Mistletoe & Kisses (49 page)

Chapter Twenty-one

THE MORNING COMES quickly when you toss and turn until early morning before finally falling asleep.  The sounds and smells of breakfast wake Isabella much earlier than she’d hoped, but since Taylor’s up, she doesn’t want to spoil his plans. 

Thankfully she showered before bed, so getting ready takes much less time.  When she goes to get dressed, she looks through her panties and bras, and gets goose bumps picturing what Taylor’s expression would be if he saw her in them.  After all, he picked them all out and, after yesterday, she wonders if he thought about her in them when he did.

Shaking off those thoughts before getting too turned on, she quickly grabs a matching set and dresses in the leggings and sweater he brought for her.  Each outfit was placed together in the bag, like he was planning the outfit for each day’s activities, so she thinks it’s best to go in order.  She skips the hair and make-up, so that her breakfast isn’t cold and she can figure out what the plan for the day is. 

“You look amazing.  Glad I did okay picking out some things for you.”  He loves the blush that spreads across her cheeks; they make it clear she’s thinking of the bra and panty sets he picked for her.  “Hope you’re hungry.  I made eggs and turkey sausage.  There are some strawberries in the fridge too, cut and ready to eat if you want some.”

“Thank you. But you know, you don’t have to cook for me. I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary.”

“I know I don’t have to, but I like to.” 

“You’re gonna spoil me.”  She laughs as she accepts a plate of food from him and heads to the table.

Her laugh is music to Taylor’s ears.  He hasn’t heard that carefree side of her since high school.  And the sounds still does the same thing to him that it did in school, sending a warm feeling from his middle to all his extremities.  He hopes she’ll be relaxed enough for a talk about them tonight.

“What’s the plan for today?”  she asks, interrupting his thoughts, and he’s a little taken off guard. 

“I have to do some studying, but I scheduled a massage and a manicure and pedicure at the resort up the road a bit.  I’ll study in the restaurant while you are being pampered.”

“What?  Why?  I mean, um . . . I don’t need all that.  You can study here, and I can read or sit outside and enjoy the beautiful day.”

“It’s already scheduled.  They’re expecting you in an hour.”

“But, will you be able to study with people around?”

“Of course.  I do it all the time.  Besides, I had them set me up in a corner that won’t be used until ski season.  So, go finish getting ready so we can leave in half an hour.”

She stands, puts her plate in the dishwasher, and heads back to her room.  In the doorway, she turns and utters the four most beautiful words he’s ever heard.  “Thank you.  You’re amazing.”  And then she disappears with a smile on her face, leaving him at the table pleased.

Once they get to the resort, Isabella is amazed by the beauty that surrounds her.  Five years in California and she’s never seen the mountains before, and as much as it disappoints her to know she missed out, she’s thrilled inside to share this with Taylor instead of Eric. 

Inside is almost as beautiful as outside, with windows overlooking the gorgeous lake and lush green mountainside.  Eric gets her checked in and sends her off with the staff to be pampered.  The joy on her face as she’s escorted away hits him hard in the gut.  He hasn’t seen her truly happy since they reconnected, and he imagines it’s actually been years since she looked that happy.  It makes it easy for him to relax into his studying, knowing that he’s the reason she’s happy. 

The ladies working at the spa are so attentive; Isabella has never felt so special.  She’d expected to have her massage first, but they started with the manicure.  It felt nice not to have to have the pedicure done at the same time.  It’s never relaxing to reach across one’s body for a manicure at the while having a pedicure. 

Afterward, Isabella is quite nervous as she heads back to the massage room.  When the woman lets her inside and tells her she can get undressed completely or leave her panties on, she looks around the room trying to decide what to do.  The woman leaves her alone to get ready. She’s never had a massage before, she chooses to leave her panties on . . . not that they cover all that much.  She’s lying out on the table and under the blanket when the door opens. A male voice asks, “Are you ready, ma’am?”

“Yes.”  The nerves are clear in Isabella’s voice.

As the man walks in, he introduces himself as Jeff and prepares the room.  Isabella is so out of sorts, she is afraid to look up and see who the man in the room with her is.  With the soft music playing, and the noises of him moving things around, she takes a few deep breaths to relax. She’s startled practically out of her skin when his hands move the blanket and skim her shoulder blades. 

“Sorry.  I didn’t mean to startle you.  I’m going to start with your shoulders and back, so I’m moving the blanket down to your waist.  Just relax and listen to the music.  And please let me know if you want more or less pressure.”

