A Maine Christmas...or Two (10 page)

They never made it out of bed until the next evening, and they were both so happily exhausted that it was all they could do to eat, and then take themselves straight back to bed, the candy canes completely forgotten.

But it was the merriest Christmas Grady and Emily had ever had.

O
ne week later,
Grady found himself back at the Youth Center, but he wasn’t exactly going reluctantly anymore. Grady Sinclair was throwing a party, and he was actually the host. He’d had very little time to arrange it, but he’d pulled off a pretty decent New Year’s Eve bash.

The party was in full swing, the band he’d hired filling the hall with music that had most of the folks of Amesport out on the makeshift dance floor.

He smiled as he watched Emily hugging her parents and laughing. God, she made him happy, and he felt every possessive instinct in his body stand at attention when he saw the flash of his ring on her finger, almost unable to believe she was really his.

Her mom and dad had been surprised when Grady’s private jet had picked them up at the airport, but they had taken everything in stride. They’d come to meet him and attend the party to make their daughter happy. Really, Grady thought that was pretty extraordinary. Maybe it was normal behavior for loving parents, but normal was something he’d never experienced with his own mother and father.

Honestly, his childhood
had
been fucked up, but Emily made up for all that and more. If he had to do it again just to find his way to her, he’d do it in a heartbeat. He’d moved to Amesport to finally try to find some peace, but he realized that real happiness couldn’t be found in a location. His real joy was Emily.

Grady’s eyes strayed to the other side of the room, watching his siblings all gathered together, looking like they were actually enjoying the party, maybe because it had brought them all together again. Hope had come from Aspen, minus her loser boyfriend, and his brothers Evan, Dante, and Jared had all arrived together a short time ago. Even Jason had showed up, claiming he had nothing better to do for New Year’s Eve. Grady pretty much doubted that, and he saw the way that Jason was watching Hope. He was almost certain it was the same way that he looked at Emily, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. Hope was his baby sister, barely twenty-six, and she had known Jason most of her life.

Well, at least she wouldn’t be dating a loser this time.

His wayward thoughts were interrupted as Emily came toward him, her hips swaying in a red cocktail dress that he really thought should be illegal. It clung to her curves and exposed more skin than he thought she should be showing, but she looked so incredibly hot that he was hard the instant she smiled at him.

“I still can’t believe you arranged all this. God, you look gorgeous in a tuxedo.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a soft kiss on his lips. “You’re amazing, Mr. Sinclair.”

Grady raised a brow at her, knowing a challenge when he was confronted with it. “I thought I told you that I’d make you pay for calling me that. There’s a lot of Sinclairs. I want to be special.”

“You never told me exactly how that punishment would work.” She’d moved closer, talking to him in her
fuck-me
voice, right next to his ear. “I might like it.”

Okay…the party had been a great idea, and it had made his woman happy, but he was ready to take her home now. “I’ll show you when we get home.” Thank God all of his siblings had their own place.

“Hope apologized. Poor thing. She was mortified when she heard what happened. You shouldn’t have told her,” Emily scolded lightly. “I like her. I like all of your family.”

“It seems strange, all of us together again.” Grady wrapped his arms around Emily’s waist. “I missed them.”

“Maybe they can stay for a while,” Emily said hopefully.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Grady warned her with a frown. “It’s a miracle that we’re just all in the same place right now.”

“One minute to midnight,” a happy male voice pronounced loudly, making himself heard over the music.

Grady snagged two glasses of champagne from a nearby table and brought one to Emily. His siblings, Jason, and Emily’s parents all gathered around them, and Grady’s heart felt as full as it could possibly get. He was here with the woman he loved, all of their family around them. It just didn’t get any better than this.

“I can’t wait until later,” Emily whispered into his ear in sultry voice.

Okay…maybe it
could
get better later, but he was still pretty damned contented.

“Are you tipsy?” he asked Emily with a smile. She’d told him earlier that she got a little wild when she drank, so he’d made damn sure her glass was full all evening.

