“But—”
A group of carolers started singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” behind him, and Damian gave up. She wouldn’t admit her small town had less to offer, no matter what he said.
When the carolers had moved on, he changed the subject. “What was Christmas like when you were a kid?”
Kat grinned. “We loved this time of year. Dad would pile us all in the car and we’d go driving around to look at the Christmas lights. While we were gone, Santa would come. We’d go home to find our presents under the tree.”
“So, your mom stayed behind?”
“Nope. But it’s funny, each time we’d get in the car, Mom would always forget something in the house and have to go back in and get it.” Kat chuckled. “I was ten before I suspected anything.”
“And what about your sister? How much younger is she?”
“She’s three years younger. We were enemies growing up, but we’re no longer at each other’s throats. Not much, anyway.” Kat gave him a smile.
He liked this open side to her. When she wasn’t trying to embarrass him, she was fun to talk to. “And what does Hilary do?”
“She works in the kitchen at Pizza Hut. It’s a job, but what she really wants to do is go to culinary school and own her own restaurant.”
“Let me guess, she’d rather not do that because she loves Pleasant Hollow, and doesn’t want to leave?”
Kat rolled her eyes. “No. Hilary would love to leave. It’s just…our mom…”
“Oh.” Damian felt like a jerk. “Sorry.” He really needed to think before he started talking.
“Don’t be. It’s just the situation.”
A man approached their table. His belly sagged over his belt. He patted his receding hairline. “Hey, Kat. How’s it hanging?” He clicked his tongue and pointed a finger at her.
Kat cringed. “It’s not hanging, Elliot. It’s never been hanging.”
“It’s just a figure of speech.” Elliot chuckled, his gaze traveling over Damian. “What, are you on a date or something?”
“No,” Kat said, way too fast. “Heavens, no.”
Damian stared at her. Should he be offended by that?
Elliot grinned and swiped his hand over his hair again. “Good. Because I thought I might have some competition going on.” He waved his hand indicating the two of them. “Want to go to the movies tomorrow? I heard they’re playing the new Transformers. That Michael Bay is a genius.”
Kat sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “Um, no thanks, Elliot. You know me. I’m a homebody.” She gave him a lame smile.
Elliot nodded and did a little swagger thing with his hips. “If you ever want to date a real man, you know where I live.” He pointed at her again before continuing down the sidewalk.
Damian wasn’t sure if the guy was for real or not. “Where does he live?”
Kat scrubbed her face with her hand and moaned. “Next door to me.”
“Oh. Well, you should go out with him. You know, because he’s a real man.”
Kat whacked him on the arm. “Funny. He wasn’t appealing to me in elementary, junior high, or high school, and he’s certainly not appealing now.”
Damian chuckled as he stood from the bench. He picked up his paper plate and dumped it in the trashcan. “Too bad. He could be your soul mate.”
“He ate paste in first grade…like every day. I think it did something to his brain.” Kat hunched into her coat. “He’s harmless, but no thank you.”
“Speaking of no thank you, what’s wrong with being on a date with me?” Damian fell into step beside her.
Kat looked at him funny. “You? You’re a fancy latte. I’m just plain coffee.”
“What?”
She made a motion, indicating all of him. “You’re a billionaire from New York. Way above my pay grade.”
Confused, he stopped walking. “Then why did you come on to me this morning?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You wanted to spend the day with me…show me around town. What was that about?”
Kat threw her head back and laughed, the sound echoing off the buildings around the town square. “I wasn’t coming on to you, meathead. I was just…” She stopped talking, her eyes growing wide.
“You were what?”
“Nothing. Come on. There’s ice skating over there.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the skating rink.
What did she mean by that? He was so confused, but went with her down the sidewalk, not wanting to press her. He’d try again later. Kat was an intriguing woman, and he wanted to see what else the night held for them.
They rented ice skates and sat down on a bench to put them on. Christmas music blared over a pair of speakers. Kat laced up her shoes. “Now the trick to these is to keep your ankles straight.”
“I know how to ice skate.”
Her eyebrows flew up in surprise. “You do?”
He chuckled. “I learned how to skate as a boy.” He hadn’t been since his accident, but he figured it wouldn’t be too difficult. Maybe his limping wouldn’t be so noticeable.
“Do you know how to skate a figure eight?”
He shook his head. “No, but I can probably stay upright for the most part.”
Kat laughed and gave him a funny look. “You have such a strange way of saying things sometimes.”
He shrugged and stood on his skates. “Let’s do this.”
Kat shoved off and he immediately felt intimidated. She looked like she’d been doing this for years. She came back to him and stopped with the tips of her skates. “What’s wrong?”
“I can skate, but I’m not that good.”
Kat grabbed his hand. “Come on. Don’t be a chicken. I’ll go slow.”
A pair of young girls passed them, giggling. They looked like sisters. Damian hid a smile. As they skated around the rink, Damian began to loosen up a bit. He looked at Kat. “If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?”
“I’d hire a full-time nurse and move Mom into my house. Then I’d buy the newspaper from you, and give myself a promotion.” She shot him a cheesy grin and he laughed.
“Good idea.”
