CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Cindy wiped at her lips with her napkin.“That was such a lovely dinner, Mr. Fortescue. Thank you for inviting us.”
Al Fortescue frowned. “It was not a lovely dinner. Baked turkey instead of a glazed ham is not a lovely Christmas dinner.”
Cindy grinned as Richard reached over and took her hand in his. When she looked over at him, he winked at her.
“Dad, it was still delicious.”
Al stiffened at the roll of his son’s eyes. “Of course it was delicious! Señora Vasquez is a brilliant cook!”
Cindy hid a chuckle at the older man’s cantankerous spirit.
Carol Ash set her napkin on the table and sat back in her chair. “She did a wonderful job accommodating two last minute guests. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with just Cindy and me at home this Christmas.”
“I’m sure it would have been wonderful.” Mr. Fortescue offered Carol a smile.
“We were happy to have you join us, Mrs. Ash.” Richard’s fingers were still curled around Cindy’s, and it gave her a warm feeling to watch him soothe her mother’s feelings. “From what I hear, this is Señora Vasquez restraining herself.”
“And all because of a darn heart attack!” Al huffed. “Even if you and your daughter hadn’t joined us, Richard was here. He doesn’t have food restrictions.”
Richard leaned closer to Cindy, muttering a rebuttal under his breath. “As if eating Señora Vasquez’s cooking was restricting. I don’t know how she did it, but the food was both healthy and delicious.”
“I hear good cooks can do that,” Cindy teased.
Richard kissed her cheek. “I’ve heard it too. I just never believed it until now.”
Carol looked over at Richard. “Where’s your friend? Cindy told me you brought a friend to Kansas City, and I thought he’d spend Christmas with you.”
“Peter already headed back to England, I’m afraid. He almost said no to my scheme when he found out how close it would be to Christmas.”
“Gillian’s going to be crushed.”
Richard turned a knowing smile to Cindy. “I wouldn’t count those two out just yet. Peter might move more slowly on these things than I do, but I saw the way he looked at your friend.”
“Just about everyone moves more slowly than you do,” Alastair boomed.
Everyone chuckled.
“Everyone acts like this was part of my plan.” Richard laughed as he kissed Cindy’s knuckles. “I was just as surprised as you guys!”
“You still walked off the plane and started flirting.” Cindy smiled at Richard. Affection swelled in her heart.
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is my personal aphrodisiac.”
“No, it’s not!” Cindy lightly punched him in the arm.
Richard rubbed his arm though he couldn’t help but chuckle as he did so. “No, it’s not.”
“You were enchanted with the girl leaning over its pages?” Carol guessed.
He nodded. “There she is. At least fifteen people are either arguing with someone or having a tearful reunion around her, and she’s not paying the slightest attention.”
Cindy flushed as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“I knew right then that I wanted to know what kind of a girl gets so wrapped up in a story that she’s deaf and blind to everything else around her.”
“How long were you watching me?”
Richard shrugged. “Only long enough for Peter to head into the restroom. Not long enough for it to get creepy, I promise.”
“What’s the plan after you leave?”
Alastair’s question hung in the air between them for a moment before Richard turned back to his father. “We haven’t figured that out yet. Between getting Charlotte settled in her new position and getting you back on your feet, I was expecting that it will be a few months before I go anywhere.”
Cindy breathed a sigh of relief.
“As much as we hope this is a longer-term commitment than just a few weeks, time will really tell.”
Cindy glanced over at Richard, and his nod told her that he understood what she was trying to say.
“It’s best to wait until we know what the future holds before we worry about what happens when Richard leaves.”
Carol turned an approving nod to her daughter. “It’s good to enjoy the time you have. You never know how long you get.”
Tears moistened Cindy’s eyes as she nodded. “Exactly.”
Richard squeezed Cindy’s hand again. “Do you have any New Year’s plans?”
“I usually spend it with my mom,” Cindy said. She glanced at her mother who shook her head. “It’s probably just a quiet night at home this year.”
“Well, I want you to leave the plans up to me then.” He looked up at Carol. “As long as it’s alright with you.”
Carol nodded. “Of course.”
“What are you planning?” Cindy eyed Richard with suspicion.
Richard grinned. “Well, until the other day, I had planned on dancing the night away at Union Station.”
Cindy grimaced as she shifted in her seat. Dancing on her broken ankle a little more than a week after the break? Nope.
“Your friend, Gillian, helped me find the next best thing.”
“What is that?”
Richard leaned in for a kiss which she gave him without protest. “That is a surprise, but I can promise you cocoa, a cozy blanket, Christmas lights, and a devoted admirer.”
“How can I ask for more?” she whispered as she kissed him again.
EPILOGUE
Six Months Later
Richard Fortescue secured his messenger bag over his shoulder as he exited the small grouping of gates at one of the small TSA checkpoints in the Kansas City International airport. His eyes scanned the crowd for the expected sight of his girlfriend. He shook his head and grinned as he looked over near the men’s restroom. Seated on a pleather airport seat, hunched over a book with her glasses slipping off her nose and her hair falling into her eyes, was his ride.
