Blame It on the Mistletoe (12 page)

“I’m not.”

“Liar.”

She gave him a playful glare as they each grabbed a little plate of food.

“I might as well let the cat out of the bag right from the start or the guilt will eat at me,” Beverly leaned forward like she was going to tell a secret. “Julie made all of this, including dinner.”

“Julie’s the housekeeper,” Alex told Brooke with a smile.

“She’s such a gem, and she’s the best cook. I’ve used her for dinner parties for years. And I’m just not up for cooking much these days.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter who does the cooking, as long as you’re together,” Brooke said. She turned to look at Alex, and he gave her a wink.

“Well said, Brooke,” Beverly said warmly.

A while later they were seated in the dining room discussing Brooke’s shop, her jewelry, and her family. The meal was perfect, comfortable conversation and delicious food: chicken in a Madeira wine sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, and salad.

“Beverly, please tell Julie that was one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever eaten.”

“Oh, good. She’ll be tickled to hear it. I hope you saved room for carrot cake. Julie didn’t forget it was your favorite when you were little, Alex.”

“Carrot cake, really?” Brooke asked in surprise.

“It has chocolate chips in it,” Alex said, like it explained everything.

She was a little shocked to hear that he’d spent enough time with Beverly in his childhood to develop a favorite dessert at her house. Everyone always assumed that the Colemans had completely washed their hands of Alex and his mother. Maybe that wasn’t the case. Then again, it wasn’t really any of her business.

Brooke and Alex helped Beverly clear the dishes, then Beverly dished up everyone some carrot cake, which was also fantastic. “You were right, the chocolate chips make it. You have good taste,” Brooke whispered to him when Beverly excused herself from the dining room for a moment.

“I know I do,” he said, leaning in and placing a quick kiss on her lips.

She jerked her head back and quickly looked around the room. “Don’t do that. What if she were to see you?”

“She’d be thrilled.” His laugh surprised her. Did he want Beverly to see? Surely not.

“That’s just cruel. No need to get her hopes up. You’ll be leaving soon.”

His eyes went dark for a moment, and she looked away. She hadn’t said anything they didn’t both know to be true. He would be leaving; he hadn’t given her any reason to think otherwise. And he wasn’t disagreeing with her right now.

“Brooke, I just had the most brilliant idea,” Beverly said as she reentered the dining room. “You should make necklaces for the debutantes at the Mistletoe Ball next weekend. Wouldn’t that be beautiful? I think the girls would love it.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Mrs. Coleman. Aren’t pearls traditional with the deb dress?” Brooke remembered her own Mistletoe dress and nearly cringed. She’d hated it. The whole thing had been her mother’s style, not hers. It was a silly tradition for the Addison County Junior League, but since her mother was a member, Brooke had been a deb when she was seventeen.

“Pearls are the tradition, but I think the girls would love mixing it up a little. What do you say, can you make twelve matching necklaces by next Saturday?”

Brooke’s mouth dropped open, her mind whirling. Could she? Of course. Did she want to? Definitely—that kind of exposure in her community and the surrounding towns could do great things for her shop. Why was she hesitating?

“Is that too much to get done on such short notice?” Alex asked, looking at Brooke with a worried expression on his face.

“No, I want to do it. Yes. Yes I will do it. Twelve you said?”

“Perfect, yes, twelve girls this year. And I’ll leave the design up to you, something elegant. You know how the dresses look.”

Suddenly she felt a little uncomfortable. The Mistletoe Ball was a fancy event, a part of the Colemans’ life that Alex definitely wouldn’t have been a part of. Brooke herself hadn’t attended since her own year as a deb—no reason to—but her parents went every year. It was the league’s annual fund-raiser.

“Now that that’s settled, you’ll have to stay, Alex. Brooke will have to attend so everyone can tell her how beautiful her jewelry is. She’ll leave with a hundred new customers, but she’ll have to have a date.”

“Oh, no. I don’t need to
go
,” Brooke said quickly. She didn’t want to put Alex on the spot. “I can just leave some business cards.”

“I’ll stay,” Alex said, cutting her off. “I’ll be your date.”

