Blush Duo - Marriage Under the Mistletoe & The Christmas Inn

by Helen Lacey

  Relief flooded through him at the sight of her standing there holding his son. Until this moment he’d had no idea how desperately he would’ve missed her if she’d gone back to Boston.

  “No!” Ethan screamed louder, snow sliding off his snowsuit and creating puddles on the floor.

  “Ethan, honey, please don’t cry, or I’ll be crying with you.” She untangled his arms from her neck and lifted his chin.

  “Please stay,” he whimpered again, burying his face in her neck, his tiny shoulders shaking as he sobbed.

  There was such gentleness in the way she held his son, the curve of her arm offering support to a little boy who obviously didn’t want Marnie to go.

  Face it. You don’t want her to go, either.

  Suddenly aware of him, Marnie lifted her head. “We were outside playing in the snow, but I have to get on the road, so I had to bring him in. I didn’t mean to make him cry, but he wanted me to come to the apartment and play Lego with him.”

  His chest aching with loss of what might be if he could overcome his fears and reach out to this beautiful woman, he finally managed to find his voice. “He’s going to miss you.”

  He took Ethan in his arms, the dampness of his son’s clothing penetrating the dress shirt he wore. He didn’t care. Nothing mattered except to soothe his son, and to find the words that would make this woman standing here so tentatively in front of him stay in his life.

  “I’ll miss him, too, but that’s life, I guess.” She shrugged, her eyes brimming with emotion.

  “You’re really good with kids.”

  “Thanks,” she said weakly.

  He rubbed his son’s shoulders, wanting to take Marnie in his arms and beg her to stay. “I was actually hoping you hadn’t left because I have something…a message to pass on to you.”

  “Not my brother again!” She groaned.

  “No, a Mr. Mandel, who called to compliment you on the way you handled his reservation.”

  “He did? That’s great. I remember him. He sounded like a really nice man who wanted to take his entire family on a skiing vacation, and needed three rooms with two double beds in each. He also wanted the spa for après ski recovery. I gathered from what he said that his wife and he have taken up skiing to please his family more than anything. So, he was happy with what I put together for him.” She stopped. “I’m babbling! This is so embarrassing.”

  “Maybe a bit,” he conceded. “However, he was filled with praise for how you handled his requests.”

  “I should get him to talk to my brothers—proof that I can do something well,” she said, a sardonic look on her face.

  “But you owned a successful salon, and that takes a heck of a lot of skill and hard work.”

  “But that’s not how success is defined in the McLaughlan family.”

  “Well, for what it’s worth, I think your family are job snobs.”

  “That’s an expression I’ve never heard before.” She looked straight at him, the corners of her mouth turned up in a quizzical smile.

  “My word for the day, and it describes people who subscribe to the belief that unless you have a high-profile career and an Ivy League education, you’re not a success. I have a cousin who’s a job snob.”

  Her rich, deep laugh made Ethan frown. “I’m hungry,” he announced.

  “You’re always hungry,” Luke said, laughing with Marnie as he put Ethan down. “I suppose I’d better find him something to eat before he corners the pastry chef for more sweets. Would you like to come with me?”

  An uneasy silence stretched between them as he searched for the words that would erase the memory of his earlier brusqueness.

  She raised her eyes to his, her expression guarded. “I’ve got to go. Mary had asked me if I’d play with Ethan one last time.” She forced her gaze past him, her eyes glistening. “I couldn’t refuse, but now I have to get on the road. Thank you for having me here.” She focused her attention on the wall behind him as she brushed past him.

  Luke felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach. She was walking away from him. He couldn’t let her go. He needed her there with him. “I want you to stay,” he blurted.

  She stopped and stared up into his face. “I’d like that, but I’m not sure if it’s the right thing for either of us.”

  His heart plummeted. He had to find the words that would change her mind. “Could you be a little more specific? I’m not good at this type of thing.”

  “I need to know that if I stay it means you’re willing to see the potential in us. I’ve never felt like this before, but I also know that you’re still angry with your wife, and that means you’re not ready for a relationship.”

  No… He’d been alone long enough. “But I am,” he said, his voice breaking.

  She touched her fingers to his lips. “Don’t say that until you mean it. I need to be honest with you. I don’t want to start another doomed relationship. My record when it comes to relationships gets a failing grade, and that’s not likely to change with a man who still has issues. If this hurts you, I’m sorry, but I need a relationship based on honesty. And ours didn’t start out that way. I’ve told you the truth now, and I really believe you need to face your own truth. I can’t live in her shadow. If this is too much honesty, I’ll understand.”

  Was his inability to let go of his anger at Anna the reason why he was still feeling so lost, as if he was living outside his life?

