunk inspiration was real.

  Very, very real.

  Chapter Twelve

  Bryce

  When Ann called me up and asked if she could come over, I knew something was up. She showed up in sexy red leather pants and a green holiday sweater that shouldn’t have been sexy, but abso-fucking-lutely was. “Ann, you look beautiful, as always.”

  Her laughter tinkled melodically in my small bungalow as she stepped inside, making sure her body brushed against mine in all the right places. “Bryce. How have you been?”

  “Better now that you’re here.” That much was true. I didn’t like the way things had been between us over the past few weeks when we spent time together. And I knew it was my fault. “Come in. Want the two-dollar tour?”

  She grinned and wrapped her arms around mine, squeezing a little. “I’d love it. You know, I thought maybe you lived in one of those firefighter houses.”

  I frowned. “Would you have preferred that?”

  “Not at all. I’m happy to have you all to myself for now. I’m just surprised because you seem very proud to be a firefighter, I thought you’d go all in
with the camaraderie and brotherhood.”

  “I do, but I live with these guys for two days straight every three days. We live, cook, eat, shower and sleep together at the station. That’s more than enough brotherhood for me.” I was secretly pleased she’d picked that up about me. Most women didn’t see past the uniform and the muscles and I liked that Ann did.

  “I guess that makes sense. Besides, it could get kind of complicated with a house full of hot firefighters fighting over girls.”

  I loved the way she touched everything, running a delicate finger over photos and trophies, books and other mementos as though she were really interested.

  “Parents?”

  “Yep. That’s my mom and dad, and my sister. You’ve met.”

  “Oh right. Jasper said they went to Tahiti for their honeymoon, right? How was it?”

  I ignored her mention of Jasper and answered the question, sidestepping several more mentions of my best friend. “It’s still weird having one of my friends married to my baby sister, but he’s a good guy.”

  “Plus you threatened bodily harm if he hurt her in any way?”

  I grinned. “Damn straight.” She seemed to like that answer, pressing closer against me as I showed her the kitchen and back yard.

  “This is so nice! You can grill outside all year. The only thing missing is the twinkle lights.” She laughed at my shocked look. “Okay, maybe not.”

  “Grown men don’t have twinkle lights, Ann.”

  “The ones with women in their lives do because we know that twinkle lights make everything better.” She turned and made her way back inside, close to the cold fireplace. “Your place is nice. A total bachelor pad with just a hint of style.”

  I could live with that. “Maybe it needs more color,” I told her and pulled her down onto the sofa so she was right on my lap. “Like red leather pants on the floor.” Her husky laugh was music to my ears, and the weight of her body settling onto mine was intoxicating. The heat of her core pulled me in and I held her close. “Maybe along with a green sweater?”

  Her response was to take the sweater off, giving me an up close and personal look at . . . “Candy canes wearing top hats?”

  “Yep. I’m a bit of a holiday nut.”

  “I never would have guessed a sexy, sophisticated woman like you would wear something so cheesy, but I like it.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Hell yeah.” I wanted this woman. Bad. Only I didn’t know what she wanted. I pulled her close and fixed her lips to mine, letting the kiss simmer before it bubbled over. My fingers speared through her long hair so I could kiss her the way I wanted to, the way I fucking needed to.

  I tasted her mouth from the deep, dark depths to the sweet nectar on the tip of her tongue. She began to grind on my cock, already hard enough to break right through my zipper, because that was what she did to me. She was so different from any other woman, sophisticated and sexy on the outside but a straight up freak in the bed.

  She groaned into my mouth, cupping my jaw so she could take over the kiss while I pushed up against her. “Oh, gawd, Bryce!” A long, low moan seeped out of her when I hit the spot she liked. Faster and faster we began to move, like a couple of teenagers dry humping on the sofa. Then she broke the kiss with a nervous laugh. “You make a girl forget herself, Bryce.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” I told her, brushing soft kisses on her neck and collarbone.

  “I meant it as one. But I came here to talk. First.”

  Words that never ended good for a man. I sighed and dropped my head back on the sofa, holding Ann close to me. “Okay. I’m listening.”

  “What’s up with you and Jasper?”

  Really? “That’s what you want to talk about now?” I thrust up into her for extra emphasis.

  She sighed and slid off me. I felt the loss immediately and hated it. “I don’t want to come between you guys. You don’t talk about it much but Jasper told me about your friendship. It’s been long and enduring and I like you both too much to come between you.”

  She liked both of us. And I was born last night. “Listen Ann, if you’re not interested just say that. Don’t pretend to spare my feelings.”

  “You dummy!” She scanned the room as if she was looking for something to throw at me. When she didn’t find it, she tossed her shirt at my face. “I said I liked you both and I meant it, dammit. Don’t put your hang ups and insecurities on me, Bryce. I’m being honest.”

  I couldn’t tell if she was lying to me or to herself, but a voice niggled at me that maybe she wasn’t lying. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d lost a girl who was more interested in Jasper, though he’d never do that to me. The women didn’t know that. “I don’t understand.”

