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December 16th
BLAIR STEPPED AWAY from the podium to the sound of enthusiastic applause. The Mislin Bush Historical Society members had been a great audience for her afternoon presentation. Despite her nerves around public speaking, they’d been attentive and asked great questions at the end. Unfortunately, her anxiety about Colson remained at an all-time high.
As she made her way through the crowd to shake hands, Blair had to fight the urge to check her watchfor the time. She’d agreed to meet Colson here at historical society headquarters so they could finally talk. Ordinarily, she would have suggested they meet at one of their homes or her shop, but neutral territory was probably for the best. The location would stop her from impulsively throwing herself at him.
At that exact moment, she felt a huge hand envelop hers to gently tug her closer. Her heart pounded as Colson leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek. His mouth was firm, and yet his lips felt warm as he kissed her. Heat flooded her entire body. The stubble on his jaw scratched against her skin, his familiar pine and mint scent filling her lungs. All of a sudden, she was lightheaded. Too dizzy to stand upright.
Desperate to steady herself, she placed her free hand on his broad shoulder, using his body to anchor her – she had to avoid tumbling to the floor in front of dozens of townspeople.
Whispers went through the crowd the second she touched him.
So much for propriety. Not even a full minute near him and she was already throwing herself at Colson. Ugh.
“Hey, Blair,” he said, his voice low and gravelly. “How have you been?”
Miserable without you, she wanted to say. But this wasn’t the time or the place. Not that there would ever be a right moment to reveal all the things he was doing to her heart.
“Great,” she answered, amazed when her voice didn’t tremble in the slightest. If only she hadn’t reached for him earlier. She would have been able to play things completely cool. Instead, she had already managed to set off the rumor mill among the historical society members. “I do think I need to sit down, though. Haven’t eaten in a while—”
“I bought you a burger,” he interrupted. “To make up for last time when you couldn’t get one with your friends.”
She felt herself blush furiously. In addition to it being a thoughtful gesture, he was reminding her of why she hadn’t gone to get a burger with the other carolers. Rather than follow the annual tradition, she’d cut the excursion short to invite Colson over to her place. Then one thing had led to another and they’d ended up in bed together. Which was probably what her subconscious had wanted to begin with. On some level she probably had orchestrated the whole seduction anyway. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she longed to be with him. Even if it was for one night. So, despite being able to delude herself into believing that she could resist her desire, Blair’s resistance had crumbled pretty quickly. It was probably a miracle she’d held out as long as she did.
“Thanks.” She could still see the onlookers gawking, so she reluctantly lowered her hand from his shoulder. “I can show you the way to the meeting room.”
Cheeks still burning, Blair maneuvered her way through the crowd, mumbling thanks and goodbyes under her breath as she moved. Town gossip wasn’t going to die down after that display. And now they were rushing off to a private section of the historical society’s headquarters. Tongues would be wagging about that for sure.
When they got to the meeting room, she shut the door firmly behind them and gestured to the round table in the middle. That was when she noticed the bags he was lugging around because he set them both down on the table before taking a seat. One brown paper bag and a messenger bag. He pushed the paper bag in her direction, then focused his attention on opening the messenger bag to retrieve some documents.
“I printed out the contract you emailed yesterday,” he said briskly.
She felt her stomach tighten when she heard his tone. It was so professional and polite. Giving away absolutely no hint of anything intimate. Nothing like the last time she’d heard him. When he had breathed her name into her ear as he thrust into her.
Oh, hot hell. Blair hurried to take her seat so she wouldn’t do something stupid like swoon or stare at him longingly.
“Great. I guess that means you approve of all the terms,” she said, reaching for the paper bag.
When she’d first heard the chime of her phone yesterday, Blair had hoped that the message would be personal. A sign that their night together had meant just as much to him as it had meant to her. But Colson’s message had been a request to meet so he could deliver the contract that allowed Blair to sell his great-grandmother’s antiques.
She pulled out the burger from the bag and started to unwrap it. The heavenly scent of warm meat, cheese, and pickles filled the air. “How much do I owe you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Colson said gruffly.
For a second she contemplated arguing but he was looking at her so sternly, that she shut up and took a bite of the burger. Delicious. Cheese melted on her tongue, the tanging pickle enhancing the flavor of the grilled beef. “Mmmmm.”
He chuckled as he took out a pen to start scribbling on the contract. “Glad you like it. There’s fries and coffee as well. Figured you’d need something warm after a long day.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” she said, her heart squeezing at the thoughtful gesture. Her older brother had been right, even though Kyle had been pretty crude about it. Colson was generous. A rare quality for a lot of people, much less a millionaire who had servants to wait on him back home in Boston.
