A Steele for Christmas (2 page)

S
tacey glanced around the restaurant and smiled when she saw Cohen. He had already grabbed a table for them and she moved in his direction. He had called that morning asking that she meet him for lunch because he had some important news to share with her. She couldn’t help wondering what it could be.

She was proud of her brother, the gifted neurosurgeon, who had kept his deathbed promise to their mother that he’d make sure Stacey got a college education. She knew it hadn’t been easy for him with his own student loans but he’d done so without a single complaint.

At thirty-five, Cohen Carlson was ten years older and had always looked out for her. Normally, he was an easygoing individual. The one and only time she’d seen him really get mad was when he wanted to do Wallace in for treating her so shabbily.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” she said, giving her brother a huge hug before taking the seat across from him.

He chuckled. “No, and I feel bad about hogging your lunch hour.”

She flashed her hand to wave off his concern. “It’s nice to get out of the building for a while, especially since it’s usually slow in the afternoons.

“Besides, since I know you’re picking up the tab I get to order whatever I want, instead of settling for a snack out of the vending machine,” she added.

He laughed and she loved hearing the sound. She could pay for her own meal but she knew her big brother had no intention of letting her do so. And she meant what she’d said about needing the time out of the building. She was still reeling from having seen Eli Steele again today. She should be used to the man’s visits by now, but each and every time he dropped by her shop he managed to leave something behind. Usually it was his scent. But today, in addition to his scent, he’d left a reminder of how he’d looked at her when he’d paid for his purchase. Her stomach was still quivering at the memory of those green eyes aimed right at her.

“And you’re sure I’m not keeping you from making money?”

“I’m positive.”

She usually would put the out-to-lunch sign up between two and three every day anyway, when the helper she’d hired for the lunch rush left, so coming to meet him was no big deal. She owed her brother big time anyway. When she had moved to Phoenix, she had stayed in his condo a month or so until she’d gotten her own place. And he’d been the one who’d told her about the vacancy in the Steele Building and had approached Eli on her behalf with the idea of leasing the space to her to open a gift shop.

“So what’s this news you’re so eager to tell me about?” she asked, seeing the huge smile on his face.

With her question, the smile dimmed somewhat. “I consider it both good news and bad news. The good news is that I’ve been selected as Chief of Surgery.”

Before she could jump from her seat in excitement, he reached across the table and placed his hand on hers and then added, “The bad news is that it’s a hospital in Florida, which means I’ll be leaving Phoenix.”

His words hit her like a ton of bricks. But she quickly recovered and replaced her look of shock with one of excitement. She knew why Cohen thought the latter was bad news. Moving meant leaving her behind again. The last time he’d taken a job promotion and moved to Phoenix, he’d left her behind in Memphis and in no time she’d hooked up with Wallace. Well, he didn’t have to worry about such a thing happening again. As far as she was concerned she was through with men. It wouldn’t bother her if she never dated again.

“I don’t see anything bad about you moving to Florida, Cohen. It’s a wonderful opportunity and I really hope you’re not having misgivings about it because of me.”

“I am and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Stace. I want you to move to Florida with me. You’ve only lived in Phoenix for four months. It’s not like you have roots or anything here,” he said softly.

In other words, he was saying she didn’t have a life. She knew it but to have him spell it out for her was another matter. “I have my gift shop and it’s doing very well,” she said proudly.

The first month she’d barely made enough to make ends meet, but once word got out that she was open, customers began pouring in, especially during the lunch hour. And business hadn’t slacked since. And with the holidays approaching and the new items she intended to have in stock, she was anticipating an increase in business.

“I won’t feel comfortable leaving you behind, Stace.”

“But you must and you will. I like it here and I refuse to let you give up this opportunity. I can visit you when the weather here is bad. I’d give anything to spend time in Florida, Cohen, but only as a visitor. My home is here now and regardless of what you think, I do have roots. I might have come here because of you, but I now have made a life of my own. I like it here.”

She smiled softly. “I’m going to miss you and all, but I’ll visit. I promise.”