  She grabbed her sweater and put it back on, taking a seat beside me. “I like you Bryce, and I like Jasper. I’m sure I could be happy with either one of you but if I’m being honest, I think I, no we, could be a lot happier together. All of us. He is your best friend after all.” She nibbled on her plump bottom lip, a telltale sign she was nervous.

  I sat there, stunned and no longer hard, for a minute or two, trying to understand her words. She wanted both of us. “Is this a real thing or a sex thing?”

  She grinned. “Yes,” she answered on a sigh.

  Shit. She meant it. There was no mistaking the determination in her eyes. “You’re serious.”

  “I am. But like I said, I don’t want to come between you guys.”

  I felt my brows furrow, my jaws clench involuntarily. “So what was that, seduction?”

  Her blue eyes widened, and she stood, nodding but not in answer to my question. Just . . . in general. Her hair spilled over her shoulders as she scanned in search of her belongings. She grabbed her purse off the table and walked toward the door, but she didn’t leave right away. Ann turned to me, cheeks red and eyes like the bottom of a flame. “Fuck you, Bryce. I knew this wouldn’t work. Have a nice life.” Then she yanked open the door, glared at me as she stepped outside, and put her entire body into slamming the door behind her.

  I stood there, numb, for a few minutes after she’d gone, unable to believe her visit had gone from hot as fuck to bat-shit crazy in a matter of seconds. “Fuck!”

  As a rule, I didn’t share my women. With anyone.

  Not even my oldest friend in the world.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jasper

  “I don’t want to come between you and Bryce.” Ann blurted the words out as soon as I took her coat and led her into the living room.

  “Sweetheart, Bryce and I wouldn’t let you come between us.” I didn’t mean the words to come out as harsh as she took them, but I did mean them. Girls and women had both tried to get between us for their own reasons and none of them had succeeded. Ever.

  “Good,” she answered with a shaky breath, looking small and vulnerable in the oversized leather chair. “The last few times I’ve seen you guys, you’re both reluctant to talk about each other. You clam up and occasionally get defensive,” she explained with a none too pleased roll of her eyes. “So what’s the problem?”

  I watched Ann as she fidgeted with the hem of a blue V-neck sweater, crossing and uncrossing her shapely legs. I knew she didn’t do it on purpose, but those knee-high leather boots had me trying to remember what we were talking about. “Who said there’s a problem?”

  With her eyes closed so I could no longer see her blue depths, Ann took a deep breath and opened them to mine. There was a war going on inside her and I had no idea what had caused it. She won the battle and straightened her spine, squared her shoulders and took a deep cleansing breath. “I like you Jasper, more than I planned to.”

  I grinned, leaning back against the sofa with my legs up on the table, crossed at the ankles. “All good from where I’m sitting.”

  She grinned but her heart wasn’t in it. “I also like Bryce, more than I planned. Honestly, I didn’t plan on either of you beyond a bit of physical fun. But,” she paused and searched
my face for a long time, looking for something I didn’t know I had to show. To give.

  “But?”

  “But it turns out that you’re both pretty great.” I wanted to feel flattered by her words but a cool drop of unease slid down my spine at the tortured look on her face. “In and out of the bedroom.”

  That’s when I understood. I couldn’t say I wasn’t disappointed that Ann was a game player, but I understood. After that one night together, she’d gotten the wrong idea. “I don’t share my women, Ann.”

  She froze at my words and nodded nonstop, “Right. Okay, then. I should probably get out of here,” she said uncomfortably.

  “You just got here.”

  With a shrug she slid to the edge of the chair and pushed up. “Yeah, I don’t think I should be here.” She looked past me as though she could see something, some scenario that I couldn’t, and shook her head with a sad smile. “I’ll see you around Jasper.”

  I reached out and wrapped my hand around her upper arm. “So that’s it? You come here to play games and don’t get what you want so you pout and leave?”

  She struggled under my grasp, but I was too strong. “Get your hands off me!” she said with more anger than I expected and I let her go. “I don’t play games.” She turned and walked away, and realizing she was headed the wrong way, she grumbled and retraced her steps. “I don’t know why I even bothered with either of you.”

  “Why did you? Did you think you could play two friends off each other? I never pegged you for that kind of mindfucker.”

  She sucked in a breath, clutching her chest as though I’d struck her. “Glad to know what you really think of me, Jas.” She slid her coat on, fire shooting out of her skin until she tamped it out with her heavy wool coat. Big, hurt blue eyes looked up at me but the anger was still there. “We could have all been really great together. I’m glad we met again. Merry Christmas.”

  “Wait.” I felt like she was slipping away from me, just out of reach even though she stood not five feet from me. “Can I see you again?”

  She shook her head again. “I told you Jasper, I like you both. I want you both. In and out of the bedroom. But you don’t want it and neither does Bryce, and I know choosing between you would not only break my heart, but it would tear apart your friendship.” She reached up and gave me a chaste peck on the cheek before she raced out of my apartment.