by Rene Penn
But during this trip home, he hadn’t thought of her at all.
And as she greeted him with a hug, he felt no tug of emotion. Nothing more than he would for a dear, old friend.
And that felt good, even better than her embrace.
“Hey there,” he said warmly.
Kaitlyn still looked the same. Long blonde hair and sparkly green eyes. But any attraction that may have lingered in their gaze was gone.
“Good to see you,” she said. “Are you back in town?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here for a few days.”
“Cool.” She glanced around the store. “Let me guess. Came to do some last-minute shopping?”
He turned down the corner of his lip. “Yeah. I’m that guy shopping on Christmas Eve. So cliché, right?”
“You’re not getting something for your girlfriend or wife, are you?”
At first, he wondered if Kaitlyn was fishing for a response with that question, but her innocent face showed nothing pointed behind her comment.
“No. Nothing like that. A coworker of mine is in town. I wanted to grab something small.”
"Gotcha. I'm on a quest to find a specific doll that my niece suddenly decided that she wants for Christmas." Kaitlyn wiggled her nose. "I probably shouldn't get it for her, the rascal. But I do love spoiling her."
Bryan wasn’t surprised to hear that from Kaitlyn. She’d always had a big heart, especially when it came to family.
“Well, don’t let me hold you up.”
He scanned the store, his brain ticking off the sections where he didn’t want to buy Jules a gift. Handbags? Bad idea. Shoes? No way. Jewelry? Definitely not.
“Okay, then.” Kaitlyn hesitated.
In the distance, a rack of women’s coats caught Bryan’s attention.
“Are you at the cabin, staying with your folks?” Kaitlyn asked.
“Yeah.”
Coats? Hmm.
That gift idea didn’t repulse him.
Kaitlyn said, “Maybe I can stop by and say hi to everybody. Would that be okay?”
“Sure.”
A coat wasn't the little something that his mom suggested. However, it would be useful during Jules' visit. Practical. Her camel-colored peacoat was nice to look at, but it would be like wearing a sheet against the sub-zero temperatures. If she went out at night, she would freeze. And he'd have to hear about it. His gaze narrowed, noting the placement of sales signs.
“See you later,” she said.
He glanced back at Kaitlyn. “Okay, take care.” He waved goodbye then zoomed toward the coats.
Yes, a coat could be considered a bit extravagant for a boss-employee gift, but it was better than the alternative: Spending the next two hours running around the mall asking every sales associate for a gift recommendation.
Bryan wanted to make things simple—find a good sale on a coat, guess her size, and be done with the whole thing in the next fifteen minutes.
And that’s exactly what he did.
◆◆◆
On Christmas morning, Jules’ Eastern Standard Time body clock woke her up at five a.m. Too early. She went back to sleep. Her eyes opened again at about eight o'clock. Slivers of light peeked through the edges of the heavy, dark-green-and-burgundy curtains covering the windows. The quiet atmosphere settled over her. Living in Pentagon City and working in Washington, DC, she’d grown accustomed to the ever-present road noise. She didn’t realize how much she missed the quiet until she heard it.
Jules peeled back the curtains to a sweeping view of the outdoors. Snow-capped evergreens sloped along the hillside nearby, and the black asphalt of the street lay buried beneath a layer of stark, bright white. A fresh coat of snow must have fallen overnight, covering where a shoveled path on the driveway had been. With the nearest houses standing several acres away, the Blakely's cabin seemed to float in a pool of white powder. Who knew when the neighborhood would see the grass again? Jules would be long gone before that happened.
The cold glass from the window made her shiver. She backed away and let the heavy curtain fall back into place. She sniffed the delicious aroma of sweet carbs. Pancakes? Waffles? Muffins? Her grumbling stomach wanted to investigate.
But first, she needed to shower and get dressed. Even sooner, she should call her parents. They were two hours ahead, where it was already ten a.m.
Jules plucked her phone from the nightstand and called her mother, Debra.
“Merry Christmas, Pumpkin,” her mom sang.
“Merry Christmas, Mom.”
