Sweet Christmas Kisses (70 page)

He sighed. “You’re probably right about that. I sure didn’t get it from my dad. Don’t get me wrong. I loved him with all my heart, but he never did much to prepare me for adulthood.”

“Why, did his business interests take up a lot of time? What profession did he hold?”

“Nothing, at least that I know of.”

She looked startled by his blatant admission. “Are you serious?”

“Your family tree isn’t the only one with a few sagging limbs.” He set down his glass and folded his arms across his chest, deciding to level with her. “In other words, my parents didn’t exactly have a fairytale marriage. Dad married Mother for her money. She snagged a dashing American for permanent residency in the United States and freedom from her controlling father. Oh, my parents did love each other in their own way, but they fought about money all the time.” He laughed ruefully. “That’s putting it mildly, actually. The money came from Mother’s trust and she’s always kept tight control of it.”

The Sausage left her spot on the throw pillow and crawled onto Kim’s lap. Rock watched as Kim reached down and gently stroked the dog’s back, looking content as she reposed against her pillows. For a moment, he gave into his imagination as a growing desire tempted him to lean over the pillows and kiss her plump lips, letting nature take its course from there...

“So, then how did your dad spend his time?”

To get his mind off Kim’s cute, kissable mouth, Rock extended his hand toward the clingy little mutt instead, allowing it to sniff his fingers. He paused, waiting to see if The Sausage would bite him or allow him to pet her. She merely stared at him, resting happily on Kim’s lap. After a few moments, he pulled his hand away, relieved that he still had all of his digits, but not ready to press his luck.

“He did what every rich, idle American of his generation did to pass the years. He played golf, arranged card games and drank Scotch with his cronies at the country club.” Then, expelling a sigh, Rock said, “And he died at the age of sixty-three.”

“Do you miss him?”

“I think about him every day,” Rock said sadly and winced, wondering if the pain of losing his father would ever fade. “I miss talking to him most of all. Granted, we didn’t have a lot in common, but he really cared about me. Unfortunately, he died before my company started to gain some serious momentum. He didn’t live long enough to see the success of my ideas. Dad typically didn’t put his feelings into words, but I knew he was very proud of me. He always listened, never judged.”

“And Zelda?”

“Ah, Mother means well, but she has an opinion on everything. She likes to be in charge, you know.”

Kim gave him a knowing smile. “I gather you’ve never asked her for financial assistance.”

“Not a dime,” he stated proudly. “I built my company the old-fashioned way, pay-as-you-go and what I couldn’t pay for, I financed on my own. It’s been a long, rocky road, but I don’t regret any of it.” He sighed again. “Except getting tangled up with Diona, of course.”

She looked up, pondering his statement with an innocent, blue-eyed gaze, completely unaware of how sexy she looked to him languidly resting against her pillows. For a moment, he imagined himself pulling away the physical barrier between them and kissing her luscious lips...

“I’m so sorry, Rock. I can’t understand how she could betray you like that.”

His thoughts took a U-turn at the mention of his ex-fiancé-turned-enemy. “She never expected me to find out and I wouldn’t have until the damage had been done if I hadn’t noticed an email coming through on her phone when she went to take a shower. It’s not my way to violate someone else’s privacy, but I had to look when I saw the subject line said, ‘Read and Destroy.’ It didn’t take me long to get a private investigator involved and confirm it with solid proof.”

She set the dog between them. “I hope the theft didn’t cost you a lot of money.”

He absently set his hand on the bed next to The Sausage, palm side down and amazingly, the furry hotdog-on-legs began to lick his fingers.

“Frankly, the issue isn’t so much what she stole, but whom she stole it
for
that burned me and ruined my belief in true love. She stole it for her father, the same man who helped me get into business and served as my mentor for years. When my company began growing faster than his, he became jealous and convinced Diona to spy for him. She and I had already been dating for a few months and by that time, I trusted her completely—not only with my heart, but with confidential information, too. Not long after she began coaxing information out of me, we became engaged.

“When a person agrees to take a wedding vow, it’s until death do you part, not until a better offer comes along. At least, that’s the way it is in my book.”

Kim nodded in agreement. “Are you going to prosecute her?”

