An Unexpected Holiday Gift

by Martha Kennerson

  “I’m not—”

  “It’s a business trip. You’ll have your own space, and I’m always the perfect gentleman. Unless you ask me not to be.” He gifted her with a sexy smile.

  “Excuse me,” Sandra said as she entered the office. “Mia, you have a conference call in ten minutes and, KJ, you told me to remind you when Coach Hooper was starting her playtime with the kids.”

  Keylan checked his watch. “Oh, wow, I can’t believe it’s after three.” He stood and collected his notes from the meeting. “We’ll continue this tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Mia watched Keylan walk out the door, feeling like everything she’d thought she knew about the man might not be true, and she didn’t know how she felt about that fact.

  “Are you all right?” Sandra asked, frowning.

  “What? Yes, of course.” Mia shook her head and returned to her desk. “Why are you asking?”

  “You look...confused.” Sandra gave her a sideways look.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Do I have all the reports I need for my call?”

  Sandra placed her hands on her hips. “Yes. I emailed you all the reports you requested.”

  “Great.” Mia reached for her desk phone. “Let’s get back to work.”

  Unfortunately “tomorrow” seemed to be elusive to both Mia and Keylan. For the next few days they were like two ships passing each other at sea. Their interactions at the office were brief and professional. Just the way she wanted it...or so she thought. The media attention around Keylan and the Kingsleys’ business was intense. They’d hired additional security to ensure everyone’s safety and privacy was protected. Between Keylan’s rehab schedule, his personal business responsibilities and acting as executive director for their foundation, he was busy.

  Mia couldn’t understand why Keylan’s demanding schedule annoyed her so much, since he was meeting all his commitments at the foundation and with the kids. Especially Colby. She knew her annoyance toward Keylan was personal, yet she wasn’t sure how she wanted to deal with her feelings. A physical attraction was one thing; an emotional pull was something else entirely.

  Chapter 9

  Mia stood at the registration table that had been set up just inside the doors of the bowling alley the Kingsleys had commandeered for their annual bowling tournament. The large twenty-four-lane facility had been redesigned and branded in such a way that left no doubt who was sponsoring the event. The Kingsley Foundation name and logo were everywhere. Mia had stuffed bags with candy and other goodies for the kids as she’d watched the final touches being put in place.

  “Good morning,” Sandra greeted her, handing Mia a cup of coffee.

  “Thank you,” she said, accepting the cup with a big smile. “And good morning to you, too.”

  “Wow, this place looks great and completely different from the last time I was here.”

  Mia nodded. “Yep, Victoria and Elizabeth basically gutted the place and put their own stamp on it.”

  “Did they buy the bowling alley?”

  “Not outright. It’s an investment,” Mia explained.

  “A bowling alley?”

  Mia shrugged. “Rich people.”

  “Well, it looks great and I love how open it is now. You can see everything as soon as you walk in the place. All the wide lanes, state-of-the-art game rooms for the kids and adults and two large concession stands. But my favorite thing is the two massive bars in the middle of the place...one for kids and one for adults. What a great idea.”

  “I know,” Mia replied before taking another sip of her coffee.

  “I love these event shirts, too.” Sandra looked down at the one she wore.

  “Nothing says Kingsley Foundation more than a white T-shirt with their name surrounded by kids’ handprints.”

  “Where’s Colby?”

  “He’s with my aunt. He’ll be here later,” Mia explained.

  “And KJ? I’m surprised he’s not here yet.” Sandra looked around the room.

  Mia placed her cup on the table and went back to stuffing her bags. “I have no idea. It’s eight o’clock on a Saturday morning. There’s no telling what or who he was into last night, but I’m sure he’ll stroll in here at some point before everything gets started.”

  Sandra gave Mia the evil eye. “What’s up with you? That was even catty for me.”

  Mia picked up her coffee and took another drink. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yeah, you do, and she’s right.

  Sandra started stuffing bags with candy. “KJ’s been great these past few days. What makes you think he’ll slack off now?”

  Mia offered a dismissive wave. “Never mind me, I’m just tired and anxious about the event.”

  “Why? Everything looks great and we’ve got nearly all the lanes sold. It still amazes me how people line up to give ten thousand just to bowl with a bunch of old people.”

  “Really? Many bowling champions and athletes are donating their time to our cause.”

  “I guess, but it’s still bowling. I could see golf. It was cool how KJ got some of his teammates to participate. Thank goodness, they didn’t have a game.”

  “Yeah, and next week’s game is in town.”

  A wide smile spread across Sandra’s face. “Someone’s been checking out the schedule.”

  “Have not... Well, maybe I glanced at it.”

  Sandra nudged Mia with her elbow. “Go for it, girl. He’s obviously interested in you and I know you like him.”

  “Oh, please.” Mia turned away from Sandra and started opening another box of bags. “Even if I did like him like that, and I’m not saying that I do, men like him have limited interest when it comes to women.”

  “You might have a point.”

  Mia could hear the change in Sandra’s voice. She turned to ask why when she saw for herself.

  Keylan, who was wearing jeans, their event T-shirt and his branded sneakers, was walking through the door with a beautiful, tall, athletically built woman at his side. They were laughing as they made their way to the table.

