Chapter 22 Tate
tate
It had been a long day of adding decorations to the oak barrels we’d installed along the winding path.
I was trying my damnedest to make the Wonderland Village look like it had been there forever.
I’d found high quality silk poinsettias that would survive the harsh cold of New York.
The Wonderland was dog friendly, so we definitely didn’t want to have the real deal poisoning anyone’s pet.
Thank God for Molly. She thought of everything I missed.
A snow squall during the evening had added just the right amount of winter to the Wonderland and I wanted nothing more than to show it off to Amber.
“Tate, wait! We need to do a few videos. It’s too perfect!”
I sagged with exhaustion. Valerie was not who I wanted to share this with.
“C’mon. It’ll only take a minute.” She gripped my arm and literally batted her eyelashes at me.
“Fine. Just a few. I’m beat.”
“Right. We can make it quick.” She clapped her hands and ran for her camera stabilizer. “Maybe if we added some lights to the rooflines? With the snow it would look magical.”
She was right, but that wasn’t a quick video.
Valerie came back with a bunch of string lights and glittery stars. “This would be so perfect for Billie’s space. The glittery stars with the stained glass is a match made in heaven.”
Billie had created a special North Star to hang from the tip of her roofline over her door. She’d hung it with heavy wire so it wouldn’t fall with all the people coming and going through the doors.
I braided the daintier string lights with heavier, traditional bulbs then added in the stars until it was a brightly lit swag of garland. I draped it over the roofline and tried not to get crabby at the shouted directions from Valerie.
She filmed me adding them and then the end product, creating a quick and effective transition that looked great. And because I already had figured out the style, I made four more. I’d figure out a variation in the morning to change up the look, but for now it really did elevate the space.
I hopped down off the ladder and Valerie hugged my arm. “Exactly how I pictured it.”
I disentangled myself from her with a soft smile. “It was a great idea.”
She crossed her arms, her lips in a tight line.
I was too tired to worry about hurting her feelings. The woman wouldn’t know a boundary if it bit her on the nose.
Molly came up to stand between us.
“This is really great, Tate. Better than I even imagined.”
“Yeah, it really is.”
She nudged me. “You should be proud.”
“We should be proud. I couldn’t have done it without you—either of you.”
Valerie beamed at me. “Everyone will be talking about this place.”
“Let’s hope they all come with their credit cards.”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. You’re rich.”
I’d poured a ton of money into the Wonderland Village. Between the loans for many of the town businesses and this place, I needed to make this place a success. It was incredible how fast money spent, especially when I wanted the best of the best for everything.
“Okay, I gotta get off my feet. Time for everyone to go home.” Molly turned us both away from the lights to the path back down to the front gates.
I agreed and followed her down. I was so tired that my eyeballs actually hurt. I waved at both of them. “Great job today. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Valerie took her sweet time to get to her car, but finally left.
I dragged myself into my house, but it was so quiet.
I didn’t realize just how much I’d grown to expect Amber with me at night until she wasn’t there.
Even exhausted, my brain was still spinning with last-minute details.
We still had two empty stalls thanks to the last-minute cancellations.
I had a few maybes, but the short notice SOS was hard to fill.
It was high season for most of the artists, and they were already locked in with other craft fairs or simply ill-prepared for a large retail space to fill.
We were T-minus three days for the opening, and I felt like we’d never get done in time.
Amber was so good at talking me off the ledge and she was busy.
I grabbed my phone then threw it back on the kitchen island. She deserved to enjoy time with her friend. I could handle one night without her.
Hell, I might have to deal with more than that sometime in the future. The thought made my chest ache.
Was I enough to keep her happy in Haven?
Annoyed with myself, I opened my fridge to find leftovers from the night before. Too tired to even heat up the cold pasta, I grabbed a fork and stabbed at it while leaning on the counter.
My phone lit up and I checked it, only to find another idea from Molly.
It was a good one, but I didn’t want to give up on a last-minute retail artist if I could help it. Hoping a shower would help clear my head, I took my dish with me, eating on my way down the hall.
Velma was asleep on my bed, stretched out without a care in the world.
“Must be nice.” I stroked a hand down her belly, and she opened her big green eyes for a second before passing back out with a big sigh.
I set my empty bowl on the counter of my bathroom and stripped out of my muddy clothes and stood under the punishing spray until I the steam and exhaustion made me sway. I turned off the shower and stumbled into my room, face planting on the bed.
Velma gave an annoyed yowl and sauntered off. I dropped into sleep in what felt like a second later.
“Oh, Tate.”
I turned my face to the voice. “Amber?” I mumbled into the pillow.
“Yeah, it’s me.” She stumbled a little and she giggled. “You’re butt naked.”
