by Sandi Lynn
“Excellent choice. What names would you like on the stockings?”
“Ella, Georgia, and Julian.”
“Got it. They will be ready in about thirty minutes.” She grinned.
Georgia and I went off to look at trees as the stockings were being embroidered.
“Wow. Look at that one,” she spoke as we walked over to the nine-foot flocked tree with white lights and all decked out in red, silver, and white decorations.
“That’s really pretty. Do you love it?” I asked her.
“I love it. It’s stunning and elegantly decorated.” A smile crossed her lips.
“Excuse me, sir?” I signaled to one of the workers.
“Hi there, how can I help you?” A cheery young man walked over.
“I’d like to speak to the store manager, please.”
“That would be me. What can I do for you?”
“We want this tree.”
“Okay.” He scanned the tag. “We have two left in stock. I’ll be right back.”
“No. I don’t think you understand me. We want this tree exactly how it is.”
“You mean, you want this tree as is?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “This tree with every piece of decoration on it and I want it delivered to my penthouse today.”
“Sir, I’m sorry, but that’s going to be impossible.”
“Is it?” I arched my brow as I took out my wallet and pulled out several one hundred-dollar bills.
He looked at the money and then up at me.
“I’ll tell you what. We can replicate this exact tree for you in your home.”
“When?” I asked as I pulled out a couple more hundred-dollar bills.
“We can have the tree and all the decorations to your home within the hour and get it all set up for you. I have my two tree decorators here today.”
“That is very kind of you, my friend.” I patted his back.
“Let’s go up to the front and I’ll ring you up and take all your information.” He smiled.
After picking up our stockings and paying for the tree, we headed out of the store.
“Were you trying to impress me, Mr. Chamberlain?” Georgia smirked.
“I didn’t think I had, but if it you were, bonus points for me.” I grinned.
As soon as we arrived back to the penthouse, Georgia took Ella, and I asked Jane to step into my office.
“Have a seat.” I gestured to the chair as I shut the door.
“I hope I did nothing wrong, Mr. Cambridge.”
“On the contrary, Jane. Since you came to fill in as my secretary, I think you’ve done an exceptional job. I would like to offer you a full-time position at Cambridge International as my personal secretary. You’ll receive full-time benefits including holiday bonuses, which by the way, I’ve never given out, but I am this year. You’ll receive exceptional health care coverage, including dental and vision care, paid vacation, 401K and sick pay.”
“Mr. Cambridge, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes.” I smiled.
“Yes. Oh my gosh, yes. I accept your offer.”
“Excellent. I’ll put in the paperwork tomorrow and I’ll call the temp agency to let them know you are now an employee of Cambridge International.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Cambridge.” She stood up from her chair and extended her hand.
“You’re very welcome, Jane. You deserve it.” I lightly shook her hand, then walked over and opened the door. “I’ll see tomorrow morning at the office.”
“Thank you again. By the way, I just love Ella. She’s an amazing little girl.”
“She is, isn’t she?” I smiled as she stepped into the elevator.
“You certainly made her happy,” Georgia said as she walked over and handed Ella to me.
“She’s a good worker and deserves a good job. That’s two amazing women I’ve hired today.” I smirked.
Louis called to inform me that the Christmas tree and the decorators had arrived. I told him to send them right up as I waited at the elevator. Once they wheeled the tree in on a cart and got it set up, Georgia and I took Ella into the kitchen and put her in her highchair to feed her dinner.
“I totally forgot to tell you, Kevin is coming over tonight after work,” I spoke.
“When did the two of you kiss and make up?” She glanced at me with a smirk across her lips. “Because as of yesterday morning, he said you were still being a douchebag.”
“Seriously? He called me that?”
“Well, you kind of were.” She smiled as she handed me Ella’s food and spoon.
“I’m going to apologize tonight. That’s why I called him. Does he know you never got on that bus to Minneapolis?”
“No. I haven’t told him.”
“Good. Then he’ll be pleasantly surprised when he gets here.”
After we fed Ella and wiped her face and hands, we gave her another dose of medicine.
“Excuse me, Mr. Cambridge. We’re finished with the tree.”
“Already? You ladies work fast. Let’s go take a look, shall we?” I asked Georgia.
We walked into the living and a smile crossed both our faces.
“Wow. That is absolutely gorgeous,” Georgia said.
“It certainly is. It’s beautiful.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out an extra hundred for each of the decorators and handed it to them. “Here’s a little something extra for doing such a superb job.”
“Thank you, Mr. Cambridge. It was our pleasure. Enjoy your evening.”
“You too,” I spoke as I walked them to the elevator.
Heading back to the living room, I found Georgia standing in front of the tree with Ella as she was showing her the ornaments.
“She loves it, Julian. Look at how she’s staring at the lights.”
“I knew she would.” I smiled.
“I’m going to take her upstairs and give her a bath.”
“Sounds good. Kevin should be here soon. Enjoy your bath, princess,” I spoke as I kissed Ella’s head.
