All Tied Up (Business of Love Book 2)

by Ali Parker

  I didn’t like that I was missing out.

  “Okay, boys,” I said, leaning back in my leather office chair. It creaked softly beneath me. “I think this is a conversation that can wait until after the holidays. Get back to your families. Turn your phones off.”

  One of the men on the call, my accountant, spoke up. “Agreed. The three of you can call me back between the twenty-eighth and the thirtieth, or anytime after January second. I’m taking some time off.”

  “Good for you,” I said.

  What I thought was a natural ending to the call soon morphed into another opportunity for discussion. I groaned, not worried about them hearing my dismay.

  Then my phone buzzed against my ear as another call came in. I pulled it away and peered at the screen.

  Kim.

  I hadn’t heard from her since we spent the afternoon at the aquarium. Things had gotten a little too close for comfort. Not that I thought something was going to happen between us, but the thought had crossed my mind that it would be nice to kiss her. She’d been so close. I told myself afterward that I’d been drawn to her because I was tired from the wedding stress and there was something about seeing her with Chessie that just stirred something to life within me.

  Either way, it hadn’t been right.

  “I have to go, boys,” I said. The bickering men fell quiet. “I’ve got another call. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. I’ll speak with you all in January.”

  Their protests filled the line but I hung up on them in favor of answering Kim’s call.

  “Hey,” I said, a smile tugging at my lips before I even heard her voice.

  “Merry Christmas,” Kim chimed. She sounded as chipper and radiant as ever. “I wanted to call and check in with you and Verity. I’m taking some time off work until January fourth and wanted to know if you guys had any questions before I step away.”

  “No questions here. I’m glad you’re able to take some time off. You deserve it.”

  “I do, don’t I?”

  I chuckled. “Most definitely. I know Verity sent you an email the other day. If she has any questions or concerns, I’m sure she addressed them all there.”

  “Oh yes,” Kim said. I could hear the smile in her voice. “I got the email. Don’t worry. I’m working on it. Would you remind her that as of January tenth, we won’t be able to make any more changes? That’s firm. No flexibility. All the details must be final by that date.”

  “Got it. Loud and clear.” I pushed back in my chair to kick the heels of my shoes up onto the desk. “What are your plans for Christmas?”

  I could hear her shifting through some papers and it was easy to picture her in her home office clearing clutter and preparing to settle into vacation mode. “Well, tomorrow night I’m going to my best friend’s house for Christmas dinner. She always hosts an awesome evening with her family and this is a special year because she’s very pregnant. And after this year, it will never be the same because there will be a new little one running around. Which I must admit is terrifying and wonderful all at the same time.”

  “You have no idea,” I mused.

  “What about you?”

  “Well, tonight it’s just the three of us,” I said. “And tomorrow morning, we’ll do the big Christmas shindig. You know, presents, stockings, breakfast. The works. And tomorrow night, we were supposed to host Verity’s father but something came up and he won’t be able to make it. She’s a little put out, so I’m hoping to try to make it up to her somehow.”

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

  “What about tonight?” I asked.

  “Tonight is the best night of them all,” Kim said.

  “Oh?”

  “Yep. It’s just me, a very good steamy romance novel, and the most expensive bottle of red wine I’ve ever laid eyes on from a good client of mine from six months ago. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion and this is it.”

  “Was that a hint?”

  “Oh? Have I not told you? I drink red exclusively.”

  “Expensive red?”

  “Very expensive red.”

  “Noted.”

  Kim giggled into the line. It was good to talk with her. I knew she’d been distant with me since that night at the aquarium and I understood why. Whether I meant to or not, I’d put her in a strange position. Regardless of whether we acknowledged it or not—which we hadn’t, not really—things got a little weird on that bridge. A little charged. And I wished they hadn’t. I’d felt guilty about it ever since.

  “Hey, Kim, I’m glad you called. There was something else I wanted to speak to you about.”

  “Shoot.”

  “I wanted to apologize. The last time we saw each other in the aquarium, I feel that I put you in an uncomfortable position and that was not my intention.”

  Kim was quiet for a brief moment as she collected her thoughts. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

  “Yes, there is. And I mean it. I’m sorry, Kim.”

  She was quiet again. Then softly, she said, “Thank you, Rick. I appreciate that.”

  I stifled my sigh of relief. I’d wanted to apologize for the last two weeks, ever since we parted ways after the afternoon in the aquarium. I’d watched her go as Chessie held my hand and waved goodbye, and I’d struggled with the coil of guilt tightening in my gut.

  Now it felt like it was finally loosening.

  “Well,” I said, “I won’t keep you any longer. I’m sure you’re itching to dive into that book of yours.”

  “Mostly the wine.”

  I chuckled. “Right. Of course. Priorities.”

  “You should treat yourself to a glass of wine and a W. Parker novel sometime. You ’won’t regret it.”

  I stroked my chin. The stubble on my jaw whispered against my fingertips. I needed to shave but I’d probably hold off until just before I went back to work. There was something about growing a beard that made it truly feel like I was in vacation mode. “I don’t think W. Parker novels are my style.”

