by Jenna Brandt
Blake must have found the extinguisher, because he rushed up beside her carrying a red canister with a black hose. He pointed it at the first oven, and pressed the pump. A thick, white foam came bursting out and sprayed the inside of the oven. He opened the next one, and did the same thing, and finished off with the final two.
He let out a heavy sigh as he set the canister down on the floor. “What a mess.”
“I can’t believe it. I remember this being so much easier when I was a kid,” Peyton lamented, her wet hair clinging to her face.
“At least we’re okay and we didn’t burn the hotel down,” Blake pointed out, pulling her around to face him. “You know, you look pretty cute all wet like that.”
“Stop it. I look awful.”
He reached out, his hand wrapping in her wet hair. “No, I like it.” He moved closer, letting his lips move towards hers. “I like you.” His mouth pressed against hers, the water still falling down on and around them, and the repeating screech of the alarm filled her ears. Despite the crazy circumstances, Peyton couldn’t pull away—at least until she remembered that the noise was probably scaring everyone in the building, including their dog.
She pulled back, then started to rush towards the door. “I need to go check on Comet.”
It was a mistake to hurry, because her feet slipped all over the place. Blake reached out and tried to brace her, but instead it did the opposite. Her unsteadiness caused him to slip along with her, and before she could blink, they were tumbling to the ground. Just like when they were in the snow, Peyton landed on Blake for a second time, her wet hair flinging into his face.
“I’m so sorry,” she rasped out between gulps of air. “I don’t know what it is when I’m around you, but I swear, I’m normally not this klutzy.”
Blake wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight. “It’s okay. You can land on me any time.”
“I guess I was wrong about the cookies. Maybe store bought is better after all.”
He shook his head. “You were right—it was our execution that was the mishap. We’ll get it right next time.”
There was commotion from the hallway, and to her surprise, Comet came bursting into the kitchen. He scampered right up to them, interrupting by licking their faces.
Peyton rolled off Blake and picked up Comet. “How did you get out of your new kennel and find us all the way down here? You could have gotten lost or hurt,” Peyton chastised in a baby voice.
“I told you, he’s Houdini,” Blake explained. “I don’t know if we will ever find the right kennel to keep him contained.”
A few moments later, several of the workers from the hotel, including Danny, along with the island’s fire crew showed up. Chaos filled the room after that, and Peyton and Blake both fielded questions about what happened. Danny didn’t believe their story, asking if they had been down into the kitchen for a discreet rendezvous. Both of them denied it adamantly, but he didn’t seem to buy it. By the time everything had calmed down, both of them were exhausted. They agreed to call it a night.
Despite all the chaos Peyton had introduced into Blake’s life, he liked having her in it. She was like a breath of fresh air, one he didn’t even know he needed until he got used to having it. Today, he planned to give her the Christmas gift he made. He hoped she liked it.
Blake arrived at Peyton’s suite and knocked on the door. When she didn’t respond, he wrapped on it a second time. He started to wonder if he got his times mixed up, and was about to text her, when the door swung open. She looked frazzled, with her hair out of place and her clothes disheveled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she quickly stated, but from the way she said it, he could tell she was hiding something.
“Come on, you can tell me,” he coaxed.
“Fine, it’s Comet. He’s run off again. I can’t find him anywhere. I haven’t had time to order another kennel.”
“I can help with that,” Blake explained, gliding into her room. He pulled out his phone and clicked a couple of buttons. “He’s hiding somewhere over in this area.” Blake walked over and pulled back the edge of one of the curtains by the dining area.
“How did you do that?” Peyton marveled, picking up Comet.
“Simple, I ordered him a new collar with a locator chip in it and put it on him last night. This app can tell us where he is at all times.”
“Wow, that is amazing,” she said, looking over his shoulder at the screen. “The things they come up with.”
“I think it was originated for cattle, but I had the company make one for Comet.”
Peyton put the dog back in his kennel, then secured the pin in place to lock it. “Hopefully he doesn’t get out again.” She stood back and up and turned to Blake. “You ready to go?”
“I am, but I have something to give you first.”
“What’s that? Another kiss?” she asked, tilting her head to the side with a smile.
“Well, now that you mention it, I’ll collect on that later. First though, I want to give you this.” Blake pulled out a small red box with a golden bow on it and handed it over to Peyton.
“We’re exchanging gifts?” she asked with confusion. “I didn’t get you anything—at least not yet. Christmas is still a couple of weeks away.”
“I wasn’t expecting anything, so don’t worry about it. I wanted to make this for you.”
“You made it for me?” she asked with astonishment. “Will wonders never cease. A Witlock man made his girl a gift.”
“Hey now, it’s not that surprising or out of the ordinary. We have custom jewelry and cars made all the time.”
“This better not be either of those. I’ll refuse it outright.”
“No, there’s no car key or necklace in the box.”
“Then what’s in here?” she said, shaking it slightly.
“Stop, don’t do that! It’s fragile.”
Peyton froze mid-shake, her eyes widening in shock. “Maybe you should have said that to start with.” She untied the bow and removed the lid. She pulled out the top tissue to reveal the ornament underneath. She gasped, gingerly pulling it free by the velvet ribbon handle. “This is exquisite.”
