by M. Clarke
Her eyes softened. “I know. Don’t worry. I’ve got it under control. How about you? Are you ready for the special dinner for Nathan? He has no clue, does he?”
I glanced up the stairs to make sure he was nowhere in sight. “He knows we’re spending Christmas day with my mom, but he thinks we’re spending Christmas Eve at his place, just the two of us.”
Isla followed my path of vision and gazed back at me. “Good. The plan is all set on my end. I’ll have dinner ready, and Josh and I will have everything set. All you have to do is make sure to get Nate up on the roof.”
I nodded. “I’ll just tell him what he said to me before, that I’m locked out on the roof.”
Isla gave me a thumbs up. “So, do you have a dress for the Knight Fashion Christmas party?”
“I think I do. Not sure which one yet. How about you?”
Isla and I stiffened when we heard voices. “Come on. Let’s talk later. And I do have a dress. Don’t forget to bring an unwrapped toy for the youth cancer toy drive.”
“Yup. I remember. I saw the email.”
We picked up a box each and climbed the stairs. Nate and Josh headed down to pick up more boxes. There weren’t that many, since she only had her clothes and some personal items. We had left the furniture behind since it would have cost more to ship it than to buy new, and she didn’t need it in Josh’s house. In fact, he asked that she didn’t bring any.
Isla’s room was spacious, the size of a master bedroom. In the center, against the wall was the bed, a desk by the window, a large flat screen mounted the opposite wall, and a tall dresser sat by the closet.
“Very nice, Isla. It’s bigger and nicer than our apartment in New York,” I complimented.
“Isn’t it,” she cheered, flipping her hair to stress her point, and then busted out laughing.
I wrapped her in my arms as I chuckled with her. “I’m going to miss our time together.”
Isla draped her arms around my waist and pressed her cheek against mine. “But I’m so glad we’re a lot closer, and hopefully we’ll be working together on ads and fashion shows.”
“Where should we put the last box?” Josh entered, followed by Nate. Instead of waiting for us to answer, he dropped the box and snatched us both in his arms. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. I had all sorts of dirty thoughts running through my mind seeing you both hugging.”
Nate gripped my arm and swung me out of Josh’s hold. “Not this one. This one is mine.”
The momentum of the movement caused Josh and Isla to slip on the bed. Josh lay on half of Isla’s body.
Josh and Isla couldn’t stop laughing at first, but then they stopped, quiet and still.
“So, you like to be on the bottom? Now I know.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“What?” she squealed, her face turning red. “Get off me.” Isla planted her hand on Josh’s face and pushed him off her. Laughing and trying to be serious, she continued. “Don’t get funny ideas, roomie, or you’re going to get it.”
Josh’s lips tugged into a wicked grin. “Fair warning, roomie, I may walk around the house naked.”
Isla slapped her forehead. “Oh, God, please no.”
“Time to go eat.” Josh threw his arms around Isla’s shoulder, dragging her out. “You can walk around naked too. I won’t mind.”
“Josh!” Isla hollered.
Nate and I laughed as we followed behind them.
“Josh has a huge house,” I whispered, snuggling closer to Nate.
He kissed my forehead. “Wait till you see ours.”
Blissful butterflies danced in my stomach when he said, “ours.”
Chapter 34
Nathan
Knight Fashion held its Christmas party at the Grand ballroom. As always, the company had outdone themselves with catered food and decorations. Olie and I mingled occasionally with others; however, we mostly kept to ourselves. Many congratulated us when we were announced the Sexiest Couple Alive, but it had been announced on social media the day after Olie and I had been told by Matthew.
I had been hesitant to go to the party, especially since the incident with Troy might have triggered unwanted media, but Knight Fashion had security guards who kept all news reporters away from the perimeter. I was grateful for that. Though it made the party enjoyable, Olie remained somewhat aloof from our peers, especially the ones she didn’t know well. I wanted to make sure she was comfortable, so we retreated to a quiet corner of the room and planned to go home at a reasonable time. One good thing about being surrounded by models, they don’t ask for your autograph, and they understand the meaning of privacy.
