The smells of fresh brewed coffee and cooking bacon greeted her as she walked down the stairs. Auggie’s mouth was salivating before she even saw the man of her dreams standing at the stove with a spatula in hand, bacon sizzling in the pan in front of him.
“If I hadn’t already told you I loved you, I figure I’d be mentioning it right about now.”
“Ah, she likes a man who brings the bacon.”
“Well, sure,” Auggie said, “What woman doesn’t? Speaking of…”
She left the room, headed for the office. It made Josh huff out a laugh. She was a woman with a focus this morning, apparently. When she returned a few moments later, she had a manila file folder tucked under her arm and her cell phone in her hand. The look on her face had Josh removing the pan of frying bacon from the heat and setting down the fork he was using.
“Everything okay?”
“It’s, ah…”
She lifted her head and Josh saw a sheen of moisture in her eyes. The smile she gave him was watery, but it reached all the way to her eyes.
“It’s Mellie,” she said, finally. Flipping the phone in his direction, she held up a photograph that was way too far away for him to see. He took several steps nearer, then squinted until he was sure of what he was seeing.
“Is that a wedding ring?”
Auggie gave him a sappy nod.
“Well, that was fast. My research on you all didn’t show a man in Melissa’s life. How long was she gone?”
Auggie laughed at that.
“No, your research wouldn’t have shown a man in Mellie’s life. It probably would have shown you about twenty. She’d been pretty gun shy where anything real is concerned. But apparently, she ran into the one man from her past who always had his fingers on her heart.”
She smiled up at Josh -- a full smile that told him she was thrilled for her friend.
“It’s not the first time he’s asked her. Last time she gave him the wrong answer.”
“Oh? Looks like she got it right this time, then?”
Auggie nodded. “Looks like.”
Her eyes were wet again. It made Josh’s heart clench. They might be happy tears, but he still wanted to wipe them off her face.
“So,” he said, “Persistence gets the girl. I’ll make a point of remembering that.”
It made her laugh. Knuckling the moisture away from her eyes, she set the folder and her phone down and walked over to where he stood wearing Mellie’s Kiss the Chef apron. Putting her arms around the back of his neck, she pulled his head down so she could do just that.
“Mmm.” He rumbled his approval. “People should get engaged more often if it’s going to put you into this mood.”
Laughing, she gave him a little shove, which made him grin. He was sliding bacon and fried tomatoes onto a plate when reality hit. Mellie was getting married to an American. Just one more change for their little magazine. Just one more reason why flying to Ireland wasn’t going to happen right now.
Josh read the look on her face like a book. The happy vibe of pleasure for her friend was still there, but as Auggie sat in her chair, she also looked distant suddenly, like she was thinking hard and not loving the conclusions she was coming to. If he were a betting man -- and hey, being a business owner made him a gambler by definition -- he’d say the woman had just decided Mellie’s engagement made Ireland off the table. He’d also say he wasn’t going down without a fight on this one.
Opening the fridge, Josh pulled out the orange juice Augusta had purchased and the champagne he’d smuggled in to chill while she was sleeping. He walked to the china cabinet in the corner, noted the lack of champagne flutes and settled for wine glasses. Setting two on the counter, he filled a third of each glass with orange juice, then he unwrapped the foil at the top of the champagne bottle.
The crinkling got Auggie’s attention. Lifting her eyes from the congratulatory message she was texting, she looked at Josh in surprise.
“Where did that come from? And what are you doing?”
“Making mimosas,” he said, smiling when she gasped, and her eyes lit up at the pop of the cork. He poured the bubbly on top of the juice, set the glass in front of her, kissed her lips quickly, then added, “We’re celebrating, are we not?”
“I suppose we are.” Augusta nodded. “Or we will be once you sign these contracts.”
His grin came quickly. It made things flutter inside Auggie’s heart. Desire. Love.
Disappointment.
She was going to have to tell him. There was just no way for her to leave Canada. At least, not right now. She did her best to cover the ache the thought left behind. Smiling determinedly, she lifted her glass and clinked it against his as she looked up into his eyes.
“I’ve drunk more alcohol with you in one week than I have all year, I think.”
