Page 177 of Santa Daddies

Mom shakes her head. “You were so adamant about getting an Airbnb, I didn't bother to prepare a room. I wish you’d make up your mind. Good thing you run your company tighter than you run your personal life.”

“You could have slept on the couch… Which brings me to something I need to talk to Bellamie about,” Dad says, taking a moment to tap on his phone screen. He flashes a picture of Krampus spanking Bellamie, a look of pure delight on her face.

I kind of want to get it framed, but I'm not the one making her happy. Could I be?

Bellamie stutters, trying to answer, so I take over. “It was just for show, all part of the festival.”

“Were you drinking?” Mom asks. “That’s so embarrassing."

Bellamie mumbles, “I was participating in a parade. What’s embarrassing?”

“How do you expect to be respected in the business world if you…” She puts her hand over her heart. “You only get to live in this house until you finish school.”

Bellamie huffs. “That escalated quickly.”

Dad says, “Yes it did, because of your behavior and your image. With social media, this demeaning content lasts forever. Take note from Loren and maintain your image… other than sleeping on your sister’s floor.”

“He’s right, Bellamie. We raised you to be respectable.” Mom takes the phone from Dad and squints her eyes. “Are you tied up? What are you supposed to be, a sex toy for this monster?”

She flashes the picture at us again.

I grab the phone, send the picture to myself, then delete all records of it so they won’t know.

“I’m fully clothed!” Bellamie huffs. “Is this picture the biggest worry on your plate?”

“Okay, fine, I won't keep harping about your indiscretion, so what about you, Loren? Are you seeing anyone?”

“Don’t worry about it, Mom.” I cringe inside, happy to take the pressure off Belle, but knowing we’ve done something so much more disappointing.

“I’m not worried. I’m asking if you have any prospects for providing grandchildren.”

I glance at Bellamie’s belly, wondering if my baby’s growing in her already.

Mom tsks. “Why are you looking at your sister? She’s still in school, definitely not fit for giving us heirs yet.”

“No one likes to talk about their sex lives with their parents. Pick a new topic.” Maybe keeping Kace away from Bellamie wasn’t the only reason I didn’t want to stay at home.

Dad fidgets, probably uncomfortable thinking about Bellamie being in college and presuming she’s having sex. Except he’d be wrong, because she didn’t have sex until last night.

Finally Dad says, “We were sorry that Kace had to cancel the other night. He’s such a great guy, so driven and passionate. He’s someone you should look up to, Bellamie. But of course, you canceled that night too. You really need to think about more than hanging out with your friends.”

Bellamie rolls her head back. “Why don’t you introduce me so I can be just like Loren and partner up with a billionaire? Why can’t you accept… never mind.”

Does she not know that Kace is Krampus? Or does she not want to tell them that she went on a date with Kace and that’s why they canceled? He could have had the decency to stop by, it was only going to be a short drop-in. Instead, he lied to me about why he couldn’t make it.

I study Bellamie’s body language while she endures a mini-lecture on successful networking. I don’t think she knows that Kace is Krampus.

“Speaking of networking, aren’t you supposed to be at your Saturday morning session?”

Dad grumbles, “A mindset guru joined our group and is teaching us about work-life balance–convinced everyone to take a few weeks off for Christmas.”

Mom points a finger at me. “Maybe this is working. We took time off and get rewarded with a surprise visit from our son. It’s not often we hang out as a family now that you moved away, Loren.”

If we could talk about something other than success and heirs, I might visit more often, but I keep my mouth shut. Like I always have. Fuck me for not thinking about what that did to Bellamie. I should have looked out for her… and what? Moved her across the country, away from her friends? How would I have explained that when I did it to get away from temptation in the first place?

“Call me a genius,” Mom says. “Can we extend this magical moment to have Kace over?”

“He left town.” Only I know that’s not true.