He leads me into a store at the end of the street. A bell sounds loudly over the door to notify someone of our arrival.
I look around and see there are groceries, alcohol and fruit. “I need clothes,” I whisper.
“Up in the back corner.”
“What?” I stare at him as my brain misfires. “Here?”
He smirks, amused by my horror. “Yes, Holly.”
I limp over to the aisle and peer down toward the back wall. I can see baby supplies and pet food. I make my way down the aisle as I wonder what the hell kind of shop is this?
“Jack,” I hear a woman’s voice call.
“Oh, hi Michelle,” Jack’s deep voice answers.
I keep walking toward the back corner. Oh, I see them now. Three tiny stands of women’s clothes.
Fuck…I think his clothes actually are better.
“It’s good to see you,” the girl’s voice says. “I’ve missed you at the bar lately.”
Huh?
I frown and peer through the shelf to see who he’s talking to. It’s a woman who looks to be in her mid-twenties. Blonde and pretty, she’s wearing tight black jeans and an oversized sweater.
“I’ve been busy,” he mutters.
“Doing what?”
“My girlfriend is here from interstate.”
“Girlfriend,” she gasps. “Since when?”
What the fuck? He’s getting picked up at the store now… ugh, I bet the women around here would all be in love with him.
I hobble to the clothes rack and pick up a shirt as I eavesdrop. Oh God, it’s hideous. I put it back on the hanger in a rush. I pick up a pair of pants and hold them up. What kind of fucking pants are these? I put them back on the hanger. He’ll never touch me again in this crap.
“Who is this girlfriend. Anyone I know?” she asks.
“Nope,” he replies curtly, and I can tell he has no patience with her. I get the feeling that Jack gets hit on a lot.
And why wouldn’t he, he’s fucking gorgeous.
Ugg.
I pick up a white t-shirt. I could tie it up in a knot at the front to make it fit. Now this… I can work with. I hang it over my arm. I glance over to the men’s section…. hmm, that stuff looks better. I hobble over to investigate. I find a pair of black track pants meant for teenage boys. I like those, so I hang them over my arm. Some flannel pyjamas. A black nightdress that I could wear as a dress. I’m getting in the groove now.
Jack ambles up behind me. “How is it going?” he asks as he puts his hand on my behind.
“Who’s your friend?” I ask.
He rolls his eyes.
“She likes you.”
“Don’t even.”
I give him a playful smile and bat my lashes. “I wouldn’t dare.”
The girl walks up the aisle and stops dead in her tracks when she sees me. Her eyes drop to Jack’s hand on my behind. “Hello,” she says flatly as she looks me up and down.
Oh…she likes him alright.
“Do you need any help?” she asks.
I fake a smile. “Do you have any wedding dresses?”
Jack drops his head to hide his smile.
Her eyes widen. “What?”
I smile sweetly. “Is that a no?”
“No,” she snaps. “We don’t.”
“Hmm, pity.” I shrug and I go back to looking through the rack while she storms off.
Jack takes me in his arms from behind. “Not nice,” he whispers in my ear.
I giggle. “She asked for it when she looked me up and down.”
He slaps me on the behind. “Behave.” He ambles off to look at something.
I find a few things, enough to get me through the week and I make my way to the counter.
The pretty girl gives me the death stare. “Is that all?”
“Aha,” I smile.
She begins to ring the things up. “Where did you two meet?”
“Online.”
She scans the pants. “How long have you been seeing each other?”
I glance around the shop, where is he? “About eighteen months.” I lie, I can hardly keep the smile from my face, it’s fun playing this game.
“Where are you from?” she asks.
“New York.”
She rolls her eyes. “Ha, Jack would never move to New York. This won’t last.”
My heart sinks, because I know she’s right. I nod, “I know.” I smile as I act like she hasn’t just hit a nerve.
“You don’t know shit about us,” Jack snaps.
Our eyes flick to him.
“I mean…. I just,” she stammers as she rings up the last item.
“Just don’t, Michelle,” Jack cuts her off. He puts his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go, babe,” he says.
I pay and he leads me out of the shop and back to the car. He helps me in on my side and gets in and starts the car with a loud rev. He seems agitated as he pulls out onto the road.
I look between him and the road. “What?” I ask.
“Nothing.”
We sit in silence for a while. “So, I take it you are hot property around here?” I ask.
He rolls his lips and stays silent.
“Well, you better tell your bitches to back off,” I tease.
He breaks into a broad smile and reaches over and squeezes my thigh. “Well, with you out looking for wedding dresses, I don’t think that will be a problem, sweetheart.”
I laugh, “I’m sorry. But her face though.”
He chuckles, too. “I know.”
He picks up my hand and kisses my fingertips and I watch him in a detached state.
His dark hair hangs over his face, his chiselled jaw and big red lips only add to his handsomeness. He really is a beautiful man.
She’s right though, this isn’t real. It won’t last….and he needs to stop being so damn perfect.
“What do you want for dinner?” he asks, interrupting my thoughts.
