A Family for Christmas

by Mona Ingram

  As they moved along, greeting Chase’s friends and colleagues, she was aware of a few raised eyebrows and whispered asides. She supposed it was natural; after all, Chase had known these people most of his adult life and was now introducing someone completely new – her – into the mix. There were bound to be murmurs. Most of the people were gracious and welcoming, especially when Chase introduced her as a donor and detailed her contribution to the fashion show.

  She liked the way he guided her through the crowd, one hand lightly at her waist. She smiled up at him as he offered her a glass of champagne, surprised to discover that she was enjoying herself. It was difficult to do otherwise with someone like Chase; his dark good looks drew the eye of almost every woman in the room. His tailored suit fitted him perfectly, and he moved with an easy grace through the crowds, his smile never wavering as he looked down at her.

  She was about to take a second sip of champagne when one of the backstage volunteers slipped through the crowd and tugged at her elbow.

  “Sorry to bother you, Lily, but we have a problem backstage.” The young woman looked at Chase, and for a moment her eyes widened in appreciation, then she turned back to Lily. “It’s Melanie. I think she’s sick.”

  Lily frowned. Melanie was one of the models who had been chosen for the resort wear. “I’ll be right there,” she murmured quietly, and waited for a break in the conversation until she could draw Chase away.

  “There seems to be a problem with one of the models.” She kept her voice low.

  “Shall I call a doctor?” he lowered his head to speak to her, and she struggled to maintain her concentration when his cologne invaded her senses. For one wild moment, she was tempted to kiss him. He stilled, and their eyes met; he was thinking the same thing.

  “No.” She had to touch him. She laid a hand on his starched shirt-front; his heart was beating as rapidly as hers. “At least not yet. I’ll go and see what’s wrong.” She looked into his eyes. “Bad timing, huh?”

  He looked at her for a few long seconds, his gaze moving from her eyes to her lips. She didn’t think she’d ever been subjected to such intense scrutiny, and she loved it. “I’ll wait,” he said simply, then leaned down and brushed his lips against her cheek. “If it takes all night.”

  Head spinning, she made her way through the crowd. If Chase Drummond could affect her like this with one simple kiss on the cheek, she wasn’t sure she was ready for what would happen when he kissed her properly.

  By the time she reached the backstage area, she had herself under control. “Where is she?” she asked, and then spotted the young woman at the back of the room. She was sitting on one of the folding chairs that had been brought in, hands to her stomach, rocking back and forth.

  She looked up, eyes bleak. “I’m sorry, Lily. I should have warned you. I got a touch of the flu a couple of days ago, but I really thought I’d be better by now.” Her forehead glistened with sweat. “I felt okay this morning, but just in the last half hour I’ve been vomiting again. I feel terrible letting you down like this.” A tear rolled down her cheek, and Lily brushed it away.

  “Don’t be silly,” she said, sitting down beside the distraught young woman. “You’re the one who matters. Do you have anyone at home to take care of you?”

  She nodded. “My roommate.”

  “Excellent.” Lily looked around for the volunteer, and called her over. “Could you ask Mr. Drummond to meet me over there?” She pointed toward the side door, then returned her attention to Melanie. “Mr. Drummond offered to call a doctor. Would you like him to do that?”

  She shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine if I just go home and lie down.”

  “That’s what I thought, too. We’ll get you a ride home.” She looked up to see Chase hovering at the side door.

  “It’s the flu,” she said quietly. “Can you arrange for her to get home?”

  He nodded. “You bundle her up and bring her to the front door. I’ll have some transportation for you by the time you get there.”

  The limousine was waiting at the entrance when Lily brought Melanie out. Chase settled her in the back seat then leaned through the front window to speak to the driver. The car pulled away, and he tucked his arm around Lily, guiding her back inside the building.

  “Larry will take care of her and report to us later on.”