He studied her carefully. “Do you know what you’re asking me to do?” he asked in a low tone.

“Yes. I’m asking that you respect me as the twenty-five-year-old that I am. I know I made a bad mistake in judgment with Wallace.”

“What happened wasn’t your fault,” Cohen said in an irritated voice, letting her know Wallace’s actions were something he hadn’t forgotten. “My only satisfaction is that you’re better off without him.”

“Yes and I’m a lot wiser and moving cautiously. You know the saying, ‘I can do bad by myself?’ Well, I plan on doing good by myself.”

She saw the relieved expression in his features. “And you’re sure you don’t want to move to Florida with me?”

“I’m positive, Cohen. You still have friends here and I’m sure just like I’ll be visiting you in Florida, you’ll return to Phoenix to visit.”

“Of course,” he said, leaning back in his chair as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. And she figured it probably was. Being named Chief of Surgery of any hospital was a great opportunity, especially for someone his age. But she knew her brother was a gifted surgeon. The beauty of it, as far as she was concerned, was he worked hard and deserved it.

“Do you have any idea when you’ll be leaving?” she asked.

He nodded. “They want me in Jacksonville in two weeks. There is an immediate need for my presence there and Phoenix Baptist has agreed to release me at the requested date.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip. She hadn’t expected him to be leaving so soon. “Two weeks won’t give me enough time to plan anything.”

“You don’t have to do that, Stace.”

“Of course I do. Like I said earlier, you have a lot of friends here and they’ll want to see you off and celebrate your good news. Have you told anyone else yet?”

He shook his head. “No, I wanted you to be the first to know.”

She plastered a smile on her lips, determined not to let him know how she really felt. She was missing him already. “Okay, now that I know, I want to work on your guest list for the party.”

His eyes glinted with amusement. “You’re really going to go all out, aren’t you?”

Her smile widened. “Of course. You’re the only brother I have and I’m extremely proud of you, so yes, I am going all out.”

Eli leaned back in his chair and built a steeple with his fingers as he listened to his mother. He’d heard all of it before, so he decided to let his mind wander. And for some reason, his thoughts shifted to Stacey Carlson and he wondered what she was doing. Usually she closed the shop around two every day for lunch. Had she gone out or had she grabbed a snack like she normally did?

And why did he give a royal damn?

The only reason he knew about her eating habits was because one day he’d gotten to her shop around two, only to find the out-to-lunch sign posted in the window. Through the glass door he could see her sitting at the counter eating a bag of chips and drinking a diet soda while paging through a magazine. He had stood there staring at her longer than necessary. And as if she’d felt his presence, she had glanced up and he was hit with an intense moment of potent attraction. Before she could get out of her seat to see what he’d wanted, he had quickly moved on.

“Eli, are you listening to me?”

He blinked. Knowing he’d been caught, he could only smile across the desk at his mother. There was no need to lie and claim he had been listening. Eden Steele had the uncanny ability to know when each one of her sons was not being completely honest with her. He and his brothers were convinced she had a sixth sense about that.

“Not really,” he said, and immediately felt the heat of her glare.

“Then why did you let me continue talking?”

He raised a brow. Had she really expected him to tell her to shut up? Her? Eden Tyson Steele? The former international fashion model whose face graced magazine covers the likes of
Vogue
and
Elle
? The woman who reminded them often that she’d given birth to six males and for as long as they lived she would always be their mother? He knew that didn’t mean she didn’t respect the men they’d become because they all knew she had.

But…

And with Eden Steele there had to be a
but
in there somewhere. He figured she should be happy. For years she had complained about not having any daughters-in-law. Now she had one and she was still whining. Good grief! Was Brittany not enough? Evidently not.

His parents had sons who’d appreciated the opposite sex from early childhood. They had grown up as womanizers, all six of them. And it amused them to no end that there was barely a year between their ages. That meant his mother had gotten pregnant every year for six years. Knowing his father, Eli wasn’t surprised.

