For The Holidays (Gaming The System Book 9)

by Brenna Aubrey

  And I was pacing so hard that I threatened to wear a path down to the very foundation of the plush carpeting in our bedroom.

  “April, what’s going on? Are you plucking the hairs on your leg one at a time?”

  “I’ll be out in a minute!” she called through the door.

  “You said that ten minutes ago. We need to get going. Anna has set it all up and she’s waiting to—”

  Suddenly the door snapped open and she looked at me with burning eyes. “What? What did you say?” she snapped at me.

  “I said we’re running late. And Anna—”

  “Why is she there? Why is she going on our date?”

  I blinked. “Uh, because she’s our concierge and I asked her to help arrange something special to—”

  “Fine!” she stomped barefoot over to the closet bent and scooped up a pair of shiny black heels. She looked amazing tonight, in a deep purple dress that hugged her delicious figure and accentuated her curves. The tiniest of sparkles shot out when she moved, and the dress hugged her thighs in a way that made me want to hike that skirt up and push her against the wall.

  She’d been off last night, when she’d gone to bed. Maybe too much to drink, because she’d had a horrible headache.

  The kicker? She hadn’t even wanted to spoon which was, secretly, my favorite part.

  April was quiet when we got to the gondola lift. Her cute brows crinkled together. “I thought we were going to dinner. Why are we at the lifts? I didn’t realize I’d need my snow suit.”

  “You don’t. You’re good.”

  She frowned, eyeing the pathway to the gondola roundhouse. “But then how am I getting over there through the snow in these heels? There’s no way in hell these Loubs are getting wet.”

  “Here.” I moved in front of her and bent so she could hook her arms around my neck. “Get up on my back and I’ll carry you piggyback.”

  She didn’t move for a moment, stomped her heeled foot in disgust. “I can’t ride piggyback, you moron. This dress is too tight. I can barely move my legs to even take a long stride.”

  I turned around and eyed her. Wow, she was in a really foul mood. She’d never called me a moron before.

  Without a word, I scooped her up and hoisted her in my arms. She let out a small shriek, but then I saw it... the first smile of the night! It was fleeting and shaky, but it was there.

  Soon, we were in a gondola that had been set up with a table, long white tablecloth, fine china, gleaming silver dinnerware, and crystal goblets.

  Our first course would be a charcuterie plate and champagne. April’s eyes bugged out when got a glimpse of the spread. Perfect. Exactly the reaction I wanted. This would be epic. The proposal to end all proposals.

  I’d get years of sex in the position of my choices for this. I’d get tons of leeway on the husbandly chores, too. I’d win all the husband points for being so incredibly original with the proposal, even if the mere thought of what it all meant still scared the shit out of me.

  But we weren’t ten minutes into the ride before I’d realized that not only had this been a bad idea, it had morphed into an absolutely terrible idea.

  April wasn’t afraid of heights. She had ridden the chair lift with no problems yesterday. But soon, she was sweating and shaking and suffering a full-blown panic attack.

  When Anna got into the gondola at the other station to bring us the second course, April pushed past her and puked all over the pavement outside.

  Anna looked at me. I stared at her. She shrugged.

  And poor April continued to empty the entire appetizer course onto the sidewalk while onlookers cringed or turned away.

  Well dammit, this was definitely going to be a night firmly etched in her memory, though not for the reasons I’d hoped.

  So much for the uber epic romantic gondola ride, dammit. Back to square one.

  Chapter 20

  April

  Last night had been an utter fiasco. I knew I’d sorely disappointed Jordan by ruining his elaborate plans. Getting so sick on that gondola ride was as shocking to me as it had been to him. But, considering that I’d gone into that evening over-stressed, and weak from having undereaten the entire day, it shouldn’t have been. Somewhere along the line, the anxiety and low blood sugar had combined and congealed into a full-blown panic attack that left me on my knees, blowing chunks everywhere. Dammit. I’d even got some on my new dress and in my hair. Jordan had stood beside that flirty little man-stealing wench and done nothing. Was it some kind of sign? That he didn’t even help me hold my hair back when I puked?