“Did you know they have a Christmas party every year?” Josh said over the music. “And every year is at a different location, different ice sculptures.” He glanced behind him to the large table in the back. On top, an ice sculpture of Santa Claus on his sled and his nine reindeer slowly melted. Next to it stood the Christmas tree, elegantly decorated in red and gold. Under the tree were unwrapped toys donated to help the youth cancer toy drive.
Isla almost spilled a drop of her drink on her long blue dress when she turned. “That’s so impressive and a lot of ice. It must have taken hours to chip away the ice to make that.”
Olie took a sip of her wine. “I heard last year was the Grinch theme.”
“Why are you guys in the corner?” Isla looked at me. “Let’s go mingle. Go dance.”
I arched my eyebrows and gestured to the dance floor. Taking Olie’s wine glass out of her hand, I set it down at the table beside us and guided her out to the dance floor. Though she looked hesitant, her nonchalant expression told me she left the decision up to me. I wanted her to relax, to have fun, so I took charge.
After a short duration of upbeat music, Olie smiled when Ed Sheeran’s song played. I took her hands in mine and guided them around my neck, and then I slipped my hands around her waist. When the second Ed Sheeran song played, she stiffened and I kind of did too. It was the song playing when I had proposed to her on the rooftop. I hated when songs reminded you of the times you didn’t want to remember. I had to do something, so I swung her out.
Olie’s eyes grew in shock. Before she could register anything else, I spun her back to me and dipped her.
“Nate,” she gulped when I brought her up to a standing position. “What are you doing?”
I pulled her closer so she could hear me. “The next time you hear this song, you won’t be thinking about the past. You’ll be thinking about how I dipped you and then this...” I cupped her face and kissed her, so soft and gentle, teasing. When I pulled back, she blinked, as if trying to come out of her daze.
“Nate,” she panted, yanking me to her. “Let’s go home.”
I squeezed her ass, making her twitch and yelp. “Whatever you want, babe. I would love to do things to you at home. Let’s say goodbye to Josh and Isla first.”
I’d never seen her move so swiftly. Olie grabbed my hand and zoomed through the crowd.
Olivia
“Thank you for understanding, Mom,” I said for the hundredth time.
Mom followed me out of the kitchen with her phone in her hand. Mom hardly had it with her, so I wondered why she held it as if her life depended on it.
“I’m fine, Olivia. I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow. Tomorrow is Christmas. You must be very nervous to keep saying that over and over again.” She punched in some keys on her phone and met my gaze.
Sometimes I saw myself in her expression or gestures, like the way she stared back at me with her head slightly lowered and angling her face so I could only see one of her eyes. “Well, do you blame me?” I started to pace and looked at my text messages. Nothing. Then I saw Mom fidgeting with the phone. “Mom, who are you texting?”
“Nobody.” Her eyes widened. “I meant my friend. You know, Charlene. Anyway, it’s not like it’s the first date,” Mom stressed, crossing her arms.
I stopped in my tracks, dropped to the sofa, and gazed at the little fake Christmas tre
e we’d had ever since I could remember. Even the ornaments were old. But when it was all together and lit, it still looked beautiful and gave me that warm Christmas feeling.
“I know. But it’s where we separated. The roof gives me terrible memories so I’m trying to replace them with a better one.”
Mom sat next to me. “Oh. That’s right. You told me when you were planning this.”
I nodded and inhaled a deep breath and looked at my phone again.
“Is someone supposed to call you?” Mom asked.
I eyed her phone in her hand, again wondering why she carried it. “I’m waiting for Isla to text me to let me know when I should head to Nate’s place. It’s going to take me about thirty minutes. Nate will be home about eight, and I need everything to be ready.”
Mom leaned to the side. “Why aren’t you there helping Isla?”
