Cole For Christmas Read online

  Whispers filtered up the stairs as I threw my clothes in a bag. When I heard the words lie and sadness and hurt I knew I had to leave right then. I couldn’t bear to have Elias dismiss me and send me away. I would walk out with my head held high. I would maintain whatever dignity I could sink my nails into.

  “Cici.” Gretchen’s voice startled me. “What’s going on?”

  I spun around to see her standing in the doorway. Why hadn’t I shut the door?

  I tossed my ugly sweater in my bag and started for the door. “Your brother will have to explain. I’m sorry.” Whatever I left I could replace.

  “You love my brother, don’t you?” Her question seemed more like a declaration than a question. She needed to know the truth, but I was shamed by the truth. I’d fallen for my boss. I’d broken my rules and my heart.

  “I do. I love your brother. It seems impossible given the time we’ve known each other, but life is funny that way. I’m sorry I deceived you all about who I was to Elias.” I pushed past her and ran down the stairs.

  She leaned over the rail and called out to me. “I’ve never seen my brother so in love, Cici. This will all get worked out. Don’t give up.” Her voice dimmed as I ran from the house to my car.

  The engine roared to life. Elias appeared as the garage door opened, but I couldn’t talk to him now. The tears were starting to fall, and I refused to let him see me so weak. I drove forward, leaving him standing barefoot in the snow calling after me.

  How I made it down the mountain was a mystery. Thankfully the roads were empty. I drove down the center lane since I couldn’t see through the tears obstructing my vision. When I pulled into my carport I sat and cried. Sobbed actually. I could barely breathe through my sobs. I had exposed my heart and, for a brief moment, thought I’d found someone who would protect it, but seeing his lips on Becca’s while they stood under the mistletoe was more than I could handle. It was a repeat of my past.

  Watching his family look at me like I had lied was unbearable. They had seen my heart on my sleeve. Even if there were something between Elias and me, it would never work out. I had destroyed his family’s ability to trust me, and he could never love someone his family didn’t trust. So important to him, he’d been willing to go to great lengths to please them. No. Whatever we shared was fleeting and now it was gone.

  My house was empty. It looked like the Grinch had stolen Christmas. My little tree in the corner sagged from lack of water. A handful of ornaments lay on the bare floor next to it. The branches were all that was left now that the needles had fallen off. It was Christmas and the tree symbolized my life. Barren. Broken. Empty. Merry Christmas to me.

  I made a cup of tea and curled up on the couch. It was time to reevaluate everything. I had run away from Los Angeles when things with Ryan had gone bad. He’d had too much influence on my career. Ryan Westland Design, the premier design company in Los Angeles, no one in their right mind left that firm. But I hadn’t been in my right mind. I’d been in the mind of a cast-aside lover, and I’d needed to get as far away as possible.

  This time I would stand my ground. Elias had some influence in his world of real estate, but he had no influence over my career. I had managed to succeed at nothing on my own since I’d arrived in Aspen. There was only one direction to travel when you’d hit rock bottom. Up.

  Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy broke the silence. Mom. What would I tell her?

  “Hello.” I smiled while I spoke. People said it changed your tone, and the last thing I wanted to do was cause my mom concern.

  “Merry Christmas, honey. Do you love your slippers?” She gushed with excitement as she explained why she’d picked the penguin pattern. “You get it, right? Penguins and snow.” My mom got excited over the simplest things.

  “I love them, Mom. It’s cold out right now so they will come in handy.” I had no idea what they looked like, but the fact she’d knitted them for me made me love them anyway. I’d have to figure out how to get them. All my gifts were still under the Cole Christmas tree. It had been such a beautiful tree. Much like the fantasy.

  “We called last night, but you didn’t answer.” Her voice was muffled by the Christmas music blaring in the background. A Craig Christmas was full of movies, music, and mayhem. I could hear my brother, Cameron, belting out “Jingle Bells” in the background. How I wished I were there right now.