  “Good morning, ladies.” Keylan greeted the women with a smile.

  “Good morning, KJ,” Sandra replied.

  She’s far too beautiful to be anything other than a runway model and his girlfriend. No wonder he’s been so busy.

  Who cares... Stop it and focus.

  “Morning,” Mia said, her tone flat.

  “This is my friend Becky B. She plays guard for the Rivers.”

  See, she’s just his friend. Wait, why are you so invested in this man’s personal life? Stop it!

  “And the baddest sister in the WNBA.” Sandra complimented, extending her hand.

  Becky B shook her hand, saying, “Thanks, but I think Cynthia Cooper would disagree with you.”

  Sandra nodded. “She’s cool, too.”

  “It’s nice meeting you,” Mia said, shaking her hand.

  “Where do you want me?” she asked.

  “How about lane twelve? I want you right in the center of all the action.” Keylan pointed in the direction of the lanes.

  “Sounds good to me,” Becky replied, rubbing her hands together.

  “Sandra, can you please hook Becky B up with one of our event shirts?” Keylan asked.

  “Sure thing, follow me, Becky.” Sandra waved her forward.

  “So...” Mia went back to stuffing bags.

  “So...what?” Keylan leaned against the table.

  “You invited Becky B as your special guest or something?” She kept her eyes on her bags.

  “Actually, I invited Becky B and a few more of my friends to come help out today. You know, raise the bar a bit.” Keylan picked up one of the bags and started examining its contents.

  Mia
brought both hands to her hips. “Excuse me. Raise the bar?”

  “Yeah, I mean this little event has been fine—”

  “Fine! I’ll have you know that we raise nearly fifty thousand dollars a year for local charities, which the foundation matches, putting on this little event.” She emphasized the word, frowning.

  “Don’t take my comments personally.” Keylan placed the bag on the table. “I’ve told my aunt for years that she needed to bump up the glam factor in order to raise more money.”

  “‘Bump up the glam factor,’” she repeated, folding her arms across her chest, shifting her weight from her left to her right leg.

  “Yes. See, what I have in mind is adding a special guest to play with each team and expanding from twelve teams to twenty-four. Our new theme is bowling with special guests,” he explained excitedly.

  “So you’re just going to change the game plan...today?” she asked, not even trying to hide her anger.

  “It’s just a change to how the teams will be structured. That’s all.”

  “And what about the kids? Half of the lanes have been earmarked for them, so they can participate, too. Your plan is to just, what? Keep them in the game room and out of the way during the whole event?” Her face went blank and her voice had taken on a harsh tone.

  “Whoa, calm down.” He held up both hands. “That’s not at all what I had in mind. The kids are the special guests. Each team of four will consist of one celebrity type and one of our kids. The forty-eight folks we have signed up will be divided among the twenty-four teams. I spent the last couple of days recruiting people to not only make a donation, doubling the financial gains to our cause, but to give up a couple of hours of their time, too. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew I could pull it off. I wouldn’t want to disappoint you.”

  Way to go, Mia. You jumped to conclusions about him again. Mia dropped her arms and lowered her eyes briefly before meeting his gaze again. “That’s actually a wonderful idea,” she conceded.

  “Did that hurt much?” Keylan asked, the corners of his mouth turning up.

  Mia returned to stuffing her bags. “Little bit.”

  Keylan threw his head back and released a laugh that captured several bystanders’ attention. “Gotta love your honesty.”

  Keylan’s smile and laughter sent waves of desire through Mia’s body. She needed a distraction so she checked her watch and asked, “So where’re the rest of your recruits?”

  Before he could respond he heard, “KJ, you ready to get schooled, son?”

  Mia turned toward the sound. Her mouth opened and quickly closed as she watched several sports stars from football, basketball, baseball and even hockey walk through the door.

  “How?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  Keylan leaned down and whispered, “I have a lot of friends and I’m very good at convincing people to do what I want.”

  The warmth of Keylan’s breath on her skin and the masculine smell of his cologne had her light-headed. “I bet,” she murmured.

  Keylan returned to his full height. “Excuse me while I go direct everyone to where they need to go.”

  Mia watched as Keylan shook hands with his friends before leading them to the table where they collected their event shirts. “That man is nothing like you expected,” she murmured.

  * * *

  After leading each celebrity to their assigned lanes, Keylan stood and watched Mia as she coordinated everyone’s activities and movements from the bar placed in the middle of the room. She was like a conductor directing her orchestra. He laughed at how fast her short legs moved her from one spot to the other. His body stirred when she bent to pick up something she’d dropped. He had to stop his mind and body from reacting to sexy thoughts while he stood in the middle of such a public place.

  “I’m here, cuz. Where do you want me?” Travis asked, walking up behind Keylan.

  Keylan turned and greeted his cousin with a fist bump. “You’ll be playing on lane seventeen.”

  “Cool.” Travis took in his surroundings. “Wow, this place looks great. I love the adult bar and the old-fashioned soda and ice cream station for the kids. There’s a little something for everyone.”