He breathed out a deep sigh. As far as he was concerned, Eden needed to count her blessings for Brittany and be satisfied because if she was waiting for him, Tyson, Jonas, Mercury and Gannon to follow in Galen’s footsteps, then she had a long wait coming. A very long wait.

“You don’t think there’s a woman out there who’s good enough for the suave, debonair and charming Eli Steele, do you?” she asked in what he detected was an irritated tone.

He shrugged. “I didn’t say that, but since you brought it up…that possibility has crossed my mind a time or two.”

In truth, it hadn’t, but he liked getting a rise out of his mother every once in a while. She would go home and complain to the old man, but honestly, what could Drew say? Especially considering the skirt chaser he’d been before settling down and marrying Eden. Eli and his brothers had heard the story of their father’s past enough to know he made the rakish of rakes look like innocent choirboys.

“You know what I’m hoping for, Eli?”

He saw the gleam in his mother’s eyes and decided not to ask, but then he figured what the hell, she was going to tell him anyway. “No, Mom, what are you hoping for?”

“That some woman comes along who’ll knock you off that high horse you’re sitting on. And I hope when you tumble that you’ll fall head over heels in love with her.”

Eli frowned as he gazed into eyes that were identical in color to his and his five brothers’. Now his mother was being downright cruel. He forced a smile to his lips. “It won’t happen. I’m more like Dad than any of my brothers. Sorry.”

In a way, he
was
sorry, not for himself but for his mother who was hell-bent on marrying off all six of her sons. She had her work cut out for her. She might eventually break down Tyson, Jonas, Mercury and Gannon, but not him. He liked his freedom too much and could never bind himself to an exclusive relationship.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “And just what do you have against marriage, Eli? Haven’t your father and I set an example of how good a marriage can be?”

He smiled again. “Of course. I know you and Dad have a great marriage, are deeply in love even after thirty-plus years and are extremely dedicated to each other. But Drew Steele’s saving grace was you, Mom. You’re beautiful. There’s not another woman out there who can make a Steele want to give up his freedom.”

“So how do you explain Brittany?”

“Britt’s beautiful as well. I can definitely see why Galen fell in love with her.”

His mother leaned in closer. “Are you saying you don’t know any beautiful women?”

Eli’s chest tightened as the image of one particular woman flashed in his mind. He forced it back. “Of course I do. But she has to have more than just a pretty face. She has to have a degree of intelligence.” Stacey Carlson’s face forced its way back into his mind once again and he pushed it right back out.

His mother straightened in her seat. “Well, I’m glad that at least you’re not stuck on just a pretty face. There’s more to it than that. That might be what snarls a man in the beginning, but he needs to know the woman has other things going for her than just good looks. They need to be compatible in a number of other things as well. Your father and I have lasted this long because we’re also the best of friends.”

Eli knew that to be true. His parents were partners in all things. More than once while growing up, he and his brothers had tried pitting their parents against each other when they wanted something one parent refused to give them. They soon discovered Drew and Eden stuck together like glue.

“You do know they refer to you and your brothers as the ‘Bad News’ Steeles, don’t you?”

Yes, he knew but he wondered how she’d found out about it. “Who told you that?”

“Sandra Tompkins. Mercury dropped her niece like a hot potato after a couple of dates and she wasn’t too happy about it.”

Eli smiled. “If you ever saw her niece you’d know why.”

Eden’s eyes narrowed. “Then why did he become involved with the girl in the first place?”

Eli didn’t respond. He figured not responding would provide his mother with an answer. When she slowly raised an arched brow and gave him a disapproving glare, he knew she fully comprehended the reason.

“Is that all you and your brothers ever think about?” she asked in disgust.

He wondered what she expected. After all, they
were
Drew’s sons. They may have her eyes but the looks and genes were definitely from their father. They had the Steele charm and the high testosterone level that came with it. Shrugging massive shoulders, he said slowly, “I can only speak for myself, Mom, and I doubt my answer will make you happy, so I’ll plead the fifth.”