  Here I was the next morning, gingerly sipping weak, lukewarm tea at the breakfast table and contemplating whether or not my stomach was still too tender for food.

  But I really didn’t want to be around people or talk about the things that had stirred up my gut. So I opted out of the afternoon activities without really even understanding what they were. Some nature hike or whatever. I was opting out of peopling for the day.

  I’d rather curl into a ball in the middle of my bed with my e-reader and the trashiest book I could find. The trashier the better.

  Or maybe a comfort read. A treasured reread was always a sure bet. Even as I wallowed in my current misery, my inner book-nerd self rejoiced. I hadn’t had time for a me-read in months.

  When I heard that Jordan was following suit and also opting out of doing the people stuff, however, my plans changed. Because that meant we would have the mansion to ourselves.

  And maybe I could repair a little of the damage my weak stomach and anxiety had caused the night before. Anything to keep him from getting drawn away by Miss Pretty Blonde and Petite.

  It was time to have an open conversation about what was going on—no champagne, no fancy dates.

  I’d wear my sexiest lingerie. We’d do a little heavy petting, and then I’d talk to him, really talk to him, and ask him directly what was going on. And I’d ask him point-blank if I should be worried about Anna the snow bunny.

  The good news was that he was very attentive to me all morning, making sure I had something to settle my stomach, asking me how I was feeling. A very sweet Beast.

  After he assured me he was staying in, I took a nap, had a relaxing shower, and indulged in a little self-pampering.

  Then I went looking for my brand-new piece of sexy lingerie. I’d ordered it special for this trip as a little post-Christmas present for the Beast. But it wasn’t anywhere obvious, and I found myself digging through every drawer containing my clothes. The concierge or her assistant had unpacked for me.

  What the hell had she done with it? Had that little snow bunny sabotaged me?

  With increasing frustration, I made a second pass. This piece was stunning, and expensive as fuck, and I wanted it wear it this afternoon!

  I moved to the closet—not there. Double checked the suitcase I’d brought it in. Nope.

  With a gasp of annoyance, I proceeded, still naked and wrapped in only a towel, to search his drawers for the damn bag. Nothing was obviously there, but to be sure, I reached my hand in and sifted, feeling for the bag or the tags or something. I was desperate, damn it! Once I hit his sock and underwear drawer, I was sifting two-handed and frantic to find the damn thing. I didn’t.

  Had she really sunk so low as to hide my lingerie? What was next? Frame me for murder and have me hauled away to some Canadian prison in the arctic? My heart raced and I only grew more frantic in my search.

  When my hand brushed against a hard lump in a bundle of his socks, I froze.

  I glanced over my shoulder at the door. It was still closed. I pulled the ball of socks apart to see what it was he’d stashed in there. Maybe it was a burner phone he used to communicate with Anna? I heard dudes did that when they were cheating. Hell, who knew, maybe it was a bottle of Viagra, so he could keep up with me and the demands of someone else?

  My heart raced and my stomach roiled, threatening to bring up the small bit of food I’d eaten earlier. Not again. Please not aga
in. I’d done enough puking for a year last night....

  The small aqua blue box sitting in my hand was definitely not a phone. Nor a pill bottle.

  Gulp.

  The packaging was instantly recognizable due to the trademark Tiffany blue color. Was this for me? With another guilty glance at the door, I popped the lid on this puppy to get a gander at what was inside.

  The box lit up with a flash to showcase a huge ring—white gold with a gigantic egg-shaped diamond resting atop it. Two-point-five, maybe three, I guessed. Extra clear, pure color—I’d bet a D color grade. This thing had most definitely cost a rock star’s ransom.

  I blinked. Stared. Blinked again.

  What the hell was this? An engagement ring? In Jordan’s drawer? My Jordan? Jordan Guy Fawkes had an engagement ring stashed among his personal effects?

  Was this the apocalypse? Cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria?

  What… what… This did not compute.