“Good book?” He lowered his voice to try and surprise her as he had when they first met.
“Oh yes!”
Cindy looked up as she brushed a strand of her hair out of her face. “You see, it’s a tradition—”
Her voice trailed off as recognition dawned. A grin stole over her face as she bounced out of her seat. “Richard!”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He shook with laughter as he held her in his arms.
“Hello to you too!” he said when she pulled away.
Her cheeks went pink, and she tucked a strand of her hair behind one ear. “I just missed you.”
He leaned in for another quick kiss. “I missed you too.”
Her eyes crinkled with her smile.
It should have comforted him, but the butterflies started fluttering with a vengeance. She’d just given him the perfect opening, the perfect opportunity for him to present his gift.
He wanted to throw up.
She didn’t seem to notice anything amiss because she just turned back to her seat and began gathering up her items.
He swallowed though it felt a bit like he had a large piece of broccoli stuck in his throat. "I'm so glad you celebrate Christmas in July. It makes this all the more special."
"Makes what more special?"
She wasn’t even looking at him. How could he get her to just turn and look at him for one tiny...
She looked over her shoulder, and before he could chicken out, he dropped to one knee.
She straightened as her eyes widened.
Did she not know what was happening? Please let her have some idea that this is coming.
He swallowed as his trembling fingers retrieved the velvet box in his pocket and revealed the vintage diamond ring his mother had given him in New York last week. “Cindy, I fell a little in love with you the first time I saw you right here in this airport seven months ago.”
He ha
d to suppress the urge to tug at his collar, but that wouldn’t make it any less tight.
Were those tears in her eyes? Happy tears? Sad tears? Please don’t. Just let me get this out first.
“It wasn’t until you ran out of the staff Christmas party that I realized how much I cared for you.”
One hand pressed against her heart as the other touched her lips.
“I’ve never been so happy in my whole life, and I owe that to you. So, Cindy, I have a question for you.”
The sounds of the airport faded to almost nothing. Out of his periphery, he noticed a gathering around them. One guy even had his cell phone out.
Focus, Fortescue. Get the job done.
“Yes?” Cindy’s voice squeaked as she prompted him to continue.
He smiled as he realized that she was just as anxious as he was about the whole thing. The confidence came more naturally as he looked into her hopeful face.
“Will you marry me, Cindy Ash?”
Before he knew what was happening, her lips were on his.
When she pulled back, she was kneeling in front of him with tears shining in her eyes.
The silence pounded in his ears.
“Yes, Richard Fortescue, I will marry you.” Cindy’s face lit up with a smile as she said the words.
Their audience broke into applause.
Richard exhaled as his heart expanded with relief and love. His fingers shook as he pulled the ring from the velvet. “This belonged to my grandmother. She was married to my grandfather for almost sixty years before she died.”
Cindy had tears welling up in her eyes as he slid the ring onto her finger. Perfect fit.
“I love you.” His voice felt thick as he leaned in for another kiss.
“I love you too,” she said as their lips touched.
They received a few congratulations as the crowd dissipated. Richard tightened his grip on his new fiancee as she snuggled closer to him.
When they were alone again, she looked up at him. “Shall we go home?”
“I was actually going to talk to you about that.”
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Oh?”
“How would you feel if I moved to Kansas City?”
She pulled away and studied his face. “What about your job? I mean, isn’t it in New York?”
He trapped air in his cheeks before he blew it out over a period of a few seconds.
“Richard?”
“I resigned.”
Her eyebrows shot high into the air. “You what?”
Even before she had reacted, he put his hands up to mollify her. “I know what that sounds like. Let me just start by telling you that I’m financially secure. I didn’t give you my grandmother’s ring because I couldn’t afford anything else.”
She rolled her eyes. “Richard!”
He threw his hands up in the air in surrender. “Hey, it’s a logical assumption that you’d be concerned about my finances after I just pledged to share them with you for the rest of my life!”
She crossed her arms over her chest with an expectant look. “You were saying?”
He ran his hands over his face. “This isn’t going as well as I expected. I thought you’d be happy I was moving.”
She took a step toward him even as she shook her head with a rueful expression on her lips. “It’s not that I’m not happy. It’s that I’d like to hear more about this plan.” She let out a throaty chuckle which seemed to indicate how un-funny the whole situation was. “Actually, I would have loved to have heard this plan about a week and a half ago.”
He furrowed his brow. “Why?”
“It’s a very O’Henry-style tale,” she laughed.
“The Gift of the Magi?”
She nodded though he was still puzzled. What did an unwise pauper and his equally unwise wife have anything to do with them?
“I was just offered a job in New York!” She reached into her large bag for a small envelope with his name on it which she handed to him. “I was going to surprise you over dinner.”
He stared at the envelope before he looked up at her.