Chapter 19
Julian
I heard the elevator ding, so I walked to the foyer just as Kevin stepped out.
“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this summoning?” he said.
“Stop being a smartass. Scotch?” I asked as he followed me to the living room.
“Sure. Wow, Julian. You actually got a Christmas tree this year? It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks. I can’t have a child in the house and not have a tree. What kind of father would that make me?” I handed him his drink.
“A shitty one. Not too far off from the ones we had.”
“True.” I sipped my scotch.
“Where is Ella?”
“She’s right here.” Georgia smiled as she came down the stairs and walked over to him.
“Georgia? Wha—what are you doing here?” he asked in shock as he kissed her cheek.
“Kevin, I would like you to meet Ella’s new nanny.”
“For real?” He grinned.
“Julian called me when I was at the bus station in a panic because Ella wouldn’t stop screaming and she had a fever of 104. So I came right over. Today he asked me to stay and I said yes.”
“That’s great. I’m so happy you’re staying in New York.”
“Thanks, Kevin. Me too. I’m going to take Ella back upstairs so the two of you can talk. We’re going to have some reading time. Isn’t that right, Ella?” Georgia spoke as she tickled her.
“Wow. Good for you for getting her back. I’m proud of you, man,” Kevin said.
“Listen. I want to apologize for what I said to you. I was in a bad place and—”
“You don’t have to explain. I forgive you.” Kevin said as they lightly hugged. “I’m just glad everything worked out. So does this mean the two of you are—you know.”
“Not yet. I’m taking things very slow. I’m not going anywhere and she’s not going anywhere. By the way, I hired Jane as my permanent full-tim
e secretary.”
“Good. I like her. She’s very efficient. Are you coming into the office tomorrow?” he asked.
“I am. But only for a half a day. Georgia and I are going for paint and furniture shopping for Ella’s bedroom.”
“Nice. You got a good thing here, Julian. Don’t screw it up.”
“There’s no way in hell I’m going to.”
“Listen, I’d love to stay, but I have a date.”
“A date? With whom?” The corners of my mouth curved upward.
“This woman I met. Her name is Kate, and she’s twenty-eight and gorgeous.”
“And where did you meet this Kate?”
“You’re never going to believe it, because I still can’t.”
I narrowed my eye at him. “Where did you meet her?”
“Target. In the toilet paper section.”
“What?” I let out a laugh. “The toilet paper section?”
“They only had one package left of the brand I use, and we both went to grab it at the same time. We looked at each other, laughed, and talked about how all toilet paper isn’t created equally. Then I let her have the package. She asked if she could buy me a cup of coffee as a thank you and I said yes. So we sat in the Starbucks inside of Target and we just talked for over two hours. It’s weird, man. We like had this instant connection.”
“It’s not weird at all, buddy. I totally understand that. So where are you taking her?”
“Tavern on the Green. It’s her favorite restaurant.”
“Well, you two enjoy yourselves,” I said as I hooked my arm around him and walked him to the elevator.
“We will. Thanks, Julian. I’ll fill you in tomorrow on all the details.”
He stepped into the elevator and pushed the button to the lobby.
“I heard you called me a douchebag?” I shouted before the doors shut.
“Damn right I did.” He smirked as he pointed at me. “Tell Georgia I said bye.”
I gave him a nod right as the doors closed.
“Kevin left already?” Georgia asked as she walked down the stairs.
“Yeah. He has a date tonight.”
“Wow. Good for him.” She smiled as she headed to the living room.
“Yeah. They met in the toilet paper section of Target.”
“What?” She turned her head and laughed.
“Is it really any different from the diaper section?” I asked.
“I guess not.”
“Is Ella asleep?”
“Yeah. She didn’t even make it through all of Goodnight Moon. I took her temperature and it’s down to 99.5.”
“Good. That’s good,” I said as I poured Georgia a glass of wine. After I handed it to her, I took a seat on the couch next to her with my scotch.
We sat there and stared at the Christmas tree while we sipped our drinks.
“Are you going to tell me why you didn’t want a real tree?” she asked.
“I hate the smell and too many bad memories. Every foster home I was in had one, including the home I lived in with my mother. I barely remember anything about living with her, but to this day, I can still smell the remnants of a real tree.”
“I can understand that.”
“Tell me about your experience,” I said as I brought the glass up to my lips.
“My grandmother took care of me until I was four. When she passed away, I was thrown into the system. After she died, I stopped talking for a year and I became an angry and unruly child. Most of the foster parents I was placed with, sent me back because they couldn’t handle me. I thought in my head if I was bad enough, I’d get to go back to my grandmother’s house. Then this nice couple took me in when I was eight, and I lived with them for a year, until the wife was killed in a car accident and the husband couldn’t handle it. So, he sent me back and moved away. Then I got placed with another family who just took in foster kids for the money so neither of them had to work. They drank a lot and had me take care of the younger children while they partied all night. After them, I was placed with another family. They were pretty cool, but I was fifteen and they knew they were only responsible for me until I turned eighteen. So, I stayed with them for three years, did well in school, got a job, sometimes two, and saved every penny I could for the day I left.” She stared at the tree. “I’ve always loved Christmas though. It always was and is my favorite time of year.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Because it’s the one time of the year that I could escape my reality.”
