by Ciara Knight
“Did I mention I need help wrapping?” He pulled into the parking lot, and I eyed the stack from floor to ceiling. “We can do it tomorrow if you’re available.”
“I’m happy to help. For now, I think I’ll put a pot of coffee on after we unload.” The last rays of sunlight broke and faded, announcing night had officially arrived. Too bad there were so many clouds rolling in, since I loved the winter stars that shone so bright. They looked like they were only a few hundred yards away.
“I forgot to buy tape and scissors.” He handed me several oversize rolls of wrapping paper with princesses, toy soldiers, or plain green with a sheen. “Do I need to run out in the morning to get some?”
“No, I have them in my office and an extra pair of scissors in my cabin if we enlist Margie’s help.”
“How about you take these and start coffee while I get Hector to help unload the rest? We can rest by the fire and enjoy a few minutes of relaxation before we call it an evening.”
“Thanks for dinner. If you’re hungry still, I can whip something up.” I was thankful for the new shoes, considering I had to walk up the front steps with rolls of paper in my arms.
“I’m good, but thanks. I wouldn’t call a hot dog and drink a good dinner, though. You have ordinary taste buds for a chef.”
Hector opened the front door at our arrival with an urgent look on his face. Souffle darted out and ran circles around us.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Boss man is not happy. Apparently he said you weren’t here for his dinner and he had to make himself something.”
“Tell him his new chef should make it for him,” I snipped.
“What?” Hector asked, his brow’s shifting center toward his nose.
Souffle groaned in warning that we were upset. I tried to remain calm and looked to Seth to save me, but he only rushed by to put his stack of boxes next to the tree. Souffle decided Seth was more important and trotted into the center of the room and rolled over to show her belly to him.
“Listen, I’m going to handle it, so don’t tell Margie. I don’t want her to worry unnecessarily, but I was in the kitchen and overheard Frank talking to a young woman about being the new chef after the holiday event. He placed her in housekeeping and told her not to say anything to the existing Chef Diva.”
“That smug—”
Souffle growled, so Seth rubbed her stomach and gave her some much-needed attention.
“Stay out of it, Hector. I don’t want you jeopardizing your job, too. I’m going to handle it.”
He straightened his uniform top. “I’ll call the Shermans and tell them to fire that no good excuse for a general manager. I’ve known them for years.” He followed Seth to retrieve more of the gifts from the van.
“I’m not sure you’ll be able to reach them. They don’t even own the house on the ridge anymore. I’m on it, though. Seth’s going to make some calls to figure it out in the morning. Right, Seth?”
He kept his attention on Souffle by his side, wagging her tail at Santa Reindeer speed. “Yes, um…I figured it out. I know who the owner is.”
“Really?” I set my stuff next to the boxes and knelt by Souffle to offer her some additional love. “Who bought the place?” I asked.
Seth didn’t answer. Instead he looked to Hector. “Would you mind giving us a few minutes alone?”
“I got some work to do. See you both later.” Hector bolted with the speed of a shooting star out the door.
“How bad is this?” I searched my mind for the worst possibilities. “Oh no. Please don’t tell me that Frank came into some money and bought this place.”
“No.” Seth took both my hands and guided me to the couch. “Listen. I have something to tell you, but I’m going to ask you to let me finish before you react. Can you do that for me?”
All my muscles tightened at once, and the hair on the back of my head stood up like a toy soldier. “You’re scaring me.” I swallowed a lump of anxiety and prepared for the worst.
He tugged me to sit and faced me knee to knee. “Just promise.”
“Fine. I promise. Please tell me.”
He shifted, and I could tell whatever he was about to say frightened him, so I squeezed his hands. “Go ahead. You can tell me anything.”
The clock on the mantel ticked away a few seconds until Seth cleared his throat and licked his lips. “You promise to let me finish?”
I nodded.
“Do you remember me saying that we both had things we wanted to tell the other one but that we weren’t ready. Well, ready or not, it’s time for me to tell you something. The Shermans sold this place six months ago. There was a hotel chain interested, like I was at first, and I couldn’t let this place become another cookie-cutter resort, so I bought it.” His words rushed out like a blizzard.
I gasped but bit my lip to keep my words inside.
He scooted closer to me. “I didn’t buy it to control you or to manipulate anything. I bought it because of what happened with my partner. I wanted to keep my promise that I’d make things in my life mean something. This place meant everything to me as a child, and I want that for other children. A place to escape reality one time a year in which they can feel special and loved and happy. That’s why I’m hosting this event. I’m hoping it will be first of many. I can’t save every child from the hardships of being an orphan or living in foster care, but I can give them hope.”
He took in a long breath and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I wanted to earn your trust so that you’d know I wasn’t trying to interfere in your life.”
His words were sincere, and he was right, I would’ve never accepted his explanation when he’d first returned.
“Say something, please. Yell at me. Tell me how mad you are, but don’t remain silent.”
“You told me not to say anything until you were done. Are you done?” I asked.
“Um…yes.” Seth chuckled. “You can talk now.”