“Okay.  I’ve never had a massage, so I’m a little nervous.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.  Just close your eyes and breathe.”  Then she hears him squeeze what must be oil on his hands, right before she feels him touch her again.  His hands don’t feel cold, so she’s able to relax a little. As his hands work more magic, she is can’t believe she waited this long to experience this.  The more pressure he uses, the more her body feels like jello. 

When he moves to her legs, it’s all she can do to keep from moaning. His strong hands move over her legs, kneading out all the remaining tension in her body.  When he gets to her feet, it’s heavenly.  It’s like he kneaded the stress from her shoulders, down, and out her feet, leaving her relaxed and boneless.

Taylor is focused on the note cards in front of him, when Isabella walks into the dining room.  He’s so enthralled in his work, he doesn’t notice her until she’s moving a chair out across the table from him.

“Hi,” she says. A simple statement, but he can hear how relaxed she is. 

When he looks over at her, he not only sees that indeed she is relaxed, but he sees the joy radiating from her.  “Enjoy?”

“More than I thought I would.  Thank you.”

“You deserve it . . . and more.”  He quickly breaks eye contact, wanting to leave her a little off balance while he packs his things up.  When he’s got everything, he asks, “Ready for lunch?”

She nods her reply and starts to get up, but he stops her.  “Get comfortable, lunch will be delivered to us shortly.” 

“Here?”   She looks around and realizes that they’re not only alone in the area, but that they have a great view of one of the ski slopes.  “It’s beautiful?”

“Not as beautiful as the company.”  Taylor doesn’t want to come on too strong, but he wants her to be aware that he thinks everything of her. 

“Um, thanks,” she mumbles, looking down at her hands. 

“Don’t be nervous, Isabella.  Let’s just enjoy the day together.”

“Okay.  Thank you.”

After a wonderful lunch, they just sit and enjoy the view for a while before heading back to the cabin.   Although Taylor has a few more hours of studying to put in, Isabella doesn’t feel alone.  She curls up on the opposite side of the couch from him with her kindle, and relaxes into a new book.  For the first time in a long time, she feels content.

Chapter Twenty-two

TAYLOR IS DEEP in his studying, but very much aware of Isabella on the other side of the couch.  It’s all he can do to keep himself from commenting about how adorable she looks curled up under the blanket, reading.  It doesn’t take long before her kindle is lying on her chest and she’s fast asleep.  Taylor just looks at her.  He can’t remember a time when he wasn’t attracted to her.  He hated turning her down in high school, and was devastated when he heard she was getting married. 

The past five years he’s spent in school, with extra units each semester, and taking both summer and winter break classes to finish his bachelor’s degree and law school early. UC Irvine was so accommodating when he’d expressed his wishes to finish early.  Of course, they were concerned about the workload and told him as much, but he assured them that he was focused.  After his first year, the school saw his determination and went above and beyond to make sure he had the classes he needed.  Getting the internship with the top law firm of Orange County was easily secured with the letters of recommendation from the president of the university, who’d taken notice of his fortitude.  In fact, Taylor had become good friends with the president and his family.  It was rather nice to have a family away from home.

All that focus on school left little time for a social life, but he had been with a few women over the years.  In fact, there was one in particular he’d kept around because she understood the score and never pushed for more.  He met her his senior year, and they’d been seeing each other on Thursday nights since then.  He’d broken their arrangement the moment Daniel called and asked for his help with Isabella and her divorce.  Taylor hoped that he may finally get the chance with her that he’d always wanted.

Watching her sleep peacefully across from him, he is conflicted about how to let her know he’s interested in her.  Of course, the spoiling today was one way he hoped she would see how special he thought she was, but tonight, he hopes his plans will show her what he’s been thinking.  It’d never really been his nature to put those thoughts into words, but he’s feeling like it may be time to do so.  Isabella doesn’t seem to be getting his hints. 

Diving back into his work, Taylor tries to push her proximity out of his mind, but when she stretches, all hope is lost.  Her legs pull the blanket below her waist, while her outstretched arms over her head cause her sweater to rise up to just under her breasts. His mind goes blank staring at her creamy skin.  How he wishes he had the right to touch her.  He’d love to wake her up to his touch. 

He’s startled when she speaks.  “See something you like?”  Her sleep-strained voice is husky, and her playfulness is almost his undoing.

