Mistletoe (8 page)

“Don’t apologize. It’s okay. We can continue this later.”

“We can?”

“Well, if you’ve invited Gwen to your party, I’ll see you then,” Diana said, smiling.

Returning the grin, Jamie said, “I did, and I can’t wait.”

“Then it’s settled,” Diana said as she removed the tuxedo jacket and handed it back to Jamie. “Now, let’s get you out of here so you can take care of that headache.”

Across the room, Lillian Willoughby watched as Jamie and Diana walked back inside, pursing her lips in disgust at the sight. Up until that moment, Lillian hadn’t recognized Diana as the woman who Jamie had kissed at Ted Phelan’s house, and now that she had, her party mood was quickly being replaced by that of disdain. Watching as they walked toward the entrance hall, Lillian’s first thought was
good riddance
, but when she noticed something hanging over the archway, her eyes bulged.

Having always believed that public displays of affection were unnecessary and offensive, Lillian Willoughby had never adorned any of the doorways in her house with mistletoe during the Christmas season. Seeing that someone had taken it upon themselves to hang a sprig of the aphrodisiacal weed in her home, her temper fired instantly. While she may well have tolerated a playful smooch between those of the opposite sex in her home, Lillian had no tolerance for homosexuality. In her mind, it was loathsome. Angrily pushing her way through her guests, she marched to the door in her sequined, open-toed pumps.

Walking through the room, Diana had unconsciously held out her hand, and in an instant, she felt Jamie’s fingers mesh with hers. Smiling all the way to the doorway, they both stopped and waited as other guests were helped on and off with their coats. Their eyes met for a moment, and then all of a sudden, a voice rang out.

“None of that, Nash. Not in my house.”

Furrowing her brow, Jamie glanced as Lillian approached. “What was that?”

“You know very well I don’t appreciate your kind,” Lillian scolded, glaring first at Jamie and then at Diana.

Pointing to the front door, she said, “Don’t let it hit you on your way out, and make sure you take your
friend
with you.”

“You’re way out of line, Lillian,” Jamie growled under her breath. “We were just talking.”

Wrinkling up her face in disgust, Lillian pointed to the mistletoe hanging above the two women. “Do I look like I was born yesterday? You put that mistletoe there so you could have a repeat performance of what happened at Ted’s last week. Well, not in my house, missy.”

Glancing up, Jamie couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the seasonal decoration, and then returned her attention to Lillian Willoughby. Even though her head was pounding, Jamie couldn’t resist pushing a few of Lillian’s buttons.

“What? You mean you didn’t put it there for me?”

With her face getting redder by the minute, Lillian said, “Like that would ever happen. Now, take it down!”

“I’m not the one that hung it there, Lillian.”

“I’ve been around too long to believe that you didn’t.”

“Well, they do say miracles happen at Christmas.”

“Miracles, my foot,” Lillian said, eyeing her business partner from top to bottom. “Your kind doesn’t believe in miracles.”

Diana stood there and listened to the exchange, all the while fighting the urge to punch Lillian Willoughby squarely on the jaw. The woman was clearly homophobic. The woman was wrong,
and
the woman was being extremely rude. Seeing the flush of embarrassment creep across Jamie’s face, Diana didn’t have to think twice. Taking one step forward, she reached up and pulled Jamie’s face to hers, and as Lillian Willoughby gasped in shock, Diana kissed Jamie solidly on the lips.

Just like their first kiss, when their lips touched, both were again lost in the flavors and the feel. Unconsciously, Jamie placed her hand on Diana’s shoulder, and the naked, creamy skin beneath her fingers was so warm and smooth, Jamie’s libido lurched. Her mind became a hurricane of images, swirling flickers of nights filled with passion, moans and gasps, and relaxing into the kiss, she drank every ounce of it in. It was to die for.

For the past week, Diana had tried to convince herself that her memories of their first kiss had been tainted by her imagination, warping reality into something divine. Now, with Jamie’s mouth pressed against hers again, she knew that she had been wrong. Jamie
was
divine…no doubt about it. Diana’s blood began to boil. Between her legs was born an ache that she knew only Jamie could soothe, and it took all the strength she had not to open her lips and beg for Jamie’s tongue to enter. Feeling a moan of passion rising from within, Diana sighed as she pulled out of the kiss. Slowly running her fingers across the shoulders of Jamie’s jacket to remove non-existent lint, she smiled up at the woman whose brilliant blue eyes had turned almost black with desire.