  “Thank you, Chase.” She smiled at him. She’d been doing a lot of that tonight. And to think that she’d almost missed out on knowing Chase Drummond because of her experience with Randall.

  They wandered back down the side hall, and she paused outside the room that had been assigned to the models. “You realize what this means, don’t you?”

  He lifted his shoulders. “No, what?”

  “I’m short one model, and I don’t dare ask Nancy to re-arrange things. The music...everything...it’s all been co-ordinated down to the last minute.”

  “Music?” he looked puzzled. “Just how involved is this thing, anyway?”

  She gave a short laugh. “You’ll see. Each series of clothes has its own theme music. Nancy has this organized with military precision.” She paused. “She’s really very good at this.”

  “So you can’t just leave something out?” He motioned with his hand. “Her outfit, or whatever you call it?”

  “Not really.” Lily’s mind was racing. “I suppose I could stand in for her.” She wound a strand of hair around her fingers. “We’re about the same size, and I’ve been here for both rehearsals.”

  He gave her a wry smile. “Don’t I get to spend any time with you tonight?” The look on his face made her heart beat double-time. “I’ve been looking forward to this ever since you said you’d come with me.”

  “Are you pouting?” She took a step closer and challenged him. “I’ve been looking forward to this evening too, if you really want to know.” She read the desire in his eyes. “We’ll get there, Chase. You can count on it.”

  With a groan of frustration, he cradled her head in his hands and captured her mouth with his. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, moaning softly as his long, lean body moulded to hers.

  He pulled away abruptly. “Lily,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’m sorry.” He pulled a white handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at a smear of lipstick on her mouth.

  “I’m not,” she said, and raised her head for another kiss. His mouth plundered hers, and he wrapped her in his arms and lifted her off her feet. She was vaguely aware of some beads from her dress falling to the floor, but she didn’t care. Right here in Chase Drummond’s arms was where she was meant to be.

  “Excuse me.” Nancy stood in the open door behind them, taking in the scene. A faint smile touched her lips. “Sorry to disturb, but I heard about Melanie.” She couldn’t quite look at Chase. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

  Chase let her go, and she reluctantly turned around. “I’m going to do the modeling myself.”

  “You?” The look on Nancy’s face was one of disbelief. She looked up and down, assessing Lily’s height. “Won’t the skirt be too long?”

  Lily smiled brightly. “I made it in three sizes. We’ll make it work.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Nancy’s relief was obvious, even to Chase. The two women seemed to have bonded over the mini disaster.

  Lily turned. “Sorry, Chase.”

  Nancy echoed her words. “Sorry, Chase, but you know what they say. The show must go on.”

  Lily’s eyes sparkled. “Don’t worry about him. He’s a big boy.” She took a couple of steps back toward him. “You might want to wipe off the lipstick.”

  And then she and Nancy disappeared into the change room. Women chattered and flitted back and forth between racks of brightly coloured clothes; it didn’t look like a military operation to him.

  He turned to go back to the ballroom and spotted a few beads on the floor. He thought he’d heard something when he picked Lily up, but he’d been too overwhelmed by the feel and taste of her to reg
ister what it was. He picked them up now and held them in his palm. Made of cut crystal, they sparkled when he moved his hand to catch the light. He slipped them into his pocket, put a smile on his face and went back to mingle with the guests.

  LILY STUDIED THE OUTFIT. Ideally, it should be modeled by someone taller...someone like Melanie...but she’d make it work somehow. She could always put her hair up, to give the illusion of extra height.

  She inspected the hair and makeup area, looking for something to hold up her hair. She was rarely without her chopsticks, but tonight she’d brought a small evening bag. After several failed attempts, she used some long hairpins to fasten it up; it would have to do.

  The shorter skirt of the small outfit just barely skimmed the floor when she donned heels. Struggling to fit into a ‘normal’ size reminded her of her teenage years, and why she’d started designing and sewing in the first place. Nothing in the stores had ever fit, but she was determined not to shop in the childrens’ section for the rest of her life and had learned to adjust patterns to suit her stature.

