Unexpected Gifts: (The Steamy Version) (A Castle Mountain Lodge Romance Series Book 1) (8 page)

It was over too soon, but she was well aware of their very public environment and if the kiss went on much longer, it might not be appropriate for all audiences. She pulled away and smiled when she saw the look in his eyes. There was no mistaking that he felt the same way.

“That was unexpected,” Colin said.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well,” he amended. “Not entirely. I’ve been wanting to do that almost from the moment I saw you.”

She laughed. “So not unexpected at all, then.”

He shook his head and Andi couldn’t be sure, but it almost looked as if he blushed a little.

“Come on,” she said. “If I’m going to get this ball organized, I better get started.” Eva was going to kill her with the extra work the Holly Berry Ball would be, but it would be fun. And if Colin was helping, well, all of a sudden, the idea of planning a dreaded holiday party held a certain appeal.

Colin left Andi combing through the dozens of folders and files Carmen had sent to the villa and went to check out the shops that lined the courtyard and made up part of the Village. He hadn’t packed anything beyond jeans, t-shirts, and sweaters, and from the look of the menu at Oliver’s, going out for dinner was going to require a wardrobe modification.

There were a surprising number of stores to choose from, considering they were up in the mountains away from everything. But maybe that was the reason. A vacation destination with shopping built right in—a little something for everyone. The more time he spent at the Lodge, the more he enjoyed it. Or maybe it was just the company he’d enjoyed. Either way, it was turning out to be a great holiday.

It didn’t take long for Colin to find a menswear store and he was soon outfitted with dress pants and a blue shirt the sales girl told him brought out the sparkle in his eyes. Of course, she’d been flirting with him and he surprised himself by not flirting back, like he normally would. Instead, he couldn’t help but wonder what the sales girl would say if she knew it was Andi who’d put the sparkle in his eyes earlier. Or more specifically, the kiss they’d shared.

His cell phone rang as he headed outside, bags slung over his shoulder. He dug it out of his coat pocket and answered it without checking the ID. No doubt Andi wanted him to pick up something for the party, or needed him back at the villa. Maybe she just wanted him home. His heart raced at the thought.

“I’m on my way,” he said into the phone.

“On your way where?” Rose’s grandmotherly voice came through the line. “I thought you were holed up in the mountains, having a traditional holiday or some such thing. Why you couldn’t get the same thing with my family is beyond me. There’s nothing wrong with the way we do Christmas, ya know?”

Colin suppressed a laugh and rolled his eyes. Rose had worked overtime to get him to come to her house for the holidays. And as much as he wanted to experience everything the holidays had to offer, he couldn’t imagine being surrounded by her fifteen grandchildren. Even for him, it would be a little too much.

“Merry Christmas, Rose,” he said. “Shouldn’t you be enjoying your family?”

“I’m doing just that,” she said. “But I just had to call my favorite boss to see how he was doing. I worry about you in the mountains all by yourself.”

“I’m not by myself.” Colin knew Rose didn’t approve of his playboy ways. She would love it if he would find a nice girl and settle down. He couldn’t help wondering what she would think of Andi.

“Is that so?” He could almost see her wagging her finger at him. “Well, I guess there’s nothing I can say to change your mind about turkey dinner then, is there?”

“Actually, Rose,” he said. “It’s not what you think.” He wouldn’t normally fill his assistant in on personal details, but Colin found himself telling her everything about Andi and the unlikely situation they were in. As he talked, he walked along the cobblestones, kicking at the snow that drifted across his path. The air was crisp, even with the sun high in the sky. It was the perfect weather for the end of December and he’d missed it. Too many years surrounded by the sandy beaches and blue ocean had made him long for the ice and snow. He didn’t think it possible to miss the feeling of his toes going numb, or the ache in your back after shoveling the driveway, but he had.

When he had finished relaying the story, there was silence on the other end of the phone. “Rose? Are you still there?” The reception could be spotty in the mountains; maybe he’d lost the connection.

He heard a cough and then Rose’s voice, much quieter than usual. “Colin, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were in love.”

Colin tripped over his feet and dropped his bags in the snow. When he recovered, he said, “What are you talking about? Love? That’s crazy.”

