“St. Nick,” she murmured softly.
He snorted.
“Of course I’ll do it. And I’ll move in with you too.”
“I love you, Em.”
She huffed out a breath. “It’s about time you said that. I love you too, Nick.”
There was humor in his voice. “Get back to sleep. We can talk tomorrow.”
“Goodnight,” she answered.
When she heard a long loud smacking sound over the phone, she laughed.
“That’s the messiest kiss I’ve ever heard.”
Nick just laughed, disconnecting the phone.
* * *
When Emma had gone to pick up the keys and credit card from Jack, she’d sat down with him for an hour, asking about each member of Nick’s family, because instead of just partially furnishing it, she was going to get a room ready for every member of his family, whether they ever came to visit or not.
Jack must have been approving of the idea, because he revealed several details about everyone, including Nick’s mom, who apparently was hard to please.
“That credit card is loaded Em, so don’t worry about maxing it out.”
“Well, still. Maybe I’ll open up an account for him at the furniture store if they’ll me.”
“They probably will,” Jack answered. “Take a look at the name on that card.”
“He put my name on the card?”
Jack started laughing loudly. “You two are a hoot. I hope you’ll be married soon. I’ve never met two people who obviously belong together as much as you two.”
“Ciara and Rand got really close, fast,” Emma said.
Jack turned serious. “You know what’s happening, I guess?”
“I do,” Emma answered wearing a worried frown. “I hope with a little time Rand will be safer.”
“Me too. This is his company, you know.”
She blinked. “I didn’t. I suppose you have your own deep dark secret too, like Rand and Nick?”
“Nah. I’m an open book,” Jack murmured.
“Hah. I’ll bet.” Emma sighed, standing. “I’d better get moving. I need to go into work for a while tonight.”
“If you need anything, let me know.”
“Thanks, Jack.”
“You’re welcome Emma. I’m really glad Nick found you.”
She wrinkled her nose walking out the door.
* * *
She’d forgotten how beautiful the place was, and the next day, after she walked inside, she felt even stupider thinking about her reaction to Nick’s confession about having money.
So what? Emma should have thrilled that he trusted her with something as important as furnishing the house for his family.
Mike Callahan himself showed up at the house to go over the plans.
“Jake said this an important rush job, so I thought I’d go over everything myself to make sure there aren’t any holdups. We have to do this quickly, and I thought I’d show you some samples of what we have in stock. We do have some appliances in the warehouse for another job which we can reorder for them if you like them.”
“I like what you’ve done with the plans, but I’m thinking since the kitchen is kind of dark, that lighter cabinet colors would work better.”
“We could go with lighter uppers,” Mike murmured. “Maybe a champagne color?”
“I’ve never liked stark white, and the tile and floors are a deep dark brown.”
He showed her the sample.
“I like it,” she murmured.
“Chestnut colored lowers?”
“Maybe.”
They went over the plans for the next two hours, even deciding on a slab of quartz which was a perfect compliment to the cabinet colors.
“I’ll have to add something so it’s not so matchy, matchy, but I’ll figure it out. Maybe a touch of turquoise.”
Mike grinned as he was leaving. “You sound just like my daughter, Kate. If you need any advice, give her a call. This is what she does, you know. The only problem is, we don’t have much time.”
“I gave you the keys, right?”
“You did. You’ll be in and out while we’re here?”
“I will. I’m going to be moving in too.”
“Okay. Give me a call if you notice something going in that you don’t like.”
“I will.”
Emma spent the rest of the afternoon furniture shopping and had every salesperson in the store waiting on her before she was finished. She found most of the larger furnishings she needed. Nick had mentioned some stuff he had in storage, and she’d gone to look at that first.
But what she wanted were things with a Tuscan flare, so she started visiting some antique shops that Danielle recommended during the next few days.
Nearly three weeks later, the kitchen was finished and looked even more fabulous than she’d expected, and when Emma started putting things in place, Danielle stopped by to check on her progress and offer some help. The furnishings at the inn were switched out off and on, and there was a warehouse full of antiques that Danielle would be willing to let Emma sort through.
And that’s where Emma found the beautiful dining room table that fit perfectly in front of the window overlooking the lake.
It would be one more day before Nick and his family would arrive, and the only thing Emma had left to do was pick up some bedding for Amy and the master bedroom. Angel’s room with the canopy bed was the first room Emma had completed.
She was so proud of herself for getting it all done in her three-week timeframe.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nick could hear the excitement in Emma’s voice when she called him to see what time they would be arriving the next day.
“I’m thinking we’ll arrive at the house early evening, even though the plane will be landing early afternoon. I think we’re going to go along with Mike and get him settled at the Wounded Warrior Home first. We’ll bring Angel along too so that she can see where her Dad will be staying. Plus Mike behaves a lot better when Angel comes along with us.”
