Chapter 4
He pleasured himself by just leaning on the doorjamb and staring at the woman in the center of his living room. She had on an oversized sweater and black leggings and no shoes. A smile tugged at his lips as he noticed the pink nail polish on her toes.
It took him a while to see the towering Douglas fir across from the massive fireplace.
"That's some tree."
She whirled, dislodging some of the loose pile of locks on top of her head. "I- I- you're home. I thought you were- you had a dinner thing. I hope you don't mind."
She gestured to the tree. "You said you didn't do Christmas, but it so happens that I adore the holiday, it's my favorite time- and I'm babbling. I'll stop now."
She plopped her hands on her hips and gave him a defiant glare. "Besides, the decorators, and yes, I hired a very expensive team to put this tree up and the lights all around the property and the beautiful ferns by the perimeter-"
"I saw those. Hard to miss since the lights could be seen from a mile away." He was amused by her and how adorable she looked flustered.
"Well? What do you think?"
"It's big."
"Your living room is huge. A smaller tree would have been dwarfed. And it's not like you're going to have to take the thing down. The company does that too."
"Good to know." Tilting his head, he gazed up at the sparkling angel on top.
"Not a star?"
"I prefer angels. You wanted a star?"
"I wanted nothing at all, but it does make a difference." He strolled into the room and stood next to her to examine the glitter of lights, hundreds of them! Good God! And the bulbs and silvery, gold, green, and red streamer things clinging to the glossy green of the tree.
"How long did it take them to do all of it? I mean I left here this morning-" He turned his head to look at her. "And you were supposed to go to the store. You didn't go?"
"I went of course. There's such a thing as the phone.
I called them from the store and told them what I needed.
They happen to be experts, so they needed little or no input.
What are you doing home?" She seemed unaware that she had automatically referred to his place as her home, and he wondered at the fact that it felt right.
"My meeting got canceled. It's the holiday or near to.
" He did not add that his first instinct was to head home.
They had been married a week now and aside from the weekend they had spent together, they had barely seen each other.
He found curiously that he missed her, missed hearing her voice and her sultry laugh.
"The place looks a lot different."
"Not too much?"
"Oh, it's a lot," he said with a chuckle. "How about we have some dinner right here so we can admire the very big tree and all the lights?"
"Sounds wonderful. I think Mrs. Holt made filet mignon, I think. I'll go and-"
"No." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let me."
She watched as he left the room, leaning her head to the side to admire very nice and taut buns shown to advantage in his well-fitted tan trousers. He had shed his jacket when he came in, and the winter green sweater stretched taut across broad shoulders.
Sighing softly, she rubbed a hand at the back of her neck.
Not the direction she wanted her thoughts going.
He was just being nice, and she should not mistake it for anything else.
He was a nice guy who felt sorry for her and helped her out of a terrible jam.
It would be a mistake, a colossal one, to think of it as anything else.
She put it out of her mind, determined to have a normal dinner with a man who was turning out to be a friend. He spoke to her about his work and the board's reaction as they dined on the delicious meal and drank excellent Cabernet.
"So, are you CEO yet?" Spearing into the asparagus, she popped it into her mouth and waited for his answer. "You said that they were waiting on you to get married for them to decide. So?"
"They're debating."
A frown touched her brow. "What the hell is there to debate about? You're married. Did you show them the certificate? If they want proof, you should-" She sputtered to a stop when he started grinning at her.
"What?"
"You're fierce and I admire that."
She glowered at him and reached for her glass. "You're making fun of me."
"No." He shook his head, his grin widening.
"It's fascinating how your eyes fire up and you get that glower on your face.
" He shook his head as she glowered even more.
"It's a process. Yes, they believe that I'm married, but the transition will take a little time.
I don't mind the wait as long as I know the office and the title will be mine. "
"Your mother?"
"She cannot wait to hand over the reins."
"That's good. This is also very good. Your housekeeper is a genius in the kitchen. She's also very territorial."
"She had a problem with you doing the laundry the other day?" He already knew the answer to that because the housekeeper had come to him in a huff, asking if his wife was going to replace her.
