Corporate Christmas

by Bernadette Marie

  She shivered as she looked for Jason, but he had disappeared in the wall of snow and people who hurried to escape it.

  He'd be at the Inn, she was certain of that. Even if he was going there to pack and leave, she still had time to find him.

  Her teeth chattered as she ran down the street toward the Inn. Wet strands of hair clung to her face, and her hands were numb from the cold that had begun whipping around her.

  In the gray darkness of the storm, the lights to the Inn were welcoming.

  She hurried up the walk pushed open the door as Tyler and Gwendolyn were walking down the steps.

  "Chloe!" Tyler ran to her and pulled her inside. "What in the hell are you doing? Where's your coat? It's snowing outside and below freezing. You're soaking wet." His hands were on her arms, and her vision took a moment to focus on his face having gone from cold to warm.

  "I'll go get her a towel," Gwendolyn said as she hurried back up the steps.

  Tyler rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "You could have gotten frostbite. You know better than to be out in this. It's getting bad. They say we have at least ten inches coming."

  She heard the words, but the blood rushing in her ears was louder.

  Tyler pulled her to him to keep her warm. "You're a wonder, my Chloe." He laughed as his hands rubbed over her back. "I can't wait to have you in Brazil with us."

  Chloe smelled his cologne before she saw him. Jason stood on the stairs, his suitcase in his hand. She turned to him. There was something very important she needed him to hear, but he shook his head and walked past them.

  "Jason," she called after him, Tyler's hands still on her arms.

  "You'll freeze to death out there. Take my coat," he said pulling it from his arms.

  "I'm going to miss him."

  "Where's he going to go? There is no car parked there, and his is under snow. Put on the damn coat," he demanded as he handed it to her.

  Chloe pushed her arms through and shrugged on the heavy coat as Gwendolyn hurried down the stairs.

  "I got the…" she began, but Tyler moved to her as Chloe hurried for the door.

  * * *

  It had been a stupid move on his part to chase her down to the small town she called home, but Jason couldn't have stopped himself once he'd realized what he'd felt. Even though there had been the chance he'd be disappointed, he hadn't considered being heartbroken.

  The rental car, parked in the lot, was covered in snow. One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to be making a speedy exit from Aubrey Heights.

  He unlocked the door and opened it. Throwing in his suitcase, he then found the brush to clean off the windshield when he heard his name being called from the Inn.

  When he lifted his head, he saw Chloe running toward him in the coat he'd seen on Tyler.

  "Go back inside, Chloe. It's freezing out here," he called back to her.

  "Stop. I need to talk to you."

  "I think your actions said enough. I'm the one in the wrong for being here. Just let me get the car…"

  He turned from brushing snow off the windshield and she was standing next to him. Her hair was wet, cheeks bright red, and her breath carried on the frozen air.

  "You're going to catch something standing out here like that," he scolded.

  "I'm here to catch something," she panted as she spoke. "I'm here to catch you."

  "I think your dance card is full. Why don't you go back inside…"

  "What are you talking about? Why are you so mad?"

  Jason set the brush on the hood of the car, and took the scarf from around his neck, and covered Chloe's head. He'd feel even worse if she got pneumonia. "I'm not mad," he decided. "I just need to go. I don't belong here with you and Tyler, and that other woman. You're going to get hurt, Chloe. That's all I'm going to say about that."

  He reached for the brush and she gripped his wrist in her frozen hand. "That other woman? Gwendolyn?"

  "Well, I didn't get acquainted."

  A small laugh broke through her mad. "That's Tyler's wife. They're newlyweds."

  "And he's taking you to Brazil?"

  "They’re taking me with them to look at a coffee bean plantation for his company. He offered me a job, Jason."

  Jason let out a breath, dissipating his own anger, and took Chloe's hands, holding them between his gloved ones. It wasn't like him to not assess a situation fully. This was a sure sign he'd let his heart do all the thinking and not his brain. Not since junior high school had he stood in front of a girl and felt like such a loser.

  "Tyler offered you a job in his company? That's why you're going to Brazil?"

  She smiled and he saw her lips quiver in the cold. "He pulled his contract with the agency when I told him they fired me. He offered me the position and yes, he invited me to go to Brazil, to see where they do business. I'd be working in the city, I suppose, at their headquarters. We haven't really hashed out the details. That's why he's here." She looked at her hands which he now had pressed to his chest. "And now I guess I have a job offer with Gloria, too."

  "It looks like things panned out for you." How could he not be happy about that? He was the one losing out, and that was all on him.

  "Not everything panned out," she lifted her eyes to meet his. "I figured something out in all of this, and those jobs don't mean anything without this other part working."

  Jason lifted his gloved hand to her cheek and pushed the wet hair from her skin. "What did you figure out?"

  "That I don't want to do any of this without you."

  He chuckled. "Well, I could use a job."

  Chloe shook her head. "No, not that. Well, maybe that." Her eyes shifted as if what he'd said added another layer to her manic state. "No, what I figured out was I don't want to do any of this without you. I want you in my life, Jason. I want you around me every day."

  "What are you trying to say?"

  She let out a breath that lingered on the frozen air and stepped in closer to him until their bodies were nearly pressed together.

