Sweet Christmas Kisses (69 page)

Kim held Zelda’s wheelchair in place then helped the woman move to a comfortable seat on the sofa. Zelda sat back and sighed, making no effort to conceal how much she hated being dependent upon others.

“You get the blanket, Rock. I’ll get dessert,” Kim said as she pushed the wheelchair out of the way. “Meet you back here in five.”

True to her word, within five minutes Kim reappeared with a tray of hand-made spumoni covered in warm brandy sauce and a carafe of fresh ground decaf coffee. Rock and Zelda sat on the sofa, smiling as she served dessert. Marie failed to show.

Zelda enjoyed a spoonful of ice cream, or a delicious sweet, as she called it, her gaze critically sweeping the living room. “Where’s the Christmas tree?” She looked directly at Kim. “From the barren look of this place, one would think you’d just moved in.”

Kim glanced around quickly, as though seeing the space for the first time. It could use, perhaps, a flocked tree in front of the windows, some bayberry candles, fresh pine garland and table runners to enhance the room’s beautiful furnishings. She’d been so busy trying to get along with her make-believe monster-in-law and that cranky nurse-for-the-worse that she’d never noticed Rock hadn’t bothered to decorate his house for Christmas.

“You’re right,” she confessed and poured herself a cup of the rich, aromatic coffee. “We’ve both been too busy. Rock has to devote his time to clients and because it’s the holiday season, I’ve been spending extra hours at the crisis nursery to give the staff some needed time off.”

Zelda looked surprised. “So, you do volunteer work at a nursery?”

“Yes, it’s actually a shelter for small children who are at risk for neglect and abuse.” She didn’t need to worry about sounding convincing this time because it was the truth. “Since we’re snowed in anyway,” she added, changing the subject, “we might as well put up our tree tomorrow. Right, Rock?”

Rock gave her a confused look as he set his empty bowl on the coffee table. “Where are we going to get a tree?”

Kim shot him an annoyed glare. Men could be so clueless sometimes! “From the
storage locker
, remember? The same place we store the extra food. We’ll go downstairs tomorrow, after breakfast, and gather up everything we need.”

Rock wrapped his long fingers around a china coffee mug and relaxed in his chair by the fire, his eyes twinkling at her code for raiding the condo. “Whatever you say, darlin’.”

Later that evening...

“I have to run down to Mrs. Doyle’s unit on the second floor,” Kim announced later that night as she stood in Rock’s walk-in closet and selected a gold cashmere sweater to match her blouse from the real Diona’s wardrobe.

“Oh? What’s the matter?” He’d asked the question politely, but she sensed his disappointment that she planned to leave.

She appeared in the closet doorway with the sweater, jamming her arms through the sleeves. “Mrs. Doyle just called my cell phone and said she needs help changing her colostomy bag. The poor woman has arthritis in her hands and tends to drop things.”

Kim began hastily buttoning the front of her sweater as she searched the room for her purse. “She probably had a glass of Mogen David at the association party tonight and now she’s afraid of having an accident. I don’t mind helping her out now and then. We’ve been friends since I moved in. Who knows, I might get some good gossip about the upcoming vote out of the deal.”

She found her purse and rummaged through it, looking for her key card. Locating it, she shoved the card in the pocket of her slacks and tossed the purse on the bed. “I have to stop at my place to get some latex gloves first so that will take extra time, but I won’t be gone long. Keep an eye on Sasha for me, okay? Be back in a little while.”

Kim hurried into the hallway, her flats padding quietly on the marble floor. She reached the elevator in the foyer and pressed the button, wondering who might be at the party or simply milling around the lobby this time of night, chatting with friends. Though she wanted to drop into the party room and sample a few of her favorite foods, she didn’t have time to visit with neighbors and certainly didn’t want to talk about her activities for the week. Besides, if she stayed away too long, Zelda might get suspicious.

Speak of the devil, Zelda’s door suddenly opened. She peered out wearing a black velour sweat suit and a thick white sweater, something hand-knitted with a reindeer design. “Going somewhere?”

Oh-oh, busted...

Kim stopped and looked past her shoulder. “I’m going to visit a neighbor.”

Zelda responded with a disapproving frown. “Isn’t it a bit late for socializing?”

