by Amy Lamont
“Even better than last year,” Katelyn breathed.
“Totally,” Paige said.
“Wait until you see inside.” Jade grabbed my arm and tugged me along with her. Paige and Katelyn followed on our heels.
We stepped into the front hall and my jaw dropped. “Oh my God, Jade.”
I spun in a slow circle, taking it all in. Jade’s parents had created a miniature version of the winter wonderland in the lobby of the Hotel Wynter.
“What…?” I dropped my gaze to Jade. “How is this possible?”
Jade shrugged and smiled softly. “My mom knows how much you love the decorations at the hotel so when she was trying to decide how to decorate this year, she called the designer they use to try and recreate it.”
I twirled again and more tears prickled behind my eyes. I had even more proof of how much I was loved. “I can’t believe your parents did this.”
As if my words conjured her, Jade’s mom stepped into the front hall. “Girls, you made it.”
I rushed forward and threw my arms around her. “Thank you.” My words were barely above a whisper.
She squeezed me tightly. “You’re welcome.”
I fought back tears. I may have lost my parents far too young, but Mrs. Roberts’ hug and her amazing gesture reminded me I’d never been without family.
The embrace ended quickly with my friends crowding in to say hello and get warm hugs of their own while two maids helped us off with our coats.
After handing my wrap over, I stepped back to take another look at the large entry hall. Their entryway was about the size of the living room of the house I grew up in with a wide staircase in the center, curling up to the second floor. Small potted fir trees lined the room, each adorned with white lights and what looked to be snow. My eyes traveled up to see twinkle lights cascading from the ceiling like falling snow. The scent of pine filled my head and I closed my eyes for a brief moment, the wonder of every childhood Christmas filling me in that instant. I inhaled deeply. I opened my eyes to find myself pinned by a familiar amber gaze.
I gasped. Nate stood just inside the doorway to the living room, staring at me. What on earth was he doing here?
“My parents invited him.”
I hadn’t even noticed Jade coming to my side. She put her arm through mine and pulled me toward a white-coated waiter entering the room from the hallway that led to the kitchen. She let go of me long enough to snatch two glasses of champagne from his tray and hand one to me. “Drink up.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see Nate still standing in the doorway, both of Jade’s parents now standing with him. I turned and knocked back the entire glass of champagne in a few gulps and then straightened my shoulders.
“You know what? Fuck it. I’m sick of hiding my head in the sand.” I turned to face Nate. “There was something between us that night. I know there was. And I’m going to go find out why he blew me off. Enough of this moping around.”
I marched away, only vaguely aware of Jade’s whispered, “You go girl,” as I moved.
I was on a mission.
Chapter 9
“There’s my sweet pea.” Mr. Roberts snatched me to him in a big hug the second I reached his side. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
I grinned and squeezed him back. I loved Jade’s dad. My first memory of him was when my parents brought me to one of these Christmas parties when I was about six years old. Back then, I was so shy, I would have spent the entire night hiding behind the folds of my mother’s navy blue dress.
But Mr. Roberts spotted me and took me by the hand. He didn’t force me to talk to him or ask me a million questions the way most grown-ups did. He just kept me at his side, hooked me up with a plate of munchies, and introduced me to the other kids in attendance—Jade, Katelyn, and Paige.
Not for a minute was I afraid of him, despite him being a bear of a man, not at all what you picture when you think of a wealthy software developer. And ever since then, I’d had a soft spot in my heart for him. He made me feel special and comfortable and then he introduced me to the girls who would turn out to be my best friends in the world. And since my parents died and I went to live with Paige and her parents, he made sure I knew that if things didn’t work out, there was always room for me at his home. How could I not love him?
He pulled away and held me by the shoulders as he took a gander at my dress. “You look even more beautiful than usual, sweet pea.”
“Thank you, Mr. Roberts. You’re looking pretty dapper there yourself.” I grinned and he grimaced and tugged at his bow tie. He indulged his wife once a year with this formal party. But all of us close to him knew the truth. He’d much rather be in jeans and a T-shirt, eating pigs in a blanket and drinking beer. One more reason I liked him. Definitely my kind of guy.
And speaking of my kind of guy…I turned my attention to Nate. He towered over Jade’s petite mom, his broad shoulders dwarfing her. I drank him in, feeling a little overeager after not seeing him in over two weeks.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Even I had to admit the absurdity of missing someone when the entirety of our relationship took about three hours of my life. But there’s no fighting our feelings. And hey, at least I could say I had good taste.
Let’s just say the man could fill out a tuxedo.
“Nathaniel, I don’t think you’ve met my daughter’s friend—”
“Brandi,” Nate said. “We’ve met.”
My eyes grew wide. Shit, shit, shit. I gave Nate a small headshake hoping he’d pick up on it and Mr. and Mrs. Roberts would not. Jade’s parents knew about my freelance writing career, but I never shared exactly what I wrote about. And I certainly never shared my pen name with them.
“Oh, no, you must have her confused with someone else,” Mrs. Roberts said, her kind tone smoothing any awkwardness. Well, aside from my own innate awkwardness stemming from the fact I was having a conversation with the only man who’d ever seen me completely, totally naked and two people I thought of as second parents. Nope, not awkward at all. “This is Emma Glover. She and our daughter Jade have been friends since kindergarten.”
