Winter's Magic (Music City Hearts Series) (11 page)

“Tell me something,” he said. How do we live in the same town, grow up with many of the same people, yet I’d never met you before a few weeks ago?”

“I don’t really socialize with the people I grew up with. I spend most of my free time with Jenny or a couple of other close friends.” He heard an odd catch in her voice.

“Almost everyone at the party knew you. In fact, you were one of the hottest topics of the night.”

Her head jerked around, making coffee slosh from her cup. “Why?” She grabbed a napkin and quickly wiped up the spill.

She was adorable. The look on her face—a mixture of surprise and horror. She must not have any idea what people were saying about her business.

“Your spa is the newest crown jewel of Nashville. You know that, right? Every woman in town has either been to La Bella Vita or can’t wait to get in.”

“I’ve been stunned at how fast business has grown. Some of my best employees are booked through February already. I never thought about us being a topic at holiday parties, though.”

“I guess I should book my appointments with you now then.” He laughed. “Thursday is our office luncheon. I want you to be there with me. A few of our local clients will be attending. Saturday is the Christmas ball at the country club.”

“Okay.” Beth laid down her fork and turned to him. “Nick, I should be honest. When I say I don’t socialize with the people I grew up with, I really don’t. As soon as I graduated from high school, I moved to Lexington. And when I moved back, I didn’t go out of my way to re-join that circle.”

“So?” He couldn’t imagine what she was so worried about.

“I’m not the kind of girl you’re used to dating. I have a feeling a lot of people will be surprised to see you with me.”

“People who truly know me won’t. And I think you’ll be the one surprised when you realize how many people have missed you and really enjoyed seeing you at Grandfather’s party. In fact, three different women told me I should ask you out.”

“Really?” Despite her smile, he could still hear the tension in her voice. “Where these married women? Because single women don’t usually do favors for other single women, especially when it concerns the sexiest bachelor in town.”

All three were married, but he wasn’t going to split hairs. The fact was, Beth had been a big topic of conversation and not just because of La Bella Vita. Both married and single women, those who weren’t part of Maureen’s entourage, genuinely enjoyed seeing her again and admired her success.

“Sexiest bachelor in town?”

“Don’t pretend you’ve never looked in the mirror.” She paused and when she began to speak again, her demeanor was careful and thoughtful. He almost got the feeling the words pained her. “In your world, the rules are different for women than they are for men. People expect you to be dating Ms. Perfect. A debutante. The ideal hostess for a cocktail party.” She let out a sigh of frustration. He knew he wasn’t helping as he stared at her with a blank face. But if he understood her right, she was way off base. “I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m probably going to hurt your image.”

Relief shot through him as he slid off the barstool and closed the distance between them. Taking her face between his hands, he made her see straight into his eyes.

“I don’t have an image. I live my life the way I want to and I don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks. The country club, and most of the other social events I attend, are more of an obligation.” He paused, trying to come up with the right words. She needed to understand. He wouldn’t let anything take her away from him. Not some fool-headed peer’s opinion and not her insecurities.

“Those aren’t the people I measure myself against. My true friends are all within arm’s reach. And in my world, as you put it, I set the standards.” He kissed her hard and didn’t let go until he felt her give in.

Beth squealed and rubbed her gloved hands together as she watched the salesman begin wrapping the Christmas tree Nick had just picked out. “Oh, my gosh! It’s huge.”

“Fifteen feet tall. Largest one we have, ma’am.”

“I hope you’re not backing out on your offer to help decorate.” Nick wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they headed toward the car. “We need to stop and pick up a few more lights on the way home. They said it’d be at least an hour before they deliver, if you want to shop for decorations, too.”

“Do you have a tree stand big enough?” she asked.

“They’re taking care of everything.”

“I’ll have to remember this place. My dad usually helps me but our schedules aren’t always clear at the same time. I like the tree up early.” This year she’d really been early. Three days before Thanksgiving.

