“I don’t miss it,” she said, shying away from his touch, although she didn’t meet his eyes when she said it.
He didn’t fully believe her. Just like he didn’t believe her when she said she wasn’t interested in going on a date with him. She did want to, she was just stubborn and afraid of intimacy. As much as he might be drawn to Natalie, he wasn’t going to put himself in that boat again. He was tired of butting his head against relationship brick walls. But even if they were just friends, he couldn’t let the Christmas thing slide. It was a challenge unlike any he’d had in a while.
“I think I could make you like Christmas again.”
Natalie turned on her heel to look at him. Her eyebrow was arched curiously. “No, you can’t.”
“You don’t have much faith in me. I can do anything I put my mind to.”
“Be serious, Colin.”
“I am serious,” he argued.
“You can’t make me like Christmas. That would take a lobotomy. Or a bout of amnesia. It won’t happen otherwise.”
He took a step closer, moving into her space. “If you’re so confident, why don’t we wager on it?”
Her dark eyes widened at him and she stepped back. “What? No. That’s silly.”
“Hmm...” Colin said, leaning in. “Sounds to me like you’re too chicken to let me try. You know you’ll lose the bet.”
Natalie took another step backward until her back was pressed against the front door. “I’m not scared. I’m just not interested in playing your little game.”
“Come on. If you’re so confident, it won’t hurt to take me up on it. Name your victor’s prize. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together the next two weeks. This will make it more...interesting.”
Natalie crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, fine. You’re going to lose, so it really doesn’t matter. You have until the wedding reception to turn me into a Christmas fan again. If I win the bet, you have to pay for me to spend Christmas next year in Buenos Aires.”
“Wow. Steep stakes,” Colin said.
Natalie just shrugged it off. “Are you confident or not?”
Nice. Now she’d turned it so he was the chicken. “Of course I’m confident. You’ve got it. I’ll even fly you there first class.”
“And what do you want if you win?”
A million different options could’ve popped into his mind in that moment, but there was only one idea that really stuck with him. “In return, if I win the bet, you owe me...a kiss.”
Natalie’s eyebrow went up. “That’s it? A kiss? I asked for a trip to South America.”
Colin smiled. “Yep, that’s all I want.” It would be a nice little bonus to satisfy his curiosity, but in the end, he was more interested in bringing the magic back to Christmas for her. Everyone needed that in their life. He held out his hand. “Shall we shake on it and make this official?”
Natalie took a cleansing breath and nodded before taking his hand. He enveloped it with his own, noting how cold she was to the touch. She gasped as he held her, her eyes widening. “You’re so warm,” she said.
“I was about to mention how cold you are. What’s the matter? Afraid you’re going to lose the bet?”
She gave a soft smile and pulled her hand from his. “Not at all. I’m always cold.”
“It is Christmastime,” Colin noted. “That just means you’ll need to bundle up when we go out in search of some Christmas spirit.”
She frowned, a crease forming between her brows. “We’re both really busy, Colin. What if I just kiss you now? Will you let the whole thing drop?”
Colin propped his palm on the wall over her shoulder and leaned in until they were separated by mere inches. He brought his hand up to cup her cheek, running the pad of this thumb across her full bottom lip. Her lips parted softly, her breath quickening as he got closer. He had been right. She was attracted to him, but that just wasn’t enough for her to want more.
“You can kiss me now if you want to,” he said. “But there’s no way I’m dropping this bet.”
His hand fell to his side as a smirk of irritation replaced the expression on her face. This was going to be more fun than he’d expected.
“It’s getting late. I’d better get you home.”
He pulled away, noting the slight downturn of Natalie’s lips as he did. Was she disappointed that he didn’t kiss her? He’d never met a woman who sent such conflicting signals before. He got the feeling she didn’t know what she wanted.
She didn’t need to worry. They might just be friends, but he would kiss her, and soon. Colin had no intention of losing this bet.
Four
Natalie was on pins and needles all day Thursday knowing that Colin would be coming for the cake tasting that afternoon. She was filled with this confusing mix of emotions. First, there was the apprehension over their bet. Colin was determined to get her in the Christmas spirit. Wednesday morning when she’d stepped outside, she found a fresh pine wreath on her front door with a big red velvet bow.
She was tempted to take it down, but she wouldn’t. She could withstand his attempts, but she knew the more she resisted, the more she would see of Colin. That filled her with an almost teenage giddiness—the way she used to feel whenever Colin would smile at her when they were kids. It made her feel ridiculous considering nothing was going to happen between the two of them, and frankly, it was distracting her from her work. Thank goodness this weekend’s wedding was a smaller affair.
She was about to call the florist to follow up on the bride’s last-minute request for a few additional boutonnieres when she noticed a figure lurking in her doorway. It was Gretchen.
Natalie pulled off her earpiece. “Yes?”
“So Tuesday night, I was meeting a friend for dinner on this side of town and I happened to pass by the chapel around nine that night. I noticed your car was still in the parking lot.”
Natalie tried not to frown at her coworker. “You know I work late sometimes.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought at first, too, but none of the lights were on. Then I noticed on your Outlook calendar that you had a late appointment to discuss the Russell-Watson wedding.” A smug grin crossed Gretchen’s face.
