Gift Wrapped for Christmas: A Contemporary Romance (9 page)

Brent toyed with his water glass.
“I never should have become involved with her. I plan to end it next week when
I get back.”

“Good luck with that.” Chase’s
tone made it clear what he thought. “She thinks she’s engaged to you, you
know.” He held up a hand. “I know, I know. You’ve never given her a ring, and I
assume you’ve never officially asked her, but nevertheless it’s what she
thinks.” He paused. “Why did you get involved with her anyway? It’s not as if
you need to get married.”

Brent groaned. He’d created this
mess and owed his brother an explanation.

“I did it for all the wrong
reasons; I can see that now.” He took a deep breath. “You see, I figured you
were never going to get married, and I wanted to create a stable family life
for Annie.”

Chase snorted. “Life with Cynthia
would never be stable.”

“You’re right, of course, but do
you have to rub it in?”

Chase chuckled. “Besides, who
said I’d never get married?”

Brent looked at his brother as
though he were a stranger. “I’ve never heard you say anything, or seen you
seriously date anyone. Seems to me you’ve always been too wrapped up in the
company to have much of a personal life.” His eyes narrowed. “You’ve met
someone, haven’t you?”

The smile on Chase’s face was all
the answer he needed. “You see, this is what I’m talking about. I go away for a
few days, and everything changes. Out with it, man. Who is it?”

Chase stared at the tablecloth
and shook his head back and forth. “I met her the other day when I was having
lunch with Annie.”

Brent’s expression was
thunderous. “Not Maddie!”

Chase looked up, confused. “No,
not Maddie. Her roommate, Lily.” His features softened. “I can’t get her out of
my mind. She’s fiery, she’s independent, and as if that wasn’t enough, she’s the
most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”

“So when are you going out with
her? Or have you already?”

Chase stared into the distance.
“That’s the thing. She doesn’t seem to want to have anything to do with me.”

Brent was silent for a moment and
then laughed. “Come on, Chase. Stop kidding around. There isn’t a single woman
in Calgary who isn’t interested in Chase Drummond.” He smiled a wicked smile.
“And many of the married ones, I imagine.”

Chase acknowledged his brother’s
kidding with a wry smile. “I’ve found the one I’m interested in.”

Brent sobered. “You’re serious,
aren’t you?”

Chase nodded. “I walked into that
coffee shop and saw her, and the ground gave way beneath my feet.” He gave a
self-deprecating laugh. “Sounds like something out of a soap opera, I suppose,
but bingo!” He snapped his fingers. “It happened just like that.”

Brent tried to hide a smile. “Me,
too.”

Chase’s head snapped up. “You’ve
met her?”

“No, you jerk. I’m talking about
Maddie. When she fell off that ladder and I caught her, it was the best moment
of my life.”

Chase drummed his fingers on the
table. “Maddie, huh? Good for you. But you’re saying you met her when she fell
off a ladder? That really does sound like something out of a romance novel.” He
eyed his brother suspiciously. “So is that what’s behind this sudden need to
get rid of Cynthia?”

Brent shook his head. “Not
really. That’s been coming for a while. I don’t like the way she treats Annie.
By the way, we’re getting Annie a sewing machine for Christmas.”

Chase’s eyes went to the stairs.
“Speaking of which, we’d better get up there and tuck her in.”

Brent rose from the table. “No
game of checkers tonight?”

“No, the skating tired her out.
We’ll have two games tomorrow night.” He clapped his brother on the shoulder.
“So...it looks like the Drummond brothers are off the market.”

Brent gave him a skeptical look.
“I am, definitely. It’s you I’m not sure about.”

* * *

Lily was pouring a glass of wine
when Maddie got home. She held up the bottle, wiggled it in invitation, and
Maddie nodded. Lily poured a second glass and shoved it across the counter.

“I see you got your lights up.”

Maddie turned from hanging up her
coat. “You went by the building?”

Lily flushed. “Yeah. I had to
drop some product off at Draper’s.”

Maddie worked hard not to smile.
“Going into the Drummond Building could be dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Lily paused, wine
glass half way to her lips.

“Definitely. You might have run
into Chase.”

Lily’s cheeks flushed even
brighter. “Oh, him. I didn’t even think about that.”

“Lily Hsu. You’re such a phony.”
Maddie stared her down. “You’re blushing.”

