by Holly Rayner
Chase sat down next to her, running a hand over his eyebrow. “What do we do now, oh Ghost of Christmas Present?”
Annabelle stifled a yawn. Her real answer was fall asleep, but she couldn’t do that just yet. She had to find the will to get back home, but it seemed so far away she couldn’t quite bring herself to rise.
“Have you ever watched White Christmas?” she asked.
Chase shook his head, leaning back and tilting his head to look at her. “Nope. Should we put it on?”
“Sure,” Annabelle said, smiling sleepily.
Turning on the TV, Chase spoke the movie’s name into the remote, and it popped up for instant purchase.
“Woah, you can do that?” Annabelle said.
“Of course. What century are you living in?”
“Apparently the Middle Ages. Yeesh.”
Chase ordered the movie, and as the musical interlude began, Annabelle felt the pull of sleep. She felt the vague sensation of laying down, a warm body cradling her from behind as she snuggled deeper into the blanket.
FOURTEEN
It seemed as though only a moment had passed when Annabelle regained consciousness, and opened an eye. The room was bright with the light of morning, and she had to take a moment to remember just where exactly she was. Then she realized she was still on Chase’s couch, and there was a heavy arm draped over her.
Uh-oh.
Annabelle peeked behind her, seeing the peaceful, sleeping face of Chase Frost as he breathed softly in and out. Even first thing in the morning he looked perfect, she mused, and then chided herself. She had made a huge mistake indulging in an evening with him, and the last thing she wanted was to complicate her life with any kind of romantic feelings toward the man. How could she be so quick to forget he was her enemy!
Still, as she snuggled under the soft blanket with him cradling her, Annabelle felt so warm and safe that it took everything in her to slowly slide off the sofa and out of the circle of his arms.
As she stood and stretched, her movement woke him up, and she was met with a pair of striking green eyes.
God, he was sexy in the morning.
Annabelle smiled awkwardly. “Good morning,” she said, clearing her throat.
Chase sat up and stretched, his white shirt wrinkled beyond reparation, his blond hair tousled. Annabelle realized in that moment that her attraction to him was getting dangerous.
“I should get going,” she said, taking a step towards her shoes.
“Wait,” he said and she paused, turning to face him again.
Chase looked as though he was about to say something when his gaze darted past her, and he grinned. “Look.”
Annabelle turned toward the window. To her surprise the air was filled with thick, fluffy snowflakes.
“It’s actually snowing!” she cried, running over to the window. From the penthouse, it was as though she were a part of the sky.
She felt Chase approach from behind, and he stood next to her as they stared out at the frosty flakes tumbling from the sky towards the earth.
“It’s amazing,” Annabelle breathed. “Sometimes I forget that Seattle ever gets anything other than rain.”
“It certainly doesn’t happen often,” Chase said, turning to face her.
Reluctantly, she gazed up at him. His morning stubble made him look rugged, making her stomach and heart do flips, reminding her that she really needed to escape him.
“Why don’t you stay a little longer?” he said gently.
It was strange to hear him ask nicely for something. Until this day, every interaction they’d had had been combative. The sincerity of his tone was enough to give Annabelle pause, even as she knew better.
“I can’t. You might not have noticed, but I’ve been in the same ball gown for two days, now.”
“I can fix that. Besides, it’s Christmas Eve, and it’s become apparent that I’ve no idea how to celebrate it properly. If I can procure some fresh clothing for you, would you be willing to spend a day showing me how it’s done?”
Annabelle hesitated, thinking. The man was asking her to enjoy a fun Christmas Eve with him, to show him how it was done. She hadn’t trained as a tour guide for nothing, had she? Besides, Seattle had some of the best things to do for Christmas fun.
She crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow at him. “You can get me fresh clothes?” she asked, skeptical.
“Within the hour,” he confirmed, his lip twitching.
He knew he’d won her over. It was almost enough to make her consider running for the hills, but against all of her better judgement, she found herself agreeing to his terms.
“I’ll take a sweater and some jeans, please. Oh, and comfortable walking shoes.”
Chase nodded and headed in the direction of the kitchen. “Easily done. Let me make the call.”
“You have someone you can call to pick up women’s clothing? How many women do you have to dress on the fly around here?”
“I have a personal assistant that can accomplish anything I ask. I’m sure she’ll be able to find just the thing for you.”
Chase picked up his phone and gave the directions to his assistant before hanging up. When he turned to Annabelle, he clapped his hands together.
“So! What shall we do today?”
His expression was relaxed and cheerful, and Annabelle found she quite enjoyed this version of Chase Frost. She grabbed her purse and checked her phone, which had a fair amount of battery left to say it hadn’t been charged through the night.