She ate in silence as Colson went over the contract, his eyes seeming to take in every word on the documents in front of him. Although he was glib at times, it was clear that he took business seriously.
“This building’s pretty old,” he said finally, ending the lull. The observation was so mundane she could tell he was attempting to make conversation. Or maybe he would do anything to avoid talking about their night together. Signing the contract must have meant that he didn’t want to revisit their tryst.
“Yes, it was built in the eighteenth century,” she said. “The first owner was a wealthy loyalist that locals ran out of town once the Revolutionary War started.”
“Whoa.”
“King’s men weren’t welcome in this part of the world,” she explained. “As you must already know, your ancestors were staunch patriots and they were not going to defer to the crown.”
“Think the Bennetts were the ones who ran him out of town?” Colson asked.
“After the mistletoe discovery, I suspect anything is possible when it comes to the Bennetts,” she replied.
“I’ll say.” He gave her a faint smile. “What about your family? What’s their story?”
“My family is pretty ordinary. Irish immigrants who started out in Boston before settling down in Mislin Bush for who knows what reason.” She paused. “I suspect they liked the peace and quiet.”
“That doesn’t sound ordinary to me,” he said. “Sounds like they were adventurers. Pretty brave to cross the ocean to start a new life.”
“Some people didn’t have a choice about the crossing,” she said softly. “History can be tough. My family had it hard back then, but some families in this town went through things I can’t even imagine.”
“Is that why history means so much to you?”
Blair paused to think. “To honor people’s struggles? Yes. That’s why I held the lecture today. I was doing a talk on antique holiday decorations. It might seem trivial, but the holidays should be for everybody, no matter their class or circumstances. Everyone deserves that kind of happiness and it feels good to share stories about the past to show that.”
“Wish I had showed up early to see your presentation,” he said.
Blushing again at the compliment, she said, “It’s going to be posted on the internet eventually. But if you’re not a massive antique fan, you’ll probably be a little bored.”
“From what I could see, your audience seemed to appreciate it.”
She smiled faintly, then finished off the last of her burger. “They’re antique enthusiasts. They’ll hang onto every word about old treasures.”
“I think they hang on to every word you say because of you, Blair,” he said in a low tone that reverberated through her. His eyes met hers and she forgot to breathe. “You’re impossible to ignore.”
“Is that why you barely contacted me since...” Slightly embarrassed that she couldn’t say the words outright, Blair reached for one of the paper towels inside the bag to start cleaning up.
“My dad arrived without warning,” he explained. “He’d told me he was coming to town, but I figured he’d get back to me about the actual date. Instead, he showed up right out of the blue before the crack of dawn.”
“He must have headed out of Boston at a strange hour to get here.”
“Knowing him, my old man did it to stir up chaos,” Colson muttered. “I should have seen it coming. He thrives on that kind of stuff when he’s up against someone.”
Sympathy flooded her. The more she learned about his strained relationship with his father, the more she wished she could do something to help fix it. “Up against his own son?”
Colson heaved out a sigh. “Everybody is an adversary to him. Including you.”
“He still suspects us?”
“I mean, it isn’t really suspicion at this point, is it? After the night we spent together, the old man is right on target,” Colson said.
Blair could swear she detected the barest hint of tension in his voice. As if he was fighting back his desire. Barely containing it as he tried to have a conversation while the town’s nosiest inhabitants were likely still in the building.
“Doesn’t help that the town is gossiping about us,” she said.
His dark eyebrows furrowed. “They’ve been talking?”
“Ever since we went caroling,” she told him. “They don’t have any of the facts, of course, so they’re filling it all in with their own wild speculation. But, yes, they’ve been talking so much that word has gotten back to my family.”
Colson swore under his breath. “Crap, Blair, I’m sorry. If I had known, I would have contacted you sooner, but I had to keep an eye on my father. I needed to make sure he wasn’t going to get in your way and stop you from working. He’s against you, but I told him that his judgement wouldn’t make me change my mind.”
“Maybe we should rethink this.” She chewed her lower lip. “If taking on your great-grandmother’s things is going to cause this much trouble, I can step away. No hard feelings, I promise.”
Despite the large commission she stood to make from selling his great-grandmother’s antiques, Blair didn’t want to be the cause of any strife among the Bennetts. Not at any time of year, but especially not now during the holidays.
“What? Hell no. You can’t back out now,” Colson said firmly.