Something moved through Nate’s amber eyes. “My mistake.”
His eyes stayed locked on mine as he spoke and I shivered. I had a feeling it was more than calling me by the wrong name he referred to. Did he see our night together as a mistake? Ouch.
That part of me that woke up earlier as I stared at myself and Jade, Kate, and Paige in the bathroom mirror stirred. I narrowed my eyes at him. He’d walked out on me. If he thought he could act like the injured party now, he better think again.
“Emma, this is Nathaniel Wilder,” Mrs. Roberts said, breaking into my thoughts as she completed the introduction.
“Yes, Nate and I met recently,” I said.
“Oh.” Mrs. Roberts’ bewildered gaze bounced between the two of us. Guess my admission made it tough for her to smooth over his calling me by another woman’s name.
“It was a brief meeting,” I jumped in to reassure her. “I’m not surprised he didn’t remember me very well.”
“Now how could any man in his right mind forget about you?” Mr. Roberts peered down at me, fondness clear in his expression.
I grinned up at him. “You might be just a tiny bit biased.”
Before he could respond, Mrs. Roberts broke in. “Honey, the Murphys are here. We should go say hello.”
Mr. Roberts sighed and tugged on his tie. “Duty calls.”
I laughed and straightened his tie a bit and leaned in to stage whisper, “You’ll live.”
“Let’s hope.” He pointed at me. “You better save me a dance later.”
I picked up the hem of my gown just high enough to show off my strappy, glittery heels. “I’m afraid I left the steel toes at home tonight.”
Mrs. Roberts grinned. Her husband’s lack of skills on the dance floor was a long-running joke. She leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
“I stashed a few of
those stuffed mushrooms in the kitchen for you,” she said before tugging her husband off to greet the Murphys.
I smiled after them for a few seconds before turning my attention back to Nate. The smile fell off my face, and I sank my teeth into my bottom lip. He wasn’t walking away from me, but his blank expression gave no inkling as to what was going on behind those eyes.
When he finally broke the silence, I couldn’t help but wish we could go back to staring wordlessly at each other.
“I read some of your articles.”
Just great.
“Okay,” I said, drawing out the word. I wasn’t ashamed of my work, but most people had a strong reaction to it one way or another. He wasn’t giving me any clues to figure out if he liked the articles or thought they were totally gross.
“When will our article come out?”
I wrinkled my nose and tilted my head toward my shoulder. “Pardon?”
“Our article. Wasn’t that research? What kind of article did you write about us?”
My jaw literally dropped. “I would never, never write about that.”
A disbelieving grunt came from him and he gestured dismissively, encompassing all of me. “What’s this part? The outraged virgin act?”
I plunked my fists on my hips and opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind. Thankfully, a burst of laughter from behind him reminded me where we were standing before I managed to get a word out. I needed privacy for what I wanted to say to this man.
Without giving him a chance to walk away, I snatched his hand, looked around wildly for a place we could go, and then hauled him in the direction of the kitchen.
It had to be said, he could have stopped me at any time. He was more than half a foot taller than me, even in my heels, and had a good fifty or sixty pounds on me. A little spark of hope burst in my chest like a firecracker, filling me with warmth as he let me pull him along.
I stopped only long enough to snag a couple of flutes of champagne from a passing waiter, balancing the stems between the fingers of one hand while I kept my grip of Nate’s hand with the other. I continued on into the kitchen. If this didn’t go well, at least I could soothe myself with stuffed mushrooms.
I wound my way through the catering staff, and made a beeline for the huge walk-in pantry in the far corner. I pulled Nate in behind me and yanked the door shut with a bang.
He moved farther in and I pulled the chain to turn on the light before I turned my attention to Nate. He stood casually, hands in pockets, leaning a shoulder against a shelf.
I blinked. Seeing him standing there in a tux that looked like it had been made for him—and now that I knew exactly who he was, I figured it probably had been and he likely had a pile more just like it in his closet—against the canned goods made me want to giggle. But the look on his face, no amusement or attraction in evidence, had me swallowing it down.
Well, I got him in here. Now what was I going to do with him? I finally remembered the champagne in my hand. I plucked one of the flutes by the stem and drained it as quickly as I drank the one Jade handed me.
He leaned forward and removed his hands from his pockets, reaching for the other glass. But before he could move so much as an inch, I aimed a dirty look at him and drained the second glass, too.
He raised an eyebrow and finally, finally, there was the hint of some emotion. Okay, so it was amusement, but at this stage I’d take it.
“Did you drag me in here to have your way with me, Miss Silver? Need more fodder to feed your writing?”
His sardonic tone made me want to punch him. I took a step forward and put my face up close to his, the three glasses of champagne fueling my courage.
“It’s Miss Glover.” My jaw clenched as I all but spit the words at him. “And I don’t write about my sex life in my columns.”
“Don’t test my patience by lying, sweetheart.”
