This Holiday Magic (11 page)

Then he remembered something; a gift he'd picked up for Sage at the last minute. He reached into his pocket and brought out a small package of peanut M&M's. He handed it to Sage.

“Merry Christmas, darling Sage,” he murmured.

Sage took one look at the M&M's and tears immediately appeared in her eyes. Adam knew she was remembering that when they were poor, he would give her peanut M&M's in lieu of a more expensive box of candy. If she remembered that, Adam hoped, maybe she would recall other things about him that endeared him to her.

Seeing her reaction gave Adam hope. He was determined to make her believe in fairy tales again. He wondered what it would take to melt a snow queen's heart.

Chapter 2

A year later...

S
age stood at her office window on a Friday morning in the first week of December, looking down on the street below. There he was, like clockwork. Adam on his daily run. She couldn't resist a sigh filled with longing at the sight of his tall, well-built form. She turned away, a frown marring her pretty face. Did he jog past her office building every day just to vex her? If so, it was working.

Logically she knew that New Haven, Connecticut, was equally as much Adam's hometown as it was hers. He had a right to move back here after years of living in Seattle. But did he have to buy property in her neighborhood, build a huge house with a security gate
and
join her church?

Benson Electronics provided much-needed jobs for several thousand grateful citizens, which made Adam Benson a local hero. That didn't mean
she
had to jump on the bandwagon, too.

She'd been two grades behind Adam in school, and they had been sweethearts, dating throughout high school and into college. Their friends and family had all thought Adam would eventually propose. But shortly after she began her second year of college, he told her he'd been offered a full scholarship to study applied mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and that he didn't believe it would be fair to her for them to continue their relationship. He'd broken up with her. She'd been nineteen and thought she'd never recover from the heartbreak, but she had.

Adam went on to make groundbreaking advances in electronics, and in the past few years he'd made strides that put him on par with giants such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Today, at thirty-one, his inventions were earning him billions.

Sage, now twenty-nine, had become an attorney and settled in New Haven, where she'd opened her own firm specializing in family law. Her family was here, as well as most of her friends. She dated fascinating men who treated her well, but whom she never found fascinating enough to marry, although she'd had a couple of offers.

When Sage had heard Adam was moving back home to be near his elderly parents, she had felt warmth suffuse her heart because of the gesture. She tried not to think of the possibility that he'd moved back home to be close to her, as well. She believed she'd been firm enough with him last year at her parents' annual Christmas Eve party when he'd hinted that he wanted another chance with her, and she hoped that he didn't harbor any hopes of their getting back together.

He'd been back in New Haven about a year and so far she had been able to avoid him. When she saw him in church, she made sure to put several pews between them, and after services she found an excuse to beat a hasty retreat. He'd even phoned and left messages, which she'd never returned. Was she being foolish?

Their parents had been friends for decades. She would not be able to avoid him forever. She knew from experience that the emotional impact of seeing Adam jog by from a distance would be nothing compared to standing close to him, breathing in his essence, hearing his voice with its rich, warm timbre and possibly feeling the heat coming off his body. She needed more time to prepare herself for the full assault of having Adam within touching distance.

She sat at her desk and opened the calendar on her computer. “Oh, no, is that today?” she said out loud when she saw she was supposed to have lunch with her mother at noon.

She adored her mother, but lately all Patricia Andrews wanted to talk about was Adam and how lucky the city of New Haven was to have him back home.

* * *

Adam had glanced up and seen Sage looking down at him as he'd jogged past her office building. He'd smiled to himself and kept running. She'd always been stubborn. All his overtures at being friendly had met with failure. She wouldn't return his phone calls. She hadn't bothered acknowledging the flowers he'd sent on her birthday. Any other woman would have been happy that he'd remembered, but not Sage. She was going to make him work for it. What she didn't know was that everything he'd ever gotten in life had been won by patience and hard work. He was undaunted by the impossible. The impossible just took longer. It didn't matter to him how long it would take to win Sage over. He'd known upon seeing her again last year that he'd never stopped loving her. Breaking up with her was the biggest regret of his life.

He'd confided in his mother how he felt about Sage. Millicent Benson had smiled knowingly and said, “It was only a matter of time before you came to your senses. That girl was
made
for you.”