Picking up her glass, she waved it in the air.
"She was upset because I decided to do the laundry.
I just went into the laundry room, which is as big as crap and whoever heard of a laundry room with sofas and a flat-screen television?
Anyway, I just wandered in there and was looking around when I noticed the clothes in the hamper.
I cannot help it if I'm a clean person. And I'm not used to someone picking up after me. "
She leaned forward as if imparting a top secret. "And she washes my undergarments. That's- that's really weird."
"She washes mine," he pointed out, not comfortable with where the conversation was headed.
"That's different. You're a guy. It just feels strange."
"She thinks you want her fired."
Her eyes widened in shock. "Really? Oh, good God! She said that? Just because I did the laundry that one time-"
"And made dinner the other time."
"You told me she wasn't coming in."
"I thought she said she had something to do and would come in the next day."
She gulped her wine and almost choked. "Did you explain that it was a misunderstanding or a miscommunication?"
"Why the hell would I do that?"
"Because she hates me."
"She doesn't hate you. She just wants to know if her job is secure and I assured her it was."
"So, I have to stay out of her kitchen from now on."
"It's my kitchen, not hers, and since you're my wife, then it's also yours," he pointed out reasonably.
Ignoring the sharp jolts of pleasure flowing through her because he referred to her as his wife, she sipped more wine to quell the warm feeling.
"I guess I should just stay out of her way. She really is a very good housekeeper."
"She is. Now-" He pointed his wineglass toward the tree to distract himself from staring at the outline of her generous breasts and the curve of her lips. "How many presents do you expect to see under the tree?"
"Oh, presents!" She leaped up, causing him to shift in alarm. "I left them at the shop."
"Surely you're not thinking of going to get them now?"
"No." She shook her head and drained her glass. "But I have some in my bedroom. And you don't have to buy me anything," she added.
"That's handy, because I didn't." He almost grinned as she struggled to keep the disappointment off her face.
"Well, that's all right."
"Except there is-" He pulled something out of his pocket.
"What is it?"
"It's to be opened on Christmas morning."
"Brant."
"No peeking and you have dishes to wash."
"It's not like you did the cooking."
"I did the dishing out and the selection of the wine." He glanced at his watch. "And I have a conference call in fifteen minutes." He rose and finished the wine in his glass. "I suppose this is goodnight."
"I suppose it is." They stood there staring at each other for a minute before he said goodnight again and walked out of the room.
Sitting back down, she stared at the small gaily wrapped box he gave her and was tempted to rip into the package. Resisting the urge, she went to place it under the tree, her smile luminous.
"Uhm, your husband is here," Willow said a little stiffly as she stood there in the doorway of Indigo's office. The woman was still miffed at not being invited to the wedding, even though Indigo had explained that it had been a private ceremony.
"Here?" She looked up from the inventory she was perusing and felt the familiar leap of her heart. She was wearing the exquisite platinum necklace with the heart-shaped diamond pendant he had given her for Christmas, nestled between her breasts. "Where is he?"
"Out in the shop. He's walking around. Shall I-"
"No." Pushing away from the desk, Indigo walked past her and went to find him.
He was standing by a display of lamps she had just acquired.
It was almost closing time, and there were some women milling around and shooting admiring glances at him, and who could blame them?
she wondered wryly. The man looked powerful, handsome, and confident.
He was wearing black: sweater, cashmere jacket, and trousers, and looked like the executive he was.
He turned to her as she came alongside him. "Very nice."
"I think so too. You're here."
"I was in the neighborhood." He flashed her his devastating smile that had her knees turning to jelly.
"I know that's something people say all the time, but it's true.
My meeting ended and I decided to drop by.
Oh, and to tell you we have a thing later.
A function put on by the 'wives' and we're required to attend.
I had forgotten about it until I was reminded by my assistant. "
He touched her arm briefly. "What time are you knocking off here?"
"In a few minutes. What time is the function and where?"
"The Plaza Hotel. Formal wear, which means I have to go home and deck myself out in a tux." His grimace had her smiling. "It's at eight." He glanced at his watch. "It's after four. Want me to stick around and wait for you?"