“I take it his attitude isn’t much better?”
“No, not really. Hopefully, the shrink that works here will be able to get through to him a little better.” Nick sighed. “I’m glad you’ll be there when we arrive. Are you all moved in?”
“I am. Jack brought over some of your casual clothes from the apartment this week too. I picked up a bunch of groceries, and I have stuff to cook, including easy back cookies. I hope you love the kitchen as much as I do.”
“I’m sure I will,” Nick answered.
Emma could tell he was smiling.
“Would you like me to have something ready for dinner tomorrow night?”
“How about picking up something easy like some fast food fried chicken to make it easier in case we get held up?”
“I’ll do that. Give me a call sometime tomorrow when you get a chance.”
“I will,” Nick murmured. “Goodnight, Em.”
“Night, Nick.”
It was getting late, and even though Emma had the next day off from work, she figured she might as well get a good night sleep.
Shutting off most of the lights and turning on the security alarm, she walked up the open dark wood staircase to the master bedroom, feeling a sense of peace as she walked inside.
She’d gone with the browns and turquoise here and in the living room and kitchen downstairs, loving the colors together. The master suite wasn’t overly masculine or feminine but was elegant with a long cream-colored sofa against the wall near the patio doors. Matching club chairs faced a big screen TV, which could also be viewed from the bed.
Despite the security system, she was still a little nervous staying in such a large house alone, so she turned on the television like she had the last few nights, before she went into the bathroom for a long hot bath.
Another half an hour later, she was climbing onto the bed, under the sheets and silky comforter, not bothering to shut off the TV.
During the middle of the night, she was awakened by a strange noise, which she realized was the alarm system being set off.
Darn. She’d never had the system reactivated after the workmen had finished up, so Emma was the only one could hear it.
Except for whoever was breaking in, of course.
She looked around for something she could use as a weapon, and picked up a length of wood trim that would soon be installed in the remaining bedrooms as she crept through the hallway and down the stairs.
What she saw when she arrived downstairs surprised her. There was a woman downstairs looking through the fridge.
“Get away from there,” Emma growled.
The woman dropped bottled water she had in her hands.
“Who in the hell are you?” the woman murmured, obviously in shock.
“I’d like to ask you the same question?” Emma said loudly.
“I’m Marissa. Nick’s fiancé.”
“Like hell you are. Nick’s fiancé, I mean. Nick and I have been seeing each other since Christmas.”
Momentarily, the woman seemed at a loss for what to do, but definitely snapped out of it quickly.
Emma asked, “How did you get in here?”
“I had a key,” Marissa answered with confidence. In fact, if it had anyone else but Nick that Marissa was talking about, Emma might have believed her. But Nick had no interest whatsoever in Marissa anymore, which gave Emma the confidence to throw her out.
“I want that key. Hand it over. And you must have the security code too, even though you set off the alarm. But the cops will be here any minute, and since my name’s on the title of this house…”
“Okay, okay,” Marissa held up her hands. “I’m going.”
“As long as you leave now, there won’t be any trouble,” Emma said firmly. “Where are the keys?”
“In my coat pocket. Hold on.”
Walking into the living room, she reached for her coat laying over the arm of the couch. After pulling out the key, she handed it over to Emma.
“What about the apartment in Richmond?”
“What do you mean?”
“Nick was staying there with his sister. You must have still had a key. Hand it over.”
Marissa’s mouth opened, and then it closed.
But then she picked up her purse and started digging inside.
A moment later, she pulled out a key card.
“I’ll take that,” Emma murmured, reaching out and plucking it from Marissa’s hand. “That better be it, because Nick’s going to know about this and the fact that you were going in and out of his apartment after you two broke up.”
“That’s it. I’m going,” Marissa murmured, hurrying to the door.
Emma looked at the clock. “I’d say the cops will be here in about five more minutes.”
Marissa scrambled outside through the door.
Peeking through the window, Emma waited for Marissa to start the car that was parked in the driveway and pull away.
Emma sighed, looking down at the keys she was holding in concern. There was something else going on here, she was sure of it. Hopefully, Nick would tell her more once he arrived home.
Before she went back to sleep, Emma turned on all the outside lights and took the time to plug in a brand-new code.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Mike is driving everyone nuts, he’s so busy feeling sorry for himself,” Amy said, practically in tears when they finally boarded the plane.
Nick heaved a sigh. “I wish I could figure what a good wakeup call would be for him.”
“Me, too,” Amy answered. “Angel’s even been super depressed.”
“Wait until she meets Emma,” Nick answered. “I can’t wait to see her again.”