“Maybe just a tiny bit,” she admitted, holding up her index and thumb with a fair amount of space in between.

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

The entire hall exploded with cheers, the New Year being properly greeted by the people of Amesport.

After Emily had hugged everyone in the family and bussed them all on the cheek, she grabbed his hand and tugged him onto the dance floor. “Dance with me,” she insisted, throwing her slightly intoxicated self into his arms without inhibition.

Grady swooped her up into his arms, letting her feet float slowly back down to the floor. “Happy New Year, Angel.”

“Happy New Year, love,” she answered, her eyes glowing with happiness. “Tell me your New Year’s wishes and I’ll make them all come true,” she told him with conviction.

Grady smiled down at her. “I wish that you would love me forever.”

She smacked him playfully on the arm before letting him swing her into a dance to “Auld Lang Syne.” “You already have
that.
Think of something else.”

“Impossible, Angel. You already made anything I could wish for come true.”

Her eyes started to shine with unshed tears. “I love you, Grady.”

He pulled her closer and whispered into her ear, “I love you, too. Thank you for giving me back the holidays. What’s your New Year’s wish?” He wanted desperately to give Emily anything she wished for and more.

“I wish that you would kiss me,” she answered simply.

“I’m a billionaire, and that’s the only thing you wish for?” He smirked, but his heart was secretly singing.

“It’s what I want. You told me you’d try to give me anything I wanted,” she told him in a mischievous voice, tossing his own words back at him.

“Anything you want, sweetheart,” he answered, his voice amused.

Two seconds later, Grady had Emily bent over his arm, and he made damn sure that he gave her the sweetest, most passionate New Year’s kiss she’d ever had.

~The End~

Other Books in The Billionaire’s Obsession series:

The Billionaire’s Obsession ~ Simon

Heart Of The Billionaire

The Billionaire’s Salvation

Copyright © 2013 by Cali MacKay

http://calimackay.com
http://www.facebook.com/authorcalimackay

A
idan got ready
to hunker down for the nor’easter that was threatening to hit Mermaid Isle. Maine winters could certainly be brutal, but this storm had veered from its original course and now threatened to be one for the record books. It would guarantee the island a picture-perfect, snowy white Christmas, though that did little to ease the demons that tormented him this time of year.

His pantry was well-stocked, he had a cord of wood for his fireplace, and a generator that should kick in if he lost power. He even had a bottle of whiskey should the need arise, though more often than not, he chose to live with the pain rather than dull it.

It usually helped to stay busy, and he’d found that woodworking and making handcrafted furniture was the only thing that brought him some semblance of peace. Not that it would be enough with the holidays approaching.

The wind started to howl and whistle as icy flakes of snow whipped against the large windows. He stoked the fire and added another piece of wood when there was an unexpected knock at his door, sending his shaggy hound into a barking fit. “Whist, pup.”

Who the hell was out in this mess? He then thought of his cousin, Lucy, who’d recently moved in down the road with her husband and was nearly five months pregnant. Panic snaked through his chest as he yanked the door open, worried she was somehow in trouble.

The person on his doorstep wasn’t his cousin, and it sure as hell wasn’t anyone else he recognized either. She looked like Snow White—porcelain skin with rosy cheeks, black as night hair, ice blue eyes, and lush, naturally red lips. Definitely not a local, though what the hell she was doing out in this bad of a storm, he hadn’t a clue. And it was really coming down now. “Can I help you?”

“Aidan Nordson?” When he nodded, she gave him a shy smile, squinting against the snow that lashed at her face. “I’m Chloe Madison—Finn’s friend.”

“The birdseye maple desk with rosewood and mahogany inlay.” He seldom made furniture for anyone but friends and family, since he didn’t need the money. However, he did occasionally make an exception if it was a favor to a friend. Chloe had been just that. A favor for his younger brother. Though why the hell she’d turned up on his doorstep, he hadn’t a clue—and in a goddamn blizzard, no less. There had to be close to eighteen inches on the ground already, and that didn’t include the drifts.