He lifted his finger and began gently to rub under the dog’s chin. “I should, but no. I don’t want to hurt her the way she hurt me by getting revenge. I just don’t want anything to do with her ever again.”

Sunday morning, December 20

“If I’d known the weather could get this bad in Minnesota, I would have stayed home,” Zelda grumbled and stared glumly out the dining room window. “I suppose this bloody storm will keep us from going back to the Mall of America today.”

Everyone sat around the oval dining table, drinking coffee while gazing out the windows at the snow-covered parkland along the east bank of the Mississippi Riverfront. Kim cut a glance at Rock and wondered if
he
wished Zelda had stayed home, too, but if he did, he didn’t let on. Rock seemed preoccupied as he reclined in his chair with one arm resting on the table, holding his cup of espresso and watching the snow steadily falling. Shadows under his dark eyes hinted at the fatigue setting in from two sleepless nights.

Well, she didn’t feel so great herself. They’d talked for more than an hour last night then watched a movie before falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning. All the while they spoke, however, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he had something pressing he wanted to say to her. Was he having second thoughts about deceiving his mother? Or did he just want her to invite him to her side of the bed?

She rubbed the back of her aching neck, feeling the heavy toll of going without sleep. If she didn’t get some rest soon, she feared she couldn’t keep going. Luckily, the storm forced them to stay indoors and provided the perfect excuse to take a mid-day nap. She wondered if she could sneak away for a few hours to hibernate in her own home, where the atmosphere didn’t contain guests wearing out their welcome or a certain sexy, dark-haired man.

A gust of wind swirled the snow into a blizzard-like cloud, cutting off their view. About a foot had fallen already, burying everything on the patio under a frozen mountain of white. The local weatherman on the morning newscast had reported that the storm kept rotating in a slow-moving circle, dumping snow and creating wind that caused drifting across open spaces.

Marie shivered, clutching her cup of latte with both hands, courtesy of Rock’s fancy coffeemaker in the kitchen and Kim’s ability to figure out the contraption. Marie’s oversized tortoiseshell glasses looked like twin windows balancing on her slim nose.

Kim broke the gloomy silence by announcing the exciting agenda for the day. “What time do you want to go downstairs and get the tree?”

“What time is dinner?” Zelda interjected before Rock could work up the energy to speak.

Kim focused on Rock to avoid showing her irritation at Miss Crabby Pants for interrupting. “If it’s all right with everyone, how about having dinner at around four?” Oh well, never mind sneaking away to take a much-needed siesta. As soon as they finished putting up the tree and decorating the living room, it would be time to start cooking. At least she’d be cleaning up the dishes earlier, though.

He shrugged, seemingly uninterested in food. His hand slowly lifted the espresso cup to his lips and he sipped the steaming liquid, oblivious to Zelda’s mood. Kim had never seen him look so tired, but neither had she seen him look so handsome, either. His unshaven jaw and thick black hair, still tousled from sleeping in his luxurious bed, gave him a rugged, masculine look. He turned his head and cleared his throat, as if suddenly realizing she’d spoken to him.

“Four o’clock sounds fine. We’re not going out in this weather, anyway. We might as well dine early and watch a movie tonight. Besides, I need to get to bed at a decent hour. It’s back to work for me tomorrow and I have to go in early to prepare for a staff meeting at eight o’clock sharp.”

“I’m bored with the telly,” Zelda announced with a dissatisfied groan. “Let’s play cards or put together a puzzle or something.” She gave Kim a grouchy look. “What’s on the menu tonight?”

Good question, Kim thought and mentally ran through the list of what she had stocked in her kitchen. She definitely needed to go grocery shopping tomorrow once the blizzard stopped and Minneapolis Public Works plowed the streets so she could get out. “Um, would you like meatloaf and mashed potatoes?”

Rock and Zelda stared at each other then suddenly, together, they said, “cottage pie.”

Zelda gave an agreeable nod and held up her cup for more coffee. Kim leaned across the table to fill Zelda’s cup, not understanding what they meant by cottage pie, but didn’t want to appear ignorant so she didn’t ask. She figured it must be a British dish of some sort and made a mental note to research it on the Internet when time permitted. If Rock liked that dish, she wanted to find a recipe for it and try it out.