“I was there early this afternoon, but the landlord told me I had to leave. They were doing some kind of inspection. She told me I could come after five. Josh and Isla are there now. Isla said she would text me when the landlord gives her the green light.” I rubbed my hands together anxiously. “It’s almost six.”
Mom tilted her head to the side. “Why do you seem so worried?”
“I have fake candles I need to lay out, and I need to string up some white lights to brighten up the night.” I placed my hand over my forehead, picturing how I wanted it to look. It had to be different from the way Nate had decorated. I began to worry. It dawned on me it was winter. Maybe I should have rented a heating lamp? Breathe. It would be just fine. Nathan would love any surprise coming from me.
Mom’s attention shifted to her phone when it pinged. “It’s Charlene. She’s coming over tonight.”
I eyed her suspiciously. “Really? She never texts you before she comes.”
“Only when she’s running late,” she answered quickly. “And why do you sound like you don’t believe me? Who else would I text?”
Mom convinced me. When a ping sound alerted from my phone, I shot my eyes down.
Charlene: Don’t give your mom a hard time. I’m running late.
I shrugged, feeling bad for thinking Mom was lying. “That was Charlene. She’s running late.” I scowled, not liking to be wrong when my gut instinct told me otherwise.
Mother scoffed.
Another ping chimed on my phone.
Isla: You should come now.
I jumped. “I gotta go.”
Chapter 35
Olivia
The traffic was on my side, and I got there in thirty minutes. The sun stretched beyond the moon, ready to say goodnight. Since Isla and Josh were already up on the roof laying out the candles, my adrenaline lessened, but my thunderous heart would not relent. That night had to be perfect. I had to make sure of it. Looking at my watch, I got out of the elevator that led to the roof and opened the door.
Wow! My eyes lit up at the enchanting view. Countless fake candles lined the walls and the floor, glowing to give enough light to the surroundings. White lights strung on trees twinkled just as bright. At the back, just like before, a table and chairs were set for two. In the center of the table, a dozen red roses filled a clear vase.
“Isla. Josh,” I breathed, trying not to freak out. Then I realized that was how Nate must have felt that night. Excited, nervous, and overwhelmed with adrenaline. And then I crushed his heart. Oh my poor heart! Those thoughts made me want to drop to my knees in agony. The thought of how devastated we both were that night ached. No more thoughts of the bad past. Tonight, I planned to heal that night, to put a Band-Aid over the wound, and move on to our beautiful future.
“Isla. Josh?”
No answer.
I walked away from the door and realized two heating lamps stood by the table. Had I rented them and forgotten? Oh, Jesus, I was losing my mind. Too stressed, too forgetful.
“Hey, Olivia.”
I whipped around to see Isla and Josh and a couple of men carrying catering trays through the opened door.
“Hi.” I inhaled a deep breath.
Josh directed the men while Isla embraced me.
“Wow, you look amazing,” she gushed.
“Thanks.” It was the same blue dress I had worn the last time. This time, I also wore a long black coat. “Everything looks...” I glanced around. “Perfect.” I took a moment to inhale the cool air. “I feel so bad. You and Josh did everything. I didn’t even lift a finger. Why didn’t you call me earlier?”
“Not quite.”
I arched my eyebrows in confused. “What do you mean?”
Isla pushed back a strand of hair that clung to her lips as a soft breeze passed us. “One of Josh’s friends helped. He’s the one we rented the heating lamps from. We realized it was going to be too cold, so Josh made a phone call.”
I gazed at Josh, who directed the caterers. Last time, Nate had catered my favorite Chinese food. I wanted to make sure it was his favorite.
Isla’s hand on my shoulder shook me back to our conversation. “So, you ready?” She brought up her arm to look at her watch. “It’s time. Josh and I should get going.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Isla. I don’t know what I would have done without you and Josh.”
“That’s what friends are for. I told Josh if we ever got tired of modeling, we should consider setting up parties. This was fun.” She giggled.
I leaned closer so only she could hear. “It was fun because Josh was with you.”