“Before we head out, we need to go to the grocery store.”
“What for?” he asked, sitting on the couch across from her.
Annabelle tried not to be disappointed at his distance. They were becoming friends. That was all. Perhaps, if she showed him what true friendship meant, he’d be willing to do more to help her cause of saving others from pollution, both visual and otherwise.
Then again, could she call it true friendship if she had a clear and obvious motive? She shook off the thought.
“We need to get you the proper foodstuffs for a Christmas Eve dinner. Actually, let me check your kitchen and see what you have.”
Annabelle stood and walked over to the kitchen. The fridge was nearly empty, filled only with a jar of pickles, some condiments, and a few take-out containers.
“Wow, do you eat at all?”
Chase laughed from the living room, and Annabelle peeked out from behind the fridge to see him on his phone.
“Hey, none of that!” she teased. “Today’s Christmas Eve. No business happens for the next two days, at least.”
Chase sighed and pressed the button to shut his phone off. “Fine, but if my company goes under, I’m blaming you.”
“Your company can survive for a day or two without you. Besides, no one else is really working; no one really works this close to the holidays, they just pretend to while watching the clock.”
“Is that so?”
“It is. You’d be better served giving all your employees Christmas through New Year’s off so they can recharge and be ready to work harder in the New Year.”
“You certainly have strong opinions about how the work force should be run. Perhaps I should hire you on as an advisor.”
Annabelle laughed, continuing her search through his cupboards and cabinets. There was extremely little to work with, but at least he had cookie sheets and some basic baking supplies. “Never. I’ll never work in an office for as long as I live.”
“There’s nothing wrong with working in an office,” he said, heading to the kitchen and leaning his elbows on the granite counter.
“Maybe not for you. Have you ever even noticed the looks on your workers’ faces? They’re miserable! That cube farm you call an office looks like a prison, and they feel it. I saw it in their eyes.”
Chase frowned as he took in that bit of information, but before he could respond, the room was filled with a pleasant ringing sound. “That would be my assistant,” he said, walki
ng to the door.
When he opened it, a young woman in smart-casual attire handed him a large shopping bag.
“Thank you, Chelsea.”
“You’re welcome, sir. Anything else I can get you today?”
Chase glanced back at Annabelle, then turned back to his assistant. “Nothing at all. Why don’t you take the next two days off, and don’t think about work whatsoever, okay? I won’t be needing anything.”
Chelsea blinked, as though she didn’t quite understand what he’d just said. “Sir?” she asked uncertainly.
“You heard correctly. Take a break. I’ll be in touch in a few days.”
Unable to help herself, Chelsea broke out into a huge grin. “Thank you, sir! I hope you have a happy holiday!”
“You, too. And thank you for your hard work.”
Chelsea looked like she was about to cry. “You’re welcome,” she breathed.
Chase closed the door and walked back over to Annabelle, handing her the bag of clothing. “Here you go,” he said. “As promised.”
Annabelle took the bag from him, her expression thoughtful. “Have you ever given that girl a day off before?”
Chase hesitated for a moment, clearly knowing she wouldn’t like the answer. “She’s had days off, when she’s asked for them. Generally, my people just don’t ask for time off. It’s bad for business.”
“Man, you sound like the worst manager ever.”
“I’ve done what I needed to in order to succeed. Wealth means to power and influence, and I now have both, and a board that bows down to me.”
“Well I don’t bow down to you,” Annabelle sniffed. “And I’m going to tell it like it is, so you better be ready for some hard truths because I don’t sugarcoat things.”
“You? The sweet woman who insists that I embrace the traditions of Christmas?”
He was trying to change the subject. Not wanting to fight with him on Christmas Eve, Annabelle huffed and took her bag to the bathroom.
Chelsea had been thorough. She’d included several pairs of jeans of varying sizes as well as a big comfy sweater with a T-shirt to go under it. A study pair of boots and thick socks were also included, as well as a beautiful cashmere scarf in pillar-box red.
Annabelle changed quickly, relishing in the feeling of wearing pants again before brushing her teeth with a finger and sneaking some of Chase’s mouthwash. She combed her fingers through her hair a few times before exiting the bathroom.
She found Chase in the living room. He had already changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater, and Annabelle couldn’t help noticing how sexy he looked in casual clothes. She cleared her throat, pushing down the urge to wrap her arms around him.
Chase gazed at her with expectation in his eyes. “Well, what now?”
“To the grocery store!” she announced, and her host grinned.
“Carbs and materialism it is, then.”
