Christmas Baby for the Princess by Barbara Wallace

Author:Barbara Wallace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarlequinUKLtd
Published: 2016-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

“DID YOU REALLY think you’d get away with it?”

Max recognized the actor’s voice soon as he heard it; the movie was one of his favorites.

He didn’t expect to come home to it playing on his television set however. Tossing his overcoat over the chair by the door, he walked into his darkened living room, only to stop short at the threshold.

There was a Christmas tree in his window. Four feet high and lit with tiny white lights. Candles, too. A half dozen of them in jars strategically placed around the space. They turned the apartment into a cornucopia of holiday aromas: cinnamon, pine and sugar cookies.

Sitting in the midst of everything, wrapped in a blanket, sat Arianna, her attention glued to the television screen. She had a cup of tea cradled in her hands, the rim hovering by her mouth as if she couldn’t tear herself away to take a sip.

Max’s chest tightened. They’d been sharing a space for only a few days, yet finding her tucked in the corner of his couch already felt normal.

Frighteningly so.

“You’ve been busy,” he said, finally finding his voice.

She started, then smiled. Max’s chest constricted a little more. It was the oddest of sensations. Not desire so much as a kind of warmth wrapping around his center. “When I sent you home early I thought you would get some rest, not decorate.”

“There was a man selling them from the back of his truck. I saw them, and decided your apartment could use a little Christmas spirit. The doorman helped me bring it upstairs.”

“And the candles?”

“The man was selling those, too. You don’t mind, do you?”

In other words, she’d bought herself a load of questionable Christmas goods. Max smiled as he walked over to the tree. “No, I don’t mind. Usually, I don’t bother. I figure the one at the club is enough.”

“I’m afraid it’s not very well decorated. I thought the ornaments would go further than they did. If I had known, I would have purchased more candles.”

“It’s okay. I like the sparseness.” He poked a particularly large red ball and watched as it swung back and forth catching the light. It’d been a long time since he’d had any kind of Christmas decoration in his place. Always seemed a bit silly since he spent most of his time at work. This little guy looked like he belonged though.

Much like the woman behind him on the sofa.

It dawned on him she must have spent her entire paycheck, or much of it. Less than a week’s worth of hours wasn’t much. “You should have told me you wanted to decorate. I would have bought a tree.”

“I know, but I wanted to do this myself. To thank you for everything you are doing.”

“You didn’t have—”

“I told you, I wanted to. Consider it an early Christmas present.”

Because more than likely she wouldn’t be here on Christmas Day. Max swallowed the lump that had all of a sudden stuck in his throat. He was used to being the one who did people kindnesses, not the other way around.

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