Back to December (Ward Sisters Book 1) (15 page)

“And you didn't fire him for that?”

“Are you kidding? He's not even the worst. The guy we had before him was a total letch and the woman before that copped a feel every time she came within striking distance. And, no, I don't mean my ass. Come on, let's warm you up a little. And get you away from the door. I'm fine with Christopher seeing you without clothes, but I'm not keen on the guy from room service looking at you.”

“Don't tell me you didn't warn me just because Christopher is a lot to explain. You wanted to watch me strip.”

He laughed. “Guilty. If dinner wasn't set to arrive any minute, I'd show you how much I appreciated it. But I'm starving and I'm sure you are, too. So let's get you some clothes and sit down to eat first.”

He sent her to the bedroom to change just as the knock came for room service. When Em went back to the dining room, wearing the yoga pants and sweatshirt she'd brought from her room, Rob was tipping the waiter and the table was set. “No dessert today?” she asked, disappointed.

“They'll bring that later. It needs to be served hot. Sit. Eat. Tell me about your day.”

The talked about what she had accomplished that day and about her meeting with Amy. He apologized for his sister's aggressive behavior, but she assured him that she got the point. In a way, she was glad Amy was the one making it and she didn't have to find out the hard way.

She asked Rob how it went with his interviews. He told her that only one woman from an online magazine tried to push the new girlfriend issue, but he just ignored her question and she didn't ask it again. She asked him to tell her about the movie that was premiering, what it was, when it was filmed, where, the premiere details. She was impressed that it was premiering at Sundance. She had been to Park City a few years earlier, for a conference in the summer. She thought it would be very cool to be there during the film festival.

“Do you want to go?”

“With you? To Sundance? Really?”

“You
did
say you wanted to be my girlfriend, didn't you? Or did I misunderstand that?”

“No, that's what I said.”

“Then, yes, of course. I wouldn't make you go to any of this stuff if you didn't want to do it, but if you want to go to Sundance, then you should definitely come with me. I don't go every year, but with the movie premiering there, it's a lock this year. And you'll get the VIP treatment. It's fun to go, anyway, but it's a whole other world if you're not just a spectator. I also have to go to the Globes this year. I'm presenting and a movie I helped produce and had a minor role in is up for some awards. Do you want to go to that with me? I know Amy would love a break.”

“You want me to come with you to the Golden Globes?”

“Unless you don't want to go...”

“No! Of course, I'll go with you. I guess I just...I don't know. I wasn't really thinking about that stuff. I keep forgetting that you're not just this fantastic guy with a great apartment and some serious bedroom skills.”

“Well, I am all that.” He winked. “I just have a job that requires me to do all these other things. Which, by the way, are far more enjoyable when you've got someone to share in the insanity. Amy used to think it was a blast, but she's bored with it. And my mom hates that we have to put in appearances at a ton of parties sometimes. By the time we're headed home, she's usually passed out in the limo or has asked the driver to take her back hours earlier. You'll love it the first time though. They both did for a while. I just didn't have a girlfriend for so long, they got stuck going to everything where I needed a date.”

“Do you have to take a date to every event?”

“No. Amy usually decides which ones I can attend solo. A lot of it has to do with why I'm there. The bigger my role in being there, the more important it is that I have a date. Even though the less likely it is that I'll actually get to spend time with my date at those events. It's a catch-22. I did a lot of work the last few years because I was single and it was easier to keep busy than to think about it too much. I got to skip a lot of the minor stuff because I had the excuse of being on location. But I've got a ton of stuff in the can that will be premiering in the next two years. It would be nice to have someone to share all that.”

“Well, I'll gladly share it with you, whenever you want me there. Just as long as Christopher isn't allowed to fondle me again. That was just weird.”

Rob laughed and promised that he'd tell Christopher to keep his hands off her ample assets. He didn't mention that she sidestepped his insinuation that he would want her around over the course of the next two years, and neither did Emily. As odd as it seemed to be thinking about them as a couple in two years' time, it felt right.

