Page 91 of Santa Baby

“I didn’t mean what I said,” Colin said under his breath.

“You were right, though.”

“She doesn’t even want to go to California. I thought I was protecting her.”

“I wouldn’t have ever hurt her.”

“I know.” He shifted his weight, taking another drink before handing the bottle back to me. “I was out of line. She’s my little sister and I saw how she was after what Jake did to her. I didn’t want that to happen to her again.”

I took another drink before tucking the bottle back into my jacket. A cop drove by, slowing down to peer at us before driving off again. How fitting would it be to be arrested for openly drinking on the street, on Christmas, from the most valuable bottle my company had ever produced? “Why are you here, Colin?”

“I think the better question is why are you here, sitting on the curb outside Fia’s apartment when you know she’s in Brooklyn right now, tucked in bed? Dreaming of cookies or however the song goes.”

“Sugar plums,” I whispered to myself. “And it’s a book, not a song.”

“You’d know, I guess, after spending the holidays with the Christmas Queen.” He waved a hand in dismissal. “Why are you here, Mason?”

“I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Your apartment, maybe?” he asked. “Somewhere with a heater?”

I couldn’t bring myself to say that Fia’s scent was everywhere. That she’d already infiltrated my life to the point that my apartment felt empty and cold without her there. “I wasn’t going to sleep anyway.”

“I have a key if you want to go up.”

I shook my head. “No. I just—I just needed a minute.”

“I want to fix this.”

“I don’t think it can be fixed. Not after I walked away from her⁠—”

“She’s mad at me, not you. Hell, I’m shocked she didn’t go all scorched earth on me before I left the house tonight.”

“You talked to her?”

He nodded, stretching out his legs.

My chest tightened as he went silent. “How is she?”

“Oh, she hates me. But she loves you, still.”

I shook my head, stuffing my hands in the pocket of my jacket. “No, I messed this up. I’ve been trying to find a way to make it right, to apologize, but nothing⁠—”

“She’s in love with you. Like, actually head over heels. I could see it written all over her face. You can walk in for breakfast with my family in a few hours like nothing happened and she’d be fine with it.”

“That’s not what I want to do.”

“Then what are you doing out here, man?”

I pulled the ring box out of my pocket, sighing as I opened it. Colin went perfectly still. “It’s vintage, from Tiffany’s. It belonged to my grandmother, and then my mom wore it, and now I’d like Fia to wear it.”

“Did you ask my dad?”

“I didn’t really get a chance to talk to any of you about anything last night, remember?” I shot him a wry look. “Some dickhead dropped a bomb on the whole dinner.”

Colin nodded and sighed. “It wasn’t my finest moment. But my father would probably say yes as long as the two of you got married in the church.”

“I’m not even thinking about that right now.”