Christmas Daddy (Naughty X-Mas Nights Holiday Romance #2)

Chapter 1

Nina

I'm pretty sure this qualifies as rock bottom.

I pull into Joel Hartford's driveway just as the sun starts its descent behind the Connecticut hills, painting everything in shades of pink and gold that would be beautiful if I wasn't such a goddamn mess.

My eyes are swollen from crying for the past three hours, my nose is raw from the cheap gas station tissues, and I'm wearing the same leggings I slept in last night because I couldn't bring myself to care about anything as trivial as getting dressed this morning.

The house is gorgeous—of course it is. Joel's an orthopedic surgeon, and this place screams success with its stone facade, perfectly trimmed hedges, and those expensive-looking wreaths on every window.

White lights are strung along the roofline, twinkling in the fading daylight, and through the front windows I can see a massive Christmas tree, beautifully decorated.

Great. Even his house is perfect.

I cut the engine and sit there, gripping the steering wheel, trying to pull myself together.

Alexis and I were supposed to arrive together tomorrow afternoon—my parents won a Christmas cruise and left last week, so spending the holidays with my best friend and her dad seemed perfect.

But then my ex dumped me yesterday, and Alexis texted this morning that her flight from LA got delayed until tomorrow because of some production emergency.

I couldn't face another night alone in my apartment, surrounded by my ex’s leftover things and the ghost of our failed relationship, so I just..

. left. Not with all of that stuff still there.

Not with the ghost of his voice telling me I need to be "more his type. "

Fresh tears burn behind my eyes and I squeeze them shut, pressing my palms against my eyelids. Don't cry. Don't cry. You've cried enough for that asshole.

But apparently my body disagrees, because the tears come anyway, hot and furious and so damn exhausting.

I don't know how long I sit there, but eventually there's a tap on my window that makes me jump so hard I bang my knee on the dashboard.

Joel Hartford is standing beside my car, concern etched across his handsome face.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

I roll down the window, trying frantically to wipe my face with my sleeve. "Dr. Hartford, hi, I'm so sorry, I know I'm early, Alexis said it was okay if I—"

"Nina." His voice is warm, gentle. "Come inside. You look frozen."

I am frozen. I've been sitting here crying long enough that the car has gone cold, and now that I'm aware of it, I'm shivering. I grab my purse and overnight bag from the passenger seat and stumble out of the car on numb legs.

Joel takes my bag without a word, his hand settling on my lower back as he guides me toward the front door. It's just a polite gesture, the kind of thing any friend's dad would do, but heat blooms where his palm presses against my coat and I feel it radiate through my entire body.

Stop it. This is not the time for your ridiculous crush to make an appearance.

Inside, the house is even more beautiful than I expected. Warm hardwood floors, a staircase with garland wrapped around the banister, and that tree I saw from outside dominating the living room. It smells like pine and cinnamon and something baking.

"I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow with Alexis," Joel says, setting my bag by the stairs. "But you're welcome here anytime, you know that."

I nod, not trusting my voice.

His blue eyes study me and I can see him taking in my tear-stained face, my rumpled clothes, the way I'm barely holding it together. "Let me make you some tea."

"You don't have to—"

"Nina." He says my name again, and something about the way it sounds in his deep voice makes my throat tighten. "Come sit down."

I follow him into the kitchen, which is all white marble and stainless steel with copper pots hanging from a rack above the island. He pulls out a stool for me and I sink onto it gratefully, watching as he fills a kettle and sets it on the stove.

Those hands. God, I've always been a little obsessed with his hands—broad and capable with long fingers, the hands of a surgeon. Hands that save people. I watch him measure loose-leaf tea into a strainer.

"When did you get into town?" he asks, not looking at me.

"About twenty minutes ago." My voice comes out scratchy. "I drove straight through from the city. I know I should have called first, but Alexis said—"

"She told me you might come early. She's worried about you." Now he does look at me, and the kindness in his expression nearly undoes me all over again. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." I press my lips together, trying to hold everything in. "I mean, it's stupid. Breakup stuff. Everyone goes through it."

The kettle starts to whistle and Joel pours the water over the tea, the steam rising between us. He sets the mug in front of me and leans against the counter across from me.

