Chapter 24
CARA
Before I’d driven away from my parents’ house, my brother had promised he would deliver my luggage to my hotel. So, when the room phone rang like I was stuck in a bad eighties’ movie, I knew the reason.
“Miss Spencer, your brother is here to see you,” the man at the front desk told me.
“Please send him up.”
A few minutes later, Jake knocked and I pulled open the door.
“Ta da!” He said as he rolled my suitcase inside the room and handed me my backpack.
“Finally, my computer! Now I can edit my photo shoots and get my posts ready for the day after tomorrow.” I stepped back. “Would you like to come in? I’m willing to spring for drinks from the mini bar.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, there’s somewhere I need to be.”
My heart sank. Being alone for the holiday was harder than I’d thought it would be. “Sure.”
“But I did bring you a consolation prize.” Jake grinned and stepped sideways.
“Merry Christmas.” Nick stood in front of me, in the doorway of my hotel room, wearing his date clothes.
My heart was in my throat when I tried to speak. “What are you...?”
“I told you you’d be the first person I’d call if my line of work changed, but it turns out your phone is broken.”
“Does this mean...?”
He nodded. “Officially retired. Not from the ATF, but from my other job.”
I threw myself into his arms. When he wrapped himself around me, I melted into a puddle of Christmas joy. Jake took that as his cue to leave. He gave me a double thumbs up and a huge grin, then headed for the elevator.
I reluctantly pulled away from Nick. “You’d better get in here before we get arrested for public indecency or something.”
“Planning to do something indecent to me?” He winked. “I can’t wait.” He hadn’t moved out of the doorway. “But first, I come bearing gifts.”
I clapped my hands together. “As in Christmas gifts? Is Nick the Grinch a newly converted Christmas lover?”
“I don’t know about that, but yes, I have Christmas gifts. You’ll need to close your eyes.”
I wasn’t sure I should trust him, but worst-case scenario, I’d open them to find him naked. Come to think of it, that would be best case-scenario. I closed my eyes and waited.
“Okay, now open them.”
I did, and found him holding a backpack with a plastic bubble. “Is that a—”
“Cat carrier. For your new addition to the family.”
I took it gently from his hands. It was very light. I peered into it. “There’s no kitten.”
“About that. Kat and her husband have a theory about animals picking their people, so the rest of this gift will be me taking you to the animal shelter of your choice so you can be selected by just the right kitten.”
I put down the carrier and hugged him again. “Thank you. I love it.”
“But wait, there’s more!” he whispered.
“What?”
He closed the room door behind him, then pulled a folded-up paper from his pocket and handed it to me.
I wondered if it was a copy of his resignation letter as I unfolded it. “A two-night booking at the Clause Towne Inn!”
“Jake told me what you want to do with Mother Tree. I called Buddy and Sue on the way here. They’re thrilled to have you bring the piece and install it, but they do expect to pay you for it.”
“I can’t let them do that.”
“I told them you’d say that,” Nick said. “They were pretty insistent. I decided I’d let the three of you fight it out when we get there.”
I blinked back tears. They and the other locals in Klosston had loved my art in a way my parents would never be able to do.
The realization didn’t bother me as much as I’d thought it would.
Maybe my parents would never understand my work, but I no longer needed that from them.
Other people were touched by my art and more were finding it every day.
“We’ll drive a rental car there, then pick up your car to drive back to California,” Nick finished.
“Another road trip? That’s like a third gift. And I didn’t get you anything.”
“There is one gift you could give me.”
I bit my lip and waggled my eyebrows at him.
“Okay, two. The second gift is that I want to go with you to your parents’ house tomorrow. Jake says they’re ready to apologize to you. And I think if you skip your family Christmas, you’ll regret it.”
“I don’t know,” I answered. I was worried about regrets, too, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to forgive them.
“Think of it this way,” he said. “It will give me a chance to get in their good graces. Apparently, they’re under the impression I’m some kind of fuck boi?”
“Ah, Jake told you about the Riley fiasco.” At least that saved me from having to repeat it.
“He told me you kicked your ex’s ass around the block. I’m sorry I missed that.”
I nodded. “You would have loved it. It was pretty awesome. But how, exactly, are you going to win over my parents, Mr. Fuck Boi?”
He pulled me into his arms. “I know you think you’re going to annoy me with that nickname, but I think I like it even better than when you call me Geezer.
And step one of making them adore me is making Christmas breakfast for your family.
Summer was right when she said I’m the kind of man who will make breakfast for you. ”
“You overheard that?”
“One of servers did, and she passed it along to me.”
“Why am I just learning about this?”
“Because if I’d told you sooner, I would’ve had to admit that I’ve been having fantasies about serving you breakfast in bed and then eating it off you since the night I met you. Oh, that can be a third gift for me. Let me do that the day after tomorrow.”
I leaned against him. “You really are dedicated to living up to your new nickname.” I sighed. “Fine, breakfast at my parents’ house in the morning. But you know what you have to do to make me want breakfast.”
He swept me into his arms and laid me on the bed. “I’m aware.” He stripped off his suit coat and shirt, then joined me. He nuzzled my neck and whispered in my ear. “Merry Christmas, baby. Naughty Nick is home for the holidays.”