by Layla Hagen
Just sensing Winston next to me filled me with energy. And when he wrapped an arm possessively around me, whispering, “You’re sleeping here. I’m not letting you out of my bed tonight,” I grinned from ear to ear, looking out the window at the snow falling.
I didn’t mind at all that this delicious man was keeping me captive here. Feeling him wrapped around me like this just gave me all the feels. I was so full of energy that I could have kept talking all night, but he fell asleep almost instantly.
I just lay there, listening to his even breathing, barely able to stay still when all I wanted to do was turn around and just kiss the living daylights out of him.
I managed to stay put, looking out the window for a long time. Still grinning from ear to ear.
Chapter Nineteen
Sienna
Next morning, my head weighed a ton when the alarm clock rang. Winston’s chest was pressed against my back. I’d love to be woken up like this every morning, especially when I had an important meeting ahead.
The meeting! My stomach bottomed out. I forced myself to open my eyes wide.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Seven o’clock.”
“No, no, no, no.”
I jumped out of bed. Bad mistake. I was so dizzy that I nearly lost my balance. Holy shit. I couldn’t have gotten more than four hours of sleep. The last time I remembered looking at the digital TV clock last night, it had been half past three, and I hadn’t fallen asleep right away.
Winston walked up to me, steadying me. He looked wide awake.
“What’s wrong?”
“Forgot to set my alarm clock. I wanted to wake up at five so I’d have time to wash my hair and everything.”
He cupped my face with both hands. “You look perfect.”
“Don’t sweet-talk me so early in the morning. I’m not awake enough to resist you.”
I pointed a finger at him, attempting to sound stern. He caught my wrist, kissing the back of my hand, smiling.
“I don’t have time for my routine.”
“Just put on a suit, and you’ll be fine.”
“Spoken like a man. I need more time to get ready. But I’ll have to cheat today.”
“I’m gonna order breakfast to be brought here while you change. What do you want?”
“Coffee. Any form they have. IV would be much appreciated. I think I just slept three hours.”
“Why? We went to bed early.”
I felt my cheeks flush. “I... um, couldn’t fall asleep.”
“Why?”
I shrugged, but Winston’s expression changed subtly. His eyes narrowed at the corners. He curled his mouth into a half smile.
“Why, were you thinking about our evening?”
“Maybe.”
He continued watching me intently. I pinched his chest. “Fine. Fine. You want to hear me say it? I was just too excited and happy to fall asleep.”
He swallowed, looking at me before cupping my face and kissing me so hard that my knees gave in. I gripped his shoulders for support, hanging on to him as I surrendered to his kiss.
I didn’t want to let go. Unfortunately, duty called. I knew that the longer I gave in, the more stressful my morning would be.
But how could I let go when all I wanted was to cling to this feeling for one more minute, or at least one more second?
When Winston intensified the kiss, walking me backward until he pinned me against a wall with his hips, I knew I had to pull myself together or I’d fall to this man’s charms, hook, line, and sinker.
I pushed him away playfully, then pointed a finger at him.
“Let’s set some rules for this morning. Yes to breakfast. No to kissing or any shenanigans of the sexy variety.”
Winston tilted his head. “I reject all these crazy ideas.”
“Winston. We’ll be late!”
He pinned me with that molten gaze, and I was sure that he was going to give me a knee-weakening kiss again, but to my surprise, he took a step back, leaving me space to move, though he wasn’t looking away from me.
Back in my room, I went through the motions at top speed. I usually needed at least an hour, but now I managed to be ready in twenty minutes while reciting my presentation at the same time.
I had to skip styling my hair, so I just pulled it into a low bun. It worked well with my crisp suit. I usually wore casual business attire at work, but this was different.
Suits went a long way in establishing a professional image.
I didn’t want to risk anyone not taking me seriously because of my age or the way I dressed.
Winston was already in the dining room when I entered it. We ate quickly, in silence, and I knew his mind was on the presentation too. No more innuendos or flirty lines.
I debated giving him one of those kisses that pushed away every thought, because I wanted to put him at ease, but at the same time, I knew we needed our head in the game.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t at least mentally plan ways to spoil him afterward though.
We took a cab to the building where we were meeting the board. The drive only took five minutes.
We stepped inside together and were shown to the right room by a very helpful receptionist.
Five others joined us in no time, three men and two women. We shook hands with everyone.
“Mr. Statham, I’m happy to see you again. Ms. Hensley, great to meet you in person,” one of them said. I’d emailed with him last week.
I drew in a deep breath, squaring my shoulders as I stretched out my hand.
Showtime.
I was the one who started the presentation, giving them the rundown of the rebranding purpose and targets. I’d given enough presentations by now to know that eye contact was crucial.
Even when their expressions were clearly unconvinced, I didn’t back down or allow myself to be intimidated. Showing doubt was a surefire way to undermine the credibility of the presentation.