“And I’m going to guess you want all the decorations taken down the day after Christmas, too.”

“Definitely. I hate to see it empty and by then, the needles are way past dry.”

“My grandfather’s housekeeper thinks it’s bad luck to take the tree down before New Year’s Day. I wonder if she’ll feel differently after having everything up by Thanksgiving this year.” He laughed.

“Probably. You know how women are. Our beliefs often change with our mood swings. I call it built-in flexibility.”

“I’m not touching that one.”

“Smart man.”

When they left the tree farm, Nick drove to Macy’s. They stocked up on lights and picked out a new tree skirt. Holding up two matching stockings, she thought about how wonderful her family Christmases always were. Somehow, her parents found a way to make every year memorable.

“A lot of my favorite Christmas presents came out of my stockings growing up.” She said.

“Like what?” Nick placed the stockings in the cart and led them down another aisle.

“I can remember the Christmas I was seven. I’d just gotten my ears pierced and my parents gave me a pair of diamond earrings. They were little gold dangles with the tiniest diamond chips down the front. When I wore them to school, my best friend told me I could pass for at least ten with them on.” She’d worn them every day for a month.

“I always got candy and gum in mine. Of course, boy’s presents don’t fit inside stockings very well. Monster trucks, race car tracks, footballs.”

“Did you play many sports growing up?”

He had the shoulders of a football player. She could just imagine him in tight spandex pants and shoulder pads.

“I started peewee football the summer I turned seven and played for our school until I graduated. Loved baseball, too. I played on a local park league to keep busy through the spring.”

“I bet you dated the head cheerleader.” She laughed and nudged him in the ribs as they approached the toy department.

“No. Believe it or not, I was pretty awkward around girls until I went to college. Brandon was always the smooth one.”

Beth slowed. “Do you mind if we shop for a couple of things? Gina has a girl and a boy. Seven and eight. I thought her little girl might like the new Glamour Barbie. I have no idea what to get for the boy.”

“Action figures. You can’t go wrong with a muscled-up hero covered in turbo guns or fighting swords.”

As they strolled around the end of one aisle and up the next, they found a section of action heroes as big as any Barbie department she’d ever seen.

“How do you know what goes together? They all look alike.” Beth didn’t recognize any of the figures. She wasn’t sure if they represented TV Shows or kids’ movie characters.

Nick pointed to a group of warriors in full armor with an assortment of weapons strapped to their bodies. “I don’t know about an eight-year-old, but these seem cool to me.”

“Grab those four and we’ll cross our fingers. How do parents get all this straight?”

“I’m sure when you have kids of your own you pay more attention. And you have other parents to talk to.” Nick put the four warriors in their cart and they headed toward the front of the store.

“Sounds like you’ve been studying up.” She wondered if Nick wanted kids. When she’d asked him for help picking out a toy, his eyes had lit up immediately.

“My assistant, Jennifer, has five children so I guess I’ve paid more attention than I thought.”

“Five? Wow. I bet life is exciting every night of the week.”

“She comes in with some tales, that’s for sure. The three boys play basketball and baseball. I think one of them even takes karate lessons. The girls are into gymnastics and dance. I don’t know how she keeps up with their schedules, but she comes in every morning with a smile on her face.”

A casual silence came over them as they headed toward the shortest checkout line. Of course, he wanted kids. She could hear the yearning in his voice when he talked about Jennifer’s five.

“Do you see yourself with kids someday?” Nick asked.

Beth busied herself unloading the cart as she contemplated the question. He’d given her the perfect opening. To be honest and get it over with. A wave of anxiety rolled through her at the thought. What if he changed the way he felt about her?

She needed to know his feelings before telling him. Otherwise, he’d be too worried about saying the wrong thing. He might not tell her the truth.

“Yes, I do,” she said. “It’s hard to imagine right now, though. You?”