Natalie rolled her eyes. “It was nothing, so don’t turn it into something. We finalized the plans for the wedding, that’s all. Then he asked me for help with his wedding present for Lily. He’s giving her a house.”
“A house? Lord,” Gretchen declared with wide eyes. “I mean, I know I’m engaged to a movie star and all, but I have a hard time wrapping my head around how rich people think.”
“It’s actually the home they grew up in. He asked me to help him fix it up for them.”
Gretchen nodded thoughtfully. “Did you help him rearrange some of the bedroom furniture?”
“Ugh, no.” Natalie searched around her desk for something to throw, but all she had was a crystal paperweight shaped like a heart. She didn’t want to knock Gretchen unconscious, despite how gratifying it might feel in the moment. “We just walked around and talked about what I’d keep or donate. Nothing scandalous. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
“Well, boo. I was hopeful that this guy would make it up to you for his cruel rebuffing at the engagement party.”
“He didn’t make it up to me, but he did explain why he’d turned me down. Apparently he had a date that night.”
“And now?”
“And now they’ve broken up. But that doesn’t change anything. We’re just going to be friends. It’s better this way. Things would’ve just been more...complicated if something had happened.”
Gretchen narrowed her gaze at her. “And you helping him with the house now that he’s single won’t be complicated?”
Natalie swung her ponytail over her shoulder and avoided he
r coworker’s gaze by glancing at her computer screen. There were no critical emails to distract her from the conversation.
“Natalie?”
“No, it won’t,” she said at last. “It’s going to be fine. We’ve been family friends for years and that isn’t going to change. I’m going to handle the wedding and help him with the house and everything will be fine. Great, really. I think it’s just the distraction I need to get through the holidays this year.”
Gretchen nodded as she talked, but Natalie could tell she wasn’t convinced. Frankly, neither was Natalie. Even as she said the words, she was speaking to herself as much as to her friend. She certainly wasn’t going to tell her that she was fighting her attraction to Colin like a fireman with a five-alarm inferno. Or that she’d gotten herself roped into a bet that could cost her not only a kiss, but a solid dose of the holidays she had just said she was avoiding.
“Okay, well, whatever helps you get through the holidays, hon.”
“Thank you.”
“Uh-oh. Speak of the devil,” Gretchen said, peeking out Natalie’s window.
“He’s here?” Natalie said, perking up in her seat, eyes wide with panic. “He’s early.” She was automatically opening her desk drawer and reaching for her compact when she heard Gretchen’s low, evil laugh.
“No, he’s not. I lied. I just wanted to see how you’d react. I was right. You’re so full of it, your eyeballs should be floating.”
Natalie sat back in her chair, the panic quickly replaced by irritation. Her gaze fell on the drawer to the soft foam rose stress ball that the florist had given them. She picked it up and hurled it at Gretchen, who ducked just in time.
“Get out of my office!” she shouted, but Gretchen was already gone. Natalie could hear her cackling down the hallway. Thank goodness there weren’t any customers in the facility this morning.
There would be several clients here after lunchtime, though. Amelia had three cake tastings on the schedule today, including with Colin.
Hopefully that would go better than just now. Gretchen had already called her on the ridiculous infatuation that had reignited. Amelia would likely be more tactful. She hoped. Natalie didn’t think she’d been that obvious. In the end, nothing had happened. They’d finalized plans, she’d helped him with the house and they’d had pizza. They hadn’t kissed. She had certainly wanted to.
It was hard to disguise the overwhelming sense of disappointment she felt when they had their near miss. Natalie had been certain he was about to kiss her. She thought maybe dangling that carrot would serve her on two levels: first that they could call off the silly bet, and second, that she’d finally fulfill her youthful fantasy of kissing the dashing and handsome Colin Russell.
Then...nothing. He knew what he was doing. He’d turned up the dial, gotten her primed, then left her hanging. He was not letting her out of the bet. It might be a painful two weeks until the wedding while he tried, but in the end, she’d get a nice trip to Argentina out of it.
Colin was well-intentioned, but he wasn’t going to turn her into a jolly ol’ elf anytime soon. It wasn’t as though she wanted to be a Humbug. She’d tried on several occasions to get into the spirit, but it never worked. The moment the carols started playing in the stores, she felt her soul begin to shrivel inside her. Honey-glazed ham tasted like ash in her mouth.
With her parents’ marriages in shambles and no desire to ever start a family of her own, there wasn’t anything left to the season but cold weather and commercialism.
That said, she didn’t expect Colin to lose this bet quietly. He would try his damnedest, and if last night was any indication, he was willing to play dirty. If that was the case, she needed to as well. It wouldn’t be hard to deploy her own distracting countermeasures. The chemistry between them was powerful and could easily derail his focus. She wouldn’t have to go too far—a seductive smile and a gentle touch would easily plant something other than visions of sugarplums in his head.
Natalie reached back into the drawer for the mirror she’d sought out earlier. She looked over her hair and reapplied her burgundy lipstick. She repowdered her nose, then slipped everything back into her desk. Glancing down at her outfit, she opted to slip out of her blazer, leaving just the sleeveless burgundy and hunter-green satin shell beneath it. It had a deep V-neck cut, and the necklace she was wearing today would no doubt draw the eye down to the depths of her cleavage.