“How are things? Is it a white Christmas there in Montana?”
"It's not snowing right now, but it's a white Christmas. Pretty snow, not the dirty stuff I see back home." Jules frowned.
“Ick. The few occasions that snow decides to blow through Georgia, it can’t melt fast enough for me.”
Jules laughed. The New England climate had been an additional sticking point between her parents when they were together. Dad liked the cold weather that roared through Connecticut, where they lived as a family years ago. Mom, on the other hand, loved the warmth. As soon as they divorced, her mother moved to Savannah. She only went north to visit Jules in the DC area.
“How’s it been, meeting Bryan’s family?” Debra asked.
Jules recalled the little white lie she'd told her mom before. When she'd broken the news about spending the holidays in Montana, she added a sweetener to balance the sour. So, she may have, sort of, mentioned that Bryan was her boyfriend.
To keep her mom from worrying, and from questioning her sanity, Jules didn't explain the truth. The conversation with Bryan had happened so fast. One minute, she'd overheard him talking to his mom about Christmas. The next minute, she'd wormed her way into his plans. She expected him to say no. Thank goodness he didn't. And here she was, sitting in a cabin that looked like it should be on a postcard.
If she weren’t here, she’d be sitting at home alone.
She couldn’t have told her mom any of that. Debra would berate Jules about her behavior. She could hear her mom now. “Pumpkin, he’s your boss. Pumpkin, why didn’t you come to Georgia, instead of doing something so… so… desperate?”
Jules inhaled. “Bryan’s family is super-nice. They’ve been really welcoming.”
Which was a bit of a surprise to her, given they had every right to deadbolt the door and tell her to kick rocks back to Virginia. But that wouldn’t have been their style. After spending less than twenty-four hours with the Blakely family, she could see why they’d welcomed her with open arms. That was simply how they were.
Unless, Bryan had told his family that Jules was his girlfriend. The same lie she'd told her parents. Jules sighed.
What would it be like to be Bryan’s girlfriend?
She'd be like a member of his amazing family and could visit the cabin every year.
Her teeth dragged over her lower lip at the thought. Then sensibility smacked her in the mouth.
Bryan felt sorry for her. And his parents were doing a Good Samaritan deed by temporarily taking Jules in. Well, that was fine with her.
Jules’ mom said, “I sure hope to meet him someday.”
A lump skidded in Jules’ throat.
Her mom added, “Or at the very least, chat with him while you’re there. Is he around?”
Jules jumped off the bed and paced the room. "You know what, Mom? I'm not even sure if he's up right now. I haven't even seen him this morning. He may still be asleep." Didn't she already say something like that?
“Okay, no problem. You’re there a few more days. We can try another time.”
Jules raked her fingers through her hair. “Sure. Another time.”
As in, never-o’clock.
“I’d better go,” said Jules. “I can tell they’re making breakfast, and I haven’t been downstairs yet. I should get dressed.”
"I'm glad you're having fun, Jules. But I wish you were here."
Jules’ heart squeaked. She said goodbye and hung up. She grabb
ed her toiletry bag and clothes from the suitcase, then opened the door to cross the hall to the bathroom.
She didn’t notice Bryan there until she thumped against him.
His upper body was so hard that she bounced off of him.
“Oh!” she squealed. Her toiletry kit fell to the ground.
“I got it.”
As Bryan bent over to pick it up, Jules wrestled her stuff back into a pile. He tried to put the kit in the best possible place on the small heap of clothes. She'd never stood this close to him—minus the fact that he'd thrown her over his shoulder during a less-than-conscious state. That didn't count. Now, she was fully awake and conscious of his fingers brushing against hers as they both tried to steady her things.
Her heartbeat went wonky, too. And her body temperature. Heat glowed around her like a lamp. Or was it him? Or an attraction between them?
“Thanks.” She smiled, looking up at him, at those dark green, almost blue eyes.
For a split-second, his gaze moved down to her lips. And as if catching himself, Bryan drew back and inched toward the staircase. The connection disappeared.