Kim pressed the elevator button again, anxious to escape Mother Goose’s scrutiny. “It isn’t exactly a social call. Mrs. Doyle is elderly and has medical issues. She sometimes needs assistance.”

“Will you be gone long?”

“About an hour or so.”

Zelda looked annoyed, as though Kim’s leaving inconvenienced her.

“Are you feeling all right?” She stared at Zelda’s sweater, wondering why the woman needed extra warmth. “I hope you’re not getting a chill.”

“Of course not,” Zelda snapped, sounding a bit defensive. “I’m just trying it on to see if it matches my suit.”

The elevator softly chimed. Kim turned and watched the doors silently glide open, grateful to escape. She dealt with difficult situations on a regular basis, but Zelda’s imperious personality increasingly grated on her. No way could she handle this woman for much longer. Unfortunately, she needed to hang on for Rock’s sake. Forcing herself to smile, she woodenly waved goodbye as the elevator doors closed then breathed a sigh of relief over managing to dodge the old bat’s scrutiny. For now, anyway.

****

Steady footfalls whispered a soft echo in her wake as Kim ventured through the dark foyer, carrying a shrink-wrapped china plate heaped with bars, cookies and sweet breads from the party. Mrs. Doyle had insisted she help herself to a sampling of the desserts that residents had delivered as neighborly Christmas gifts to the elderly lady’s apartment. Since Kim hadn’t had time to bake anything herself, she figured the goodies would make a nice surprise for Rock and his guests.

She slowed down and began to tiptoe as she passed Zelda’s bedroom. A sliver of light knifed through the one-inch space of Zelda’s partially opened door, casting a spear of golden radiance across the black marble floor. The door didn’t move, but she sensed Zelda watching her as she made her way to Rock’s bedroom. Not wanting to give the old lady cause to start up another conversation, she kept on walking, pretending she hadn’t suspected anything.

Instead of going straight to Rock’s room, however, she made a last minute decision to put the goodies on the bar in the family room and pick up some sparkling water at the same time. On her way through the doorway, she stopped, recoiling at the acrid smell of cigarettes near the sliding door. The Robertsons were obviously out on their balcony smoking again...in the dark...in the snowstorm. Gee, didn’t they ever take a break?

She approached the bar and found a wine key laying next to a ring of liquid on the black and silver granite countertop. Rock must have opened a bottle of wine to have a glass at bedtime. Too tired to clean up the spot, she placed the treats on the counter, checked the refrigerator then left the room.

As she entered the bedroom, Rock emerged from the bathroom, wearing a pair of navy and green plaid pajama bottoms, sporting the brand ‘Joe Boxer’ on the elastic waistband. The pajamas hung low on his hips, accentuating his long torso and legs. She tried not to stare, but those hip-hugging pants and his sinewy bare chest looked sexier and more masculine to her than his little episode last night strutting around in nothing but his birthday suit garnished with a towel.

How sweet, she thought, that he’d decided to be a good boy and wear clothes to bed.

“There isn’t any sparkling water in the family room,” Kim said seriously, trying to resist focusing on the dusting of black hair sprinkled across his broad chest. “I guess we’ll have to get some tomorrow. That is, if we get plowed out.”

He walked over to the mini-bar, leaving a vapor trail of musky cologne in his wake. “There’s plenty in here.” He opened the refrigerator. “Would you like a glass after you take a shower?”

“I could use some right now.”

Sasha crawled out from under the bed and whined. Kim picked up the dog and set her on one of the pillows piled in the center of the mattress. “I stopped in at my place and took a shower.” She opened a dresser drawer and pulled out her pajamas. “I’ll be right back.”

When she emerged from the bathroom wearing her nightgown, Rock had prepared for her a crystal tumbler filled with ice, water and a generous wedge of lime. He grinned as his gaze swept her from head to toe. “What, no leggings tonight?”

She set the glass on the nightstand before crawling onto the bed. “They made me too warm last night. I think that’s why I couldn’t sleep.”

“Are you sure the extra clothes had something to do with it?” He flashed a killer smile and placed his hands on his hips. “Maybe you’ve got the hots for me and you just don’t want to admit it.”

