“You damn well are!” Richard roared. “Either you propose to my daughter by the end of the year, or, or—”
“Or what? You’ll scuttle the merger? LTS will be fine without you.”
Richard walked the length of the table to glower at Kyle, up close and personal. “Will you be fine without LTS?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your father needs this deal to close as much as we do. It’s going forward. But we can’t have people on board who aren’t team players. If you don’t propose, I’ll demand Brian kick you out of the company entirely.”
Kyle had brought his swagger to the showdown, but his opponent had brought something better—a loaded gun. And he honestly didn’t know whether or not his father would help Richard pull the trigger.
Chapter Eight
Caitlin hurried up the wide stone steps of the Museum of Science and Industry. Good thing the sun had come out and melted all the dangerous ice. She didn’t have any time to spare nursing a sprained ankle. While she had until after Christmas to officially accept the offer from the Selford, Caitlin had already begun packing. Might as well get it over with so she could start her new life as soon as possible. This text was an unwelcome interruption in her busy day of sorting, stacking and trashing.
From the phone number, she knew the text she’d received was from Kyle. But all it said was this address, and the word emergency. She hoped it was Monica testing her with a false alarm. Caitlin had every intention of keeping her distance from Kyle from now on. So that he could make a fresh start, a new life with Monica. She’d even written him a letter, explaining that her new job would keep her far too busy for them to stay in touch, and wishing him a happy marriage. One of these days she planned to screw up the gumption to actually stick it in the mail.
Despite her best intentions to stay away, the word emergency couldn’t be ignored. To keep panic at bay, she hadn’t allowed herself to even wonder what it meant. Caitlin checked her coat and entered the vast entry hall. All it took was two steps onto the marble floor for memories to lodge in her throat, making it almost impossible to breathe. She and Kyle loved to come here, gawk at the world’s largest pinball machine and explore the WWII German submarine. Then they’d go home and play Risk, divvying up the world with bloodthirsty glee between them.
To clear her mind, she concentrated on the present. For seventy years now, the museum put on a Christmas Around the World exhibit, with fifty decorated trees filling every nook and cranny. With only three days until Christmas, wide-eyed children were everywhere, drinking in the twinkle of more than thirty thousand lights. It was a mob scene, albeit a festive and joy-filled one. Shrieks and laughter layered over the red-robed high school choir in one corner, singing “The First Noel.” If she wasn’t neck deep in misery and heartbreak, Caitlin would’ve enjoyed herself.
Unsure of where to go, she turned into the main rotunda. In the center sat the forty-five-foot tall Great Tree, covered in blue-and-white balls barely visible beneath the strings of lights. The pedestal it sat on came up to the middle of her chest. And there, in front of it, stood Kyle.
Hands in his pockets, dark hair mussed and a day of scruff on his cheeks, he looked wonderful. She’d missed him so much over the past few days. Seeing him again scraped open the raw wound on her heart. He appeared to be in one piece, not to mention dressed to kill in his power suit, so she almost turned to leave. The emergency was probably a final proposal idea for Monica. Right now, she didn’t have the strength to hear it. Not until she’d built up an emotional callous as big as Lake Michigan.
“Caitlin, over here.” Kyle waved, and she had no choice but to go to him. She tugged at the bottom of her forest-green sweater and stopped more than an arm’s length away.
“Hi.” Not hugging him felt weird. They always hugged. If she touched him, she’d begin to cry, and probably never let go. So, no hugs.
“I’m so glad you came.”
“Well, you did say it was an emergency. Even though I don’t see any obvious pools of blood or amputated limbs.”
He grinned. “I recently learned the word emergency has a broader definition than we’re used to. It came in really handy today, for example. I needed you here.”
“Why?”
“Well, because I have something to say to you. And because it’s one of our special places. How many times have we crawled around on the submarine?”
There it was. He’d brought her here to say goodbye. A sweet touch to do it at a place where they’d shared so many good times, but goodbye nonetheless. “Just enough, I guess.”
“Not nearly.” His smile faded away, and an odd intensity smoldered to life in his eyes. “I can’t ever get enough of you.”
It hurt more than she thought. His voice, low and husky, saying something so incredibly sweet, had tears burning, ready to drop. “Kyle, don’t.”
“You’re right. I’m going about this all wrong. I need to start with an apology. Caitlin, I’m sorry. Sorry I kissed you—”
She cut him off by putting a finger to his lips. “Please, just don’t say it.” She couldn’t let him sully her memory of their one perfect kiss with his regret.
Kyle twisted away from her touch. “I’m sorry I kissed you and then stopped. I’m sorry I let my father ruin the best kiss of my entire life. I’m sorry I ruined the night.”
Did he really say what she thought he said? It didn’t make sense. “I understand,” she said in a whisper.
“Funny, because I don’t understand. I can’t understand how I missed seeing that side of you for all these years. What I really can’t get is how I didn’t realize I was head over heels in love with you.”
