“An event?”
“A wedding, to be exact.”
Her eyes lit up like crazy for a few seconds before she checked herself and went back to normal, appearing embarrassed if anything. “Ah, a wedding.”
I could tell she was doing her best to sound measured and calm. “You alright there?”
Another blush. “Yeah, fine.”
I smiled, not needing to pick her brain to know what was up. She had the career woman thing going on, sure, but she was a woman, and women liked weddings. I wondered if she’d convinced herself she was the type who didn’t need a man, that her career would bring her all the happiness she needed. Hell, maybe she was right. But the way she reacted to the word wedding was sure as shit a different story. But I dropped it, wanting to get back to more pressing matters.
“Yeah, so we’ve got a wedding coming up. You remember Paul Sheppard and Willa Mayer?”
“Vaguely. We went to the same school but didn’t run in the same circles.”
“They’re getting hitched. Fell in love right after high school after working together at the Dairy Queen on Grand. You couldn’t pull ‘em apart with a crowbar if you had to.”
Another strange expression settled on her face for a brief moment, as if hearing about two people falling crazy in love and getting married made her think of other stuff she might’ve wanted but pretended not to.
Fuck, why was I trying so hard to read this girl’s mind? I didn’t usually spend this much effort getting to the brains of people who worked for me, unless they fucked up and I had to.
“That’s sweet.” Her tone was reserved.
“But anyway, they’re planning the wedding now, and I guess they thought my barn would be the perfect rustic setting for their happy day.”
“And are you saying we have to plan it?”
I shook my head. “Nah, they’ve got people for that. But I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that in the days leading up to the thing, it’s gonna get a little crazy around here. Thought I’d give you a heads-up.”
“Appreciate it.”
I turned toward the property, thinking about all the stuff I had on my plate for the day. But even in that brief moment of silence, with Cindy standing next to me, I found myself thinking about her. Fucking hell – I needed to do something about this.
“Anyway,” she said. “I should probably get back to work. Gotta help Kyle.”
“You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“Nah,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “He’s a sweet kid.”
“Alright. Good check-in. And keep up the hard work.”
She flashed me one of those gorgeous little smiles before turning and heading back to the house. A minute or two she stepped into the house, vanishing from sight.
It was weird as hell. Sure, I’d been honest enough with myself to admit I thought she was hot as shit. But as the days had gone by, I’d found myself thinking of her in a different way, more like a partner in the business. Might’ve been a little soon to go that far, but damned if she wasn’t pulling her weight.
But there was more to that, and I knew it. Her sunny disposition, the way she was with Kyle…she’d been adding something to my life I couldn’t ignore, something I hadn’t had since Quinn was around. Now, I wasn’t thinking about her in any emotional kind of way – no one but Quinn had that effect on me. But there was definitely some kind of feeling she’d been stirring up.
I pushed all that crap out of my head as quickly as I could. Being sentimental was a waste of time at best, and a weakness at worst. I was a man on my own, and that’s how I liked it. If I needed anything from women, well, that’s what a night at the bar was for.
And the more I thought about it, the more that sounded kinda nice. With a nod I settled on it. Work tonight, fun after. I needed to get that girl off my mind, and booze and women was exactly how to do it.
Chapter 8
Cindy
It was the end of the workday, but my heart was still racing when I pulled away from the property and started home. It was ridiculous and I knew it. Craig had brought me into the office for one of our check-ins, and it had been all good news. The man could be a little rough around the edges, but as far bosses went, he was one of the best I’d ever had.
Sure, the rest of my bosses had all been Brooklyn kids barely a few years older than me at coffee shops, but still. He was easily the most successful man I’d ever worked for. And I appreciated that while he undoubtedly had a ton of money, he wasn’t showy about it at all. He had his properties and his truck and a nice life for Kyle, and that seemed to be all he cared about.
But it wasn’t only about the nice things he’d had to say about my performance. Well, it had been, but it was more the way he’d said it. I got the feeling there’d been more to his words than only letting an employee know she’d done a good job. It was almost like he was confused about something, not sure how to say it.
And I was too. It was hard as hell to deal with all the conflicting thoughts I had about him, specifically how he was my boss but also so freaking hot. God, seeing him work on the farm, his flannel shirt rolled up enough to show off those toned forearms, it was enough to make a woman go crazy.
Of course, there was the little matter of him also being my dad’s best friend, and a little over twenty years older than me. Shouldn’t I have been attracted to someone more age-appropriate? Then again, I’d been around more than a few guys my age back in New York, nice boys who wanted to take me out for a drink and get to know me better. And they’d almost all been cute. But none of them had even come close to the effect Craig had on me.
As I pulled up to the house, the sight of someone sitting on the porch snapped me out of my thoughts. At first I thought it was Dad – wasn’t an unusual sight to see him on the porch waiting for me after a day of work, fresh coffee inside he’d made for us to have while I told him about my day. But as I got closer, I realized that it wasn’t Dad – it was a woman. And a familiar one at that. When I realized just who it was, I let out a sharp scream of excitement and pulled the car to a stop so fast I worried I might go into a tailspin. Alexa Winter – my best friend from high school.
