Page 37 of Santa Baby

But I couldn’t deny it. I liked him. I really liked him. I needed to stop liking him before this got out of hand.

I looked him over from head to toe, trying to find a flaw. Trying to give myself the ick. He burnt the hell out of the steaks, but now he had his phone pressed to his ear, calling for takeout, sushi from a spot he didn’t know I loved and ordered from frequently even though it was definitely a splurge purchase.

I couldn’t find anything I didn’t like about him.

Damnit. What was I going to do?

16

MASON

My guys on the distillery floor were watching from the balcony overlooking the still room, chuckling as Fia fluttered around me, testing a variety of equipment.

When Fia motioned for me to sit down on a stool in front of one of the giant copper stills, one of the guys whistled. I glanced up at them, willing myself not to start blushing.

My foreman snapped his fingers at the workers on the balcony and motioned for them to get back to work, and within a minute Fia and I were alone again. The unsettling silence between us was punctuated by the gentle hum of the distilling equipment.

It was three in the afternoon on a quiet Wednesday. She’d texted me Monday morning after having dinner at my place, letting me know she was busy with forgotten plans and we’d have to postpone the shoot until today.

I hadn’t heard from her since, and judging by her clipped tone and the fact she could barely meet my eyes in the half hour that she’d been here, I gathered that something was wrong. That maybe I’d done something wrong.

She had her whole setup here. A camera and a variety of lenses. Lighting, a tripod, other things I knew nothing about and couldn’t name. I felt like I was seeing a glimpse of her world for the first time. This was Fia at work. Fia at her most concentrated. Fia at her most serious.

“Hmm.” She snapped a few pictures.

“I wasn’t ready⁠—”

“Test shots,” she cut in and finally gave me a hint of a smile. “I’m just checking the lighting. The copper behind you is throwing me off a bit.” She chewed her lower lip as she looked down at the camera screen, internally debating her next move. “Take off your suit jacket.”

I was glad my audience was long gone. They would have gotten a kick out of me stripping down at her command. I obeyed, carelessly tossing my jacket on a railing a few feet out of the frame. She hadn’t told me what to wear, so I went with my usual, especially since I’d come here from the office across town. Black pants, black jacket, muted light blue button-down shirt. My favorite Rolex on my wrist.

“That’s better.” She took a few more test shots before sighing and walking over to me, hesitating for a moment before reaching up and adjusting my hair.

She was wearing a warm, spicy perfume that made me want to lean in, but I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the way her nails raked over my scalp as she swept the rogue curls away from my forehead. “Did you know that you have an auburn hint to your hair?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Only in certain light.”

“Were you a redhead as a kid?”

“Not quite.”

“Huh, interesting.” She stepped back and looked at me like I was a prop. Looking through me, honestly. Her face had lost that bright, playful expression she perpetually wore.

I shifted uncomfortably as she moved back behind her camera.

“Turn to the side a bit for me. Okay, stop. And smile.”

I winced as the camera clicked and the flash went off.

“Not what was I thinking but… okay,” she said.

“Fia?”

“Turn back to me a bit but keep your body angled just like that⁠—”

“Fia, is something wrong?”

The camera clicked. I squinted against the flash.