Unsure of how to respond, he clears his throat and moves his gaze to her face.  “Just admiring you in a relaxed state.  It’s a nice change.”  He knows that was his chance, but he chickened out, afraid that she would run.

“Today has been wonderful.  I’ve never felt so special before.  Thank you.” 

His brain is on overload with her still sprawled out on the couch; her exposed midsection and her husky voice are causing his body to respond.  He’s thankful for the book on his lap at the moment.  But then she sits up, and leans over to hug him.  “I really mean it.  Thank you, Taylor. You’ve been too good to me.”  When she leans toward his face to kiss his cheek, he takes the opportunity to turn his face so she gets his lips instead.  She pulls away quickly, but doesn’t look upset, which pleases Taylor. 

“Isabella . . . ”  He stops himself, unsure of what exactly he should say.  

“Taylor, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean for that to happen.”  While she’s apologizing, her hand is touching her lips, as if to make sure they are still there.

“Don’t apologize.”  His bluntness startles her and she tries to move back and give herself some space, but he reaches out and uses his arm around her to pull her back to him.  With their faces practically touching, he speaks again.  “I liked it.  Quite a lot.  In fact, I’d like to do it again.”  Without waiting for a response from her, he leans back over and presses his lips to hers.  When she relaxes, he runs his tongue along the seam of her lips, teasing her and asking for entry all at once. 

Surprisingly, Isabella opens and allows him entry.  When he runs his tongue along hers, she visibly shivers, overwhelmed by the emotion flowing through her.  The rush hits her hard and, while she can’t believe this is finally happening, she’s afraid it’s going to hurt when the weekend is over.  “Taylor,” she whispers after pulling back a bit.  “I can’t do this.”

When he looks at her, he can see desire in her eyes, but there is a bit of hurt there too.  “Isabella, what’s wrong?”

“I just . . . can’t.”

“Why?  I can see in your eyes that you want me, and it’s not the first time.”

“It’s not you.”   Her chest rises and falls, trying to control the excitement she feels with the idea that he’s interested in her.  “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.  You’re all I have right now.  I don’t want to mess that up.”

“Why would it get messed up?”

Isabella just stares at him, unsure how handle this.  Even thinking about that day in high school upsets her stomach.  “Um, because it did once before.”  Apparently, her mouth isn’t coordinating with her stomach, and just blurts out her biggest heartbreak.

“What do you mean?”  Taylor looks confused.  And sad.  It hits Isabella that maybe he won’t remember the rejection like she did.  And why would he.  It didn’t hurt him at all. 

“Never mind.”  She tries to move back to her side of the couch, but he stops her. 

“No, I don’t want to never mind.  I want to talk to you.”  He softens his grip on her as well as his voice.  “I don’t want to let this go.”

She just looks at him, wondering how much she should reveal.  If she tells him just how hurt she was, will it make him uncomfortable and make things weird between them?  Will it be so bad she’ll need to find a new place to live?  Knowing it can’t do any good, she just says, “It’s really no big deal.”  Then she moves out of his grip, stands up, and heads off to bed. It’s too early, but she knows she needs the privacy of her room to get her emotions under control. 

“Isabella!” he calls to her when she’s out of sight.  “Come talk to me, please.”  The sadness in his voice breaks her heart, and somehow moves her body back toward him, despite her head saying it’s a bad idea.   When she appears in the doorway, he pleads, “Just sit and talk to me.  I don’t want this to ruin the weekend.” 

“I’m not sure talking will help.”  Her response is small, insecure, and hits him square in the gut.  He knew she’d had trouble with confidence with Eric, but he didn’t expect it to affect her with others.  He never realized how much damage one person could do to another.  He grew up with parents who loved each other, and never let a moment go without showing it. 

“Please.  Talk to me.”

“Taylor, I honestly think it’ll make things weird.”

“You don’t think leaving them this way will be weird?”

She sighs, knowing he’s right, so she goes back to sit on the couch with him, leaving plenty of space between them.  She fears if he touches her again, she’ll loose her mind and not be able to stop anything from happening. 

“I don’t know what to say.”  Isabella’s nerves aren’t a secret as she focuses on her twiddling hands. 

“Isabella, it’s me.  Please don’t hide from me.” 

“Fine.  If this ends badly, remember, you asked for it.” 

When he nods at her, she knows there’s no going back.  It’s time for the truth.