“Thank you, Sienna,” Winston said after my last slide came on.
We switched places, and I crossed my legs under the table as soon as I sat on one of the chairs. I wasn’t watching Winston. I knew the presentation by heart. I was watching the others, trying to read their expressions, to guess what they were writing down.
All the doubts I’d kept at bay while I’d been in the front came crashing into me.
What if they didn’t like the rebrand? I couldn’t imagine the store closing down. It just wasn’t possible.
“Winston, I was hoping to see a more drastic plan, to be honest,” one of them said.
“The charity program could be scrapped completely,” another said. My hackles went up.
“Why?” I asked.
“It’s occupying a prime-time slot in your Christmas program. Replace it with something you can monetize.”
Winston set his jaw, narrowing his eyes. “The charity program is a staple at Statham Stores. It stays.”
It endeared him to me that he was fighting for the charity program, even if he was making life harder for himself.
“Our customers expect it,” I said. “They like the fuzzy feeling of having done something good.”
“The fuzzy feeling factor won’t bring in revenue.”
“People like to know they’re contributing to a cause. I can show you the comments specifically praising the charity program in our customer surveys. It makes them happy. And when they’re happy, they spend more.”
“As long as you have the numbers to back it up.”
“We do,” Winston said confidently.
We went back and forth over several points of the rebranding campaign.
I felt as if someone had placed a ten-pound weight on my shoulders as we stepped back out on the street. Winston looked even worse.
I’d hoped this would go better. Sure, it had just been the interim presentation, but we had practically not agreed on anything. Right... there was plenty of time to worry about this later. At the moment, I had one goal:
take Winston’s mind off the meeting.
“So, mister. I see those frown lines have multiplied. Need to do something about them.”
Winston flashed me a smile. “And what would that be?”
I tapped my chin, wiggling my eyebrows. “Still trying to decide what would be more efficient.”
Winston stopped walking, training his eyes on me. The sheer heat in that look made me squirm. And then he took one step in my direction, closing the distance, wrapping me in his arms.
“Let’s move our flights to tomorrow.”
I blew out a breath. Wow. That was definitely not what I’d been expecting.
“You want to spend another night here?”
He nodded. “I just want you all for me this weekend, Sienna. Just you and me.”
My heart was beating so wildly that I couldn’t focus on my thoughts. I couldn’t focus on anything other than how warm and strong he felt against me.
Emotion flickered in his eyes, and I realized this was a decisive moment. If I said yes, things would shift between us.
Last night, we’d both been driven by impulse and got caught up in the heat of things, but this was... well, different. I could fall for this man in a blink of an eye. What if I got my heart broken? The fear wasn’t enough to deter me from wanting to get completely lost in him. I had to change my plans for tomorrow, but I nodded, happy that I had more time to take his mind off the meeting.
“Perfect. That means I can show you even more of the area than I’d thought.”
That was music to my ears. Win-win. We could worry about everything when we were back in San Francisco.
“I’m impressed. I thought you’d just keep me captive inside the hotel.”
His eyes flashed. “I plan to do that too. My suite.”
I held up a finger. “Well, if you have the fireplace lit and room service, I’m sold.”
“I see. Those are the only selling points?”
“What else could be a selling point? Oh yes, a certain sexy boss making the fire, then doing me.”
He kissed me right there in the street, then smiled against my lips, and my heart doubled in size because he seemed to have slipped into the same happy place he’d been in yesterday.
Then we decided to head to the hotel first and change into comfortable clothes.
“Let’s check on Joey,” I said when we climbed out of the car in front of the building.
“Only you can give a snowman a name.”
“Hello, Frosty the Snowman? Haven’t you seen Jack Frost?”
“Not a movie guy, remember?”
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Right, I think it might be time to change that. You know what Joey needs?”
“What?”
“A friend.”
Winston looked perplexed. “You want another snowman? Please tell me you’re joking.”
I couldn’t hide my grin anymore. Winston pounced on me the next second, and we both tumbled to the ground in the fluffy snow, which somehow managed to get in everywhere: in my mouth, my nose, my hair. We were making a mess out of our suits.
I forgot all about it when he kissed me, keeping me pinned against the snowy ground.
We only headed inside after we were drenched and cold.
Winston ran his hands up and down my arms in the elevator. I was shivering.
“I’m surprised you’re not trying to convince me to go to the sauna again,” I joked.
“That was just an excuse for me to spend more time with you.”
“And now you don’t need underhanded tricks to get me alone anymore?”
“Exactly.”
Chapter Twenty
Sienna
I was supposed to go to the Bennett house tomorrow. I could say that the business trip had been extended, which was only half a lie. But I didn’t like lying at all. Besides, no one would believe it, so I simply decided to tell Victoria what was going on.
Sienna: Winston asked me to stay the whole weekend, and I agreed, so I’ll have to miss out on the get-together.
I also sent Pippa the same message. The girls answered at the same time.