Like it would happen.

Like there was absolutely no reason to doubt it.

Dessert arrived, and Emily was again assaulted, but this time, by the decadent smell that hit her nose as soon as the cart arrived in the hallway. Before the waiter even knocked, she knew he was there.

When the cover was removed from the plates, she thought she was in heaven. It was a molten chocolate cake, with homemade vanilla bean ice cream melting on the side and what Rob said was a strawberry balsamic sauce drizzled over the top. When she took the first bite, she sighed. It almost topped the brownies.

Almost.

“I think you're my culinary twin. So far, you haven't fed me a single thing that I didn't like. In fact, I've loved all of it.”

“Good. Because I'm a foodie. I love to try new restaurants. Not just anything, though. I know what I like and what I don't. I'm only willing to go so far. I'm no Anthony Bourdain.”

Em laughed. Neither was she.

They ate dessert and discussed their favorite restaurants. When she was done, Emily subconsciously ran her finger through the sauce on her plate and licked it off. Rob was suddenly quiet.

“What? Did I just gross you out?”

Rob shook his head. His breathing had changed. Oh. She hadn't disgusted him, she had turned him on.

He scooted closer to her and dipped his finger in the sauce on her plate. She opened her mouth and sucked it off his finger, looking him in the eye as she did. His pupils dilated and he swallowed hard.

How could it be this erotic, being with him? They were fully clothed. She was wearing sweats, for God's sake. And yet, that look, it said he wanted her. Now. And it made her want him too.

They stood at the same time. He brought her face to his and kissed her sensually, his tongue dipping into her mouth. He tasted like dessert, rich chocolate, sweet ice cream and tart sauce. She wound her arms around his neck. His hands wandered down her back to her butt, lifted her, wrapped her legs around his waist, and pressed her center into his impressive erection. Emily wanted Rob inside her so much, she thought she would be consumed by it before he could get there.

She pulled away from his mouth. “Take me to bed. Make love to me. Please.”

He kissed her again, pulling her to him as he walked with her to the bedroom. He set her down on the bed and yanked his shirt over his head. She couldn't get tired of seeing his chest, rippled with muscles moving as he lifted his arms to take off his shirt, worked off his belt, shoved his pants and boxers to the floor. And there he was, in all his glory, ready to go.

She had been so dazzled by watching him take off his clothes that she still wore her own.

“You have too many clothes on,” he breathed. And he helped her get out of them quickly. He stripped off her sweatshirt, unclasped her bra with a flick of his wrist, pulled off her pants and thong in one swift move.

As soon as she was undressed, he grabbed a condom from the drawer. She moved to the edge of the bed and took it from his hand saying, “Let me.”

It floored her that something which used to be like a chore could be so sexy with the right person. And the more she was with him, the more she realized that Rob was the right person.

That anyone before him had just been practice.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, Christmas Eve Day...

In the morning, as daylight tried to peek around the curtains again, Emily woke with a start, sure she'd forgotten something important. She bolted upright, which disturbed Rob, since she had been snug in his arms again.

“What's wrong?” he croaked, rubbing her back.

“I feel like I forgot something.” She shoved the heel of her hands into her eyes.

He cleared his throat. “For work?”

“No. Something else.”

Just then, she heard the Nokia tune which signaled her mother's cell. She had downloaded it for her iPhone because it was an annoying reminder of who would be on the other end. There was a time, when she had a Nokia phone and few ringtone choices, when her mother called so much that the tune played constantly.

Em sighed and got out of bed. She headed to the dining room where she had left her phone on the buffet table inside her purse. For some reason, it didn't seem strange to be walking out of the bedroom completely naked. Rob wolf- whistled at her as she walked away. She turned to him and smiled sweetly. She still couldn't believe he thought she was that hot.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Emily, I just tried to call your room and you didn't answer. You haven't called since we spoke the other day. Are you all right?”

