The Twelve Gifts of Christmas

by Rita Clay Estrada

  She laughed and tucked her hand in his arm. “I can’t wait. I have a few sweet somethings to whisper myself,” she responded.

  “Don’t expect me to fight you off, beautiful. I’m not crazy.”

  But as he whirled her around the dance floor, an image of Carly’s laughing eyes and warm smile kept intruding.

  Anticipation of being with her heated the blood in his veins.

  * * *

  AMAZED, CARLY STARED at her image in the closet-door mirror. Karen was sprawled on her mother’s bed, her beloved cat in her arms as she stared in delighted wonder at the woman who was supposed to be her mother. But they both agreed that Carly looked more like a fairy princess.

  Carly had bought the blue silk dress with the diagonal ruffled flamenco hem knowing it clung to every inch of her body. The plunging neckline stopped just short of baring soft cleavage, and the gown’s rich color accented the peach tones of her skin. She’d known it was sexy when she tried it on in Neiman Marcus, but she hadn’t realized it was this risqué.

  “You need a wand, Mom.”

  “I need a cape,” Carly muttered, pulling at the neckline. “Or a brown bag to wear over my head so no one recognizes me.”

  “Phooey. If I look like you when I grow up I’m gonna wear a dress like that alla time. I’ll buy ten of them, and they’ll all be different colors.”

  “You can’t play baseball in a dress like this, pumpkin,” Carly said, her mind only half on the conversation. The other half was imagining what Pete would say when he saw her. Would he like it? Would he think it was too outrageous? Would he want his money back? Would he even want to take her out in it?

  Once more she turned and looked at the back of the dress in the full-length mirror, making sure that she didn’t have a panty line showing or something equally horrible.

  Aunt Cora poked her head in the door. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. “Oh, my. Oh, my!”

  Carly’s heart sank. “It’s that bad?”

  “Oh, no, dear. Not bad at all.” Turning toward the hall, the older woman called over her shoulder. “Nora! Come see!” When she looked at her niece again, her eyes were still wide. “You look simply beautiful, dear. Just like your mother. It’s so refreshing to see children take after their mothers, you know. It brings such joy to relatives.”

  Nora peeked over her sister’s shoulder, her eyes as wide as her twin’s. “Oh, my dear. You look just like our dear, departed baby sister.”

  “Is it too much?” Carly asked worriedly, knowing her mother had never worn a dress as sexy as this.

  “It’s wonderful, dear. Just wonderful.” They both were quick to assure her, their heads bobbing in unison.

  “Really?” she asked, finally ready to believe. “You’re not just saying that?”

  The doorbell rang just as they answered. “Of, course not, dear.”

  “No, never.”

  Then Nora rushed to get the door.

  It was too late to worry about it now. The dress was on her back, the bill was in the mail, and her date was at the door.

  Carly gave Karen a kiss and an instruction to scoot into bed early. Then, humming the death march, she walked down the hallway to the head of the staircase.

  Pete stood in the entryway below, looking almost like a model out of some slick magazine in his expensively cut black tuxedo. His golden-brown tan was dramatic against the white of his pleated shirt. His cummerbund and tie were bright red, giving him a devilish look.

  She started down the steps, her fingers clinging to the rail as if it were a lifeline. Pete was smiling down at Nora, but he obviously heard her coming, for his gaze lifted and took in every inch of her form. Feeling almost weightless, she descended the staircase.

  His smile widened to a sexy grin that showed off his dimples. When she reached the bottom step, he came forward, holding out his hand for hers. “You look absolutely stunning.”

  She felt a blush on her cheeks as she answered his smile. “Thank you, kind sir. So do you.”

  Her aunts gave a titter as they headed into the kitchen to fix their nightly tea. “Have a good time, dear. I’m sure Pete will take good care of you.”

  “Thank you for the responsibility,” he called after them.

  “Don’t encourage them with that male-looking-after-female bit. They’ll believe it,” Carly whispered so they wouldn’t hear.