Untethering herself from the moment, Jules stepped into the bathroom.
“Hey,” she heard.
She poked her head back into the hallway.
"You dropped something else," Bryan said before heading down the stairs.
Her eyes went to the ground, and her stomach dropped along with it.
There, on the floor, lay her holiday-themed bra. Santa red, with cute wreaths made of green lace. The one Kerri bought her for Christmas.
Her friend had hoped Bryan would see it. But she surely hadn’t predicted this.
Seven
After feasting on pancakes, Belgian waffles, and thick-cut bacon, Jules, Bryan, and his parents waddled to the living room to open Christmas presents. The decorations twinkled from the lights on the Christmas tree. Logs burned in the fireplace across the room. And Tigger, busy in his spot by the chimney, chewed a bone the size of a human femur. Even though Jules wasn’t with her own family, she was more comfortable in this moment than she could’ve imagined.
Kathy ripped open the gifts that Jules got the family—a game of Pictionary and a meat-and-cheese gift box from Harry and David.
“This is perfect,” Kathy said. “We’re expecting more people today. Our other son. Some neighbors. Some cousins. The extra food will come in handy. And we love games. We don’t have this one.”
Jules knew that. She’d already checked with Bryan before she arrived.
She took a green and silver box from beneath the tree and handed it to Bryan. “This one’s for you.”
He glanced at the box, then at her. He seemed hesitant to take it. When she shoved it closer, he finally took it from her. He grabbed a huge box from under the tree. It must’ve been the biggest one there, bundled in silver gift wrap and a red bow.
“Here.”
Taken aback, Jules whispered, "You didn't have to get me anything. Just being here is gift enough." She wasn't in Virginia, home alone, crying.
He lifted his chin for her to open the present.
Did he want her to go first? “Let’s open them at the same time,” she said with a few more decibels of enthusiasm than necessary. Kathy and Paul had stopped their gift-opening to see the exchange.
She knew she sounded corny, but she couldn't help herself. "Please?" she added with a twinkle of her dimple.
He opened the package, and she tore into hers, too. Tigger's ears perked up at the noise, but it wasn't enough to distract him from chewing the large bone.
Once Jules peeled back the wrapping paper, the Dillard's name faced her in a shiny font. She opened the box and pushed the tissue paper aside, revealing a beautiful tan, down, puffer coat the same color as her wool one upstairs. It had a hood with a strip of white fur around the trim. She pulled it from the box, hardly able to say a word. She heard a little gasp from Kathy's mouth. Or was it a gasp from her own?
Bryan bought her a coat. For Christmas! How thoughtful. And nice. And totally unexpected.
"Thank you so much, Bryan." She met his gaze. "I need a coat like this." His eyes softened, and a small grin passed over his lips. A warmth made its way up her legs to her tummy. He kept his eyes fixed on her while he finished opening his gift. She imagined herself as the gift he was unwrapping, and a flush hit her cheeks, causing her to turn away.
Jules had never received a coat from a guy before. She only had two ex-boyfriends, and they were lousy gift-givers. One opted for flowers and chocolate as if every holiday were Valentine's Day. The other forgot her birthday, supposedly. And when Christmas rolled around, he made himself scarce.
Jules couldn’t help but wonder if Bryan was sending her a message with this gift. Was he trying to tell her something? That he was interested in something more between them?
Maybe there was a reason he’d said yes to her coming to Montana with him.
Kathy said, “Very nice,” nodding toward Jules’ gift and back at Bryan. She had that proud mother expression, the universal mom sign, the tempered smile with approving eyes.
"You would've frozen in the coat you brought." Bryan said, "Try it on. I want to make sure it fits."
Jules hopped up from the couch, unzipped the coat, and slipped it on. If a pillow and a comforter had a baby, it would've been that coat. While she reveled in down feathers, Bryan pulled out the two bags of coffee beans that she gave him as a gift.
"Yes," he exclaimed. He pointed to the Koa bag. "I know this one's good. I've had it before. And I've meant to try LifeBoost." He put the bag to his nose and sniffed. "Smells great. Thanks. And uh, sorry about the stuff I said earlier."