The moment she tilted the thermal pot to fill Zelda’s cup she heard a ripping noise and felt the garnet-colored sleeve of her left arm give way, inviting a draft to seep through a large gap in the back of her georgette blouse. Oops! She stood up straight, feeling the heat of embarrassment on her face and hoping no one noticed her wardrobe malfunction.

Marie must have heard it, though, judging by the sly, Mona Lisa smile that snuck across her face. At the same time, she reached under the table and gave Zelda a nudge. Zelda spoke something in French, presumably translating the bill of fare for dinner, but Marie’s expression suggested that Zelda hadn’t sounded convincing enough. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, Marie put her latte down and left the table in a huff.

Well, I guess you can’t please all of the people even some of the time around here, Kim thought disgustedly as she excused herself and retreated to the bedroom to find another garment. This time she selected a silver silk and cashmere sweater, hoping it would hold together, and went to the kitchen to prepare a light breakfast for the group. Marie, however, didn’t rejoin them.

****

Two hours later, after making breakfast and thoroughly cleaning the kitchen, Kim and Rock met in the hallway to go down to her place to dismantle the tree and pack up all of her decorations.

He came out of the bedroom wearing a red and black flannel shirt and a pair of worn jeans that hugged his body as though he’d painted them on. “Hey,” he said in a deep, sexy voice on their way to the elevator, “I didn’t get a chance to say this before, but you looked great in that red blouse. Why did you change?”

Kim glanced at the partially open door to Marie’s room, wondering if the nurse stood behind it, listening. “I needed something warmer to wear. I felt a
chill
in the dining room.”

He pressed the elevator button and flashed a disarming smile. “Why didn’t you say so? I would have ignited the fireplace. Better yet, I would have kept you warm.”

A loud thud echoed from the nurse’s room, sounding like something had just hit the wall.

The elevator door silently parted and they stepped in. Kim didn’t speak until the doors closed again.

“I’m going to strangle that nurse if she doesn’t quit brooding about everything. She’s supposed to be an asset to your mother, not a drag on her morale.”

They stood side by side, watching the numbers on the overhead panel slowly decrease.

Rock chuckled. “You don’t know Zelda. It’s probably the other way around.”

“Did you know Marie is wearing a wig? Something strange is going on with that girl. She’s hiding more than just her true hair color. I can feel it in the negative vibes coming off her every time I’m around her.” Kim studied Rock’s face to catch his reaction. “Do you think she’s in the country illegally? Gosh, I wonder if Zelda knows that.”

He glanced down at her, arching one brow and silently confirming that he didn’t need to answer that...

When the elevator reached the parking garage, Rock stepped out and held the doors open with his hand. “I’ll get the flatbed from the utility room and meet you at your place.”

Kim nodded and headed toward the public elevator bank to go up to the sixth floor. Once in her living room, she propped the door open for Rock to roll the flatbed through without beating up the woodwork then she stretched out on the loveseat.

Oh, if only I could curl up on this sofa for the rest of the day!

She closed her eyes for a moment and the next thing she knew, Rock stood over her, his lips close to her ear. Somewhere in the background, Nat King Cole’s deep, velvety voice softly filled the air with a Christmas song about chestnuts and an open fire.

“Wake up, sleeping beauty, or I just might join you.”

She reluctantly opened her eyes and found herself staring into his smiling face. How different he seemed since the last time they’d met here. He’d lost the cocky attitude for one thing. “How long have I been asleep?”

He took her hands and gently pulled her to a sitting position. “I’d say about ten minutes. It didn’t take you long to go into hibernation. Here,” he said and offered her a flute of sparkling liquid that had been sitting on the coffee table, “have a glass of bubbly.”

“Ugh.” She pushed it away. “It’s too early for champagne.”

He laughed and held the glass to her lips. “It’s only ginger ale from your refrigerator. Here, have a sip. It might help clear your head.”

Thinking he might be right, she accepted the glass and sampled it. The chilled, fresh liquid tasted so good she drank half the glass. “Did you meet anyone in the hallway as you were pulling the flatbed?”