“Fine. You’re right about one thing. I would’ve been mad, but you’ve earned my trust. As for my job, well, I’m not sure I can continue working here, but I’m glad Frank doesn’t own the place.”
“I hope you will. This place is going to be amazing. I’d hoped that you would take it over. You’re already doing most of the work of the general manager anyway. I promise I’ll be a silent partner.”
The room didn’t feel as suffocating as I thought it would after discovering that Seth Mason owned the resort and that I worked for him. “This isn’t going to help my reputation, you know.”
“What?”
I winked at him. “What are people going to say about me dating my boss?”
He threw his arms around me, hugging me as if he never wanted to let me go. And it felt good. Better than good. It felt like I’d just found the other half of me that I’d lost ten years ago. But as fast as the comfort and joy spread through me, the fear of telling Seth the truth caused me to panic.
He snuggled me into him, and we sat by the fire. Just the two of us…and Souffle. But Souffle passed out in her favorite spot by the hearth only minutes after we’d settled onto the couch together. Hector made himself scarce, and the lodge sat quiet.
“Thank you for everything today. You’re an amazing woman, Emma Winters. The kids are going to love you.” He kissed my forehead, my cheeks, my nose.
I cuddled into him and watched the flames. “Maybe.” My hands trembled before I even had a complete thought about my secret, but my body responded to the flash of memories. Was now the time to tell him? We were alone in the lodge next to a roaring fire, and we’d had an amazing day together. I opened my mouth to spill my past, but he shot up and held one finger out at me. “Wait here. I picked up something for you when you were busy at the coffee shop. It’s something I found that reminds me of you.”
He reached underneath the couch and presented a square box inside a brown paper bag.
“What is it?”
“Open it, and you’ll s
ee.”
“I thought you already learned that expensive gifts don’t work to woo me over.” I elbowed him in the side.
“Yes, but this isn’t expensive. It’s more a gift from the heart.” He sat with his ankle resting on his other knee, watching me, waiting with a child-like expression of excitement.
I opened the bag, and inside I found a glass star and a marker.
“It’s your own wishing star. You can keep it in your cabin so each morning you can write your Christmas wish, and by Christmas morning, your wish will come true.”
I sat the glass star on the couch and lunged into him, wrapping my arms tight around his neck. “Thank you. Thank you so much. It’s beautiful, and thoughtful, and perfect.”
“Yes, but is it kiss worthy?” he asked.
“Most definitely.” I leaned back, cupped his face, and then pressed my lips to his. It wasn’t a romantic kiss, but a thank-you kiss. Yet, it still made my toes curl.
We snuggled together in front of the fire, and I rested my head on his shoulder. “Is there anything else I can do? I mean, I want to make sure all the children have everything they want.”
“Stop worrying.” He toyed with my hair, sending waves of tingles down my back and arms.
Souffle loped over and collapsed at our feet, resting her head on my tennis shoes. The tennis shoes Seth had bought me earlier.
“Thanks for a magical day. Ms. King was right. It does help to focus on others when you’re stressed about something in your own life.”
He abandoned my hair and traced my earlobe with his fingertip, which I found extremely distracting. “What are you stressed about?”
“I guess it’s my turn to tell you something.” I held my breath, but I didn’t even get a chance to form the words before Seth cupped my face in his hands. “Not now.”
“But—”
“No. I meant what I said. It won’t change anything, and you don’t owe me an explanation until after Christmas.”
I wanted to trust his words, but what if I gave him my heart again and he rejected me? What if he couldn’t handle the ugly, shameful, life-altering truth from my past? And that’s when I realized that it was too late. Seth already had my heart because he’d never given it back when he’d captured it last year.
Chapter 21
The next morning, I sprang out of bed and found Seth with coffee ready. We settled into the main room again, as if it had become our own home. We spent the morning wrapping presents and holding hands and kissing.
I only worked an hour before Seth surprised me with flowers and dragged me out of the resort for a snowmobile ride, followed by a champagne flight in a biplane over the mountains. I protested that I needed to be ready for the children’s arrival tomorrow, but he wouldn’t listen to reason.
Later that night, he showed up at my cabin with a movie and popcorn he’d made himself. It was the next day when I found out he’d burned it twice until Margie told him not to let it overpop.
We plotted and planned and pondered how to make this the best holiday for the orphans, since we only had one day until the kids would arrive.
I entered the lodge feeling like Tinkerbell played tennis in my belly. There was an energy to the lodge I hadn’t felt before. An almost childlike wonderment on Christmas Eve.
“Seth, can you grab my apron off the rack in my office please?” I settled at the dining table, going over all the fine details for each meal.
“Sure, happy to, but it’ll be at a price.” He hunched over and kissed me. I’d never grow tired of his kisses. “I’ll be right back.” He left with a holiday smile and returned with a funereal frown. His face was pinched tight, as if he’d been told Christmas was canceled.
“What is it? Oh no, are the flights delayed? Are the kids not coming? I knew that storm was a problem.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, but he didn’t reciprocate. Coldness rolled off him. A nervous zap went through me. I lowered to my heels and took a step back.