“I'm fine, Mom. It's only...6:15 in Minneapolis. Was there something you needed?”

“I just wanted to know if you were planning to call on Christmas. You didn't even tell us what you were doing for the holiday. I hate that you won't be here.”

“I can't come home for a couple days, Mom. It makes no sense. Besides, I have plans.” What she had forgotten finally came to the front of her brain. She didn't tell Rob the good news the night before, that she was free for Christmas.

“What kind of plans? You're not going to sit at the hotel alone are you?”

“No, Mom. I've been invited somewhere. Don't worry about me. I'll call you guys, I promise.”

“Are you going to your old roommate's? Doesn't she live nearby? What was her name? Amanda? Amber? Ashley?”

“Angie, Mom. Her name is Angie. I
was
going to spend Christmas with them, but her kids are sick. I had another invitation, so I'm taking that instead.” She was walking toward the bedroom door as she spoke. She looked in at Rob, and he sat up slowly, a look of pleasant surprise on his face.

“Another invitation? Who else do you know in Minnesota?” She lowered her voice. “Wait, you're not spending Christmas with...
Deac Roberts
, are you?”

Emily sighed. “His name is Rob, Mom. And, yes, I'm spending Christmas at his house with him and his family. They all live nearby. I'll call you from my cell. I won't be at the hotel for a few days after,” she looked at Rob for confirmation, “today. In fact, don't bother to call me at my room anymore. I hardly go there.”

She twirled her hair as she looked at Rob. She wanted to touch him.

“I've got to go, Mom. I'll call you later.”

She ignored her mother's plea to listen and she hung up the phone. For good measure, she set it to silent.

Emily walked slowly to the bed, dropping her phone on the nightstand. She sat down next to Rob, who looked at her like she was breakfast.

“Is that what you forgot?” he asked.

“It is. I got a text from Angie on the way home last night. I'm sending the action figures over to the boys via courier today. Angie was thrilled. She said she had given up because she couldn't find them anywhere for less than a mortgage payment.”

He pulled her on top of him. “I'm glad. Both that you were able to help your friend and that you're free to come home with me tonight. I'm excited for you to meet my family. And to spend Christmas with you.”

He kissed her passionately, running his hands along her naked body. He rolled her underneath him.

“We've still got at least a half hour before breakfast. Do you think we can find something to do in that time?” He nudged her thighs apart.

She liked his thinking. “Only if you let me be on top again.”

He rolled her back so that she was straddling him. “Deal.” And then he kissed her again. He pulled her toward him, so that she was rubbing along his length. It would be easy to just let him inside, but she wasn't on the pill, and that could be a mistake. Before her hormones let her get carried away, she reached for the condoms in the drawer. There was only one left.

As she put it on him, she said, “I hope you have lots more of these somewhere, because that's the last one. And tomorrow is a holiday.”

“No worries,” he groaned as she took him inside. And that was the last thing either of them said until they came together some time later.

Rick took her to her room and, as promised, Miko, one of Christopher's assistants, was waiting for her clothes. She gave him all her work clothes, except what she planned to wear and her underclothes, and he promised to have them back by day's end.

While she dealt with Miko, Rick did the sweep of her room. As he got ready to leave she said, “Can you give Liam a couple of days off?”

“He's fine. He's used to it. Half his job is sitting on his butt.”

“He won't need to guard me if I'm at Rob's house, will he?”

“You're coming to Christmas? I thought Rob said you had other plans?”

“Plans changed. So, can you give Liam a couple of days off? I don't have to be back at the museum until the 27
th
. I have to work today so I get Boxing Day instead.”

“Yeah, sure. I'm glad you're coming. Everyone is anxious to meet you.”

“I've already met you and Amy.”

“Yeah, well, okay, Kelly and my mom are anxious to meet you. I'll let you get ready. Liam will be here in a few minutes. You know we have dinner tonight with the family?” She nodded. “Is Rob picking you up at the museum?”

