Chapter 27
LUKE
After breakfast, I helped Clara finish the decorations in my apartment. She talked me through all the different sections of lights, but I quickly got lost. Her words became static in my brain.
I had no idea how she’d kept all these different strands organized, even with her “grid” system. To her credit, the cords were taped up and out of the way, but it was still chaos to me.
I couldn’t be mad about it. Clara beamed brighter than the lights while explaining the plan she had followed. Her excitement was enough to get me on board. Seeing her happy filled me with joy, and letting her go wild in my apartment was a small price to pay in exchange.
The decorations looked great once they were all up and lit. My penthouse felt like Christmas in a way it never had before. I suspected it wasn’t just the lights and the tinsel making it feel that way. Clara’s presence was the difference.
She was teaching me that everything meant more when you had someone to share it with. The string lights blinked brighter, the fireplace spread more warmth, and even the Christmas songs playing from her phone were less annoying.
I caught myself softly singing along to “Frosty the Snowman”. I shook my head and chuckled. Two weeks ago, nothing could have persuaded me to sing a Christmas carol. Had I really changed so much in such a short amount of time?
Clara was standing on her tiptoes, reaching up to bunch up some light strands that had gone droopy. Her sweater pulled up, showing off a strip of her back, and her ass looked round and juicy in her yoga pants. I wanted to drop to my knees and take a bite.
As if she could read my thoughts, Clara glanced back at me, busting me ogling her butt. She smiled at me and raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you with something?”
“You can help me with lots of things,” I said, waggling my brows at her.
“Uh huh.”
“I’ve been dying to ask you something,” I said to her, trying to pretend like I hadn’t been hypnotized by her curves.
“What is it?” She stopped fiddling with the lights to face me fully. “I’m not taking off my pants. Not until we’re finished.”
I laughed and nodded. “That’s good to know, but it’s not that.” I walked up to one of the twelve-foot nutcrackers and slapped it on the ass. “How the hell did you and Kerri get these giant nutcrackers in here? There’s no way they fit on the elevator.”
Clara laughed and came over to look up at one of the nutcrackers. “It seemed a shame to put them all in storage. I knew they would look amazing here.”
“Sure, but it’s twice your height.”
Clara grinned and shrugged. “Maybe I just asked them nicely and they walked right in here.”
I snorted. “Look, if anyone could sweet-talk some statues to life, I truly believe it would be you. But I have a feeling you’re messing with me.”
“Fine,” she said with sigh. “They come apart in sections. Sorry to ruin the magic.”
“You’ve already brought more than enough magic into my life,” I said, looking into her eyes. “I’m not sure I can take any more.”
Clara stepped toward me and put her hand on my chest. My heart started galloping immediately. It was difficult for me to think when she was so close to me. Difficult to breathe.
“There’s one thing your place is still missing,” she said. “But I needed to talk to you about it first.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you planning, Clara Snow? There’s nowhere for you to put a reindeer. And I’m not letting you bring home any elves you find out on the street. I might be open to putting up some mistletoe, but that’s just because I’ll take any excuse to kiss you.”
She groaned. “You don’t need an excuse to kiss me.”
So I did, parting her lips with my tongue. My hands grabbed two delicious handfuls of her ass which I had so recently been admiring. I was rock-hard instantly and I pressed my body into hers so she could feel what she did to me.
Clara shivered and pulled away as if it took real effort on her part. “While reindeer and elves all sound lovely, I was thinking of something a lot simpler. Something way more traditional and fundamental to any good Christmas decorations.”
“I’m drawing a blank,” I said, shrugging. Still looking in her eyes, I could barely remember my own name, much less figure out what she was talking about.
“You’re missing a Christmas tree,” Clara said simply.
My mouth opened in surprise. “Of course! How could I forget a tree?”
She laughed. “You didn’t decorate at all. So really, you didn’t forget the tree. I just didn’t bring one here.”
I grabbed her and pressed my forehead to hers. “How is that possible? You remembered everything else.”
“I didn’t forget,” she said, eyes never leaving mine. “I just wasn’t sure if you were a fake or real tree person.”
“Oh, I prefer a real tree, for sure. If you’re going to do something, do it all the way. Plus, I like the smell.”
“Well then, do you think it’s too late to go out and find a real tree?” she asked, hope in her voice.
I nodded. “We could go buy one. Sure. Or…”
“Or what?”
“I have a pretty crazy idea and I might need you to talk me out of it,” I said.
“Okay, well tell me first,” she said with a smile.
“I have a cabin upstate,” I said. “I never use it. I never have time. But I do now. And there’s a ton of real trees out there. We could spend a couple days out there and cut a fresh tree down ourselves. But that’s nuts, right?”
“Yes, but I’m not talking you out of that idea,” she said, hands gripping my shirt in excitement. “I’d love to go up there.”
“You won’t be mad to leave the city?” I asked. “I know you wanted to explore around here some more.”
“I would love for you to whisk me away to your private cabin in upstate New York. I mean, duh. Are you kidding me right now?” She yanked my shirt so my face came closer to hers. “You better not be kidding me.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “I’m not. We’ll go for a couple nights. Go pack something warm.”
