Chapter 10
Cole
Ispent the day helping out wherever I could.
I wasn’t exactly cut out for the management side of things, but I shoveled snow, hauled luggage, and mopped floors.
Someone even tipped me twenty bucks, which I used to buy the front-counter staff hot chocolate.
My mind kept replaying this morning’s conversation with Holly.
She was more hurt than I expected, not that I hadn’t given her every reason to be.
I just hoped she could understand why I’d done it and forgive me.
She sat through my whole explanation and only left when her sister arrived.
That had to be a good sign. I’d be holding my breath until eight o’clock tonight.
When things slowed down at the front desk, I’d gone home to shower and change then sat down to dinner.
My sister and my dad took a quick break from business long enough for turkey, mashed potatoes, and all the fixings.
They were both married to their work. I was glad they had found something they loved even if I didn’t share it.
I was even more glad they were willing to run the place so I could do my own thing.
By seven-thirty in the evening, I was pacing the lobby. I’d never felt more like I was going to explode in my life. Minutes ticked by, and every time I heard a footstep, I turned toward the stairs. Then I heard a sound I didn’t expect in all the splendor and opulence of a luxury hotel.
“Ow, fuck.”
I turned to the stairs just in time to have a falling body land on me. I hit the ground hard, my elbow smarting against the floor. “Ouch.”
The good news was I didn’t think anything was broken. The really good news was that the woman who had landed on me was the one I’d been waiting for. “Holly, are you okay?”
She pushed herself up with one hand, her face inches from mine. “Oh, I’m just swell. Decided to wear my sexy heels to come down here and tell you I want to give us a shot. Instead I fell right into your arms.”
I banded my arms around her curves and held her close. “So you forgive me?”
Her face softened. “Of course I do. After all the things I’ve put you through, how could I not?”
“That doesn’t excuse me lying to you.” I tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
“You’re right, but I’m choosing to forgive you. We let an embarrassing moment drive us apart before. I don’t want to lose you again. I know the kind of man you are.”
We had started to attract a crowd. I couldn’t bring myself to take my hands off her long enough to stand up. Instead, I lifted my head and kissed her, the tension in my chest finally leaving me when I felt her kiss me back.
“My god, Holly, you are a hazard and a handful, and I want you for the rest of my life, if you’ll have me.”
“That would be the best Christmas present I’ve ever received.”