Kim tried to fake an annoyed look, but his sudden comeback made her burst out laughing instead. At the same time, a gulp of sparkling water shot back up her throat like Old Faithful, cutting off her air and causing her to cough violently.

“Taking lessons from the nurse?” he teased in a light-hearted tone as he patted her on the back. “Keep this up and you’re going to get mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”

“Don’t you dare,” she managed to croak out between coughs. “I’m just fine.” She scooted under the covers and with a satisfied sigh, sunk her cheek into the feather-soft pillow. “Except for one thing; I’m so tired I could sleep through an earthquake.”

****

An hour later, Rock activated the light on his side of the bed and threw back the covers. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. “I can’t sleep.”

This time he knew why. He couldn’t get Kim off his mind. Spending time with her, eating meals with her, sleeping next to her, or rather, trying to sleep when lying next to her, kept her in his thoughts constantly. How could he not be attracted to such a sweetheart? The more he dwelled on her, the more he realized what an extraordinary woman she’d turned out to be in ways that had never mattered to him in the past. Why hadn’t he discovered these qualities in women before? The answer probably stemmed from the fact that he’d always been attracted to the wrong type of woman—the ‘vain, self-centered type’ as Kim once described it. He’d always been attracted to a certain kind of beauty, but that didn’t guarantee a ‘good match,’ a term his British-born mother used to describe finding the right wife. Women who wore quality on the outside didn’t necessarily wear it on the inside where it truly counted. He’d learned that the hard way, but he’d also learned that he had no clue as to how to get close to Kim. She didn’t buy into his material status or even his sex appeal. She saw him only as a carbon copy of the numerous lovers who’d drifted in and out of her mother’s life. What would it take to convince her that he didn’t fit the mold she’d unjustifiably cast for him?

He glanced over his shoulder and saw her staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. The Sausage lay curled up next to her head. “It’s awfully dry in here. Are you thirsty?”

She yawned and nodded, raising her hand to cover her mouth. The four-carat diamond on her left hand sparkled like a thousand points of light. Funny, but he’d never noticed the engagement ring on Diona’s hand after he had given it to her.

A couple minutes later, he presented Kim with a chilled glass of water spiked with a wedge of lime.

She sat up and kicked off the covers, crossing her feet at the ankles. Her toenails, polished in a sparkly gold color, had red poinsettia leaves hand-painted on them. “What, no wine?”

He stood there holding the glass, trying to figure her out. “I thought you wanted water at night. That’s why I stocked the mini-bar with it today.”

“I do. Thank you very much,” she said with a smile and accepted the glass as she relaxed against her pillows. “Since neither of us can sleep again, I figured maybe you had decided we needed something a little stronger. Isn’t that why you opened a bottle in the family room? I saw the wine key laying on the bar.”

He frowned as he settled on his side of the bed, contemplating what it would feel like to kiss her cute little toes as he massaged her feet. “I didn’t open any wine bottle tonight.”

“Hmmm... That’s strange,” she replied with a suspicious note in her voice. “I wonder if Nurse Ratchet is a closet alcoholic.”

“I don’t know about that, but she’s got great legs,” he said without thinking. As soon as the words left his lips, he regretted it immensely. “I-I only meant that she looks too perfect to be a nurse.”

Kim merely rolled her eyes.

“Sorry, I meant no offense to you or your profession!” He raised one palm to gesture a truce. “What I mean to say is that she doesn’t seem natural in that—”

“In that ridiculous white uniform with matching nylons,” Kim stated, finishing the sentence for him. “You’re right. No one wears a white shirtwaist dress like that anymore, not in Minnesota, anyway. It’s too impractical. She looks like she’s on her way to a Halloween party, if you ask me. I’m not sure what her game is, but I’ll tell you one thing; she’s not a nurse. I’ve never seen her do anything to care for your mother other than push Zelda’s wheelchair around.”

Rock adjusted the pillows behind him and sat back. “Come to think of it, I haven’t either, but I’m sure Zelda is well aware of the situation and has her reasons for employing the woman.” He stared across the room, focusing on Zelda’s framed photo on his dresser. “In any case, I hate seeing my mother confined to that rolling jail cell. It’s extremely difficult for her to be so dependent upon others, but she has no choice now.”

“Zelda is a strong woman,” Kim said softly. “You must get your skill for business from her.”