“Colson, this isn’t just about business. This is about your family,” she reminded him. “If your father doesn’t think I’m the right person for this job—”
“Screw him,” he interrupted forcefully. “We’ve all been giving in to him for years. Even I give in sometimes and I fight him the hardest. That ends now. He doesn’t get to determine what happens to the items that my great-grandmother willed to me.”
When she opened her mouth to protest, he held up the contract to silence her.
“No use arguing. It’s too late. I’ve already signed. And I’m a man of my word,” he added. “You’re selling those antiques. There’s nobody else I trust to handle this.”
That touched her in spite of Blair’s trepidation. Having his confidence after she’d fought all this time to be taken seriously meant a lot to her.
“I appreciate that, and yet I can’t help worrying that I’ll be driving a wedge between you and your father,” she said, choosing her words diplomatically. How else was she going to broach the subject that they’d barely talked about?
“That wedge has always been there,” he said.
“All the more reason to try and mend fences now,” she pressed. “This is the perfect time of year to do that.”
Colson shook his head vigorously. “It’s too late.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” she said. “Even though you don’t feel close to your parents, I know that family means something to you. I’ve seen the way you’ve tried to honor Opal’s last wishes. Do you really think your great-grandmother would approve of this rift between you and your dad?”
That question seemed to give him pause. Colson didn’t have a quick response for her this time. All he could manage was a sigh as he raked a hand through his dark hair. At last he admitted, “No, she wouldn’t like it. Opal tried all her life to make peace with my father and the rest of the family. They were distant with her because her parents made their fortune themselves, which made it possible for her to marry into wealth. Money wasn’t handed to her side of the family like it was for the rest of us. But she didn’t have any hard feelings about their judgement. Her doors were always open to my father, including during the summer when we used to visit.”
“See? She wanted you to make peace,” Blair said.
“How can I do that when my father refuses to even give you a chance?” he demanded.
“You can’t put me ahead of your family.” Her chest tightened as she said those words. They hurt to say out loud, and yet, she knew it was the right thing to do. For her entire career, she had been handling family heirlooms. Treasures that marked the passage of time. Possessions that told the story of people who passed away. Those who were left behind were either grateful for the time they’d shared with their loved ones, or they struggled to live with regret. Unfinished business could cause a lifetime of pain. “You don’t want to look back on this Christmas season and regret the things you didn’t do. Or the things you didn’t say.”
“The contract has already been signed, Blair, so I don’t think we’re still talking about business,” he said pointedly.
Her mouth went dry, forcing her to reach for the coffee cup to take a sip. Looked like they were no longer ignoring the elephant in the room. Colson wanted things out in the open. It was obviously what he’d wanted to talk about the whole time, but she got the sense that he’d been waiting for her to bring it up. His patience, however, seemed to have run out. And she couldn’t blame him. Avoiding the topic was making her stir-crazy.
After several fortifying sips of coffee, she put the cup back down and took a deep breath. “I’ll fulfil my end of the contract—”
“But?” he interrupted.
“You’re a client,” she said. “The contract is a reminder that we never should have crossed that line.”
Suddenly, and to her complete surprise, he looked sad. Pain flashed in his eyes as if her words had wounded him deeply. “You’re saying that you regret our night together? I screwed this up. I must have made you feel cheap which is the last thing I wanted to do.” He gritted his teeth, jaw clenching in anger. “Damn it. If I’d told my father to go to hell instead of rushing out to do his bidding, I wouldn’t have made you feel like this.”
“You didn’t screw up,” she told him. “Now that you’ve explained, I get why you left to meet your dad. You were trying to be a good son.”
“And in the process, I made you regret it,” he said.
Her heart squeezed tightly. Instead of being petulant and sullen, he was showing his genuine hurt. Colson could have acted like a jerk after assuming her regret, but he wasn’t doing that. Rather than choosing to lash out like some of the immature dates she’d had to put up with, the perceived rejection seemed to make him introspective.
“I don’t regret it,” she answered truthfully. “It’s actually the opposite. I’m glad that we spent the night together.”
***
“YOU DON’T REGRET OUR night together?” he repeated, hope surging through him.
He had worried that she’d want to save face. Experiencing regret over an impulsive decision was natural after all, and their working relationship was bound to complicate that in the clear light of day. After the heat of the moment, she’d had time to rethink it all. While he had no regrets whatsoever, Colson had anticipated her trying to express remorse and take it all back. Or worse, pretend like they hadn’t gone to bed at all.
Both choices would have made sense, especially with a contract that needed signing and a sizeable commission on the line. Why jeopardize that with hurt feelings? Colson would have understood if she’d kept an emotional distance. There wasn’t exactly a guidebook on how to stay professional after having sex with a business partner. But Blair had been beating around the bush about it, so he figured it was better to get everything out on the table now before things got too awkward to deal with.
