Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Yet here we are, with a small live tree in the corner of his bedroom, decorated with little mementos of the past few days that we’ve spent with my brother doing all of our favorite holiday traditions and some decidedly not holiday-ish activities that will absolutely become traditions. I set out cookies for Santa, knowing full well that Trevor will sneak out of bed in the middle of the night and make it look like the jolly old elf came, merely to make me happy.
Jude’s been staying in a hotel nearby to give us privacy, but he’s coming by for breakfast in the morning.
Provided it doesn’t snow as much as the forecast is calling for, that is.
My belly is full of my favorite appetizers and wine, and everything is cozy and perfect.
I’m only half dozing, because I love the sound of Trevor’s regular breathing, and I don’t want to miss a moment of this absolutely perfect feeling.
And that’s why I hear it.
Someone’s opening the back door.
It’s a subtle but familiar click, followed by soft footsteps, but those are definitely footsteps.
The gait isn’t right for it to be Jude.
And I know Santa doesn’t actually exist.
Am I hearing things?
Trevor hasn’t moved. He’s still passed out cold, which is good. He’s made solid progress in physical therapy, and he needs his sleep to fully heal.
But there it is again.
Someone is definitely in the house.
I disentangle myself and crawl out of bed.
Trevor still doesn’t move.
So I grab one of the baseball bats that he has in his closet—just in case it’s not Jude—make a mental note to suggest Trevor get an alarm system here, and I creep to the bedroom door.
And then I barely stifle a gasp.
There’s a very large man in red velvet walking into the living room.
I rub my eyes.
And I peer again.
Am I hallucinating, or is freaking Santa Claus here?
I look back at Trevor, who’s now sitting up and blinking sleepy eyes at me in the dim light off of our tiny tree. He starts to speak, but I put my finger to my lips and give him the what the hell is going on? look.
He looks at the bat in my hand.
Then at my face.
And then he crawls out of bed too, wincing slightly when he moves his left arm.
Poor guy.
That’s still gonna be stiff for months.
But more important—Santa Claus has broken into his house.
Trevor stops behind me, his hot bare skin touching my shoulder, and I feel his sharp intake of breath as he, too, spots Santa in the living room.
“Am I dreaming?” I whisper to him. “Or hallucinating?”
“No,” he whispers back.
“Did you do this?”
“No.”
The living room floor creaks under Santa’s weight, and then Trevor snorts. “That fucker,” he whispers.
I look back at Santa, who is truly huge.
Massively huge.
Like—oh, hell.
Like Zeus Berger huge.
If that’s not my boss, then it’s his twin brother.
Trevor hands me a robe from behind his door, and I quickly wrap myself in it.
Much as Zeus has no boundaries, I really don’t want him seeing me naked.
The two of us watch as discreetly as we can while Santa Zeus unpacks an entire giant bag of presents. He starts whistling, which is a dead giveaway that it truly is Zeus.
Not many other six-foot-seven guys would don Santa outfits, have the nerve to break into someone’s house, and whistle Backstreet Boys tunes while they did it.
Trevor and I are both still staring when Santa Zeus abruptly spins, totally catches us, winks, and cocks a finger gun at us. “Merry Christmas from the quadzeuslets to their nanny of wonder. Trev, be good to her. I know where you live. So does my brother. And if you think I’m terrifying—”
“I don’t,” Trevor interrupts mildly.
I crack up.
Santa Zeus grins.
Then he giggles.
Then he plops down on the floor. “Fuck, I could fall asleep right here. Don’t tell Joey. Can I take a ten-minute nap before I go hit a few other houses? Just ten minutes. That’s all. Ten minutes.”
Trevor looks at me.
I stare back.
“Your brother Ares is terrifying…” Trevor prompts.
Zeus groans. “Shit. I got so tired, I didn’t finish the threat.”
“You wanna drop the kids off here tomorrow for a bit?” Trevor says. “Maybe let your whole household sleep for a few hours?”
Zeus blinks at him.
I blink at him.
“What? I love kids.” Trevor grins at me. “Did I not mention that part?”
“You’re fucking—farking—freaking—shit. Gotta watch my language around the kids. One of us has to, right? And no fucking way I’m asking Joey to do it. She’s working so much harder than me, no matter how much I help. She gets to cuss her heart out. But you’re serious? You’d—you’d watch my kids for a few hours? I love them. They’re the best. They’re awesome. They’re—”
“Four babies, which is a lot,” I supply.
He giggles.
And then my giant boss half-sobs. “I have to be strong for Joey. She needs sleep even more than I do.”