“But will it be in fashion next year, that’s the question,” his father replied. “Trends fall out of favor quickly these days.”
As did memories. “It was just a thought.”
“Well, you know my position on those displays. They outlived their expenditure long ago. I’ll be back by the middle of the week. Why don’t we connect then? Over dinner, perhaps.”
“Okay,” James said. With any luck he would have to cancel to take a certain sexy little elf sightseeing in Boston. “Have a safe trip.”
“You too, James.”
He let the phone drop to the floor. Stupid, his feeling kicked in the gut over one comment. Wasn’t like his father was revealing some kind of family secret. At least Noelle wanted him. The way he felt with her trumped anything—everything—else. Simply thinking her name chased his dark thoughts away.
Damn, but he was falling hard for her.
He stretched his arm to pull her close, only to remember when he struck bare sheets that she was still in the bathroom. “You can come out of hiding! I’m off the phone,” he called with a smile. It was sweet that she wanted to give him privacy.
When she didn’t respond, he flipped over on his back. “Noelle? Babe? You okay?”
The bathroom door was wide open.
What the hell? Jumping from the bed, he rushed across the room and slapped on the bathroom light. The room was empty. He knew it would be empty. He’d just hoped...
That was the problem with hope. It always ended with a sucker punch.
Noelle was gone. While he’d been dreaming of waking up beside her, she’d gotten dressed and left.
Maybe she went to get coffee, a small, desperate voice in his head said. He angrily shoved the idea away before it could take hold. He didn’t want to entertain possibilities, didn’t want hope. His fingers squeezed the towel rod, his body trembling with the desire to rip it from the wall. He could still see the way she looked at him in the restaurant. Like she cared.
Dammit. He smashed a fist on the marble vanity, roaring through gritted teeth at the pain. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Why couldn’t she have stayed a mildly attractive employee? No, she had to crawl under his skin and make him start to believe the damn greeting card was possible? He thought yesterday had been as mind-blowing for her as it had for him. He thought they were starting something here. He thought...
He thought she cared.
Joke was on him, wasn’t it? Like he could compete with her dead war hero of a husband. For crying out loud, his own parents didn’t want him; what made him think Noelle would?
If only she hadn’t been so damn special.
Forget it. Taking a deep breath, James pushed the rage down as deep as possible. He tucked it away along with the crazy dream he’d had of sharing the holidays with Noelle.
Turned out, he’d been right all along. Things like family and holiday cheer, hope, love—they were pipe dreams. Marketing concepts designed to manipulate emotions and sell products. They didn’t really exist. At least not for him.
Lesson learned.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
IF NOELLE HEARD the guy on the sound system sing about Santa coming to town one more time, she was going to scream. The song, part of a continual loop in the store, had been playing for the past three days. Usually, she embraced Christmas carols, but she hadn’t slept well since returning from New York, and the lack of sleep had left her with a throbbing knot at the back of her head. Like she’d been smacked in the head by a drone.
If only she could be so lucky. A smack to the head and temporary amnesia sounded pretty good about now. Anything would, if it meant whipping out Saturday’s memories. She had her own continual loop of sounds and images tormenting her. Every night when she tried to sleep, they repeated in her head. James smiling. James propped on his elbows above her. James raining kisses on her skin. Over and over, the memories repeated until she ended up clutching a pillow to her aching insides while she waited for the clock to signal morning.
Not that daytime was all that much better. If she drove past the Christmas market, she thought of James. If she visited Santa’s workshop, she thought of James. If she walked past her living room sofa...
For goodness’ sake, they’d known each other four days! Their relationship didn’t warrant this kind of obsession. Yet, here she was obsessing.
Her guilty conscience didn’t help. She should have gone back to the hotel and explained in person, but she’d been so freaked out by what she was feeling that she was halfway home before she’d thought things through. By then, embarrassment had kicked in, and the best she could do was a text reading I’m sorry. As far as regrets went, it was the stupidest, most immature thing she’d ever done.
Her gaze drifted to her telephone. It wasn’t too late. She could still call and explain. What would she say? Sorry I ran out on you, but I liked you so much I freaked? While true, she doubted it would make a difference. When push came to shove, it was still only one night—one fantastical, mind-blowing, life-altering night—but one night all the same. And there was still the chance she’d read the situation wrong. After all, she was assuming he felt the same way. For all she knew, the way she felt after they’d made love was commonplace for James and his talk of showing her Boston was nothing more than pillow-talk promises. It had only been a few days, but he might have already moved on, and calling would simply make her look foolish.
A knock sounded on her door. Looking up, she saw Todd standing in the doorway. His arms were folded, and he wore a frown. “You okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” she replied, pretending to shuffle some papers. “What can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you’ve read the email from the Boston office yet.”
Boston office meaning James. Her stomach did a little bounce. “No. What did it say?”
“Hammond sent a list of recommendations for how we can streamline operations and improve traffic flow in the store. Looks like he took a lot of mental notes during his tour last week. Pretty impressive for a guy with stitches in his head.”
