Chapter 27
MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND WHITE LIES
DECLAN
Claire has been acting weird.
And while, yes, Claire was always a little weird, this was different. A different kind of weird. A weird that was making me uncomfortable.
This morning, she wouldn’t look me in the eye when I left for a work meeting.
She kissed my cheek and kept her head down as she fumbled around the coffee machine, flustered.
Then, this afternoon when I got home she was locked in her room.
She acted like she was just getting ready, but I knew something was off.
The Christmas gala was notorious for being an event that the entire company wanted an invite for.
The food was phenomenal, and the gift bags were worth more than my annual salary.
There were rumors that Paul Driscoff was going to gift everyone electric cars this year.
That might seem ridiculous, but part of me wondered if there was some truth to those rumors because Paul was that extra.
Normally, I just wore a tux to this party, but tonight I spiced it up a little by replacing the boring black jacket with a maroon velvet one. It might not seem like a big deal, but this was the most festive I’d ever dressed on this trip, and I did it strictly to make my girl smile.
Heels clicked on the hardwood floor, the tell tale sign that Claire was coming up the stairs. I loved this part of the night. It felt like my own private fashion show where I got to hype her up and take her in before anyone else.
When Claire stepped onto the landing, my heart stopped. Her dress was a deep green, complementing her olive skin. The material draped around her neck and plunged in a deep v between her breasts. The skirt was floor length and had a slit up her entire right hip. She looked like a goddess.
Everything from her gold shoes, to her dress, to the perfectly loose low bun in her hair was flawless.
The funniest part about this was that Claire insisted she didn’t fit in with anyone on this trip, but she was wrong. She was the most stunning woman here. What she had on the other women, was a kind soul on top of natural beauty. She actually cared about people which made her invincible.
“You look phenomenal, Bear,” I said, looping one arm around her waist and tugging her into me. Whatever bad mood she was in, I was about to charm her out of it.
“Thanks.” Her smile was small, timid.
I cupped her jaw and tilted her head so she was forced to look me directly in the eye. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I’m fine.”
“That’s bullshit, Claire. You’re working overtime to not look at me right now.”
She took a step back and smoothed her dress down. She bit her lip and her eyes went glassy, like if she spoke her mind, she would burst into tears.
“What is it? You can tell me.”
She looked at me, wetness gathering as she tried to swallow it down. Finally, she relented and opened her clutch. She pulled something out and walked toward me.
“Sarah gave me these to return to you after you left them last night.”
I froze. I was very drunk last night, but I was almost positive that those cufflinks were left in my suit jacket pocket. The suit jacket that I didn’t return home with.
Fuck.
“This isn’t what it looks like.”
“Then what is it, Declan? Because it looks like you slept with your ex-girlfriend and she gave me these to hurt me.”
“I understand that it totally looks like that, but it isn’t. I did not sleep with Sarah. I missed you so much last night that I left without my jacket. I left it sitting on the back of a barstool with these in one of the pockets.”
Her eyes danced between the cufflinks in my hand and my face, like she was trying to decipher if I was telling the truth.
“Baby, I swear to God. Nothing happened with Sarah.”
It was a white lie. I didn’t want anything to have happened with Sarah and I feel like that is the main point here. She assumed that I wanted to sleep with her—I don’t.
Telling Claire about the kiss now felt like bad timing. I’d let her mood settle for the night and tell her in the morning when the storm had passed and we were alone.
We just had to get past this party and then we had two whole days together to figure it out.
“So nothing happened? Really?”
I reached for her, lacing our fingers together and running my thumb over her knuckles.
“Nothing happened,” I insisted.
She nodded before leaning on her toes and kissing me. She moved to pull back, but I stopped her, leaning into the kiss and nipping at her bottom lip. She giggled, finally breaking into a smile.
“There’s my girl,” I said against her mouth.
She rolled her eyes. “Come on, we’re going to be late.”
We walked hand in hand to the main lodge. When we stepped inside, we were hit with the powerful smell of pine and cinnamon. I helped Claire strip off her coat and handed it to the doorman before offering my elbow.
Of all of the events we’d attended, this was the one I was most excited for her to experience. There was no expense spared on holiday decorations, themed drinks, and classic holiday foods.
As Claire stepped into the main event space, she gasped. There were three Christmas trees arranged, and flawlessly decorated. Garlands hung from the ceiling and were covered in warm Christmas lights. Every table was decked out in red and green with gold tapered candles and holly.
A tray of martini glasses appeared in front of us. They were filled with a pale red liquid and had a sugared rim.
“White cranberry martini?” The server asked.
“Thank you,” Claire said as we both picked one up.
Normally I was more of a bourbon guy, but a themed occasion called for a themed beverage.
Claire took a sip as her eyes twinkled. She was the most stunning woman in this room.
I wrapped my arm around her waist so we were chest to chest.
“Are you happy?” I asked.
She took another sip of her drink as her eyes met mine. “I am.”
“Good.” I placed a kiss on her cheek as a group of girls approached us to whisk Claire away.
They fell into laughter as they walked across the room.
I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect any of this.
Claire Bridelli was the girl who was right in front of my face for years. If I’d just taken the time to get to know her, I could’ve saved years of wasted time on women who never cared to know the real me.
Apparently, I was too busy with my head shoved up my ass to realize the obvious.
As I stood there, completely in awe of this woman it was like a light bulb went off above my head.
I was falling for her.
I was punch you in the face, makes you stupid in love with her.
And I was going to tell her. She might very well freak the fuck out. I mean, the girl was terrified of real intimacy. She lived most of her life thinking she was boring because she was afraid to shine.
I would spend the rest of my life showing her just how bright she was.