“I don’t know. Maybe...,” my eyes flick over to him, “a bit of Jack Stevens sounds good.”
He smiles darkly as he watches the road. “I hope you’re hungry.”
I unclip my seatbelt and lean over and unzip his jeans. He inhales sharply as I kiss his cock. “I’m fucking starving.”
I sip my tea and pull the blanket around my shoulders. I’m out on the veranda and it’s late at night. I can hear the animals in the forest and the mist is rolling over the hills.
I’ve had the most wonderful week.
Jack is intelligent and kind and funny and sexy as all fuck. We’ve talked for hours and laughed and made love. He’s shown me around his beloved town. I’ve been cooking for us and he even took me to meet his parents. But tomorrow it all ends.
After my meeting today, I came back here for one last night. The thought of not being in his quaint little log cabin with him is upsetting me, and it shouldn’t.
Because this isn’t who I am.
I’m the acquisitions manager for Ferrara Media in New York, the one who wears designer clothes and lives in a multi-million-dollar penthouse. I eat out at the best restaurants most nights, I socialize with the elite and drink fancy cocktails.
So why does it feel like this is the end of the world?
Jack comes out and the screen door bangs shut, “You need to fix that door,” I whisper.
“I know.”
He picks me up and sits down and puts me on his lap. He wraps me up in the blanket and kisses my temple and I smile, feeling safe in his arms.
Rex walks up the stairs and tries to jump up to me. Funnily enough, I’ve even made friends with him.
“Don’t,” Jack says.
Rex tries to get to me but Jack pulls me away. “Don’t, she’s mine,” he snaps as he holds me close.
And I could just cry, because something has never sounded so good.
Mine.
I need to snap out of this sappy business.
“You all packed?” he asks.
I nod.
“What time is your flight?”
“Nine.”
Jack nods but stays silent.
There’s a sense of dread between us. How do you go from not knowing someone at all, to being totally besotted with them in a week?
We haven’t discussed what’s going to happen when I leave. Up until now, it’s all felt so natural between us.
Leaving him, not so much.
I don’t like the idea of him being here all by himself. Who’s going to look after him?
“It’s been a great week,” he whispers as he looks out over the mountains.
I smile sadly. “The best.” I feel a lump in my throat, and I know our time is over. We helped each other through a rough patch. A light in the darkness.
But our worlds are different, and it would never work between us. Michelle was right, I couldn’t live here, and he couldn’t live in New York.
“Let’s go to bed, baby,” he whispers.
I nod and stand, and as he walks inside, the screen door bangs hard again.
I stare out over the view, fog puffs into the air as I breathe out. The air is so still.
And it’s not just Jack that I’m going to miss. It’s the peace that being here brings me.
“Holly,” he calls.
With one long last look, I smile sadly and walk inside, the door bangs hard again. “Can you fix that damn door?” I sigh.
“Yeah, yeah,” he mutters under his breath. “Quit nagging me, woman.”
“Last call for flight 103 to Seattle,” the voice sounds over the speaker.
I stare at the man in front of me. Jack has my two hands in his.
We are both quiet, not sure what to say.
“I should…” I go to pull out of his grip.
“Holly.” His eyes search mine. “Stay…”
I frown.
“I know I don’t…,” he pauses as if searching for the right words. “I don’t have a lot to offer.”
“You have everything to offer,” I whisper.
“We met for a reason; I truly believe that,” he squeezes my hands in his.
My face falls.
“We can try.”
My eyes well with tears. “Jack…”
He stares at me for a moment and then drops his head, already knowing my answer.
“I’ll call you when I get there.” I fake a smile.
He steps back from me as he drops my hands.
My heart sinks.
“Thanks for having me,” I say.
His eyes hold mine, but he doesn’t say anything. I lean up onto my tippy toes and go to kiss him and he turns his cheek.
Ouch.
I kiss his face and then turn, and without looking back I walk through the gates.
He didn’t want to kiss me goodbye.
With a heavy heart, I get onto the plane and take my seat and buckle up my seatbelt.
“Can I get you anything?” The stewardess smiles.
“Alcohol,” I reply flatly as my gaze turns to look out the window. “All of the alcohol.”
One week later.
I sit at the restaurant table on the sidewalk and stare at the people.
It’s Christmas Eve.
Thousands of people are all rushing to get to their destination, the jovial energy swirling around and around is a confused mess.
I feel lost. Like a stranger from the outside, looking in. I’ve been walking around in a detached daze since I got back from Alaska.
Something inside of me has changed, and I don’t know what it is.
I’m heartsick.
I’m pining for him like a love-struck teenager.
“What’s wrong with you?” Gabriel asks.
My eyes flick back to my boss, Gabriel Ferrara. He’s always been so good to me and we are close friends.
I shrug. “I met someone.”
“This is good.” He smiles excitedly.
Gabriel was there for me when I went through my divorce. More than anyone, he knows what I went through.
“In Alaska,” I sigh sadly.
His face falls. “Oh.”