I threw my hands up and then almost clocked him as I dropped them again. “I give up. Think what you want. I’m a femme fatale out to put another notch on my bedpost.” I couldn’t help the snort that broke from me at the ridiculous words leaving my mouth. “I saw you sitting at the bar all innocent and decided to have my way with you. I planned the whole thing.”
“You were the one with the innocent act—all starry-eyed wonder as you looked at Christmas decorations.” He shook his head. “I guess the only one I have to be angry with is myself. I’ve long since given up believing in Santa Claus, but somehow I missed the fact you were a phony out to fuck a rich guy so you could write about it.”
His words hit me like bullets to my chest and I stepped back from him until my back connected with the pantry door. My head dropped and when I spoke, my words came out on little more than a whisper. “First of all, I didn’t know who you were, other than a guy named Nate, until after the fact.”
His chuckle held no amusement. “Do you think I haven’t heard that before? It’s the same song every gold digger sings when they try to get their hooks into me. I’ll admit, you were better than most. Can’t wait to read the article. What’s this one going to be called? ‘How to Bag a Billionaire’?”
My breath left me in a gasp. “I don’t write about my sex life.”
“I looked through your clippings. Very impressive list of sexual conquests you have.”
His words startled a chuckle out of me. “You think I did all those things? That I’m writing about my own experiences?” I laughed outright. “That’s hysterical.”
“Forgive me if I fail to see the humor.”
I shook my head. “No, you wouldn’t see it. But my friends would laugh themselves silly over this. My sexual exploits, as you put it, wouldn’t get me a syndicated column. Hell, they wouldn’t get me two inches in the letters to the editor section of a men’s magazine.” I paused for a second before looking up at him. “Well, except for the hours I spent with you. But I would never write about that.”
He narrowed his eyes. “And I’m supposed to believe that? I’ve read your articles, Emma. There’s no way you made those up.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “They aren’t all entirely made up.”
“No, shit.”
I shook my head. Why bother explaining all this to him? God, what kind of hold did this man have on me? I stared at him, long and hard, trying to be impartial and see if he was worth the trouble.
I’d really only known him for a few hours. I’d spent more time with my dentist than I’d spent with this man. Maybe I should just let him go, let go of the idea of him I’d been clinging to since that night over two weeks ago.
“You know what? It really doesn’t matter. If you’re worried about being featured in one of my articles, you can send me a nondisclosure agreement. I’ve turned two stories in since our night together, and I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding out the topics of those have nothing to do with you.” I shook my head and turned toward the door. “You have nothing to worry about. Please don’t feel like this is hanging over your head.”
I twisted the doorknob, but before I could open the door, Nate moved. A soft gasp escaped me as he placed his hand over mine and pressed himself firmly against my back. I had nowhere to move.
I turned my head to look over my shoulder. “Wh-what are you doing?”
“Oh, sweetheart, I think you know very well what I’m doing.” He pressed soft kisses against the nape of my neck.
A jolt went through me and every nerve ending sat up and begged for more. But confusion still clouded my thoughts. I pushed back with my hips in an attempt to escape, bracing my hands against the door.
He groaned and nipped my neck.
Okay, not the reaction I was going for. I spun and his arms slid around my waist as he continued to lay kisses on my neck and jawline. I flattened my palms against his chest and held in my own groan at the feel of his hard muscles as I pushed. “Nate, stop!”
He lifted his head and stared down at me, but didn’t move back or let me go.
“What’s going on? A min
ute ago you were pissed at me and now…” I flipped my hand back and forth between us. Thoughts tumbled through my mind, so fast it made it hard to pick one out from all the others, but one thing was very clear. “I can’t do this again. If I learned anything that night with you, it’s that I’m not a one-night stand kind of girl.”
The corners of his mouth tipped up. “Since this would be our second time together, by definition, it’s no longer a one-night stand.”
I smacked my hands against his chest. “You know what I mean. Casual sex is not my thing.” I stared up at him, letting all my guards down so he could see I meant it. “Not at all.”
He pulled me closer, one hand warm against my back and the other resting at the top of my ass. “Yeah, that’s becoming clear.”
I stared at him for a long moment and then gasped at the warmth in his eyes. I shook my head. “I don’t understand. You-you left that night. And it’s a total coincidence we’re here together. You never gave me a second thought except to be pissed because you thought—”
He pressed his mouth to mine, kissing me hard and fast before he pulled back. “Sweetheart, it’s not a coincidence. I knew you would be here tonight.”
I blinked. “You did?”
“I did. I looked into you. At first, I admit, it was because I was pissed. When I saw your press pass, I thought you played me.”
My eyes popped open wide and my head moved back. “Seriously?”
He chuckled. “Seriously. I thought it was all a setup.”
I shook my head. “I had no idea who you were that night. You were a guy I met in a bar.”
“I’m starting to see that.”
I stared up at him. “You are?”
He laughed softly. “I am. I wanted to come here tonight to let you know I’d go after you with everything I had if you printed word one about our night together.”
I shook my head but when I opened my mouth, he placed two fingers over my lips.
“Talking to you for two minutes, Emma, I started to think that nobody could be that good an actress. And then you offer to sign a nondisclosure to put my mind at ease...I know I wasn’t wrong about you.”