Lowering her voice to a whisper only Jamie could hear, Diana said, “I don’t know about you, but I believe in miracles.”

~~~

Reading yet another letter in a long line of letters, Santa stopped suddenly and wrinkled his nose. “Good Lord, what is that smell?”

“I’m afraid, it’s me, sir,” Percy said meekly as he chimed and tinkled his way into the room.

Smiling at the sight of the little elf, Santa said, “Well, now, I know that I sent you to a party, but I didn’t know it was being held in a perfume factory.”

“It’s potpourri, sir. I can’t seem to rid myself of the smell.”

“A bit over-the-top, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir, but the lady who was holding the party…well, she was a bit over-the-top herself.”

“I see,” Santa said, taking off his reading glasses. “So, tell me, how did it go?”

Two dimples appeared on Percy’s cheeks as the tiny elf smiled from one pointed ear to the other. Climbing into a chair, he said, “I’m not positive, but I think it well.”

“You think?”

“Well, they kissed again. Miss Diana and Miss Jamie, that is.”

“Jamie?”

“That’s what she likes to be called, sir”

“Percy, were you eavesdropping?”

“Me, sir,” Percy said, blushing slightly. “No, sir…well, I mean, I tried not to, but…but I couldn’t help but overhear a few things. They were too close not to.”

“I see. So, what else did you hear?”

“They just talked about their work and their families. Miss Jamie was having an issue with the potpourri in the room, so she ended up having to leave early, but not before they shared a kiss under our mistletoe, sir.”

“And that went well, I’m assuming,” Santa asked. Watching as the small man’s cheeks turned the color of Rudolph’s nose, Santa let out a hearty laugh. “Apparently, it did.”

“Yes, sir,” Percy said as his cheeks turned a few shades darker. “It went really well.”

W
hat do you mean, you’re not going!”

Looking around the shopping mall’s food court at the heads turning in the direction of their table, Gwen said, “You do realize that you’re screaming. Don’t you?”

“I am?” Diana said, lowering her voice. “I’m sorry, but didn’t you say you had to attend
all
the parties?”

“Yes, I was supposed to, but I got dispensation for Jamie’s since Adam and I will be out of town visiting his parents.”

“But you’re not leaving until the twenty-third.”

“That’s right, and Jamie’s party is on Christmas Eve.”

“Christmas Eve!” Diana shouted.

Gwen’s cringe got Diana’s attention, and looking around, she saw at least a dozen shoppers gawking in her direction.

Lowering her voice, Diana leaned closer to her friend. “What is she doing having a party on Christmas Eve? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I have no idea,” Gwen said, taking a bite of her salad. “But that’s what the invitation said, and as soon as I saw the date, I called her assistant, Linda. I explained the situation, and was excused from making an appearance.”

Diana’s shoulders drooped. “Oh, I told her that I’d be there,” she said quietly.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you showed up without me. She’d probably appreciate it. Having you all to herself, so to speak.”

“That’s not the problem.”

“No?”

“Gwen, I’m leaving for Burlington on the twenty-
second
.”

“Oh, I forgot about that, but I’m sure Jamie will understand. Like you said, it’s Christmas Eve, and normally people do have a tendency to spend that night with their families.”

Diana’s appetite disappeared, and putting down her fork, she sighed. “I suppose.”

“Look, just call her up. Tell her that you’ll be out of town, and you’ll get in touch with her when you get back. What’s the problem?”

“I…I just wanted to see her again, that’s all.”

Studying her friend for a second, Gwen leaned over, and touched the back of Diana’s hand. “You’ve really fallen for her, haven’t you?”

Taking a deep breath, Diana nodded her head. “Yes, I have.”

Thinking for a moment, Gwen grabbed her handbag off the floor.

Removing a small wad of papers, she shuffled through them and then slid an ivory-colored parchment envelope across the table. “That’s the invitation.”

“I just told you, I can’t go.”

“I know, but it’s got her direct number on it, so you don’t have to go through the switchboard. Now, how about we finish our lunch, and our shopping, and then head back to yours?

That way, you can call her this afternoon, and we can spend the night wrapping our presents like we planned.”

“Thanks,” Diana said, picking up the envelope and putting it in her bag.

“Diana, it’s not the end of the world. She’ll understand. Trust me.”