She sobered. “Then I’d give the rest of the money to research Alzheimer’s.”
A pang of sorrow passed through him. He could tell she meant it. She’d really give up a fortune to help her mother.
The girls passed them by again, this time going faster. One of them clipped Damian, and he jerked, slipping on the ice. Kat reached out to steady him and he ended up clinging to her.
She laughed as he hung on her. “You okay?”
“Yes.” He looked down and got swallowed up in her blue eyes. Her lips were bright red, maybe from the cold. Her cheeks were a lovely shade of pink. Her dark hair shone in the moonlight. She was beautiful. The thought entered his mind like a thief, stealing his breath away. How had he not noticed her beauty before?
An insane idea jumped into his brain, and he struggled to shove it away. No way was he going to kiss her. She was an employee. That would be totally inappropriate. He let go of her and backed away, careful not to slip. “I’m fine.”
“All right, then,” she said slowly as if she wasn’t sure what had just happened. “Let’s go a little faster now if you can handle it.”
She took his hand again and started skating. Electricity zapped between them. Her soft hand felt good in his. Like it belonged there. Wait, where did that come from? What was wrong with him? Just because he was with a beautiful girl didn’t mean he had to get a crush on her. He was there for business. Nothing else.
Chapter 9
The cold night air numbed Kat’s face as she skated next to Mr. Boss Man. She’d thought she would be bored spending the day with Damian, but it had turned out differently than she’d imagined. He was starting to loosen up. And surprisingly, she liked this side of him.
“Listen to this,” Damian said, leaning closer to her as they rounded the corner. “When I
was a kid I decided I wanted to run a business like my father.”
“What kind of business?”
“I was going to sell joke books.” Damian looked like he was trying not to smile, but it didn’t work. His eyes smiled for him.
“Joke books? Where did you get them from?”
“Oh, I made them myself. I cut up some computer paper and stapled the pages together, then made up jokes for them.”
Kat couldn’t wait to hear about this. “Do tell me some of the jokes you put in them.”
Damian lost the war with trying to keep a straight face. “Why did the elephant cross the road?”
“Why?”
“Because elephants can do whatever they want. Don’t question it.”
Kat laughed. “That’s not too bad.”
“Want another one?”
“Go ahead.”
Damian squeezed her hand which sent tingles up her arm. She ignored them. This was no time to be crushing on Mr. Fancy Latte.
“How do zombies say hello?”
“How?”
“They just do.”
She couldn’t help but laugh again. “You were really good with the jokes.”
Damian’s smile warmed her. “I know. I have no idea how I didn’t become a millionaire on the spot.”
“Do you still have any of your joke books you made?”
“Sadly, no. Mother thought they were trash and threw them away.” His smile faded. “She didn’t like scraps of paper lying around.”
“Oh, that’s sad.” Kat touched his arm, but it felt a little too intimate so she removed her hand. “It would be fun to have one as a memento.”
“Mother doesn’t like those, either.” He gave her a little smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“She sounds like a ball of fun.”
He was silent for a moment, looking off into the distance as they skated. “She’s not so bad. She means well.”
“And your father? What happened?” Kat couldn’t believe how bold she was being. Why did she ask that?
“He…died of cancer.” The way he said it was weird. Like he was trying not to choke on the words. “Last year. It was sudden.”
“I’m sorry.”
Damian motioned to a bench. “Mind if we sit for a minute? My leg…”
Guilt surfaced in Kat. She’d been making him do all these physical things today. How could she be so insensitive? “Of course. I’m sorry.”
He stopped himself on the railing and sat down. “No need to be sorry. I’m the one that messed up my leg.”
“Accidents happen. I’m sure it wasn’t your fault.” She could feel how cold the bench was, even through her jeans.
“It was,” he said quietly.
She didn’t know how to respond to that. Fortunately, he changed the subject. “So, you bowl and ice skate, and go to fascinating museums. What else do you do in your spare time?”
“Besides baiting scammers?”
He chuckled. “How did that get started, anyway?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I was bored one day and was angry I kept getting nonsense emails. So, I replied to one. I never expected the scammer to reply back. Then it just sort of developed into a game.”
“How so?”
She looked at him. He seemed genuinely interested. “I guess I sort of wanted to see how far the scammer would go to get money out of me. At first, I just wanted to know who I was talking to, so I told him I needed a photo to verify who he was. I was shocked when he actually sent a photo.”
“But how did you know it was a photo of him?”
Kat pointed at Damian. “Right. That’s what I was thinking too. So, I figured if I made him do something in the photo, it couldn’t be just some random picture from the internet. That’s when the fun began. I told him to put on lipstick, and he did.” Kat laughed, remembering the photo. It was hilarious.
“I can’t believe that.”
“I was going to send him several thousand dollars, at least, that’s what he thought. I suppose it was worth his time to appease me. And then it blossomed from there. I started responding to more emails and getting more people to do weird things. I shared the emails with my co-workers and Lydia asked if I could make it into a column. I was so excited. It was the first thing I’d ever written that was printed in the newspaper. And the people in town really love it. I get asked about it all the time.”
“I can see why people like to read it. You’re very witty.”
