Jingle This! (17 page)

Angie frowned. "Since when?"

"He hasn't made it to one party this entire season. He's always at work. We haven't had sex in three weeks!"

Oh… It was probably not a good time to tell Heidi why she'd been late to work. "You know he loves you. He's just busy."

"Is he? Or is it something else? Like he's had second thoughts and doesn't know how to tell me, so he's just avoiding me?" Heidi pulled the collar off her Mrs. Claus outfit and blew her nose. "Will you talk to him?"

"Me?"

"Yes. Find out. If he doesn't love me, I can't hear it from him. You have to tell me. Go talk to him." Heidi pointed to the phone. "Call him right now and set up lunch for today."

"Right." Anything for her friend. Angie quickly dialed and made an appointment with Quinn's admin. She set the phone down. "Wednesday."

"Wednesday? But it's Monday! I can't wait for two whole days, wondering if my life is going to fall apart and be ripped to shreds." Heidi's voice escalated to a wail that had the windows trembling.

Distraction was in order. "I had sex with Kyle."

The wail stopped abruptly. "You did?"

"Several times." She wasn't quite sure exactly how many. It was difficult to do math when her body was a quivering mass of sexual exhaustion.

Heidi tossed the collar in the trash. "I knew there was a reason you wrote such an incredible story today. So, tell me all about it."

Angie frowned. "That's not why I wrote a good story."

"Of course it is. Kyle's your new muse."

"My professional success doesn't depend on a man."

Heidi rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You came into your own when you started dating Roger..."

"Because I learned how to write, not because I was dating him."

"...And then when you were single, you sucked—pardon my French—and now that you're with Kyle, you're even more brilliant than before."

Angie felt a twinge of panic tighten in her chest. Did she really need a man's love to be successful at her craft? That made her pathetic, and so dependent. So frightfully and terrifyingly dependent.

Like there wasn't enough at risk already with her heart. Her professional future was also in Kyle's hands? "No. You're wrong. You must be."

"Am I?"

* * *

Kyle smiled to himself. What a weekend.

And he didn't regret a single minute of it. Had no idea what would happen next, but he was going to make dinner for Angie tonight at his place. Where it would go after that?

He didn't know.

But he was going to find out.

A light knock sounded on his door. Kyle looked up to find Roger standing in his office. His face was all twisted and there was a twitch in his cheek.

Oh, hell. He forgot about Roger.

Kyle leaned back in his chair, clasped his hands behind his head and tried to look relaxed. "What's up?"

"Make a choice. Now."

He almost flinched
. Don't make me do it
. "What choice?"

"The company or Angie."

Kyle's hands balled into fists. "She's not yours to claim. You're with Sheila."

"The company or Angie."

"Why does it matter to you?"

Roger's face twisted even more. "Did you hear me? I don't want this damned company anymore. I'm bored and I want to get out. You can have it, but only if you leave Angie alone."

Kyle slowly sat up. "You're serious? You'll sell me your half of the company?"

"Yes. If you walk away from Angie."

The company. His.
If he'll give up Angie.

A week ago, no problem.

Today? He couldn't do it. But there might be a loophole. "When do you want to close the deal?"

"February tenth. That gives us almost two months to negotiate the details and get the paperwork drawn up."

So all he had to do was cool things with Angie until February tenth. Once he had the company, then there would be nothing Roger could do. In two months, he could have everything he wanted.

Because he did want Angie. He knew that now. "It's a deal."

Roger walked over and shook his hand. "I'll make the call and get things moving. Good choice."

Kyle barely waited until Roger was out of sight, then he sprinted down the stairs to Angie's office. The company was his! And after February tenth, he and Angie could be together! No more risk!

He flung her door open, to find Heidi in Angie's office wearing a Mrs. Claus outfit. He stifled his shout of victory that had been for Angie's ears only. "Heidi, can you give us a moment?"

She beamed at him. "You bet." She nodded at Angie. "Don't forget lunch on Wednesday."

