A woman rushed at Liam and took him in an embrace. “Oh, dear. Are you okay?”
“Of course, Mother. I’m fine. We weren’t in there for that long.”
“An hour-and-a-half.” The woman pulled back and huffed at him. She looked just as you would expect a mother of a wealthy man to look. Her hair pulled up in some fancy up-do. Designer clothes. And so many rings her fingers must get tired. “And no one up here seemed to care about the power outage. They just kept the party going.”
As they talked, Candice wheeled out the cart full of cupcakes.
Liam smiled at his mother. “That’s good. We paid for a lot of catering. And an open bar.”
“I know, but you were stuck—”
“I was fine.” Liam motioned to Candice. “Mother, this is Candice. Candice, this is my mother, Tina.”
Candice gave his mother a smile. “Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, you poor thing, trapped in the elevator with him. Are you hungry? You look hungry. We still have plenty of food.” His mother grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hallway in some attempt to be motherly to her.
“I’m glad everyone is still here because we have several dozen cupcakes that need to be eaten.” Liam grabbed the cart and wheeled it after them.
“I can do that,” Candice said, feeling self-conscious.
“I’ve got it.” Liam continued to push it down the hall.
They entered the office. The space was open, like a large loft, with a huge row of windows showing the snowfall. Christmas music blasted from someone’s phone and everyone seemed to be celebrating the lights being back on. Conversations filled the room and people crowded around the open bar to get more drinks.
Liam pushed the cart against the wall and opened the top box of cupcakes. “We have dessert,” he called out.
The crowd applauded. “Hey, I heard you were trapped in the elevator,” someone called out.
Liam nodded. “Yes, but I lived through it.” His gaze met Candice’s, and he winked at her.
Butterflies stirred in her belly. She gave him a weak smile, then ducked her head.
“Come on, dear. Fill up your plate,” Tina said, pulling her to the wall of food.
Candice could see there was no way she was going to get out of staying at the party. At least for a small while. She grabbed a plate and stabbed a piece of chicken sitting in a warmer. “All right.”
She filled her plate, grabbed a glass of water, then made her way over to an empty chair. A moment later, Liam joined her. There was no other spot to sit, so he leaned up against the wall. He set his drink next to hers. “I’m glad you didn’t leave.”
“I don’t think I could have.”
His fork froze mid-air. “Did you want to?”
She shrugged and took another bite, not intending to answer the question.
Liam frowned, a pained expression on his face. “Kissing me was that bad?”
Candice choked on her bite and picked up her water to gulp down what was in her mouth. And to give her time to think about what she was going to say. When she drained her water and had nothing else to put off answering Liam, she set her empty cup down and shook her head. “No.”
Quite the opposite. Kissing him was that good. So good, she lost her head over it. She forgot that Liam Russell was outside what was possible in her life. And forgetting that was not good.
His gaze softened. “Are you still in love with your ex?”
She swallowed, feeling the color drain from her face. “No,” she said, maybe too forcefully. Then she scoffed. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because you’re either still in love with him or you just don’t like me. And I’m trying hard not to take your multiple rejections personally.”
She stared at him, her mouth going dry, unsure of what to say.
Chapter 8
Liam’s gaze pinned her to her chair. Candice fought for a rational thought to enter her head. She sighed and sank into her chair. “It’s not you.”
He didn’t waver. “I’m finding that harder and harder to believe.”
“I just don’t think we are…”
“Compatible,” he answered for her. “I know. You said that.” He frowned. “What I can’t understand is why you think that.”
Maybe she could get him to understand. “What do you do for fun?” She expected him to say golfing or something similarly stuffy and CEO-like.
He got a funny look on his face. “I like to do a lot of things for fun.”
“What was the last thing you did in your spare time?”
“I went antiquing.”
The words didn’t quite register at first, and Candice opened her mouth to tell him how much she hated his fun pastime, but then she realized what he said, and she froze. “You did?”
“Yes. Why?”
She shook her head. “Never mind. What else do you do for fun?”
“I restore furniture.” He smiled. “Which is why I go antiquing.”
She wanted to scoff at him and tell him they had nothing in common, but instead, her emotions surged. “My father used to restore antiques, too.” That was probably why she loved them so much.
Liam seemed pleased. “He did? That’s amazing.”
She closed her eyes, remembering how her father would stay up late, working in the garage on a piece. The strong smell of the wood finish he’d use. It took her back for a moment. She gazed up at Liam. “He took great care with the pieces he worked on.”
“There’s something about taking an old, discarded piece and bringing it back to life.” He shook his head. “I just love that.”
Candice stared at the floor. Why couldn’t it have been simpler? Why couldn’t they be so different that it wouldn’t work between them? Why did he have to be so kind, and so sexy? Why did he have to be the perfect guy for her?
His mother waved at him from across the office space. “Liam. Come here. I want you to hear this story.”
Liam nodded to her. “Be right there.”
