It Started at Christmas...

by Jo McNally

  He nodded and she split the bagel and dropped it into the toaster. Her phone started ringing in her back pocket.

  She did a little victory dance when the call ended, then had to explain it when she saw Blake’s surprise.

  “Your desk is ready! There’s a guy in town who builds furniture, and I talked him into refinishing that antique desk I found in the attic.” The heavily carved mahogany desk had been buried under boxes and drop cloths when she’d gone exploring up there. As soon as she uncovered it, she knew it would be perfect for Blake’s office. “This project is almost done!”

  Was it just her, or had an awkward silence fallen like a giant wet blanket over the kitchen? Blake shrugged, ate the last of his bagel and grabbed his travel mug of coffee. “Sounds great, babe.”

  So apparently it was just Amanda who felt the end racing at them. At her. He started to walk past, then stopped and gave her a fierce hug and kiss.

  “Relax. The house is wrapping up, but you and I are nowhere near done. I told you I want your help with the resorts, and I’ve got plans, baby.”

  The corner of Blake’s mouth tipped up into a crooked grin. “I need to go make some calls, but let’s go into town for pizza when Zach gets home. We’ll have a family night, okay?”

  The words were right there on her lips when he kissed her and walked away. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him. Soon.

  * * *

  Blake’s best friend let out a long, low whistle on the other end of the phone.

  “Let me get this straight—your interior designer pretended to be someone else to get the job. And instead of firing her, you’re...dating?”

  Blake didn’t answer. Amanda was walking down to the lakeshore with a warm sweater draped over her shoulders. He’d lost track of the conversation when she stopped to look back at the house. He doubted she could see him standing at the living room windows, but her shoulders straightened nonetheless. Halcyon was working its magic on her once again. He couldn’t claim to understand it, but he knew she got strength from this pink castle.

  “Blake? You still with me?”

  Andy McCormack’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Yeah, man. Sorry. I was watching my girl walking outside.”

  “She must be something pretty special to pierce your armor.”

  “She’s tough, Andy. Strong. Beautiful.”

  Andy laughed. “Oh, man, you’re a goner!”

  They’d been best friends since meeting at Harvard and were investors in each other’s companies. Andy’s company, McCormack Security, provided bodyguards, security systems and planning to companies and celebrities all over the world. Jamal had worked for Andy before coming to head up security at Gallant Lake.

  Blake settled back in his chair. Amanda was walking along the shore now. She bent to pick up a stone, sending it skipping across the smooth surface of the lake.

  “Okay, clearly you’re not ready to talk about your new girl. What did the preservation society say when you told them you scrapped the casino plans? Have things calmed down any?”

  The episodes of vandalism were ticking up in frequency and intensity, although the official members of the group claimed they had nothing to do with it.

  “I haven’t told them yet. I have some investors that aren’t too happy about it, so I want to be sure I smooth those feathers before it goes public. And I need to have answers for the locals who wanted those jobs. I’ll have to convince them we can create new jobs by renovating the resort and getting businesses to improve downtown Gallant Lake to draw in more people.”

  “And your family? What are they going to say when you bring her to Christmas dinner?”

  Blake scoffed. “As if I’d sit down for Christmas dinner with any of them. They were never officially part of the casino. Father wanted too big a piece of the pie, so we never signed a deal. I’m not sure Nathan knows that, though.” His brother seemed to assume the casino was a family project, if only because it was located in New York. But assuming was never a good business practice. Blake didn’t want to discuss his family, though, and he knew the one topic Andy was always ready to talk about these days—his new fiancée.

  “You still planning a Barbados wedding? Speaking of which, when do I get to meet the woman crazy enough to agree to marry you?” His friend met a feisty Southern girl while on vacation a few months ago, and Andy fell like a ton of bricks. He’d popped the question before Blake had a chance to meet her.

  “Barbados next spring. Caroline’s coming to the Builders Ball in New York. Are you bringing Amanda?”