  “I mean for them to do exactly that. After all, I am your protector for the evening.”

  “If you were, you’d be wearing a black belt instead of a red one,” she quipped. “Although I think you’d look stunning in anything.”

  He gave a low laugh. “I’m not sure I’m supposed to look stunning, but if you’re handing out compliments, I’m the first in line.” He gave her an intense look. “If you’re handing out anything else, I’ll be the first in line, too.”

  He bent down and brushed her lips with a light kiss. Electricity sizzled between them, almost igniting Carly’s skin with the heat of it. When he pulled back, she felt bereft. “What was that for?” she asked as he placed her coat around her shoulders.

  “Because I don’t get the chance to kiss a heartbreakingly beautiful lady often. I have to do it when I can.”

  She swallowed and pretended she had far more sophistication than she felt. “Must be the dress. Most men steer clear of my type of lady.”

  Pete opened the front door and escorted her toward the waiting limousine. “Why?”

  “Because I’m a homebody. Someone who likes stability and security and family life.” Pete slipped into the back seat after her. The driver shut the door, then went around the car to the front. A Plexiglas panel kept their conversation private. She snuggled into the plush seat, unable to imagine the difference between this and a huge marshmallow.

  He gave her a wry look. “Does that mean that you’ll try to propose to me by the end of the night?”

  “It means that we’re not meant to be more than friends, because we’re not after the same things.” She sounded prim, but she couldn’t help it.

  “Oh,” he drawled knowingly. “I think some of what we want is the same, lady.”

  She refused to admit how very much she wished his thoughts flowed in the same river hers did. It wouldn’t do any good....

  She decided to change the subject. “Why are we in a limousine?”

  Pete reached forward and flipped open the bar. “A glass of wine?”

  “Yes, please.”

  With deft movements he opened the bottle and poured a glass, then handed it to her. “Because it’s very hard to park and then find the damn car when there’s a big banquet like this. So, it’s easier to hire a limo or a taxi that can drop you off and pick you up. If I’m by myself, I hire a taxi driver I know. If I’m with a woman as beautiful as you, I show up in a limo.”

  “I see,” she said, sitting back and staring out at the Potomac as they drove down the highway toward the center of Washington, D.C. “And we’re headed to the Smithsonian?”

  “Yes.” Pete poured himself a glass of the white wine, then leaned back and pinned her to the seat with his dark-eyed gaze. “Have you been there before?”

  “I’ve visited the museum. I haven’t attended a party there. What is the occasion?”

  “A sheik is giving a benefit for North African orphans.”

  “And you’re going to help his charity? Why? When you have a charity of your own?”

  Pete sipped his drink. “Because he may have a crew of people I haven’t yet met. I could meet them and invite them to donate to Castaways.”

  Carly remembered the real reason he’d asked her out. He needed a date who would allow him to politick around the room without demanding his attention. “Of course.”

  The conversation shifted and they each talked about the week they had put in. The ride was over quickly. Carly finished her glass of wine at the same time they pulled up in front of the Smithsonian. Cameramen, interviewers with portable mikes and security guards lined the steps to the
front door. Flashes popped from everywhere as she stepped from the limo into Pete’s waiting clasp. He held her closely to him as they walked swiftly up to the entrance.

  “Hang on, honey. This won’t last long,” he murmured through his smile.

  “Most of these people don’t know who we are, do they?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Not a clue,” he muttered, finally reaching the top and giving a dazzling smile to a camera on the left.

  Several attendants met them in the lobby, took their coats and offered them drinks from silver trays. At first, Carly could hardly see the people for the blur of brilliant color. The room had to hold at least several hundred, all dressed in their finest. Relieved, Carly noticed a few seemed to be as awed by their surroundings as she was.

  “That’s the space capsule,” Pete said, pointing upward with his glass. “Let’s hope it doesn’t fall. Half the wealth in Washington would be killed.”