“Is it?”

“Rose, you’re being ridiculous. I just met this woman.”

“Colin Hartford, I’ve been around the block a few times, and I know more about love than I’d care to admit,” she said. “And I’ll tell you what. You don’t need weeks and months to fall in love; you just need the right two people and the perfect circumstance.”

Colin brushed the snow off his bags, quickly checking to see if any had slipped inside. “Well, I don’t know about that.”

“Just keep an open heart,” she said. “I have to run now. There are still more gifts to wrap before the madness starts.”

“Have a happy holiday, Rose,” Colin said with a smile. “I’ll see you next week.”

“Merry Christmas, Colin.”

After he hung up, Colin couldn’t focus his thoughts. In love? With Andi? He’d never heard anything so ridiculous. He didn’t do relationships, let alone ones that involved actual love. And with Blaine’s ex? There was no way. But if anyone could see it, it would be Rose.

She’d been a fabulous assistant to him and his father before him. She had known him since he was a child. He had to admit, she was probably the one person who knew him the best. After his father died and Colin decided to take over the alarm systems company, Rose had walked him through everything. She’d been indispensable. And so loyal. Even when his dad practically ran the business into the ground, she’d stayed with him, despite only barely making a wage herself. Colin had more than made up for that, though.

It wasn’t until after he’d turned things around and built up the business again that Colin had the idea of expanding into the Caribbean. The decision to offer companies down south top-of-the line security had been a good one. Both Colin and Rose did well for themselves now. But he’d been gone a long time and it was no secret that Rose had wanted Colin to come home. But would he stay? Colin stopped walking, bent down and scooped up the snow in his bare hand. The icy coolness ran through his fingers as it melted. Yes, he was ready to take the snow over the sandy beaches.

A figure in a shop window caught his eye, distracting him from his thoughts. The store looked to be classier than the typical souvenir shop he’d seen earlier. There were ceramics, ornaments, and other beautiful handicrafts that even he could appreciate. But it was an item in the back of the window that’d made him stop.

Stuck on a shelf, towards the back of the display, was the perfect non-Christmasy Christmas gift for Andi. They hadn’t said anything about exchanging presents. But it didn’t seem right to have such a lovely tree in the villa with nothing under it. Besides, she wasn’t a stranger anymore. She was Andi.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Eva, don’t freak out.” Andi tucked the phone under her chin and flipped through the file in front of her. “I may have a little project for us.”

“Any conversation that starts like that is bound to make me freak out,” Eva said. “What on earth have you done?”

Andi smiled at her friend’s reaction. She knew Eva wouldn’t reject it out of hand.

“Well, it’s a small little Christmas party for the Lodge.” Best to ease her into the idea.

“Andi, the Lodge doesn’t do small parties. Just tell me.”

So she did. Andi spilled the story about how Carmen was left in the lurch for an event coordinator and how since she just happened to be there, Andi thought she’d help out.

“But you hate Christmas,” Eva said.

Andi looked out the window to the snow-covered pines wrapped with twinkling lights. They were starting to come on as the sun set behind the mountains.

“I did,” she said. “I mean, I do.”

“Which is it?”

“I might be changing my mind.”

“Wow, the Lodge must be working it’s magic on you. I didn’t think it was possible for you to be converted to the candy cane cause,” Eva said. “By the way, how are things? You left a message saying things got screwed up. Did it get sorted out?”

“Ummm, yes,” Andi said. She touched a finger to her lips, remembering her kiss with Colin. “Things most definitely got sorted out. I’m actually sharing a villa with this guy—”

“Wait. What?” Her friend managed to get out before being taken over by a coughing fit. After a moment, Eva got herself under control and said, “Sorry, coffee went down the wrong pipe. What do you mean, you’re sharing a villa? What on earth is going on?”

“It’s really not that big of a deal,” Andi said, knowing full well it was a big deal. “There was a mix-up with the reservations, and they didn’t have room for me, so Colin offered to share his villa with me, since he was by himself.”

“Colin? What do you even know about this guy? How do you know he’s not going to murder you in your sleep, or worse?”

“Worse than murder?” Andi laughed.

