The Billionaire's First Christmas - Contemporary Romance (12 page)

She’d invited me out on a date, I
would assume. That was nice of her, but the part about her assuming
that I would just show up; that bothered me. What made her assume
such a thing? Was it the kiss? Had I given her the idea that we
were something we’re not? I leaned my elbows on the desk and put my
head in my hands. What had I done? I didn’t normally do this. I
never set a woman up to get her heart broken right before I left on
my Christmas trip. I never set them up period. I always told them
straight out what I was looking for. It was always temporary. Why
was Robyn so different?

ROBYN

I went by the mall on my way home from
work on Wednesday evening and bought a new dress. I wanted to look
great for dinner Thursday night, especially since I hadn’t heard
from Aaron. I hadn’t been convinced that he would agree to go, but
since I hadn’t heard from him and it was already Wednesday night, I
thought that was a good sign. I thought he was enough of a
gentleman that he would have surely called if the answer was no. I
couldn’t imagine him just not showing up. I walked around and
listened to the Christmas music and looked at all the pretty
decorations. I got some ideas for my own tree from the one in the
center of the mall and while I was there, I bought some more
Christmas decorations. I enjoyed seeing everyone out, looking happy
and excited that the season was finally upon us. I went home with a
warm, happy feeling in my heart.

I left work early on Thursday with
Max’s blessing. I had a ton of vacation time saved up and he was
more than willing to let me use it here and there before the
holidays. I went straight home and started getting ready. I took a
long, hot bubble bath first. It felt so good to soak in the warm,
soft bubbles when the weather was so harsh and cold outside. I
loved the snow, but I loved it even more from the warmth of my own
home.

When I got out of the tub, I slipped
on my robe and I put my hair in hot rollers. Afterwards, I applied
my make-up carefully and then I slipped on my new dress. It was a
light green pleated chiffon gown with beaded back bodice and it was
sleeveless with beads that went across the shoulders. It had an
A-line skirt that ended just below the knee. I had the perfect pair
of silver shoes to wear with it. Once I was dressed, I took out the
rollers and shook my hair out loose around my face and across my
shoulders. I painted my fingernails and my toenails and when they
dried, I put on a silver chain, earrings and shoes. I took a final
look in the mirror before I put on my coat. I was satisfied with
the result. I grabbed my bag and then crossed my fingers and made a
wish on the star outside my window that Aaron would show up, and
then I headed out.

On my way to the restaurant, I thought
about how long it had been since I’d seen all of my dear friends.
Melissa and her fiancé had a Halloween party and everyone was
there. I’d dressed up like a cheetah in a costume that I’d made
myself. It was a body suit with a little skirt and I’d made gloves
and ears with the same material. The party had been a blast and I’d
won best costume. The only regret I had that night was that all of
my friends, even the unmarried ones, had partners. Some of them
were just dating still, but they’d all been together for a while. I
liked them all, and they all made me feel welcome… but I still felt
a little bit like the odd man out. Melissa was always trying to set
me up with one of Chris, her fiancé’s, friends. I appreciated that
she worried about me and wanted to see me in a happy relationship,
but I was of a mind that when it came to the man I was meant to be
with, I would find him on my own, and I’d know when I found
him.

I parked my car in the lot and got a
little excited tickle when I saw a limousine driving in. The driver
got out to open the door for their passenger. It wasn’t Aaron’s
chauffer Jeffrey, who I counted as one of my newest friends. I felt
disappointed when I saw the smartly dressed man and woman get out
of the car while the chauffeur held the door. I shook it off
quickly, however, telling myself it was early yet. There was still
time for Aaron to show. I wasn’t going to let myself get down
tonight. Tonight was about good times with good company.

I spotted Melissa and Chris at the bar
when I walked in. I checked my coat and went over to see
them.

“Robyn!” Melissa wrapped me in a hug.
“I’m so happy to see you. Look at you, you’re gorgeous! How are you
still single?”

Laughing, I thanked her and said, “I
have no idea. And right back at you. I love that color on you!”
Melissa was a petite little brunette with big blue eyes and a spray
of freckles across her nose. She looked gorgeous, especially
tonight in her strapless red holiday dress.

