Working For My Arch Enemy: Enemies To Lovers Romance

by Melinda Jenkins

  “Your dreams give him his magic. It doesn’t work unless you’re asleep.”

  She lays her head against his shoulder. “Okay.”

  He kisses the top of her head and looks at me. “Let’s put this sleepy one to bed.”

  We carry her up the stairs, the pups following us. Cameron lays her in her bed, tucking the covers in around her.

  I curl up beside her and hand Cameron “The Night Before Christmas.” He’s gotten to where he likes to do the reading more often. “I’ll let you do the reading tonight.” He takes the book from me and sits on the other side by Holly, reading the story to her. By the end, she is sound asleep. Cameron gently eases up from the bed. “I think she’s out,” he whispers to me.

  I carefully and quietly get up from the bed. “I think so, too,” I say in a hushed tone.

  The pups take our spots. Now it’s their turn.

  Cameron closes the door quietly and looks at me. “You ready?”

  I nod excitedly. “Let’s do this!”

  We head downstairs and get to work.

  As we begin to put together Holly’s playhouse, I think about how much has changed in such a short time. If anyone had told me six months ago where I would be now, I would have laughed and called the person crazy.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” Cameron says as he puts together one of the window boxes for the cottage. “Care to share?”

  I sort through the silk flowers for the window boxes. “I just can’t believe that we’re here, that all of this has happened. When you think where we were just months ago, it seems so unreal.”

  “You’re happy, though. Right?”

  I roll my eyes. “Really? You have to ask?”

  “I was just checking,” he says as he attaches the window box to the house. “I don’t think I’ve been this happy since that day at the lake. No. I’m happier. Having you and Holly in my life is more than I ever dared to hope for.”

  I begin arranging the flowers in the boxes. “Do you think she will like this?”

  He leans back on his elbows, surveying our work. “If she doesn’t, then I’ll live in it.”

  I giggle. “I would like to see that.”

  I place some fresh cookies and milk next to the fireplace. “Care to do the honors?”

  He takes a healthy bite out of each and washes them down with the milk. I hand him a notecard and pen. “You know what to do.”

  He smiles as he takes them and writes a thank you note to Holly from Santa. “I hope she believes in Santa for a while more. I’m going to miss this when she gets older.”

  I wrap my arms around his neck. “You’re a wonderful father, Cameron. Holly’s one lucky girl. So am I.”

  He rubs his hand along my arm and turns to look at me. “I’m the lucky one. I don’t deserve all of this.”

  I caress his cheek. “Oh, but you do. I think we both do.”

  His eyes turn mischievous. “Why was Holly the only one who got to unwrap a present?”

  “Your gift can only be unwrapped in private.”

  He stands, pulling me up. “Well, I guess I’d better get started.”

  He picks me up in his arms, carries me to the bedroom…, and begins unwrapping.

  He lays me gently on the bed. The feel of him against me is exhilarating. I run my hands up his back as we explore every inch of each other. We coax each other into a pinnacle of need. I roll on top of him. He plunges into me, filling me to my very depth. He pinches my nipples as I ride him. I am selfish when I am on top. I can’t help it. I have complete control and I love it.

  I rub my clit against him as I feel the mounting pressure. Cameron knows and grips my hips, plunging as deeply as he can into me, rubbing against me until we both come in a perfect symphony.

  As we lay together afterward, I smile.

  He feels it against his chest and runs his fingers through my hair. “Happy?”

  I prop myself up on his chest. “Beyond belief.”

  He kisses my forehead. “Merry Christmas Eve.”

  I kiss the base of his jaw. “Merry Christmas Eve.”

  “You need to go to sleep so Santa will come,” Cameron scolds me.

  I laugh. “I thought he already did.”

  He gently pulls me closer. “I believe you may be right.”

  I drift off to sleep listening to the beat of his heart beneath my ear. There is no better sound to me.

  ***

  “He came! He came!” Holly is jumping up and down on the bed. The dogs are on the bed, too, their tails wagging wildly. I am glad I put on a nightshirt during the middle of the night. I’ve learned since moving into the main house.

  I roll over to look at Cameron. “We stayed up too late.”

  “It took me a while to unwrap my present,” he says with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “What did you get, Daddy?” Holly asks excitedly.

  I grin. “Careful. Last time this happened, you had to get another dog.”

  “Noted,” he says as he scoops Holly up in his arms. “I’ll show you later, honey. Let’s go see what all Santa brought for you.”

  We go downstairs. Holly runs from toy to toy, but her favorite is the playhouse. She smells the flowers in the window boxes. “They smell good.” She looks at me. “They smell like you.”

  I am so busted! I sprayed my perfume on them as a last-minute touch.

  “Well, who’s ready for presents?” my dad calls out as he comes in. Cameron takes the massive stack of presents from him and places them under the tree. Holly runs up to him, hugging his knees. He picks her up. “Was Santa good to you this year?”

  “Yep! I was extra good this year!” she pipes up cheerfully.

  “Were you, now?” he says as he puts her down.