I pushed myself up onto my forearm, one eye open. “Are you drunk?”
“Maybe.” She put up a finger in a shush. “Don’t tell.”
I rolled onto my side, squinting at the clock. “It’s three in the morning.”
“I know.” She toed off her ugly boots and crawled up my bed. She was wearing one of my hoodies, and it was so big on her I could tell there was nothing else under there. “I put James to bed and tried to sleep, but the ceiling was spinning and you weren’t there.”
“C’mere.” I pulled her under my arm and rolled us both under the covers.
She snuggled back against me. “Blind faith,” she whispered as she pulled a pillow under her head.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just hold me.”
I sighed. “Sleeping without you sucks.”
“I know. I don’t want to do that again.”
“Good.” I held her closer and slipped into sleep.
My blaring clock alarm seemed to go off about twenty seconds later. I groaned and curled Amber closer into me, my fingers slipping under the hem of my sweatshirt and found nothing else.
“Did you walk over to my place with nothing but my hoodie?”
She wiggled her butt against my morning hard-on. “Maybe.”
I groaned. “You are an evil woman.”
“I know.” She reached back to sift her fingers through my hair. “Do you have to go?”
I groaned, burying my face in her hair and the well-worn cotton that smelled like her. Like spice and laundry sheets and her shampoo that drove me crazy. I slipped my fingers down her belly to between her legs.
She sighed as she opened for me.
In the gray, early morning light, I gently stroked her awake. For once, the consuming need for her was unhurried and calm. When I slipped inside of her and her warmth seeped into me on every level, I held her tight against me as we rocked against one another.
The hushed groans and murmurs soft as the snow falling out the window.
I peeled the hoodie off her, stroking my palms over every inch of her as the passion slowly built. Her nails dug into my forearm and her sweet cries crested as she went over, taking me with her.
I buried my face into her hair, drowning in her scent as I came back to myself.
She sighed when I curled around her again. “Not sure I can live without this,” she said quietly.
“Good thing you don’t have to.”
She didn’t say anything, but she did wrap my arm around her more firmly.
My phone went off on the bedside table. “How long is James staying?”
“Through Thanksgiving.” She shifted in my arms until she was facing me. “My mom wanted me to invite you to family dinner.”
“I need to check on my dad.”
“You can bring him.”
“He’s not exactly fit for people.”
“How about you come by for dinner, then bring him a plate?”
“That sounds really good.”
She kissed my nose. “Yeah, it does.”
My phone rang again and I flopped onto my back. “I’m going to break that damn thing.”
She reached for it and wrinkled her nose. “It’s Valerie.”
“Definitely not answering that one.”
She inched over until her silky skin was covering mine. I stroked down her back, trying to ignore my already interested cock. Somehow, I never had enough of her.
“She’s...a lot.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“She does realize we are together, right?”
“I’ve made it abundantly clear.”
“The ‘Tate, I’m a good guy’ clear or you know, clear-clear.”
I laughed. “Crystal clear.”
“Good. I don’t want to have to do a hair pulling fight. Then it would be on TikTok and my status of Queen of Nice would get smeared.”
“You’d smear that for me? Really?”
She rested her chin on her stacked arms. “You just want a girl fight.”
I laughed. “Okay, maybe. But there’s no denying you’re the only one I want. Are you good with that? People knowing that?”
She nibbled on her lower lip. “Do you know what that entails?”
“It doesn’t matter to me. You’re the important part.”
“People say that until reporters start chasing you down on the street asking you questions.”
“In Haven?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, in Haven. I’m even worried about going to the opening. The Chronicle mentioned me by name. People have Google alerts for me. They could come to the—”
“Hey, shhh.” I stroked her hair. “We’ll deal with it.”
“But what if they ruin it for you?”
“They won’t.”
“You don’t know that. You saw what happened at the orchard. That’s without anyone knowing I was supposed to be there.”
I sat up, drawing her into my arms. “Amber, we’ll figure it out.”
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders. For God’s sake she was trembling. “Hey. Babe, it’s okay.”
“You haven’t seen what can happen.”
I eased her back. “If it gets overwhelming run to the Rudolph building. You can’t miss it. I’ll meet you there, no matter what.”
“Rudolph is supposed to save us?”
“He’s good enough to lead Santa, right?”
“You’re ridiculous.”
I laughed. “Maybe, but it can be our code word.” I rolled her onto her back. “It can be our code word for a lot of things.” I shifted over her. “Just say Rudolph if it’s too much.” I lowered my mouth to her neck, then down to her breast.
Her fingers dug into my shoulders as I covered her breast.
I could take the time to distract her.
Because there was no way I was letting her be afraid of being with me, or what it would do to me.
For me, it didn’t matter what I needed to face.
She was it for me.