(I'm No) Saint Nick: Stone Bros. (Pure Escapes)

by Kit Kyndall

  I leave the elevator and reenter the daycare a few moments later. Angela clearly must have told Penny, because they both give me sympathetic looks. “What happened?” asks Angela.

  I look at her for a moment and look away. “I’m afraid I couldn’t get through to him about why it’s crucial not to relocate the daycare.” I don’t mention anything personal, and neither one of them asks me about it.

  Either they have discretion, or it’s obvious I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t even want to think about it, yet I can’t help thinking about him throughout the day. Each time I do, it makes my chest squeeze in pain, and I’m forced to admit I was starting to fall in love with Nick. It hurts to realize he’s not the man I thought he was.

  6

  Nick

  I can’t stop thinking about Holly or her obvious disappointment in me. I don’t understand what the problem is though. It would be different if I was trying to shut down the daycare. I’m not trying to deprive people of the necessary convenience of having the daycare. I just want to move it offsite, so it doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb in our pristine, upscale building.

  I’m even willing to fully cover the cost of daycare to compensate for any inconvenience for the parents. That was in my notes sent around to the various department heads, including the director of the daycare, Angela Carson. I truly don’t understand why Holly is blowing this out of proportion.

  I’m lost in thought when my door opens. I can’t help hoping for a moment that it’s Holly, come back to discuss this like adults instead of running out like a hurt child. I can’t hide a sigh of disappointment when it turns out to be my brother, Oz, instead. “What do you want?”

  He blinks, looking startled. “What do I want? I came by to discuss the Tierney report with you, like you asked me to Friday afternoon.”

  I nod, gesturing for him to take a seat at the desk across from me. “Of course. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just distracted.”

  He grins. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with that pretty little elf who disappeared from the Christmas party about the same time you did, would it?”

  I shouldn’t be surprised at his perceptiveness, but I’m a little nonplussed that he noticed. “Yeah, maybe. I thought things were…” I trail off, not sure how to proceed.

  He frowns. “She didn’t end up going home with you?”

  I lean back in my chair. “She did. That’s the thing that confuses me. I really wanted her to, and I want her to stay. She agreed to, but now she’s rescinded that.”

  Oz frowns. “You asked some chick you just met to move in with you?”

  I scowl at him. “Holly’s not just some chick. How can I make you understand…?” I trail off with a shrug. “You know how Mom always said we’d find The One someday? Like how she found Dad?” At my brother’s nod, I say, “I think she’s It for me. But now she’s run away.”

  “You probably did something to send her running,” says Oz with unapologetic frankness. “So, what happened?”

  “She seemed pissed off to learn I was Nick Stone. You’d think most women would be appreciative of that fact, but she found it abhorrent, apparently.”

  Oz’s eyes widen. “That is a strange reaction. Most women would be thrilled to find out the guy falling for them is rich.”

  “She’s not like most women. Holly’s unique and special, but she’s angry that I want to move the daycare.”

  Oz winces. “Does she have a kid in the daycare?”

  I shake my head. “No. She just works there. I don’t understand the big deal.”

  Oz groans. “Of course, you don’t. You don’t have kids.”

  I look at him. “You don’t have any either, so why are you trying to sound like a condescending expert?”

  Oz shrugs. “I dated a single mom for almost a year, if you remember? Having the daycare offsite is inconvenient for the parents. It’ll cause them to miss out on time with their kids. I told you from the start it’s a bad idea.”

  “It doesn’t fit our aesthetic.”

  Oz snorts. “Stuff the aesthetic, Nick. Do the right thing and let the kids stay onsite in the daycare downstairs. If you won’t to do it for the kids and all our employees who have kids, do it for your own sake. You can still win over this Holly that you seem so crazy about if you unbend on the issue.”

  With those words, Oz passes over the file folder. “Here’s the report. I’ll leave you to think it over, to decide if you want to be a complete dumbass, or if you want to do a good thing, regardless of the reasons you’re doing it. We can discuss the Tierney report later.” After that, he gets to his feet and walks to the door. “Don’t be a dumbass,” he says as he opens the door before closing it behind him a moment later.