Isla frowned, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, yeah, he’s a friend. It’s always fun when you do things with a friend.”
“Uh huh.” I dragged out the word.
Isla shook her head, giving me a challenging stare. “Stop it or I’m taking the heating lamps with me.”
“Okay.” I pretended to zip my mouth as I pressed my lips together.
“So, what’s next?” Isla looked over me to Josh. “I think they’re done.”
“Nate should be home in ten minutes according to the text he sent. When he gets home, I’m going to let him know I’m stuck on the roof. I know, lame, but that’s the excuse he used last time.”
Isla hugged her arms together and shivered in the breeze that shot out again. “Sounds like a plan.” Isla eye’s shifted to Josh.
The caterers had left the roof, and Josh nudged me on my shoulder. “Make sure my man gets some tonight.”
I dropped my jaw, but Isla slapped him across his arms. “Josh,” Isla squealed.
With the thick gray jacket Josh wore, it must have felt as if a feather had brushed him instead. “I’m just joking.” He hung his arm loosely around her neck. “Come on, let’s get out of here and get something to eat. I almost want to eat Nate’s food.”
“Thanks for all your help, and Merry Christmas.” I hugged Josh and Isla. “You’re not spending Christmas with your family?” I asked Josh. Isla had already told me she was celebrating Christmas day with her brother’s family, so I knew her story, but I wasn’t sure about Josh’s.
“Tomorrow. Christmas day.” He was always short and to the point.
“Good luck. Everything will be great,” Isla said before she exited with Josh.
I placed my purse down on the chair and took out my cell.
Me: Are you almost home?
Nate: I’m parking.
My heart pounded a mile a minute, and my hands shook as I texted back.
Me: I’m not home. Can you go to the roof and unlock the door?
Nate: What are you doing up there?
Me: I wanted to see the stars and the door closed.
Nate: Sorry, I can’t.
I did a double take on the message.
Me: What? I’m seriously stuck up here. I need you to open it.
Nate: I can’t.
Me: Nate!!!
Nate: I can’t because I’m already here staring at your lusciously long legs I want to lick.
I gulped and froze. Surely he was teasing. How could he be up there? He had no idea...did he? I looked o
ver my shoulder, and when there was no sight of him, I continued my text. This was supposed to be easy—at least in my mind it was.
Me: I’m being serious. I need you to come help me. I’m...
“Stop texting and turn around, Olie.” The words commanded hotly by the side of my ear. Too busy texting and wondering what to do next, I didn’t hear his footsteps to me. Pleasant tingling sensations heated me up in the most delicious way. When I didn’t budge, Nate placed a hand on me and guided me.
“Hello, beautiful. What are you up to?”
His smile radiated the night sky, and his attire sizzled me to a liquid puddle. Underneath a long black coat, he wore a dark navy-gray suit. Oh fuck me. He looked so damn sexy. Forget dinner, and forget what I had planned. I wanted to rip off his clothes and take him right there and right then.
“Uh...surprise?” I shrugged, coyly. It wasn’t the way I had planned it, but what the hell.
“You did all this for me?” He extended his arm.
I tugged him and started walking backward to the table. “Well, I thought since we’re moving after the new year, I wanted to replace the bad memory with a good one on the roof. Every time I go to your place, that night—”
“Olie.” Nate embraced me before I could say another word. “That was a long time ago. I don’t think about that night, and you shouldn’t.”
Tears dampened my eyes. I couldn’t help it. Not wanting Nate to see me emotional, I gestured. “Have a seat. Let’s eat before the food gets cold.”
I uncovered the dome silver cover to reveal seafood linguini, mixed vegetables, and a bowl of minestrone soup.
“Your favorite,” I pointed out.
Nate placed his hand over mine. “You remembered. Thank you. This is amazing. It’s perfect.”
He picked up a fork and started to twirl around the noodles, and I did the same. As we continued our meal, Nate spoke about our house. We also talked about Josh and Isla.