Adam couldn't have agreed more. Now his goal was to get himself and Sage in the same room together. She was clever. Somehow she had managed to slip out of church every Sunday before he could corner her. It didn't help that it seemed as though every unattached woman in New Haven had joined that particular church since he'd become a member and made it their business to get his attention before he could escape the walls of the sanctuary.

He gave a huge sigh as he punched in the code at the gate leading to his house. Solving problems happened to be his forte. Getting Sage to fall in love with him again might seem like an insurmountable task, but he would make it happen either by using his intelligence or perhaps he'd be lucky and fate would step in and decide the matter. Either way, he would remain positive.

The gate opened and closed behind him, and he walked up the drive. His surroundings were immaculate: the three-story redbrick house was trimmed in white, its columns stately and charming. The grounds were expertly manicured. In the driveway was a luxury car and in the garage, a couple more. Yes, he was living the American Dream. By all outward appearances, his life was perfect. He had more money than he would be able to spend in a lifetime. The only thing missing was true love. And even though some people believed he had a hard drive for a heart, he still thought true love was the most important thing in the world.

* * *

“Christmas is coming, and you know what that means,” Patricia Andrews crowed, smiling at her only child. They were sitting at a table in Pat's favorite restaurant, a bistro downtown called Peaches' Place, which served soul food with a healthy twist.

Sage smiled back and braced herself. Every year her mother hit her up for a huge donation to the scholarship fund sponsored by her mother's women's club, the Silver Foxes. Last year the Silver Foxes had been able to award two deserving students ten-thousand-dollar college scholarships. Each year the ladies tried to up the ante, so Sage waited anxiously for her mother's next words.

Patricia Andrews, looking stylish and smart in her black Donna Karan slack suit and gold blouse, continued smiling. Her eyes were almost the same color as her blouse, a nice contrast to her rich, dark-chocolate skin. Sage had opted for a skirt suit in winter-white today with brown leather pumps. She shared her mother's eye color, but her skin tone was a combination of Pat's dark chocolate and her father Earl's golden-brown skin.

And while Pat wore her black hair relaxed and cut chin-length, Sage preferred to wear her long black hair natural. It fell in curls down her back.

Sage took the opportunity to eat a mouthful of collard greens as her mother gathered her thoughts. She was feeling kind of relaxed today because her mother hadn't brought up Adam once during their lunch date.

Pat spoke at last. “Sweetie, fund-raising hasn't gone well this year. The economy appears to be recovering, but not fast enough. Some businesses that donated to the fund last year are not donating this year. Or if they are, they're not giving as generously.”

“How much are you short?” Sage asked.

Pat frowned. “We've raised a little over ten thousand.”

“Then you need ten thousand more?” Sage said, looking into her mother's eyes, which had taken on a pained expression. “You need more than ten thousand?” Sage was confused now.

Pat started talking rapidly and excitedly. “Baby, we'd like to give five scholarships this year, so we actually need forty thousand more. Now, I know you usually make up the slack, what with your firm doing so well. But we thought it would be too much of a burden to ask you to do that—”

Sage stopped her. “I don't have forty thousand to give, Mom. I could handle ten, but forty's out of the question.”

“I'm not asking you to donate forty thousand, darling,” Pat said sweetly. “What we'd like you to do is go to
Adam
and ask
him
to contribute forty thousand.”

Pat sat back expectantly in her chair, her eyes excited, her gaze riveted on her daughter's face.

Sage couldn't believe her mother had asked her to do something like that. For a moment all she could do was stare at her mother. When she spoke, it was in measured tones. “I haven't even said a word to Adam since he's been back, and you expect my first meeting with him to be about a donation to a charity?” Not wanting to call attention to themselves, she purposefully kept her voice down and her gestures to a minimum.

“We all agreed that you would be the perfect person to ask him,” Pat went on, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. She paused to take a sip of iced tea. Looking Sage in the eyes, she said after a soft sigh, “I know how this looks to you. You think I'm trying to get you and Adam together to talk. So what if I am? You've told me how he's been trying to get in touch with you, and that you've ignored him. And maybe you think your nosy mother is trying her hand at matchmaking. But the truth is, Sage Elizabeth Andrews, you're going to have to face him sooner or later, so you'd just as well get it over with. If a few deserving kids benefit from that meeting, then it's all good!”

“Oh, you want to kill two birds with one stone, is that it?” Sage asked her wily mother.