“Not even a little bit,” she said softly, a pale blush rising in her cheeks. “I had an incredible time with you. That night with you was amazing. I’ll never forget it.”
Unable to resist any longer, Colson reached across the table to take her hand. It was still warm from when she’d lifted her coffee cup. That same warmth rushed up his arm, exploding through the rest of his body until the warmth intensified so much that he could feel the burning desire that flared between them. The fire in her brown eyes told him everything.
“If neither of us have regrets, there’s no reason to let my father get in our way,” he said.
If she had regretted giving in to her feelings that night, Colson would have graciously bowed out and left her alone. But since she revealed that she had no regrets, he knew that meant that she wanted this as much as he did. Even though any kind of relationship between them could only ever going to be temporary, he refused to waste another minute giving a damn about what anybody thought. He wasn’t going to let his father have the final say.
“Your dad is just looking out for you,” Blair said gently.
“What? Are you kidding? My old man doesn’t care about anyone,” Colson told her, shaking his head. “Besides, you of all people should understand family pressure. Your father’s been trying to dictate your love life. Which is B.S. Our parents don’t have the right to run our lives. We’re both adults. Neither of us needs permission or approval.”
“My dad is misguided sometimes, but his heart is in the right place,” she said. “I’m willing to bet it’s the same for your father.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. My father doesn’t have a heart. There’s a block of ice where his heart should be,” Colson bit out. He knew from years of bitter experience that beneath his father’s tough exterior was something even more impenetrable. Blair had been surrounded by loving family all her life, so she had no idea how emotionally distant some parents could be.
She squeezed his hand back and then pulled her hand away to grasp her coffee cup. “He just wants you to think that.”
“Why are you defending him?” Colson demanded. “You wouldn’t be defending him if you knew the things he said about people. The things he’s said about you, Blair.”
“If you and I were engaged and on our way to the altar, I’d understand your need to go against him,” she said. “But it’s not worth ruining your relationship with your family over a fling, Colson. I’m not worth all that.”
If you and I were engaged...
That remark knocked him sideways. He’d almost lost track of everything she said after. Colson had never let his mind go there about any specific woman. Settling down had been something abstract. A choice he’d make in the future. Which was why he could keep kicking that can down the road. And yet, here he was, suddenly thinking of Blair in that context. Blair, a woman he’d only known for a few weeks. She’d put the crazy idea into his head and he was sure he’d keep thinking about it, even if it made no sense. Even if her hypothetical was so absurd that it might as well have been in an alternate reality. An entirely different lifetime from the one of endless family duty and professional obligation he’d been carrying out for years. Stalling his relationships had been his one genuine act of rebellion. Yet now, in Blair’s presence, he was starting to forget why he’d even been rebelling to begin with.
Colson was so stunned by the thoughts that ricocheted in his head that he almost forgot that she was waiting on a response.
“Don’t sell yourself short, you’re worth everything Blair,” he finally said to her, meaning every word.
“Family is everything.” She spoke so firmly that he knew then that his previous words had no effect on her. Any other woman might have swooned, but not Blair. It looked like she was determined to stand her ground. She wouldn’t budge. She’d made the choice for him. Christmas meant family to her and there was no way around it.
Suddenly, it felt like she’d taken an ax to his willpower. She’d hack away at it until there was nothing left, if he let her. His desire couldn’t outweigh the determination of a woman who didn’t want to be pursued. He’d get one night with her and nothing else. Unless...unless he found a way to resolve this disagreement with his father.
“On that note, I’ll be heading back home to deal with that family,” he said.
“Good. You should be spending quality time with your dad during the holidays,” she said softly.
He stood up, fighting the urge to reach for her and kiss her goodbye. Too bad there wasn’t any mistletoe in the room to make that excuse for them. His heart started pounding as he remembered their first kiss. Colson would give anything to kiss her like that again. Then he realized. If he played his cards right, he was sure that he would get to kiss her again.
Giving her a nod, he stepped out of the meeting room to stride across the old building towards the exit. What he needed now was a plan to win her over for the remainder of his stay in town.
At the very least, Colson had been able to get her to agree to contract terms. He’d been persuasive on that front. If he could get his father on board, or at least, get to him back off, Colson wasn’t going to accept defeat that easily. For the first time in a long time, he truly desired a woman in more ways than one. He wasn’t going to let this rare opportunity pass him by. Colson didn’t lose and he sure as hell wasn’t going to start losing now. Which meant, there was still time to show her what she was missing out on. Still time to show her that she deserved a distraction that lasted longer than a night.