“What do you mean? I’m not sure I understand.”
“With all the decorations and the beautiful lights and trees, it takes an ordinary home and city and transforms it into a magical place. I could pretend, at least for a month, that I was somewhere different. A place full of magic where all of my problems disappeared.”
“I think I understand.” I softly smiled at her as I reached over and placed my hand on her shoulder.
She looked down at her glass as she ran her finger around the rim.
“It’s been a long day and I’m tired. I think I’ll head up to bed,” she spoke.
“Sure. Of course. I’m going to the office in the morning, but I’ll be back around noon and we can go shopping for paint and furniture for Ella’s room.”
“Sounds fun.” The corners of her mouth curved upward. “Goodnight, Julian,” she said as she got up from the couch.
“Goodnight, Georgia. Sleep well.”
Georgia
I climbed into bed and pulled the covers over me as I gripped the edge of the comforter. A part of me was incredibly happy to be here again, but there was still a piece of me that was screaming at me to run. But with each move I’d made over the years, came the constant pain of unsatisfaction. I loved Ella, and I loved taking care of her. As for Julian, I’d already fallen for him and that was what scared the hell out of me. I’d never had the feelings for a man that I had for him. I was comfortable here with him and Ella, and as I stood in the foyer earlier and listened to every word Julian spoke, I dared myself to stay. To stay in one place with the two people I cared about the most and face the fears that kept me running all those years.
Chapter 20
One Week Later
Julian
The nursery was finally complete, and I couldn’t have been happier. Light pink walls and linen colored furniture filled the space with love. Georgia had outdone herself picking out all the décor, and now my little princess had her very own room, which in all honesty was good for me. As much as I loved having her next to my bed, it put a hinder on certain activities I wanted to do with Georgia. I’d kept my promise to myself that I would take things slow. As far as I was concerned, a week was long enough and with any luck, after tonight, she’d be in my bed.
I left the office early and got a babysitter to watch Ella while I took Georgia out on a date. Not just any babysitter, though. I was very particular when it came to anyone watching my daughter.
“Hi.” I smiled as I walked into the living room.
“You’re home early today,” Georgia said as she handed Ella over to me.
“That’s because we’re going out tonight.”
“We are?” She smiled.
“Yep. Just the two of us.”
“Who’s watching Ella?”
“Kevin and Kate are coming over.”
“Really?”
“Really. So go get ready. They’ll be here in an hour.”
“I was just getting ready to feed Ella her dinner.”
“I’ll feed her. I missed this princess today.” I kissed the side of Ella’s head.
“Okay. Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Is there a specific dress code for this adventure?” Her brow arched.
“Casual clothes. And wear your boots. The snow is really coming down.”
I put Ella in her highchair, grabbed the baby food and sat down to feed her.
“I know how much you like Georgia
. So do I.” I placed the spoon in her mouth. “In fact, I’ve never met anyone like her. She makes our life better, right?”
Ella began babbling as loud as she could.
“I knew you’d agree.” I smiled. “I don’t want you to worry, because daddy is going to make sure she stays in our lives for a very long time.”
“Da-da.” She reached for the spoon.
“What? Did you just say what I think you did?”
“Da-da,” she said it again as she grabbed the spoon from my hand.
“Georgia!” I shouted as loud as I could. “Georgia!”
“What’s wrong?” she asked in a panic as she flew into the kitchen.
“Come here and listen.”
“Jesus, Julian. You scared me when you shouted like that.”
“Sorry about that. Say it again, Ella. Come on. You can say it for daddy.”
“Da-da.”
I looked at Georgia with a grin on my face.
“Oh my God. She said ‘Da-da.’”
“Da-da. Da-da.” Ella smiled as she banged the spoon on the tray of the highchair.
After I finished feeding and cleaning her up, I heard the elevator ding.
“Your Uncle Kevin is here.” I kissed Ella’s cheek as I carried her to greet Kevin and Kate.
“There’s the little princess.” Kevin smiled as he took her from me.
“Hello, Kate. It’s nice to see you again.” I kissed her cheek.
“Nice to see you too, Julian.”
After kissing Ella goodbye, Georgia and I headed out. When the cab pulled up to the entrance of Central Park, we climbed out and she looked around in confusion.
“We’re going to the park?” she asked.
“You’ll see. Give me your hand.” I held mine out to her, and we walked inside the park. “Your winter wonderland carriage ride awaits you.” I smiled.
“Stop it! You did not!” A wide grin fell upon her lips.
“Oh, but I did. Isn’t this one of the reasons why you came to New York?” I asked as I took her hand and helped her into the carriage.
“Yes.”