Gift Wrapped for Christmas: A Contemporary Romance (13 page)

With a groan of frustration, he
cradled her head in his hands and captured her mouth with his. She closed her
eyes and leaned into him, moaning softly as his long, lean body moulded to
hers.

He pulled away abruptly. “Lily,”
he said, his voice hoarse. “I’m sorry.” He pulled a white handkerchief out of
his pocket and dabbed at a smear of lipstick on her mouth.

“I’m not,” she said, and raised
her head for another kiss. His mouth plundered hers, and he wrapped her in his
arms and lifted her off her feet. She was vaguely aware of some beads from her
dress falling to the floor, but she didn’t care. Right here in Chase Drummond’s
arms was where she was meant to be.

“Excuse me.” Nancy stood in the
open door behind them, taking in the scene. A faint smile touched her lips.
“Sorry to disturb, but I heard about Melanie.” She couldn’t quite look at
Chase. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

Chase let her go, and she
reluctantly turned around. “I’m going to do the modeling myself.”

“You?” The look on Nancy’s face was
one of disbelief. She looked up and down, assessing Lily’s height. “Won’t the
skirt be too long?”

Lily smiled brightly. “I made it
in three sizes. We’ll make it work.”

“That’s wonderful.” Nancy’s
relief was obvious, even to Chase. The two women seemed to have bonded over the
mini disaster.

Lily turned. “Sorry, Chase.”

Nancy echoed her words. “Sorry,
Chase, but you know what they say. The show must go on.”

Lily’s eyes sparkled. “Don’t
worry about him. He’s a big boy.” She took a couple of steps back toward him.
“You might want to wipe off the lipstick.”

And then she and Nancy
disappeared into the change room. Women chattered and flitted back and forth
between racks of brightly coloured clothes; it didn’t look like a military
operation to him.

He turned to go back to the
ballroom and spotted a few beads on the floor. He thought he’d heard something
when he picked Lily up, but he’d been too overwhelmed by the feel and taste of
her to register what it was. He picked them up now and held them in his palm. Made
of cut crystal, they sparkled when he moved his hand to catch the light. He
slipped them into his pocket, put a smile on his face and went back to mingle
with the guests.

* * *

Lily studied the outfit. Ideally,
it should be modeled by someone taller...someone like Melanie...but she’d make
it work somehow. She could always put her hair up, to give the illusion of
extra height.

She inspected the hair and makeup
area, looking for something to hold up her hair. She was rarely without her
chopsticks, but tonight she’d brought a small evening bag. After several failed
attempts, she used some long hairpins to fasten it up; it would have to do.

The shorter skirt of the small
outfit just barely skimmed the floor when she donned heels. Struggling to fit
into a ‘normal’ size reminded her of her teenage years, and why she’d started
designing and sewing in the first place. Nothing in the stores had ever fit,
but she was determined not to shop in the childrens’ section for the rest of
her life and had learned to adjust patterns to suit her stature.

She was standing behind a rack of
clothes, checking her appearance in a full-length mirror when an unfamiliar
voice caught her attention.

“Where is she?” the woman
demanded. “I want to talk to her.”

“Laurel, no.” Lily recognized
Nancy’s firm voice. “The fashion show is about to start.” There were sounds of
someone stumbling. “Come on now. Please don’t ruin this after all our hard
work.”

Lily peeked through a rack of
clothes. A tall, elegant woman stood opposite Nancy. Hair the colour of ripe
summer wheat was twisted up in a loose French twist at the back of her head.
She was holding an empty champagne glass, and from the way she listed slightly
to one side, Lily wondered if she’d had too much to drink.

“I just wanted to warn her,” the
woman continued. “It’s not fair the way Chase breaks their hearts, one after
the other.” She raised the glass to her lips and frowned when she discovered it
was empty. “I mean, everybody knows he likes to try something different every
once in a while, but he always comes back to me.” She prodded Nancy in the
shoulder. “And you have to admit, this one is definitely different.”

