Kenzie shrugs. “Just seemed fitting, don’t you think? Or would you prefer my eggnog?” Her voice is syrupy sweet. It’s clear she feels as if she has the upper hand and she’s trying to get under my skin.
Mission accomplished, but not for the reason she thinks. It’s because she’s now taking off her coat and walking over to hang it on the nearby coat hook and I get my first glimpse of what she’s wearing. Jeans and one of those ugly holiday sweaters, which seems like an oxymoron to me these days given that they’re now in fashion. Her jeans hug her hips, and with her back to me as she tries to reach the highest hook, I get an unobstructed view of her perfect arse. Round, plump, and firm. Practically begging for a man’s hands to squeeze it.
Jesus, what am I thinking? This is Finn’s little sister!
I stand and remove my own jacket, coming up behind her to help her and hang mine on the hook.
Just then, a server squeezes past. “Sorry, excuse me.”
I’m forced to move into Kenzie’s space and press my front to her behind. A quick rush of air leaves her lips, and she stills.
“Apologies,” I mumble and step back as soon as I’m able, taking her jacket and hanging it up with mine. With the discipline of a saint, I avoid the urge to shift myself in my pants.
We take our seats back at the bar as the bartender slides our drinks in front of us. Mine is bright green with a cherry floating between the ice cubes, while Kenzie’s looks like eggnog with cinnamon sprinkled on top and what looks like caramel sauce around the rim.
She picks up both of our drinks with a smile and licks her plump bottom lip then looks at me. “So, do you want to switch drinks?”
“I’d rather you be wearing that elf costume from last night than suffer through one sip of that eggnog.”
She shrugs her shoulder. “Suit yourself.”
Lifting my glass to my lips, I sip and taste a fruity blend mixed with what I think is vodka. It’s not half-bad actually, though I’d never admit it to the woman beside me currently licking the caramel sauce from her lips after setting down her drink.
“You missed a spot.” I point at the right of her mouth.
She sticks out her tongue and tries to reach it, and I roll my eyes, taking a napkin off the pile on the bar.
“Here.” I offer it to her.
She accepts it but completely misses the spot when she dabs at her face.
“Here.” I snatch the napkin from her and gently wipe at the stubborn spot of sticky substance.
It’s not until I’m finished that it dawns on me how close we are to one another. She’s turned to face me, so her legs rest between my spread ones. I let my hand drop and crumple up the napkin, tossing it on the bar while I clear my throat and maneuver my legs around hers so I can once again face the bar.
“What does your sweater say? I didn’t notice,” I ask to break the spell she has me under. Raising my drink to my lips, I take a swig, then set it down and turn my head to look at her.
Her hands are on her hips while she juts her chest out as though she’s proud as punch. “It says, ‘I’m so good Santa came twice.’”
The sip of my drink gets trapped in my throat and I cough, trying to catch my breath.
“Are you okay?” I hear her say through my hacking, but I can’t see her because my eyes are now watering.
Bloody hell, this woman is a menace to my good sense.
It takes me a minute, but I recover, dabbing my eyes with another one of the napkins from the bar. “Sorry, went down the wrong pipe.”
“I thought maybe it was my sweater.” She grins as though she’s enjoying my reaction.
“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting that. I was figuring on something sweet like, ‘Jesus is the reason for the season’ or something.”
“Oh, I love a punny Christmas sweater. Especially if they’re a little dirty.”
“Then that’s a good one.” I nod toward her sweater, purposely averting my eyes away from the way her breasts strain the fabric.
Something about this woman’s smile is infectious. It almost pulls a smile of my own out, but I stifle the urge and school my features. I need to remember why I’m here and it isn’t to socialize.
“Listen, I asked you here because I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I’d had a shit day at work, and I can be a little testy when things at the office aren’t running how I’d like. I was rude and I shouldn’t have been.”