A Very Crimson Christmas (Crimson, Colorado 4) (9 page)

But not in this moment. Right now, she was loose and pliant in his arms, and he intended to take full advantage of it. As he kissed her, he let his hand drift lower, inside the band of her black yoga pants. She moved without realizing it, opening herself just enough for him to dip his fingers into her heat.

“Yes, there.”

He smiled against her mouth, loving that she was bossy even in this instant.

Her hips bucked, her hands reaching up to thread through his hair. She made him wild with her need and he quickened his pace until her breath caught and he felt her body fall to pieces in his arms.

It made every moment of guilt he’d heaped upon himself in the past decade, every bitter thought, worth the pain. To bring her this pleasure made everything worth it. Why had he ever thought he was over her? Natalie would always be a part of him, no matter how things ended.

Chapter Ten

W
hat the hell had she done? How had she let this happen?

As reality washed over her, cold and hard in its truth, Natalie tried to shift away from Liam, to distance herself from what they’d just shared, what he’d given her. Not that she didn’t appreciate it. Life as a single mother with mountains of debt left no time for dating or romantic entanglements of any kind.

Plus, it was Liam. Who’d always known exactly how to hold her, touch her...and now...

Now she had to get away.

“Not so fast,” he said, as if reading her mind. He draped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer up against the strong wall of his chest.

“We need to get back downstairs. What if someone comes looking? What if Austin—”

“One minute. One more minute isn’t going to hurt.”

She felt his heart beating, then noticed how hard he still was...everywhere. “I’m sorry,” she whispered automatically, turning to face him, moving her hand down the front of him. “Do you need me to—”

“No.” He took her hand, lifted it, brushed his mouth across her knuckles. “I mean, yes, I’d love for you to touch me, Nat. Anytime. Anywhere. But that isn’t what any of this was about.”

She didn’t want to look into his eyes, but couldn’t help herself.

“This was about you,” he said softly. “I want to take care of you.”

She swallowed, feeling vulnerable, exposed and ripped wide apart by his words. It had been years since she’d trusted anyone to take care of her. And with good reason. Her life was a ticking time bomb, a cracked dam with her finger in the hole, trying to stop the impending flood from washing her away. She’d kept everyone in her life at arm’s length as a matter of self-preservation. Her ex-husband’s manipulation had isolated her, made her wary of letting anyone in. What if Brad tried to take advantage of someone she loved? Even though she’d denied it, there was still a possibility Ruth had some contact with him, and Liam...

Liam would be a prize mark for someone like Brad.

She couldn’t run the risk of Liam finding out how much baggage she carted with her wherever she went. But she wanted to, with every part of her. She wanted to reveal her fears, her anger—to share the burden of her failed marriage so she didn’t have to shoulder the regret alone. Despite all the years he’d been gone, Liam was the one person she wanted to tell.

She opened her mouth to say the words as he brushed his finger along her cheek, tracing the dark circle under her eye that lack of sleep had put there. A noise from the bottom of the stairs broke the spell between them.

“Mom, Ms. Ruth wants to know if you found the box with the angel for the tree?” Austin’s innocent voice called up.

Natalie scrambled off the couch, whirling to where light glowed from the floor below. “We’ve got it all, buddy.” She picked up one of the boxes. “On our way down.”

“Natalie.” Liam’s tone held a note of frustration. “What we started here isn’t finished.”

She remembered that about him. Liam had never liked being denied, and Natalie was a master of denial.

“What have we started?” she asked, the words coming out on a harsh breath. “What do you really think is going on here?” She gripped the edge of the box so tight her fingers ached.

“You and I—”

“Were finished years ago,” she interrupted. “When you walked away from Crimson and I stayed. My life is here, Liam. It’s small and contained, and I like it that way. I’ve been taking care of my son and me for a long time. I don’t need or want help.” Her voice cracked on the lie, but she didn’t stop. “You are fancy light displays and crews of workers. I’m a few boxes of old decorations stuffed up in the attic. Those two things don’t mesh.”

“I’m stuck out in the cold while you’re inside where it counts?” He practically spat the words, twisting the meaning of what she’d said.

No
, she wanted to yell.
You’re inside me, all around me. You always have been.

“Thank you for tonight,” she whispered instead. “All of it. It means the world to Ruth.”