“You want to move to New York?”
The idea hadn’t even occurred to him. He looked back up at her, staring into her face.
“I mean, your mom. My dad. It makes so much more sense, doesn’t it?”
She went back and forth for a moment before she nodded. “I get it, and honestly, it’s not the end of the world if I call Random House back and turn down the job.”
His eyes grew wide. “Random House offered you a job?’
She nodded.
“That’s huge, Cindy.”
She shrugged as if people didn’t wait their whole lives for a break like this one. Her modesty continued to astound him. “I’ve been thinking about breaking out of the publishing end of things and breaking into the writing end.”
She glanced up at him as if awaiting his approval.
“Hey, I think you’re a fantastic writer!” He pulled her into a hug. “You do what you want to do. I’m here either way.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded as a wry smile stole on his features. “Of course, my plans to start a new business might have to be tweaked if you choose New York.”
This time, her eyes widened to nearly twice their normal size. “New business? What?”
He nodded. “Peter—you remember him, don’t you?—Peter was complaining about his current job, and somehow we came up with the idea that maybe we open a security firm together. He’d handle the actual security part of things, and I’d handle the business.”
“And you think this would work best in Kansas City?” She seemed skeptical. “New York seems like a better idea.”
“We’d be tripping over security firms,” he said with a shake of his head. “Besides, Kansas City has a couple of things that New York doesn’t have right now.”
“The Royals?”
He reached over and tickled her side, and she squirmed and squealed in delight. “The Royals? Seriously?”
She giggled as his hands stilled.
“Okay, fine. What are these assets?”
“Well, one is you, obviously.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He wanted so much to bend down and kiss those lips right now. He swallowed down the urge. If he had his way, it wouldn’t be long before he could kiss those lips all he wanted. A week tops. “The other is—”
“Gillian.” she finished his sentence before he could.
He nodded.
She chewed on this for a moment before she sighed. “I know you think Peter likes her, but Gillian isn’t so sure anymore.”
“I know.” Richard reached down for his messenger back and small carry-on bag as Cindy gathered up her massive shoulder bag. “All I can tell you is that Peter is safe, and that he’s still asking about her.”
He could feel Cindy’s eyes as he guided them through the airport crowd and down to the parking garage. “You make it sound like he was in some sort of black ops mission or something.”
He glanced down at her with a grimace. “Or something.”
His future bride’s eyes widened with shock. “I knew he worked in security. I never imagined—”
“That’s the way it needs to stay.”
She nodded as she mimed zipping her lips shut.
He managed a thin smile as they got onto the escalator. “You might want to prepare Gillian for the idea that he may or may not have signed one or more non-disclosure agreements that will leave most of what has happened over the last several months a mystery.”
Again, she just nodded.
Richard heaved a sigh as they walked out into the parking lot. He hated to keep anything from Cindy, but he was glad to see she could respect legal restrictions on his disclosure.
Each clack of Cindy’s heels against the pavement echoed in the silence. "So, how'd you know I celebrate Christmas in July?"
Cindy’s eyes were on her new engagement ring as Richard unlocked the Honda with her keys
.
He looked over at her when she glanced over at him with an inquiring eye. “You were reading Harry Potter.” He winked. “Congratulations on getting to book two!"
“Of course!” Cindy blushed though the grin on her lips told him that she wasn’t all that upset with him. “It’s tradition!”
Richard just laughed. The heaviness from earlier was almost gone. How glad he was to be marrying this marvel beside him.
“It’s nice to know you celebrate Christmas in July too.”
He shrugged. “You know me, I’m just a hopeless romantic!”
“Not just any hopeless romantic.” She pulled him close as they approached the car. She snaked her arms around his neck. “You’re my hopeless romantic, and I have the ring to prove it.”
A Little Christmas Conflict
Need a Little Christmas Book Two
Sneak Peek
CHAPTER ONE
“Ready for lunch?”
Gillian Montgomery looked up at the doorway where her friend, Cindy Ash, stood with a smile. “Lunch?”
Cindy tapped her watch. “Yeah. Lunch. You know, that meal between breakfast and dinner?”
Gillian shook off the mental haze which always seemed to show up when she worked on the quarterly reports. She’d been the Vice President of Acquisitions at Fortescue Publishing for almost a year, and she wasn’t sure she would ever get the hang of this part of her job.
She rubbed her temple as she turned a tired smile up to her friend. “Yeah, we were going to try that new organic restaurant at the mall, right?”
Cindy raised the white binder in her hands, and Gillian wondered how it had escaped her notice. It was over three inches wide and in plain view. Those reports had taken more out of her than she’d thought. “I thought we could go over some of the centerpiece options for the wedding.”
Though Gillian’s brain ached at the prospect of more analysis, she reached behind her and grabbed her coat. “Did you decide whether you wanted red or white roses yet?”
Cindy grimaced. “The wedding’s only a month away. I should be able to decide, right?”
A Little Christmas Pretense Page 13