“That’s right. The desk for my father.” Her smile widened and her blue eyes sparkled with relief, though she still looked a little unsure. “I’m sorry…do you mind if we have this conversation inside? It’s freezing out here, and I’m sure I must be letting all your heat escape.”

“Yeah, of course. Sorry.” He stepped aside to let her in, though, truth be told, he wasn’t happy about it. He liked his privacy, and didn’t usually let any strangers into his home. On the rare occasion that he’d taken orders for his furniture or had business to conduct, he usually dealt with them in the barn behind the house, which he’d converted into his workroom. “Didn’t you get my email? There’s a huge storm getting ready to hit. I told you not to come.”

“I did get it, but not until I was already hours into my drive up from Boston. Since I was nearly here and this is a Christmas gift, I figured I might as well keep going.” She quickly glanced out the window and crinkled her nose. “Although…I didn’t think the storm was supposed to be that bad.”

“The storm veered from the original prediction, which had it going out to sea. I’m surprised you even made it this far without driving into a ditch or the ocean. The bridge…” Fuck. He shook his head and stifled the groan that rumbled in his throat. “It gets too icy in storms like this and they close it down. You need to go. Now. Before you get stuck on the island.”

“But…what about the desk? I came all this way.
Please
.” Chloe grabbed his arm with a grip he hadn’t expected, her eyes begging and pleading with him. “I can’t disappoint my father. This was supposed to be the perfect gift…and a peace offering.”

He sighed, knowing he’d regret this. “Go get warmed up by the fire while I make a call. I might be able to get them to hold off on closing the bridge. Not that you’ll survive the drive back to Boston.”

A deathly cold washed over him as he thought about her getting into an accident. It had his entire body going stiff, and it took all he had to force air into his lungs and keep the shaking at bay.

Just make the phone call. That was all that mattered right now.

He called the police station and got Janice, their dispatcher. Quickly explaining his situation, he cursed under his breath when she told him that they’d already closed the bridge an hour ago. “It’s an emergency, Janice…I have a woman here who needs to get off the island. I can send her down there right now…No, it’s not life or death…She’ll waive any liability…
Please
…Yeah…ok. I know. Thanks anyway. Stay safe.”

What he didn’t understand was that the bridge had already been closed an hour, and yet she’d only just arrived at his house. “How did you get onto the island? They put the gates down on the bridge an hour ago and the ferry doesn’t run in the winter—or in bad weather, for that matter.”

She pressed her plump red lips together into a tiny pout. “Sorry—I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and my blood sugar was plummeting and making me woozy, so I stopped in town to grab a bite to eat since they were still open at the time.”

Perfect. She was driving around in the middle of a blizzard while woozy. And now she was stuck on the island. “I don’t know what to tell you…That bridge is closed and there’s no other way off the island. Not to mention, this blizzard is a slow mover and it could literally be days before the snow even stops. And that doesn’t necessarily mean the roads will even be passable.”

Bloody hell. He’d be stuck with her crashing at his place until the storm stopped.
Longer
, since they’d still have to dig out.

The Siren Song Inn
.

And then he remembered that they were closed. Since it was the slowest time of the year, they’d shut down for the holidays to give all their employees the opportunity to spend time with their families and friends.

He swore the universe was conspiring against him.

“I’m really sorry about this. I didn’t know the storm had changed course.” She pulled her jacket snug around her body, as if it’d keep her warm from his frosty reception. “I’ll get going. I saw signs for an inn on the other side of the island.”

“It’s closed until after the New Year.” He let out a weary sigh, and then felt guilty when he saw how miserable she looked for getting herself stranded. “You’ll have to stay here. The house is big enough to give you privacy, and we’ve got plenty of food, wood, and a generator if needed.”

