A feeling of warmth spread through her. “Thank you, but I happen to like all of this, so get building,” she teased.

“Ribbon, Alessandra. Plenty of it left.”

“Bring it on, Chase.” She laughed. “But after you’ve finished your work.” Leaning her hip against the counter, she watched as he placed tiny figurines on each level. As he did, the expression on his face changed. Gone was the devious grin that had accompanied his delicious threat, and in its place was something much more innocent. Hudson had always seemed so much older than his twenty-nine years, but in that moment it was if he were a young boy again, marveling at the decoration his parents had put on display.

“Is it like the one you used to have?” Her voice was hesitant. As much as she wanted to know about his past, she didn’t want to push him to a place he wasn’t ready to revisit.

“I have no idea,” he murmured.”I have a picture in my mind, but I’m not sure if it’s accurate. My mom stopped putting it out after my dad was gone. She stopped celebrating Christmas altogether.”

Allie’s chest tightened at the thought. Hudson had never mentioned his dad, much less why he wasn’t in his life, but clearly that had been the case for quite a while. It was hard enough to imagine two little boys growing up without their father. But picturing them with a mother so despondent she couldn’t bring herself to celebrate the holidays caused tears to prick the backs of her eyes. She was about to go to him, to wrap her arms around him and tell him he’d never be alone again, when he surprised her by saying more than just those few initial words.

“Nick and I would sit at the table, watching, while my dad built it,” he said. “He’d let us play with the little guys until he was ready for them. Nick would cry if he didn’t get to hold Santa Claus, even though my dad told him the most important one was the baby in the manger.” He gave a half smile. “But that baby wasn’t the one bringing presents, so Nick couldn’t care less.”

One by one Hudson began adding the thin propeller blades to the top of the pyramid. Allie held perfectly still, not wanting to interrupt the moment in any way. Hudson was talking, sharing a memory from his childhood, and a happy one, no less. Which only made her all the more curious as to what had happened to so devastatingly alter their lives.

“When he was finished he’d let me light the candles.” When the last blade was in place, Hudson gave them a gentle push and the levels began to spin in alternating directions. He sat back in his chair, watching it turn.

The oven timer chimed and Allie jumped. Hudson looked up and all traces of the young boy vanished. “Better not let them burn,” he teased. “The woman in charge around here is a real nightmare.”

“Only when her elf is slacking on the job,” she shot back, relieved to see his mood hadn’t taken a dark turn. “But since he’s completed everything on his list, he’s in the clear. Might even get a reward.” She grabbed a hot mitt and bent over to pull the last tray of cookies out of the oven.

Hudson was suddenly behind her, his hands cupping her backside. “I can think of a few rewards I’d like to claim.”

Allie gave her hips a little shake and he smacked her on the ass. She yelped as she stood. “You’re lucky I didn’t drop these,” she said, setting the tray on the counter to cool.

“They smell delicious.”

“Thank you. But don’t be too impressed, I only baked them.” Allie had never been much of a cook, but she’d found a box of pre-cut, ready-to-bake Christmas cookies at the store that were allowing her to fake her way through it quite well. At least so far. She’d baked half of them with colored sugar and left the other half plain for decorating with icing. It had seemed simple enough at the time, but now that she was faced with covering a dozen or so cookies with decorative icing—and having them resemble something slightly appetizing—she wasn’t so sure.

Hudson reached past her to steal a cookie off the tray, but she batted his hand away. “Those are too hot to eat.” She turned and offered him one from the cooling rack. “Here, try one of these.”

He took the cookie and settled back against the counter. Crossing his ankles, he watched her as she arranged several cookies on a piece of parchment paper. Pulling off a Martha Stewart routine was going to be hard enough. Doing it with Hudson watching her every move was going to be damn near impossible.

“Don’t you have an empire to run or a football game to watch?” Something. Anything.

“Nothing more entertaining than this.” He finished the last of his cookie and brushed the crumbs from his hands. “Can I help?”

“You want to decorate cookies?

“Yes.” His expression was sincere.

“Okay.” She placed a piece of parchment paper in front of him and set a star-shaped cookie on top of it.

“Lacking confidence in my abilities?”

She laughed. “Start with the star and we’ll work you up to the snowman.”

He stared at the tubes filled with various colors of frosting for a moment before reaching for the blue one.

“Just hold it with both hands and squeeze,” she said, without looking up. Beside her Hudson stilled and she had to bite her lip to hide her smile. If she played her cards right, perhaps he wouldn’t notice her lack of culinary skills after all.

Allie reached for the green icing and began piping it onto a cookie cut into the shape of a tree. When she finished she added a few multicolored sprinkles. Not too bad, she thought. It actually resembled a Christmas tree. And not one decorated by a four-year-old.

“How did I do?’ Hudson asked.

Allie gaped at his cookie, perfectly decorated with an intricate snowflake pattern covered with sparkling sugar crystals. Seriously? “Umm, not too bad.”

“Hmm. Once I found the right spot to exert the perfect amount of pressure, it came quite easily.” His description made every nerve in her body come alive. And judging by the smirk on his face, he knew it, too. “Am I ready for the next level?”

Complicated household appliances like overpriced espresso machines might have been more than Hudson could handle, but clearly he harbored some previously unknown, at least to her, artistic ability. Allie tucked that bit of information away to ponder at another time. Right now her competitive streak required she focus all of her attention on cookie decorating.

Hudson lifted a brow as she placed a snowman on each of their parchments. “I do believe I sense a challenge.”

“Just frost your cookie,” she muttered.

He chuckled. “Keep it up, Alessandra, and I’ll take you on the kitchen floor. Although if memory serves, you quite enjoyed it the last time.”

Ignoring his comment, Allie set about the task of decorating her snowman. But her mind was far from thoughts of corncob pipes and button noses. All she could picture was their first morning together and, more specifically, how they’d ended up a sweaty, panting mess on the kitchen floor. She was so consumed by the thought, she forgot all about keeping an eye on the competition.

When she finally stole a sideways glance, an involuntary giggle escaped her lips. On the counter in front of Hudson lay a very voluptuous snow . . . woman wearing a red bra and panties. “You did not just draw boobs on a Christmas cookie.”

“I most certainly did.” He gazed at her impassively for a moment before sucking a bit of frosting from his fingertip. “And they’re quite delicious.”

Hudson’s eyes flicked down to where her nipples pebbled beneath her thin sweater and then to the tube of icing he held in his hand.

Allie narrowed her eyes at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”

He didn’t answer, but the wicked gleam in his eyes told her he absolutely would.

She took a step back. “I’m serious, Hudson. Don’t even think about it.”

His lips twitched into a lascivious grin. “Oh, it’s much too late for that, Alessandra.”