Finally, she dabbed a bit of perfume behind her ears, on her wrists and just between her collarbones. It was her favorite scent, exotic and complex, bringing to mind perfumed silk tents in the deserts of Arabia. A guy she’d once dated had told her that perfume was like a hook, luring him closer with the promise of sex.
She took a deep breath of the fragrance and smiled. It was playing dirty, but she had a bet to win.
* * *
“I brought you a gift.”
Colin watched Natalie look up at him from her desk with a startled expression. From the looks of it, she’d been deep into her work and lost track of time. She recovered quickly, sitting back in her chair and pulling off her headset. “Did you? What is it now? A light-up snowman? A three-foot candy cane?”
“Close.” He whipped out a box from behind his back and placed it on her desk. “It’s peppermint bark from a candy shop downtown.”
Natalie smirked at the box, opening it to admire the contents. “Are you planning to buy your way through this whole bet?”
“Maybe. Either way, it’s cheaper than a first-class ticket to Buenos Aires.”
“You added the first class part yourself, you know, when you were feeling cocky.” She leaned her elbows on the desk and watched him pointedly.
His gaze was drawn to a gold-and-emerald pendant that dangled just at the dip of her neckline. The shadows hinted at the breasts just beyond the necklace. He caught a whiff of her perfume and felt the muscles in his body start to tense. What were they talking about? Cocky. Yes. That was certainly on point. “Do you like the wreath?” he asked, diverting the subject.
“It’s lovely,” she said, sitting back with a satisfied smile that made him think she was teasing him on purpose.
That was definitely a change from that night at the house. She’d been adamant about being the wrong kind of woman for him and that they should be friends. Now she was almost dangling herself in front of him. He couldn’t complain about the view, but he had to question the motivation.
“It makes my entryway smell like a pine forest.”
At least she hadn’t said Pine-Sol. “You’re supposed to say it smells like Christmas.”
“I don’t know what Christmas is supposed to smell like. When I was a kid, Christmas smelled like burned biscuits and the nasty floral air freshener my mom would spray to keep my grandmother from finding out she was smoking again.”
Colin winced at her miserable holiday memories. It sounded as though her Christmas experiences sucked long before her dad left. His next purchase was going to be a mulling spice candle. “That is not what Christmas smells like. It smells like pine and peppermint, spiced cider and baking sugar cookies.”
“Maybe in Hallmark stores,” she said, pushing up from her chair and glancing at her watch. “But now we need to focus on cake, not sugar cookies.”
Colin followed her into a sitting room near the kitchen. It had several comfortable wingback chairs and a loveseat surrounding a coffee table.
“Have a seat.” Natalie gestured into the room.
“Are you joining me?” he asked as he passed near to her.
“Oh yes,” she said with a coy smile. “I’ve just got to let Amelia know we’re ready.”
He stepped inside and Natalie disappeared down the hallway. He was happy to have a moment alone. The smell of her skin mingling with her perfume and that naughty smile was a combination he couldn’t take much more o
f. At least not and keep his hands off her.
Something had definitely changed since Tuesday. Tuesday night, she’d been more open and friendly once he told her why he’d turned her down, but nothing like this. Not even when she’d leaned into him, thinking he was about to kiss her.
Perhaps she was trying to distract him. Did she think that keeping his mind occupied with thoughts of her would shift the focus away from bringing Christmas joy back into her life? This had all happened after the bet, so that had to be it. Tricky little minx. That was playing dirty after her big speech about how she wasn’t the right kind of woman for him. Well, two could play at that game. If he was right, now that he knew her ploy he’d let her see how far she was willing to push it to win.
No matter what, he wouldn’t let himself be ensnared by her feminine charms. They were oil and water that wouldn’t mix. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t enjoy letting her try. And it didn’t mean he’d let himself lose sight of the bet in the process.
He heard a click of heels on wood and a moment later Natalie came back into the room. She settled onto the loveseat beside him. Before he could say anything, the caterer, Amelia, blew in behind her.
“Okay,” Amelia said as she carried a silver platter into the room and placed it on the coffee table. “Time for some cake tasting. This is the best part of planning a wedding, I think. Here are five of our most popular cake flavors.” She pointed her manicured finger at the different cubes of cake that were stacked into elegant pyramids. “There’s a white almond sour cream cake, triple chocolate fudge, red velvet, pistachio and lemon pound cake. In the bowls, we’ve got an assortment of different fillings along with samples of both my buttercream and my marshmallow fondant. The cake design you selected will work with either finish, so it’s really just a matter of what taste you prefer.”
“It all looks wonderful, Amelia. Thanks for putting this together.”
“Sure thing. On this card, it has all the flavors listed along with some popular combinations you might like to try. For a wedding of your size, I usually recommend two choices. I can do alternating tiers, so if a guest doesn’t one like flavor, they can always try the other. The variety is nice. Plus, it makes it easier to choose if you have more than one you love.”
A White Wedding Christmas Page 5