“It should be, considering it took me five attempts to get it right.”
“Five? Are you that much of a perfectionist?”
“Not as much as Comet kept barking and jumping on me, causing my first four to fall and shatter. It took David helping me to get this one right.”
“Was this what you did the other day when you went over to his art studio?”
Blake nodded. “I wanted to get you something special to commemorate the beginning of our relationship.”
“It’s perfect,” she whispered, then turning it back and forth, she gasped a second time. “Do those gems make the shape of Andromeda?”
“They do. I decided to add them because as I watched you watch the stars, I knew I was falling for you.”
“You’re falling for me?”
He nodded. “So much, I want to do anything and everything I can to make you happy. That’s why I did this, too.” He moved over to the door and opened it to reveal Peyton’s mother standing on the other side.
“Mom!” Peyton shouted with sheer joy. “You’re here, you’re actually here! I can’t believe it.” She rushed towards the door and threw her arms around her mother.
The women were laughing and crying all at the same time, going on about how much they missed each other. After several minutes of this, Peyton turned to Blake with happiness written all over her face. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me, to us.”
As the trio made plans to head out for lunch, Blake felt satisfied that he did something special for Peyton. After all, what was the point of being a billionaire if you couldn’t use your money to spoil the ones you loved.
Chapter 9
Peyton was excited for the employee Christmas party. She had spent all week planning it while keeping Blake out of the
loop. She knew he would object to the details, so she had purposely kept him in the dark.
Blake arrived at her room, ready to escort her and Comet upstairs to the restaurant for the party.
“You’re wearing that?” he asked, as he stepped into the room. “What kind of party is this?”
Peyton knew he would object to her reindeer sweater and Santa hat, which was why she decided to ambush him with the next part.
“Of course, Blake, it’s an ugly sweater party after all. I don’t think I will win the contest, but it’s fun to try.”
“An ugly…sweater…party?” Blake asked, his voice rising higher with each word and his face getting redder.
“Yes, Blake, and the employees are really excited about it. They said the parties around here are usually pretty stuffy, and they were looking forward to being able to cut loose.”
“I don’t get it,” Blake confessed. “How is wearing a bunch of ugly sweaters supposed to make you feel more relaxed?”
“Because it’s funny and festive at the same time,” she explained. “I mean, I even got one for Comet.”
From a bag by the side of the table, she pulled out an adorable grey sweater that had snowmen with red hats and scarves all over it with a matching Santa hat to top off the outfit.
“You’re seriously putting that on the dog?” Blake asked, disgust clearly written all over his face.
“Absolutely, and that’s not all,” she said in a sing-song voice. “I got a matching one for you.”
“You didn’t,” Blake objected, stepping back with a look of horror on his face.
“Oh, I did,” she stated, pulling from the bag a larger version of the snowman sweater and Santa hat. “I think with both of you wearing these, you two could be real contenders for the contest.”
“No way, it’s not going to happen,” Blake refused, shaking his head.
“Pretty please, for me,” she pleaded, knowing that if she flashed him her smile in just the right way he would relent.
He let out a heavy sigh, then reached out his hand. “Fine, hand it to me.” He slipped the sweater on over his white shirt. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“It’ll be fun, you’ll see,” Peyton encouraged. “Come on, my mom is waiting for us upstairs. She just finished getting her hair done at the salon for the party.”
They made their way up in the elevator and stepped out onto the rooftop where Christmas music was playing and colored lights were flashing from the spotlights Peyton had ordered. There were also strings of twinkling Christmas lights hanging on anything that wasn’t moving.
“What do you think?”
“It’s definitely festive,” Blake said, glancing around in an uncomfortable manner.
She set Comet down, but held onto his leash for good measure. “I guess I’ll take that as a compliment, even though you look like a deer in headlights.”
One of the photographers Peyton hired came up to them and snapped their picture. Blake blinked his eyes several times, then looked over at Peyton with a worried look on his face. “That picture isn’t for public use, are they?”
Peyton shook her head. “No, I promise it won’t end up splashed across the internet any time soon.”
“You two look adorable,” Peyton’s mother praised as she came up to them and gave them both a hug. “I’m so glad you agreed to where the sweater, Blake.”
Her mother was wearing a sweater with a Christmas tree that had ornaments that lit up and blinked along with a matching necklace and earrings. “Your sweater is great, Mom.”
“I know I’m not an employee of the island, but I wanted to show my support,” her mother said with a smile. “I’ve never worn anything like this before.”
Blake’s chin dipped down as he gave them a chagrined look. “That was really nice. I could take a cue from you, and learn to be a little bit easier going about doing things I’m not used to that aren’t my idea.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Peyton’s mother said in a soothing voice. “Change is hard.”
“That’s why I say, never do it. The key is to have plenty of plastic surgery to keep it from happening.” A strikingly beautiful middle-aged woman with reddish brown hair and hazels eyes came into view, and Peyton immediately recognized her as Mara Witlock.
“Mara, what are you doing here?” Blake asked in an exasperated tone, crossing his arms across his chest. “This is an employee party.”