  She was standing behind a rack of clothes, checking her appearance in a full-length mirror when an unfamiliar voice caught her attention.

  “Where is she?” the woman demanded. “I want to talk to her.”

  “Laurel, no.” Lily recognized Nancy’s firm voice. “The fashion show is about to start.” There were sounds of someone stumbling. “Come on now. Please don’t ruin this after all our hard work.”

  Lily peeked through a rack of clothes. A tall, elegant woman stood opposite Nancy. Hair the colour of ripe summer wheat was twisted up in a loose French twist at the back of her head. She was holding an empty champagne glass, and from the way she listed slightly to one side, Lily wondered if she’d had too much to drink.

  “I just wanted to warn her,” the woman continued. “It’s not fair the way Chase breaks their hearts, one after the other.” She raised the glass to her lips and frowned when she discovered it was empty. “I mean, everybody knows he likes to try something different every once in a while, but he always comes back to me.” She prodded Nancy in the shoulder. “And you have to admit, this one is definitely different.”

  Lily’s first inclination was to push through the clothes and confront the woman. But there was something desperate in the way she spoke, and it was becoming clear that she’d had too much to drink. She remained still as Nancy ushered the woman out of the room, but her heart was beating wildly. How was this woman involved with Chase, and was there any truth to what she’d overheard?

  She raised a hand and saw that it was trembling from the effort to control her emotions. The truth was, she was angry with herself for not going out there and fighting for her man.

  The thought stopped her in her tracks. When had she started to think of Chase as her man? She scarcely knew him, and yet he’d invaded her thoughts and dreams to such an extent that she hadn’t been able to think of much else. There was no denying the attraction between them, but he was far from being ‘her man.’ He had a life of which she knew nothing, a life which had obviously included this woman named Laurel.

  She exhaled all the air from her lungs in a slow stream and took a deep breath. Somewhere in the background she recognized the distinctive music that went with the group of clothes preceding hers. As she came out from behind the rack of clothes, she spotted Nancy coming back into the room. For a moment their eyes met, and Lily caught a hint of embarrassment on the other woman’s face before she looked away. It was too late to do anything about that now; Lily joined the small group of women modeling her clothes and spoke a few words of encouragement.

  Before she knew it, it was her turn to stride down the runway. She was proud of her resort line, and had been gratified to hear enthusiastic applause for the first several models. Carefully choreographed salsa music was her cue, and she stepped out, momentarily blinded by the lights. Her early years of ignoring taunts and jibes stood her in good stead now, and she walked confidently, eyes quickly adjusting to the light.

  Directly ahead, at what must be the best table in the house, Chase smiled up at her. Something in his expression was strained, and it didn’t take long to figure out what it was. Beside him sat the woman who had come into the change room. Sitting next to Chase, she had her arm possessively through his, and was leaning into him, whispering something in his ear.

  Lily felt a sudden chill as she watched the woman brush her lips against Chase’s neck. Something in her mind shut down; it was as though she was a spectator, completely removed from what was happening in front of her. As she came to the end of the runway he gave a quick, negative shake of his head, as though to warn her not to believe what she was seeing. She ignored him and kept her eyes focused somewhere at the back of the room. If she met his gaze now, he would surely see how hurt she was. She gave a brilliant smile and turned to join the other models holding their poses at the top of the stage.

  It seemed to take forever for the rest of her models to strut their stuff. She feigned an interest she didn’t feel, and it took every ounce of control she possessed not to run from the stage when their segment was over.

  Tears spilled from her eyes, and she brushed them away angrily. She wasn’t sure if she was angry at herself for giving way, or at Chase for allowing that woman to crawl all over him. A small shake of the head did not make up for letting the entire audience see her snuggling up to him.