“What about me?” Chris pretended to
pout. “This suit is the exact shade of my eyes.” I hugged him
too.

“Of course it is… I was just going to
say…” Chris was six foot five and looked like a linebacker. He was
in a chocolate brown suit with a festive red tie. The suit did in
fact match his eyes. He was kidding about picking it out though, I
was sure. Chris was color blind and Melissa rarely let him pick out
his own clothes. When she did, he was often seen wearing wildly
mis-matched colors. It was something we all teased him about. He
was a great sport though. I was so happy that Melissa found him.
They were perfectly suited to each other. He was a really good
guy.

“Where is your date?”

“He’ll be here soon,” I told her.
“He’s meeting me here.”

“I can’t wait to meet him,” she
said.

“Where is everyone else?” I asked
them.

“Carol and Brett will be here soon.
She just text me, and I think I see Nadine and Tom walking in now.”
I turned to see our friend Nadine coming towards us. She was a
tall, willowy African-American woman with light mocha skin that
always had a glow to it. We met Nadine in college and she’d been a
good friend since. Her fiancé Tom was an artist who was rapidly
gaining a following in New York. He was always happy and a ton of
fun to hang out with. We all gave hugs and kisses and said hello
and by that time, Carol and Brett arrived. Brett was the one that
went way back with us in that couple. He and Melissa dated in
college. It didn’t work out, but we’d all been tight ever since
anyways. Carol and Brett had been dating for about six months now.
She seemed like she was going to fit into the group just
fine.

“Are we ready to sit?” Chris asked.
Melissa looked at me questioningly. I was sure she didn’t want to
embarrass me by asking where my date was and I loved her for
it.

“Sure, let’s sit. My date should be
here soon,” I said.

We all sat down and the server took
our drink and appetizer orders. I was starting to get nervous that
Aaron wasn’t going to show up. I regretted telling Melissa that I
had a date; the empty chair next to me looked ominous. I knew my
friends wouldn’t judge me for it, but they’d feel badly for me and
I didn’t want to be the cause of a damper on the evening. I kept
looking towards the door and the bar, crossing my fingers that he
was still going to make it, although I knew at this point I was
fooling myself. It was already half past eight. I took one final
look and turned back towards Melissa to tell her we could order… he
wasn’t going to come. That was when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
Excitedly I turned around… and there was Gary.

“Gary, hi!” I said, surprised to see
him and hoping my disappointment wasn’t showing on my face. I was
also a little concerned about why Gary was here. Was he stalking me
now? That was kind of a mean thought. This was a popular, public
place. I was just so disappointed that it hadn’t been Aaron tapping
me.

“Hey Robyn,” he said. “I was having a
drink at the bar and saw you. I just wanted to say hi and tell you
that you look fantastic.” He had that look on his face
again.

“Thanks,” I said. He was so nice and I
felt really mean for being so disillusioned when I first saw him. I
turned to Melissa who had been in conversation with Nadine. Carol
and Brett were talking to Chris. I don’t think anyone had heard
what Gary and I said to each other. “Have a seat,” I told him,
quickly. He looked surprised, but happy. He sat down in Aaron’s
empty chair and I leaned in and whispered, “I was wondering if you
haven’t eaten yet, if you’d like to join us for dinner?”

Gary’s face lit up and he said, “Yes,
I’d love to.”

“Okay, thank you,” I told him, smiling
back. “I’m going to introduce you as my date, so play along, okay?”
I’d done my best for so long to not encourage him and I was
probably undoing all of that right now. He looked about to burst he
was so happy. I didn’t think it could be all that wrong. It made me
happy that he was happy. I was still disappointed in Aaron. The
least he could have done was call…

CHAPTER ELEVEN

~

AARON

It was already half past eight when I
got to the restaurant. I should have called Robyn and let her know
I was running late. The reason that I didn’t was that I was running
late because I hadn’t decided to go until the very last minute.
Once I finally stopped waffling back and forth, I was already late
and I thought it would be better if I just explained myself when I
got there.