  I tried to suck in a breath but found I couldn’t. Stars were forming at the edge of my vision. I was maybe about one gasp away from hyperventilation.

  At that moment, Jordan open the door and entered the bedroom. In my shock, I didn’t think to tuck the thing away.

  When he saw what I was holding, he froze in his tracks, eyes fixed on the box beaming bright on the shimmery rock inside.

  He looked a lot like a man who’d just had his junk flattened by a steamroller.

  He seemed to recover quickly, his stance loosening. With one hand he rubbed at his jaw. “Uh, oh. I see you found William’s ring.”

  I blinked, stared down at the box, then up at him again. “Huh?”

  He took another step toward me, eyes narrowing when he saw I was still just wrapped in a towel. “Yeah, William asked me to hold on to it for him. He’s planning to ask Jenna while we’re up here.” He held out my hand for the box.

  Now I was the one frozen and uncomprehending. So many possibilities and scenarios had just raced through my mind that they played on super-speed like some kind of weird movie montage. Slowly, jerkily, I snapped the box closed and handed it to him.

  Then I blinked again. It made sense, after all. Much more sense than Jordan himself owning and engagement ring.

  I bit my lip guiltily. “I was... I wasn’t snooping, I promise. I was looking for my... well looking for something that I bought, but it’s nowhere to be found. So I peeked into your drawers to see if maybe it had been shoved there. I don’t like that the concierge unpacked for us, and I can’t find my things!”

  Good. Shade thrown on the concierge-bunny in the process. Excellent.

  He stared at me, tilting his head. “Are you, are you feeling okay, babe?”

  My eyes were still fixated on the box. When he noticed, he shoved it into his pocket.

  I swallowed, then pushed up from my kneeling position on the floor to sit on the bed, suddenly chilly in the damp towel. “I’ll be fine. I’m just annoyed because I wanted to wear something special… for you. Since we’d be alone this afternoon.”

  His brows twitched with interest, but at that moment, I shivered. “Let me get a fire started in here, and I’ll get catering to bring in some munchies. And we’ll have some nice alone time. Maybe get up to something fun and dirty. How does that sound?”

  I frowned, still thinking about that ring and about poor William going to all the trouble of shopping for it—probably taking somebody ill-suited to the task for advice, like his cousin Adam or someone. Poor guy. Then stressing over hiding it so she wouldn’t find it and having to plan something elaborate, just to ask a question and give her a piece of jewelry that might not even be to her tastes. God, I hoped it wasn’t to her tastes.

  I mean the diamond was big but…

  Jordan was staring at me perplexed now, expecting an answer. “Sorry, I’m just feeling bad for William.”

  He blinked. “What? Why?”

  “Someone needs to tell him not to propose to Jenna with that ring. I mean, just between you and me, it’s fucking hideous.”

  Chapter 21

  Jenna

  I was shivering, damp with sweat from our hike, and dying for a steaming hot shower. Instead, I sat huddled in front of the fire in the living room, because William had blocked me from entering our suite.

  He had a special surprise for me, he said and asked me to wait. And he’d been so sweet about it, how could I possibly complain? No, I could only sit here and wonder what he was up to in there.

  I hoped it wasn’t something like him getting suddenly shy about dressing in front of me. He never had been but... life with William meant there was seldom a dull moment. I loved it all.

  But did he love it as much as I did? Maybe dealing with my neurotypicalness day in and day out was wearing on him?

  For that matter, did he even still love me? And how could I get him to tell me those three magic words without prompting him to say it out of obligation? Or because I asked him to? And on that thought, why was it so important to me that he say the words without prompting and to say them often?

  Whenever I said them to him, he usually didn’t reply in kind.

  My thoughts were interrupted when I realized William was standing beside me.

  “I’m ready for you to come in, now.”

  About time! I was really feeling cold, even standing by the fire.

  “Aren’t you cold?” I asked him, finding it hard to believe that he wasn’t, especially after all that complaining during the ice skating.

  “I’ll feel better soon. Hopefully you, too.”