“Streamlining is his thing,” she replied. Along with renting out restaurants and nipping at shoulders, she thought, fighting a blush.
Either she succeeded or Todd was too polite to say anything. “Some of his changes we won’t be able to implement until after the holidays, but a few we can put in place now. Why don’t you read the list and then you and I can talk?”
“Sure thing.” Reaching for her mouse, she clicked on the email icon and brought up her inbox on the screen. “Has Belinda seen the list? What did she say?”
“Nothing. She officially stepped away from operations on Monday afternoon, remember?”
“Sorry. I forgot.” This time, Noelle did blush.
“Totally understand,” Todd replied. “It’s going to take some getting used to, not thinking of her as being in charge.”
Or being around, thought Noelle. The first thing her mother-in-law mentioned after Noelle’s return on Sunday was that she planned to leave for Florida right after Christmas and not return until mid-April. So in the end, Noelle didn’t have James or her family.
Todd cleared his throat. “You sure you’re okay? You seem a little spacey.”
“Sorry,” she apologized again. “I was scanning the memo.”
He nodded, even though the expression on his face said he didn’t believe her for a second. “Soon as you’ve gone through it, come find me. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Especially about point number five.”
Point number five, huh? She clicked open the email. Turned out, it wasn’t from James after all, but rather a Carli Tynan. The suggestions were all James, however. She recognized the first two as ones he’d made during the tour. Quickly she scanned down to point five.
Remove the Elk statue from the rear of the store. In
addition to taking up a large amount of space, the crowd that gathers around it impacts other shoppers’ ability to maneuver in the aisles. Recommend statue be placed either outside on the grounds or in storage.
That rat! He’d promised Fryer would stay.
This was clearly revenge for her walking out. Completely unacceptable. It was one thing for him to be angry with her, but he had no business taking his anger out on a poor innocent elk. Fryer hadn’t done a thing except uphold tradition.
Retrieving the Boston number from the bottom of the email, she picked up her phone and dialed.
“I want to talk to James Hammond,” she snapped when the receptionist answered. There’d be plenty of time to regret her rudeness later. “Tell him Noelle Fryberg is on the phone, and that it’s important.”
Apparently, there was a part of her that didn’t expect him to answer, because she nearly dropped the phone when James’s voice drawled in her ear. “I’m in the middle of a meeting.”
Nevertheless, he took her call. She might have taken that as a hopeful sign, if not for his chillingly businesslike voice.
She got straight to the point. “Fryer,” she said.
“Carli sent out the memo.”
“She sent it out, all right. What are you doing removing Fryer? We agreed he was a popular attraction, and deserved to stay.”
“I changed my mind,” James replied. “I had some time to think on my flight alone back to Boston and decided it wasn’t a good idea. There’s enough chaos in that store without teenagers blocking the aisles and taking selfies.”
“On Friday you called that chaos organized.”
“My perspective changed.”
Noelle didn’t think she’d ever heard his voice so emotionless, not even on his first day in Fryberg. He sounded like the warmth had been sucked out of him and it was her fault.
She grew sick to her stomach. “I’m sorry about the other night.”
“I know. I received your text.”
She winced. “I know I shouldn’t have run out the way I did.”
“Forget it, Noelle. I already have.”
“You—you have?” Of course he had. Hadn’t he said at the restaurant that he was a rich man trying to seduce her? She was the one who’d gone and attached deeper meaning to his behavior. Maybe all the importance had been in her head. “But Fryer...”
“Business, Noelle. The store is a Hammond’s property now. It seemed silly to wax nostalgic about the previous ownership.” She could hear him shifting in his chair and pictured him sitting straight and stiff behind his desk. “Besides, I’m taking the chain in a different direction after the first of the year. Your elk clashes with the new brand.”
“But we agreed,” Noelle said. The protest came out a whine. Worst of all, it wasn’t Fryer she cared about. It was the chill in his voice. So cold and detached. She wanted the voice that scorched her skin.
“Disappointment’s part of life.”
Ouch. Then again, what did she expect his attitude would be? Relief? He was angry, and Noelle deserved every ounce of wrath thrown her way.
“James—” I’m sorry.
Too late. He’d hung up.
Noelle let the receiver slip from her fingers. What had she done? Handled the whole situation like a child, that’s what. One-night stand or not, James deserved a proper goodbye.
Everything was messed up.
“Argh!” Squeezing her eyes shut, she ground the heels of her palms into her lids. “What a freaking idiot.”
“Little harsh, don’t you think?” she heard Belinda ask. “I’m sure whoever you’re talking about isn’t that stupid.”
The blurry image of her mother-in-law carrying a newspaper walked into the office. She was dressed in her off-duty clothes—jeans and a soft hand-knit sweater—and looked so much like the day they first met, that Noelle immediately jumped up and ran into her arms. Immediately, Belinda’s arms went around her in a bear grip more comforting than she deserved. Noelle’s shoulders started to shake.
“Whoa, what’s this all about?” Belinda asked. “Are you crying?”
“I c-can’t help it.” Noelle gulped between sobs. The safer she felt, the more she cried.