  "I'm saying that in all of this, I realized I love you."

  Surely the pounding in his chest could be heard by everyone in town. Wasn't that exactly what he'd hoped she'd realized? He'd realized it the moment he'd kissed her, though he'd been fairly sure that was what had kept him up nights since the moment they'd met.

  "You love me?"

  She nodded. "I don't expect you to…"

  He pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her waist, and she raised hers around his neck. Her blue eyes sparkled as she gazed up at him. "I love you, too. Of course I love you. Why would I have come here at the risk of losing everything if I didn't love you?"

  "You love me?"

  "Yeah, and apparently you love me."

  "Are we crazy? We haven't known each other very long and…"

  "And you put a scar on my heart just as you did my head."

  She let out a laugh and traced her fingers over the scar on his forehead. "I'm sorry about that."

  "I'm not. Just think, if you hadn't had to spend all that time with me in the emergency room, you'd just still be mad at me."

  Chloe rested her head against his chest. "I don't think I was ever mad at you. You took my breath away when you first stepped into my office."

  Jason pulled back so that she had to look up at him. "I did?"

  The smile she flashed was beautiful. "I didn't want to leave you, but I had to come here."

  "I think you need to stay here."

  A crease formed between her brows. "What does that mean?"

  "It means that you have a lot of opportunity coming your way, and Aubrey Heights suits you better than the city. Maybe you should think of starting your own firm and handling Tyler's marketing and Gloria's as well."

  "From here?"

  "Yes."

  "I can't do that alone. It's too much. Those are huge companies and I…"

  He rested his hand on her cheek to draw her attention back to him. "You wouldn't do it alone. I'd be here wit
h you."

  "You'd move to Aubrey Heights to work with me?"

  "To be with you. What do you say? Stay here with me forever?"

  "Forever?" Her voice trembled when she said the word.

  "Forever, Chloe. As in, come to Florida with me, meet my mom, spend Christmas in my arms, go to Brazil, open your own company, and spend forever with me. Marry me and settle here, right where you grew up."

  Now he couldn't read her expression. It was possible he'd just stepped over that line again and he'd be the one sorry for it.

  "Chloe!" Tyler's voice rang through the curtain of snow before they saw him walking toward them. "Is everything okay?"

  She looked up into Jason's eyes again, and this time the smile brightened her entire face. "Everything's perfect. In fact, I'm getting married."

  Chapter 30

  In all the years Chloe had lived in Aubrey Heights, and the many more that she'd been a visitor, she'd never been in one of the quaint rooms at the Inn.

  Jason had run her a warm bath in the claw-foot tub, and Gwendolyn had brought her a change of clothes to borrow. As she soaked in the fragrant water of lavender, she considered what had happened in the parking lot.

  She was engaged to a man she hardly knew, had only kissed, and loved more than anyone she'd ever loved in her life. Everything inside of her told her that the moment was right. It was the right time to move back. It was the right time to start her own marketing firm. It was the right time to fall in love with a man who had given up everything just to follow her.

  What was her mother going to say? Her father would be livid. She hadn't brought Jason home to meet them. What kind of man proposes without a father's consent? Maybe that was old-fashioned, but that was how her father was.

  It was only then that she realized the bath water had started to go cold. She'd soaked away the chill long enough.

  She'd promised them all to meet them in the lounge when she was done. Perhaps she'd made too many decisions too quickly. Would Jason understand if she changed her mind, or at least put some things on hold? Would he think she was having second thoughts? Was she?

  No. She did love him. She felt that in her very core. Time. They needed time.

  Chloe stepped out of the tub and pulled on the thick cotton robe that hung on the back of the door. Perhaps they could honeymoon at the Inn, she thought and remembered she was going to let that simmer. They might love each other, but nothing had to be rushed.

  She took her time to dress in Gwendolyn's clothes and to dry her hair. She wished she had some makeup in her purse.

  It was nearly an hour later that she descended the stairs at the Inn. She hadn't even thought about calling Melanie and telling her she wasn't coming back. Guilt sickened her, but maybe Melanie would understand.

  She could hear the many conversations coming from the lounge and wondered how many people were staying there. Of course it would be filled with tourists. Everyone made their trek to Aubrey Heights at Christmas time. It was magical.

  When she reached the last step, she heard the distinct laughter of her father. Her father?

  She turned the corner to see the lounge filled with people she knew. Melanie was there, and why was she there? The store should be packed with shoppers. Gloria was there in an outfit that screamed high-priced ski vacation. Gwendolyn and Tyler sat on the sofa next to her aunt Janice and cousin Roz.

  In the corner of the room stood her parents with Jason, each with a flute of champagne in their hands.

  Jason smiled when she entered the room and moved to her, handing her a flute and pressing a warm kiss to her lips in front of everyone, who had gone quiet.

  "You look beautiful," he said softly.

  "What's going on?" she whispered.

  Sliding an arm around her waist he turned to look at the room full of people that Chloe loved. "They all came to celebrate with us. Your parents brought your aunt and cousin. Melanie closed the store because the snow has frightened away the tourists. Gloria has extended her stay, and Tyler and Gwendolyn are staying here, so that worked out well," he laughed.

