“This is such great information. Thank you. Can I ask you something else?” I said with trepidation.
“Of course,” Samantha replied.
“How did Rose pass away?”
I didn’t want to ask Thomas this question especially after how he had reacted to me earlier in the library, but I did want to know what happened purely so I could have an understanding of what everyone had been through and so I wouldn’t be insensitive to them.
“It’s actually kind of funny. I mean not really funny because she died but I’ve learned to find the humor in it over the years.”
“Ok,” I said a little concerned at how this story could be funny at all.
“She went to New York with some of her work friends. They weren’t even people she liked all that much but they roped her into going. One of the ladies was someone Rose always complained about. You know that sort of woman who comes from money but pretends like she’s normal like all the rest of us?”
“Yeah, I know the type.”
“So this woman just happened to get them all on a helicopter tour of New York at night. The woman said her family flew by helicopter all the time and she was like a professional pilot because she finished some training course. Rose was excited; they were all excited but then once up in the air, that girl convinced the stupid young pilot to let her fly the helicopter. She crashed it. The only reason we even know the story is because the pilot was pulled out of the water alive and told the doctor at the hospital before he passed away.”
“Oh my gosh, that is terrible.”
“Yeah, it was the stupidest thing, but sometimes I just laugh at how stupid men can be. That girl just flirted and smiled at him and he let her fly a helicopter. No female pilot would have ever done such a thing,” Samantha laughed. “I mean really, what a freak accident.”
I found myself laughing a little at the story too. It was a freak accident and nothing I could have ever guessed. I’m sure it didn’t change how hard her death was for the kids or Thomas and probably made the whole thing even worse. Knowing that the woman they loved died because of something stupid; I think that would make things harder to deal with.
“Thank you for telling me. I guess I won’t be putting up any helicopter ornaments,” I joked.
We both were in full on laughter as we walked past Thomas and Matthew working hard in the library. Thomas looked up at me and our eyes met for a moment. I was smiling like a maniac as I looked at him and couldn’t stop myself.
Thomas looked more handsome than I’d remembered him from a few minutes earlier. Learning the story behind his agitation made me much more sympathetic to him. His dark brown hair was tussled from him running his hands through it while he was in deep conversation with his assistant. Whatever was going on with work seemed to be stressing the both of them out.
I was distracted by his smile and the way the corners of his eyes wrinkled up with joy. His mouth curled a little to the left as he started to talk and I felt my knees go weak. I hadn’t felt like this around him before. He didn’t magically change from the day before, but now I couldn’t stop my body from reacting to the sight of Thomas smiling at me.
“You two are hitting it off,” he said.
“I’m telling her all your secrets,” Samantha yelled back toward him as we laughed and kept walking. “He hasn’t smiled this much in a long time. Maybe he really is excited about this Christmas party. Or maybe he just likes having a beautiful girl around.”
“They didn’t know what I looked like before hiring me, or at least I don’t think they did,” I said defensively.
I’d been told so many times by other women that I only got decorating jobs from men because they thought I was beautiful. It wasn’t true, or at least it wasn’t true most of the time. The typical man who hired me was throwing a party for their wife or their children, it wasn’t like they were trying to hire me in order to hit on me. Samantha had struck a bit of a chord though and I became defensive when she might not have meant anything by her comment.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that you aren’t good at your job. Just that I think Thomas thinks you’re pretty.”
There was no way I was starting down this road with Samantha. It didn’t matter if Thomas thought I was pretty or not. I was there to work. I was hired and being paid a lot of money to make this Christmas party the best it could be. We wouldn’t be getting distracted by my feelings or how pretty Thomas might have thought I was.
“It’s fine. I’m sorry I snapped. I definitely work hard to prove that I’m more than just a pretty face.”
“I saw your design book. You are really good, Niki. I’m glad you’re here to help Thomas and the kids. They haven’t had a party here since Rose died and if there was anyone who could throw this party I think you’re the person for the job.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, let’s finish this tour and then I’ll take you to where all the storage items are. I thought the kids might want to help with the tour. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone upstairs first,” Samantha rolled her eyes.
She was clearly an important person in Thomas and the kid’s lives. She knew a lot about the family and was going to be a great resource for me. I might not have been able to find out nearly as much information if she wasn’t around. Thomas had been less than forthright in our first meeting and although he seemed to be warming up to me I wasn’t so sure how he would handle all the questions I had about the trees.
For years I’d wanted to do a party with a budget big enough to make doing three trees a reasonable design plan. This party was perfect for it. Not only because they had so much love and loss in their past but also because the room where the party was going to be was larger than any room I’d planned a party in.
The more Samantha and I walked around the property the more excited I started to get. By the time we were out in the backyard, I had whipped out my sketch pad and was frantically drawing ideas as they came to me.
I half wished that the party was going to be for more than fifty people just so I could decorate more areas of the house. With the amount of money, Thomas was paying me I certainly could put in the hours and design the entryway and hallway leading to the great room. I also had to do something with the backyard since it was such a focal point of the great room.