FIFTEEN
At the grocery store across the street, they bought all the ingredients they needed for a Christmas dinner and treats—including eggnog, of course—and headed back to Chase’s apartment building laden with bags.
“You’re tempted to call Chelsea to carry these home for you, aren’t you?” Annabelle teased as they waited for the elevator to reach his floor.
“I’m perfectly capable of carrying my own groceries.”
“You don’t have any groceries,” she reminded him.
“I don’t generally have time for that kind of thing. Besides, I thought you said you didn’t like to bake.”
Annabelle grinned as she filled his fridge up with delicious foodstuffs for later. They would spend the day sightseeing around the city, after which she planned to cook a nice, yummy meal that would hopefully last him a few days with the leftovers. She didn’t like how empty his fridge was, and it only added to the bleakness of the apartment.
“I said I didn’t like to bake, not that I couldn’t. Besides, Christmas cookies are an obvious exception.”
“Christmas seems to make everything an exception to you,” Chase observed, handing her the last of the baking supplies from his bag.
“Why wouldn’t it be? Now, we need to get this dough chilling so we can do our cutouts later. Can you get me the measuring cups and bowls?”
Chase obliged in finding Annabelle all the tools she needed to make a decent batch of cookies. When the dough was mixed, she handed him the wooden spoon.
“For washing?” he asked.
Annabelle rolled her eyes. “My God, didn’t your nannies have any sense? That’s cookie dough, Chase. You get to lick the spoon.”
“But it’s raw egg and flour.”
“Just try some!” she huffed.
Chase picked a glob of dough from the spoon and smelled it suspiciously before popping it into his mouth. After a pause, he smiled. “Okay, that is delicious.”
Annabelle’s grin was triumphant. “Told you!”
“Now don’t be getting cocky. I’m experiencing a lot of new things today. If you’re going to have to say you told me so every time, it’s going to be a long day.”
“Fair enough,” she replied, wrapping the dough in and setting it in the fridge while Chase licked the spoon clean. She set the dishes to soak in the pristine sink and turned back toward Chase. “That can wait until later. Are you ready to go on our first adventure?”
“Absolutely,” he said, a twinkle in his eye.
Annabelle realized, then, that it had probably been years since Chase had taken a day off of work, and he was long overdue for some good, old-fashioned fun. Grabbing her purse and donning her jacket, she padded over to the door, which Chase opened for her.
“Should I call the car?” he asked, but Annabelle shook her head.
“Today we’re giving your staff the day off. Besides, it wouldn’t be as much of an adventure if we kept ourselves apart from the world. It’s time for you to rejoin it—there are people outside of your tower, Chase.”
“I know that,” he said.
“Do you? Let’s find out.”
They hit the sidewalk and Annabelle pulled out her phone again, mapping out their path. It was a short walk to the first destination, the Fairmont Olympic Hotel.
“First stop is teddy bears and Christmas trees!” she said brightly.
When Chase paused, looking skeptical, Annabelle grabbed his hand and dragged him into the lobby, where tree after decadent tree stood decorated to the nines with lights, tinsel and ornaments of all kinds. There was a warm, cozy glow in the air, and many Seattleites were there to admire the trees. Annabelle kept walking until she reached the teddy bear exhibit.
“What’s the entry fee?” Chase asked, releasing her hand and reaching for his wallet.
“Nothing, but there’s a suggested donation to the Seattle Children’s Hospital,” she said, reading the sign at the front.
“Well then, that’s easy,” Chase said, pulling out his wallet and slipping a hundred-dollar bill into the donation box.
Annabelle smiled up at him. “That was generous of you,” she said.
Chase’s eyes were shining as he gazed back down at her. “‘Tis the season, right?”
“Sure is,” she agreed, leading the way into the exhibit.
Inside, the walls were covered with deep red curtains, some of which were striped with green and gold. Wreathes of golden bells and greenery were hung around the space, and in the center of the room there was a huge bed covered in teddy bears of every shape and size. Jingle bell decorations hung from the ceiling, draping down over the room.
A little girl and boy were standing before the bed, picking out bears to snuggle as their parents looked on, holding hands.
Annabelle crouched down next to the little girl. “Do you think you could help us? You see, my friend here has never had a proper Christmas before, and this is his first time with any of this.”
The girl’s eyes widened, as though she couldn’t fathom anyone not getting to celebrate Christmas. She looked up at Chase, who sh
ifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
“You’ve never gotten to have Christmas before?” she asked in wonder.
Chase shook his head, glancing at Annabelle. “Not really. What do you suggest?”
The girl looked at the bed before jumping on it and pulling the biggest bear from the pile. She held it out to Chase.
“You can have the big one. You need it more than I do.”