His gaze dipped to Candice. “I’d better go.” He worked his jaw for a moment. “Stay here. I’ll only be a minute.” He gave her one last look before he shoved himself off the wall and headed toward his mother.
Candice stared down at her plate, guilt surging in her. She felt terrible. He’d treated her with nothing but kindness, and she’d been rude at first, then just standoffish. Why did he even like her?
A woman came up to her and took Liam’s place against the wall. She looked Candice over before motioning to Liam. “You Liam’s date?”
Candice about spit out the olive in her mouth. She swallowed. “No.”
“Oh. Okay. I just thought maybe, because he never brings women to things like this. And he was looking at you kind of like he wanted to devour you or something.”
“He ordered the cupcakes from me.”
She made a face. “Really?” She left off the rest, but her eyes said it all the same. Then why are you still here?
Candice stared out the window. The snow still fell against the darkened sky. Her van was probably buried under a thousand feet of the stuff. Great.
The woman took a drink of her cocktail. “Well, if you’ve got your sights on him, hopefully you won’t be too disappointed when he shoots you down. That’s just how Liam is.”
The cattiness was getting to Candice. “That’s interesting because he asked me out, and I shot him down. I thought maybe he was just the flirty type.”
The woman jerked her head around and narrowed her eyes at Candice. “He did?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you shoot him down? Liam’s got more money than Chicago.” She waved her hand around the air, like that indicated how rich he was.
Maybe this woman had had a little too much Christmas cheer. Candice politely smiled. “Well, I don’t care about that.”
She looked at Candice like she was too stupid to know that money was important.
Candice suddenly wanted to get out of there. Liam had wanted her t
o stay, but he looked pretty engrossed in his conversation and wasn’t coming back anytime soon. Besides, what was there to say? She needed to get away from him. “Excuse me. I think I need to dig out my van.”
“You didn’t park in the garage?”
“Nope. I parked on the street.” She didn’t want to say she thought she’d just be a few minutes. What a night this was turning out to be.
Pity formed on the woman’s face. “Oh, you poor thing. You’d better go dig out, then. Do you have a shovel?”
“I always keep one in my van.” Candice stood and gave the woman a half-wave. “Bye.” She placed her paper plate in the trashcan and headed to the door.
Liam didn’t look at her to see her leaving. That was probably for the best. She needed to get home and soak in a hot bath. This day had been a roller coaster of emotions, and she needed to get them settled down.
Just as the office door swung shut behind her, she thought she heard Liam call out, “Candice, wait.” But she wasn’t positive. Still, she hurried her steps to the elevators. There was nothing more to say to Liam Russell. She pressed the button and the elevator door slid open immediately.
“Wait,” she heard, louder, but this time she pressed the door shut button on purpose. Guilt assaulted her as Liam’s foot once again came into view and the doors slid back open. He stepped into the elevator, which, incidentally, still smelled like him. He frowned at her. “You’re leaving so soon?”
She avoided his gaze. “Sorry. I realized I had a thing.” Ugh. Lamest excuse ever. Why couldn’t she ever think of a better excuse? Someone called in an emergency cupcake order?
His eyebrows raised. “A thing?”
She pressed the first-floor button and the elevator began descending. “Yeah,” she said to her shoes.
“All right. What about your cart? You left it upstairs.”
Crud. In her haste to get away from that whole awkward situation, she’d forgotten about the cart. “I’ll come back after Christmas and get it.” Why wasn’t the elevator going faster? They were only on floor sixty. It seemed to be crawling.
Liam stepped in front of her. “Why are you running from me?”
“I’m not—”
He reached out and placed a finger on her lips. A thrill rushed through her at the contact. “You are. I just can’t figure out why. You’re not married, are you?”
She shook her head as he lifted his finger. “No.”
“You’re not seeing anyone?”
“No.”
“You don’t hate me?”
Her gaze snapped up to his, and she felt even more guilty. “No. Of course not. I rather like you.”
“Then why?”
Candice bit her lip. He obviously was the persistent type who wouldn’t give up or go away until she said something. He was going to make her tell him. She took in a breath and let it out slowly. “Your leg…”
“Wait, what?” He looked at her like she had grown a third eye. “You won’t date me because of my leg?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what is it about my leg?”
Candice swallowed down the acid in her throat. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t tell him what her last name was. She couldn’t tell him she was the daughter of the man who had caused him so much pain. “Never mind.”
“I don’t understand. You said my leg—”
She pressed her lips to his, silencing him. She didn’t want to explain. And this seemed to be the only way to shut him up. At least, it was an enjoyable way to silence him.
He pulled her close, his kiss more aggressive this time. She pressed her palms against his chest and was surprised at the strength she found there. His kiss permeated through her thoughts. Made her dizzy and her knees weak.
“Candice,” he whispered, breathless as he entwined his fingers in her hair.
“What?” she whispered back.
“Don’t you feel the electricity between us? The raw energy that flows through us every time we touch?”
