by Krista Lakes
They paused and then began a beautiful rendition of Silent Night.
Holly stood with her eyes on the sparkling lights of the tree listening to the songs that made her remember her mother. Her mom hated this song. She would roll her eyes and complain that the baby Jesus would not have been silent, because babies are never silent.
And “sleep in heavenly peace” with a newborn? Her mother would just shake her head. And then sing the song in her soft voice. She always sang along with the Christmas carols.
Holly turned as the song ended.
And there was Nathan.
He stood watching her look at the tree with a smile on his face. He wore a long dark wool coat that fitted him perfectly. He took a step toward her and snow started to fall.
“Nathan?”
Holly walked toward him as if in a dream. It certainly felt dream like and perfect. His smile drew her to him like a magnet.
She kissed him. His lips were soft against hers. Gentle. His hands were warm as he cupped her face in them.
“Hi,” she said, breathless and excited. Snowflakes danced and fell, landing on his dark hair and long eyelashes.
“Hi,” he repeated. He leaned forward and kissed her again, as if he couldn’t get enough of her taste. She knew that she most certainly couldn’t get enough of his.
She reached over and felt his arm, squeezing up and down his bicep.
“Just making sure you are really here,” she said.
“I’m real,” he assured her. And he kissed her once more. She closed her eyes and lost herself to him for a moment.
“What are you doing here?” she asked when the kiss ended. Her eyes were big as she searched his face. “Not that I don’t want you here. I do want you here. I just thought you were in California.”
“I moved my meetings around,” he replied nonchalantly. “I came to meet the company I just purchased. It seemed easier than flying them out to California. Besides, I promised someone I’d look into our plan of moving ECT.”
Holly’s heart filled to bursting. She hugged him, feeling the snow on his jacket press into her cheek.
She grinned up at him, finishing the hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
She suddenly remembered the generous donation to the school and the flowers.
“Did you get my text? I wanted to thank you for the 3D printers and the flowers,” she said quickly. “I’m glad I can do it in person now.”
“Did you like them?”
“Very much. The printers will be very loved. It was so generous of you.”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing,” he assured her.
She caught his arm. “No, it’s so much more. Thank you. It means the world to me.”
His smile warmed her better than hot chocolate on a cold day. Those eyes made her body heat and when he looked at her, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Have you eaten?” Nathan asked. White snowflakes stood out on the black wool of his jacket. “I was told that I have to try Devonsville Pub while I’m here. Apparently, they have the best burgers around.”
“Did George Element tell you that?” Holly asked him.
“He did, actually,” Nathan replied, looking surprised.
“He’s a partial owner.”
“Are there better burgers?”
“Nope. They’re the best, but I figured you should know what you were getting into,” Holly replied with a grin.
“So, you hungry?” He motioned down the road, a hopeful look on his face.
“Starving.” She took his arm and together they walked down Main Street looking like they were ready to be photographed for a Christmas card. The snow was falling, the lights were twinkling, and they were walking arm in arm.
The restaurant was packed. Even on a Tuesday night, Devonsville Pub was the place to be. Nathan pulled open the heavy oak doors and they weaved their way around waiting patrons to put their name on the wait list.
“Two for dinner, please,” Nathan told the hostess.
“It’s an hour wait,” she told him.
Nathan smiled disarmingly. “Are you sure you can’t get us a table sooner?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. The young hostess just stared at him. “Still an hour, dude.”
That’s when Holly came up. “How long of a wait?” Holly asked.
“Oh, hi Ms. Jones,” the hostess said with a grin. “He didn’t say he was with you. Since you called ahead, we’ll have your table ready in just a minute.”
The hostess gave Holly a wink. Nathan looked over to see Holly smiling smugly at him. He didn’t say anything with the press of people waiting around for a table. It was only a few minutes before the hostess had them seated at a small table near the back.
“You didn’t call ahead, did you?” he asked Holly.
She picked up her menu and shook her head. “Nope.”
“I’m a billionaire. I get the tables. She was going to make me wait.” Nathan shook his head in disbelief. “But you got us a table. How’d you do that?”
Holly grinned at him. “I don’t know if you know this, but I’m kind of a local celebrity.” She lowered the menu and her smiled grew smug. “I recently won this fancy educator’s award. The town’s pretty proud of me.”
“See, I knew there were perks to dating you,” Nathan said, picking up his menu and perusing it.
Holly’s heart caught in her chest. Dating? Were they dating? She kept her menu upright, but peeked over the top, trying to see if he was acting nervous. Maybe he didn’t mean to say that. Maybe he meant something else.
“Oh, the Colorado Burger sounds delicious,” he said, her mouth scrunching slightly to the side. “Or maybe the Whiskey Burger...”
Holly settled back, hiding her face with the menu. She liked the idea of them dating. She liked the idea of anything to do with Nathan. She was still sure she was going to wake up at any moment and find out this was all just a dream.
He was here.
She wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
They ordered and Holly found it hard to eat. She was hungry and the food was delicious, but she couldn’t seem to stop smiling long enough to put the food into her mouth. She was suddenly too excited to eat.
Nathan didn’t seem to have that problem. He ate with gusto, enjoying every bite. They chatted and laughed. He asked her about her day and she about his. It felt so normal. So right. This was how the world was supposed to be, she could feel it.
For once, it felt like the universe was in tune and things were going well.
“Would you like a tour of Old Town?” Holly asked as they finished their meal. She had most of her burger boxed up for later.
Nathan smiled at her. “I’d love one.”
Together they walked out into the night. Snow fell softly, decorating the trees and lampposts with a coat of white. It was still early despite the December dark, so all the stores were still open. Holly showed him the store that sold crystals to fix your chakras, the antique market, and the high end pet food store.
“And here’s my dad’s bookstore,” she said at the end of the tour. They stood outside the old brick building with snow still falling gently around them.
“He has some great sci-fi books in the front window,” Nathan said, peering through the glass.
“Come on in and I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.” She pulled open the doors to the bookstore.
This was taking him to her special place. The bookstore was sacred. It was where she would hide from the world. Even though it was a store open to the public, it felt more like home than her apartment did.
She glanced back, nervously looking to see what Nathan thought of the place.
He stepped in, carefully brushing snow from his shoulders. He looked around and a slow smile filled his face.
“This is wonderful,” he said, taking a step in. He went to a shelf of books, pulling one out and carefully looking it over. “This is such a good b
ook.”
He put his book back and found another. Holly watched him, loving that he was excited about books as she was. He darted around the bookshelves like a kid on Christmas morning.
“And you have the whole series? I can never find them,” he exclaimed, caressing a bookshelf of titles. He looked up at her. “No wonder you wanted to stay here. I want to stay here.”
She grinned. He loved books as much as she did.
“Let me buy you a cup of coffee,” she said, guiding him over to the cafe portion. She ordered two cappuccinos and they took them to a small table off to the side of the bookstore. The cafe had a slow but steady stream of customers, but Holly and Nathan were far enough away that they were basically in their own little world.
“I would have loved this place as a kid,” Nathan told her, settling in. He draped his jacket over the back of his chair, looking relaxed and like he belonged there.
“It was a great place to grow up,” Holly agreed.
Nathan’s eyes went distant. “My dad wouldn’t have liked it,” he said softly. “Not enough promise for a big payout.”
“Sounds like a fun guy,” Holly commented.
Nathan made a sound that could pass as a laugh, but was utterly mirthless. “He wasn’t a bad man. He just didn’t know what to do with a child. He had these ideas, but never the plan to accomplish them. He always said it was the lack of funding, but it was more than that.”
Holly sipped at her coffee, wrapping her fingers around the warm mug. She watched as Nathan’s kind eyes filled with long-lost hurt.
“Do you see him around Christmas?” Holly asked.
Nathan shook his head. “No. We aren't really close. He was never big on Christmas anyway. It was more important to work.”
“I’m sorry,” she told him.
He shook himself, flinging away his bad memories as if they were water droplets off a dog. “It’s something I’ve learned to deal with. Now, tell me more about this parade on Friday. I’m told it’s something the whole town participates in?”
Holly let him change the subject. “So, the kids and local business all show up. There’s candy and floats and music. The high school marching band does a special performance every year, right outside the Mayor’s office. It’s how I know Christmas is really here. Will you be here?”
“I should be,” he told her. Holly felt her stomach zing with hope.
“Really?”
He nodded, sipping at his coffee. “I have lots of meetings tomorrow. I’m helping to inspect the building and see what assets we can salvage. Thursday, is more of the same. I need to go back to California Friday night.”
“You mean you have to leave before Christmas?” Holly was surprised by the amount of disappointment in her voice.
“I have work to do,” he told her gently.
“Right.” She nodded. “I remember.”
Nathan asked her about the parade again, and she tried not to think about his leaving. He just felt so right here. She didn’t want him to leave. She felt greedy wanting more of him, yet she couldn’t help it.
She began to wonder if maybe there was a way to use the magic of the parade and the holiday to convince him to stay. She certainly felt like there was enough magic in Christmas that it could happen.
Chapter 27
Nathan
Nathan could hardly believe how easy and wonderful it was to talk with Holly. He remembered it being good while they were at the ski resort, but this was so much better. Surrounded by books and sipping on coffee, he felt like they could talk about everything.
And they did.
They had close enough opinions on politics that they didn’t argue, but could hold a lively debate. Neither one of them had much time for television, but the few shows they did watch they shared their enjoyment. She got up several times to show him a book he hadn’t heard of or to find one that he recommended.
It was a perfect evening.
“Closing time,” a man’s voice called from across the store. It was then that Nathan noticed the lights had dimmed and the low chatter of customers had faded. Even the sound of the coffee maker was gone. He looked over to see the cafe dark and everything cleaned.
“Sorry, Dad,” Holly said, standing up and kissing the man on the cheek. “I guess we lost track of time.
