A Christmas Proposal: A Hidden Threat Short Story (4 page)

The others were sitting around the room talking about Jessie and Alvin’s upcoming honeymoon, but he could tell Cali wasn’t really listening. Neither was he, if he were being honest. Their voices were only background noise. His entire focus was on her. The way her body felt pressed against his. The way her hair draped softly over her shoulder. And the way her small fingers felt encased by his large hand. 

His fingers circled the ring finger on her left hand. Matthew had promised her that it wouldn’t be long before he made it official, and he was sticking to his word. Tonight he was hoping she’d say yes. He thought she would. She’d reacted positively when he’d declared his intentions, but the nerves were still there. 

“So do you two have any plans for this evening?” 

Alvin’s question was directed at Matthew and Cali. When he was too slow to respond, she answered for them. “Not really. We’re just planning to relax mostly, and exchanging presents. It’s been a long week,” she said looking up at him. 

It had been a long week. They’d both been putting in extra hours leading up to Christmas. Jason had decided, come January, he would be going out on his own. He was going to open his own P.I. firm, and would no longer be working at Stanton Enterprises. Matthew wasn’t sure, but he wouldn’t be surprised if Lisa followed soon after, and Alvin would have to look for a new assistant. He also wasn’t sure that wedding bells would be that far off for his brother either. Jason was more of a spur-of-the-moment person, however. He’d likely propose whenever the mood struck him, no matter where they were or who they were with. 

Matthew was happy for his big brother. Jason never did fit well behind a desk. This would give him the opportunity to be out in the field more than in an office. 

With his brother’s impending departure came a shift in workload and responsibilities. Matthew was now dealing with things he’d never had to before. It was a learning curve, and he’d adjust in time. For now, it was just time-consuming. 

Cali’s plight for the last month was simple. It was the holidays and everyone at the hospital wanted time off to spend with their families. To make it fair, all the doctors who hadn’t put in for week-long vacations over the Christmas and New Year holidays drew straws to see who would work Christmas Eve or Christmas Day as well as New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Cali had been lucky. Being a new doctor on staff meant they could have forced her to work both holidays. As it was, she was going to have to leave the New Year’s Eve party early in order to be at work by midnight to start her shift. 

Once again, Alvin’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “You’re more than welcome to stay if you’d like. We were just going to sit around and watch some movies.”

“What kind of movies?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Everyone rolled their eyes. 

Cali started to speak, but he cut her off. The last thing he wanted was for her to commit to something and ruin his plans. “Thank you for the offer, but I think we just want to spend some time alone. As Cali said, it’s been a long week.” 

It wasn’t a lie, although it wasn’t the reason Matthew was itching to get out of there. He’d been paying close attention to the clock, and so far everything was on schedule. All he needed to do now was make sure they left for home no later than four thirty. 

As luck would have it, Jessie suggested they play a board game and it didn’t wrap up until well after five. Matthew was beginning to rethink his plans, how he could alter them and still do everything he’d wanted to. He was distracted as they walked out to the car, both carrying leftovers Jessie had insisted on sending home with them. 

“Are you okay?” Cali asked as he slid behind the wheel of his car. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“All right,” she said, looking doubtful.

Matthew took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles. “I just wanted to be out of here a little earlier. It’s our first Christmas together and I haven’t even given you your presents yet.”

“Mmmm,” she said, closing the short distance between them. Her lips were inches away from him. “Am I going to enjoy said presents?” Her eyes danced with mischief.

He sucked in a breath, cupping the back of her head with his free hand. “I sure hope so,” he whispered before pressing a lingering kiss full of promises against her soft lips. When they sat back in their seats, they were both breathing heavily. 

The ride home was quiet, but not awkward. He kept her hand in his over the center console, unable to resist running his fingers over the place he hoped his ring would be in a few short hours. 

Cali sat beside Matthew wondering what was going on in this head. He was a methodical person, so she could only assume that he was pondering something and would share once he figured it out. She wasn’t too worried about it, but she wished he’d share. If something was bothering him, she wanted to help.

Matthew remained silent as they walked through the door and removed their coats. “I thought maybe we could warm up first with a bath.”

She smiled. They’d taken baths a few times while she’d been healing from her injuries and they’d always been . . . enjoyable experiences. “Sounds perfect.”

He took her hand and led her up the stairs to their room. “Why don’t you get undressed and I’ll start the water,” he said, giving her a quick kiss before disappearing into the bathroom.

As she removed her layers of clothing, she couldn’t help but chuckle. For some reason, Matthew was nervous and he was rarely nervous. She found it cute. 

Matthew walked back into the room, stopping abruptly. He stood staring at her, his eyes raking over her body. She could see the heat building in his gaze, and knew she was really going to enjoy this bath. 

She let her body sink down into the water, and leaned back into his arms as they wrapped around her. Candles surrounded them providing a soft, romantic, glow to the room. 

“No wonder you wanted to rush home,” she said, looking over her shoulder at him. 

Water streamed from his hand as it cupped the side of her face. “Bath or no bath, you naked trumps watching movies with your father and my brother any day,” he said, placing a soft kiss on her lips. 

Their mouths parted, and she rested her head back against his shoulder. It was both peaceful and electric at the same time. Everywhere they touched, her body sang with a familiar song as the water moved gently around them. 