  He escorted me back to the room and paused at our doorway, allowing me to enter first.

  “I just want to get out of these clothes and warm up in the shower.” I sent him a playful look as he entered and shut the door. With a sigh I yanked off my sweater and shirt. “Wanna join me?”

  He shook his head. “No. I won’t join you in the shower.”

  My spirits sank a little. It was difficult getting William to try new things, but we had showered together before. He hadn’t said anything about putting that on the never again list. In fact, I’d thought he rather liked it.

  I pulled off the rest of my clothes and hurried to the bathroom, suddenly overtaken with the urge to shiver. But I stopped short of going to the shower at the far end of the bathroom, because the large sunken bathtub was full to overflowing with a mountain of sparkling bubbles.

  Oh my gosh! It had been ages since I’d enjoyed a bubble bath! How wonderful.

  “You did this?” I asked him, my jaw dropping and my eyes wide. Without waiting for his answer, I stepped over the polished bamboo lip, across the natural stone tile and into the granite tub. Sliding my entire body into the cocoon of fizzy bubbles, I sighed deeply. The temperature was perfect, and my skin tingled, swaddled in warmth. “Oh my god this is amazing.”

  There were bunches of roses in glass vases set all along the back edge and the small fireplace here had been lit, too, to add to the warmth. And candles! He knew how much I loved my candles. I was always burning a votive or three at home. Sometimes he complained about it being a fire hazard but never protested beyond that.

  My William.

  He smiled. “Adam gave me the idea when I asked. And the concierge provided the necessary products. And then I used a thermometer to—”

  I laughed. “Take off your clothes and get in here.”

  He nodded soberly. “I was going to ask first if you minded—”

  “If I minded? Since the moment I saw this amazing bathtub in here I’ve been wanting to take a bath with you.”

  He needed no further assurance than that. William began to remove his clothes and carefully fold them, painfully slowly.

  “Just throw it in a big pile for now. It all has to be washed. Get in here! Your lady has given you her sincerest wish.” I wasn’t above pulling rank when I needed to. William responded well to the language and code of chivalry, even when we weren’t participating in meetings at our medieval reenactment society. />
  As I’d anticipated, it worked, and he was soon sliding into the water opposite me. We smiled at each other across the bubbles. “I was cranky that you were making me wait in my damp clothes but now I’m happy. It was worth it.”

  He smiled. “Good. I was hoping. And it’s dark right now, or there’d be a beautiful view of the mountains right here. I drew the curtains instead because it would be very easy to see inside. Nobody gets to see you naked besides me.” He gave me a very solemn nod. “Oh, and probably your doctor, but I try not to think of that.”

  I laughed again, leaning back and sighing in pleasure.

  “The concierge suggested I pull the roses apart to float them in the water but I didn’t have the heart to tear up perfect buds.”

  “I agree.” I basked in the heat. “Wow the tub is even heated, too. How ingenious. So the water will stay warm.”

  William frowned for a minute. “It does have that feature, yes. But until you just mentioned it I had forgotten about it. Would you like me to turn it on?”

  I sat up, definitely feeling the heat, my skin flushing. In fact it was starting to feel a little too warm. “What do you mean? The water is definitely feeling warmer the longer I sit in it.”

  William blinked and tilted his head toward the lip of the tub where the temperature controls were. “It’s definitely not on.”

  Suddenly my skin wasn’t just warm, it was on fire. Like burning. And not in the way that I’d feel as if the temperature had been turned up, either. With a sudden sinking in my stomach, I looked up at him. “Wil, what did you use for the bubble bath?”

  William brightened, tearing his eyes away from the heating controls. “Oh, Anna, the concierge, was very kind to provide me with a very fancy bubble bath in a champagne bottle.” He held it up. “See? Even has a French name that I could never ever pronounce.”

  I blinked, my vision slightly blurry. Maybe it was the steam but I was feeling decidedly unwell. My eyes were tearing up. “Shit, please don’t tell me there’s jojoba oil in that.”