“It’s okay.” To her, the coat said it all. She reached under the tree and handed him another smaller gift. “This one’s yours, too.”
He quirked his eyebrow. “Jules.”
She nudged her chin in his direction, as he'd done her. He ripped back the wrapping with more haste than the first gift. Was Bryan Blakely excited? The possibility made Jules smile.
He chuckled as he looked at his gift, a black mug with funky white letters that read, Like a Boss. He showed the cup to his parents.
“That’s cute.” Kathy grinned.
Paul put on his glasses and read in a punctuated manner, “Like. A. Boss.”
“It’s an expression,” Jules clarified.
“Oh, I see.” Paul tucked his glasses back inside his flannel shirt pocket. “As long as you all know what it means.”
The slang term was probably out of his parents’ age demographic, but they seemed to like the gift, nonetheless.
"I knew you would never buy something like that for yourself," Jules teased, aware of Bryan's low-key managerial ways, not one to brag or boast. "Now, you have something else to use other than the standard-issue JSA mug." She'd grown tired of seeing him carrying the same mug that H.R. gave every new JSA employee on their first day.
“That’s a perfectly good mug. I got it at orientation.”
“If you don’t take this one to work, you can leave it at home.”
She liked the idea of Bryan cozying up to a warm cup of coffee on his comfy sectional, putting his lips on the cup she gave him, lips that seemed more attractive now than ever before.
“Yeah, I might do that,” Bryan responded.
Did it get hot in there, or was it just her?
Oh, it was her because she'd put on the warm coat. The coat that Bryan got her for Christmas.
Squeal.
◆◆◆
Bags of coffee beans may not have seemed like much to some. But to Bryan, they were the ideal gift. Functional. Usable. Small enough to pack and take back to Virginia—if the beans made the trip back. And that was a big "if," considering how his mom had licked her lips, and his dad's nose had perked up like Tigger's at feeding time. Bryan would share some with the others after he came back from taking the dog out.
Bryan grabbed Tigger’s leash and tennis ball in the mudroo
m, which sent the labrador skidding along the hardwood floor in his direction. Tail wagging, he let out a single bark—Tigger-speak for, “Let’s go.”
Kathy appeared at their side as Bryan grabbed a thick fleece from the coat rack. She pointed at the wall adjoining the kitchen. "Maybe you should take human company with you, too."
She didn’t need to say which human. His parents had known Jules for less than a day, but it was obvious how much they liked her. She’d bought them all great gifts, laughed at her father’s jokes, helped with the dishes after breakfast, and showered Tigger with attention. Bryan could’ve sworn she’d slipped a piece of pancake into the doggy bowl.
His mom added, “She’s a cute girl. And don’t forget, you’re not her boss anymore.” She winked at that and walked back to the kitchen to continue prepping Christmas dinner.
His mom had a point. Jules was cute. Damn cute. And he'd be a fool to deny the attraction simmering between them. Earlier, when they'd stood next to each other upstairs, and he'd seen that holiday bra of hers on the floor, every cell in his body ignited. His brain had fizzled the embers, warning him of their boss-employee relationship. But now his mom's reminder rang truer: Jules no longer worked for him. Things were different.
Tigger’s wagging tail whipped Bryan in the calf. “Hang on, buddy.”
Bryan ducked his head around the corner, where Jules sat in the breakfast nook. She flipped through his mom’s Better Homes & Gardens magazine, her profile soft and delicate under the overhead light.
"Want to hike through the snow with Tig and me?" Bryan held up the leash and ball.
She smiled. “Sure.”
Minutes later, she met him at the back door, wearing the new coat. It looked great on her and fit perfectly. Outside, she looked sexy, all bundled up with the fur hood framing her pretty face, accentuating her blue eyes. Seeing how much she liked his gift turned him on. His pulse went up a notch, knowing that her holiday bra was right underneath the layers of puffy down. And this time, he'd let himself enjoy the feeling. Not smother it with all that boss crap. It was Christmas, after all.