All week I had been going back and
forth about it. I would tell myself I wasn’t going. Robyn was too
fascinated by Christmas and since it was almost Christmas time, I
would get roped into all of her “Christmassy” activities or I would
break her heart when I left for Belize and refused to do Christmas
with her. Either way, it was a bad situation. It was too close to
Christmas to lead her on. The holiday obviously meant a lot to
her.

I would pick up the phone to call her
and tell her all that but before I dialed her number, I would put
it back down and start the argument for going to the restaurant. I
would tell myself that not dating her because she liked Christmas
was ridiculous. It was true; it was probably the most ridiculous
reason for not dating a person that I’d ever heard. If I knew it
was ridiculous, imagine how it would sound to other people. I may
as well just stop dating period. Everyone loves Christmas, except
for me. I had my reasons of course, but that was also something I
didn’t want to have to talk about. I liked Robyn. What would be
wrong with dating her? She would eventually come to understand that
we would just always differ on the subject of Christmas…
right?

Finally after debating it to death in
my head and getting very little work done all week, I decided to
go. First and foremost because I hadn’t seen her since Saturday and
I really missed her face. Second of all because I’d never called
her to decline and just not showing up would be much too rude.
Thirdly, I was hoping if I made contact with her and maybe got a
few things settled, I’d be able to concentrate on something else
for a while and actually get some work done. It was only a date
after all.

I walked inside and was still standing
near the front of the restaurant when I saw her. She looked so
beautiful that even from a distance she took my breath away. She
was seated at a table with three other couples and the seat next to
her was empty. Presuming it was for me, I started over. That was
when I saw Gary. He worked for me and I had seen him at the
auction, bidding like mad for Robyn. I asked Max if there was
anything between them and he had laughed. He told me that Robyn is
too nice to tell him to get lost, and that Gary was infatuated with
her. I could see the way he was looking at her now, with worship in
his eyes. Before I made it as far as the bar, Gary was taking my
seat. I cursed myself in my head and turned towards the bar. I
didn’t think that she’d invited Gary in my place. What I thought
was that she had to save face because like an idiot, I hadn’t shown
up and I hadn’t called.

I glanced back over at them. Robyn had
her back to me now and the light over the table shone off her
silky, honey gold hair. I wanted to touch it… I wanted to kiss her
again. I had a wild urge to go over and force Gary out of my chair.
He was my employee after all. I could use my clout to get rid of
him. I didn’t do any of those things. Thank God for impulse control
and common sense. I knew that I was too late and if I went over now
I would make her and everyone else at the table uncomfortable. I
would never use my power over an employee like that either. I
doubted that Robyn would be okay with it. She didn’t seem like the
type who would be impressed by such nonsense. With a final glance
at her lovely profile, I left. I felt like a fool. It wasn’t a
feeling I was used to.

***

I let another week go by without
contacting Robyn. I owed her a huge apology for not showing up to
dinner. Well, as far as she knew, I didn’t show up. I was ashamed
of myself for not following through with calling her to at least
apologize. I kept telling myself that if I let enough time pass
between us the feelings would go away. I don’t know when I suddenly
became a coward. It wasn’t like me at all. I’ve never been hesitant
to ask a woman I found attractive out and I’d never met one that
intimidated me in the least. When it was time to stop seeing her
because it had become unpleasant for me for whatever reason, I just
told her the truth. I’ve dated some of the richest women in the
world as well as a lot of poor ones. I’d never met one that
affected me the way that Robyn did, and it scared the hell out of
me. I wasn’t used to being scared either and I didn’t like it. So
what have I done about it? Absolutely nothing. I kissed her and she
brought me cookies and invited me out, and I haven’t so much as
called her. When or if I finally do, I doubt that she’ll believe I
waited so long because I didn’t know what to say, but that was the
honest to God truth. I’m the CEO of a multi-national company. I’m
rich and I’m powerful and I’m confident. Why can’t I just pick up
the phone and call her? I think deep down that it’s because I don’t
understand what I’m feeling, so I have no idea how to explain it to
her. If I tried, it was probably just going to come out sounding
stupid. I hated to sound stupid. It was probably a moot point
anyways. I’m sure she despises me by now.