“I know I was giving you a hard time about Kelly—”
“We’re not doing this again, are we?” Luke asked curtly.
“I just want to make sure you don’t hurt her or screw this up,” Zeke stated. “The last thing we need is another shake-up on any level at the office. Kelly is the foundation in your department. If things went wrong with you two and she left...”
Luke had already thought of that. He didn’t want to lose Kelly in any capacity—personal or professional. He wanted her in all aspects of his life, but that confession would have to wait until they were alone tonight.
And he sure as hell wasn’t about to tell his brother how he truly felt for Kelly. That was something she deserved to hear first. He might not be ready to profess his love, but he did want to see where this would go and he fully believed he was falling for her.
“She’s not going to leave,” Luke stated firmly. “What Kelly and I have going on isn’t a big deal or anything for you to worry about. She’s been my assistant and she’ll always be my assistant.”
In the office and in his personal life. He wanted her with him. Damn it, he couldn’t wait to get home and tell her.
Home. He liked thinking that she would be home with him. He wondered if she would even be interested in this giant step. After all, they’d only just started seeing each other in an intimate way two weeks ago.
Was this too soon? How the hell would he know if he was making a mistake or not?
Luke didn’t know and that risk was both thrilling and terrifying. All he knew for sure was that this was nothing like when he’d been engaged before.
“I’ll drop the subject,” Zeke told him. “You know I just worry about the company and you and Kelly. She’s like a sister to me.”
“I get it,” Luke said and blew out a sigh. “We better get back out there. I need to make a formal announcement. Care to join me on the stage?”
Zeke nodded. “Sure, but feel free to do the talking.”
Luke shook his head and headed down the hall and made his way through the crowd. With his brother at his back, Luke took the three steps to the stage at the end of the ballroom and stepped up to the podium. There were several more easels and large posters propped on the stage showcasing the various resorts from Wingate. Luke was damn proud to be part of this company.
He tapped the mic to make sure it was on and then tapped a little louder to get the attention of the crowd. The roar of the guests started to calm down and Luke cleared his throat.
“First of all, I want to thank you all for coming out tonight to the relaunch of Wingate Enterprises.”
A round of applause went up and Luke waited until the noise died down again.
“As you all have seen and heard, we are taking Wingate in a new direction,” he announced. “We have a wide variety of packages for romantic getaways and those can be pre-booked starting right now. Every budget was taken into consideration and we have something for everyone.”
Luke glanced around the room at all of the familiar faces and couldn’t help but smile and be filled with hope at all of the people who had come out to support the company.
“I can’t take all of the credit for this brilliant plan,” he added. “My assistant Kelly Prentiss has truly been the brains behind the operation. If I could get Kelly to come up here.”
He tried to scan the crowd for where she’d be coming from, but he didn’t see anyone. Luke glanced to his side where his brother stood, but Zeke just shrugged.
Luke waited another minute, but Kelly never showed. Where could she be? She hadn’t mentioned needing to leave.
“Well, I’m sure Kelly is here somewhere,” he added with a chuckle. “I know she would appreciate you stopping her and thanking her for putting this amazing party together and helping with this next journey for Wingate Enterprises. Thank you all again for coming and, please, continue to enjoy the open bar and the rest of the evening.”
Luke stepped from the podium and off the stage.
“I’m going to look for Kelly,” he told his brother. “That’s not like her to leave or just be gone. Maybe she’s in the back office or the restroom.”
Luke checked everywhere and couldn’t find her. He pulled his cell from his pocket, but there were no texts or calls from her. He sent her a quick text asking where she was and if everything was okay. He waited a few minutes, but there was no reply.
Now he was starting to worry. As he asked around about anyone seeing her, everyone said they’d just seen her moments ago, so he had to believe she wasn’t far.
A loud shout caught his attention, but it was just the Wingate twins laughing and they were being hoisted into the air by some rowdy guests. Clearly people had taken advantage of that open bar.
Luke watched as the rambunctious celebration continued on outside and he saw it coming before it happened. Sutton and Sebastian were launched into the swimming pool by a group of cheering guys.
Was this the equivalent of dumping the ice bucket on the coach at the end of a big win?
Luke had bigger issues to deal with however, and he sure as hell didn’t want to be part of that pool club. It might be fairly nice for December, but that didn’t mean the pool water was warm.
When he turned back toward the ballroom, he spotted Gracie.
“Hey, Gracie.” He stopped in front of her and noted how she looked like she wasn’t feeling well. “Have you seen Kelly anywhere?”
“I just spoke to her,” Gracie said. “Maybe thirty minutes or an hour ago. Is something wrong?”
He shook his head. “I just can’t find her, that’s all.”
Something caught Gracie’s eye over Luke’s shoulder and she gasped. Luke turned and saw the Wingate twins dripping by the pool and Sebastian had stripped out of his jacket and shirt. A long scar ran down his back.
