Page 47 of Silent Snowfall

It wasn’t epic. It wasn’t expensive.

“The boys are going to think it’s so lame,” I sighed.

A chiming tone rang somewhere in the house. Frowning, I followed the noise. It was coming from the box under the tree. I opened the white lid, pawed through the blue chiffon, and found a cheap phone.

My grandma snorted, flopped in her chair, and continued to doze.

I answered the phone as I scooted back into the kitchen. “Hello?”

“Buona sera, carina.”

“What the heck?” I grabbed the half-drunk bottle of red wine and poured myself a generous glass with the rest of it. “Why are you calling?”

“You missed me.”

Did I? “Why didn’t you call me on my phone?”

He no doubt had my number, since he’d been snooping through my Kindle history.

“Would you have answered an unknown call?” he countered.

Touche. “Nope.”

“What are the elves up to tonight?” he rumbled.

I took a long, steadying drink of my wine. “Cookie baking.”

“Classic.”

“No, it’s lame.” I glared at the scene staged on the counter. “Especially when some genius dumped two brand spankin’ new laptops under the tree!”

There was a beat of silence.

“You don’t approve?”

“Hell no, I don’t approve! They’re too much. Who buys nine-year-olds something that expensive?” I said in a rush.

His next pause was followed by a note of tension in his voice. “I thought you would appreciate the ability for them to learn coding and computer skills. It was on your curriculum to teach. Plus, your grandmother and I talked about it.”

I clenched my fists. “It’s too expensive. And you’re a stranger.”

And nothing I would get them in the future would ever compare.

“Oh, Rose, I’m not a stranger,” he murmured, voice darkening. “Not after what we did last night.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. The nerve!

“I’m the one who knows your darkest secrets, the man who wants to fulfill your every wicked desire,” he continued, as if my heart wasn’t beating a mile a minute and heat tingled between my legs.

He must have sensed my shift in mood, because he chuckled. The sound was pure, velvety magic.

“I can’t wait to see you in that dress tomorrow night,” he goaded me. “When I catch you, I’m going to enjoy peeling it off you.”

I was speechless.

The wine slipped from my fingers, and I had to scramble not to let the glass crash on the floor.

“Now be a good girl, and go play with your toys,” he rumbled. “I’ll be thinking of you tonight.”