“Come now, I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
Did she want to bet? Sniffing back her tears, Noelle let herself catch her breath before speaking. “Fryer’s gone,” she said, sniffing again. “The Boston office wants him put in storage.” And it was all her fault because she’d been a childish coward.
“Don’t tell me all these tears are because of a battered old elk,” Belinda said.
She stepped back and looked Noelle in the eye. “I know you’re fond of tradition, sweetheart, but he’s only an old statue. I tried to convince Ned to get rid of him for years. Thing takes up way too much space on the floor.”
Great. In addition to dashing out on James, she’d been protecting a tradition no one else wanted.
How fitting.
“Then I guess you’ve finally gotten your wish.” Backing out of her mother-in-law’s embrace, Noelle turned back to her desk. “If I’d known you didn’t care, I wouldn’t have put up a fight.”
“Don’t be silly,” Belinda said. “Of course you would have. You’ll fight for every tradition. It’s who you are. But something tells me all these tears aren’t for our soon-to-be-departed mascot. Something’s been bothering you all week.”
“That obvious, is it?”
“Thirty seconds ago you were sobbing on my sweater. A billboard would be less obvious. What’s wrong?”
Where to start? “It’s complicated.”
“Is it my retiring? I know my leaving for Florida is happening quickly.”
“The business is only part of the problem,” Noelle replied.
“I see.” She wore Kevin’s same skeptical expression as she folded her arms. “What’s the other part?”
Shame burned in Noelle’s stomach. Thinking her mistakes were bad enough, but speaking them aloud?
“I messed up,” she said. “I did something really, really stupid.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” The older woman stepped up and rested a hand on Noelle’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’re exaggerating. Todd would have told me if it was super serious.”
“Todd doesn’t know, and worse, it’s too late to fix things.”
“You don’t know that, sweetheart. Nothing is so horrible it can’t be repaired.”
“Not this time,” Noelle replied, turning around. Taking a deep breath, she relayed what had happened in New York.
“Well,” Belinda said when she finished, “that explains why James mysteriously cancelled our Monday meeting and why you were acting so strangely when you came by the house on Sunday afternoon. Why on earth would you run off and leave him like that?”
“Because I freaked out.” She rubbed her forehead, the pain from the back of her head having decided to relocate there. “The way he made me feel. The emotions. They were too overwhelming. I’ve never felt like that before.”
“Not even with Kevin?”
Noelle froze. Here she thought she couldn’t mess up any further. “Kevin was... That is, I loved Kevin...”
“It’s all right,” Belinda said. “I know what you meant.”
“Y-you do?”
“You and Kevin were practically babies when you started dating. Only natural the grown-up you would feel things a little differently.
“Maybe...” Her mother-in-law’s smile was indulgent as she cupped Noelle’s cheek. “Maybe even a little stronger.”
How did she earn such a wonderful person in her life?
“You have to know, I loved Kevin,” Noelle replied. “I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.” Who knows how things would have worked out between them if he’d re
turned? They’d already had a strong foundation. Passion might have blossomed eventually, as well.
“No matter what, he’ll always own a big piece of my heart.”
Belinda smiled down at her. “I know, sweetheart. Now, the question is—does James Hammond own any of that heart? Are you in love with him?”
Was she? Noelle shook her head. “We’ve only known each other four days.” Far too soon to fall head over heels. “But...” She thought about how her heart felt fuller when he walked into a room.
“But you could see yourself falling in love with him someday,” Belinda finished for her.
“Yes.” Very much so, Noelle thought as she looked to the ground. She had the sinking feeling she was halfway in love now. Not that it mattered given her foolish behavior. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Belinda replied. She forced Noelle to look up. “You never have to apologize for falling in love with someone else.”
“But Kevin...”
“Kevin would want you to move on. So would Ned and I. You’re much too young to spend your life alone.”
Right, because Belinda was leaving. The reminder she would soon be alone in Fryberg only made the hollow feeling in Noelle’s chest grow larger. “What if I’m wrong?” she asked. “What if James isn’t as awesome as I think?”
“Then you try again,” Belinda told her. “Relationships don’t come with guarantees. Some work. Some don’t.”
“Yeah, but if I choose him, and we don’t make it, then I’ll be alone again.” Her eyes had lost the battle and teared up again. One dripped down her cheek onto Belinda’s fingers. “You’re the only family I’ve ever had. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“My goodness, is that what you’re scared of? Losing your family?”
She didn’t see how she could move on and keep them. “I’m only family because I married Kevin. If I move on, I won’t belong anymore.”
“What are you talking about? Of course you’ll belong. Don’t you realize that with Kevin gone, I need you more than ever?”
Before she could say another word, Noelle found herself back in Belinda’s embrace. Her mother-in-law squeezed her tight. “You, Noelle Fryberg, have always been more than Kevin’s wife,” she said. “I love you like a daughter, and that’s never going to change, whether you fall in love with James Hammond or a hundred different men. Family is forever, and you...”
Christmas with Her Millionaire Boss Page 14