“I really appreciate this. Finn…well, he mentioned you like your privacy…” The blush on her porcelain skin deepened as she turned away from him and distracted herself with giving his dog a scratch.

Finn wouldn’t discuss Aidan’s personal life with anyone, though he likely warned Chloe that he could be a little…gruff. His jaw clenched with pent-up annoyance and anger, but he pushed it away. “Her name’s Paisley.”

“She’s cute—and
huge
. And she can’t be more than a few months old, right?” Paisley laid down at Chloe’s feet and was rewarded with a belly rub.

“She’s part wolfhound and part setter, so I’m sure she still has some growing to do.” At least he still remembered how to have a conversation. Sort of. “Why don’t I show you to your room? Do you have anything you want to grab from your car?”

Giving Paisley a final belly rub, she stood back up, her long black hair falling in waves over her shoulder. “Actually, I was going to head straight to my dad’s in New Hampshire for the holidays once I’d picked up the desk, so I packed a bag. I don’t suppose…do you know how long I might be stuck here? My father’s expecting me for Christmas.”

“I hate to disappoint you, but that’s not going to happen. Christmas is in just a few days, and as big and slow as this storm is, we’ll be lucky if it’s even stopped snowing by then.” Reminding himself of just how long he’d be stuck with Chloe had his body going tense, especially when she’d be around for Christmas.

It’d been years since the accident, and yet it hadn’t gotten any easier. How could it when it involved his fiancée and their unborn child?

His jaw tightened and his body tensed as he forced the pain and the memories back into the darkness. “You should get your bag while you can still get to your car without needing to shovel it out.”

“I suppose so. And thanks…for letting me stay.” She let out a deep breath, as if she’d been holding it, and then headed out the door.

Aidan cursed himself, the storm, and the universe for screwing with him, while he waited for Chloe to return. All he wanted was to be left alone with his misery, and instead he was trapped in his house with a complete—albeit pretty—stranger. He might be miserable, but that didn’t mean he was blind, and with that black hair, those blue eyes, and her blushing porcelain skin, she was striking.

It didn’t help that he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been with someone, and it wasn’t long before he realized that it had been Hannah.

He pushed thoughts of his dead fiancée out of his head when Chloe walked through the door, stomping the snow off her boots and onto the mat in his entry, while dragging a suitcase behind her.

Not bothering to ask and ignoring her protests, he grabbed her suitcase and headed for the stairs. “This way.”

He showed her to her room, and was pleased to see her eyes go wide. Though he may not get many visitors, he took pride in his home, having designed it himself. Being a post and beam home, he’d showcased the massive timbers and beams with cathedral ceilings, and enhanced the rustic feel with stone. He’d even helped build a fair amount of it, and nearly all the rooms had pieces of furniture he’d handcrafted.

“Wow. It’s just gorgeous. And the views…” Chloe turned to him with a smile that lit up her eyes, and then touched his arm as she let out a little laugh. “Well, they’re really snowy right now. But I’m sure they’re normally stunning.”

It was a small gesture—her hand on his arm—and yet it sent a jolt of energy through him and sent his heart racing. His body’s reaction to her caught him off guard and had him stepping back, away from her touch.

Her smile faltered and fell as he pulled away, and he found himself inexplicably wanting to ease things between them, though why the hell he cared, he hadn’t a clue. He gave his head a small shake, as if it would help him regain his senses and then moved towards the door.

“There’s food and drink in the kitchen, towels are already in your bath, and there’s WiFi—for now, anyway. If you need anything else, let me know.” Aidan was halfway out the door when she stopped him.

“Actually, I’d love to take a look at the desk you made for me. If you don’t mind, of course. Or we could do it later…” Her eyes were wide and looking far too hopeful, a hint of a smile returning as if it might persuade him to give in to her request.

“I suppose.” He let out a weary sigh, and stepped aside to let her pass, wondering how long it’d be before he regretted his decision to let her stay.

Probably not long at all.