Her roommate tried to look
fierce, but a spark of amusement gave her away. “Nonsense. It’s the wine.” She
tossed back her hair. “You know how we Asians are.”

That excuse was getting a bit old,
but Maddie decided not to challenge it. “So did you see him by any chance?”

Lily sighed. “No.” She ran a
finger around the rim of her wine glass. “The lights look nice, though, and I
saw a couple of people taking the flyers you left out. I have a feeling you’re
going to be busy.”

“I hope so, but I’ve been
thinking, and you were right when you said I’d probably need some help. I can’t
be in two places at once, and I hate the idea of losing any business.”

Lily wrapped a strand of hair
around her finger. It was something she did when thinking, and Maddie remained
silent.

“I know someone you might hire.
She’s working for me now, and she’s just not suited to production. She needs to
be out dealing with the public.” She tossed back the strand of hair. “It’s a
toss-up which comes first. Either she’ll quit, or I’ll let her go, but I’d
rather not have to do that. Not everyone takes getting laid off as positively
as you did. I don’t want to make her lose confidence, because I’m quite sure
there’s a future for her in sales of some kind.”

Maddie was one of the few people
who ever saw the softer side of her roommate. Lily was fiercely competitive and
could be aggressive when it came to promoting her business, but she treated her
people with consideration, one of the things Maddie loved about her.

“She sounds a bit...exuberant.”
Maddie frowned. “Do you really think she’d be suitable?”

“Without a doubt.” Lily gave her
head a brisk, no-nonsense shake. “And she’s quite artistic as well. That’s
partly why she’s unhappy. She needs an outlet for her creativity.”

Maddie trusted Lily’s judgment.
“All right, then. How should we go about this?”

Lily toyed with her hair again.
“I’ll mention tomorrow that you’re looking for someone. She’ll be there the
same day, I can almost guarantee it. Her name is Zelda, by the way.”

Maddie groaned. “And I suppose
her boyfriend’s name is Scott.”

Lily chucked. “Wouldn’t that be
something? No, I think his name is Brendan. And listen, if you need her soon,
she can leave almost any time. Most of our Christmas orders went out back in early
fall, so we’re working on next year. This would be a good time for me to train
someone new.” She glanced at her watch. “By the way, where were you when I
stopped by? That was more than half an hour ago.”

It was Maddie’s turn to blush. “I
was over at the skating rink, watching Annie.”

“Watching Annie, huh?” Lily
lifted her glass and stared over the rim. “Why am I thinking there’s something
you’re not telling me?”

“How do you do it, Lily? How do
you always know?”

Her friend gave an elegant shrug
of her shoulders. “I’ve known you too long, kiddo. We practically grew up
together, remember?”

“Yeah.” Maddie stared into her
wine. “You’re not going to believe this, but I’ve met someone, too.”

Lily scooted forward on her
stool. “That’s terrific.” She pulled back a bit. “Isn’t it?”

Maddie raised her eyes. “His name
is Brent, and he’s Chase Drummond’s brother.”

Lily was silent for a moment,
absorbing this information. “Tell me.”

“Well, the first time I saw him,
I thought he was the maintenance guy in the building.” She smiled at the
memory. “And then today he came by the shop when I was setting up, and I asked
him to help me. He played along, and it wasn’t until Annie came running in that
I knew who he was.”

Lily shook her head. “How could
you possibly think...?”

“He’s a geologist. He wears tight
jeans and a soft leather bomber jacket, and his hair isn’t all slicked down.
He’s definitely not a suit.”

“I thought there was something
different about you. You have stars in your eyes.” Lily tilted her head to one
side. “Did he mention Chase?”

There was something in her voice,
something wistful. “Nothing specific. Any time he mentioned Chase, it was to do
with Annie. You know, what a good kid she is...stuff like that. He says I’m to
go ahead and get a sewing machine for her. He also mentioned a puppy, but
somehow I think that’s more for himself than it is for Annie.”

“We really should get her out to
the studio. After all, we promised.”

“I think I heard some of the
mothers talking about the teachers taking the afternoon off tomorrow and the
next day.” Maddie watched her friend as she spoke.

Lily brightened. “Sounds good.
How does that fit in with your schedule?”