Lily’s first inclination was to
push through the clothes and confront the woman. But there was something
desperate in the way she spoke, and it was becoming clear that she’d had too
much to drink. She remained still as Nancy ushered the woman out of the room,
but her heart was beating wildly. How was this woman involved with Chase, and
was there any truth to what she’d overheard?

She raised a hand and saw that it
was trembling from the effort to control her emotions. The truth was, she was
angry with herself for not going out there and fighting for her man.

The thought stopped her in her
tracks. When had she started to think of Chase as her man? She scarcely knew
him, and yet, he’d invaded her thoughts and dreams to such an extent that she
hadn’t been able to think of much else. There was no denying the attraction
between them, but he was far from being ‘her man.’ He had a life of which she
knew nothing, a life which had obviously included this woman named Laurel.

She exhaled all the air from her
lungs in a slow stream and took a deep breath. Somewhere in the background she
recognized the distinctive music that went with the group of clothes preceding
hers. As she came out from behind the rack of clothes, she spotted Nancy coming
back into the room. For a moment their eyes met, and Lily caught a hint of
embarrassment on the other woman’s face before she looked away. It was too late
to do anything about that now; Lily joined the small group of women modeling
her clothes and spoke a few words of encouragement.

Before she knew it, it was her
turn to stride down the runway. She was proud of her resort line, and had been
gratified to hear enthusiastic applause for the first several models. Carefully
choreographed salsa music was her cue, and she stepped out, momentarily blinded
by the lights. Her early years of ignoring taunts and jibes stood her in good
stead now, and she walked confidently, eyes quickly adjusting to the light.

Directly ahead, at what must be
the best table in the house, Chase smiled up at her. Something in his
expression was strained, and it didn’t take long to figure out what it was.
Beside him sat the woman who had come into the change room. Sitting next to
Chase, she had her arm possessively through his, and was leaning into him,
whispering something in his ear.

Lily felt a sudden chill as she
watched the woman brush her lips against Chase’s neck. Something in her mind
shut down; it was as though she was a spectator, completely removed from what
was happening in front of her. As she came to the end of the runway he gave a
quick, negative shake of his head, as though to warn her not to believe what
she was seeing. She ignored him and kept her eyes focused somewhere at the back
of the room. If she met his gaze now, he would surely see how hurt she was. She
gave a brilliant smile and turned to join the other models holding their poses
across the top of the stage.

It seemed to take forever for the
rest of her models to strut their stuff. She feigned an interest she didn’t
feel, and it took every ounce of control she possessed not to run from the
stage when their segment was over.

Tears spilled from her eyes, and
she brushed them away angrily. She wasn’t sure if she was angry at herself for
giving way, or at Chase for allowing that woman to crawl all over him. A small
shake of the head did not make up for letting the entire audience see her
snuggling up to him.

She undressed quickly, careful
not to damage the clothes. She’d noticed a lot of the spectators jotting down
the numbers of the clothes that interested them. At least that part of the
evening had been successful.

Nancy caught her just as she was
slipping out the back door. The woman looked torn, and for a moment Lily felt
sorry for her. “Listen, Lily. I’m sorry.” She didn’t need to elaborate; both of
them knew what she was talking about.

Lily was in no condition to have
this discussion, and yet she could see that the other woman was sincere. She
forced her features to relax and smiled. “Thank you, Nancy.” She held eye
contact for a moment longer then slipped out the side door.

“Lily.” Chase loomed over her in
the dimly lit hallway. “Please. Let me explain.”

She looked up at him. He looked
miserable. “I don’t think so, Chase.” She turned away before she gave in. He
stared after her for a moment, then followed her down the hall.

“Lily, please. I’m not with her.”
He raked a hand through his hair then let his arm fall to his side. “I’m not,”
he repeated.

She stopped abruptly and turned
to face him. “You could have fooled me.”

He raised his hands in a helpless
gesture. “This is awkward,” he said.

She didn’t try to hide her anger.
“Oh, and it’s not awkward for me? Seeing my date with some other woman wrapped
around him? How do you think that made me feel?”

“That’s not what I meant.” He
spoke slowly.