“Yes, darling, something like that,” Pat said, smiling warmly. “Come on. I know you don't have the heart to let the kids down, so go ahead and agree to do it so we can enjoy the rest of our lunch. This shouldn't be so hard for you to do. You've told me time and time again that you're over Adam. You hold no grudges against him for breaking your eighteen-year-old heart.”

“I was nineteen.”

“I stand corrected,” Pat said, eyes twinkling mischievously.

Sage eyed her mother suspiciously. “This isn't something cooked up between you and Miss Millie?”

“Millie and I were disappointed when things didn't work out between you and Adam,” Pat admitted. “We were two peas in a pod, Millie and I. Both of us wanted big families and ended up with only one child each. And when you and Adam started dating in high school and seemed so beautifully matched, we started dreaming of future grandbabies.” She laughed. “But life has a way of bringing you back down to earth. We've come to terms with our disappointment, darling. Now we just want you and Adam to be able to be in the same room together without any acrimony. He's reaching out to you. Please, meet him halfway.”

Sage picked up her fork and held it poised over her plate. “I'll think about it” was all she'd promise her mother at that point. She smiled to herself.
This has
plot
written all over it,
she thought.

Pat sighed in resignation and continued eating. However, Sage could tell that her enthusiasm hadn't waned in the least. The depths of her golden-brown eyes held just a little too much confidence. That look made Sage think her mother believed her mission had already been accomplished.

“Anyway,” Sage added, “it's been over a month since Adam phoned me. Maybe he's given up and won't even take my call. So don't get your hopes up.”

“He sent you flowers on your birthday last month,” her mother reminded her.

Sage just tore into her salad without comment.

Chapter 3

A
dam paced his office a few days later as he waited for Sage to arrive for their appointment. Meeting with heads of state didn't produce this much anxiety in him.

He wore an expensive gray pin-striped suit, gray shirt open at the collar due to his having removed the tie—it seemed to have been strangling him in his nervousness at seeing Sage again up close and personal. He'd ditched the jacket and had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He realized that all the effort he'd taken getting dressed this morning had been for nothing. He should have worn jeans.

What had him on pins and needles was the fact that he couldn't figure out why Sage suddenly wanted to see him after nearly a year of trying to get her to communicate with him.

His personal assistant, Jeanne, knocked and then quickly entered. “Mr. Benson, Ms. Andrews is here to see you.”

Adam smiled at Jeanne. “Please show her in.”

Jeanne disappeared and a moment later returned with Sage. Adam inhaled a sharp breath and let it out slowly upon seeing Sage. He schooled his facial expressions because he didn't want his pleasure at seeing her to show on his face. He could not control the tumult of his heartbeat accelerating, though. Or the general thrum of excitement that coursed through his body.

The coltish teen girl he'd known had turned into a stunner of a woman and was very curvaceous. She'd always been beautiful to him, even though she'd often derided her looks when they were growing up. She'd hated the smattering of freckles across her nose. Her black hair had been so unruly, she'd moaned about the number of combs she'd broken in it, whereas he'd loved her hair. He could see she was still wearing it natural, and it was still gorgeous.

She was wearing a navy blue skirt suit with a white blouse underneath. The suit was hitting on all her curves, the hem of the skirt high enough to display her long, shapely legs to perfection.

Sage smiled uncertainly. From the expression in her eyes, he could tell she wasn't sure she'd get a warm reception.

Adam stepped forward and grasped her hands in his. He smiled, his dark brown eyes inviting her to relax. “Sage, you look wonderful.”

She gave him a genuine smile this time and he heard an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. “Hello, Adam. You look wonderful, too.”

* * *

Indeed, Sage could barely stand upright she was so weak in the knees from just his touch. Here was the answer to her question of how she would react in his physical presence: she was melting. She fought to gain control of her senses. But it was her senses that were turning her to mush right in front of his eyes. They were still holding hands, and the solid strength and warmth of his seemed to transmit a current of electricity to every nerve ending in her body. Adam Benson, the lanky boy with the brilliant mind who had been the object of her first real crush, had, in the intervening years, managed to intensify his sex appeal.

Their eyes met and suddenly they were laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

Jeanne, who was still in the room, cleared her throat. “Would you like anything, sir? Coffee, bottled water?”

“Sage, would you like anything?” Adam asked.