“Well...” Maddie took the plunge.
“I might be busy. Would it be okay if Chase brought her?” She sensed rather
than saw the excitement in her friend.

“Okay.” Lily looked Maddie in the
eye. “I’ve been doing some thinking, and I might have misjudged him.” She
picked up the wine bottle and deposited it in the recycle bin, suddenly businesslike.
“I think I’ll go wash my hair and turn in early.” A hopeful smile touched her
lips. “As the saying goes, tomorrow is another day.”

* * *

Maddie was jotting down the
details of her third order of the morning when she looked up to see a young
woman standing nervously in front of her shop. Tall and slender, her blonde
hair was saved from perfection by a broad swath of dark red.

This must be Zelda
, she
thought, studying the young woman. She’d made an attempt to tone down her hair
with a wide gold barrette, and the effect was striking.

“Thank you for the order,” she
said into the phone and checked the details. “This shouldn’t be any problem.”
She disconnected and raised her head. “Hello, are you Zelda?”

The young woman’s smile lit up
the lobby. “Yes.” She held out her hand. “You must be Maddie.”

They discussed the job and agreed
that Zelda would start on the following Monday. Her new helper asked if she
could check the gift wrapping supplies and made a few suggestions.

“I know where we could pick up
some inexpensive baskets.” She pointed to the shelves in the back of the shop.
“We could put together some ready-made gift baskets and give them attractive
names.” She strode back and forth as she spoke. “Like ‘wine lovers’ or
‘gourmet’ or ‘scrapbookers’ or ‘golfers’. We could make up a few samples and
put them there. Do you mind if I put some ideas together as to content and
prices?” She nodded to herself, and Maddie could tell she was assembling items
in her mind. “Also, do you know that big craft store out by the airport?”

Maddie shook her head. “I haven’t
lived here very long.”

“They’re having a closing out
sale. I could pick up some raffia and check out their ribbons and stuff like
that. This is going to be so cool!”

Maddie was swept up by the girl’s
enthusiasm and didn’t notice Chase, who stood watching them with a smile on his
face. She waved him over.

“I put some of your flyers up in
the club,” he said before she could speak.

“Thank you. I’ve already had
three orders this morning.” She motioned to Zelda. “This is Zelda, and she’s
going to give me a hand starting next week. She has some great ideas already.
Zelda, I’d like you to meet Chase Drummond.”

He nodded. “Nice to meet you,
Zelda. Well, I should get going.”

Maddie ducked out the side door
of her shop and ran across the lobby to catch up to him. “Brent asked me to get
a sewing machine for Annie, but since I started the conversation with you, I
thought I’d double check. Is that okay?”

“Sure.” He seemed awfully casual
about it when his girlfriend had been so opposed, but who was she to question?
“Oh, by the way, I understand that Annie has the next two afternoons off. I
checked with Lily, and she says Annie is welcome to go to the studio either
this afternoon or tomorrow, if that’s convenient.” She pretended not to see the
flare of interest in his eyes, and looked back toward her shop. “I really don’t
have time to take her out there myself. Is there anyone else who could take
her?”

He answered almost before she’d
finished talking. “I can take her.”

“Okay, I’ll jot down her address
and phone number for you.” She turned aside so he wouldn’t see her look of
triumph. She handed him the card. “Have fun.”

Chase took the card, tucked it
into his inside jacket pocket and patted it. “I will.”

* * *

“Lily, there’s a man on line one
for you.”

Lily looked up from the cutting
table. She still did almost all of the cutting by herself, especially when
costly fabrics were involved. She had created a stunning peony devore design on
rich burgundy velvet, and didn’t trust the cutting to anyone else.

“Take a message, Helka. I’ll call
him back as soon as I can.”

Her assistant placed her hand
over the receiver. “He says his name is Chase Drummond.”

Lily’s heartbeat accelerated but
she forced herself to remain calm. “I’ll be right there.”

She put down the scissors,
composed herself and walked to her office. “Lily Hsu,” she said, wondering if
she sounded as nervous as she felt.

“Hello, Lily. I don’t know if you
remember me, it’s Chase Drummond.” His voice lit a fire in the pit of her stomach.
“I saw Maddie this morning and she mentioned that it would be all right if I
brought Annie around for a visit.” He sounded almost breathless. “Would this
afternoon be too soon?”