  “I was over at a friend’s. We played games and ate Chinese. It was a lot of fun. We even decorated gingerbread men.” I thought about Elias’s cookie and how he’d had a heart with a slice dedicated to me. My heart ached at the thought that just yesterday my life was so different.

  “I wish you were here, sweetheart.”

  “I wish I were, too.” It took every ounce of self-restraint to not cry.

  “Take a picture of your slippers and send it to me. I want to make sure they fit right.” Of course, she’d want a picture.

  “I’ll get right on that, Mom. I love you, and I’ll talk to you soon.” My father and brother yelled their greetings. When I hung up the phone, loneliness blanketed me. I turned off my phone and climbed into bed. I was determined to sleep through the day and avoid the remainder of Christmas this year.

  Hours later I woke to a pounding on my door. Actually, it was more of a thumping. I dragged myself out of bed and trudged to the door. I really did need to talk to my landlord about a peephole. The only way to see who lay beyond the door was to open it, and I feared it might be Elias.

  Gretchen. She stood on my doorstep with her arms full of presents. “May I come in?”

  I felt relief and sadness all at once. Part of me wanted it to be Elias, but in my heart, I knew he wouldn’t show. I’d seen Becca, and if you lined us up next to each other, there was no comparison. She was a diamond. I was a pearl or maybe the sand that caused the pearl.

  I stood aside and let her enter. She walked in slowly, glancing around my home. It was so different from the luxury cabin she was staying in on Thunder Bowl. My home was a thousand square feet of Design Challenge meets Secrets From a Stylist with a dash of Color Splash thrown in for good measure.

  “This place is so cool.” She made her way into my curtain-lined living space. The air disturbance from our movement made the strips of fabric sway. “Don’t tell me that’s your tree?” She set the packages on my sofa and walked to the dead limb in the corner. Her hands reached for the fallen ornaments. Each one she tried to hang fell back to the floor. Some things just couldn’t be fixed.

  “What are you doing here?” I wrapped my arms around my waist and leaned against the wall.

  “I came to spend Christmas with you.” She began to stack the presents she brought on the table.

  “No, it was so important to Elias that Christmas was perfect. You need to go home with your family.”

  “Well, here’s the problem. I’ve always wanted a sister, and I finally had one with you. I’m not giving you up. If my brother was smart he would have been over here, not me.” Her words sliced at my heart. Where was Elias? A vision of Becca’s face rushed at me. He was with her.

  She dug through the presents and handed me the one from my mother.

  “It’s slippers,” I said. “You hardly know me, and what you do know is not the truth.”

  “Tell me the lies then.” She sat back and stared at me.

  “Um . . . I can’t tell you the lies, but I can tell you the truth. Your brother hired me to stay through Christmas because his real girlfriend left him about a week ago. I met him on a job at his house. He had hired me to decorate because Becca had dropped the ball.” My feet were feeling cold, so I slipped my finger under the paper and unwrapped my gift. Inside were the cutest penguin slippers ever. I brought them to my nose and smelled the scent of love. Tears pooled and threatened to fall.

  “Okay, so where is the lie? You both said you had met on a job together.” She shrugged in a tell me something I don’t know way.

  “I suppose, but it was a setup so you wouldn’t know I
wasn’t the girlfriend.” I crumbled the paper into a ball and tossed it toward the corner. The penguins fit perfectly. My mother knew me well.

  “Hell, Cici, I think both of you forgot you weren’t the girlfriend. I’ve never seen my brother look at any woman with as much love as he did you. He’s in love with you.” She sounded so confident, but if that were true, why wasn’t he sitting in front of me?

  “Gretchen, I was your brother’s rebound girl. A quick fix until he could patch things up with Becca.” The words spoken out loud filled me with regret. Regret it couldn’t have been different. I leaned forward and rested my arms on my knees.

  “He’s not a rebound kind of man. He stayed single for years after Kimberly. If he were dating Becca it was purely for the sex.” She cringed when she realized what she said. “It couldn’t have been about the sex with you.” The woman was digging a hole big enough to bury herself in. Flustered she said, “You know what I mean. My brother dedicated a cookie to you.”