  “Suit yourself. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

  “Have a good evening, Kim.”

  “You too, Rick. We’ll touch base in January. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas.”

  I ended the call and sat at my desk staring at the screen for a couple of minutes, thinking about Kim alone in her apartment, curled up in the corner of her sofa with her book in her lap and her wine in her hand.

  It was so easy to picture.

  I imagined she’d light a couple of candles and her fireplace. Christmas music would likely be playing in the background, and out her window, the city would wink and dazzle with thousands of Christmas lights and the reflections of trees in the windows. She’d probably stay up late and sleep in, waking to a quiet peaceful home on Christmas morning.

  Would she lounge in her pajamas at home with her coffee to start her day? Or was she the kind of woman who would hop right into the shower and start getting ready? I suspected it would be the former. I could see her shuffling around her apartment in oversized slippers and an old robe with messy hair sipping steaming-hot coffee while she waited for her toast to pop.

  I caught myself smiling and gave my head a shake.

  Why had Kim been on my mind so much as of late? She was taking up too much space in my thoughts.

  My dreams, too, but I didn’t want to think about that too hard.

  I removed my feet from my desk with a sigh and stood up to crack my back. I left the office and closed the door with the intention of keeping it closed until I returned to work in the first week of January. Then I willfully pushed Kim out of my head and made my way down the hall to the kitchen, following the sweet singing voice of my bride-to-be.

  I paused in the doorway to the kitchen and smiled.

  Chessie was kneeling on a stool at the kitchen island, icing cookies Verity had just pulled from the oven. My two girls were laughing together and getting into the Christmas spirit and it was a sight
for sore eyes. I knew their relationship had been a slow one. The instant connection hadn’t been there and Verity had confessed that children made her unsure. She’d grown up as an only child on her father’s private property and had never really been exposed to young children. Chessie was the first.

  So I’d been patient with her.

  And it finally seemed like things were coming together as they should. It finally felt like we were a family.

  Chessie glanced up from a cookie she’d smothered in green and red icing. She beamed at me. “Daddy, want to help me ice cookies?”

  I grinned and moved into the kitchen. “I thought you’d never ask, kiddo.”

  Chapter 10

  Kimberly

  Vanessa braced herself against the armrest of her sofa as she slowly lowered herself into her corner seat. It was getting harder for her to move around the more pregnant she got and I could have sworn her belly was rounder now than it had been when I showed up this evening just an hour and a half ago.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked as I tucked my legs up under myself in the opposite sofa and swirled my red wine around in the glass.

  “Pregnant. Very pregnant.”

  “You look good.”

  She arched an eyebrow at me. “I look like a balloon. Have you seen my ankles?” She held up her right foot, flashing me a swollen ankle and foot. She glared at it like it had betrayed her in battle. “I still have almost two months of this shit to go. Why didn’t anyone warn me about this?”

  “Erm—”

  “Don’t answer that.” Vanessa closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before forcing herself to smile. “It’s Christmas. I don’t want to complain. Tell me what’s new with you. How are things with Rick? Is it still weird?”

  “No actually, it’s not weird.” I sipped my wine as the others in the kitchen laughed uproariously about something. Rhys was finishing the final touches on dinner while Chris, Vanessa’s brother, mashed the potatoes. Vanessa’s parents were there as well, standing around the kitchen island joking about something with Rhys, who had banished me and his woman to the living room to catch up. He knew how important time was in our friendship and it seemed like we were getting less and less of it these days, with me doing so much traveling for work. It wasn’t ideal but Rhys was a good man. He’d insisted we steal twenty minutes before dinner to catch up, just the two of us.

  I needed a man like him.

  “I called Rick yesterday to wish him Merry Christmas and touch base before I went on vacation,” I said.

  “And?”

  “He apologized for the aquarium.”

  Vanessa made an unsure sound in the back of her throat. “Do you think he meant it? Or was he just saying it to patch things up so you wouldn’t say anything to Verity?”

  I shook my head. “He’s not like that.”

  “He’s a billionaire marrying a bombshell from the Bahamas and paying over thirty million dollars for said wedding. Forgive me if I’m suspicious of his intentions but men like that have a tendency to take what they want first and ask questions later.”

  I licked my lips. “I understand where you’re coming from. But you don’t know him. He’s a good man. And I truly think he didn’t mean to put me in a bad spot. Things just sort of—I don’t know—got away from us. You can’t help if you’re attracted to someone. You know I’ve had the hots for him for over a year now.”

  “Had the hots for him?” Vanessa giggled. “Girl, don’t downplay it. You’ve been fantasizing about climbing him like a tree since the first minute you saw him.”

  “And I still resisted when push came to shove on that bridge, okay? Give me a little credit.”

  “You’re right,” Vanessa said. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

  “Thank you.”

  Vanessa watched me sip my wine with envy in her eyes. “Is it good?”

  “Would it make you feel better if I said it wasn’t?”

  “Not really.”

  “It’s delicious.”

  “You bitch.” She grinned.

  “Cheers.”

