His grin warmed into a smile. “I made that when I was twenty-two.”
Her jaw dropped. “You made that?”
“Yep. That is the wrought iron byproduct of my first heartbreak. She moved on to the next man of her dreams, and I got this bed. Way I see it, I traded up.”
Kip had no idea who might be better than Trace, not that she’d admit it out loud. Probably. Her gaze flicked to him. His expression gave her hope she’d kept that bit of information to herself.
“You can change into your pajamas in the bathroom. I’ll put the milk on to steam so we can have some hot chocolate while you write your letter to Santa.”
“Um, my what?”
He gave her another incredible smile. God, he had to stop doing that. “Your letter to Santa. Unless you’ve already written it, that is. Have you?”
“No, I haven’t done that in a very long time.” Like ever. She clapped her hands over her mouth. She should have said yes, so he would forget about it.
“Well, there’s no time like the present I asked Ruby to gather all the supplies you’d need while we worked on the Advent calendar. Everything is on the table by the fireplace.”
Darn it. How was she supposed to write a letter to Santa? No way could she ask for what she really wanted. She could see it now.
Dear Santa,I’ve been a very scared little girl. Please bring me a big, scary bodyguard and some rose-gold knuckles (brass bleaches out my skin tone). And please tell Reynaldo Rios he’s getting a bag full of switches if he doesn’t leave me alone. And please make sure Trace knows he was the best Daddy any Little girl could ever have, and that I’m sorry I couldn’t stay and be his. If I thought you were that powerful, Santa, I’d wish you could help me stay. But no one can do that, Santa. Not even you. Love, Kip
Yeah,that would go over well. She’d have to worry about that once she got changed.
While she put on Joy’s pajamas, she decided to ask Santa for an onyx claw-footed tub like Trace had. Holy cow! She needed to soak in that magnificent tub at least once before she left. Because no matter how much it hurt, she was absolutely leaving. Hearing that, on her account, the bad men were after her friends now, she knew it had to be tonight.
Joy had meant what she said about being tall. The sleeves of Joy’s pajamas swallowed Kip’s hands whole, and the pants pooled around her ankles. And she couldn’t have been more pleased.
She loved Trace’s low, rumbly laugh when she came out of thebathroom. He rolled the sleeve cuffs four times, then knelt to roll the legs until her toes peeked out. His big hands were gentle, even when his calluses caught on the flannel. Every time his knuckles brushed her skin, she felt it low in her core.
Making conversation, she said, “I’ve never had Christmas jammies before,” as he worked on cuffing her pants.
Trace froze, gazing at her in disbelief. “Never?” He shook his head. “You’re killing me, little fox.”
Her face turned the color of her pajamas. The look on his face made her chest hurt. Did he pity her? Suddenly, she needed to defend her parents.
“I had a wonderful family,” she blurted out, as if he’d accused her of something. “They were great. We just didn’t have much to spend on anything beyond the necessities. I had red pajamas. They just didn’t have decorations. That way I could wear them all the way through Valentine’s Day.”
Then he surprised her for the hundredth time that day. Taking both her hands in his, he kissed them one at a time. “I’m sure you have a beautiful family, Foxy. I hope you introduce me to them one day.”
Great. Now she was about to cry. She blinked as hard as she could, but it didn’t help. Her vision blurred as tears streamed down her face. He pulled her into his lap and held her while she cried.
Once her tears eased, he asked, “What about that makes your heart hurt, little fox?”
“Nothing. I’m fine. I’m sorry I lost control like that.”
“Losing control can be a good thing, babygirl. All those emotions need an outlet. You never have to apologize for showing me how you’re feeling. I want to see all your feelings, not just the happy ones. That’s one of the things Daddies are good at… helping their little girls release the yuckies out.”
She remained silent for a long moment. He held her withoutasking for anything. “I wish you could meet them, too,” she finally said. “They would like you a lot. I haven’t seen them in a long time. But I’m hoping one day I can at least call them. I know they’re worried about me.”
“What’s stopping you from seeing them?”
His question snapped her back to reality. What was she saying? Trace would never meet her family. Honestly, the chances ofherseeing them again were slim. Rios was tracking her faster each time she moved. It was only a matter of time before he caught up to her.
Her family’s phone was probably bugged, too. Calling them would give Rios a direct line to her and, by extension, the Daniels family.
Trace must have noticed the change in her mood. Before she could step away from him, he lifted her and carried her over to the rug in front of the fireplace.
He handed her thick, fancy paper and a silver glitter pen. “Let’s worry about that later. Right now, Santa needs to hear from you.”
