When she’d left home this morning, things were close to being finished. The decorators had gone with a silver and blue Christmas theme. The place was almost magical with the stunningly lit up Manhattan skyline of skyscrapers, a few decorated construction cranes, and famous landmarks in the background.
In some ways, it felt like her very own indoor winter wonderland of garland, christmasy lights, candles, festive bows, ribbons, holiday wreaths, and even a slew of bright white-flowered poinsettia plants everywhere. And topped off with a twelve foot white pine Christmas tree decorate with white lights and blue and silver ornaments, the large main level open concept area was perfect. She could barely leave the space during sunset last night. It was beyond breathtaking.
But again, a mild wave of guilt mixed with nervousness overcame her as she did her best to focus on wrapping things up with the customer who wouldn’t leave. She didn’t need this sale, but she’d never treat Mr. Johansen or any other customer badly. They needed each other. She couldn’t stand to think that poor Alissa would wake up to no Christmas present if she closed the shop now.
“I have an idea, Mr. Johansen!” she told him excitedly when a thought popped into her head.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he answered.
Walking over to the counters near the back of the store, Julianna unlocked the display case and lifted out two more pink diamond rings, one in a platinum setting, and one in yellow gold. “How about you take these two additional rings with you? Let me tell you what I’m thinking. They’re already packaged up individually, so how about for Christmas this year, you let Alissa choose which ring she wants from the three of these?”
“Oh. That’s a novel concept,” he mused, mulling it over. “But… what if she can’t choose? Or what if she wants them all? Or worse… what if she hates them all?”
Julianna pushed down her mild annoyance. This was going to work. It had to. Her phone had already buzzed three times in the last five minutes, probably because Roman was steps away from the store to meet up with her.
“I’ll give you a little secret,” she told the patron. “But you have to promise not to tell your wife.”
“Oh? Sure, I can keep a secret. What is it?”
She lifted the oval shaped pink diamond in the yellow gold setting out of its silk-lined black velvet box and moved it close to him. “Your lovely wife has come into the store a few times without you over this past couple of weeks. She had her eye on this one. She fell in love with it the second she saw it.”
“She did?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because she was hoping you’d know. And because you know how sweet and accepting your wife is. She’d love any gift you give her.”
“You’re right about that,” he chuckled. “She’s got more gratitude than any person I know. Has never made a fuss about anything in the twenty-three years we’ve been married.”
“And maybe that’s why she deserves all three rings this year,” Julianna suggested. “But no matter which one she chooses, you can bring back the others. I’ll process your payment for whichever you end up going with after the holidays.”
“Are you sure about holding off on my payment?”
“Definitely. Those rocks can’t break. Besides, I know where you live,” she teased.
The tinny ding of the chime on the customer entrance caught her attention just then, and she turned just in time to see Roman step through the doorway. Like every other time before, her breath caught in her throat. She didn’t think she’d ever get over how handsome her husband was, or how instantly her body responded to him without her meaning to react.
“Hi honey,” she called to him. “I’ll just be a few more minutes.” Turning to Mr. Johansen, she placed the last ring back in its box and grabbed a cream branded gift bag with black silk ribbon handles. “What’s the verdict?”
“You have yourself a deal,” he answered jovially. “Thanks for trusting me with that secret. I promise I won’t let it out of the bag.”
“Awesome!”
As the last customer strode out of the store, she grabbed her winter coat and purse, and headed for the door, stepping into her husband’s arms.
“There’s my gorgeous woman. Right where she belongs. How was your day?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.
Smiling, she tilted her head to gaze up at his handsome face and meet his awaiting lips for a warm, loving kiss. “Busy as hell, but very nice. How was you meeting with Moira?”
“Festive,” he answered, reaching over to the security system. “It’s Christmas Eve. The man didn’t want to talk business. He was all about the thirty-year old scotch we bought him. Speaking of gifts.” With a few taps of his finger, she heard the store alarm set. “Let’s get out of here. We have two families to impress.”
“Yes, I’m really excited about tonight,” she said softly.
“Not to worry. It’s going to be great.” They stepped out into the cool late afternoon air and looked at each other again. “Okay, it may not be that great.”
“I’m glad you said it.”
Lowering his head hers, he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead. “But you know what? Your parents might give each other the evil eye or raise the ancient past from time to time. That’s a given. But the place looks awesome, the food will be fantastic, and no matter how they behave, I’ll make sure they have to go through me if things get out of hand. What matters is that we’ll face them all together. Right?”
Julianna loved the sound of that. “You’re absolutely right.”
“And both your brother and cousin will shoot the shit with my brothers. Oh, on that, I stopped by the condo earlier this afternoon. So… guess who was fraternizing with your cute little red-headed cousin already?”
“I have no idea,” Julianna admitted.
“George.”
“Your big brother?”
“Yep.”
“George and Gem?”
“Yes. So much for the Montrose’s staying away from the Castles.”
“Wow.”
Roman pulled her tightly into his side, holding her close. This was the man who had her back. Her best friend in the world. He challenged her mind every day, satisfied her body every single night, and loved her unconditionally every moment. No matter how their first joint family Christmas get-together went, everything was going to be all right.
Because she had the man of her dreams. And he had her. Her enemy in the rough, the man she had her hate-on for, had turned into the tall, dark and handsome best friend and love of her life.
And Julianna couldn’t ask for anything more.
The END
About Bella Love-Wins
Bella is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author who loves writing steamy, high-action romance stories about bad boys, athletes, firefighters, billionaires, and alpha males who know what they want and aren't afraid of laying claim to the strong, independent women who catch their interest.
She enjoys a happy ever after ending, as well as reading, hiking, the countryside, and traveling to destinations unspoiled by commercial tourism, like Las Vegas. :)
Like so many characters in her novels, Bella gets all hot and bothered for action, romance and unexpected love connections that take her breath away. For the next while, you'll find her in Toronto, plotting and writing about her latest stories on her MacBook.
Website: http://bellalovewins.com/
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Hate On: A Standalone Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 18