  Damn. He hadn’t even thought about the annual must-attend event for every real estate investor on the East Coast. Would Amanda want to be in that coldhearted pack of overachieving snobs? Would it trigger a panic attack?

  “I’m not sure.” He cleared his throat and changed the subject again. “I still can’t believe you’re getting married, Andy.”

  “Believe it, my friend. I’ve never been happier. And it seems to me like you’ve got it pretty bad for this Amanda woman.”

  Blake shook his head. Yeah, he had it bad, all right. But marriage? It was way too soon to be going there, even if Andy and Caroline had gotten engaged barely six weeks after meeting. He ignored the comment and finished up the conversation. He wasn’t ready to discuss his feelings for Amanda yet. Not even with his best friend. Not until he’d sorted them out for himself.

  * * *

  Blake leaned against the doorway to the living room the following Sunday evening and smiled. Amanda and Zachary were on the sofa together, watching a very loud movie about cars that transformed into alien robots. There was a bowl of popcorn between them, and they were giggling as they snuggled under a soft wool blanket.

  Andy was right—Amanda had pierced his well-worn armor somehow. Torn down his carefully built wall. Thoroughly trashed his No Surprises Lifestyle. His goals had swung sharply from business success at all costs to keeping her happy and safe every day of her life.

  And she’d done it without even breaking a sweat. First she agitated him to his breaking point and beyond, then she reeled him in for the kill with her brutal honesty and wisdom. He was in awe of her. She’d trusted her body to him in spite of her past, in spite of her fears. And now he wanted nothing more than to be with her every moment. He’d protect her with everything he had.

  His stomach twisted. Relationships had always been a losing proposition for him. They were never worth the energy invested. Sure, people tossed around the L word like it meant something, but he’d learned differently time and time again. Why even pretend it was real? Look at the disastrous track record his family had in relationships. It was like they were cursed.

  That old argument, the one he’d been clinging to for so long, suddenly sounded hollow. It was different with Amanda. There was a glimmer of something inside of him that had simply never existed until she came waltzing into his house. Was it hope?

  Zach threw a piece of popcorn at Amanda and she caught it in her mouth, making the boy laugh. Tiffany’s little boy. Zachary was Blake’s chance to do things right. To make up for the way he let his sister down. His parents should have loved her better, damn it. If no one else, they should have loved their beautiful baby girl. He’d tried to love her enough for everyone, but he couldn’t do it. It was too late for him to save Tiffany, but it wasn’t too late for Zach. The kid had his mother’s sense of humor. Her laugh. Her heart. He’d taken care of Amanda while Blake was halfway around the world being a jackass.

  Warmth blossomed inside of him, as if he could actually feel his heart growing. He thought of that Christmas cartoon character whose heart grew so much with love that it burst right out of his chest. Yeah, this woman had done something to him, all right. It was a mind-boggling turn of events. He’d teased her earlier about remodeling him along with the house, and in truth, she’d done just that.

  She looked up and saw him sta
nding there, then smiled and tilted her head questioningly. He pushed away from the wall and walked over, sitting on the floor in front of her and Zach. He handed her one of the wineglasses he’d been carrying. She massaged the top of his head absently with her fingertips as the good robots started defeating the bad robots on screen. He leaned his head back against her knee and sighed.

  This is what love felt like. He was in love with her. He was in love with the woman who challenged him and changed him and made him whole. He was in love with Amanda Lowery.

  He was standing at the edge of a cliff, and the drop was shrouded in fog. Would he fly if he stepped off? Would he crash to the earth? It didn’t matter. His heart had already leaped, so he was going to have to follow. Life as he’d known it was over. And he was okay with that.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Blake was later than usual getting to the office the next morning, and he was feeling pretty damned good about it. He was late because Amanda insisted he drive Zach to school. She insisted because Zach missed the bus. Zach missed the bus because they all overslept. They overslept because he’d woken Amanda sometime before dawn with a kiss in a place she’d never been kissed before. Yeah—totally worth being late. Over the past few days, he’d discovered sharing a bed with Amanda was worth pretty much anything.

