“Was she naughty, Santa? Will you spank her?”
“He was very naughty. He took Santa’s sleigh out for a spin when he wasn’t supposed to. And yes, there will definitely be a spanking.” Greg winked and waved at the group before scurrying off to get dressed.
Blake rolled his eyes and stepped out into the foyer. Kim didn’t move, her body frozen in place in the middle of the doorway. He should leave well enough alone, at least until he had a chance to work things out in his own mind. He respected and liked her too much to lead her on when he wasn’t able to do anything about...whatever the hell this was turning into.
Still, he couldn’t leave things like that. With his hand on the doorknob, he looked back. “Kim?”
She half turned toward him. “Yeah?”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday. We’re not open.”
“Tomorrow.”
When he stepped out into the cold night air, he realized the temperature didn’t bother him as much as it had earlier. No, tonight he’d go home and mull over the mess that his life had become. Tomorrow, he had to make his mind up one way or the other about the tiny elf that had worked her way into his life, once and for all.
* * *
“I’ve seen a lot of people kiss in my time, but that was the fucking hottest thing ever, boss.”
Blake tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “It was just tradition. It didn’t mean anything.”
“You are so full of shit.”
“You can walk home, you know.”
Greg chuckled. “I could, but then you’d have guilt for leaving me out on the street half naked. Besides, you know I’m right.”
Blake had thought the brief kiss they’d shared back at Nicks had been a proper one. He must have been really fucking rusty, because he’d more than proven himself wrong tonight.
Greg turned in his seat, pulling the seatbelt tight across his coat. “So?”
“So what?”
“So, what are you going to do about it? I heard what you said to her. About seeing her tomorrow.”
“I’m not going to do anything. I’ll go over and we’ll talk.”
Greg hummed and started tapping on the side of the door. “You know what I think?”
“Not really.”
“I think you need to make a statement.”
“I don’t generally make statements.”
“I think you should let me teach you a few moves and you should put on a show for her.”
Blake nearly slammed on the breaks. “What?”
“Come on. It would be a blast. Me and one of the boys would get to tease you, teach you a few things, and Kim would understand exactly what you wanted from her.”
The thought of him stripping was beyond ludicrous. “You’re insane.”
“No, I’m brilliant. You can’t deny you don’t want to get together with her. Not after what I saw tonight. Kim is also brilliant. She’s going to be expecting you to come over and have the chat. But talking doesn’t always get you where you want to go. You need to show her.”
“There’s no way on Earth I’m going to strip for Kim. So drop it.”