  “Wow! It looks like Santa had a big night here.” Margaret exclaims as she enters the room. Her pile of gifts is just about as big as my dad’s. In my entire life, I have never seen so many presents.

  “Daddy!” Holly jumps up and down excitedly. “When do we get to open presents?”

  Cameron places a log on the fire. “Let’s wait until after breakfast.”

  I crack an egg, dropping it into the bowl. “We should be ready in twenty minutes.”

  We sit down to a feast of eggs, bacon, biscuits, grits, and sausage. To top it off is a side of chocolate sauce and melted butter. Cameron digs in with great zeal. I raise my glass of orange juice. “Merry Christmas, everyone!” We clink our glasses together, and I marvel at how full my heart is.

  Afterward, I hand out all of the presents under the tree. I’m not even interested in mine. I’m just enjoying watching everyone else as they open their presents. I feel so lucky!

  My father begins opening his presents. Most are the usual gifts: shirts, socks, a coffee mug. Finally, he gets to the last one. It is flat and rectangular.

  He eyes it curiously. “To Dad, from Rebecca.” He tears off the wrapping paper. It is a restored picture of his parents sitting on the steps of the front porch at the old house.

  His eyes tear up. “I sure miss them, miss the farm.” He looks at me. “Thank you. It’s wonderful.” He gets up and comes over to hug my neck. “You know me better than anyone.”

  I kiss his cheek. “Merry Christmas, Dad.”

  “I think this got in my stack accidentally,” Cameron says as he hands my father a small box.

  He removes the wrapping, revealing a small box. I look at Cameron curiously and whisper, “I don’t remember wrapping that one.”

  He puts his arm around me. “Trust me.”

  My father opens the box and pulls out a key. He looks at both of us. “I don’t understand?”

  “Look in the bottom of the box,” Cameron tells him.

  He pulls out a tiny slip of paper and unfolds it. He looks up in bewilderment. “It’s the address of the farm.”

  My heart nearly stops as I realize what is going on.

  “I bought it back,” Camer
on tells him. “That land belongs to you, and you belong to the land.”

  Dad looks at me. “Did you know about this?”

  I shake my head in amazement. “This is news to me.”

  I glance at Cameron. “You sneak! You never said a word.” I toss a bow at him…right before I grab him and plant a big fat kiss on his lips.

  Tears make their way down my dad’s cheeks. “Does this mean what I think it does?”

  Cameron nods. “Yep! You’re going home.”

  I can see my father getting a bit emotional and because I know he needs a private moment to process this all, I decide to change the attention to someone else.

  I nudge Cameron. “Have you even unwrapped one of your presents?”

  He shrugs his shoulders. “I guess I could go ahead and start. It’s more fun watching.”

  I know exactly what he means.

  I hand him one from his stack. “I guess you’d better get going.”

  He slides his hand under one end, releasing the paper, and pulls out a canvas. It is a painting of mine. The setting is the boulder on the lake where we shared our first kiss. The sun is shining in spite of the dark clouds that are raining down. In the distance is the hint of a rainbow.

  He looks at me in amazement. “How did you know? I never told you.”

  I don’t know what he means by that. “I just remember this, a snapshot in my mind after our first kiss.” I lean into him. “Every time I see a sunshower, I think of you.”

  He pulls me in and places a firm kiss on my lips. “After that, I guess I’d better pull out the big guns.”

  I laugh. “Top that!”

  He gives me a confident look. “I intend to. You need to stand up.”

  I do, but I am confused. “Why do I need to stand up?”

  He fishes in his pocket and withdraws a small box.

  Suddenly, I begin to understand what is happening.

  He raises up on one knee. “Rebecca, you are my first and only love. No other woman has ever touched my heart the way you do. Without you, life is not complete. You are everything to me. I love that you love Holly. You are our family.” He opens the box to reveal a ring. The centerpiece is an emerald surrounded by diamonds; Diamonds trail off on either side. He looks up at me. “The emerald reminds me of your eyes.”

  With shaking hands, I cup his face. “Are you sure?”

  He takes the ring from the box and places it on my finger. “I’ve never been this sure about anything.”

  My father coughs in the background. ‘Did I miss the part where you asked my daughter to marry you?”

  Cameron grins sheepishly. “I got ahead of myself in my excitement. Cut me some slack. I’m new to this!”

  He stands to his feet, holding my hands. “Rebecca Bromley, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

  I smile at him with a sureness that I have never felt before. “I will.”

  My father and Margaret are both about in tears and clapping. Holly is blissfully unaware of what is going on. She just keeps unwrapping presents. She has a way to go.

  “Daddy, what is this?” she asks as she pulls a stuffed animal out of the bag that Margaret brought at the least minute.

  “It’s a unicorn. Haven’t you seen one in your stories?” Cameron asks her.

  Holly rolls her eyes. “Daddy, everybody knows unicorns aren’t real.”

  Cameron looks at me, his eyes shining. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that, sweetie.” He pulls me closer. “They most certainly are.”

  THE END

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