“Do you have any tips for handling Thomas when he gets angry?” I asked Samantha as we sat down on the back porch. “I suspect at some point he’s not going to like all the emotions that this party is going to stir up. I’d like to be a little prepared for how to handle him.”
“Yeah, he thinks he is good at handling his emotions but he’s not. He just yells and gets mad. My biggest advice is to not take it personally. One time he yelled at me to never come back again, all because I’d accidentally broken a vase that was Rose’s. I just came back the next day just like I always do and picked the kids up and offered to drive them to school. If you wait for him to apologize you’ll be waiting for a really long time.”
“Actually, yesterday after he was rude to me he did apologize. Perhaps, he was being on his best behavior because he doesn’t want to plan this party alone,” I shrugged.
“Wow, yeah, he must be. He will usually apologize to the kids. He’s a great dad. I should have spoken much more about that side of him. I’m sorry if I gave you a bad impression of who he is.”
“Not at all. I think Thomas gave me the bad impression all on his own. But trust me, I’ve worked with much worse. I think this is going to be a good partnership. I’m thinking of all sorts of things that will work with this party. I’ll work on some ideas and then show them to Thomas.”
“Sounds like the perfect plan. I’m going to run inside for a second. Are you okay out here?” Samantha asked as I was surrounded by the plushest patio furniture I’d ever sat on.
“Yes, I’m okay out here,” I laughed. “I’ll somehow survive.”
Samantha seemed like the sort of woman I’d be friends with even if we had met under different circum
stances. Her humor was similar to mine and she didn’t make me feel self-conscious of everything I was saying as most women did.
I pulled my sketch notebook out and continued drawing the ideas that were rapidly flowing for me. This was my favorite part of the planning process, getting ideas and putting them down on paper made me feel like an inspired artist.
“Is that a duck?” I heard Thomas asked as he looked down over my shoulder.
His hands were on the back of the couch and both of them touched my shoulders slightly as he leaned over to look. I couldn’t help but laugh at his assumption that I was drawing a duck. Why on earth would I put a duck into a Christmas party?
“Yep,” I laughed and closed my book before he could get a better look at it. “You’re going to have to wait until I have the whole plan laid out and see what it is.”
“Samantha said I should come out so we could talk about some things.”
“Okay,” I readied myself for him to tell me something important.
Thomas sat down next to me on the couch and I pulled one of my legs up and turned toward him. It was an intimate moment with us both sitting close on the couch and our eyes locked on to one another.
The silence between us grew and I got nervous thinking about what he needed to tell me. Then as the silence went on longer and longer I wondered if he had anything to tell me at all or if he had just been sent out there by Samantha, so I could talk to him. The awkwardness was too much for me and I finally spoke.
“What did you need to talk to me about?” I asked.
“Me? I don’t need to talk to you. You needed to talk to me,” he replied in his familiar agitated tone.
“I didn’t need to talk to you,” I chuckled and looked back toward the house where I saw Samantha standing at the window looking at us. “I think your friend has orchestrated this little conversation.”
“So you don’t need to talk to me about anything regarding the party?” He asked not looking nearly as amused as I was.
“You’re a really handsome man,” I said out of nowhere.
What was wrong with me?
Never in my adult life had I been so embarrassed as I was in that moment as the realization of what I’d just said to him washed over Thomas’ face. How on earth had I let this happen? How could I fix it? There was no way to fix something like this. I had just ruined my entire professional relationship with this client in one sentence. I wanted to curl up and die right there in his backyard.
My face flushed red with embarrassment, but I couldn’t find the words to say anything more. I didn’t dare try to talk for fear that I’d say something else stupid.
The way Thomas was looking at me didn’t help either. At least he didn’t look as agitated as he had a few moments earlier. Now he was gazing into my eyes like he could see right into my thoughts. God, I hoped he couldn’t see what I was thinking at that moment.
Even though I was trying to keep things professional I found myself looking at his jaw; staring at his face as if I was trying to memorize the curves of it. Thomas put his leg down and moved closer to me. He moved so close that when he put his hand on the back of the couch it actually went right behind me.
“Thank you,” he said slowly, methodically, deliciously. I melted. My whole body quaked at the sound of his voice.
Then he leaned in and before I knew what was happening his lips were pressed up against mine. Now if this had been any other random client I would have pushed them away instantly and professed the need to keep things professional. But I didn’t do that. I didn’t push him at all, in fact, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to me as his tongue entered my mouth.
Deliciously our mouths teased and touched each other. I was lost in the moment, drowning in desire for this man I hardly knew. My hands shook and I held onto his shirt for balance while moving in closer so we could maneuver our lips even more. When he finally pulled away from me I was left stunned.
“What just happened?” I mumbled like some school girl who didn’t know what was going on.
“Sorry, I’m usually more controlled than that.”