“It’s not funny,” Eva said. Andi could picture her friend pacing in their tiny office. If there was something Eva did well, it was worry about things out of her control. “This is serious. You need to get out of there right now.”

Andi put the file she was holding down and stood. “Honestly, Eva. He’s perfectly safe. He’s actually an old friend of Blaine’s.”

“Blaine? This keeps getting better and better.”

“Well, they’re not really friends,” Andi admitted. “But they did go to school together. I get the feeling there’s some kind of history between them. But that’s not important. The strangest part is that I’ve met him before. Remember that trip Blaine and I took to St. Lucia?”

“Vaguely.”

“We actually had dinner with Colin on that trip because he was living down there at the time.”

“What a coincidence.”

“I know, right,” Andi said, ignoring the snark in her friend’s voice. “Anyway, he’s really nice and funny and he’s…well, he’s kind of cute.”

“Wait a minute. Stop everything. Are you saying you like this guy?” Eva’s tone shifted.

“I think I do,” Andi admitted. “He’s been doing what he calls his ‘Christmas Conversion’ project, showing me how wonderful the holidays can be.”

“And it’s obviously working,” Eva said with a giggle. “Okay, so now I understand what’s really going on. What about the fact that he knows Blaine? Isn’t that kind of strange?”

“It bugged me at first, but really I don’t think it matters. They aren’t close, and…well, I can’t hold that against him.” As she talked, Andi went to the kitchen and poured herself a fresh cup of coffee. “So you’ll help me with the ball?”

“You know I will,” Eva said. “Tell me what we need to do and I’ll be there. But I have to be gone first thing in the morning. My mom has a big dinner planned.”

“Thank you. You can stay here—there’s an extra room in the villa.”

“Perfect, and then you can tell me all about this guy, right?”

Andi swallowed her coffee hard and ignored the question. “After looking at what they have here and what they’ve done in the last few years, we should be good for decorations, and of course the Lodge will handle the food. We just need to plan a menu. We should be able to utilize the staff to work the party but we still need a theme.”

“Okay,” Eva said. “I’ll work on the theme and then you can tell me about this guy.”

There was the sound of the keycard in the lock and Andi looked over to see Colin, laden with bags, come through the door. She waved her hand in his direction but put her finger to her lips to keep him quiet.

Colin nodded his head and went down the hall to put his packages away. Andi turned her attention back to the phone, and Eva. “I have to go. Call me later.”

“Oh, he’s there, isn’t he? You don’t have to tell me now, but you’ll tell me sooner or later.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” she said to her friend and hung up before she could hear Eva’s protests.

There was no point having her read more into the situation than there was. It was just a kiss. Amazing, and toe curling, sure, but it was still only one kiss. Besides, Colin had made it really clear he didn’t want anything more, and as much as Andi would like to pretend she could be the one-night stand type, she wasn’t so sure her heart could make the leap. She looked at the tree in the corner of the room. She had to admit, it was beautiful. The lights sparkled, and the fresh piney smell filled her senses. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. And Christmas could be a lot of fun this year, if she let it.

“Andi,” Colin said, making her jump. She hadn’t heard him come into the room.

She turned around and the sight of him made her stomach clench.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t,” she said. “I was just thinking and…” His slow smile distracted her. Damn. Could he be thinking of their kiss too?

“Andi, I—“

“I should probably get ready,” she said, cutting him off. “We have dinner reservations.”

Andi did her best to be casual as she walked past him towards her room, but when her arm brushed his, she knew he could feel the electricity between them just as well as she could.

Colin knew Andi would look amazing dressed in something besides the jeans and sweaters he’d seen her in, but he wasn’t prepared for the woman who sat across from him at the restaurant. She was stunning in a simple fitted black dress that showed off all of her assets. But it was her silky dark hair that she’d let loose from her standard ponytail, that mesmerized him. It was shiny and looked so soft that Colin couldn’t stop himself from imagining what it would look like splayed across a pillow.

All through their appetizers and steaks, they’d talked about all types of things. She’d seemed impressed with how he’d turned things around in his business, and he’d been equally impressed with her party planning company. She was a driven woman, which only made her more attractive to him, if that was even possible.