Victoria: You’re doing the boss, aren’t you? Good for you :-D Keep me updated.
Pippa: OMG I NEED DETAILS.
I typed and deleted about five messages to Pippa before settling on a final version.
Sienna: That would be a very long message. I’ll tell you in person.
Pippa: You’re mean.
Chuckling, I pocketed my phone. For sure the next time I saw them, I’d have to spill the beans on everything. I couldn’t wait.
Sharing was natural to me. Victoria and I had always been close, and when we joined the Bennett family, well... Pippa took everything to the next level.
I just loved dissecting every detail with the girls. It was also helpful to uncover red flags. I wasn’t kidding myself. I was naive when it came to certain things, and Pippa and Victoria had more experience. While I was with Trevor, they’d pointed out he was spending a lot of his evenings separate from me. I still remembered how small I’d felt when he’d clarified that he’d felt pressured and just couldn’t deal with me anymore.
Even though I didn’t want to bring up work again, I had a burning question.
“What will happen to you and your parents if the store closes down?” I asked when he came into my room after we changed out of our suits.
“They have enough savings, and I’ve made investments since I went to college, so I’m all set. This isn’t about us. It’s... the flagship store is my family’s pride, and a lot of people work there. Their lives would be turned upside down. Some have been with the store since my parents ran it. They’re an integral part of it. They’re my responsibility, and I won’t let them down.”
I think I fell a little more for him right then and there. But damn, I’d had to spoil the mood by bringing this up again. Those pesky worries were weighing on him again.
“I have rules for this afternoon,” I announced.
“You don’t say. What did I tell you about that?”
I held up a finger. “Wait. Hear me out first. You’re gonna love them. No to talking or thinking about work. Yes to having fun, and double yes to sexy shenanigans.”
“I’m on board with that.”
He came closer, and by the way his eyes smoldered, I knew we weren’t going to go out right away.
“I still want to see Vermont,” I warned.
“Whatever the lady commands.”
I had to give Winston credit; he did stick to his original plan of showing me the surroundings. The city was lovely. We spent an inordinate amount of time in one of the residential neighborhoods, because I just couldn’t get enough of those idyllic homes. I kept making up stories about how the lives of those inside them could potentially be.
By the time we were done, I was so drunk on Burlington and Vermont in general that I could barely believe it.
***
Winston
“I know it sounds crazy, but I could see myself living here. I mean, hypothetically, of course. I wouldn’t leave San Francisco in a million years. But I could totally see myself living in one of these houses, with the white fence and the perfectly sized garden. I’d have an indoor and outdoor Christmas tree. And I’d—”
She stopped talking. “Why are you watching me like this?”
“You fascinate me, that’s all.”
For me, a house was a house. But with Sienna, it was a place to live, a story, a life that could unfold inside. I couldn’t wait to experience more with her at my side.
“It’s Saturday. That means there’s a chance there is a tree lighting ceremony in the area if we’re lucky,” I said.
“Yes. I love those. I know we have a ton in San Francisco, but I’d love to see one in a city where we don’t have palm trees next to the Christmas tree, you know?” She clapped her hands, making me laugh.
“Let me check.”
I googled nearby events and stumbled upon a list.
> “Here it is. Two towns over. Forty-minute drive.”
“Can we go?” her eyes were brightly lit, and she was bouncing back and forth on her feet.
“Yes, we’re going.”
She brought her arms around my neck, kissing me. Before I realized what she was doing, she jumped in my arms. I caught her by the ass, steadying her.
“Don’t do this again in the middle of the street, Sienna.”
“Why not?” she challenged.
“Might give me... interesting ideas.”
“I thought we were going to see a tree-lighting ceremony.”
“We are. Not much I wouldn’t give you right now.”
“All it takes is me kissing you?”
“Don’t forget jumping me.”
“I foresee lots of things going my way in the future if this is all I have to do to convince you.”
The evening flew by faster than I’d hoped. I’d been in this area a few times for board meetings, but it was like rediscovering it all over again. It was very late by the time we returned to the hotel. Sienna was all smiles, chattering nonstop about the event, how we could integrate some details in the store’s Christmas program.
“What would you think about adding a tree ceremony?” she asked.
“I think that you’re brilliant. It works with our brand, and why not make an event out of it?”
“We’re a great team.”
“That we are.”
When I busied myself at the fireplace, she sipped wine, just looking out the window. It was snowing again.
“What are you thinking about?”
“That I don’t ever want to leave this place. It’s so pretty.”
“I can easily arrange that.”
“Can you now? I doubt it.”
“I’m the boss, remember?”
“I think I do, but if you want to remind me, I won’t say no.”
“I can make our own schedule, decide we need to stick around here, work remotely.”
She narrowed her eyes, sliding a finger down my torso. “Somehow, I don’t think we’d get much work done, would we?”
“You’re right. What if we come back here another weekend?”
“Why would you do that?”