  He had been angry at what Marnie had said about not being able to let go, but the anger had allowed him to see himself through someone else’s eyes. He didn’t want to be angry anymore. He wanted to love again, to know the thrill of being with someone who lit up his life. And if he let Marnie go, he’d never have the chance to find out if this woman, with her great laugh and her infinite ability to make him smile, to encourage him to face life, was the woman for him.

  “Will you please stay? It’s Christmas Eve, a time for miracles.” He chuckled at that. “If you stay I promise you a very special Christmas.”

  She moved so close to him that her perfume clouded his senses. He reached for her, pulling her into his arms. “Say you’ll stay.”

  “I will,” she whispered.

  His lips sought hers, gently at first, tasting her, breathing in her scent. But when her arms went around his neck and she pulled him down toward her, her tongue on his, his reserve faded. He pulled her tighter, sliding his hands over her hips, forcing her against his erection, his body flooding with heat as her hands tightened around his neck.

  He held her, his fingers in her hair, her body pressed to his, the thrill of once again being alive to another person aroused him so much he came dangerously close to dragging her off to his room, the stairwell, anywhere they could have a few precious moments of privacy.

  “Daddy!” Ethan pushed against his father’s legs. “I’m hungry!”

  Startled, Luke sucked in air, banking his need as he kissed her once more—lightly this time, nuzzling her cheek, and hearing her sharp intake of breath. “Meet me for dinner around seven?”

  She kissed his jaw, her lips lingering. “Sounds perfect.”

  His body thrummed from the touch of her lips on his skin. “Christmas Eve is the busiest day of the holiday. So much has to be done around here. And we’re having a traditional Christmas dinner. I’m afraid that, as my date, you’ll have to share the hosting duties.”

  She leaned back into his embrace, a teasing grin on her face. “Another date?”
/>   “And more whenever you like.”

  “I’ll have to move back to my old room. Mary tells me all the guests are on their way here now.”

  “Have I told you I have a certain fondness for that room?”

  “No, you haven’t,” she said, laughter in her voice and a mischievous smile on her face.

  “It was where I stayed while they renovated my apartment.”

  “So you’ve had a few encounters with the walls.”

  He laughed, a laugh that cleansed and warmed him. “I have.”

  “Daddy!”

  “I’m coming, big guy.” He took Ethan’s hand. “See you later?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ALL HER LIFE SHE’D DREAMED of a man running his fingers through her hair, in just the way Luke had done. The men she’d dated had wanted to run their fingers somewhere else. Not that she didn’t want to have sex with Luke—she did—only this time it would be with the man she loved.

  As she gathered her bags to move back to her tiny room, she marveled at what a rollercoaster ride the past few days had been. She’d have to call her mother, and tell her that she wouldn’t be home for Christmas, a call that would fill her with guilt. Yet somehow, she had to make her family understand that she needed to be with Luke, without letting them launch into their stories that proved how impulsive she was around men, how little she seemed to know about picking the right man, and on and on and on…

  She sighed as she put her makeup back in its case and checked her appearance in the mirror. Then she lugged her bag up to her old room, put things away and closed the door.

  When she reached the bottom of the stairs and started down the hall, she heard music. Someone was playing the piano, a beautiful rendering of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Curious to see who it was, she slipped into the dining room, and made her way over to the far corner. She found Luke playing the baby grand piano nestled in behind a folding room divider. Ethan was sitting beside him with his face turned up to his father adoringly.

  Luke finished playing and smiled up at her. “Ethan came to share my coffee break, and we decided to play the piano together. How’s your afternoon going?” he asked, resting his arms on the top of the piano.

  “I didn’t know you played the piano.”

  “What’s that old cliché? There’s a whole lot you don’t know about me.”

  “Marnie!” Ethan shimmied off the piano seat, throwing his arms around her legs.

  “I’ve got you,” she whispered as she lifted him up, hugging his little body next to hers. “Can I sit next to your dad? I’ll hold you on my lap?”

  He squeezed her cheeks between his hands. “Yes!”

  “Ethan, why don’t you try for your indoor voice, please,” Luke said, suppressing a grin.

  “Do you play often?” she asked, sliding onto the bench beside him, keeping her arm around Ethan.

  “I don’t, but somehow this afternoon it just felt right to be down here at the keyboard.”

  As he began the opening bars of Beethoven’s ninth symphony, Marnie couldn’t help but notice his fingers, their length and their controlled touch on each key. She listened, feeling the emotional thrust of the cascading notes until the melody faded and Luke lifted his hands off the keys.

  “I used to play the piano before I started Total Elegance. It seemed there wasn’t any time for the piano after that. I really miss it, especially the songbooks from the Big Band era.”

  Appreciation flared in his eyes, his gaze fixed on her. “I prefer classical. My all-time favorite is Beethoven.”

  A blush moved up her neck to her cheeks. “You were playing ‘Moonlight Sonata’ when I came in,” she murmured, as he turned toward her, his lips inches from hers. She had an overwhelming urge to kiss him.