I jumped out of the car and ran over to her, both of us screaming our heads off as we hugged the crap out of each other. “Oh my freaking God!” I screeched, shocked I was seeing her. “Is it seriously you?”
“Is it seriously you?”
I let her go and gave her a look up and down. Alexa looked the same as ever – trim and perky and petite, her short hair strawberry blonde, her expressive features set among a perfectly oval face. She was dressed hip as ever in jeans, Doc Marten boots, and a T-shirt for some band I’d never heard of underneath her flannel shirt. Why the hell didn’t anyone around here wear a damn jacket?
“Don’t know who else it would be. When did you get back in town? I thought you, like, were a Londoner now.” Alexa had gone off to the UK after graduating college in hopes of being a world-famous artist. I hadn’t heard much from her in the past few years.
“I most definitely am a Londoner now, darling.” She placed a special emphasis on darling, saying the word in a posh, English accent. “But I haven’t forgotten my roots, of course.”
“Are you suggesting I have?” My tone was jokingly offended, though I realized she wouldn’t be entirely wrong if that’s what she was saying.
“Maybe a little. You did run off to New York as fast as you could, after all.”
“That was more out of excitement to get there, not wanting to forget about here.”
She waved her hand through the air, changing the subject. “Anyway, I’m on my way to LA for this installation I’m working on in a month or two, and when I heard you were in town, I figured that’d be the perfect time to stop in town for a little while.”
“You have no idea how glad I am to see you! It’s great being back, but the only familiar faces I’ve seen around here are Dad and Craig. I mean, Mr. Johannsson.”
A sly smi
le formed on Alexa’s face, as if we’d stumbled onto the exact topic that she was most interested in. “Craig. Mr. Johannsson – whatever you want to call him. I guess it depends on how close you are.”
“Oh no, don’t you start with that.” I glanced over her shoulder at the house. “Is my dad home?”
“No, he’s gonna be working out back for a few more hours. I stopped by the house to see if you were here to surprise you and he was just leaving, told me to make myself at home until you got back.”
“Sounds like Dad.”
“And I spotted a couple bottles of wine in the kitchen – my preferred way of making myself feel more at home.” Another smile.
“Wine does sound pretty good.”
She clasped her hands together in excitement. “Then let’s do it. I want to hear all about your new job. And, of course, your new boss. If that’s all he is.”
“It’s all he is,” I assured her. “But let’s get that wine.”
We headed into the house and minutes later had opened a bottle of red. Glasses in hand, we headed to my old bedroom, where we’d spent so many nights hanging out while in high school, talking about classes we hated or boys we were into. Alexa had been the opposite of me, a total serial monogamist. And she always tried to get me hooked up with guys, thinking the faster I lost my virginity the better. But none of them ever appealed to me, not in the way Craig had.
Wanting to put off the subject of my new boss for as long as possible, I asked Alexa about what she’d been up to over the last year since graduating from the art program at Stanford. It sounded exciting, to say the least. While I’d been all about New York, Alexa hadn’t been content to stay in any one place. She’d made her base in London, and from there travelled all over Europe, seeing the sights, eating the foods, and, of course, dating the boys.
It was the last subject that she spent the most time on. And man, were there a lot of boys to talk about. There was Giovanni in Florence, Alain in Lyon, and Peter in Berlin – just to name a few. Each one brought the same wistful expression to her face, as if the mere mention of their names conjured up all sorts of secret, romantic memories.
No lying – it made me feel more than a bit self-conscious about my own dating life. And Alexa, sharp as she was, picked up on this right away.
“Please tell me that you’re not as miserable in dating as you were in high school. Or college, for that matter.”
I sighed, knowing the answer was yes. Again, that was all she needed to hear.
“Cin! Are you serious? You’re in one of the biggest cities in the world with thousands of the hottest, richest guys there are, and you still can’t find a single guy to date?”
“Was in one of the biggest cities in the world. Not a New Yorker anymore.”
“Oh, please. You’re a New Yorker in your heart – always have been. You’re going to spend a few months working here and saving up some money and you’ll be back before you know it.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. But what if I screw up again and have to come back?”
“So? We’re in our twenties – it’s the time for screwing up! You want to live in New York, that’s what you’re going to do. Save up, try again. And if you need to do it all over again, do it. Never give up – go for what you want and don’t let anyone stand in your way.”
Her words caused me to straighten my shoulders and feel some of my usual confidence. “Yeah, that’s what I’m gonna do. New York’s where I wanna be, so that’s where I’ll be.”
“There you go! But enough with the pep talks. What I want to know is who’s the lucky guy who finally was good enough to get your V.”
My face flashed hot red, and it didn’t exactly take Alexa’s skills in reading people to know what that meant. Her expression was no less than total shock. “No. Freaking. Way. You’re telling me you’re still…”
“I didn’t tell you anything.”
“Your face said it all, Cin. You’re still a freaking virgin?”