“Yes. Miko said they'll deliver all my clothes to his suite. I'll take the rest of my stuff with me in the car and leave them with Mo.”

“Emily, it makes a lot more sense for you to just stay with Rob upstairs.”

“I know. It's just...I don't really want it to get out that I'm staying there all the time, you know? If I at least have my room here, then it's possible that I'm staying in it.”

“Rob will cover your room so you can keep it without actually staying here. The logistics are simpler if you go directly there instead of coming here a couple times each day. Look, it doesn't much matter at the moment, right? You'll be gone a couple days, anyway. You can decide what you want to do when you get back after the holiday, okay? I'll let you get ready for work so you're not late. We'll be at the museum tonight at 6 p.m., so be ready. Liam will plan to walk you down and then I'll give him time off until you head back to work on the 27
th
. Does that work for you?”

“Yes. Thanks. See you tonight.”

She took a quick shower and did the fastest hairstyle she could manage on short notice – she dried her hair and then put it in a twist. It left tendrils of hair around her face and at the back of her neck, with curls at the top of her head. Fortunately, her minimal makeup routine only took a couple minutes. As she flung open the door, she was pulling on her coat. Liam was startled. “Sorry. Running a little late this morning.”

“Too much time at the Love Shack?”

“Ha ha. No. Too much time talking to your boss. He's giving you a couple of days off. And he tried to convince me that I should just move all my stuff up to Rob's.”

“I told you that. He'll pay for you to keep this room if you're worried about what people think. Running back and forth just wastes time for everyone. But if it's what you want...”

“No. He's right. I should just do it. Can you get my suitcase? I had to pack it all up, anyway, so that I could go over to Rob's tonight. Rick said they're picking me up at the museum at 6 p.m., so you're free after that.” Liam smiled his thanks.

Soon, they were at the car. Emily said hello to Mo and got in the car while Liam put her suitcase in the trunk. When he closed the lid, she could see the reporters milling around at the end of the street. Liam got in the car and blocked her view. “Don't worry about them,” he said. “For all they know, you could be headed home to your family after work today.”

The day went by quickly. Fortunately, Em was able to get all the last-minute items done before close of business, which was a good thing; most of the vendors were either closed for Christmas Eve or had other events on their plate. If she didn't get it done before 5 p.m., then she wouldn't have been able to do anything until she came back.

She took the hour she had left and worked on emails to Marcus and Lucinda, to keep them abreast of what had happened over the course of the week. She let them know that she would be available via cell and email if necessary. Then she packed up her laptop and closed the office for the night.

Just as she was headed to the conference room to retrieve Liam, her phone rang. It was chirping birds, which meant it was Charlie.

“Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown. What can I do for you?”

“Em, Mom is freaking out because you're spending Christmas with Deac.”

“Why does she care where I'm spending Christmas, Charl? It's not like I'd be coming home, regardless.”

Charlie sighed. “I think she was hoping you would come to your senses and you'd run home to Josh for Christmas.”

“Well, that was never going to happen, Charlie. Even if I hadn't met Rob the other day, I wasn't coming home for Christmas. And I was planning to end things with Josh for good when I got home, anyway. I decided that on the way out here. It wasn't working. I was miserable.”

“I know, Em. She just...she thinks that Deac...I mean, Rob is a bad influence on you.”

“How would she know? She's never met him!”

“She's making an assumption because of the video and your breakup with Josh.”

“First of all, Charl, I broke up with Josh before I left. Before I met Rob. I implied we might get back together when I came home, but I decided that wasn't going to happen while I was on my way here. And second of all, that video showed something that should have been a lot more clandestine than it was. I didn't realize that we were so exposed in a private booth at a private club. I know better than that now. It's not Rob's fault I was naïve.”

“Did you sleep with him, Em?”

“That night? No. Since then, yes.”