When Luke turned back to Gracie, she appeared even paler than before and looked on the verge of passing out.
“Are you alright?” he asked, reaching for her.
“I-I have to go.”
She fled the ballroom, and Luke had no idea what had spooked her, but she was gone.
His cell vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out to see a text from Kelly. Relief spread through him, quickly followed by confusion.
I overheard something you probably didn’t intend for me to hear. You need to check your email.
His email? Had something important come through while they’d been at the party and she was working on it now? That would be just like her to take the stress off him and try to get everything taken care of while he was at the party. He smiled as he tapped the email icon. She was too damn good for him.
The confusion grew and along with it came astonishment.
Kelly’s resignation letter? The date at the top was today, and she stated the notification was effective immediately. She indicated a difference of goals and her life going in a different direction now.
What the hell?
Luke read it again, still unsure about what was going on. What different direction? Wasn’t this the same woman who wanted to talk to him for hours on end when they got home? The same woman who’d worn a dress she thought he would love?
The same damn woman who’d deceived him and swept him away for a romantic getaway for five days?
Anger slid right on in with all of his other jumbled emotions. Luke sent a text to his brother and Ava that he had to leave and he would get with them later. He assured them nothing was wrong just because he didn’t want them to worry, but everything seemed to be wrong right now.
He had no idea where Kelly was or what she was thinking. Her email had been so vague, other than the part where she quit on him without notice or logical reasons.
Luke tried calling her over and over and no answer. She was ignoring him, and he wanted to know why. Whatever she had overheard had made her jump to co
nclusions and he needed to fix whatever the hell was going on.
He went to his house, hoping to catch her if she went there to retrieve her things. Who knows how long she’d been gone from the party before he realized it?
The moment he pulled into his drive, he saw her car and a heady sense of relief spread through him. At least he knew where she was, now he needed to know what the hell had happened this evening.
He barely had the engine off before he was out of the car and rushing up the stairs to the front door. He couldn’t let her leave without finding out where her head was and who had hurt her.
And then he was going to have to tell her how he truly felt.
Twenty
Kelly heard the front door open and close, and she cursed herself for coming back here to retrieve her things. She should’ve just gone home and worried about her clothes and toiletries later.
A lump rose in her throat as the events of the night assailed her once again She had been a fool to believe they could have been more. For five years she’d slowly fallen for Luke, calling herself naive every step of the way for allowing thoughts of a relationship with her boss to creep in. She was not only foolish and naive, she was stupid and gullible.
And now she had to move on.
“What are you doing?”
Kelly cringed as she tossed her leggings into the suitcase on the bed. She pulled in a deep breath, willed herself not to cry until she was home alone and turned to face Luke.
“I’m packing,” she replied simply. “Did you get my email?”
“Of course I got your email, that’s why I’m here.” He took a step farther into the room, then another, but he didn’t come too close. “What happened at the party to make you want to resign? Did someone say something to you? Why wouldn’t you bring the issue to me instead of just disappearing?”
Kelly laughed bitterly. “The issue is you,” she stressed. “I’m just your assistant, Luke. That’s all I’ll ever be and what we shared wasn’t a big deal, right?”
Her heart started beating even faster when he took another step toward her. “What are you talking about?”
Swallowing her emotions, Kelly crossed her arms over her chest. “I heard you in the hallway talking to your brother. I was coming out of the office from checking on Gracie because she didn’t feel well, but I heard you tell him that I was your assistant, that’s what I’d always be and he didn’t need to worry about what we had going on because it wasn’t a big deal.”
When he started to take a step forward, she held up her hand. “No,” she commanded. “Don’t touch me and don’t come near me. I shouldn’t have let myself get so caught up in my own thoughts and fantasies.”
“Kelly—”
“Stop.”
She shook her head and went back to the closet to get a few more things. She really wished she would’ve taken this dress off when she’d gotten back, but she’d been in a hurry to grab her things and leave.
“I just want to get out while I can and save myself any further embarrassment,” she went on, grabbing clothes and giving them a toss into the suitcase. “I’m not upset with you, I’m angry at myself. You never promised me anything and you never acted like you wanted more than what we had. I should’ve made my feelings known so everything was out there between us, but I thought—”
“Kelly,” he bellowed to get her attention.
She jerked back and cringed. He was smiling at her. Smiling. How dare he smile when she was clearly torn in two and she just wanted to get out of here with some sort of dignity intact.
“What you overheard was just for my brother’s sake,” he stated. “Zeke kept grilling me on what was going on and I kept telling him it was nothing and you were just my assistant. I didn’t want to tell him that I was developing feelings for you, because I wanted to tell you first.”
Kelly stilled, her heart in her throat as she tried to process his words. “What?”
Luke slowly closed the gap between them as he continued to hold her gaze and widen that smile.