The man had Holly’s hair color and eyebrow shape. He was clearly Holly’s father, the owner of the store.
“Mark Jones,” the man said, holding out a hand to Nathan.
“Nathan Reed.”
A slight widening of the eyes and a glance over at his daughter were the only indications that Mark knew who Nathan was. Mark looked back and forth between Nathan and his daughter, his face unreadable.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Nathan,” Mark told him. “But, I’m afraid I need you to get out of my store. We’ve been closed for over an hour.”
“My apologies,” Nathan said quickly.
“Dad, you realize you’re kicking me out with a man, right?” Holly put a hand to her hip.
“When you put it that way...” Mark scratched his head. “I think you’re grown enough to make good decisions. Lord knows you do things your own way regardless of what I tell you to do. Maybe if I tell you to go off with him you’ll do just the opposite.”
A quick stab of worry flickered through Nathan. He really hoped Holly wouldn’t do that.
Instead she just shook her head and picked up her jacket. “We’ll go find another coffee shop. Alley Cat Coffee is open until the bars close. We can go there.”
Mark smiled at his daughter as she kissed his cheek one last time.
“Nathan.” Mark’s tone was friendly, but still a warning to be good to his daughter. Nathan had no doubt that this father would come after him if he did anything to hurt Holly.
“Good night, Dad,” Holly said with a smile, grabbing Nathan’s hand and pulling him to the back door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night, sir,” Nathan said respectfully before Holly pulled him through the door. He could see Mark smiling and shaking his head as he finished closing up his store.
“So, that’s my dad,” Holly said as they stumbled out into the alley. The snow had stopped, but it was colder now. Nathan checked his watch to see it was just after eleven.
“I like him,” Nathan told her honestly.
Holly chuckled. “I think everyone does,” she told him. “If you want to get on his good side, start talking to him about Ian Fleming’s books versus the James Bond movies.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Nathan said, storing away the tip for future use. “Does he like the movies or the books better?”
Holly turned and gave him a look that said it should be obvious. The man did own a bookstore after all.
She stopped where the alley joined to a bigger street. Many of the shops had turned off their lights and closed up for the night. The Christmas lights still sparkled and twinkled in the windows, but everything else was dark. She looked up at him, chewing on her bottom lip.
“You don’t want to go to the coffee shop, do you?” he asked her, a smile forming on his face. She shook her head and smiled at him.
“We can go to my place, but just know that it’s tiny. And messy. I wasn’t exactly expecting guests, and I haven’t actually finished unpacking from the ski trip,” she admitted.
“So my hotel?” he offered. “It’s a hotel room, but it is clean.”
She laughed, taking his hand. “Do you want to drive or should I?”
Holly drove. Nathan was surprised that her ancient car could move at all, but somehow it started and the heat even worked. It was definitely a different experience than driving in his Porsche. The streets were quiet other than an occasional snowplow, so he didn’t mind driving in the older car.
Nathan could see Hal in the dark SUV behind them gnashing his teeth about it, but Nathan had wanted to ride with Holly. She needed to have her car so she could make it in to work tomorrow morning. Hal suggested they c
ould take two cars, but Nathan didn’t want to be separated from her for that long.
Holly parked her car in the parking lot and together they headed up to his room. The lobby was quiet other than a bored looking man at the front desk. He barely acknowledged the two of them coming in with hands held. He didn’t even blink when Hal followed them in, all hulking muscles and scary looks.
Nathan figured the man probably saw it all at the night shift desk at a hotel like this one.
Nathan pressed the button for the elevator. Holly’s hair glistened with snow and her cheeks were red from the cold. She kept looking over at him and smiling.
That smile made his world spin. She was beautiful, inside and out. When she grinned at him like that, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.
His body started to think of her grinning at him like that without clothes on. The elevator seemed to take forever. Finally, the machine dinged and the metal doors slid open.
He and Holly stepped inside. Hal moved to follow them, but he held up his hand.
“This one’s full. Get the next one.” Nathan tapped the door-close button and ignored Hal’s unhappy look. He’d hear about this later from Gregory, but for right now, he just wanted to be alone in the elevator with Holly.
With the doors closed, they were alone. Holly turned and kissed him just as he turned and reached for her. She moaned softly as their mouths met, turning up the flame in Nathan’s belly.
He pressed her into the wall, using his body to put her where he wanted. She was so warm and perfect pressed up against him. She still tasted of coffee. His hands roamed under her jacket and she arched her back to offer herself up to him.
He nearly ripped her shirt off right there in the elevator. It was that tempting.
It was only the doors opening and the soft ding that kept him under control. The door to his room was just around the corner. He could be control his urges and his need to feel her skin under his for the twenty steps it took to get to the door.
That was, until she bit her lip.
The lip bite with the big green eyes and the mussed hair was too much. He couldn’t stop himself. He had to kiss her again, this time with tongue and teeth. She groaned softly as they stumbled down the hallway, trying to walk but trying to make out at the same time.