That night, Brooklyn checked into a suite at the W hotel in Union Square. After changing her clothes and settling in, she stood by the window and peered out. A light snow had begun falling. The flakes drifted from the sky like confetti, covering the streets. She watched couples stroll hand in hand down the sidewalk. She sighed, crossed the room and opened the minibar.
Brooklyn poured two miniature bottles of Scotch in a glass and took a sip. As she drank, she heard her phone buzzing in her purse. She went over to the king-size bed where her purse lay and retrieved the phone. The screen indicated that she had a voice-mail message. Brooklyn was still shaken up from earlier and fumbled with the phone before hitting the right button. She put the device to her ear and listened to the message.
“Brooklyn, I know you’re upset, but please call me back so I can explain.”
She deleted the message and tossed the phone on the bed.
“Upset! I’m beyond upset!” she yelled into the air. “He’s sadly mistaken if he thinks I’m going to listen to any more of his lies!”
As Brooklyn was ranting to herself, the phone buzzed again. She reached for it and read the screen. She hit the call answer button.
“Hello, Malcolm,” she said, in a tight voice.
“Hey, Brooklyn, how are you?”
“I could be better. What’s up?”
“I’m calling to talk to you about Landis Keates. He and his agency—”
Brooklyn cut Malcolm off midsentence. “I don’t want to discuss Landis or his agency.”
“Just give me five minutes and let me explain the situation.”
Brooklyn sighed. “You have two minutes, Malcolm, and then I’m hanging up.”
“Okay. Okay. While you were on tour and busy with the new album, I was lining up marketing agencies. I fired the last agency we had because they were not getting you the endorsement deals that you deserve. Anyway, the Keates Agency went above and beyond storyboards and marketing charts. Landis actually pitched you for an endorsement deal with a major cosmetics company, even though you’re not his client.”
“Oh, really? Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“You were so busy that I didn’t want to bother you until I had the top three agencies lined up. And then the holidays came and you didn’t want to discuss business until after the New Year.”
While they were talking, Brooklyn heard a beep in her ear. She took the phone away for a second and glanced at the screen. It was Landis calling. She put the phone back to her ear and continued listening to Malcolm.
“That still doesn’t explain why Landis didn’t bother mentioning that his agency was vying for my business,” she said, anger in her voice.
“Brooklyn, I can understand why you’re upset and how you might think that Landis was trying to woo you in order for his agency to get the contract, but you’re wrong.”
“That’s exactly what he was trying to do!” she said, raising her voice.
“No, it’s not. I talked to Landis, and he wants to remove his agency from the list of contenders. He’s in love with you and would rather lose the contract than lose your love.”
“He said that?” she asked.
“Yes, in so many words. Listen, Brooklyn, Landis doesn’t care about the commission his agency stands to gain. I honestly believe that he got caught up in his emotions and didn’t know how to tell you about our negotiations. I really don’t think he was trying to deceive you.”
Brooklyn listened to Malcolm’s words before speaking. She had known her manager for years and trusted him implicitly. “Malcolm, thanks for calling and telling me the whole story. I’ll take it from here.”
“Will you be all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Good night and thanks again.”
Exhausted from all the emotions, Brooklyn rested her head on the pillow, exhaled and closed her eyes. She could see images of herself and Landis and all the ways they had made love. Brooklyn’s resolve began to soften. She opened her eyes and saw a red light blinking on her phone.
She picked up the device and hit the voice-mail button. There were two more messages from Landis. She listened to them both. This time, she didn’t delete his messages, but replayed them over and over.
Chapter 19
Landis rushed through the crowds on Fifth Avenue trying to get to one store in particular. It was New Year’s Eve and most of the shops along the trendy avenue were closing early. He wove and dodged his way a few blocks until he reached his destination.
He hadn’t heard from Brooklyn, but that didn’t stop him from making plans. Landis was hopeful that she had listened to his message and would meet him at Rocke feller Center.
After he had finished his errand, he made his way home and impatiently waited until evening. Landis thought about calling Brooklyn again, but didn’t. He wasn’t going to harass her. If Brooklyn didn’t ever want to see or speak to him again, he couldn’t blame her.
I should have told her about the agency business that first night before we were intimate, he thought to himself.
“That’s water under the bridge now,” he said aloud.
Landis busied himself with paperwork from the office, trying to pass the time and get his mind off Brooklyn. Although he hoped that she would show up, he also had to be realistic. There was a good chance that he would never see her again—at least in person.
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, it was time to leave. Landis gathered the purchase he had made earlier and tucked it in his pocket. He then put on his navy peacoat, hat, scarf and gloves and headed out the door.
The wind was brisk as he walked the long distance to Rockefeller Center. Landis opted not to take a taxi or the subway; he wanted to walk to clear his mind. Tonight could mark the beginning of something special or the end of a dream. Either way, he had to prepare himself for the worst.
The ice-skating rink at Rockefeller Center was extra crowded with people making their way to the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square, as well as skaters whizzing by on the ice and people milling about taking in the holiday sights before they were gone. Landis stood in front of the restaurant—their designated spot—and waited impatiently. Five minutes after the appointed time she hadn’t arrived, so he walked around looking through the crowd, but he didn’t see her. He checked his watch; it was 11:55 p.m.
Landis went back to the restaurant and paced back and forth. He checked his watch again. He quickly dashed inside on the off chance she was there, but she was nowhere in sight.
I guess she’s not coming.
He sighed heavily. Midnight was closing in, and he didn’t want to be in the crowd alone when the clock struck midnight, so he slumped his shoulders and hung his head. The love of his life was gone forever and he had to accept that fact. Landis turned and began walking back toward Fifth Avenue.
“Hey, wait up!”
Landis turned around, and running toward him was Brooklyn. He ran to meet her and scooped her up in his arms.
“Oh, baby! I’m so sorry! I…”
Brooklyn kissed him on the lips and then said, “No need to explain. I talked to Malcolm and he cleared everything up. I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to explain at the reception.”
“It’s all my fault. I should have been up front with you from the start. Please believe that I wasn’t trying to use our relationship to win you as a client.”
“I do believe you. Please forgive me for overreacting.”
As they were talking, they heard the crowd begin to chant.
“Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…HAPPY NEW YEAR!”
Landis and Brooklyn embraced and kissed for what seemed like minutes. He released her, dropped down on one knee, reached in his pocket and took out a tiny box.
“Brooke Lynn Samuel
s, will you marry me?”
Brooklyn stared down at him with her mouth agape and tears rolling down her face.
“I wasn’t expecting this, but yes! YES! I’ll marry you!”
The people around them began cheering as Landis placed the ring on Brooklyn’s finger. He stood, wrapped her in a warm bear hug and then gave her a tender kiss on the lips.
“Come on. Let’s go home.”
* * * * *
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin ebook. Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
ISBN-13: 9781460340325
Hot Christmas Nights
Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright
holders of the individual works as follows:
Tuscan Nights
Copyright © 2014 by Farrah Roybiskie
Christmas Tango
Copyright © 2014 by Terra Little
Tied Up in Tinsel
Copyright © 2014 by Danita Carter
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
Hot Christmas Nights Page 24