Matthew’s fingers intertwined with hers as he slid farther into the water, taking her with him. His cheek found a resting place on top of her head. “You know I never thought this would be me.” He squeezed her hands affectionately. “I’d tried relationships before and they never worked out. I guess I was just waiting for you,” he said, placing a kiss on her temple. “I love you, Cali Stanton.”

Cali looked up into his eyes, a warmth filling her chest at his words. He was looking down on her with so much love. “I love you, too,” she whispered as he brought his lips down to hers in a reverent kiss. 

The kiss, however, soon had a mind of its own as the feel of being so close yet not completely together took over. She moved to straddle him, pressing herself closer to that part of him she wanted inside of her. 

But just when she began lowering herself toward her goal, Matthew’s hands stilled her movements. “What’s wrong?” she asked. Matthew had never stopped her before. He was usually the one initiating it. She wondered if she was missing something. 

Matthew bit down on the side of his cheek. He needed to remember the plan here. As much as he wanted to make love to her right this minute, he knew that if that happened the rest of what he had planned for tonight would be shot. He couldn’t let that happen. 

“Nothing’s wrong.” She raised a questioning eyebrow in disbelief. “I promise,” he said, punctuating it with a brief kiss. 

“Then why did you stop? Don’t you want to?” she said, running a seductive hand down his torso.

Matthew stifled a laugh. “Of course I want to,” he said, stopping her hand’s descent.

“Then what’s wrong? Are you hurting somewhere?” 

His hand rubbed up and down her arms trying to comfort her. She was going into doctor mode and that was the last thing he wanted. “If we start now the chances of us going back downstairs tonight are slim to none, and I want to be able to give you your presents, Ms. Stanton.”

She flung her arms playfully around his neck. “If these presents are so important, why are we wasting time up here in a bath?”

Matthew let his fingers brush against the tops of her breasts. “Maybe I just wanted to distract you.” She sucked in a breath, letting her head fall back. He used the opportunity to slip his hand between them. Sex was not on the cards right now, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t give her a little pleasure. 

Chapter 4

Thirty minutes later, they were both dressed and downstairs. Cali was getting hungry, so they both loaded the leftovers onto plates and tossed them into the microwave. It was such a normal thing to do, but Matthew found himself taking notice. If she said yes, he would be doing things like this with her for the rest of his life. He couldn’t think of anything better. 

    Once they’d finished eating, he guided her into the living room. They both knelt down in front of the tree, and he handed Cali her first gift. Other than the ring, he had no idea what to get her so he’d enlisted Lisa’s help. He could only hope she liked his choices.

She tore at the paper, nearly shredding it before opening the lid. He knew instantly that he’d done well. She had a huge smile on her face as she removed the long white doctor’s coat from the box. The sales clerk had told him that doctors liked pockets, the more the better. This one had seven, and he watched her inspect each one of them. 

“Thank you,” she said, leaning over to kiss him. 

“You’re welcome,” he chuckled.

“My turn.” With a flourish, she handed him a small package about the size of his fist. 

He was a little more careful opening his gift, trying not to tear the paper any more than necessary. Unlike his prior experiences growing up with his brother, Cali waited patiently. It was just one more reason why he loved her. 

When he finally managed to open the rectangular box, he almost fainted. “How did you know?”

“A little bird told me,” she smirked. 

“Jason,” he surmised. 

There staring back at him was the watch he’d been dreaming about getting for the last few months. He was a very practical man. This watch wasn’t practical. It did things that he’d never have a use for, like telling him what time it was right now in Singapore, and satellite positioning. Years ago when he was in the military this watch would have been justifiable. Now it was just an extravagance. 

“You didn’t have to . . .”

She held up her white coat. “Neither did you.”

“That’s different.”

“No,” she said. “It’s not.” Before he could argue, she encouraged him to put it on.

The watch looked perfect against his wrist, like it belonged there. He couldn’t deny that he loved it, and he told her as much. 

They continued to open their presents. She’d got him some dress shirts and ties, stating that since she’d ruined a few of his it was only fair to replace them. He recalled the first time she destroyed one of his shirts and almost ditched his plan. As far as he was concerned, she could destroy as many of his shirts, ties, pants, or any other piece of clothing he wore if it meant that in the end he was able to worship her body. 

When everything else had been opened, Matthew reached around to the back of the tree and retrieved the lone box that remained. As soon as Cali saw it, she stilled, her eyes seeking his, questioning. 

Matthew slid closer to her, their knees touching. “I know that we haven’t been together all that long, but Cali, I can’t imagine you
not
being in my life. I love falling asleep with you, waking up with you, and everything in between. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, beside you.” He opened the box, revealing the ring to her for the first time. “Will you marry me, Cali Stanton?”

Tears were glistening in her eyes by the time he finished his speech. She felt exactly the same way. Although she’d always prided herself on being an independent person, she couldn’t imagine living her life without Matthew in it anymore. 

“Yes.”

His shoulders sank with what looked to be relief. Did he really think there was a possibility she’d say no? 

Matthew took the ring out of its box, and placed it on her finger. She had to admit it was perfect. The ring was beautiful, but not flashy. It was obvious he’d put a lot of time into finding it, but that was Matthew. He didn’t do things halfway. 

She smiled up at him. “It’s beautiful.”

He let the now-empty box fall to the floor, taking her face between his hands. “Beautiful,” he whispered as his mouth descended. 

It was hours before she thought of anything else. This had truly been a Christmas to remember.