Page 90 of Payoff Pitch
As I feed it to her, I say, “Cheetah mentioned taking your sister home for Christmas. Does that mean we’re on for Vail?”
She nods as she swallows. “Yep. Kam and I talked about it. She’s leaving before Christmas though. My friends are all gone. I need to figure out what I’m doing, but I’m definitely free the next week.”
Without thinking, I offer, “Spend it with us.”
She pinches her eyebrows together. “How would that work with Fallon?”
“The truth. You don’t have your family or friends around. If she knew, she’d insist on you spending it with us anyway.”
“What do you guys do?”
“This year we’re doing Christmas Eve at Fallon’s with her parents. We alternate years. Harper will sleep there this year. They’ll do Christmas morning at her house first and then she’ll bring Harper here for another Christmas morning. Then we leave for Vail later that day.”
She smiles. “So I can stay with you on Christmas Eve? Or will your father be here?”
I roll my eyes. “He won’t come the years we do Christmas Eve at Fallon’s. He’s stubborn, blaming her for the divorce. He’s planning to visit after New Year’s for Harper’s birthday.”
She smiles. “I can’t wait for her party. I told her I’d make the cake. She wants somethingsoftballishbut said to otherwise surprise her.”
I lift her up and she giggles. “Enough talking. Time formyfavorite cake.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
BAILEY
Poor Cheetah. Kam was such a mess when I sent her off this morning. I gave him a rundown of how to handle her on the plane but I’m sure nothing prepared him for how crazy she gets when flying. But she officially took her first flight without me. She texted that they landed safely. I’ve got my first flight without her tomorrow.
It’s Christmas Eve, and we’re on our way to Fallon’s house. I’ve been there a handful of times over the past few months, but I haven’t met her parents. Her father had some complications with his broken ankle and was bedridden longer than expected. Apparently he’s fine now.
Tanner turns to me. “I have a nanny-appropriate gift to give you tonight. It’s from both Fallon and me. She called me with the idea, and of course I said yes. I have a gift from me that I’ll give to you in private.”
“A dirty gift?”
He chuckles. “Your mind is in the gutter.”
“I have a dirty old man doing unspeakable things to my body all the time. You’ve turned my mind as gutter-like as Kam’s.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Old man.”
I smile at him as I gently scrape my fingernails across the gray in his beard. The sexy as hell gray in his beard. “I’ve never been with a man with gray hair until you.”
“Are you looking for a spanking later?”
I bite my lip. I will never understand why that turns me on so much, but it does. I better change the topic before we end up on the side of the road having sex. “You didn’t have to get me a gift. This trip is more than a gift. I’m excited to try skiing. I never even saw snow until we moved to Chicago.”
“You’re still young, and you’re a world-class athlete. You’ll pick it up quickly. I have no doubt.”
“Is Harper a good skier?”
He smiles. “When they’re young they have no fear. It’s the best time to teach them. She’s great. Dylan has been skiing since she could walk, so she’s good too. I arranged for the two of them to go to ski school in the mornings. You and I can take our time in the mornings. I figured I’d teach you how to ski. Then we’ll ski with them in the afternoons. There are tons of good restaurants around. It’s a beautiful town. The cabin I rented has four bedrooms. I’ll leave the master for Fallon. This way you and I will have an adjoining bathroom to come and go as we please.”
“Are you going to sneak into my room at night, Mr. Montgomery?”
He briefly closes his eyes as he squirms in his seat. “You know it makes me hard when you call me that.”
“It makes you hard when I call you Daddy.”
He leans his head back on the headrest and groans. “Fuuuck. It makes my cock leak when you call me Daddy. Hard when you call me Mr. Montgomery.Bothnames get me riled up. Don’t do that to me before we head into my ex-wife’s house.”