Amy smiled. “I’m so glad you found someone to love, who loves you back.”
Nick grinned. “That’s it exactly.”
Amy looked back at where Angel was sitting, already falling asleep.
“She’s finally out. I think if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a little nap too.”
“After we’re in the air, I’m going to five Emma a call and let her know what time we’re be arriving in town.”
“I can’t wait to meet her.” She yawned. “Goodnight, Nick.”
Nick smiled but deep inside he was worried. If Mike didn’t start cooperating with the physical therapists, it was going to become ten times harder to ever walk again. The doctors claimed it was all psychological with him, and the operation to remove the bullets had been one hundred percent successful.
Soon they were in the air, and Nick stood up, walking toward the back of the plane where there were snacks.
Mike had been sedated, because he’d been particularly whiny today after discovering he was going into another hospital.
There was a male nurse traveling with him today, and Nick gave him an approving stare. “You have a difficult job ahead of you.”
“Tell me about it. It’s only been a few hours and it feels like a week.”
Nick couldn’t help it. He laughed.
Heading back to the seats, he hit the speed dial for Emma’s number.
“Hello,” she answered.
“How’s everything going?”
“It’s funny you should ask me that,” she answered.
Nick listened to what she had to say with stunned disbelief.
“I can’t understand it Em. She knew good and well that I was never going to take her back.”
“She was really surprised to see me,” Emma murmured. “And I threw in a little extra motivation for her to leave by saying my name was on the title of the house.”
“Uhm, Em? That’s actually true.”
It went quiet on the other end of the line.
“Em? Are you still there?”
She sounded like she was crying, and Nick reassured her. “I love you, remember. I never did anything like that for Marissa, so that probably sent her over the edge.”
“You’re laughing, aren’t you?”
“I am,” he answered. “But yet I’m worried.”
“If you’re worried now, wait until I tell you what else I found out.”
“What do you mean?”
“You were staying at your old apartment, right?”
“I was.”
“Did you ever give Marissa a keycard?”
“No.”
“Well, she had one.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope. And apparently, she’s had it quite a while.”
“How did you discover that?”
“She had the keys to our new house, Nick. And the code. I remembered you said you were staying at your old apartment, so I bluffed, and sure enough…”
“I wonder,” Nick murmured. “You know what? I had them in my luggage. And my luggage hasn’t left the apartment since I arrived.”
“That means she’s been going in and out of your apartment, even after you broke up with her.”
Now Nick was even more concerned. Why had Marissa shown up in Crystal Rock?
Was Emma in danger?
“Em, I’m going to be honest. Now I’m worried.”
“Does that mean you’re finally going to tell me the whole story?”
“Yes,” Nick answered. “And soon.”
“Try and give me a call before you arrive at the house?”
“I will.”
“I’ve sure missed you.”
“Same here. See you soon.”
* * *
Mike was causing a scene at the wounded warrior home, and Nick was so mad at him at that moment, he decided it would be best for all of the them to leave and let Mike get settled on his own, since he’d be more likely not act out without an audience.
“Let’s all go to the house and come back tomorrow. He’s just getting worse. And if he doesn’t have an audience, maybe he’ll behave a little better. We can come back tomorrow. I’d like to talk with some of the doctors here.”
“You’re right, N
ick,” Amy answered. “All I’m doing is enabling him, and even Angel isn’t safe from his anger.”
Chapter Thirty
They would still have to have some landscaping done this summer, he decided as he approached the house driving the rental car he’d picked up for Amy to drive. Jack had a company vehicle now, so Nick’s SUV was supposedly parked here in the garage, because Emma had been using it to haul furniture.
“It’s beautiful Nick,” Amy murmured. “And big.”
Three-year-old Angel was looking through the window in wonder as Nick pulled into the driveway.
Stepping out from the SUV, he scooped Angel into his arms and over his head, leaving her dangling around his neck.
Emma opened the door with a smile.
“Hi Emma. I’m Amy. Nick sure talks a lot about you.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you Amy. Get inside, make yourself comfortable.”
“Pretty lady,” Angel murmured, pointing.
“Yes, she is, Angel,” Nick answered, walking up to the door.
“I’d kiss you, but it’s a little difficult right now.
Nick grinned walking into the house through the doorway behind Amy. “We’ll save that for later.”
Nick stilled once he was in inside. Holy crap. “Emma. How in the world did you do this? This is better than I could even imagine. We have a big screen TV turned on and it’s connected to satellite.”
“We do, and we also have music with surround sound, whenever we want. Everything in the house is controlled by remote.”
Holiday Hunks - St. Nick's Christmas Wish: Hot Hunks Steamy Romance Collection Page 13