Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
REID — DECEMBER 24 — LATE AFTERNOON
M y finger hovers over the send-button as I re-read the email for the third time. The framed picture on my desk diverts my attention. Taken outside the family cabin, Mom, Dad, Nanna, and I are laughing as Tanner trips over his own feet while racing back to be in the picture after setting a too-short timer. The next photo had been perfectly timed, but this picture had captured the true essence of our family.
Resolute, I press send and close my laptop. Still exhausted from lack of sleep, I drop my head into my hands, just as someone knocks at my door.
“Come in, Mason.” Ughh! There must be a problem. Mason is the only person here besides me on Christmas Eve, and he wouldn’t bother me if it weren’t a serious issue.
The door swings open, and Syanne appears. “I’m not Mason. Can I still come in?”
I stand so fast I send my desk chair rolling. “Sure.”
She steps inside, a foil-covered pan in her arms. “I came to apologize for what I said earlier—when I walked away. ”
“There’s no need for that.” I swallow, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth. “You were just being honest.”
“I thought so at the time, but now I’m sorry.” She sets the pan on my desk.
Does she regret breaking up? I don’t dare ask.
“How did you find me?” I bend to straighten some papers, grateful for the desk that separates us. It’s easier to keep my head on straight with Syanne at a safe distance.
“Nanna said you were working, so I came to the guest services building.” She cocks an eyebrow. “I figured you’d have a private office over here somewhere, seeing as you’re the CEO .”
She knows!
“Why didn’t you tell me?” There’s hurt in her tone.
“You had a thing against rich men.” My shoulders drop. “Besides, it was nice that you thought of me as a normal, average guy.”
“I never thought that.” A crooked smile curls one corner of her mouth. “ Average , maybe. But not normal .”
She’s teasing me. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?
“Here’s my peace offering.” She lifts the foil, and my breath catches.
“Are those Mom’s mint brownies?” My eyes sting with a storm of memories.
“You’re upset, aren’t you?” Her face crumples. “I’m sorry, Reid. I was hoping to bring you happy thoughts. But I read the dedication in the cookbook that said your family... that it happened on Christmas Eve. I shouldn’t have—”
“No.” I swipe my sleeve across my damp face, oddly at peace. “I’m glad you made them. I want to remember them. I need this.”
“But I’m sorry I made you sad.” A single tear tracks down her cheek, and suddenly I’m around my desk, pulling her into my arms.
“You didn’t make me sad, Syanne. You brought me to life.” I stroke her back, relishing her softness and warmth, probably for the last time. “Seven years ago, when my family died, I died with them. Losing them hurt so much, I made myself go numb. I’ve been a walking corpse ever since. But you...” I tuck my fingers under her chin and tilt her face up. “You made me feel again.”
“Is that a good thing?” Her eyes, liquid sapphires, gaze into the depths of my soul, full of some emotion that might be hope.
“It’s good. Very good.” Her tempting lips are so close I feel their heat. But she’s not here for that. She came to apologize, and I’ve assured her she shouldn’t feel guilty. Now, I need to let her go.
“Thanks for the brownies.” I drop my arms and step back, studying the floor. “I hope you have a great time with your family.”
Her feet shift, but she doesn’t leave.
“I have one more question, and I want the truth.” She catches my gaze. “How did you happen to find my exact size of ice skates?”
I cringe. “I might’ve asked Matt to ask your sister what size you wore.”
“Because you happen to have Matthew Lawrence’s cell number?”
My lungs deflate. “Matt and I are friends. I didn’t lie about it—not technically. You never asked if I knew him.”
Her eyes aim at the ceiling, but a smile ghosts her lips. “And you said you found them at guest services? In my size? ”
I kick the toe of my boot on the floor. “My precise words were, ‘ Would you believe I found them at guest services? ’”
“Reid!” She stomps her foot, and I jump a mile. “I know where you got them!”
Oops, I’m in trouble. “Matt wasn’t supposed to tell you.”
“He didn’t. Joy did.” Syanne folds her arms. “Now answer me. Did you really drive sixty miles to Steamboat at one a.m. and drag some poor manager out of bed just to get me ice skates?”
Yes, a nd I would do it again in an instant to bring you joy .
I grit my teeth. “In my defense, it was only midnight, and I tipped the guy a month’s salary.”