"Alexis mentioned that your boyfriend ended things."

"Yeah, well." I wrap my hands around the mug, letting the heat seep into my cold fingers. "Turns out two years wasn't long enough for him to actually want to be with me."

Something flashes in Joel's eyes, but I can't read it. "His loss."

Before I can stop myself, the whole miserable story comes tumbling out.

"He said he needs someone more his type.

Someone who, and I quote, 'takes care of themselves.

' Which is code for someone thinner, obviously.

" I laugh, but it sounds bitter even to my own ears.

"He'd been cheating on me for three months with a girl from his gym.

A CrossFit instructor named Madison who has abs you could grate cheese on. "

Joel's jaw tightens. "He said that to you?"

"He said a lot of things." I take a sip of tea—it's perfect, exactly the right temperature, with just a hint of honey.

"Apparently he's been 'trying' to hint that I should work out more, eat better.

I thought we were happy, but the whole time he was just..

. waiting for me to transform into someone else. "

"Nina—"

"The worst part is I actually considered it.

" The words pour out of me now, unstoppable.

"For like five whole minutes after he walked out, I stood there thinking maybe I should join a gym, maybe I should try one of those crazy diets, maybe then someone like him would—" I stop abruptly, horrified at myself.

"Sorry. You don't need to hear all this. "

"Yes, I do." Joel's voice is firm now, almost angry. "Because someone needs to tell you what an absolute idiot that man is."

I look up at him, startled.

He pushes off from the counter and moves closer, stopping on the other side of the island.

"You are beautiful, Nina. Exactly as you are.

The fact that he couldn't see that, that he tried to make you feel like you needed to change—" He breaks off, shaking his head. "You deserve so much better than that."

Heat floods my cheeks and my heart does this stupid fluttering thing it has no business doing. "Dr. Hartford."

"Joel. Please." He runs a hand through his dark blonde hair, and I notice the silver threading through it at his temples, the tired lines around his eyes. "I'm not your friend's dad right now. I'm just someone who hates seeing you hurt like this."

We stare at each other across the marble island and something shifts in the air between us, something that makes my breath catch and my skin prickle with awareness.

No. Stop it. He's being kind because you're a mess and you're Alexis's best friend. That's all this is.

I clear my throat and look down at my tea. "Thank you. For the tea. And for... you know."

"You're welcome here as long as you need to stay." His voice has gone gentler again. "The guest room is ready—I had it made up for you. There are fresh towels in the bathroom, and the WiFi password is on the nightstand."

"You're sure I'm not imposing? I can find a hotel—"

"Nina." That tone again, the one that makes me want to fall to my knees and do whatever he says. "Stay. Please."

So I stay.

After I unpack my few things in the guest room, I take a long, hot shower. By the time I emerge, wrapped in the plush robe that was hanging on the door, I feel almost human again.

My phone buzzes with a text from Alexis: Made it to the airport finally! Flight boards in an hour. Dad said you're already there - so glad you didn't have to be alone tonight. See you tomorrow afternoon!

I stare at that message, feeling a mix of relief and something else I don't want to examine too closely. Relief that my best friend will be here soon. And that other feeling... the one about having tonight alone with her father.

Stop it.

I've been harboring this absolutely inappropriate crush on Joel Hartford since I was twenty years old.

It started innocently enough—Alexis brought me home for Thanksgiving our sophomore year, and there he was: tall, handsome, accomplished, with this quiet confidence that made me feel safe in a way I'd never experienced before.

At first I thought I'd get over it. Crushes on your friend's parents are normal, right? They fade.

Except mine didn't fade. It just grew deeper, more complex, more hopeless.

Every time I visited, every family dinner, every graduation or birthday party, I was obsessed with him.

The way he listened when people talked. His dry sense of humor.

The gentle way he treated everyone around him, especially his daughter.

And now I'm here, fresh from a brutal breakup, staying in his house while Alexis is delayed in LA, and my stupid heart is doing backflips just because he called me beautiful.

Get it together, Nina. You're a disaster right now. He's just being nice.

I throw on clean leggings and an oversized sweater, then head back downstairs, following the sound of music coming from the kitchen.