I looked around with wide eyes, as if someone might’ve been listening in. “Keep your voice down.”
“What, you afraid of the goats finding out you’re a twenty-three-year-old virgin?”
“Dad might be here.”
She laughed. “If anything, he’d be relieved. No dad wants to think of his little girl in that way, especially yours.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Only that he’s had a hard time letting you go. Or, at least, he did back in high school when you decided to leave for New York. And I don’t blame him – gotta be rough being here all alone.”
“He’s not all alone. He’s got friends like Mr. Jo—” I stopped myself mid-name, not wanting to bring up the subject. But Alexa’s eyes narrowed at my slip, and I could tell there wasn’t anything she wanted to talk more about.
“OK-OK-OK.” She sipped her wine and set down the glass. “Tell me what it’s like working for him. Is he still hot as fuck?”
How to even answer those questions? “He’s a really good boss, that’s for sure. I thought he was gonna be a total hardass, and he kind of is, but he always lets me know that he appreciates my hard work.”
“That’s great, good to hear.” She obviously was more interested in the second question. “And his hotness?”
“He still looks really good. Really, really good.”
She clasped her hands together as if she couldn’t imagine getting any better news. “I knew it! I knew he’d be the kind of guy to only get better with age.”
“I know, I know. Part of me was thinking he might get a big beer belly and let himself go. But he’s still really hot.”
“And you work for him – that’s perfect.”
“Perfect? What do you mean?”
She lowered her eyes in a come on now kind of expression. “You seriously don’t know what I mean? Cin, do you remember how badly you had the hots for him when we were in high school? Hell, middle school.”
“No, I didn’t. I mean, I thought he was attractive, sure, but I was never, like, super crazy for the guy.”
“Did you develop a severe case of selective memory while you were in New York or something?” she asked, sarcasm dripping off her tongue. “Cin, I tried to get you to date all these guys at school and you didn’t give a shit about a single one of them. But when it came to Craig…”
“What?” I asked, pretending nonchalance as I sipped my wine.
“You obviously, obviously wanted him to be the one to, you know, relieve you of your maidenhead, as they say in London.”
“Do they really say that?”
“Might’ve heard it somewhere. But seriously, are you really going to pretend that you didn’t have the biggest fucking crush on him back then?”
“OK, maybe I had kind of a crush. But that was stupid teenager crap. He was older, handsome, funny, charming…” I faded out as I spoke.
Alexa laughed. “There it is.”
“There what is?”
“That look you always got when you talked about him, like there was no other guy in the world.”
“Whatever.”
“Don’t whatever me. You obviously still have a thing for him. And guess what – he’s still older and handsome, funny, charming…” She did her best impression of the faraway sound of my voice.
“Maybe kind of. But he’s my boss, and it’s not going to happen.”
“Cin, think hard – you have to lose your virginity sometime, right?”
“I suppose.”
“Is there really a guy you want to lose it to more?”
She had a point. “Well, maybe not. But that doesn’t make it a good idea.” I sipped my wine, hoping the booze would make the conversation less uncomfortable.
“Here’s the thing – you’ve got a mental block, and that block is in the shape of Craig Johannsson. A tall, muscular, insanely handsome block. You’ve been fixated on this dude for years, ever since you were a barely a teen. Maybe even before. As far as I see it, you’re g
onna need to work through your feelings toward him if you’re ever gonna have anything like a normal sex life.”
“What’re you even saying?”
“I’m saying, you take advantage of your working relationship.”
“And sleep with him?”
She nodded eagerly. “I’m not saying you have to fall in love with him or marry him or any of that stuff. But make a move, get him to do what you’ve been dreaming about for years, and then you can finally move on.”
“No way. No way. I mean, even if I did, who’s to say he’d go for me?”
“Because you’re hot, for one. And then there’s the whole forbidden fruit angle which no man can resist. And then there’s the fact that he’s, well…”
“Well what?”
“He’s kind of a manwhore – no other way to put it. The dude goes through women like popcorn. I bet if you came onto him, he’d be more than happy to give you the business and be done with it. Nothing complicated.”
The thought of him with other women was not an appealing one to me. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a feeling that was way too close to jealousy to unpack. I had zero right to be jealous. But it didn’t stop Alexa from being right. I had always envisioned losing my virginity to Craig.
“Here – I have an idea,” she announced, a brilliant smile on her face. “We go out tonight, have a few drinks and catch up. And while we’re there, we can scope out the scene, see some of the local talent. And if there isn’t a single guy who catches your eye tonight, then you’re gonna have to at least think about my theory.” She paused, looking at me. “That you’re hung up on Craig.”
It sounded nice. I’d been so busy with work that I hadn’t even thought about going out. Alexa was always good about dragging me out to be social.
“Fine. Let’s do it. But no promises on the sex stuff.”
She smiled. “Perfect. Now, let’s get dressed up and see where the night takes us, shall we?”
Chapter 9
Mistoletoe Surprise: An Older Man Younger Woman Christmas Romance Page 6