“Did you… um… wow… okay. Let me think here,” I stammered as I tried to figure out how to move forward from the panty-dripping kiss that we had just shared. “I should get going,” I announced and stood up quickly.
“Please don’t take offense. Sometimes my emotions get the best of me. I was lost in the moment.”
“No, no need to apologize. I kissed you back. It was nice. I mean I was the one who said you were handsome. This is all my fault. I should apologize. Um… yeah, so I’m sorry,” I said and quickly darted back into the house.
It took me a whopping sixty seconds to make it through the house and announce to Matthew that I had to leave. He said he would stay and figure a ride out home and that was all I needed to hear. I practically ran to my car as fast as I could so I didn’t have to see or talk to Thomas again.
Chapter 7
Thomas
It was Thursday and I hadn’t heard from Niki at all that week. I was caught between trying to give her time to plan things and worrying that I’d messed everything up by letting my hormones take over in that moment of passion on my back patio.
Samantha had just buzzed in the front gate and I couldn’t wait to talk to her a little bit before the kids came down for dinner. That one kiss with Niki still had me off-kilter. Kissing a girl I was on a date with was fine but kissing Niki right in my own home wasn’t appropriate at all. She was basically my employee, at least until this Christmas party was over, and I had to maintain appropriate behavior.
Not to mention, I had never brought a woman home to this house I shared with Rose. It felt like I was cheating on my wife. Of course, I understood she was gone but the idea of actually moving on with someone else still didn’t sit well with me and I had no idea how the kids would handle it if I decided to actually invite a woman home to meet them. This one kiss was stirring up all sorts of emotions and concerns for me, not specifically about Niki, but because I was afraid that I might be wanting to move on and I’d never had that feeling before.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Samantha yelled as she came in the front door. “I brought a present.”
“Don’t tell me you brought me this beautiful baby to keep,” I said as I grabbed her daughter Eve out of the car seat carrier she was in. “I’m going to keep you. You’re the cutest baby ever,” I whispered to the baby.
“Dad, she can’t be the cutest baby ever if I was the cutest baby ever,” Jenna said as she ran down the stairs to see the baby too. “And it’s my turn to play with her.”
Jenna quickly snatched sweet Eve from my arms and took off for the great room. At least I had a moment with the baby. Jenna hardly let anyone else play with Eve when Samantha brought her over. All of us loved having the baby around so much, even Jackson brightened up when Eve and Samantha came over. There was just something so innocent and sweet about having a baby in the house. I couldn’t deny that Samantha softened me up a lot when she brought Eve over for our weekly dinners.
“You should think about having more babies, Thomas. You are a really good father.”
“No, I’m done with all of that. I’m thirty-eight years old. I don’t want to start over again. I’m looking forward to the kids going off to college and me moving into the city.”
“No you’re not, don’t even try that with me. You’re dreading the day those kids go to college and you’re left alone.”
“Not true,” I lied. Damn, Samantha knew me so well. I was dreading having the kids gone but that didn’t mean I actually wanted to have babies around. Even the idea of caring for Eve longer than an afternoon sounded exhausting.
One weekend the kids and I volunteered to watch Eve, so Samantha and her husband could have a romantic weekend away. The only reason the weekend wasn’t a total disaster was because Jenna and Jackson played with the baby as much as possible. I would have been a mess if I’d tried to manage that baby for such a long period
of time. No, I was definitely done with the baby scene. Even if I decided to get back out in the dating world I’d look for women with older children like mine or who didn’t want children at all.
“So how is the party planning going?” Samantha asked with a huge smile.
She had seen me kiss Niki and although we talked briefly about it that night after Niki left, I hadn’t brought it up since. Samantha was like a pit bull though, she was going to latch onto that kiss and make it into something more than it really was. All it happened to be was a weak moment of lust on my part, nothing more. Obviously, I didn’t have feelings for Niki; I didn’t know anything about her. I had been caught up in her compliment and the way she was looking at me. A beautiful woman hadn’t looked at me with so much lust in a very long time and I’d been weak enough to give in to that temptation but I wouldn’t let it happen again.
“I don’t know how the party planning is going. I haven’t talked with my party planner since last weekend. I’m giving her time to get the plan together and then she will come to me when she needs something.”
“What? You seriously haven’t talked to her since Sunday? Thomas Michael Hanover! What is wrong with you?” Samantha yelled. “She’s got to be going stir crazy and feeling so bad about what happened. You know better than this, Thomas. You aren’t a jerk of a man. You need to call her.”
“I appreciate your concern but I’m not calling her. That kiss was just a kiss and I’m not going to make it into anything more. When she reaches out to discuss the party then I’ll talk about the party. That’s it.”
“You’re impossible,” Samantha threw her hands up in the air and stormed off into the kitchen to see what I had started for dinner. “You seriously can’t even be nice to this girl? Think of it as you are practicing for down the road when you actually want a relationship. You don’t have to bang her, Thomas. Just be nice to the girl.”
“I don’t want to lead her on.”
Mine on Christmas Page 7