“Were you going to tell me?” he asked in a rough, punched-in-the-gut tone.
“Tell you what?” I looked at him, to behind him in my office at Margie, who kept pointing at my computer.
“That you were planning on running away the day after Christmas?” Seth shook his head. “Were you even going to tell me good-bye? Was this all a payback for me leaving you last time? This time you were going to do it to me?” He drifted from the room as if floating in a fog.
“Wait. You don’t understand.”
“So, you don’t have a single ticket to a beach vacation booked the day after Christmas? A vacation with sand. The one thing you hate. The main reason you cited for not wanting to live outside of LA near the beach with me.” His look of defeat sliced through me like a Ginsu knife.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’d never do that. Yes, I booked the trip, but it was before you even arrived. I honestly had forgotten about it.”
“You mean the day that I arrived.”
“What?” I blinked at him, trying to follow his train of thought.
He threw up his hands. “You’re lying, because I saw the date on the reservation. You booked it the day I arrived.”
“Yes, but it was before I ever saw you. Wait, the confirmation email will have a time stamp. If you don’t believe me, then I can show you that.” I wanted to argue the point and prove my innocence, but at the same time I was wounded that he thought I lied to him.
The angry lines above his nose faded. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know. You’ve been pushing me away since I arrived.” He glanced around the room and lowered his voice. “I’m not upset with you about the trip. It’s just that you’re not the only one with your heart on the line here. I’m falling hard for you, Em. I want to believe that when the holiday is over, you won’t run away because I own this resort or because you don’t think we have a future together.”
“I’m trying. Yes, I’m holding back because I’m scared, but honestly, I forgot about the trip. That’s all. I made a mistake.” With a tentative step, I moved closer to him, but he looked like a wild animal about to flee.
“Emma Winters doesn’t make mistakes like that. She doesn’t forget things.”
I understood his words. It wasn’t like me to let something like that go.
“Be honest with me. If you didn’t keep it as your planned escape, then you have to admit that it was your contingency plan. If I left, you had another plan.” His shoulders slumped, and his chest rose and fell as if he’d just climbed the mountain to cut down a tree. “I see that I’ll have to prove I’m here to stay. I’ll have to earn your trust and affection.”
“You’ll never prove yourself worthy of my daughter.” Mother pushed open the door from the dining room.
I slid from Seth. “What are you doing here?”
“Since you wouldn’t return my call and I needed to set up this event, I decided to come up here again.” Mother removed her coat and tossed it at Seth. “If this is how you do business, though, I should rethink my plans.” She removed her gloves and tossed them on top of the coat, and Seth dropped them on the barstool unceremoniously. Man, he was brave.
“You seem like a direct woman. Why don’t you tell me what your issue is with me,” Seth said.
“I have no issue with you personally. Only with you corrupting my daughter’s reputation. Imagine my humiliation when I was told at the club that you were the man who interrupted her perspective future husband. A fact my daughter forgot to mention when we spoke last time.”
“Mother, it was one blind date, and Donnie and I had nothing in common. It’s time for you to leave. I’m no longer under your control.”
“A real, stable, and rich man who wants to settle down, marry you, and give you a good life isn’t as appealing as this playboy?”
Seth rounded the counter and took my hand. “So that’s what’s bothering you. Well, let me reassure you, since we’re being so honest. I am a rich man who doesn’t want to just settle down with any woman
.”
Mother tilted her head back and looked down her nose at us. “See, he has no intentions of a future with you. Really? You’d think you’d see through this situation, considering your past mistakes.”
Past mistakes? Did Mother know? No, there was no way she could know. No one knew.
“As for mistakes, they are just that, in the past.” Seth tugged me closer to him, and I wanted to warn him to run away, to save himself. “What I’m saying is that I don’t want to settle down with just any woman like your so-called perfect suitor, but with this woman. The only woman I’d ever want to marry and to have a family with.
Family? That one word made me want to cry.
“This boy will hurt you. He already took off on you once.”
“He didn’t abandon me. It was a mutual breakup,” I protested. “Seth, would you excuse us for a moment? I need to speak to my mother alone.”
“Of course. I’ll wait by the fire for you.” Seth kissed my cheek and whispered, “I love you.”
Those three words shouted at my resolve, broke my determination, and filled my heart.
“See, you’re falling apart already. He’s hurting you. Now you listen to me. I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and against my better judgement, I’m willing to make certain accommodations for you. If you want to continue with being a chef, then I’ll send you to the best culinary school in the world, and you can open your own restaurant.”
“Stop,” I said.
“Just come home now, and we’ll work out the details later. Don’t let that boy hurt you again. You’re too good for him.”
“No, he’s too good for me.”
“Don’t be silly. He’s got a reputation, and you know he doesn’t come from a good family.”
“No, he didn’t. He was in foster care. And no, he didn’t inherit the family business, because he built it on his own with no help from anyone else in the world. He’s a good man. A good man who deserves a family, which I can’t give him.” I choked on the bitter words.
Mother huffed. “Don’t be dramatic. It isn’t good for your complexion, darling.”