  I smiled at the memory and then cried at the loss. “Last night was wonderful. This morning was wonderful until . . .” I was a snotty, crying mess, and Elias’s sister didn’t care. She pulled me into her chest and held me until I calmed down. “Is he home with your parents?” With her? I hiccuped with each breath I took.

  “No, he took Becca to the airport. You should have waited. He gave her the boot immediately. Had my grandmother known she’d tossed him aside for a man with a brood of kids she would have put on her boots and kicked her skinny ass all the way to Denver.”

  “Denver? That’s hours away. Oh . . . Christmas was ruined for all of you.” My tears began again as soon as I realized everything Elias had tried to accomplish was gone.

  “Becca used a car service, but they weren’t available for the return trip. In order to keep Grandma Izzy out of jail, Elias put Becca in the car and took off.” She pushed me away from her and rose. “I’m going to make us some tea.”

  I followed her into my kitchen. “How did you know where to find me?” It was odd she knew where I lived.

  “I snooped in Elias’s office. He had a check and an addressed envelope made out to Chloe Craig of Craig Designs. That’s what Cici is derived from, right?”

  “Yes, but what about your family? What about dinner?” I pulled the tea bags from the cupboard while she filled the kettle with water.

  “Oh, I’m pretty sure having you not cook dinner is a good thing. My mom knows how to kill a cow like no other. They won’t starve to death.”

  With my head lowered I said, “I was happy to cook for you all. I bought books so I could follow the recipe.”

  “That’s what I love about you, Cici. You don’t even eat meat, and you planned to cook it for us anyway.” She went about making the perfect cup of tea down to the honey. “I bet the thought of it made you want to retch.”

  “Well, the meat itself was okay, it’s the fat I was having a hard time getting past. The damn recipe wanted me to trim the fat and set it aside for later.” We both began to giggle. “I’m not sure I could have pulled it off, but I was willing to give it my best shot. In the end, we would have had plenty of side dishes. Those I could have mastered. They were things I make all the time. Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole are right up my alley.”

  “I bet you make the best sides ever. Are you hungry? I am.” She opened the freezer and groaned. There was one cheese pizza and a quart of chocolate chip ice cream.

  “I don’t have much to offer, but I can create a masterpiece with this pizza.” I pulled it out, turned on the oven and went to work. “Does your family hate me?” It mattered to me. I liked them, and I didn’t want them to loathe me.

  “No, they hate Elias.” Her answer was short and not so sweet.

  “Why?” After I spread fresh garlic, sundried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts on the pizza, I tossed it in the hot oven.

  “Because he thought we were so shallow. Him having a girlfriend didn’t matter to any of us. Him being happy did. When you were there he was happy. Has he called you?”

  “No. My phone hasn’t rung all morning.” Then it dawned on me I’d turned it off when I went to bed. I ran to the coffee table and powered it up. Eleven missed messages. Two from my mom and nine from Elias.

  His last one was only minutes ago. Just as my finger pressed play, someone knocked on the door. My heart bounced in my chest as I rushed toward it. When I opened it, Grandma Izzy and Uncle Fritz were on my doorstep. I stood aside and let them in.

  “I’m not happy about your little ruse, my girl, but I’m certain you’re the one for my grandson.” She plopped a bowl of salad in my hands and walked in. Uncle Fritz nodded and carried what looked like sweet potato casserole. I went to shut the door, but a foot shoved inside stopped my progress.

  “Merry Christmas, Cici.” Maggie walked in with what looked like a bowl of green beans and a bowl of quinoa. Behind her was Clint with several bottles of wine and a platter of rolls. “Set the table, we’re hungry.”

  They all went to work in my kitchen like they owned the place. I set the table then stood back and watched in awe as this family came together. The only one missing was Elias. When a knock sounded at the door I knew it was him. It wasn’t a pounding demand for entry but a tentative knock.