“And you, Natalie?” he asked, relentless. No wonder he’d been such a success in his life. His focus was unwavering. “What does it mean to you?”

Everything.

“I’ve got to get back down there, Liam,” she answered and turned away, trying to catch her breath as she stumbled down the attic steps.

* * *

“I’ve got a meeting scheduled with the development committee of Crimson’s town council. Tomorrow at nine.” It was Sunday morning, and Tanner pushed a box with the words “Life is Sweet” on the top toward Liam. “They’ve got a proposal ready for you, outlining the tax breaks and other incentives the town is willing to offer. I think at least one county commissioner will be there, too.”

“Cancel it.” Liam didn’t look up from his email. “And no more pastries in the house. I don’t want to see another pink box from that bakery as long as I live.”

“Are you kidding?” Tanner picked up the bakery box, cradling it like a beloved child. “I’m thinking of staying on in town just so I don’t have to leave these bear claws behind.”

“Then you’ll be here by yourself. I’m flying to Vermont after Christmas. That’s where LifeMap headquarters is going.”

Tanner shook his head. “Since when?”

“Since now.”

“What happened between you and Natalie the other night?”

Liam snapped shut the laptop. “Nothing. This has nothing to do with Natalie.”

“Bull—”

“Vermont is a better fit.”

“Crimson is the perfect fit.” Tanner pointed a finger at him. “And not just for LifeMap.”

“Don’t.” Liam got up, stalked to the counter and poured a third cup of coffee. It was only nine in the morning, but he hadn’t slept worth a damn the past few nights. Ever since Natalie had walked away from him. “Don’t act like you have some great insight into me. This is business, plain and simple.”

“Your father called.”

Coffee sloshed over the rim of Liam’s mug. “Why did he call you and not me?”

“Because I’m more likely to answer.”

“Does he know I’m in Colorado?”

His assistant ignored the question, opening the Life is Sweet box and pulling out a pastry.

“Tanner.”

“He knows. He said something about you not being able to cut the apron strings from your nanny.”

“Jackass,” Liam muttered, although his father’s comment still stung.

“He also mentioned that he’s coming to Aspen for Christmas.”

“I thought wife number five didn’t like cold weather since it means she has to cover up her assets?” With every marriage, his father picked women who were younger and more surgically enhanced. Liam was pretty sure his father’s latest wife was barely in her twenties. “Shouldn’t they be headed to Hawaii or the Bahamas?”

Tanner didn’t answer, instead taking a big bite of bear claw.

“What’s going on?”

“I think he wants to spend Christmas with you,” he said when he’d finished chewing. He picked up a napkin and wiped it across his mouth, mumbling something else as he did.

Liam couldn’t have heard him right. “Repeat that.”

“Donovan Enterprises is interested in acquiring LifeMap.”

The coffee he’d just swallowed turned to acid in Liam’s stomach. “No. Way.”

“I told him you’d say that.” Tanner gave an almost apologetic shrug. “He wants to meet with you personally.”

“The company is barely off the ground. The developer has a prototype, that’s all. He can’t be interested in the company. The whole mission is a stretch for Donovan Enterprises, not what they usually fund at all.”

Tanner just looked at him.

“It’s me,” Liam said, not disguising the bitterness in his tone. “He can’t stand to have me out on my own. He never believed I could be a success without his backing, so he wants to make sure I’m not.”

“I don’t think he liked the Jerry Maguire way you resigned.”

“It wasn’t a manifesto,” Liam muttered.

“You wrote an open letter to the board detailing the ways Donovan Enterprises needed to improve its business dealings, everything you’d found lacking in the company. I believe ‘morally corrupt’ were the words you used to describe your father.”

“That’s kind if you knew the words I was thinking in my head right now.” Liam gripped the edge of the counter, then turned. “It was the only way I could make a clean break. He would have never let me go if I hadn’t made everyone on the board so angry.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “I worked hard for Donovan Enterprises, made every deal I touched there a success. It was time for me to try something different.”

“Not arguing,” Tanner said, holding up his hands. “I followed you, remember?”