  Her sharp intake of breath when she’d woken had been quickly replaced with soft moans of pleasure while he’d explored every inch of her. The sun had been just beginning to rise when they’d finally dozed off in a tangle of arms and legs. By the time they’d woken again, there’d been no way Zach was catching the bus. She’d pretended to be upset, but he was pretty sure that was more embarrassment than anything else; as if a ten-year-old was going to guess what made Uncle Blake and Miss Amanda so very sleepy and smiley.

  A soft knock at his office door brought him back to the here and now. He waved Julie in.

  “Mr. Randall...”

  “Julie, you’re one of Amanda’s closest friends. I think you can call me ‘Blake’ and still maintain our professional relationship during working hours.”

  Her brows lifted in surprise.

  “I think so, too, Blake. Thank you. I just wanted to remind you about the conference call. I’ve got it set up on your line, and the Miami management staff is standing by.”

  “Hmm? Oh, of course. I almost forgot.” He was the one who’d scheduled the call to discuss the upcoming celebrity wedding in Miami. Even after the call started, he couldn’t stop thinking about how Amanda looked in the moonlight last night, golden hair flamed out against the pillows as she whispered his name.

  When he heard a sharp knock on his closed office door a few hours later, he figured it was Julie again. He couldn’t have been more surprised, or more disappointed, at who opened the door when he called out.

  His father and brother walked in without bothering to greet him. Nathan’s eyes narrowed as he looked around the large office, taking in every custom detail as well as the panoramic view of Gallant Lake and the mountains beyond it through the windows that lined one wall. There was a reason Nathan had never been invited to the resort, and this was it. For all of his own personal wealth, Nathan was openly jealous of Blake’s self-made success. Blake had broken free of their father’s influence, and Nathan never had the backbone to do the same. Their father glanced around the room dismissively, clearly unimpressed.

  Blake felt a sharp pain in his temple at the sight of his so-called family standing in his private office. The headache prompted a blunt question.

  “What the hell are you two doing here?”

  He didn’t doubt for a minute that they were here to make trouble. His father took one of the small chairs in front of Blake’s desk. Nathan stood by the windows, hands in his pockets, and barely acknowledged Blake’s presence. But he gave away his weakness when his eyes kept darting to their father for validation. It was sad, really.

  He might be five years older than Blake, but Nathan was clueless if he thought he was ever going to win respect from their father. First, Edwin Randall’s respect was meaningless, because the man was clueless. Second, he was too self-absorbed to acknowledge anyone else’s accomplishments, even those of his own sons.

  “Father. Nathan.” Blake nodded in their general direction. “Let me rephrase in case you didn’t understand the first time. Kindly explain your presence on my property.”

  His father harrumphed. “We’re here to discuss the casino. You brought this investment proposal to us, and I’m not liking the rumors I’m hearing. This type of gamesmanship is beneath us all, son.”

  Blake just shook his head. “It was a proposal. Not a done deal. No signatures.”

  Nathan finally joined the conversation, taking a seat next to their father.

  “Rumor has it you’re backing out of the casino plans, even though you nearly have the votes you need in Albany. We did our homework after you brought the idea to us. If you’re really out, then we’re in. We want to buy the resort, but if you won’t sell, we’re prepared to build a casino elsewhere in town.”

  Randall men rarely laughed, which was probably why Nathan and his father looked so stunned when Blake started to. Loudly. And for a good long time.

  His father sputtered for a minute, then stood, trying and failing to appear patriarchal. “If the rumors are just a smoke screen and you’re still planning on building the casino, you’d better plan on having us as partners, son. If not, we’ll build our own.”

  Blake stopped chuckling and rose to his feet. They stared hard into each other’s eyes until his father’s gaze finally broke away in defeat.