“What?” It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t declare his love and then go off and marry another woman, would he?
“I’ve been an idiot. A jackass. A blind jerk who took for granted the most wonderful woman in the world. That’s why I asked you to meet me here.”
“I still don’t understand.” For a woman with a freshly minted master’s degree, it was shocking how her vocabulary had dwindled to so few words.
“A very wise person once told me a Christmas proposal would be romantic.” He looked at his watch, then looked at the ceiling. Moments later, soft flakes of snow began to fall. Kyle reached behind to the Christmas tree. He pulled a red-and-green braided ribbon off the bottom bough and dropped to one knee.
“Caitlin McIntyre, you are my entire world. I love you. I can’t be happy without you by my side. I used my highly scientific brain to deduce the best way to keep you there is to make you my wife.” He held up the ribbon braid so she could see the diamond ring dangling from its length. “Will you marry me?”
Caitlin swallowed hard, fighting to speak while still holding back the deluge of tears threatening to unleash. How could he put her in such a difficult position? There could only be one answer. “No.”
He blinked rapidly several times. “Okay, I get it. Just so you know, I plan on groveling for several months straight, as penance for asking you to help me propose to another woman. I’ll do the dishes. I’ll do the laundry. I’ll rub your feet. I’ll apologize till I’m blue in the face. And did I mention I’ve been an idiotic jerk?”
She laced her fingers together to keep from reaching out, from touching him one last time. God, he was adorable and sweet and so, so hard to resist. But she loved him too much to let him make this big a mistake. “Kyle, I can’t marry you. I can’t let you destroy your family ties, or your career. You have to marry Monica.”
“Actually, I don’t. Dad’s orders.”
“I...don’t understand?”
A cocky grin lifted the sides of the lips she now knew to be firm and talented. “I crashed the board meeting this morning. Told them flat out I refused to marry Monica. Didn’t know her father was in the room, or I would’ve phrased it a little differently. All hell broke loose there, for a while. But I stood my ground. And then the most amazing thing happened. Dad backed me up.”
Caitlin cou
ld hardly believe it. “Backed you out of the room, you mean?”
Kyle laughed. “Not this time. He said he was impressed that I’d finally stood up to him, stood up for myself. Said it showed true Lockhart backbone. Then he announced if the merger couldn’t happen without the marriage, it wouldn’t happen it all.”
“So the merger’s off?” The crowds streaming past, the snow still falling—all of it blurred out of focus. Her senses narrowed to Kyle, his deep voice and his aquamarine eyes full of hope.
“Yup. LTS will be fine. Dad’s always got more than one plan in the hopper. We lost a partner, but I finally got Dad’s respect. Which means there’s only one thing left I want for Christmas.”
“What’s that?”
“You.” He took her left hand and held the ring up to her finger. The carolers switched to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” “You’ve always been my best friend. Hell, maybe I’ve always been a little bit in love with you. But now I know I love you, and that I’ll always love you. Through light and dark, through laughter and tears, through passion and pain. My love will never dim, will never waver. It can’t, for the simple reason that you are my soul mate.” He slid the ring to her first knuckle. “Give me a merry Christmas. Give me your love.”
Caitlin slid her finger the rest of the way through the ring. Even through her tears of joy she could see the large, shining diamond flanked by two emeralds. “I don’t know, Kyle. If you give me this ring now, how on earth will you top it on Christmas morning?”
He stood and drew her into his arms. “Well, I’ll start by telling you that I love you.”
“That’s the only present I need. I love you, Kyle. Yes, I’ll marry you.” She smiled up at the snow frosting his hair, and the tree lights shimmering behind him. Vaguely she registered the cheers and clapping from the other museum guests. “See, I told you. If you ask her at Christmas, then your girl will say yes.”
* * * * *
Plan on falling in love again with another story from author Christi Barth.
Hopeless romantic Ivy Rhodes and anti-Cupid Bennett Westcott request the pleasure of your company for their disaster of a courtship
Wedding planner Ivy Rhodes is the best in the business, and she’s not about to let a personal problem stop her from getting ahead. So when she’s asked to star in the reality TV show Planning for Love, it doesn’t matter that the show’s videographer, Bennett Westcott, happens to be a recent—and heartbreaking—one-night stand.
The more time they spend together, the more Ben realizes Ivy isn’t the wedding-crazed bridezilla he’d imagined. But if he doesn’t trust himself to make a relationship last, how can he convince Ivy to give him another chance?
Planning for Love
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About the Author
Christi earned a master’s degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on stage. A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes contemporary romance. Christi lives in Maryland with her husband.
The Best Thing
By Jaci Burton
A year ago, Tori let her guard down and Brody Kent slipped right in, planting one hot, unforgettable kiss on her in a dark corner at the company Christmas party. Though the kiss surpassed her wildest dreams, she can’t let it happen again. She loves Brody, but he’s got a reputation for loving and leaving. She’ll have to keep her heart—and her libido—in check.