  “Is music the way to your heart?” he asked gently.

  “Music is the way to anyone’s heart, isn’t it?” she countered, feeling suddenly vulnerable. “And yes, music is very close to my heart.”

  “What else is close to your heart?” he asked, the innuendo in his tone leading her to have thoughts of bed—his bed.

  Careful. Take it slow.

  “Peanut-butter cups, long walks and The New York Times,” she offered.

  “I’m impressed, especially the peanut-butter part.” He played a few quick chords. “And my favorite Sunday morning occupation is reading The New York Times in bed.”

  Visions of the two of them in bed together, reading the paper filled her mind. “Mine, too.”

  His fingers halted. “Want to play ‘Chopsticks’?” he asked, his fingers once more moving languidly over the ivory keys, his dark eyebrows arched in challenge.

  “‘Chopsticks’?” she said. “I can do better than that.”

  She adjusted Ethan on her lap, ready to show this man her one social skill.

  “I’m waiting.” He moved over on the piano bench, letting her settle in front of middle C.

  She began the opening bars of “Moon River.” Ethan plunked his hands on top of hers and began to sing off-key in unintelligible words.

  “Want to play a duet?” she asked him, kissing Ethan’s cheek, and he immediately responded by smacking a kiss on her cheek.

  The sound of Luke’s laughter enveloped her—carefree laughter, the kind that turned heads and caused others to join in. Completely happy to sit here and play the piano with Ethan on her lap, she slowed the tempo of the melody, as she adjusted his fingers over hers.

  “What does that music make you think of?” Luke asked close to her ear, sending a thrill through her.

  How utterly content I am right at this moment. How easily I could stay right here for as long as you want me to.

  “I’m thinking that Ethan and I make a great duo, don’t you, Luke?”

  “You certainly do.” He grinned.

  “Okay, Ethan, let’s show your dad what we can really do.”

  “My cue to get out of the way,” he said, getting up off the bench and going to stand next to the piano.

  * * *

  HER SMILE WENT STRAIGHT to his heart, filling him with a need so strong he wanted to make love to her right then and there. Fighting the urge to send Ethan off to be with his babysitter, Luke leaned on the piano instead, and listened as Marnie guided his son’s fingers over the keys in an unhurried rendition of “Tennessee Waltz.” It had been so long since he’d felt like this, this feeling that someone special loved the piano the way he did.

  Ethan tilted his head up and smiled at Luke, and all he could think about was how much he needed this. How thankful he was that he’d managed to convince her to stay with him, if only until tomorrow. He couldn’t let himself consider how he’d cope when she went back to Boston, which she’d have to do sometime soon, leaving him to feel her absence.

  “The dynamic duo,” he said, trying for a lighthearted tone he didn’t feel.

  “That we are,” she said, switching to a few chords with Ethan’s fingers clinging to hers.

  “Daddy, I love Marnie.” Ethan planted a noisy kiss on her cheek without removing his fingers from her hands.

  She looked startled for a moment, and then pleasure swept across her face. “I paid him to say that. Trying to get in good with the boss.”

  “You’re already in good with the boss.” He came around the piano and slid back onto the bench beside her.

  “Daddy, go away,” Ethan said, elbowing him.

 
Luke wished they could continue like this, that he didn’t have to go back to the reality of overseeing the Christmas Eve preparations. What he wouldn’t give right now to be able to stay where he was, to feel what he was feeling for the rest of his life. He took Ethan into his arms to hide the raw emotions rolling in his chest. “Love you, buddy—” Luke pointed in the direction of the door where one of his staff stood ready to take him back to the apartment “—but Charlene’s waiting for you over there. See?”

  Ethan scrambled out of his arms and ran across the room, making the edges of the tablecloths flutter as he passed them, before throwing himself into the woman’s arms.

  Watching Marnie from the corner of his eye, he made a decision. “Hope you don’t mind me asking you something.”

  * * *

  “SURE,” SHE SAID, acutely aware of how good his body felt pressed ever so gently along hers. “Ask away.”

  “Have you ever considered having children?”

  She glanced up at the ceiling, studying the chandelier, stalling for time. What could she say to that? That she was afraid? That it didn’t matter so much what she wanted, but what life dealt her? “Having children is a huge commitment.”

  “You’re ducking the question.”

  “If I were lucky enough to have children, I’d want to be home with them full-time at least until they went to school. I know that lots of mothers work full-time while they raise their family, but I couldn’t do it.” If she were ever blessed with a child she would keep her child close.

  His fingers encircled her hand, his touch as he traced a line over her palm, making her skin tingle. “The way you are with Ethan…you’d make a great parent.” His voice was low, sexy and went straight to her heart.

  She wanted to tell him that she loved kids, would love to have kids, but there were some issues too painful to share. “I want a career, and I’d love to have kids, too. But it’s a lot of responsibility…and maybe I’ve waited too long.”