  Vanessa ran her hands over her belly and sighed. “Just be careful with him, okay? I know you’re not going to do anything stupid, but as your best friend, I feel like I need to put that out there in the universe.”

  “I appreciate you looking out for me.”

  “Always.”

  Rhys strode into the living room with two glasses of wine in his hand. He nodded pointedly at the nearly finished glass in my hand. “Drink up, champ. I have a fresh one for you.”

  I polished off my drink and swapped my empty glass for a new one. “Thank you, sir. You’re such a good host. How do I get myself a situation like this?”

  “Get pregnant,” Vanessa said dryly.

  “I need the man first,” I said.

  Rhys chuckled and shook his head at us. “Come on, ladies. Dinner is up, and if we all want to keep our heads, we’ll let Vanny hit the assembly line first.” He moved to Vanessa and held out a hand to help her up out of the sofa.

  She swatted his hand away. “What are you trying to say?”

  “Just that you should get your pickings of the lot.”

  Her glare soured as she struggled to get up and promptly became out of breath. Rhys extended his hand again, and this time, she accepted. He had her up and on her feet in a fluid motion, and then he cupped her cheek and gave her a sweet kiss.

  I felt a pang of jealousy and resented the feeling as soon as it came.

  One day, I would have that. And it would be worth waiting for.

  My phone buzzed in my back pocket and I pulled it out and stared down at the name on the screen. Verity. “Seriously?” I breathed.

  “Is something wrong?” Rhys asked.

  I shook my head. “No. It’s my snooty client. Rick’s fiancée.”

  “Don’t answer it,” Vanessa said. “She shouldn’t be calling you on Christmas Day. Where does she get off?”

  I silenced my ringer and slid it back in my pocket. Vanessa was right. No wedding emergency was that important that it needed to be dealt with on Christmas.

  Rhys led me and Vanessa back into the kitchen and everyone formed a line with their plates behind the pregnant lady and began filling their plates with all the fixings Rhys had been slaving over all day: stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce, yam soufflé, mashed potatoes, Brussel sprouts, carrots and turnip, and home-baked fresh buns.

  Vanessa’s mother made a big deal about the spread and proclaimed that she could officially retire from making Christmas dinners. “That’s on Rhys now.”

  Rhys flashed a charming smile as he took his seat at the head of the table beside his woman. “I can get behind that.”

  As soon as everyone was in their seats, a round of toasts were made. Rhys toasted to a wonderful family Christmas. I toasted to the gift brewing in my best friend’s tummy. Vanessa’s mother joined in on my toast and got misty eyed, so I wrapped an arm around her and shared her emotions.

  “It’s so surreal to think that next year there will be a new little human with us,” I said.

  Vanessa leaned back and rubbed her belly. “It’s not surreal for me. I just want this thing out of me.”

  Rhys put his hand on her tummy. “Soon, baby. Very soon.”

  Conversation around the table was baby focused as we ate dinner. I loved sitting with these people who had all become my family over the years and I wondered what things would look like a few years from now. Would I be coming here with a man on my arm? Would I be taking steps to start my own family, or would I still be focused on my career?

  I liked both options. I wanted both options.

  But could I have them both?

  When I first started this career, I thought I could but now I wasn’t so sure. With all these stale dates stacking up and my schedule being so all over the place, it was getting harder and harder for me to see how I would be able to get to know someone and start a relationship in a healthy way.

  My phone buz
zed in my pocket again.

  I sighed and set my utensils down.

  “Don’t answer,” Vanessa said firmly.

  I scowled down at Verity’s name flashing across my screen. “She’s just going to keep calling. And now I’m just going to wonder what it was about and not be able to stop thinking about it. It will ruin my night. Excuse me, you guys. I know this is rude but I have to take this.”

  “It’s all right,” Rhys said, nodding for me to go. “Take your time. Help yourself to more food when you come back. We’re going to have way too many leftovers.”

  Chris snickered as I got up from the table. “Don’t go giving away my sister’s food. She needs to bulk up for that baby.”

  Vanessa swatted at Chris and I smiled as the laughter around the whole table followed me out of the kitchen and down the hall so I could answer Verity’s call with privacy.

  I lifted the phone to my ear and tried to keep the irritation out of my voice. “Merry Christmas, Verity. Is everything okay?”

  A long sigh filled the line. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “I needed to talk to you.”

  “About the wedding?”

  “No.”

  I massaged my temple. This woman was quite literally the most unpleasant part of my entire year. What the hell could she possibly be calling about on Christmas fucking Day that wasn’t wedding related?

  For a brief, sharp moment, I wondered if she was leaving Rick.

  Then I shook my head. That was preposterous. Who would she leave a man like him?

  “I have people waiting on me,” I said. “I’m with family for dinner. If this can wait—”

  “Why did Rick call you on Christmas Eve?”

  “What?”

  Verity sighed again. It was the sort of sigh a wealthy woman has when she gets her nails done and she doesn’t like the shape, or the color—or when she just wants to be a bitch and make someone’s afternoon harder than it needed to be.

  “I heard him on the phone with you on Christmas Eve,” Verity continued. “And he was apologizing to you. What was it about?”