  “Good luck with that, gentlemen.”

  Nathan jumped to his feet, placing his hands on Blake’s desk and leaning forward with a scowl. He was doing his best to look and sound menacing.

  “You can’t stop us. The community wants the jobs. You’ll cut us in, or we’ll just set up shop on the other side of town.”

  “Really?” Blake casually stacked some papers on his desk, as if he was bored with the conversation. “I happen to know who owns the land on the other side of town, and he’s not interested in selling.”

  Father looked confused, but Nathan’s thin smile showed no signs of surprise.

  “So it’s true. You’re the one buying up all the property around here. You think you’re so clever, convincing everyone you’re the guy in the white hat. Setting up house in that ostentatious castle. Sending Zachary to the local school. Screwing your designer.”

  Blake’s pretense of nonchalance ended at those final three words. His hands curled into fists, crumpling paper as they did. Nathan blanched, but kept talking.

  “Yes, we know all about your little girlfriend. Did you know Amanda Lowery lost her last job because there were rumors she was committing fraud? She was unemployed and nearly homeless when she set her hooks into you. And you want that gold digger raising Zachary?” Nathan’s confidence was building again, his smile thin and threatening. “I wonder what a family court judge would think of your choices for Zachary? Maybe Michaela and I should seek custody, just to protect the poor boy. Think about that before you make any decisions about Gallant Lake, little brother.”

  Blake met Nathan’s pale-eyed stare without blinking. His body might be frozen in place, but in his mind, he was pounding his brother’s face into a bloody pulp. And maybe someday he’d do just that. But not today. It would be a show of weakness, and he wouldn’t give them the pleasure. He could deal with Nathan and Michaela. They were serpents with teeth, but without venom.

  “Stay away from my family, Nathan. You and Father both. Get the hell out of my resort. Stay the hell out of Gallant Lake, and stop wasting your breath on empty threats.” He leaned forward and felt a jolt of satisfaction when Nathan backed away. “Don’t you ever so much as speak Amanda’s or Tiffany’s names in front of me again. You’ve never been fit to lick the dirt off the bottom of their s
hoes.”

  He walked out of his own office, ignoring his brother’s shouted vows to destroy him.

  There was only one person capable of doing that, and she was sitting in a pink castle at the top of the hill.

  * * *

  Amanda was full of restless energy after breakfast. The workers were pounding away in the office, and that crew always made her uptight. Sure enough, there was Russ hunched over the table saw by the windows, as if he was trying to make his large form look smaller. As usual, he glanced up at her and glowered when he made eye contact. He always seemed so angry. He’d been friends with the guy Bobby fired for ranting about the casino, so it made sense that he was just as opposed to it and the Randall family. But he didn’t seem to mind taking their money. She walked out into the main hall, telling herself she was being paranoid.

  Maybe it was the conversation she’d had with Zach’s teacher yesterday. She’d gone in for a conference, and noticed some anti-casino pamphlets on the corner of his desk. Thinking of Blake’s promise that the resort would stay as is, she’d told Bruce he didn’t need to print any more flyers or signs. She’d told him she’d heard a very reliable rumor that the casino plans were dead. But Bruce had been skeptical.

  “No offense, Amanda,” he’d said, “but it’s hard to believe that when Blake Randall is still buying up property all over the county. I don’t think he can be trusted. He just closed on the Maguire farm last week.”

  She hadn’t argued, since Blake said the news of the casino being stopped wasn’t official yet. There could be a dozen reasons why he’d be buying property, if he even was. It wouldn’t be the first time some wild rumor about him had been spread around town. But she couldn’t shake the conversation.

  She had no reason in the world to be so edgy after the way Blake had woken her in the wee hours of the morning. Good Lord, what that man could do with his mouth! She blushed, even though no one was around. Sizzling sex was no excuse for sleeping that late. Or maybe it was. She ran her fingers back and forth on the mantel, lost in thoughts of what she might do to him tonight to return the favor...