Page 12 of Santa Baby

Why was I still looking at her like I couldn’t look away if I tried? Seeing her in blue was a dream. Plain and simple. I had the sudden urge to change every dress requirement on our schedule to list blue but snapped out of it the second a waiter coasted by, offering us flutes of champagne.

We each took one and walked into the ballroom. Fia gazed around the room, then up at the ceiling, where a massive crystal chandelier showered light all over the crowd. White Christmas trees sprang up in every corner, shimmering with light. Blue carpet runners created a maze throughout the room, perfectly matching the giant blue ornaments decking every tree.

“Wow,” she mused, tightening her grip on my arm. “This is incredible.”

Yeah, she is. I mean— “Yeah, it is.”

Auction tables had been set up around the perimeter of the ballroom, but the main centerpiece drew us both in at the same time. A shiny, light blue convertible had a crowd piled around it, everyone leaning in to get a better look.

“Oh, cute.” Fia beamed, tugging me along. “Do you know the song, Santa Baby? A ‘64 convertible too, light blue?”

“I’m familiar with it, but that’s a Fiat.”

Her laugh worked its way into my bones. “Obviously. You should bid on it.” She pointed to the sign propped up next to the car, mentioning how all proceeds of the auction go toward the Rasmussen Foundation for disadvantaged youths and other educational programs. “It’s for the children.”

“I wouldn’t fit inside of it, unfortunately.” I towered over the crowd, but Fia had to stand on her toes to get a better look at the car. “You’d fit perfectly, though. You should bid on it.”

“The starting bid is over ninety grand!”

“You have my credit card.” I took a sip of champagne and wished it were something stronger. “Go crazy.”

She shook her head. “I’m sure you saw how much I spent on this dress already. I’m not using it again.”

“Oh, please. The way that dress fits you makes it worth far more than what you spent on it—” I stopped myself before I could do any more damage, but Fia was already looking up at me, her cheeks going pink, and her full lips twitching into a smile. I drained my champagne. “Fine.”

“Fine, what?”

“Excuse me.” I stepped through the crowd gathered around the ugliest car I’d ever seen in my life and quickly scribbled a bid on the clipboard sitting on its windshield. I was sure someone else would outbid me, hopefully, seeing as I only had the stomach to bid $150,000. I stared at the car for a moment, frowning, then walked back over to my date.

“You actually did it.” She laughed around the rim of her champagne flute. “Oh, what if you win? You’re going to have to drive that thing around.”

“You’d be driving it because I’d have to park in front of your apartment. I have a reputation, Miss Webster. I can’t be seen in that thing.”

She laughed again, a real laugh, uninhibited and bright. It worked its way through my body as I led her from table to table, letting her decide what else to bid on. A pair of diamond earrings caught her eye, so I bid on those, and admittedly, I would be happy if I won them. They would look great on her.

“What’s the difference between an auction like this and the auctions that take place downtown?” she asked.

I furrowed my brows in thought as I guided her through the crowd. “You mean like at an actual auction house?”

“Yeah, where they hold up paddles and occasionally yell at each other. Oh, excuse me.”

A trio of men in tuxedos separated us, cutting right between us, but I quickly stepped back to Fia’s side, my hand splayed wide over her lower back. Cutting a glare at the men for barreling over Fia like that, I explained, “This is a silent auction, so we write our bids instead of calling them out.”

“Which do you prefer?”

I steered her toward the far side of the ballroom where a long balcony overlooking the city hugged the exterior wall. A bar had been set up in the corner and only Heritage Spirits was being served tonight, hence my invitation. Finally, a drink. Something stiff, I thought, to numb the feeling of my hand on Fia’s back. “I prefer neither.”

“What do you like to do, then?” she said with a laugh. “Sit in your office all day, not speaking to anyone?”

“I actually don’t mind that at all.”

“Is that why you wanted this arrangement? To keep you from having to go out and find a date on your own?”

“You’re not just my date,” I replied gruffly, leaning down to brush the words into her ear as a group started walking in our direction. “You’re my long-time girlfriend and I’m proposing to you on New Year’s Eve, remember?”

Her cheeks went pink again and I felt things I had no business feeling. I shouldn’t have been thinking about how badly I wanted to say something that would make her blush even harder, wondering what that blush would look like blooming down her neck and chest.

A man in smart black tuxedo sauntered up to us, winking at me before he swept his gaze over Fia. “Good evening, beautiful,” he practically purred.