by Misty Dawn
For a moment, I could have sworn this was a dream, but I obeyed his wish and took his hand in my own. With a tug, he pulled me out of Penny's, and down the center of the mall.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Missy
The center of the mall was the most festive, with yards and yards of garland, lights, bows, different trees, ornaments, and of course, Santa's setup, where he had sat every day since after Black Friday, waiting for kids to come tell them their wishes. Had I been more excited for Christmas, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the effort that went into it, but anticipating a lonely Christmas wasn't high on my priority list.
Leo was in no mood to enjoy the displays however, as he tugged me past the center of the mall, towards the other side of the mall where there were a new variety of stores, most of which had closed for the day.
"Where are we going?"
"Close your eyes," he told me. He looked like an excited kid, ready to jump out of his shoes at the notion of no school tomorrow.
"My eyes?" I said stupidly, squeezing them shut. "Okay."
"Don't look. Stay where you are."
I felt him leave my side, and then from the other side of my eyelids felt something light up. Well that was strange, perhaps he had something to show me in one of the other stores over here.
"Okay," he said proudly. "Open them."
I did as I was told and slowly opened my eyes. Leo stood in front of a small, empty storefront, the grate lifted, and the store inside completely bare, spare a few shelves on the wall. He looked back at it, then at me.
"Come in," he told me, beckoning for me to follow him.
Still confused, I followed Leo into the abandoned store. There had previously been one of those old CD stores in here that had gotten bumped into a smaller space. It had gone out of business when I started at the mall, but the space hadn't yet been filled.
I looked around at the peeling paint, the sagging shelves, the sorry flooring beneath my feet. Overhead, one of the lights was flickering. I looked at Leo in confusion. Was this his idea of romance?
"What's this?" I asked him slowly, trying to tame the creeping grin that came across my face.
He smiled at me. "Missy, this is your store."
"Huh?" I asked, confused. "You mean Penny's?"
"No," he said. "I want to give you this space to open up your own store in the mall."
A sensation of wildfire spread throughout my body, how I would imagine happiness floats through a human at break-neck speed, reaching each nerve ending with fiery enthusiasm.
"What do you mean?" I asked him, not quite getting it. "You want to give me…a store. Are you crazy?"
Leo shook his head. "No. I did a little research on Etsy. Missy, you have over 3,000 positive reviews of people who loved your stuff. And the way you spoke about your art, your crafts, your creations. The passion you have. You moved up here to start something great, to follow your passion and your dream. You just needed a way to do it." He looked around at the store. "This place has been sitting empty for ages. Who better to bring in to spruce it up? Give it some life? Start selling handmade boutique items that people crave when they come to the mall?"
"You're…kidding. You can't…you just can't be serious," I said. I felt those tears come back again, flooding in the corners of my eyes, threatening to come out. Though, there wasn't a sadness or an ache behind them as there had been previously. This was something else.
"I'm dead serious, Missy. I know you can do this. You can succeed at this dream. I want to help you." He stepped towards me, so close now, I could feel his chest against mine. "And I want you," he said. His hand came up to meet my cheek, cupping my flesh, his thumb running over my already flushed cheek. I want you more than anything I've ever wanted…ever."
"This all seems kind of…reckless," I joked, my eyes watering, looking up at this gorgeous, generous, wonderful man, who just seemed to be too good to be true. "Doesn't it?"
"It seems perfect," he replied, before leaning down to catch my lips with his own. He kissed me gently, cupping my face in his hands, tasting my lips slowly. Every movement was deliberate, every touch slow, every time he dove back into my mouth, it seemed like he was kissing me like he never had before.
Everything melted, the pain of what Conrad had said, quitting Penny's, not understanding what happened between Leo and I. This had fixed all those bad things, even made them worth it. Leo tasted like perfection, like someone who fit, someone who I was meant to be doing this with all along.
He broke away to look at me, eyelids fluttering open as we took each other in.
"It's Christmas Eve," he observed.
"That it is," I answered with a grin.
"Well, do you have any plans?"
"You know," I said, pretending to think. "I don't think I do."
"Well, isn't that just perfect," he answered with a smile. "I don't either."
"Shall we do dinner?"
He smiled and nodded. "I'd love to."
I caught his gaze and smiled before he leant in to kiss me once more.
The End
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Misty Dawn
About the Author
Misty is a 30-something year old wife and mom, who's always had a thing for erotic romance. She's a sucker for a good kiss, and a slow burn. Misty enjoys creating characters and bringing them to life by putting them in sexy situations.
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