Making Merry: A Christmas Romance Read online

  “No. You aren’t fired. If I could swing it, I’d be giving you a raise,” Nathan said.

  Hank laughed. “No need. I’m retiring in three months. But it’d be nice to see good people get what they deserve for a change, Mr. Bishop.”

  Hank walked away and Nathan began gathering up his things. He was excited for what the day might bring, excited for a chance to kiss Holly again when there wouldn’t be any cameras around. The sooner they all got out of the store, the sooner they could start their Christmas Day together.

  In under fifteen minutes, he was out in the garage, warming up his car and waiting for the door to open. Holly emerged first, then Barbara. Nathan watched Holly walk to her car and then he frowned. The beat up compact had seen better days. Even from a distance, he could see the tires were bald. If she tried to drive on the snow and ice in that thing she’d never make it.

  Getting out of his SUV but leaving the engine running, he headed across the garage waving at Barbara as she climbed into the truck Hank had driven them over again. He’d just reached Holly’s car when Hank emerged from the building.

  “All locked up, Mr. Bishop, with no one inside this time.”

  “That’s great, Hank. Thank you. See you tomorrow!”

  “Yes, sir!”

  The older man climbed into his truck and drove away, Barbara waving cheerfully beside him as they made their exit. When they were alone again, standing in the freezing garage, Nathan said, “You can’t drive home in this car, Holly. You’ll never make it.”

  She sighed. “I know the tires are bad. I was hoping to make it until tax season before having to replace them.”

  “I’ll drive you home and I’ll bring you back tomorrow morning. I mean, we are going to the same place, right?” he said, reaching for the keys.

  Holly’s eyes widened. “I guess we are. Whose place are we going to?”

  “I have a lake view,” he said.

  “Do you have a Christmas tree?”

  His lips firmed. “No. I don’t.”

  She laughed. “We’ll swing by your place, take a look at the lake, you can get cleaned up and then we’ll go to my house.”

  “You’re on,” he said. Taking the keys to her car from her hands, he made a mental note to get that taken care of for her. He held out his hand to her and she took it. Crossing the garage, he held the door to his SUV open for her and got her inside. He didn’t want to mess anything up. What they had was so new and so special to him, he knew that he had to make sure everything was just perfect.

  6

  The ice storm itself had been terrible. But the three inches of snow that had fallen afterward had been a blessing. It at least made the streets passable. And as lifelong residents of Illinois, driving on snow and ice was something they were well used to. As they reached the luxury lakefront building that housed Nathan’s penthouse, Holly became acutely aware of the fact that she was wearing cheap shoes, last night’s clothes, and her makeup and hair were beyond mussed. Still, as they left the garage and entered the building, they encountered no one. To say that she was relieved was putting it mildly.

  The elevator was almost silent as they rode to one of the upper floors. Getting out, they walked down the plushly carpeted hall and Nathan unlocked the door. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but it wasn’t what she found inside his apartment. Everything was black and gray, sleek and ultra modern. It didn’t suit him. In fact, there was nothing about that apartment that looked even remotely personal. No photos, or awards. It was cold and generic, like a hotel.

  “This is where you live?” she asked.

  He paused and looked around. “I wouldn’t call what I do here living. More like sleeping. I needed a place and I needed it quick. I bought this sight unseen with all furnishing included. I’m not sure if it was a divorce or a bankruptcy that put it on the market… I figured I’d redecorate but I just never got around to it.”

  “Oh,” Holly said, relieved that the apartment wasn’t a reflection of his tastes. But even though she found the space hard and unwelcoming, she as aware of just how expensive everything in it was. She’d seen the leather sofa in a design magazine and knew that it retailed for more than her car had even when it was new.

  “Hey,” Nathan said softly.

  Holly turned back to him. “Yes?”

  “What’s going on? Since the minute we pulled into the garage, you’ve been different.”

  Holly shook her head. “Just rattled I guess. Nerves. I just had this awareness that one apartment in this building is equal in cost to the cumulative worth of every house on my block… I know it’s trite, but we really do come from two different worlds.”

  “Yeah, I guess we do… but we still have things in common,” he offered.

  “Such as?”

  “Turkey and cranberry sandwiches, pastrami on rye, our love of Bishop’s… the fact that it’s part of our histories… All this,” he said, sweeping his hand out to encompass the space around them, “it’s only an obstacle if you choose to let it be one.”

  And that was exactly what she was doing. Looking for obstacles. It was an old pattern for her, finding all the reasons why the thing she wanted would always be out of reach. “You’re right.”

  He smiled. “There’s something else we have in common.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That we really liked kissing each other,” he said and moved toward her.

  Holly let out a squeak of protest. “No. Not on your life. Not until I’ve had a chance to brush my teeth!”

  Nathan grinned. “Fine. But I won’t wait a minute longer.”

  “Then you should go shower so we can get back to my house and I can do the same.”

  “Don’t go anywhere,” he said and walked away. He’d disappeared from sight for less than a half a second when he popped his head around the corner again, “I mean it.”

  “Cross my heart.”

  Holly watched him go and tried very hard not to think about the fact that he was stripping to get in the shower. Keeping her mind out of the gutter was going to be a struggle.