  Carly’s mouth almost dropped open as she watched the new vice president walk into the main area, his even more popular wife on his arm. Looking at Pete, she covertly nodded her head in the direction of the important man. “Is that...?”

  “The vice president’s wife?” he teased. “You bet. And she tells jokes with the best of them.”

  “She does?”

  Pete nodded. “Just before she lowers the boom and states what she wants to accomplish next. I have a feeling she’ll make one hell of a First Lady.”

  “We already have one of those,” Carly stated in a dry tone.

  “Next election,” he promised, taking her arm and walking her toward the main room. “Meanwhile, why don’t I introduce you to her while she’s still accessible?”

  And Pete Cade did just that. Carly could barely keep her jitters at bay. But knowing that Pete was beside her and seemed completely at ease helped her keep it all in perspective. Those surrounding them must have felt she was someone of importance, for house photographers took countless pictures of her and Pete with the vice president and his charming wife.

  Bells rang to signal that dinner was served, and Pete led her to their place at one of the ten large, main tables. A low, sprawling basket of fresh flowers was centered on each table, accenting the peach and green linens.

  All through dinner, Pete talked to others around them. Though he’d warned her that he paid little attention to his dates, she constantly felt his blue-eyed gaze on her.

  What was worse, she loved it.

  By ten o’clock, when the band struck up and Pete held her in his arms for the first dance of the evening, she knew she was in real trouble. Although her mind knew differently, her body thought she belonged in his embrace.

  “Oh, damn,” she murmured to herself.

  “You said that the last time we danced.”

  “Exactly,” she responded.

  Reason told her to stop worrying. She was having the time of her life with Pete and she might as well make the most of it.

  Whatever “the most” turned out to be...

  5

  AFTER THE BANQUET, Pete escorted Carly outside and the limousine pulled up almost immediately. Pete waved the driver to remain where he was and ushered her into the back seat himself. The crowd, though still milling around the front of the building, had thinned considerably.

  For just a moment, Carly leaned her head back and closed her eyes to help imprint the memory of the magical evening on her mind. She had met the vice president and his wife and had been treated like a princess. Instead of doing what he’d said he’d do and circulate without her, Pete had kept her at his side all evening, introducing her to everyone he stopped to chat with. Occasionally he would lead her to a corner where they could talk privately or he would dance her around the floor. He was droll and witty, passing on small, sometimes intimate, tidbits of information about those he’d spoken to or was getting ready to strong-arm into a donation. It was exciting to learn the “story behind the story” of some of the biggest political players in the country.

  But what pleased her most was that Pete played the role of Prince Charming so well, she’d felt like Cinderella at the ball.

  As the limousine glided out of the line of parked cars, Pete slid a cool, stemmed glass into her hand. “A glass of wine for your thoughts.”

  She didn’t want to open her eyes yet. “I was just thinking how much you resemble a certain animated character.”

  “It depends,” he mused thoughtfully. “If you’re talking about Pinocchio, I’m not quite as wooden and I don’t believe in lying. If you’re referring to Dumbo, I’m just as light on my feet although I don’t suffer from his inferiority complex. I’m occasionally a beast, but I usually recover by the time I’ve had my morning coffee. I don’t have a genie on hand like Aladdin, and a limousine isn’t quite a magic carpet, but...”

  She noticed he didn’t refer to the one character she had imagined him to be. She wondered if his avoidance was deliberate.

  He leaned toward her, until his body heat warmed her skin. His breath touched her cheek, letting her know how close he was. Then his mouth brushed hers. A thousand little arrows zinged down her spine, then spread warmth through her whole body. She recognized the signals, knew the signs, loved the feeling.

  Carly opened her eyes and gazed into his. “You’re trying to seduce me.”

  There was a definite twinkle in his blue gaze. “That’s right. But if I was succeeding, you wouldn’t have stated the obvious.”

  “Why? I thought we decided—”

  “What’s this ‘we’ stuff? You decided we would only date,” he corrected. “I went along with it. But I really wanted your mind, your company and your body.”