“And he wanted me to stay and saying no…,” I inhale. I can’t even say it out loud.
“Was hard…,” he finishes my sentence.
I nod. “He’s …incredible.”
“Then go back.”
My eyes search his.
“Holly, you can do your job from anywhere.”
I frown.
“You don’t need to be here full-time. You can work from wherever you want in the world.”
“What?”
“I think you and me both know what a sad existence it is to live your life around work. We’ve both suffered the consequences of such an existence.”
“It’s Alaska, Gabriel.”
“You’ll never know if you don’t try,” he says.
I frown as a million thoughts run through my mind. “What if it doesn’t work out?”
He takes my hand across the table. “Then you come back and move on with your life with no regrets.”
I feel hope for the first time in a week. “When can I leave?”
“You’re not leaving me, Holly, you are working remotely. Remember that. Ferrara needs you.”
“You can transfer whenever you want to.”
I bite my lip to hide my smile, “I’ll finish up in two weeks.” We eat our lunch and lunch and make our way back to the office and as we walk through the Ferrara building foyer a security guard approaches us. “Holly, you have a visitor.”
“Oh, who is it?”
He points to the corner and I look over to see Jack standing there.
He’s wearing a grey t-shirt and blue jeans. He has a small duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He looks so out of place and he looks up and smiles softly as he sees me.
My heart somersaults in my chest and I nearly run to him. “Jack,” I whisper. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to bring you home.”
He came for me.
“It won’t be Christmas without you.”
Tears well in my eyes. “I was already on my way, baby.” I lean up and kiss his big, beautiful lips. “I was already on my way.”
THE END
Thank you so much for reading.
MORE BOOKS BY T L SWAN
Mr Masters
Mr Spencer
The Italian
Our Way
Play Along
The Stopover
The Takeover
Find Me Alastar
The Stanton Series
Dr Stanton
Gym Junkie
Marx Girl
Find me at
www.tlswanauthor.com
Chloe
’Tis the Season to be Jolly
“Are you sure you really want to do this?” my best friend, Tiff, asks while I pull on my black pants.
“I have no choice,” I say as a black turtleneck joins the ensemble. “I have to get in there and get the letter back!”
She shakes her head. “Why did you think it was a good idea to declare your love for your boss in a flipping letter?”
I glare at her. “You know I didn’t want to give it to him.” I shove on a pair of black boots with a grunt. “It was all about this Christmas wish thing I read about online, and well …” She folds her arms over her chest. “I thought if I wrote down my feelings and put it out there in the universe, I would see how stupid it was and be over it.”
Standing, I tie my hair on top of my head. “Like how can I possibly be in love with my boss?” I look at her, waiting for her to say something.
“And how is that plan working out for you?” she asks me sarcastically.
“It was an accident!” I shriek, tossing my hands up in the air. “When I printed it out, I was about to unceremoniously shred it. But then he walked out of his office, and I got flustered, okay? I thought if I put it under the files, he wouldn’t notice it.”
“So now we are g
oing to break into his office and steal it back,” she states, glaring back at me in her identical black outfit.
“Basically,” I tell her. “Now, let’s get this over with!”
We walk out of our apartment and make our way over to my office at dusk. Being able to walk to work is only one of the many reasons this is my dream job. As we get to the door, I have a thought. “Shoot. We have to get through security.”
“Play it cool and just tell them you forgot your house key in your desk.”
I flash my brightest smile at the security guard eyeing us. My heart starts to speed up, and my palms get sweaty. “My name is Chloe Ward,” I say, “and I work for Zachary Moore & Associates. I forgot my house key in my desk.”
The security guy types something on the computer and then points at the pad in front of him. “Sign in.”
On the way up to the forty-sixth floor, I moan. “I think I’m going to throw up.” I put my hand to my stomach.
“Makes sense.” Tiff smirks, not making me feel better at all.
It’s weird being in the office at night. Everything is so quiet. We walk out of the elevator and pass two Christmas trees. Going around the receptionist’s desk, we head into the ghost town of unoccupied desks. Each cubicle has some sort of Christmas decoration, and one cubicle even has Christmas music playing. “Jesus, it looks like Christmas threw up in this office.”
“I fucking hate it.” I look at her, walking by my desk that only has a cup with candy canes. “Hence the no decorations on my desk.” When we get to Zach’s door, I knock like always.
“Seriously?” she asks me, looking around at the empty office with her arms thrown out to her sides.
“It’s a habit. So shoot me.” I open the door, and moonlight pours in the window. The glow from the lights on the Christmas tree in the corner gives the office just a touch more light.
“Okay, go get it,” she orders. “I’ll be on the lookout.”
I walk over to Zach’s desk and examine the files. Files are stacked on each side. I start to panic, thinking he might have found the letter.
My hands shake as I flip through the files as fast as I can, and one heap slips to the floor. Loose papers fly everywhere, and I want to kick myself.
“Dammit,” I hiss. Dropping to my hands and knees, I methodically pick up the papers and make piles to organize them.