  I wince at the way his voice carries, wondering how many other people in the offices nearby heard my brother advise me not to be a dumbass. I can’t argue with him though, and I groan as I realize I’ve been too attached the idea of making the building conforming to worry about the fallout it would have on other people. No wonder he thinks I’m a dumbass. It’s because I am.

  In an instant, my thinking has switched, and I realize what a stupid idea it was. It’s even stupider that I almost risked alienating Holly just to have a new tenant that matched the rest of our exclusive clientele and fit with our business model.

  With a shake of my head, I get to my feet and walk across my office. I’m at the executive elevators a few seconds later, and I take one down to the first floor.

  It feels like chewing on glass as I take those last few steps across the lobby to the daycare. I’ve never been all that good at admitting when I’m wrong, but I know I’m wrong in this situation.

  Straightening my shoulders, I open the door and step into the daycare. I observe for a moment, seeing the controlled chaos of the various children engaged in what appears to be free play. The employees are nearby, guiding but not overly interfering.

  I hope that means Holly will have a moment to talk. I catch the director’s eye. I assume she’s Angela Carson, because her picture matches the file I looked at this morning. “Where’s Holly?”

  She lifts a thumb and directs it down the hall. “She’s in the infant room today.” She’s giving me a speculative look, but she doesn’t ask anything. Apparently, she has a sense of self-preservation, because I wouldn’t take kindly to being asked about my private life.

  I stride past her down the hallway, quickly finding the infant room. There’s a big window that reveals it, likely to allow parents to see their children without waking them. On the other side of the hallway, there’s a similar window that reveals slightly older children. Toddlers, I think they’d be called? I don’t know stages of development well enough, but I recognize the woman working in that room as the other elf at Friday night’s Christmas party.

  I turn to the baby room and try to open the door, but it’s locked. It must be a security feature, so I tap on the window. Holly looks up, and when she sees me, she grimaces. She’s frowning so hard I’m almost surprised the glass doesn’t shatter.

  I half-expect her to turn away from me and ignore my request to come in, but after a moment, she strides to the door with a baby on her shoulder and opens it for me with a wave of her security badge. I slip inside, and the door closes and locks behind me immediately.

  Standing in front of her, I feel awkward. It’s even more awkward to see her holding a baby, and the reason it’s awkward is because I suddenly have the image of her holding my baby, and an intense wave of longing sweeps over me. That’s a complete shock, because until this moment, I never cared if I had children or not. I leaned toward remaining child-free, but I want Holly to have my babies. “I love you.” I blurt that out without any finesse or tact.

  She takes a step back, frowning. “No, you don’t.”

  I take a step forward. “I know how I feel. I love you.” I’m insistent on that, because it’s a fact.

  She frowns. “You don’t know me well enough, and I don’t know you at all.�
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  I heave a sigh. “Don’t be so dramatic. I’m the same man you met and started falling for. Do you deny you’re falling in love with me?”

  She glowers, looking grumpy she shakes her head. She doesn’t verbally confirm anything, but it’s written all over her expression that she’s falling for me and isn’t happy about it.

  “You not the same guy though. You’re also Nick Stone. I didn’t realize that before. I need someone who’s compassionate and caring. You’re a CEOs, and you have no regard for the kids or the parents. I can’t be falling for someone like you.”

  I wince. “I understand your reluctance to do so. I also understand I’ve been an idiot about the whole thing. Between you and my brother, Oz, I’m set straight. I have no intention of moving the daycare offsite.”

  She frowns again. “You don’t have to do that on my account.”

  I heave a sigh. “Yes, I do. I’m trying to show you that I’m not a man without compassion. I want to be worthy of whatever you’re feeling for me. I don’t want you to hate that you love me.”

  She glares at me. “Who says I love you?” As she asks that, she lays down the baby in a crib and reaches for another one, taking it over to a changing table nearby. “You’re just assuming an awful lot, Mr. Stone.”

  I move behind her, acting unfairly by putting my arms around her and reminding her how she feels in my proximity. “You don’t have to say it for me to know. You agreed to stay with me.”

  “For a little while, until I find a place of my own.” She sounds a little breathless.

  I put my hands on her shoulders, cupping them gently so I don’t impede her ability to change the diaper of the baby on the table. “You aren’t the kind of woman who rushes into something like that. You told me yourself over the weekend that you went too fast with Peter, so you’re more cautious now. Based on that and my instincts, I’m confident you’re falling for me just like I’ve fallen for you.”