Her heart warmed at the compliment. She tried not to blush. “Thanks.”
He exhaled, his breath making fog in the cold air. He pulled his coat tighter around him. “Are you as cold as I am?”
“I know what we need.” She stood. “Let’s turn in our skates and get some hot chocolate.”
He smiled up at her, and she realized she liked his smile. There was something genuine behind it. Something she hadn’t noticed before. “That sounds good.”
They took off their skates and walked to the hot chocolate stand. As they stood in line, the music from the carnival rides up the street floated in the air. Crowds of people walked by.
When they got to the front of the line, she saw Abby working the window. “Hey, girl, how’s it going?”
Abby grinned at her, red and green ribbons holding her dark hair up in pigtails. She always did whatever she wanted, in style or not. “Going good. Even with the storm, we’ve had a record-breaking year. What can I get you?” Her gaze fell to Damian and she gave Kat a raised eyebrow look. “Wow,” she mouthed.
“We’ll have two medium hot chocolates,” Kat said.
“Do you want whipped cream on those?”
“No,” Damian said.
Kat frowned at him. “Why not? It’s delicious.” She turned back to Abby. “Yes, I want whipped cream.”
Damian took a step closer. “Is it low-fat?”
“Why do you care about low-fat?” Kat whacked him in the abs. They were rock hard. “Dang,” she said, feeling his stomach again. When she realized what she was doing, she dropped her hands. Heat rose to her cheeks. Had she really just felt her boss’s abs? She was such an idiot. “Sorry.”
Abby looked like she was trying not to laugh. “It’s not low-fat, but I don’t think there are many calories in it.”
Damian nodded. “I guess I’ll try it then.”
Abby grinned and began filling the Styrofoam cups. “You’ll love it.”
When she was done making them, she set them on the metal surface outside the window. “Be sure to go catch a ride on the Ferris wheel.” She winked at Kat.
Kat’s cheeks flamed and she wanted to shove Abby back in her little window. “No, I don’t think we will.” She picked up the cups and handed one to Damian.
“Why not? Sounds like fun.” Damian took a sip. “You’re right. It’s good with the whipped cream.”
He started down the street towards the carnival lights. Kat hurried after him. “No, seriously, she was just joking around. We don’t have to ride the Ferris wheel.” Especially not with Harry working it. He always put her in on the spot.
“Come on. We’re almost there.”
“But…”
Damian took her hand and pulled her along. “It will be fun.”
The carnival music drowned out her protests. Damian walked up to the Ferris wheel which had no line. Of course. The universe was trying to embarrass her. “How much for tickets?”
“Two dollars a ticket,” Harry said, taking off his driving cap and scratching his bald head. Then he noticed Kat. “Hey, Kat! I didn’t see you there. How’s it going?”
“Fine, Harry.”
The elderly black man gave her a smile as he slipped his cap back on. “How’s your mom doing?”
“About the same.” Kat fidgeted. She didn’t want to talk about her mother anymore.
Damian handed him the two dollars. Harry opened the gate. “Take a seat. I’ll give you an extra long ride.”
“No, I don’t want you to get
into trouble.” Kat took a step back.
“Nonsense. You and your man get on.” He gestured to the swinging seat. “I’ll make it really special for you.”
A couple got in line behind them, and Kat couldn’t back away gracefully, so she stepped up to the seat. Her face warmed. “Thanks, Harry.”
Harry clicked the bar into place and patted it. “Real special.”
Kat sank into the seat, mortified. Damian gave her a questioning look. “What’s he mean by that?”
Kat pointed up to the green sprig of mistletoe tied to the top of the overhang. The ride creaked as they lifted up and stopped to let the other couple on.
Damian’s eyes grew wide. “Mistletoe?”
“Yep. Town tradition. Harry stops you at the top and you’re supposed to kiss.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried!”
The ride jerked into movement. It was a small Ferris wheel, with only eight cars, so it didn’t take long for them to go around a few times. Kat sipped her hot cocoa and hunched her shoulders. Maybe Harry wouldn’t stop the wheel for them after all.
Damian pointed out over the town square as they rounded the top. “I love all the lights. Must have taken days to get them all strung up.”
“Yeah, they’re beautiful.”
Damian looked at her. “What are your New Years resolutions going to be this year?”
“I don’t know. I’m terrible at keeping them. I think I’m not going to do any this year.” She gulped down the rest of her drink, as it had cooled into luke-warm chocolate.
“That’s too bad.” He looked down at his drink. “I find making goals keeps me driven. I get more done when I have something I’m trying to accomplish.”
“I think I’m going to do this thing I read about on the internet. Instead of resolutions, at the end of each week, I’ll write down the things I was able to do. That way I’m more focused on celebrating what I achieved instead of making goals I can never reach.”
Damian slowly nodded. “That’s not a bad idea.”
The ride slowed and then stopped. The couple that got on behind them were let off and Harry stepped back to give her a grin. He turned the ride back on and stopped it with them at the top. His voice carried up from below. “It’s kissing time!”
Her Big Fat Hunky Billionaire Boss (Billionaire Series Book 3) Page 6