He grinned. It would no doubt surprise her to know the same was true of him. Just because he owned a distillery didn’t mean he drank away his profits.
“It’s Christmas,” he said with a shrug. “If you don’t want it, I’ll drink yours.”
As he’d known she would, she angled her chin in a way that told him exactly what she thought of his challenge.
“What the heck. It’s not like I have to be anywhere today.”
And, she wouldn’t lie -- the mimosa tasted amazing going down. She didn’t even hesitate when Josh offered to refill her glass.
“So,” he asked her, “Contracts or food first?”
Again, she didn’t hesitate.
“Food, definitely.” After all, there would always be business. Who knew when she’d have another opportunity for a man to cook her breakfast?
“Then dig in, fine thing. It may not be a full Ulster Christmas breakfast, but it’s as close as I could come.”
Josh, she discovered, cooked a mean breakfast. The food was delicious. Auggie polished off every single item on her plate. That didn’t embarrass her in the slightest. The pleased moans and groans that periodically escaped her lips were a different matter. Especially when she looked up in the middle of an extended whimper to find Josh grinning as he watched her eat.
She might have embarrassed herself, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her from pretty much licking the plate clean. When Josh finished up -- at a much more controlled pace -- she carried the dishes to the sink. He got up to assist, but Auggie shook her head.
“He who cooks doesn’t clean.” She nodded at the file folder on the table. “Why don’t you take your coffee into the living room and read over the contracts. I’ll join you.”
“If you say so.” He snagged the contracts and her cell phone. When she gave him a questioning look, he simply grinned. “You’re going to want it. I’ll carry it out for you.”
She shrugged with what amounted to consent. If she’d noticed the gleam in his eye, she likely would have muscled the phone from his fingers. Instead, she turned on the faucet at the sink and rinsed the dishes before stacking them in the dishwasher.
She joined Josh in the living room within moments. His nose was buried in the documents, and he didn’t look up. Somehow, Auggie knew she was seeing a different side of this man -- the business side. And it was immediately evident that as a businessman, Josh was more than just a little bit shrewd. Still, he flipped the final page of the document, read to the bottom, then simply reached for the pen and scribbled him name in all the right places.
The sight hit her with a finality Auggie wasn’t expecting. Josh’s plane might not leave until the 27th, but he’d just done what he’d come here to do. That meant, there was no avoiding the reality that he’d be leaving all too soon.
As soon as he signed, he set the papers down and glanced up at where she stood, frozen, watching him as he sat.
“What?”
She shook her head, not prepared to tell him how the knowledge of his imminent departure had slammed into her system. Or, that the memories of what had happened between them the last time they sat on the sofa was only making that knowledge more torturous.
A motion outside the big living room windows caught her eye, and Auggie looked out to see giant fluffy white snowflakes dancing outside the pane of glass. They were having a white Christmas. And how perfect was that? When her lips quirked up, Josh asked again.
“What are you thinking?”
She smiled at him, then pointed.
“It’s snowing,” she said, and as if the flakes had broken her temporarily pensive mood, she sat down on the sofa and cuddled up into him. His arm went around her automatically, his body warm and hard against hers. “You signed the papers.”
“Indeed. We are now in business together.”
Auggie felt her lungs swell with laughter at his formal phrasing. Reaching over, she shook his hand.
“On behalf of Near and Far Magazine, let me welcome you. I’m sure you will be very satisfied with your decision to give us your business, Mr. McLaughlin.”
Amusement had Josh smiling as he accepted her formal handshake.
“I’m sure it will be a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Chamberlain. No doubt this will be a very lucrative and satisfying association for us both.”
He wiggled his brows suggestively at the word ‘satisfying’ and right on cue, Auggie gave his shoulder a playful punch. Grinning, Josh wrapped his arms more fully around her, and squeezed her tight.
“So,” he asked, “What would you and the others normally be doing right about now?”
“Oh, opening presents, I guess. We don’t tend to be extravagant, but generally we do exchange a gift or two. You know, just normal stuff.”
“Well, I guess this year the present exchange might have to be postponed. What would you say to a walk in the snow, instead?”
“A walk in the snow on Christmas Day?” Auggie said, “I’d say, that sounds just about perfect.”