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A shaky breath escaped her lips. “It’s the first year my grandmother is in assisted living. I’m used to doing all the Christmas stuff with her. Being surrounded by the decorations and continuing her holiday traditions, it helps make me feel less alone.”
Well, fuck me. I’d asked, didn’t I?
“I’ve decorated my house, but not knowing when I’ll be home… ” She trailed off. Her hand swiped at her face once more. “It’s hard to feel like Christmas without the decorations.”
“And it’ll make you happy if we decorate my penthouse?” When was the last time I cared about anyone’s happiness?
She nodded. “It’s so much more fun with someone else.”
I let out a long breath. I knew I’d regret this. If not today, then another one soon enough. “And you want me to help you?”
She nodded again, the slightest smile gracing her mouth and that damn hopeful look back in her eyes.
“Fine,” I growled.
“You won’t regret it,” she promised, jumping up from her seat, wincing slightly. “Have you, um, ever thought about getting something else for this room?”
“This is the first time I’ve sat at the table,” I admitted.
“It might be time for a new dining room set.” She grabbed the plates and silverware while I held the takeout containers. I walked into the kitchen ahead of her just so I wouldn’t be distracted by the tempting sway of her ass.
She started for the sink as I neared the trash. “Don’t you dare.” She pointed a handful of silverware at me. We’d had many discussions surrounding leftovers. Mainly focusing on the fact that I didn’t eat them. “I’ll eat it tomorrow for lunch. And seriously, you spent a small fortune for one meal. Don’t be all billionairey.”
I stopped short. “Billionairey?”
Hazel nodded and pushed her blonde hair behind her ears. Without missing a beat, she placed the dishes in the sink and started to rinse off the silverware. I was about to tell her not to bother, the maid would be in to take care of it in the morning when she replied. “Yes. The ‘I’m so rich I can just toss out perfectly good food because money is no object.’ Some of us need to watch our pennies, and I won’t pass up a free lunch.” She went back to the dishes, now loading them in the dishwasher.
I frowned. “You do realize I didn’t always have money. There were days when I couldn’t afford to eat and had to fight to keep a roof over my head?”
“Then let’s go back to those penny-pinching ways.” She began to root around in my cabinets.
“What could you possibly be looking for?” I placed the containers of food on the island.
“Your leftover containers. If you’ve forgotten what those are, they’re plastic or glass containers that most of us use to store food and bring our lunch to work in.” Her lips twitched with her sassy words.
“I’m well aware of what those are.” I waved my hand toward a cupboard on the far side of the kitchen. “You can find something in there.” My maid often washed out containers from food I’d ordered and stored them there. I was rarely in here and often forgot she’d done that.
Hazel opened the cabinet, stuffed her arms full of containers, and then plopped them down onto the countertop. While she opened a few and set the lids aside, I went back to the dining room to get the remainder of our meal.
When I returned, I leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. Hazel sang softly as she scooped a portion of everything into two containers. She looked beautiful. Her hips swayed in time to her song making me want to run my hands over them and down her thick thighs. To lift her gorgeous body onto the countertop and feast on every delectable inch of her. To mark her so that everyone knew she was mine.
This wasn’t the first time Hazel had been in my penthouse, but tonight she helped make it feel like something more. Old feelings of wanting a home and family tugged at my heart and made me wish for a different life. One where I could pursue a relationship with Hazel without any reservations.
She smiled when she saw me, and I missed hearing her sing. She had a beautiful voice. “Now we’re both all set for lunch tomorrow.” Her narrow-eyed glance had me wondering if she was waiting for my objection.
Instead of answering, I placed the rest of the food on the counter, closed the lids on the containers, and scooped the remaining food into the waiting empty ones. With a satisfied hum, Hazel shifted the leftovers to my refrigerator. It didn’t escape my notice when she quietly tsked at how empty it was.
She wanted a normal life with a normal boyfriend. As hard as it was going to be living with her while her place got fixed, maybe this would be the final act to show her that she was better off with someone else.
And even as I thought those blasphemous words, my chest tightened at how easy and domestic this whole night felt and how quickly I shoved the bit of longing that hit me into the deep, dark crevice of my mind.
CHAPTER 7
Hazel
Ilifted the heavy tote trying to bring all the Christmas decorations into the living room before Jareth could change his mind. He’d stepped away to return an important call and would likely be back any minute.
His entire life revolved around work. If I had my way he’d be swimming in so much holiday cheer these next few weeks he wouldn’t know what hit him. And maybe, throughout it all, I could show him we belonged together or at least that he deserved to have a life outside of making money and getting revenge.