“No, thank you,” Sage said to Jeanne, who promptly left, closing the door behind her.

“Have a seat,” Adam said, gesturing to the brown leather Queen Anne chair in front of his desk.

Sage sat and crossed her legs. She smoothed her navy skirt before gazing up at him. Adam stood leaning against his desk, his smile inquisitive.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” he asked gently.

“Thank you for the flowers,” Sage quickly said.

“You're welcome,” Adam said with a soft chuckle. “That was over a month ago.” His eyes bored into hers, and Sage looked down.

“You were never one to beat around the bush,” she said. She looked back up at him. “Okay, I've been avoiding you.”

“Tell me something I don't already know,” he said with a humorous glint in his eye.

“It isn't funny,” Sage cried indignantly.

“It
is
funny, Sage,” he disagreed vehemently. “We're adults and have known each other since elementary school. There was no reason for you to hide from me.”

“I wasn't hiding from you,” Sage denied. “I just wasn't ready for this.” She gestured to herself and then to him.

“This?” Adam asked, brows arched in an askance expression.

Sage frowned at him. She was convinced he knew perfectly well what “this” was. It was the magnetic pull that she was feeling right now. Sexual heat, yes, but it was more intense than that. She'd known it would happen if he ever got close enough to her because she'd felt its effects so powerfully last year when they'd finally come back together.

He leaned toward her, his square-jawed, clean-shaven face only inches from hers. “Sage, you don't have to be afraid of me. Deep down, I'm still the nerdy Adam you used to know.”

Sage eyed him skeptically. “Really deep down,” she murmured. She stood and walked over to the window, which provided a view of the busy street below. Downtown New Haven was bustling with activity this time of morning. Christmas decorations were displayed in every store window.

Adam came to stand beside her. “Did you ever think we'd be living in New Haven at the same time?” he asked.

“Honestly, I didn't spend much time thinking about us, Adam,” Sage said truthfully. “I wished you well, but I was too busy living my own life. As I'm sure you were busy living yours.”

Adam shook his head solemnly. “I see your point,” he said. “Okay, we won't reminisce. Let's take it from here, shall we? No wondering what might have been if I hadn't been foolish and broken up with you when I was too young to know better.”

She looked up at him with an astonished expression. “You think you were foolish for breaking up with me?”

“It was the most boneheaded thing I've ever done,” Adam said without hesitation.

“When did you come to this conclusion?” Sage asked, curious.

“The moment I saw you last year at your parents' Christmas Eve party,” Adam answered easily. “I realized I never stopped caring for you.”

“Aren't you afraid you're just being nostalgic?” asked Sage. She was searching his face, looking for doubt or indecision. His statement had started her heart to racing, wondering if it were possible that what they'd had years ago had not been puppy love, as her mother sometimes jokingly described their relationship during that time, but the real thing. “It happens, you know,” she continued. “A couple who were childhood sweethearts meets again, familiar feelings start to stir, and before you know it, they're back in a relationship. But a few weeks or months or maybe even years later, they break up again. The high doesn't last.”

“I can see why you became an attorney,” Adam said as he bent and kissed her gently on the mouth. He broke it off only long enough to murmur, “But you're not going to talk me out of this.”

Sage closed her eyes and opened her mind to the sweet sensual assault of his mouth on hers. His lips were soft yet firm, and his breath mingling with hers was fresh and inviting. When his tongue probed between her lips, she let him in and practically swooned as he methodically and with sheer abandon made her so weak in the knees that she literally fell into his arms.

When they came up for air, they looked into each other's eyes for several intense moments. “You never used to kiss me like that,” Sage breathed.

“I was a boy then,” said Adam. “I'm a man now.”

“I don't know what to say,” Sage told him, “or what to do.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “I guess I should just be honest with you. I came here today to ask you to donate to my mother's women's-club scholarship fund. She wanted me to stop avoiding you and talk to you, and she thought the best way to accomplish that was by making me feel guilty if I didn't come to see you on behalf of the kids. I never thought our meeting would end up like this.”

Adam smiled. Sage hoped he knew she was sincere. And that it embarrassed her to have to admit she'd come to see him only for a donation. Her stomach twisted in knots as she stood there looking into his eyes.

“How much do they need?”

She was sure her face registered her surprise. “Forty thousand,” she said softly.