“I want you to continue staying with me,” he told her. “I want more with you, because I’m falling for you.”
“Wait...what?”
Luke reached for her and slid his strong hands over her shoulders. “I told Zeke you would always be my assistant because I do always want you by my side. I want to see where this takes us. We’re so damn compatible everywhere, did you think I’d honestly want to let you go?”
Kelly pulled in a shaky breath and willed herself not to cry. He wanted her to stay? She was so confused and clearly had almost let miscommunication and eavesdropping ruin her life and her career.
“You’re falling for me?” she asked.
“I didn’t realize how much so until I saw your email,” he admitted. “I knew I wanted you to keep living here and I knew I wanted to try for more... But that ache in my heart and in the pit of my stomach had never been so strong than at the thought of losing you. I’m pretty sure I ran at least one red light to get here.”
Kelly closed her eyes and dropped her head between his arms. “I’m so foolish. I just heard that and assumed you were once again putting work ahead of everything else and I couldn’t live like that. My mother did and it destroyed her marriage to my dad. I don’t want to be miserable like she was.”
Luke gently lifted her head and started leaning in. “You’ll never be miserable as long as I’m around,” he vowed. “And I’m about to mess up that lipstick you reapplied earlier.”
Anticipation quickly replaced sadness and frustration. She tipped her face up to welcome his kiss, and joy flowed through her as his lips hungrily claimed hers. His hands slid down her bare arms and went to her waist as he tugged her closer. Her breasts flattened against his chest and she was so glad he’d come after her. She was so glad he explained what she’d heard. She’d just been so afraid of getting her hopes up that when she overheard him and Zeke talking...
Kelly pushed away those negative thoughts and concentrated on the man who was kissing her, the man who wanted to be with her in his home to see exactly where this relationship could go.
“Did I mention how much I love this dress?” he asked as he eased back.
Kelly nodded. “I believe you mentioned it, but I’m ready to get out of it.”
She turned her back to him and glanced over her shoulder. “Care to help me out of this?”
Luke let out a guttural growl as his hands went to the zipper. The dress parted and his warm breath grazed her back, instantly giving her goose bumps.
The garment fell away from her chest and then he was shoving the full skirt on down until it pooled in a thick puddle of material around her ankles.
Luke cursed beneath his breath, and Kelly turned back around and stepped out of the dress, wearing nothing but her heels and her earrings.
“Have you been like this all night?” he demanded, his voice thick with arousal.
Kelly merely smiled.
“You are trying to kill me.”
“I was hoping we’d come back here and you’d strip that off me,” she told him. “I figured wasting time with anything beneath was just silly.”
He reached for her again, his hands suddenly all over her bare skin.
“I do love how you think,” he murmured. “Just make sure you wear the proper clothes to board meetings or I’m not responsible for my actions.”
Kelly reached for his suit jacket and slid it off his arms, but before she could get to his buttons, Luke was lifting her in his arms and capturing her lips once again.
He shifted a few steps and her back was against the wall. Then he held her in place with her legs locked around his waist as he fiddled with his pants.
Kelly couldn’t help but laugh. “In a hurry?”
His dark eyes locked with hers. “You have no idea.”
In the next breath, he
joined their bodies and Kelly laced her fingers around his neck and pulled his lips to hers. She wanted all of him right now. She wanted to consume him, she wanted him to feel her love, to know that this was real and she wasn’t going anywhere.
He’d come for her. That thought completely overwhelmed her. She’d tried to make an escape and he’d been right after her. The man always went after what he wanted, and now that was her.
Kelly had never been so happy or felt so treasured.
Luke reached between them and cupped her breasts as he worked his hips.
“Not fair,” she panted.
He nipped at her earlobe. “What?”
“You have too many clothes on.”
“Later,” he promised. “We’ll go slow later.”
She liked the sound of that.
Between the ministrations to her chest and the way he worked those talented hips, Kelly was already on the verge. It had been a hell of a night, and she was just too revved up.
She let go and cried out his name as he plastered one hand on the wall next to her head and increased his pace moments before he lost himself in his own climax.
Kelly focused on her breathing, on keeping her shaky legs from falling. She wanted to stay right here, wrapped in Luke’s love. She knew he loved her. He’d admitted he was falling for her and all she wanted was to start this new chapter with him.
“Kelly,” he murmured against her ear. “Never leave me again. I couldn’t stand it.”
She smiled and took his face in her hands to ease him back. She wanted to look him in the eye when she told him how she felt.
“I love you, Luke. I’m never going anywhere.”
“Good because I need you in every part of my life and I want to be able to tell you every day that I love you, too.”
Kelly couldn’t suppress her smile or her tears. “This is going to be the best Christmas ever.”
He sealed their promise with a kiss and Kelly knew this was only the beginning of their lifelong journey.
* * *
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