"I won't."

Kyle waited until Heidi was through the door, then he slammed it shut, vaulted over the desk and pulled Angie into his arms.

A long, wet kiss later, he was ready to push everything off her desk and show he was spontaneous. As soon as he owned the company, he was ordering locks put on all the office doors. "Guess what?"

She was laughing, her eyes dancing. "What?"

"Roger is going to sell me New Age! It's going to be mine!"

"No way! That's awesome!" She flung her arms around him and gave him a hug like he'd never had. Her ebullient response struck him deep inside his gut. She was so excited, for him, because she knew how much it meant to him. She
understood
him. And it felt good. Really good.

"So, after February, we can be together all the time and don't have to worry about anything."

She tensed and pulled back. "What do you mean, after February?"

Anyone else, he'd worry about. But not Angie. She'd understand. "Roger said I had to choose between you and New Age. If I agree to stay away from you, I can have the company."

Her face became cold. "And you agreed?"

"No, it's not like that." He grabbed her hands and pressed them to his chest. "I agreed, but once I own the company, he won't be able to do anything about it. So we'll just lay low for a couple months." He grinned. "I can think of plenty of things we can do behind closed doors." Then his elation dimmed slightly, extinguished by the look on Angie's face. "Angie?"

"No, thank you." She pulled out of his grasp and walked to the door. "You can leave now. For good." She opened the door and stood there.

"But, Angie, it's just temporary. You know how much New Age means to me."

"Unfortunately, I do. I'd forgotten. But I remember now." She grabbed her purse and coat off the door. "If you won't leave, I will. And don't follow me." She walked out and slammed the door behind her.

Should he follow her? Or let her take time alone? He had no idea what to do, and a rising sense of panic clawed its way into his soul. It was the first time he'd ever cared about a woman walking out on him, and he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

He was going after her. He couldn't let her walk out, and if that wasn't the right thing to do, then too bad. No way could he lose her.

He jumped around the desk and sprinted to the door. When he yanked it open, Roger was standing there.

"Roger."

"What are you doing in Angie's office?"

"I told her about our deal." A deal he wasn't feeling so sure about anymore.

"No wonder she looked pissed. Excellent." Roger clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go to lunch and talk the details of the transfer."

Kyle glanced down the hall, but there was no sign of Angie.
It's only until February.
He could make it work. He had to. He'd find Angie later and get her to understand.

He had no idea how, but he knew he had to.

Diamonds. Sigh.

–Angie Miller, the converted

The next afternoon Angie walked into Heidi's office and sat down. "Well?"

Heidi folded her hands across the desk. "It's bad."

"I knew it." Angie sighed. "I rewrote that story eight times already. It doesn't work at all."

"No, it doesn't."

"What happened? I was finally back." Angie groaned and put a reindeer blanket over her head, taking advantage of the fact Heidi happened to have one draped over her chair. "My article was so good. How can I revert again to horrible drivel?"

"Did you have a fight with Kyle?"

Angie was silent. That couldn't be it.

"Angie?"

"I told him I never wanted to see him again." What was up with the tears in her eyes? Didn't they know that she'd done the right thing? Stupid emotions, always thinking they knew better than the brain.

"Why?"

"Roger told him that if he stayed away from me, he'd sell him New Age." That still burned her up. Where was the love?

"And he agreed?" Heidi sounded so shocked, Angie decided to pull the blanket off her head and actually face her friend.

"Yes."

"Even after the great sex?"

"It must not have been that great." No, it had been! There was no way she could have felt that kind of connection if he hadn't been experiencing the same thing. But maybe that wasn't enough for him. Maybe he could never put a woman before work. "But I'm glad to find it out now."
Be strong, Angie
. "He's already called me six times since then, and sent me forty emails."

"Has he changed his mind?"

"No, but he apologized and hopes I can understand."

"Forget that.

"I know." She sighed. If only he weren't so wonderful and perfect…except for that minor detail of being willing to barter his woman for personal gain. "So I guess I'll go back and rewrite again."