  "You told them all?" she whispered again.

  Her father handed his glass to her mother and walked across the room toward her. "Nice young man you have here, Chloe."

  "Dad…"

  He pressed his finger to her lips. "He came out to the house this morning and introduced himself. Did you really throw a stapler at his head?"

  Chloe chuckled as she looked at the scar she'd left. "Yes."

  "He must really love you to put up with that," her father laughed. "I knew when I met him that he loved you. You just know after so many years of loving someone when a man falls in love with a woman. I've given him my blessing to marry you, and now I'm giving you my blessing to marry him and be as happy as your mother and I are."

  The tears were automatic, and Chloe wrapped her arms around her father's neck and absorbed the embrace he gave her. He was the first man she'd loved, because he knew how to love and how to show it.

  "I love you, Daddy."

  "I know. And I know you're going to be very happy," he said as he pulled back and wiped the tears from Chloe's cheeks. "All I want is for you to be happy."

  "I am."

  Jason slipped his arm around her waist again. "My mother will be here tomorrow if the snow lets up."

  "She's flying here?"

  "She's ecstatic that I found the love of my life and she can't wait to meet you."

  "Oh, this is all so sudden." Chloe felt the magnitude of it choking her.

  "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

  "No. No." She let out a sigh. "None of this was what I expected when I woke up this morning. It's a lot to take in."

  Jason shifted a look to those who had gathered in the room, and then took Chloe's hand and walked toward the entry way. "I didn't mean to overwhelm you. And I'm sorry I told your parents."

  Chloe rested her head against his chest. "I think it's sweet."

  "Good. Your mother would like us to get married on Christmas. She thinks it would be magical."

  Chloe laughed as she pulled back to look into the eyes of the man she loved. "Oh, the wedding she could plan in a year," she humored.

  Jason shook his head. "I think she was thinking next week."

  "This Christmas?"

  "Yes."

  "I don't— We're not— Really?"

  Jason lifted his hand to her cheek, and she realized she could drown in the sea of blue in his eyes. "I have all I need. I'd be honored to marry you next week. But I can wait as long as you want. I just want to be with you, forever. I love you."

  Chloe reached for his hand that lingered on her cheek and wrapped her fingers around his. "I love you. I would marry you today."

  He pulled her in, and she inhaled the scent of him.

  "Let's get married on Christmas then, surrounded by the important people in our life. Maybe I can talk Tyler into letting me join you all in Brazil. It'll be a honeymoon."

  "I can't believe all of this is happening."

  "Christmas miracle?"

  She laughed. "I think it is."

  Chapter 31

  It was unimaginable, Chloe thought as her mother and aunt fussed over the simple dress she had picked out at the bridal store. It wasn't fancy, but Chloe wasn't interested in fancy. In fact, the dress, cake, flowers, and DJ were all fluff pieces her mother and aunt wanted for her wedding. As far as Chloe was concerned, she'd be happy to marry Jason at the courthouse and celebrate with dinner at the Inn after.

  Jason, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy spending money on the event.

  His mother had arrived two days after they'd decided to get married, and Chloe found that she was very fond of her. She could see where his mother would fuss over him, and perhaps he was in need of that as well. After all, everyone in town had rallied to get Chloe ready for her big day.

  Her big day, she thought again. In all of her life, she hadn’t been that little girl who thought about her wedding day, or
who she would marry. She was too practical for that.

  No, she’d always been busy promoting the latest lemonade or hot chocolate stand that she and her friends had built. There was always something to create for herself, a future with a man hadn’t been on her radar.

  The moment she’d met Jason, when she’d choked on her cold coffee and he swooped in with that bottle of water, she’d known something was different. She thought she’d just been consumed by his looks, but maybe it was more. Maybe fate came with a zap of electricity—which was what she felt when she saw him that day.

  "We'd better get you out of this. Jason is headed over for dinner, and we can't have him seeing you in the dress before the wedding," her mother directed as she fixed the final pin into the hem of the dress.

  "I don't see where it would matter. There is nothing traditional about this wedding," Chloe said as she looked at herself in the mirror.

  "You look traditional. And his expression is what will matter. I've seen how he looks at you, but when he sees you in this dress, that moment will be priceless." Her mother stood behind her and rested her hands on Chloe's shoulders. As they both studied the mirror, Chloe realized how much she resembled her mother, whom she'd always thought was such a beautiful woman.

  "You know Dad still looks at you the same way Jason looks at me."

  "And aren't I a lucky woman too?"

  Jason had joined them for dinner, and now Chloe was comfortably resting in his arms in his bed at the Inn. Would their life always be so spontaneous? She hadn't taken Jason to be that way when she'd met him. No, she figured he was power hungry and ruthless. No, she thought again, that was only after she’d realized William Mason had cut her out of her job. She couldn't have been more wrong about Jason. Something had told her, the first time she peered into those blue eyes, that there was kindness in his soul. She was truly happy that she hadn’t run him off by throwing the stapler at him

  "What are you thinking?" he asked as he brushed his fingers over her forehead moving the strands of hair that had fallen over her brow.