  “Nick—”

  I press on, determined to say what I need to before she can say something else that will ruin our chances. “I’m sorry that I hurt your feelings or made you doubt me with my plan to move the daycare, but I’m trying to listen and understand why it’s a bad idea. I’ve discarded the change. Will you please give me a second chance to prove that I can be a good person, someone whom you won’t feel bad about loving?”

  She hesitates for so long that I’m afraid she’s going to reject me or tell me to go away. Finally, after a long moment spent securing a new diaper, she turns to face me with the infant in her arms. “I don’t hate that I love you. I just didn’t like what I saw in you when it came to the daycare issue. I need to be certain you’re not like that all the time. Can you put people before profits?”

  I frown. “Of course I can. It’s not about profits. I’ve just been trying to keep the company running and build it up, to make my father proud. Stone International used to be everything to him, aside from my mom. When she died, he’s been lost for the last few years, and I guess I have it in my head that he’ll come back someday, and I want it to be the company he remembers, and something he can be proud of when he steps back into his role.”

  Her eyes widen, and her lips wobble for a moment. “You’re doing this to make your dad proud and have every intention of relinquishing control of the company if he returns and asks you to?”

  “Of course. I love my dad. I want him to be happy and proud.” I don’t try to hide or hold back anything. I need to be completely open and honest with her if I want to convince her I’m telling the truth, which I am.

  After a moment, she slumps against me, hugging me awkwardly with one arm while the other holds the baby against her. “Oh, you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that, Nick. It means you might be thoughtless in some ways, but you aren’t heartless. You were trying to make your dad proud by improving the business, not trying to shunt the kids away because you didn’t find them important.”

  She looks up at me, licking her lips for a moment. “I have fallen completely in love with you. It’s insane that it’s only been a few days, but it feels right.”

  “It certainly does.” I bend my head to kiss her, careful not to squash the child between us. “I love you, and I have from the moment I laid eyes on you. I want you to stay with me. Not just until you find a new apartment, but forever. Eventually, I want to marry you, whenever you’re ready. I’m ready right now,” I add with a hint of warning. “I’d sweep you off to Vegas right now to marry you, if you’d agree to it.”

  She laughs at me, but it’s a gentle sound. “I’m not quite there yet, Nick, but I’m in no hurry to leave either. I want to be with you and see what happens. I can see a long, happy future ahead of us.”

  “I see the same thing.” I kiss her again as I hold her close, thankful she’s giving me a second chance, and happy that she helped me realize I needed it.

  Epilogue

  Holly

  A Year Later

  I look around at the company Christmas party, and everything is going smoothly. Neither Nick nor I reprised our Santa and Elf roles this year. Jerry from Accounting is back, and he loves being Santa, so Nick didn’t mind relinquishing it to him.

  I couldn’t volunteer to be in elf without buying a new maternity dress for the costume, and I’d rather be at Nick’s side anyway. We’re still helping out with the kids though, handing out presents and directing them where to stand. I know after the children are seen to, we’ll do some mingling, and then we’ll go home.

  He’ll likely make love to me, and I’m looking forward to it. Being in the second trimester, I can’t get enough of him—not that I could before pregnancy either. Nick turns me into a wild animal, and I revel in every moment of it. I can’t imagine that will change after giving birth either.

  I lean against my husband, and he puts his hand on my stomach, which is large and firm. We have twin daughters growing inside, and I’m so thankful they aren’t triplets like the Stone brothers were. Their mother must’ve had quite a time of it, but she managed to raise three wonderful sons, though I can’t help thinking I’m the luckiest of the Stone daughters-in-law, since Nick is my husband. Oz and Noel are nice, but they can’t compare to my darling husband.

  Check out other Pure Escapes releases from Kit Kyndall. Here is a sampling of titles:

  Deluge

  Roughing It

  Temptation

  About Kit

  Kit Kyndall is the pen name USA Today bestselling author Kit Tunstall uses when writing contemporary romance and erotic romance. It’s simply a way to separate the myriad types of stories she writes so readers know what to expect with each “author.”

  Join Kit’s Mailing List to keep up with her new releases across all pen names.