  She undressed quickly, careful not to damage the clothes. She’d noticed a lot of the spectators jotting down the numbers of the clothes that interested them. At least that part of the evening had been successful.

  Nancy caught her just as she was slipping out the back door. The woman looked torn, and for a moment Lily felt sorry for her. “Listen, Lily. I’m sorry.” She didn’t need to elaborate; both of them knew what she was talking about.

  Lily was in no condition to have this discussion, and yet she could see that the other woman was sincere. She forced her features to relax and smiled. “Thank you, Nancy.” She held eye contact for a moment longer then slipped out the side door.

  “Lily.” Chase loomed over her in the dimly lit hallway. “Please. Let me explain.”

  She looked up at him. He looked miserable. “I don’t think so, Chase.” She turned away before she gave in. He stared after her for a moment, and then followed her down the hall.

  “Lily, please. I’m not with her.” He raked a hand through his hair then let his arm fall to his side. “I’m not,” he repeated.

  She stopped abruptly and turned to face him. “You could have fooled me.”

  He raised his hands in a helpless gesture. “This is awkward,” he said.

  She didn’t try to hide her anger. “Oh, and it’s not awkward for me? Seeing my date with some other woman wrapped around him? How do you think that made me feel?”

  “That’s not what I meant.” He spoke slowly.

  She looked at him expectantly. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

  “You see, Laurel is a spoiled little rich girl. Her father owns the largest newspaper in town.”

  Lily raised an eyebrow. “We all know what’s happening to newspapers these days.”

  “No, trust me. Harry Carmichael is doing just fine.” He took a deep breath. “I made the mistake of dating her a few times.” He paused. “I guess that was about a year and a half ago. Anyway, Laurel always gets what she wants, and she decided she wanted me.”

  “I can’t imagine why.” Lily’s lips twitched.

  “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.” A slow smile transformed his face.

  Why did he have to be so damned appealing? She felt her resolve weakening. “Never mind; just carry on.”

  “The trouble is, we belong to the same clubs, and we know the same people. It seemed that every time I went somewhere she’d show up and attach herself to me. Somewhere along the way she convinced herself that we’re a couple.” He reached for her. “We’re not, Lily.”

  She pulled away. “Then why did
n’t you stop her?”

  He looked into her eyes. “Because she’d been drinking, and she’s been known to make a scene when she drinks. Our families have been friends for a long time, and I couldn’t let her embarrass herself like that.” He shrugged. “I’d do it again out of respect for her family, but I’m still sorry it happened.”

  She wondered how he would react if she told him what she’d overheard but she was too proud to admit that she’d been eavesdropping.

  The last of her anger slipped away; she was suddenly drained. “Okay, but I still think I’ll leave.”

  “I’ll take you home.”

  “You can’t do that. This is your big event.” She gestured toward the banquet room. “Get in there and take their money.”

  He laughed. “I have people doing that.” He glanced at her small evening bag. “I’ll bet you didn’t even bring any money for a cab.”

  She bit off a reply. He was right; she hadn’t thought she’d need money tonight. “You could just put me in the limo. I’ll be fine.”

  “No way.” He took out his cell phone and spoke into it. “He’ll be out front in a minute. I’ll get my overcoat and meet you out there.” He lowered his head and gave her a quick kiss. “Don’t run off.”

  Like that’s going to happen, she told herself as she watched him walk away. It wouldn’t take much for Chase Drummond to become a habit. Not much at all. She released the pins in her hair and let it fall down her back.

  Chapter Thirteen

  CHASE SETTLED HER IN the limo then leaned forward to speak to the driver. “How was Melanie? Did you get her home all right?”

  “Yes, sir. I walked her up to her door and made sure her roommate was home.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “The roommate seemed like a level-headed girl. Actually, she’s a nurse.”

  “Good.” Chase sat back with a sigh and pushed the button to raise the privacy window. “Some night, huh?” He hooked a finger in his collar then turned to her. “Do you mind if I loosen my tie?”