  * * *

  Nathan took the quickest shower of his life. He considered skipping the shave, but then he thought about Holly’s fair and incredibly soft skin. If he had his way, he’d be kissing her and kissing her a lot. So he shaved anyway.

  Dressed again in jeans and a sweater, he walked out to the living room and found Holly standing at the window staring out at the water. “That’s one hell of a view,” he said.

  “I love Lake Michigan,” she said.

  “So do I, but I wasn’t talking about the lake,” Nathan replied. “Let’s get going so you can get cleaned up and I can claim my very first Christmas Day kiss.”

  “Is that a thing?” she demanded.

  “It is absolutely a thing… there are twelve days of Christmas and we’ve missed ten of them. I need to make up for that!”

  “Ten kisses?” she asked dubiously. “That’s quite a lot considering this is only our second date.”

  Nathan picked her coat up from the couch and helped her put it on. “But I’ve been wanting to ask you out for months… that counts, right?”

  Holly laughed. “I don’t think so… but I’ve wanted you to ask me out for months.”

  “Then it definitely counts,” he said, turning her around and zipping up the heavy coat. Because she was close enough, and because he couldn’t resist, he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

  Within minutes, they were back in his SUV and driving across town. The roads were still snow covered and there were a few slick spots, but overall, it wasn’t awful. The thirty minute drive to Holly’s was filled with the low hum of the engine and the faint notes of Christmas carols coming from the car stereo. Neither of them said much, but then they didn’t really need to. As they pulled into her driveway, Nathan noted that the little house, while modest, was well maintained. The small, brick Tudor with it’s high peaked roof and red shingles looked straight out of a story book.
r />   “Have you always lived here?” he asked.

  “Pretty much,” Holly replied. “It was my grandparent’s house. When my grandmother passed away, she left it to me. I can vaguely recall an apartment that my Mom had when I was really little, but then she had my sister, Stephanie, and we moved back in with my grandparents.”

  “Where’s your mom now?” Nathan asked.

  Holly shrugged. “I don’t really know. When Stephanie was still a baby, Mom met this guy. He wanted her but he didn’t want kids… and as far as I know, she never looked back.”

  “I’m sorry.” He was kicking himself for asking. “I shouldn’t have pried.”

  “It’s not prying,” she said. “And I don’t mind it. That’s something I made peace with a long time ago… Now let’s get inside. It’s freezing out here!”

  Nathan hurried around and opened the door for her and waited as she unlocked the front door of the house. Stepping inside, he could smell pine and cinnamon. In the corner of the living room, with its old fashioned plaster work and cubbyholes, was a large balsam tree decked with vintage ornaments and a pretty star on the top. It looked like something from a Christmas card or movie.

  “This is beautiful.”

  Holly smiled at him. “It’s home… Now, I’m going to shower and then I’m going to make us breakfast.”

  “I’ll keep myself occupied,” he promised.

  When Holly had vanished up the narrow staircase, he meandered around the room. There were pictures and mementos everywhere. Framed family photos caught his eye. Holly’s grandfather stood tall and proud in a sharp suit next to a petite woman who had Holly’s same shy smile. He recognized them. He’d seen them in the store countless times as a boy, but that had been before he’d gone away to school and before he’d have ever noticed Holly.

  It was more than half an hour later that Holly entered the living room. Her face was freshly scrubbed, her hair had been pulled up in a ponytail and she wore jeans and a soft, fuzzy sweater that made her even more inviting to touch.

  “Omelettes?” she asked.

  “Only if I get to help.”

  “Oh, I’ll put you to work,” she teased. “Come on.”

  Nathan followed her into the kitchen where she pulled fresh ingredients from the fridge and set him to chopping them. While he did that, she worked her magic and began brewing a pot of coffee before she started whipping up the eggs. In short order, they had fluffy omelettes and toast and were tucked into the built in breakfast nook just off the kitchen. They could look out into the snow covered back yard as they ate.

  “I could get used to this,” he said.

  “Then you’ll have to move a little further north,” Holly replied.

  Nathan looked at her for a moment. “I didn’t mean the snow… I mean this. Breakfast with you. A cozy kitchen.”

  “We’ve not even been on a real date… unless you count being locked in,” Holly replied. “Don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourself?”

  “No,” Nathan answered. And he didn’t. There was something so right in being with her, so easy and so perfect. Since his first day back at Bishop’s, he’d been drawn to her. He’d found a dozen excuses every day to pass by the coffee kiosk. Why? Because just seeing her made his day better. “You’re amazing… you always make me smile. Even when I think I don’t have anything to smile about.”

  * * *

  Holly’s heart was pounding in her chest. “I wait for you every day,” she admitted. “I don’t feel like the day is complete until I’ve seen you at least once. Is this nuts?”

  “If it is, it’s the best kind of nuts,” he answered.

  They finished their breakfast and then moved back to the living room. Holly turned on the TV. A Christmas Story was playing and they both settled in on her couch to watch it. Somehow, they wound up sitting so close together that it was the most natural thing in the world for Nathan’s arm to go around her, for her to lean against his chest. She looked up at him, “You’re right,” Holly said. “This is the best kind of nuts.”