  “Yeah, Aunt Liz’s idea. You have to check out the game rooms. There’s one for kids and adults. The adult one has everything you’d want in a man cave.”

  Travis smirked. “That’s my mother for you. So, where’s your girl?”

  “My girl?” Keylan replied, knowing exactly who he was referring to.

  “Yes, Mia. I don’t see her.” Travis turned and scanned the room again.

  “She’s not my girl and she’s in the lounge,” Keylan confirmed.

  “Keeping up with her?” Travis teased.

  Yes. “No.”

  “Why don’t you just ask her out already?” Travis leaned against the bar.

  “Look, we talked about—”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Kingsley.” A young woman wearing a foundation volunteer shirt interrupted the two men. “They need you in the lounge. Miss Mia hurt herself.”

  Keylan took off running toward the lounge with Travis on his heels. His heart was beating so fast he just knew Travis could hear it pounding.

  Keylan walked into the lounge to find Mia standing in front of a small sink with her left hand under the faucet. There was blood-stained gauze littering the counter and the floors.

  “Hold still, Mia,” Sandra demanded.

  “It’s fine. I just need to wrap it up,” Mia insisted.

  “We’ve tried that...twice. You need a doctor.” Sandra’s nose crinkled.

  “What happened?” Keylan asked as he walked up and stood behind Mia.

  “It’s nothing,” Mia replied.

  “It doesn’t look like nothing to me.” Keylan’s jaw clenched.

  “She cut her hand with a box cutter,” Sandra volunteered as she wrapped Mia’s hand in a towel. “We can’t seem to stop the bleeding for very long.”

  “You need to get to a doctor,” Travis suggested.

  “No, I just need a few butterfly stitches. We sent someone for the large first-aid kit in the office,” Mia explained matter-of-factly.

  “That’s about a three-inch cut—you need some sutures,” Keylan countered. “Excuse me, Sandra. May I?” He held out his left hand and Sandra released Mia’s into his. He gently held Mia’s hand while he unwrapped the towel. Her skin was soft and delicate, and Keylan suddenly had the urge to kiss it, as if that could make it better. “Yep, you need sutures.”

  “Here’s the kit,” another volunteer said, walking into the lounge.

  “That won’t be necessary.” Keylan pulled out his keys and stared down at Mia. “I’m taking you to urgent care.”

  Chapter 10

  Mia still couldn’t believe how insistent Keylan had been in getting her to a doctor. He made her feel a certain kind of way: protected and cared for, when she knew she shouldn’t allow such feelings to creep into her heart. “This is ridiculous,” Mia complained, sitting in an exam room of the nearby urgent care facility. “The bleeding has slowed down considerably.”

  “Yes, but it hasn’t stopped,” Keylan said, keeping his eye on the magazine he was reading as he sat across from the exam table where Mia was perched.

  “Sandra could have driven me, you know.”

  “I know.” Keylan flipped another page.

  The exam room door opened. “Good morning, Ms. Ramirez. I’m Dr. Moon.” The handsome doctor introduced himself as he entered the room, reading her name from a tablet. “I understand you have a nasty cut.”

  “That she does,” Keylan offered.

  “Oh, wow, KJ. Nice to meet you, man,” Dr. Moon replied, his eyes wide with surprise as he extended his hand.

  “Nice to meet you, too. H
er hand is a mess.” Keylan stood and shook the doctor’s hand.

  “Let’s let the doctor make that determination, if you don’t mind,” Mia said, giving Keylan the evil eye.

  The doctor washed and dried his hands before putting on a pair of latex gloves. He removed the towel and examined Mia’s hand. “That’s a pretty deep cut. May I ask how this happened?”

  “I was careless with a box opener,” Mia explained.

  “If you would’ve asked, I would have taken care of it for you,” Keylan chastised, moving to stand next to Mia.

  “I’m perfectly capable of handling things myself.” Yeah, if you hadn’t been thinking about him.

  “Really now?” He offered her a lazy smile.

  The doctor cleared his throat. “You’re going to need a few stitches. I’ll clean and medicate your wound, stitch you up, and you’ll need a tetanus shot, too.”

  “Um...a tetanus shot?” Mia bit her bottom lip.

  “Wait—don’t tell me Miss I Can Handle Things Myself is afraid of a little shot,” Keylan teased.

  Mia glared up at Keylan as the doctor pulled out a surgical tray and started working on her hand.

  “This may sting a bit. It’s a liquid antibiotic.”

  “Would you like me to hold your other hand?” Keylan smirked.

  Mia rolled her eyes. “Go ahead, Doctor. I’ll be fine.”

  Keylan’s phone rang and he read the screen. “Excuse me for a moment.” He got up and left the room.

  Mia was relieved that Keylan stepped out. She couldn’t figure out what was making her more light-headed: Keylan’s nearness or the open cut the doctor was working on.

  She watched as the doctor clipped the last stitch. “That wasn’t too bad, now, was it?” he asked as he started wrapping her hand. “You’ll have to keep these stitches clean and dry.”

  “No problem,” she promised, examining her hand.

  The doctor reached for the syringe that had been lying on the tray, mocking Mia, and she turned her head. She would never admit it to Keylan but she hated needles. “This won’t hurt—”