“I doubt she’s an employee,” Mara countered, shrugging towards Peyton’s mom. “Besides, don’t you have a little room for your dearest mommy?”
“Nothing is ever little with you, Mara,” Blake corrected with obvious irritation in his voice, “which is why you should probably just leave.”
“Blake, why don’t you let her stay?” Peyton’s mother requested. “I’d like to get to know your mother since we might be spending a lot of time together if things continue to keep progressing with you and my daughter.”
“Who’s your daughter?” Mara questioned, but the way she asked made it clear, she already knew the answer. She looked directly at Peyton as if to prove it.
“This pretty woman right here,” Peyton’s mother declared, wrapping her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. Her mother obviously didn’t pick up on Mara’s mind games. “She’s responsible for this party, along with all the other improvements around my section of the island.”
“Improvements?” Mara rolled her eyes. “I’ve been all over your area, and I hardly consider that an appropriate word. Slapping together a spa filled with fads, calling a glorified yoga studio a wellness center, and changing a few items on the menus doesn’t make this place original.”
“Watch it, Mara. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Blake growled out. “Peyton’s done an exceptional job around here.”
Mara pursed her lips in a pout as she clicked her perfectly manicured nails on the side of her champagne glass. “It must be serious for you to defend her like that. Are you sure that’s a smart idea, mixing business with your personal life?”
“I’m not sure why you think what I do, and don’t do, with Peyton is any of your concern.”
Peyton noticed Blake side-stepped his step-mother’s question as well as admitting how he felt about Peyton. The truth was, he’d only ever confessed it to her privately. She thought because he had been affectionate with her in public, it meant he was ready to take their relationship to the next level. Now she wondered if maybe she had been mistaken. Was he doing all of this for an ulterior motive? Was she simply just a fun distraction? Peyton wanted to believe it was more, but if he wasn’t willing to tell his own step-mother it was, what did that mean for her prospects with him?
“I think I will go grab another glass of champagne and let you cool off Blakey,” Mara cooed. “You always were the hot-head in the family.”
Before Blake could shout a rebuttal, the DJ announced it was time for the ugly sweater contest. Peyton invited Blake’s brothers to come be judges. As David and Richard took to the stage, Blake’s eyes grew wide with surprise.
“What are my brothers doing here?”
“I invited them to be the judges,” Peyton explained.
Blake looked happy and relieved. “Well, the good news with them being the judges, they definitely won’t vote for me. They wouldn’t want it to look rigged.”
“Don’t be too disappointed now,” Peyton teased.
“I’m not, believe me. I wouldn’t want to try to wrangle Comet up on that stage if we did,” he said with a chuckle. Then glancing around, he asked, “Where is he, by the way?”
“Oh no,” Peyton gasped. “With your step-mother showing up, I let go of the leash. I can’t believe I did that.”
Blake pulled out his phone and turned on the app. “Great, he must have slipped the collar off. It shows it right…” he bent down a few feet away, and lifted the collar up, “here.”
“What do we do now?”
“Why don’t we look for him why they
whittle down the contestants?” Blake suggested.
The next half hour passed with the employees strutting across the stage in their various ugly sweaters, from giant elfs to grinches to Santas, every Christmas motif was represented in all their ugliest splendor while Blake and Peyton looked for Comet. Several times, she heard employees cry out as something got knocked over by him, he stole someone’s food, or he tripped someone, but before she could catch him, he darted away and hid again. At least he couldn’t get very far with the doors to the rest of the hotel closed.
The contest got narrowed down to Joelle, Cindy, and Danny. Though she liked Cindy, she was secretly rooting for Blake’s friend, who decided to not only where a green Grinch sweater, but to paint his whole-body green as well.
“Alright, it’s time to announce the final decision,” the DJ asked, taking the paper from Dasher. He opened it and read the contents. The DJ picked up the giant trophy with a gold star on it and moved down the line past the women. He reached over and lifted Danny’s hand in the air. “We have our winner. The Grinch in all his glory.”
Danny took the microphone and waved to the crowd, then turned his attention to Blake’s brothers. “I want to thank the Witlock brothers for voting for me, but honestly, this honor shouldn’t go to me. When I first got here, I started asking around what people thought about all the sweaters. Almost every single one of them said they thought Blake’s was the absolute worst one here, especially when you added the fact he chose to put his dog in a matching one. I think this honor should go to them.”
The employees clapped and cheered, and Peyton pushed Blake forward until he was at the edge of the stage. “Go on up,” she encouraged with a wink. “You earned it.”
“I hardly think so,” he whispered in irritation. “This was all you.”
Even though he didn’t want to go up, he climbed the stairs and took the microphone. “Thanks everyone. I’m not really sure how to take this ‘honor’ but I want to make it clear, this night isn’t about me. It’s about all of you. Each one of you make this island great. We couldn’t run the island without you. That’s why I wanted to announce tonight that each of you will be getting not only your annual Christmas bonus, but a handmade glass star I made with your name and the island etched on it. I hope you will put it somewhere where you can see it on a daily basis, and remember how much I value you.”