  Nathan smiled down at her. “I think it’s time for me to claim my first kiss of the day.”

  Holly’s eyes drifted closed as his lips settled over hers. It was a much more intimate kiss than the one they’d shared in the store. There were no security cameras there, nothing to stop him from deepening the kiss and pulling her fully against him. She was breathless with it, drunk on the sensation of being in his arms, of having his lips on hers, and the tantalizing taste of him on her tongue. When they finally broke apart, both of them were breathing hard, their hearts pounding.

  “There’s only one cure for this, you know?” he said.

  She couldn’t. Well, she could. But it was awfully soon. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

  “Well, of course, you’re not. You can’t build a snowman without gloves, Holly,” he teased.

  “That’s the cure? Building a snowman?” she asked with a laugh.

  The amusement left his gaze and the look he graced her with was one of heated promise. “Let’s just say I’ll be very happy to get outside in the cold air.”

  7

  The snowman was completed. Surveying their handiwork, Nathan was fairly impressed with it. An old scarf, a hat, a carrot for a nose—they’d ticked all the boxes. Still congratulating himself, he was blindsided by a snowball. It came from out of nowhere, caught him right on the shoulder and then exploded, showering him with snow. He heard Holly giggling even as he was reaching down, packing his own snowball to fire one back at her.

  Nathan couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a snowball fight. In fact, it was hard for him to even remember the last time he’d truly laughed. Oh, sure, polite laughter or mild amusement. But not that deep down, joyous laughter that harkened back to childhood. Still grinning, he packed yet another snowball, he had it in hand, ready to toss it.

  “I surrender!” Holly called it. “I’d wave a white flag but it would just vanish out here!”

  He chuckled again and dropped the snowball. And the minute he did, she lobbed another missile in his direction. “This means war,” he said. But he didn’t simply throw a snowball. Instead, Nathan advanced on her, moving in and zig zagging as she tossed one after another in his direction. A few found their mark, most went wide. And when he caught her, looping his arms around her waist, he took them both down to the snow covered ground.

  But as they lay there in a tangle of limbs, their laughter faded. Holly was under him, her arms around him, and he found himself nestled between her thighs. It was a position that called to mind much more enjoyable activities than just playing in the snow, and definitely more adult activities.

  She shivered under him.

  “We should go inside,” he said. “It’s freezing out here.”

  “I don’t feel cold,” she said.

  He had to kiss her in that moment. He needed to kiss her as much as he needed his next breath. So he did. Thoroughly. He kissed her until they were both breathless and panting, until her eyes were heavy lidded and dazed when she glanced up at him again.

  “I thought we should wait,” Holly said softly. “But now I’m not so sure.”

  “I thought you weren’t ready,” Nathan reminded her.

  “I might be more ready than I thought,” Holly answered. “This doesn’t feel like it’s new. It doesn’t feel like we just got trapped together in the store last night… I feel like I’ve known you forever. Like maybe I’ve been waiting for your forever.”

  Nathan stared down at her, their gazes locked. “I feel the same way. This isn’t something casual for me, Holly.”

  “Then let’s go inside… and let’s go upstairs,” she murmured.

  * * *

  Inside the house, in the warmth of her bedroom, Holly tried to wrap her head around what was about to happen. First, she was about to sleep with her boss. It was a little terrifying, probably a mistake, and she couldn’t really bring herself to care. Second, more than just her boss, she w
as getting ready to go to bed with the man of her dreams—the man whom she’d literally been fantasizing about on a daily basis.

  “Second thoughts?” he asked.

  “More like fortieth thoughts… but I still haven’t talked myself out of it yet,” she admitted. “Somethings are worth the risk, I guess.”

  He moved closer to her, his hands settling on her hips. “There’s no risk here. Just reward.”

  Staring up at his too handsome face, recalling the feel of his stubbled cheek against her own softer skin and the heady sensation of his lips on hers, she did something totally unlike her. She threw caution to the wind. Gripping the scarf still wound around his neck, she tugged his face down to hers until they were nose to nose. “Kiss me again… kiss me until all the doubts go quiet and there’s nothing but us and this moment.”

  Holly closed her eyes as his lips settled on hers again. It was so different, knowing that it would be so much more than a kiss. The way his lips moved over hers, the way his hands mapped the curve of her waist and hips. And then he was walking her backwards toward the bed without ever breaking that contact. When the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed, it was only his arms closing tightly around her that kept her from falling. And then his hands were sliding beneath her sweater just as hers were diving beneath his. The need to touch him, to feel his skin against hers, was undeniable. And then clothes began to vanish, layer by layer and piece by piece, they were discarded on the floor until they were both completely naked.

  He maneuvered Holly back onto the bed and she’d thought he would be on top of her immediately. But he wasn’t. He hung back, his hungry gaze traveling over her. For once in her life, she didn’t worry about cellulite or her not flat stomach. Under his heated gaze, she felt beautiful and sexy and all those other things that her shaky confidence never quite let her enjoy.

  “You’re taking your sweet time,” she challenged.