"Find a new muse."

"I don't need a muse."

Heidi raised an eyebrow. "Well, you need something. Maybe you should start writing while under the influence of mind-altering drugs. That might help."

Angie stood up. "I'll figure this out."

"Don't forget lunch on Wednesday," Heidi said.

Right. Lunch. Both their lives were falling apart. "Want to come over tonight? We'll rent movies, eat cookie dough and drink wine. Like the old days when we both were too smart to get bogged down with men?"

Heidi grinned. "That'll be great."

Yeah, great. That's exactly how she wanted to spend her evening, instead of spending it wrapped in Kyle's arms.

Get over it, Angie.

* * *

Angie stared glumly at Quinn over dessert. Three days. Three stories. All of them sucked beyond belief.

Was Heidi right? Was she incapable of functioning without a man? Impossible. Unacceptable. There had to be somewhere else to find inspiration.

"So, why did you invite me to lunch?"

She propped her chin up on her hand. "Because Heidi thinks you don't want to get married and she's working herself into a frenzy."

Quinn looked shocked, the poor dear. "What? She said that? Why does she think that?"

"Because you've been too busy to spend any of the holiday season with her. Missed parties, no sex in three weeks." She almost laughed at Quinn's horrified expression. "What? You think women don't talk about sex?"

"But I've been working."

"And therein lies the problem. She thinks you put work before her, and she can't decide if it's because you're a workaholic who will ignore her once you get married, or whether you're obsessing about work as an excuse not to spend time with her."

She stopped suddenly. She could say those exact same things about Kyle. Had his deal with Roger been an excuse because he changed his mind, or simply evidence of what he was like? Not that it mattered. She'd come second, and that's what mattered.

"That's not true! I love her!" Quinn shoved back his chair and ran his hands through his dark hair. "I didn't even realize. I was trying to get everything finished so we could take off a month for our honeymoon."

"A month? She said you're going for a week."

He shook his head. "It's a surprise. I already cleared it with her boss. We're going to Australia for three weeks. After our week in the Bahamas, which she knows about."

Well, phooey. Tears in her eyes again? She was turning into a total sap. "That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard."

One corner of his mouth curved up. "I thought it was a good idea, but apparently it's not working. I don't want to tell her now, so what do I do to make her feel better?"

Angie pursed her lips. "Did she ever give you her Tiffany's list?"

"Her what?"

"I went with her to Tiffany's, where she made a list of the items she loved. She said you were planning to give her jewelry for a wedding present, so she was going to give you some direction."

"I was going to give her jewelry. I was thinking of a pair of diamond studs. Should I go get them now?" He stood up. "I'll go now and give them to her early."

"Sit down." Angie waved him down. "She doesn't want diamond studs. I went to the store with her, so if you want, I can go with you and show you some of the stuff she liked."

"Would you?" He looked so grateful she almost felt heroic.

"Of course. Let's go." How could she not help support that kind of love? Quinn working overtime to give his love a month-long honeymoon. Could you get sweeter than that? Heidi was so lucky.

* * *

Thursday morning, Angie was sitting at her desk when Heidi burst into her office, wearing a jumpsuit with jingle bells sewn all over it. "Angie! You wrote about me and Quinn!" Heidi's eyes were glowing and her cheeks were flushed. "It's the most beautiful story ever written by anybody about anything!"

Contentment swelled inside Angie. "You liked it?"

"Liked it? I started blubbering like a fool in my office when I read it!" Heidi ran around the desk and bent over Angie. "Look at the diamond pendant he gave me. With the two little diamonds flanking it. It's exactly like I wanted, but even more!"

Angie smiled. She'd done good.

Heidi flung her arms around Angie. "You are the best friend ever!"

Angie hugged her back. "So, I guess you're my muse."

"I guess so! You can write stories like that about me anytime." Heidi released her and danced back around the desk. "You know what I want you to give us for our wedding?"