“Why not a cool million?” he asked, his gaze resting on her mouth, which made her want to kiss him again. She mentally shook herself and concentrated on the matter at hand: scholarships for needy kids.

“They only asked for forty thousand,” Sage said. She sat in the chair because suddenly this encounter was taking on a weird vibe. She'd anticipated Adam being cordial, yes. He'd always had good manners. But that kiss had been unexpected, and she was still weak from its effect. She also sensed that Adam wasn't as warm and welcoming as he had been when she'd first walked in. He seemed more aloof and possibly angry. About what, she couldn't fathom.

He was looking down at her. She sometimes used to be able to tell what he was thinking when they were teens, but now he was inscrutable. He was no longer that sweet boy. She wondered what sort of things the mature Adam could cook up in that superintelligent brain of his.

She didn't have to wait for long.

“I'll give your mother's club a million dollars if you'll agree to do something for me,” Adam said, smiling at her.

Sage found the strength to stand now. After that kiss, she was sure that there was only one thing Adam Benson would pay a million dollars to get from her, and he was
not
going to get it!

“What do you think I am?” she exclaimed. “A high-priced call girl?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Sage, you could always make me laugh. No, I don't want to buy your body. I want to buy your time. I'm attending an international science and technology summit in Vienna next week, and I want you to come as my companion.”

“Define
companion,
” Sage said, eyes narrowed.

“Being a lawyer again? Okay, if you want the terms laid out for you—you will attend a dinner and a dance with me, plus an awards ceremony. We'll stay in separate hotel suites, of course. Do you have a passport?”

“Yes, of course I do,” said Sage a bit testily. “You're not the only world traveler in this room.”

“Excellent,” said Adam, smiling. “If you agree to those terms, I'll write you a check right now.”

“I'll have to speak with my mother's club before deciding,” she told him.

“You know they'll jump at the opportunity,” Adam said. “And I'd rather you kept the terms of the agreement our secret. I can't have it getting out that I paid for an escort. It might be damaging to both our reputations.”

Sage eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I want you, Sage,” Adam said, his tone determined. “And from that kiss, I don't think you're immune to my charms, either. I just think you need time to digest everything. I predict that if you agree to this, you'll be mine by Christmas.”

Sage laughed. She'd never been able to resist proving someone wrong when they made outrageous claims as Adam had just done. She would be his by Christmas? Not if she had anything to say about it!

“We'll see about that,” she said, offering him her hand.

They shook on it, after which Adam sat behind his desk and withdrew his checkbook from a drawer. “The name of your mother's club?” he asked.

Sage told him, and he wrote her a check and handed it to her.

Sage glanced down at it. She'd never seen so many zeros in her life. “How do you know I'll go through with it?”

“We agreed to be truthful with each other, remember?” he said confidently.

Sage realized that was true. Last year they'd come clean with each other about their past relationship. He'd admitted that he'd broken up with her not because they couldn't carry on a long-distance relationship, but because she was too innocent for him. They'd also admitted they'd never loved anyone else except each other. The ramifications of that revelation still scared Sage.

“I'll hold up my end of the bargain,” she assured him. “On behalf of the Silver Foxes, thank you, Adam,” she said as she began walking toward the door.

“Oh,” said Adam as if it were an afterthought. “You may need some new clothes. And I don't see why you should have to foot the bill for them. I'll have my personal shopper phone you and set up a time to consult with you.”

Turning back around to face him, Sage smiled. “You're going to
Cary Grant
me?”

Adam chuckled. Sage guessed he was remembering that Cary Grant and Doris Day romantic comedy she'd made him sit through so many times when they were teens. In it, Cary Grant had purchased a whole wardrobe for Doris Day to wear on their rendezvous in the islands.

“Yes,” he said. “I'm going to Cary Grant you, except I don't expect you to sleep with me.”

“Good, because it isn't going to happen,” said Sage. She gave him a teasing smile and left.

Outside, at the elevator, Sage stood for a moment and just breathed. She was all atremble inside. What had she gotten herself into? It was obvious that she wanted Adam, if her reaction to his kiss was any indication.

What would it be like to spend several days in Vienna with him? As a teen she had been determined to remain a virgin, so she and Adam had not made love. Now adults, they were both no doubt experienced in the art of love.

But it would be a mistake to jump into bed with him. She vowed that not until it was crystal clear that she and Adam were indeed meant to be together would she make love to him.