“Okay.” She kissed me and ran off to her room, cheering with excitement.
I loved that I could make her happy like that. Making a woman come was hot, but making a woman I cared about smile was deeply satisfying in a way that no sex ever could be. I didn’t know if what I felt for Clara was love, but it sure seemed like it.
This was all new to me. I was feeling my way around in the dark, hoping not to fall in any holes I couldn’t see. Clara was special, and I didn’t want to screw things up with her. The sudden fear I felt was unexpected.
The side effect of caring about someone for real was that losing them would crush me.
Before spending time with Clara, I had been just fine alone.
Now I couldn’t imagine life without her.
Our relationship had started fake, but I desperately needed it to become real.
I would do whatever it took to make that happen.
Whisking her off to my cabin for a romantic getaway seemed like a good first step.
I packed quickly, hoping I wouldn’t need most of the clothes in the bag. With any luck, we’d spend our days naked in front of a roaring fire, drinking wine and fucking like nothing else in the world existed. I made sure to pack condoms.
Clara met me in the living room, wearing a cute puffy jacket, her cheeks pink. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Let’s hit the road.”
We took the elevator down to the underground parking garage. Clara seemed surprised I had my own vehicle, but it came in handy on rare occasions like this, when I wanted privacy. Lenny didn’t need to come along with us on our romantic trip to my cabin.
We headed out of the city in my luxurious SUV, making great time as we headed north, away from civilization. Outside of the big cities, New York was mostly rural, with farms dotting the landscape. The sky really opened up too, making the world feel bigger. It was easier to breathe.
I loved the city, with its crowds, noise, and constant energy, but sometimes it was good to step away from the constant hustle. Especially when I had a beautiful woman sitting beside me, looking out the window with a big grin on her face.
The Texas countryside wasn’t too different, but it was different enough.
For her, it was an adventure, and her excitement was contagious.
I wanted to pull over the SUV, cuddle up with her, and just enjoy the moment.
I also wanted to throw the seats down and bury myself in her until she screamed my name.
Later, I told myself. We could make as much noise as we wanted out at the cabin.
The clouds overhead darkened and snow came down heavily. Traffic slowed to a crawl, and some of Clara’s excitement dimmed.
That wouldn’t stand. Not on my watch. I switched on the radio and found the Christmas station. Mariah Carey belted out “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Clara looked over at me with a surprised grin and she started singing along with the radio.
Clara had a face like an angel and a voice like a goose with bronchitis. She was so off-key, I thought Mariah herself would appear out of the snow and ask her to stop.
“I can see why you prefer backstage work,” I teased with a smile.
She made an offended sound and glared at me playfully. “Let’s see you do any better.”
“I mean, I couldn’t be any worse…”
She slapped my arm lightly. “Fine. Next song, you’re up.”
I blinked in confusion. “I’m up for what?”
“You’re singing. Carpool Christmas Karaoke. You threw down a challenge and now you have to put your money where your mouth is.”
“Hey, I don’t remember signing up for that.” I chuckled. “Besides, you’ll run screaming into the snow. That’s if your ears don’t bleed first.”
“All I’m hearing is that you’re scared.” Clara smiled at me, a challenging look in her eye.
“Oh, nice try, but I’m not that easily manipulated,” I said.
“Bock, bock, bock.”
“Are you five years old?” I asked, unable to suppress my grin. “Chicken noises? Really?”
She spread her hands and shrugged. “If the shoe fits…”
I narrowed my eyes at her briefly before turning my attention back to the road. Mariah’s song wound down, and the first notes of the next one started up. I recognized it instantly. I had been singing it to myself earlier, which kind of made it feel like fate.
Without looking at Clara, I threw my head back and belted out the words. “Frosty the Snowman, was a jolly happy soul!”
Clara doubled over with laughter, eyes wide with shock. Warmth flooded me. That was why I had done it. Mission accomplished.
I sang every word, starting obnoxiously but eventually settling into real singing. Clara stopped laughing and she eyed me like she was seeing a new part of me. When the song finished, I gave a little bow from my seat.
She clapped and shook her head. “Damn, Luke, you can actually sing decently.”
I looked at her and smiled, feeling the heat blooming between us. I hadn’t expected my spontaneous rendition of Frosty to get her turned on, but I loved that it had. A wild thought ran through my head.
Should I tell her how I feel about her? There was nothing fake about this for me anymore.
Hell, she had me singing Christmas carols to her in the car and taking time off from work to lock ourselves away in a romantic cabin.
I was falling for her, and hiding that was starting to feel like a lie, which was something I never wanted to do to her.
“Do you think I’m ready for Broadway?” I asked her instead. Talking about my feelings right then was risky. What if she didn’t feel the same way I did? I wanted to float in this little bubble with her for as long as possible, so I kept my feelings to myself.
She smiled softly. “You’re ready for something, all right. I just don’t know what.”
Neither did I.
The traffic began to move and her gaze left mine, turning to look out at the falling snow. I drove as fast as I could to get us to the cabin.