She turned to stare at him. She couldn’t believe he’d just agreed. “You don’t have to do that. I really hadn’t planned to go. In fact I’d forgotten all about it.” Which was entirely true. She didn’t spend much time with her mother these days, so she’d lost track of what her parents did with their time. She’d never much enjoyed the Mistletoe Ball anyway. But if Alex was her date…

“I’d like to take you, if that’s okay.”

“Well, of course, but—”

“It’s settled,” Beverly said beaming.

**

Alex was still wasn’t sure what the hell he’d done at his grandmother’s as he drove Brooke home. It was completely his idea for his grandmother to ask Brooke to make the necklaces. She’d been chatting away about the Mistletoe Ball when they’d met for lunch the day before and the whole thing had seemed perfect, but he hadn’t considered actually staying to be Brooke’s date. At the same time, the thought of her going with someone else was out of the question.

He was now going to have to call and reschedule his return flight a second time; thank god he’d bought flight insurance. That twenty bucks had definitely paid off. But that’s not what was weighing on his mind. Maybe it was the thought of spending more time with Brooke, which sounded great but also worried him. A little bit of it, however, definitely had to do with the fact that his grandmother had invited him to an annual social event that he’d grown up making fun of, mostly because it was above him.

His grandparents had hosted the Mistletoe Ball several times during his childhood—every Christmas a different couple did. Never, in all of those years had he been part of any family event, especially not the ball, which was exclusive. Many kids from his high school attended, girls he fooled around with were debs, and he’d always been disgusted by the ridiculous display of snobbery. But tonight she’d invited him like it was the most normal thing in the world. A damn Mistletoe Ball, and he’d reacted like a starving kid being offered candy.

He looked across the car at Brooke. “Thanks for coming tonight.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for inviting me. It was fun.”

“You didn’t have to agree to make the necklaces if you didn’t want to.”

“Oh, I know. But I do want to. It was really nice of Beverly to give me the opportunity. They run an article with a photo in the county paper and the
Star
listing all of the seamstresses and such, so I should get credit. I’m grateful. So many good things have finally been happening. I hope it all pays off, all I want is for my shop to succeed.”

Guilt churned in his gut. Things were looking up for her business, and he was considering pulling the rug out from under her. Ted had left him two messages since their meeting on Tuesday. It bothered him a little that the guy seemed so intent on him selling. Alex had tried not to think about it too much, but the money thing kept pinging in the back of his mind. Ted had talked about over a million dollars, possibly even more. It wasn’t the kind of money someone didn’t at the very least stop to consider.

“You obviously hadn’t told Beverly I was shackin’ up in the building. Thanks.”

“I told you I wouldn’t.” He hadn’t told his grandmother a few things recently. About Brooke living there or about his offer on 100 Main. He wasn’t really sure how she would take that news. He figured it was a safe assumption that if his grandfather had been against selling, his grandmother would be also. He’d asked his grandmother not to mention anything about him owning the building while Brooke was there for dinner, and thankfully she’d obliged.

He pulled up behind 100 Main and parked next to the back door. “Well, looks like we’ll be seeing each other again next weekend.”

“I guess so.” She smiled. “You’re the one who said yes, pal. Should have taken the out when I presented it. No going back.”

“I didn’t want an out. I’m
dying
to go to the Mistletoe Ball.” He grinned.

“Yeah, I’m sure. They’re the worst. Stuffy people, fancy food, and debutantes. Nothing like forcing your daughter into a white dress and announcing she is now of marriageable age with a ball to set feminism back a few decades. In my opinion it’s a tradition that needs to die.”

He chuckled. “Were you a debutante?”

“Of course. A photo of me posing in my white dress alongside my father is still hanging in the hallway. It’s one of my mother’s prized possessions.”

“Nice.”

They both laughed, and after a moment Alex leaned over and touched her face—he couldn’t help himself. She was so appealing in that green sweater, the gentle curve of her breasts had drawn his eye all night long, which had been a little unsettling in his grandmother’s house.

He kissed her gently and she returned it, her mouth soft and edible. He’d thought about their last kiss constantly for the past few days. More than he’d thought about entire nights spent with some women. Everything about Brooke seemed to be making him crazy.