  All activity stopped. Every eye watched as I walked to the door. When I cracked it open, Elias stood with a tree in his hand and a question in his expression. He looked past me to his family. I could see the apology as if it had come from his mouth. He was sad, and I was a sucker for sad.

  I stepped aside and let him in. Where he found a tree on Christmas day I couldn’t guess, but I hoped he didn’t pay a fortune for it. It wasn’t in much better shape than the one I had. He handed the tree to his father and pulled me into his arms.

  “I’m so sorry, Cici. She wasn’t supposed to come. Becca and I were over, and you and I were on our way to falling in love. No . . . that’s not right.”

  I breathed in the scent of orange and cloves. “It’s not?” I wrapped my arms around his waist and held on.

  “No. We had way more than forty hours under our belt. We are in love. I’m in love with you, Cici. Please . . . I want that back.”

  My heart swelled in my chest. He loved me, and I still loved him.

  “I didn’t stop loving you, Elias. I just stopped hoping you would feel the same.”

  “Would you guys kiss and make up? An old woman could die of starvation before you two lock lips.” Elias was right. His grandmother was ornery enough to outlive us all.

  We needed no further coaxing. His mouth crushed into mine, his kiss hot and demanding. If I didn’t live in an open-floor concept, I would have taken him behind the curtains and had my way with him. Instead, I whispered in his ear. “You owe me tea.”

  “I love you, and I’ll give you everything. Tea included.”

  “Oh shush, you two, let’s eat, then we can get on with the presents and the important stuff.” Izzy was getting testy.

  “And what would the important stuff be, Mother?” Maggie looked at her mother, her head tilted in question.

  “We’ve got to clear out of here so these kids can start working on my great grandbabies.”

  Chapter 14

  Full of vegetarian delights including a cheese pizza, we sat around the newly decorated tree and opened presents. Elias had filled his trunk before he’d arrived. His family was hell-bent on having me for the holidays, and when he’d said he was coming to my house, they’d given him a list of things to do and then driven quickly to beat him here. I’m not sure what their intent was, but somehow I felt they were protecting him. Or maybe they were taking the time to welcome me on their own terms.

  Everyone loved their gifts, especially Clint who teared up when his son gave him the gift of time. They would be fishing in the spring. Elias was touched I’d purchased some special fishing gifts for him as well.

  Gretchen loved her Limoges box and gold pine cones necklace. Maggie was over the m
oon with her cashmere scarf. I laughed my head off when Izzy opened her package and found a year’s subscription to Live Alert. Elias was simply looking after his granny. And since Uncle Fritz spent a great deal of time with his mother, Elias bought him noise-canceling headphones.

  I was gifted with more lavender products than a person could use in a lifetime, a brand new Kindle with a gift card and a year’s worth of hardback books straight from the 100 must-read list. His gifts were generous and heartfelt. He’d listened to me and heard me.

  The Coles bought me the softest ski gloves and hat. They also hired the same ski instructor to do what he does best—watch me tumble down the hill.

  In spite of the drama, Christmas had turned out to be wonderful with the warmth and happiness of any Norman Rockwell scene. My little home had never been so full of love. When we had finished the bottles of wine Clint had lifted from Elias’s collection, the Coles packed up their presents and left. They kissed us both goodbye and told us they would see us tomorrow.

  When the door shut, Elias pulled me straight to the bed. With the finesse of a magician, he had me naked and on display for him.

  “Mr. Cole, we have talked about this before. You are fully clothed, but I’m naked as the day I was born. This won’t do.”

  “You’re right.” He pulled a small wrapped package from his back pocket and set it on my bare stomach. I stared at it for a minute before I pulled the paper off and opened the box to find a Limoges Christmas tree. When I popped it open a necklace with the letter C fell out.

  “Are you afraid I can’t spell my name?”

  “As a matter of fact, I am. I’m sure you realize Chloe and Cici begin with a C, but I want you to think about how things will end, and Cole has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Someday, Chloe Craig, I’m going to make you want to be Chloe Cole, and this will be a daily reminder of that goal.”