“That’s the...” She blows air out her nose like an angry bull. “…the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me!” Sniffling, she wipes her eyes.
I’m so confused. “Sweetest?”
“Yes, but you could’ve been killed!” She waves an arm in the air. “What if you’d fallen asleep while you were driving home? Promise me you’ll never do anything like that again.”
“Okay.” I edge backwards, away from her wrath.
“The dumb thing is you could’ve called me to stay awake. I was up making your brownies.”
That’s when it hits me. We both gave up sleep to make the other person happy. I know why I did it. But what was Syanne’s motivation?
Was it pity?
Or could it be more?
“Reid?” Her voice softens, as she chews her lower lip. “What if we dated for real?”
My heart soars. She knows the truth, and she didn’t completely reject me!
She holds her hand up before I can reply. “I accept that you’re devoted to your work, but would you be willing to go out—with no expectations? Just try it and see what happens?”
“Absolutely not.”
She stiffens, sucking in air. “Sorry. Stupid suggestion.”
“Syanne, look at me.” I clutch her arms and wait for her watery eyes to meet mine. “I don’t want to ‘ just try it and see what happens.’ ”
“I understand.” Her gaze drops.
I’m messing this up.
“Listen.” I touch my lips to her forehead, and she blinks up in surprise. “I don’t want to just see what happens , because I’m all in. Do you get it? If we do this, I’m giving it everything I’ve got. I’m giving you everything I’ve got.”
“Oh, no.” She shakes her head but doesn’t push me away. “That’s too much pressure, Reid. I might need more time than you can give, and I don’t want you to get hurt again.”
“Time is not going to be a problem.” I murmur near her ear, noting, with pleasure, the goosebumps rising on her arms. “Because today, I resigned as CEO of St. Nick’s.”
“What?” She jerks back, flinging her arms free. “Reid, you can’t give up your company! If you do this for me, you’ll hate me someday. St. Nick’s is your legacy!”
“I thought so, too, until I talked to Nanna.” I step toward Syanne, but she shrinks back. “Nanna reminded me of something. My father wasn’t the CEO the night he died. He resigned from that job years before so he could spend more time with his family.”
“He did?” Eye’s wide, Syanne’s voice is barely a whisper.
I nod, clasping her hands again. “St. Nick’s is a great company, but it’s not my legacy. My legacy is the same as yours... the love of my family. I ran from the truth for a long time, until you came along. But I’m not running anymore. I want a real relationship.”
She averts her gaze. “Oh.”
Doesn’t she believe me? Maybe I came on too strong.
I lift her trembling hands and press a kiss to her fingers. “Don’t you think it’s a good thing?”
“Of course, it’s good.” A blush spreads up from her neck. “But I’m afraid to date for real. I’m afraid I’ll…” She swallows hard. “…fall for you.”
Joy floods my veins like an injection of glucose.
“I hope you do. And when it happens, I can catch you.” I slide my arms around her back and draw her close, noting how perfectly we fit together. “Because I’ve already fallen.”
“You barely know me.” I hear the doubt in her tone.
“I know enough of you to know I can’t wait to know the rest of you.”
The way she snuggles deeper into my embrace makes me want to chase away every fear in her life, especially when I feel her heart thumping against me. Or is that my heart?
We sway together in a silent dance, her intoxicating scent filling my head until I’m floating on air. I realize, for the first time in a long time, I’m looking forward to what the future may hold. With me and this feisty, red-headed former-stranger who already feels like a part of me.
“Reid?” she mumbles. “Do you hear sirens?”
I strain to listen. “I don’t hear anything.”
“I do.” She flashes a shy grin. “I think it’s an emergency .”
“I definitely hear them now.” My pulse kicks into overdrive. “We need an emergency intervention.”
This time, our kiss is no accident. There’s no nervous hesitation. Our mouths meet in a crash of emotions. Heat sears through me, firing every nerve ending. My arms tighten around her, frantic to pull her closer. Desperate for her tantalizing lips, I can’t get enough. And she kisses me back with a raw fervor that whispers of longing and promise. The rest of the world fades away until nothing exists but the two of us and the passion of our connection.
When I finally tear my lips away from hers, I’m breathless and dizzy. “Wow,” I say, between gasps.
“Yeah, wow.” She wobbles in my arms until I steady her. “Who knew St. Nick was an even better kisser than Edward Cullen.”