“That’s just chemistry.”
“I know. But I’ve never felt it this strong. With anyone.” He closed his eyes and kissed her neck.
The elevator slowed, then stopped and the doors slid open. Great. Now it decided to get to the ground floor. He sighed and stepped back from her. “Don’t you want to explore this?” He motioned between them. “What we have?”
Before she could get her senses back, she said what was on the tip of her tongue. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Yes? Did I hear you correctly?” He stepped between the doors so they wouldn’t shut.
She nodded, unable to stop the smile from forming on her lips. “Yes. I want to.” She would find a way to tell him about her father. Later. She just wanted to embrace this new relationship feeling that was spreading from her toes through her body.
He held out his hand and she took it. “Dang, girl, you sure know how to make a guy work for what he wants.”
Chapter 9
Candice stood in the snow-drifted street and looked at the mound that used to be her van.
“Let me drive you home,” Liam said over the wind.
“How will I get my van back?”
“I’ll have maintenance dig you out.”
She debated, then looked up at the sky. “All right. I can take a cab back here in the morning.”
“Come on.” He tugged on her hand.
She followed him back into the building. “We’ll have to take the elevator.”
She squinted at him. “Wait, if your car is in the lower level, why were you getting on the elevator on the ground floor when I was bringing up the cupcakes?”
“I wasn’t coming from my car.”
They entered the elevator. “Where were you coming from?” she asked.
He grinned. “Outside.”
She scoffed. “What were you doing outside?”
“Hiding.”
She hadn’t expected him to say that. “From what?”
“Don’t you mean, from whom?”
“Yes, I probably do.” She poked him in the side. “Who were you hiding from?”
He rolled his eyes. “Let’s just say there are a few office women who want nothing more than to trap me and force me to listen to them talk all night long.”
“Oh. Yeah, I think I met one of them today.”
“Lucky you,” he said under his breath. The elevator stopped and they stepped out into the parking garage. He pulled out his key FOB from his pocket and pressed the button. His car chirped and lights blinked.
She stared at the fancy sports car. “Is that an Audi?”
“Yes.” He opened the door for her. “One of my other pastimes is driving fast.”
She laughed as she slid into his car. “I guess so.”
He started the car and pulled out of the parking garage after getting her address. The streets had recently been plowed, but snow still came down. As Liam drove, he reached out and took her hand in his. “I hope this doesn’t sound cheesy, but I feel a strong connection to you that I can’t explain.”
Candice tried not to grin like a silly schoolgirl. “I feel it, too.”
“I’ve never had this happen to me before. You must think I’m always coming on to women, but this is something special. I can’t explain it.”
She couldn’t explain it, either. Maybe going through the stressful situation of being trapped in the elevator together had brought them closer. Maybe it had sparked something in them that would have lain dormant had they not been in such close quarters for that time. She wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t deny it any longer. She and Liam had something between them.
“What’s your favorite season?” Liam asked.
Candice chewed on that for a moment. “I really love the fall, where the leaves turn colors and the landscape is so beautiful. But I love the spring as well, where the flowers are just peeking up and everything is coming back to life. It’s a cycle of death and then new life, and I can’t decide if
I like the death part or the new life part better.”
Liam made a face. “Well, when you say it that way, spring sounds much better than fall.”
She laughed. “I know. But really, the leaves all die and fall off. Everything goes into a sleep for winter.”
“Sleep and reawakening sounds better to me than death and rebirth.”
“You’re right.”
They chatted about nothing in particular as Liam made his way to her apartment building. By the time they arrived, the snowfall had stopped. They got out of the car and walked to the front door. “Do you want to come in? I can make you some hot chocolate.”
“That sounds good.”
Candice led him inside and got her keys out of her pocket. For some reason, she was suddenly nervous to have him inside her apartment. She chalked it up to the newness of their relationship. And the way he made her skin tingle when he was near.
She unlocked her door and flipped on her living room light. “Make yourself at home. I’ll go get the cocoa going.”
“Sure,” he said as he looked around.
She bustled in the kitchen, taking out the ingredients for her favorite hot chocolate recipe as Liam leafed through the magazines that sat on her end table. What a day this had turned out to be. Daniel, coming in the shop and destroying her. And now Liam Russell was in her living room, and he was so different from what she expected.
She grabbed the cocoa powder and rummaged through her drawer to find the measuring cups. Liam came into the kitchen and stood behind her. “Need any help?”
“Sure.” She handed him the measuring cup and the cocoa powder. “I just need one fourth cup.”
He helped her get the ingredients in the saucepan. “How long have you lived here?”
“In this apartment?”
“Yes.”
“Two years. I was living with my father before he passed.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is. I miss him a lot, especially around the holidays.”
Liam put his arms around her from behind. “I’m sure you do.” He pressed his lips to her neck and she closed her eyes, melting into him.
A Christmas Collection: Four Sweet Holiday Romances Page 35