“I’ve known for a long time that I wanted children. I want a big family. Growing up alone, especially after my parents died, I always wanted a brother or sister I could be close to.”

Beth swallowed hard as her stomach twisted into a knot. She turned her attention to the sacks on the turntable as her mind contemplated what to do.

Now—here’s your chance. It doesn’t have to be a monumental revelation. Just tell him. Get it over with.

She took her time, taking each bag off the rack and placing them inside the cart, as Nick paid for the decorations.

Beth opened her mouth, ready to say those four simple words.
I can’t have children
. Then changed her mind. She couldn’t say them. Not yet. Not here. Who really knew where this relationship was leading, anyway? It could be a moot point in the end.

So she silently watched the cashier ring up the action figures and Glamour Barbie and concentrated on swiping her debit card, slowly entering her PIN to finalize the transaction. Then she turned to Nick with what she hoped was her usual, carefree smile.

“Growing up as the only child can be hard, even in the best of circumstances. I love my parents, but I wonder if a brother or sister would have made me feel like I belonged, when so much of the time I didn’t think I fit in.”

“Family’s important.” He chuckled as if he’d just remembered something. “You should hear Brandon talk about his family gatherings. He’s one of eight children and the only one not married. I think he told me once he’s got eighteen nieces and nephews.”

“Can you imagine Christmas morning?” Her smile almost felt genuine again. Seeing the gleam in his eyes, she reminded herself that waiting was the right decision.

“I bet it’s great,” he said.

The tree service arrived just as they got back to Nick’s house. A little trim work as the stand was attached and within minutes, the three men had everything setup in the two-story living room.

Beth stepped back and admired the beautiful and very empty tree. “If you want to start on the lights, I’ll go through the tote boxes you brought down from the attic this morning,” she said.

Nick lit the fireplace and turned on some music, infusing the room with the sounds of Christmas. Then he climbed the ladder and started working his way down. “We’re lucky it’s fairly trim. Ten boxes sounded like a lot of lights, but man, this is a lot of tree.”

Beth carefully unpacked the tote boxes, unwrapping dozens of crystal and ivory ornaments and strands of beautiful glass beads. She sang along as Bing Crosby’s “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow” came on the radio.

By the time Nick had progressed far enough down the tree he no longer needed the ladder, she was ready to decorate. “I’ll let you put the star on top. I’m not sure I can reach that far, even with the ladder.”

While he complied, she placed a centerpiece on the mantle, along with two antique snow globes, then opened the Macy’s sacks and set out the new tree skirt and stockings. A shear gold mesh design, they were a perfect complement to his ornament collection.

With the last ornament hung, they both stepped back and viewed the scene. A warm shudder rolled through her as Nick wrapped his arms around her from behind. The natural light had dimmed as the sun began its evening descent. “White Christmas” played softly in the background, mixed with the soft crackle of the fireplace. Beth leaned the back of her head against Nick’s chest, closed her eyes, and inhaled the deep scent of pine.

How one week could change a person’s life so dramatically seemed impossible. She’d been crazy to think she could hold back her emotions. In the span of just ten days, he’d taken her by storm and reduced everything else in her life to mere rubble.

She realized how empty her heart had been before they met. Now, she wasn’t just full and satisfied, she was close to bursting. With Troy, she thought she’d known true love. She’d been so wrong. This feeling she had with Nick was something altogether different. He was a need, a craving she couldn’t ignore and didn’t want to try.

He was perfect. His character and self-confidence. His trueness. He fit the saying
What you see is what you get
. He could broker a business deal during the day and cut out felt craft pieces in the evening. And for some unthinkable reason, this sexy, passionate, intelligent, amazing man wanted her.

She knew she’d fallen already. Head over heels, flown off the edge of a cliff, with no ability to stop. It felt like a dream. After all the bad dates and negative relationships scarring her past, she finally had her very own fairytale. She would pinch herself, but didn’t dare risk waking up.