The way she smiled, laughed, even the way she sometimes played with her hair. He wanted to go upstairs with her tonight, wanted to bad. If she asked him, he wouldn’t be able to turn away from her again. He kissed her once more, hoping she was smarter than he was.

**

“Don’t go,” she whispered. “Come in.” It took all of her will power to say those words, and now she held her breath. A rejection from him might kill her.
Please say yes. Please want me.

“I shouldn’t do that.” He pulled back and ran a thumb down her cheek. “But god, I want to.”

Her hopes soared and she leaned her face into his palm. She didn’t want to give him any more time to come up with an objection. And why would he object? Because she was Ryan’s little sister? She hoped he didn’t still see her that way because he certainly didn’t make her feel like that, especially now that he’d agreed to stay another week to take her to the Mistletoe Ball—something she’d not even considered doing up until a few hours ago, and now she was looking forward to it.

Feeling pretty sure of herself, she opened the car door and threw him a suggestive look before getting out. What had gotten into her? She let out a deep breath when she heard him follow suit. They walked silently up to the back door, and she unlocked it quickly before leading him up the stairs. She was afraid if she said a word that he’d change his mind.

When they entered the apartment she put down her purse before removing her coat. Her pulse was pounding and she felt a little lightheaded, but she’d never been so excited in all her life. When she faced Alex, he was like a statue by the door, his eyes focused on her.

“Are you going to come in?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t speak, didn’t move. If it wasn’t for the heavy rise and fall of his chest and the heated look in his eyes, she’d wonder if he had in fact turned to stone.

Finally he swallowed hard, shut the door behind him, and locked it. Turning back to her, he spoke low and deep, and the desire in his voice sent goose bumps racing up her arms. “Are you sure, Brooke?”

“Yes” seemed so inadequate. What she was feeling went beyond want or need, it was desperation, and she just might die if he didn’t touch her. Instead of speaking, she responded by lifting a hand to the tie on her sweater. Her fingers clumsily undid the bow and she shut her eyes as it fell open. One arm at a time, she slipped it from her shoulders and let it land on the floor. Even with her eyes closed she swore she heard his breathing become heavier. Her eyes fluttered open and her soul sighed in relief when she found the heated look in his eyes.

Any insecurity she might have felt was washed away, because the way Alex was looking at her, she knew she could strip down to nothing and he would love it. The best part was how safe she felt with him; she’d always imagined that her next sexual encounter would be difficult, but there was none of those thoughts right now, everything felt right.

Her fingers shook as she removed her bra, his eyes darkening as her breasts were revealed. She prayed that her inexperienced movements were sexy, and her confidence grew as his intent gaze followed her hands down to her pants. She continued to focus on how beautiful he was, as she stepped out of each pant leg one at a time. Every piece of clothing she removed felt like a shed layer of her wounded soul. If he knew about her past he might feel the need to be gentle, so thank god he didn’t. She didn’t want gentle, or soft, or careful; she wanted Alex, and she was certain he knew how to make a woman forget anything but him.

She slipped her thumbs into her underwear ready to pull them down her thighs.

“Stop.”

She froze, eyes widening as he walked slowly toward her. When his fingers rested beside hers inside the edge of her panties, she relaxed a little. He leaned into her neck and inhaled her skin.

“You are so beautiful, Brooke.” He tugged her underwear, the elastic resting just below her butt, his hands cupping her ass. “And you feel so good, but … I need you to be absolutely sure.”

She pulled back, and their eyes met. She lifted a finger up to his lips to shush him. They were soft and full. Before she could drag her finger away he opened his mouth and gently bit the tip. Oh god, she might not survive a night with Alex Coleman.

“Stop asking me if I’m sure,” she whispered. “Just touch me, please.”

He grinned around her fingertip and then closed his lips, sucking it into his mouth. She sighed, a tiny whimper escaping. She pulled her hand from his lips and he bent down and pressed a light kiss to her jaw, then swiftly down to her neck, her collarbone; finally his hands came around and palmed her breasts. “You’re so soft.”

She slipped her underwear off the rest of the way and then began pulling at his coat. Things became frantic as he continued to nip at her upper body while she worked at his clothes, his jeans, and finally he backed her up to the sofa and gently lay down on top of her. The weight of his body was magic, and instantly naked limbs entwined and their mouths became insistent.