Billionaire Bachelors 10 ; Holiday Treasure(42)

She was soon to find out.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Only a day to go in his previously rodent-infested, leaky-piped, ball-freezing building. OK, the temperature was still miserable in here, but everything else was so wretched, the temperature might as well follow suit.

Tanner had to smile when he found himself humming Christmas carols. He was done for the day - the mall closed early on Christmas Eve so the employees could celebrate with their families - and he'd donned a Santa suit for the last time. With something approaching glee, he tossed the stupid suit into the costume return, giving it an extra little shove just to say good riddance, and he walked away from the mall with a smile.

Kyla hadn't been working there that day. Lucky girl. She was at her other job, which had to be better than dealing with snot-nosed kids, whatever it was. But he wasn't so lucky, because her absence had made the time drag by for him. The uncertainty and anticipation didn't help. It was his last night with her and he wanted to make it count. She hadn't said what her plans for the evening were, but since she didn't have any family left, he was hoping they could spend it together. He'd ordered a nice catered dinner, which would arrive in a couple of hours. 

The two of them could eat an exquisite meal and then cuddle up on the couch. The night before, she'd rejected his offer of watching another cheesy Christmas flick, but she couldn't do that now, could she? Not on Christmas Eve. And this time she wouldn't fall asleep, because he'd be treating her to all of his best moves. And he already knew how much she liked them.

It was time they got reacquainted. Since they'd made love nearly a week ago, the sexual tension had been building to the boiling point - at least for him - and he was more than ready to refuel the magic the two of them made together. It was tonight or never, because once he left this building, he wouldn't be back.

As usual, that thought sent an odd pang through him, but he chose to ignore it. Sure, he'd been getting a bit sappy about this particular woman, but people in extreme circumstances tended to act against their character. He'd heard about that in the movie Speed.

This wasn't his life. He was happy with who he was outside of this alternate reality, living in his penthouse apartment, working day and night, and sporting a tuxedo when he consumed champagne and caviar instead of beer and hot wings.

This existence was beneath him. He didn't consider himself a snob; he was just a man who had worked hard and liked the finer things in life. There was nothing wrong with that. Okay, he conceded, he did have a wealthy family, and he did seem to have the Midas touch.

When he reached the apartment building, Tanner's imagination was running along so vividly that he could practically taste Kyla's skin on his lips. And as he turned the corner to their end of the hallway, he wasn't paying attention and ran smack dab into her, nearly making her fall back on her tush.

She was in an awful hurry.

"Oh, sorry," she gasped before looking up and discovering who it was. "Hey, Tanner. Sorry, I don't have time to chat. I'm running late," she said as she attempted to get past him.

"Where are you going?" he asked, resolutely blocking her path.

"I have plans tonight."

Vague, to say the least, and he wasn't about to let her get away with it. "What plans?" he asked suspiciously. This was supposed to be their night together. She couldn't possibly be seeing another man. He would know. Wouldn't he? Maybe not. She'd been able to avoid him way too often for his liking.

"I just have plans." She looked down, refusing to meet his gaze.

Instant jealousy slammed into his gut. Maybe she was seeing another man.

"I thought we'd have dinner together tonight. I ordered it in."

Her eyebrows rose. "You ordered Christmas dinner? Doesn't a holiday meal mean that you're supposed to slave over a hot stove all day?"

"I don't cook elaborate meals, just breakfast, and preferably after a night of working up a good appetite," he said as he tried to turn her around.

"Yeah, my dad 'helped' my mom once or twice in the kitchen for elaborate dinners," Kyla said, "but it was an utter disaster. Whenever he tried to again, she would end up chasing him away, telling him he would mess everything up." A melancholy smile rose up on her lips.

"Besides, isn't it better to have a nice meal without being exhausted from cooking all day and night?" he asked, trying to tempt her into changing her mind.




 

 

"No, Tanner. Part of the appeal of a great Christmas dinner is in knowing that it was prepared with love." Even the little smile she'd had not so long before disappeared when she said those words.

This wasn't good. He wanted her happy and carefree tonight, not sinking back into a happy past that she could never have again.