  “In that order?”

  He shrugged. “Not necessarily.”

  Her breath left her in a whoosh. “A triple slammer.”

  “Right. What more could a man ask for?” he teased, before brushing a kiss across her earlobe.

  “That’s not the question. It’s what more could I ask for? And the answer’s plenty.”

  “We already decided that neither one of us is going to get what we want, so we might as well settle for what we each have to offer,” Pete reminded her.

  “Will that be enough for you?”

  “I don’t know. I won’t know until we try.”

  She raised her hand and touched her fingers to his jaw, loving the feel of him. The urge to be with this man was so overwhelming, it was frightening. No matter how much she tried to write this feeling off to chemistry, it was still there and needed to be dealt with. No matter how many times she told herself not to care, she did. She trailed her fingertip down his straight nose. “Pete?”

  He held still, not moving from her touch. “Umm?”

  “Is it possible for both of us to be quiet long enough for you to kiss me properly?”

  “As in a real kiss?”

  She slowly nodded her head against the velvety fabric of the seat. “With everything you’ve got.”

  He moved closer, then stopped. “Are you going to grade me on this?”

  “It’s my job,” she said simply.

  A devilish grin crept across his mouth. He took the wineglass from her hand and slipped it into the holder attached to the bar. “I’m going for an A, teacher, so give me a little time to study,” he murmured, just before his lips captured hers.

  It began as a slow, seductive kiss, deliberately meant to titillate her. But somehow, the tables turned and he became just as wrapped up in the tactile sensuality of it as she was. He tilted his head, gaining greater access to the soft interior of her mouth. His hands slipped inside her coat and around her waist, his arms rubbing lightly against her breasts. He pressed gently against her body so they could both share the warmth they generated.

  Pete couldn’t stop. What had begun as teasing was now completely serious. The need he thought he’d stamped out earlier was back in full force, stronger than ever before. If he could have, he would have buried himself deep inside her until he was completely sated with
the feel of her wrapped around him. But he knew that wasn’t possible. So, he did the next best thing: he held on for dear life and tried to ride the overwhelming wave of ecstasy that flowed through his body.

  Carly heard herself moan but didn’t care. There was no holding back the flood of sensation that nearly drowned her. Everywhere he touched ignited a small fire. Every thrust his tongue made forced her closer to him, compelling her body to match the beat of his rhythm. She couldn’t believe it. She felt under siege and loved every second of it. Please don’t let it end, she found herself praying.

  The car slowed down and a crackling sound came from the speaker just before the driver’s calm voice filled the air. “We’re here, sir.”

  Pete pulled back with a sigh. “Thanks, Jack.”

  Carly forced her eyes open and sat up. She looked out the window to the house beyond. “This isn’t my place.”

  “I thought we’d have a nightcap before I took you home.” He looked down at her. “Is that all right, or should I take you home now?”

  She hated to admit just how happy she was that they didn’t have to part yet. She wasn’t ready for the evening to end. She wanted it to go on forever. “I’d love a nightcap, as long as it consists of coffee with cream.” She wasn’t about to mention that coffee wasn’t what she was really interested in. Her real interest was too shocking for her to voice aloud.

  “Cappuccino?”

  “Perfect.”

  Warm-toned outdoor lamps highlighted the structure of the house, making it look impressive and welcoming at the same time. The entrance was a set of large wooden doors inset with beveled glass windows and topped with a fanlight. Pete punched in a series of numbers on a keypad and the door unlocked. He stepped back to allow her to enter first.

  “I’m not even inside yet, and I’m impressed.” Her voice almost stuck in her throat as she entered the vast three-story foyer. She was sure it could double as a ballroom.

  “It’s unique because of the mix of traditional architecture with contemporary touches,” Pete explained. “But I call it home.” His hand at the small of her back gently but firmly propelled her toward the back of the house, and finally to the kitchen.