She looked at him expectantly.
She wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

“You see, Laurel is a spoiled
little rich girl. Her father owns the largest newspaper in town.”

Lily raised an eyebrow. “We all
know what’s happening to newspapers these days.”

“No, trust me. Harry Carmichael
is doing just fine.” He took a deep breath. “I made the mistake of dating her a
few times.” He paused. “I guess that was about a year and a half ago. Anyway,
Laurel always gets what she wants, and she decided she wanted me.”

“I can’t imagine why.” Lily’s
lips twitched.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous.” A
slow smile transformed his face.

Why did he have to be so damned
appealing?  She felt her resolve weakening. “Never mind; just carry on.”

“The trouble is, we belong to the
same clubs, and we know the same people. It seemed that every time I went
somewhere she’d show up and attach herself to me. Somewhere along the way she
convinced herself that we’re a couple.” He reached for her. “We’re not, Lily.”

She pulled away. “Then why didn’t
you stop her?”

He looked into her eyes. “Because
she’d been drinking, and she’s been known to make a scene when she drinks. Our
families have been friends for a long time, and I couldn’t let her embarrass
herself like that.” He shrugged. “I’d do it again out of respect for her
family, but I’m still sorry it happened.”

She wondered how he would react
if she told him what she’d overheard but she was too proud to admit that she’d
been eavesdropping.

The last of her anger slipped
away; she was suddenly drained. “Okay, but I still think I’ll leave.”

“I’ll take you home.”

“You can’t do that. This is your
big event.” She gestured toward the banquet room. “Get in there and take their
money.”

He laughed. “I have people doing
that.” He glanced at her small evening bag. “I’ll bet you didn’t even bring any
money for a cab.”

She bit off a reply. He was
right; she hadn’t thought she’d need money tonight. “You could just put me in
the limo. I’ll be fine.”

“No way.” He took out his cell
phone and spoke into it. “He’ll be out front in a minute. I’ll get my overcoat
and meet you out there.” He lowered his head and gave her a quick kiss. “Don’t
run off.”

Like that’s going to happen
,
she told herself as she watched him walk away. It wouldn’t take much for Chase
Drummond to become a habit. Not much at all. She released the pins in her hair
and let it fall down her back.

Chase settled her in the limo
then leaned forward to speak to the driver. “How was Melanie? Did you get her
home all right?”

“Yes, sir. I walked her up to her
door and made sure her roommate was home.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “The
roommate seemed like a level-headed girl. Actually, she’s a nurse.”

“Good.” Chase sat back with a
sigh and pushed the button to raise the privacy window. “Some night, huh?” He
hooked a finger in his collar then turned to her. “Do you mind if I loosen my
shirt?”

“Not at all.” Her pulse raced as
he loosened his tie and opened the top button of his shirt. To her way of
thinking there was something sensually appealing about a man with his shirt
loosened. And when he looked at her like that, it was even moreso.

“You’ve let your hair down.” His
voice was low and husky. “It looks nice like that.” He put his arm around her,
and she relaxed against him.

She liked sitting here in the
semi-dark with him. The subdued lighting created an intimate atmosphere, a
place where secrets could be shared.

“Why are men so fascinated with
long hair?” she asked dreamily.

“I don’t know.” His fingertips
brushed against the top of her head. “Maybe it’s because we traditionally wear
short hair. It’s sensual and it’s something different.”

She chuckled softly. “You’ve been
fascinated with my hair ever since the first day we met.”

He pulled back and looked at her,
but there was no denial in his eyes as he lifted a handful of the silken
strands. “You’re right, but it was more than your hair that fascinated me.” He
let the hair slip through his fingers. “That first day we met, I saw a woman I
wanted to get to know.” He tightened his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t ask
me how I knew, but I could tell that you’re independent, you’re a clever
businesswoman, and that you dislike men who can’t see past your beauty.” He
lowered his voice and lightly turned her face toward him. “I could also see
that you’d been hurt by a man at some time, and I hated him. I hated him, and
yet I was thankful that he was such a loser.”