“And it’s been good, right?” Liam realized how much the answer mattered and rushed on, “The work, I mean. Creating a company, a product from scratch. I know there aren’t as many five-star lunches and courtside seats from investors. The perks of working for LifeMap are pretty much—”

“Wrapped up in a pink box?” Tanner lifted the lid, stepping forward to wave it under Liam’s nose. “This is as good as it gets as far as I’m concerned. We’ve been a team out of the gate, man. LifeMap is going to blow things out of the water and I’m stoked to be a part of it. You need to work out your issues with your father. There’s no doubt about that.”

“He isn’t—”

“And you need to work out whatever crap is going on with you and Natalie.”

“She doesn’t—”

“And your hang-ups about this town.”

Liam narrowed his eyes and grabbed an apple turnover out of the box. “When did you become so damn insightful?” He bit into the flaky crust of the pastry and for a moment forgot about all his problems in the bliss of that perfect bite. Katie Garrity was a master baker, he knew that for sure.

“I’ve always been insightful.” Tanner opened a bottle of water. “That’s why you pay me the big bucks.”

“Stop talking now.” Liam closed his eyes. “You’re ruining my moment in sugar heaven.”

“To think a few minutes ago you were ready to deny yourself that bliss. It makes me wonder...”

Liam opened one eye, squinting at his longtime friend. “Spit it out.”

“It’s like you are willing to write off Natalie and the whole town because things are a little more complicated than you’d expected.”

“A little?” Liam asked, both eyes on Tanner now. “You know my history with her...with this town.”

“I sure as hell hope you’re a different person than you were ten years ago. But if you keep running off in different directions every time things get hard, then you’re never going to move forward on the path you actually want to take.”

“I’m not running.” Liam tossed the uneaten half of turnover back into the box, his appetite spoiled by the unbidden truth. “You’re forgetting that Crimson was the unwanted detour. I’m here because something is happening to the money I’ve put aside for Ruth. Something beyond her care, obviously, because other than the doctors, she still lives like it was twenty years ago.” He pressed his palms to the counter, letting the cool of the granite seep into his skin. “Do we have any more information on that?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Tanner shook his head. “The manager at the bank has her signature on the withdrawal slip, but you say she has no memory of taking out the money.”

“Not that she’ll tell me. But it’s difficult to know what she actually remembers at this point. The money came out in chunks, so either she’s got it hidden someplace or—”

“Someone is forging her signature?”

“It makes sense, but there aren’t many people who have that kind of access to her.”

“Natalie does,” Tanner offered, almost reluctantly.

Liam took a last drink of coffee and put the mug in the sink. “She says she didn’t take the money. But...” He paused, not wanting to say the thought out loud. “She’s hiding something. There’s more to the story than she’s sharing. What about the other nurse?”

“Nothing suspicious there, but I’ll keep looking. Have you found out anything more from Ruth?”

“I tried pushing her to give me better answers, just a bit, and she got very agitated.” Liam paced to the edge of the kitchen. “She told me if I don’t trust her with the money, to just take it back. Like that’s the point.”

“We’ll figure it out. But don’t give up on this town yet for LifeMap. At least meet with your friend Jase and the other town council members. Locals may be more willing to help out if you keep things friendly.”

“The story of my life,” Liam snapped. “People being nice because they want something from me.”

“You’re the one who wanted to come here, Liam.”

“I know. I thought it would be easier.” He held out a hand when Tanner’s brows shot up. “Not one more word about me walking away when things get difficult. Or I’ll fire you.”

Tanner just laughed. “Good luck with that.”

Liam grabbed the laptop off the counter and headed for the home’s office. Sunlight streamed through the floor to ceiling windows, reflecting off the gilded mirror on the far wall. The furniture in the house was formal and pretentious. He hated it. He hated how it felt impersonal, valuable but lacking any sort of character or substance. A lot like his life.

He missed being at the farmhouse when he wasn’t there, the cozy warmth of it. The smell of the fireplace, the White Shoulders perfume Ruth had been wearing since he was a kid, the sound of Austin’s video games and Natalie humming as she went about her work. It felt like a home. Liam realized what he wanted more than anything was to experience that feeling of home while he was in Crimson.

He had an idea of how he could gain more access to Ruth, to take a closer look around and see if he could find the start of a paper trail that might lead him to answers about the money he’d given her. Natalie wouldn’t like it, but he found that made the plan all the more appealing. He liked her off balance. Hell, he liked her any way he could get her. He was tired of fighting the connection between them, and it was past time she stopped fighting it, too.