~~~

With two mugs of coffee in one hand, and a folder tucked under her arm, Linda stopped at the window to gaze at the snow rapidly covering the city. Smiling, she tapped on Jamie’s door and walked inside.

“It seems you got your wish,” she stated, placing a mug on the desk. “It’s snowing like crazy out there, and they say it’s not going to let up for a few days.”

“Yes, I know,” Jamie said, taking a sip of coffee. “Isn’t it great!”

“Great, my eye. You have people to shovel
your
walks.”

“Linda, you know I can arrange—”

“Oh stop,” Linda said, waving off Jamie’s offer. “You’re as bad as your father. I don’t need any help. I'm just complaining because…because at my age that’s what you’re supposed to do when it snows. Personally, I adore the stuff.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Apparently, I did,” Linda said with a snort. “I’ve got to tell you, when you came up with this idea of yours, I thought you had lost your mind.”

Grinning, Jamie said, “I know.”

“You are by far the soppiest person at Christmas I’ve ever known. You even surpass your father.”

“That bad, eh?”

Rising to her feet, Linda walked around the desk and placed a small kiss on Jamie’s cheek. “No…that good.”

Placing the folder on the desk, she said, “This is the final list of who can’t attend. Due to it being on Christmas Eve, as expected, there are a few that can’t make it, but you’ll still have a full house.”

“Tell me that Phelan and Willoughby are included in this list and I’ll love you forever.”

“You’re not that lucky, I’m afraid.”

“Damn,” Jamie said, opening the folder. Reading down the neatly typed list of names, her head jerked up.

“Linda, this can’t be right. Gwen Fowler is on here.”

“That’s right. She had to cancel. Something about being out of town. Her name was on the list I gave you last week. Didn’t you see it?”

“No, to tell you the truth, I never looked at it. Too busy doing other things,” Jamie said. Slumping in her chair, she shook her head. “She blew me off.”

“Who?”

“Diana. She said she was coming to the party with Gwen, but obviously that’s not the case.”

“I thought you and she were getting along marvelously?”

“So did I,” Jamie said, tossing the folder across her desk. “Apparently, I was wrong.”

Saddened by the look on Jamie’s face, Linda said, “Maybe she didn’t know that Gwen wasn’t going to be there. I mean, I don’t tell my friends all my plans.”

“I suppose.”

“Why don’t you just give her a call and invite her personally, then you’ll know for sure.”

“I don’t have her number.”

“Well, that’s certainly not like you.”

“She told me she’d be there, and I believed her,” Jamie said, rocking back in her chair.

Reaching over, Linda moved Jamie’s laptop to the edge of the desk. Tapping her fingers over the keys, she asked, “How does she spell it?”

“Spell what?” Jamie asked, looking up. “What in the world are you doing?”

“I’m doing an Internet search. Now, how does she spell her last name? With or without an e?”

“I have no idea.”

Taking a deep breath, Linda said, “Well, I do enjoy a challenge. Let’s see what I can find.”

A few minutes passed before Linda moved the laptop back to its original position. “It appears that between the two spellings, there are twenty-seven Diana Clarkes in New York alone. Of course, that doesn’t include those who prefer not to have their number listed, or those living in Jersey or Connecticut. Do you know if she lives in the city?”

Still feeling like she had been played, Jamie sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t call her anyway.”

“What are you talking about? You like this woman.”

“She lied to me.”

“Jamie, it’s not like you to be this way. Why don’t you just go find Gwen, get Diana’s number, and give her a call?”

“No,” Jamie said, crossing her arms.

“I’ve got five days until the party, and I have too much to do to spend my time chasing some bitch that lied to me.”

“Jamie—”

“You know what?” Jamie said, looking at her watch. “It’s almost three. Pack up your things. We’re getting out of here.”

“What?”

Reaching over, Jamie switched her phone to the answering machine and closed her laptop. “What I need to do, I can do from home. You’ve already got Monday off, so enjoy your extended weekend, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

“Jamie, I know you’re hurting right now. It’s as plain as the nose on your face, but you’re not being rational. This is just a misunderstanding. I’m sure of it.”