Brody can’t get the time of day from Tori—ever since that impulsive kiss, she’s avoided him with the same brutal efficiency she uses to manage his family’s construction company office. The company can’t afford to lose her, and Brody’s come to realize that he can’t live without her. But how can he convince Tori that he’s a changed man?
It just might take a Christmas miracle.
31,000 words
Dedication
To Angie—Thanks so much for the opportunity
to write this series. It’s been so much fun.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
About the Author
Chapter One
“You need to fix Tori. She’s broken.”
Brody Kent frowned at his brother Wyatt. “What the hell are you talking about?”
They had an early-morning meeting at Kent Construction Company, which meant their office manager, Tori Lewis, wasn’t there. Which was why they were talking about her. Because normally Tori had acute hearing, and you couldn’t whisper anything she couldn’t hear.
“I’m talking about what you did at the company Christmas party a year ago,” Wyatt said, looking to their brother Ethan for confirmation.
Ethan crossed his arms. “I didn’t see it, but I heard about it. You know—that kiss. The one that screwed up Tori and made her hate you. And apparently us by proxy. For the past year we’ve been walking on friggin’ eggshells around here.”
“More like walking on fire,” Wyatt said. “And we’re all getting burned because she’s turned into a fire-breathing she-dragon. It’s unpleasant, Brody. Fix it. Fix her. Make her not hate you anymore so things can be normal again.”
“She doesn’t hate me,” Brody defended, though it had seemed that way over the past year. Ever since that night at the Christmas party last year. They’d been having one of their usual arguments over—hell, he couldn’t even remember what they’d been arguing about. The only thing he could remember about that night was how beautiful Tori had looked with her fiery red hair pulled up, pieces of it spilling down her neck. He really liked her neck—there was a sprinkling of freckles there that had always caught his attention.
Oh, now he remembered. She’d accused him of staring at her neck, and they’d argued about that. He was so damn tired of her always picking fights with him about the stupidest shit. And maybe he’d had a few beers and he’d wanted to shut her up, so he’d grabbed her, hauled her against him and had done what he’d wanted to do every time she opened her smart, sassy mouth—he’d kissed her.
It had been an accident. Or maybe it hadn’t been. But that accident had been a two-way street, because she’d kissed him back. For a full minute. With tongue.
Until she’d taken a step back, and she’d run like her dress had suddenly fallen off, which it hadn’t, because he would have definitely noticed if it had.
She’d avoided him the rest of the night. Hell, the rest of the year. She hadn’t even come to his family’s house for Christmas that year, something she’d done ever since she’d joined Kent Construction four years ago.
So maybe the guys were right, because ever since that night, things had been different. A lot different.
Like she’d avoided eye contact. She’d gotten quiet, and Tori was never quiet. She was loud and brassy and kind of obnoxious in a lot of ways—all the things he liked about her. But it was a fun loud.
That Tori was gone. The Tori of the past year did her job efficiently, as always, but it wasn’t the same Tori they’d all grown to—
Well, the one they’d gotten used to.
And when she wasn’t quiet, she was mean. Not fun and sarcastic, just downright bite-your-head-off mean.
“If she doesn’t hate you, she sure doesn’t like you,” Wyatt said. “Things are tense now. I don’t like it tense. Nobody does. And you must have your head up your ass not to notice what�
��s going on.”
Brody preferred denial to actually figuring out how to deal with Tori.
“The only place my head is right now is on these bids. Can we get back to work?”
Ethan pulled up a chair. “Are you going to fix Tori?”
He didn’t want to talk about Tori, or think about Tori. He wanted to think about work, which was uncomplicated and not difficult and definitely not emotional or a woman. Or pissed at him. “There’s nothing wrong with her.”
“There is. Even Mom and Dad have noticed and keep asking me what’s bothering her. She doesn’t come over to visit and hasn’t been to any of the family functions. They keep asking what they did to make her angry.” Wyatt gave him a pained expression. “And Calliope tells me about all the conversations she has with Tori, since they’re best friends. Though Tori isn’t really talking about you. All Calliope tells me is that Tori is unhappy. I have to hear all the time about how unhappy she is, and isn’t there something I can do to make this better. Come on, man, give me a break here.”
Brody wasn’t going to fall into this trap. It wasn’t his fault Tori treated him like a pariah. It had been just a kiss, for God’s sake. Nothing life-altering, even if the kiss had been everything he’d expected it to be. And more.
“What are we, a bunch of women here? How about those bids?” Brody gave both his brothers a stern look, and they finally dropped it and got back to work.
At least until Tori swept in two hours later wearing her normal skintight jeans, sweater and boots, her shocking red hair a riotous mess on top of her head.
She always looked good. More than good. Sexy without trying to be sexy. And she smelled good, like something exotic he wanted to taste, but he didn’t know what it was. Not that he noticed or fantasized about her or anything.
Romancing the Holiday Page 19
