A Rare Gift (9 page)

“Calliope forced me to come here,” Cassandra finally said. “She browbeat me, said the two of us left things…open. That there was so much animosity between us, neither of us could move on with our lives until we had closure.”

“She’s good at pushing people into doing what they don’t want to do.”

Cassandra laughed. “She’s pushy. Always has been.”

“I love that about her,” he said, then lifted his gaze.

“It’s okay. I know you two have been seeing each other for a while. It’s all right, Wyatt. I think it’s well past time we both move on, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“You two are a good fit. You and I never were.”

“You’re right about that,” he said, and found himself falling into conversation with her easier than he thought he would. “I fell in love with the prettiest girl in town. I put you on a pedestal, and projected everything I wanted out of life on to you, expecting you to toe the line. I was blind to the fact the things I wanted weren’t the same things you wanted.”

For the first time, she smiled. “I did the same thing. You were the boy all the girls in town wanted, so I set my sights on you. Then I thought I could turn you into the man I wanted you to be, but you were never that man. I was wrong to try and change you.”

“So we both screwed up.”

She laughed then. “We should have never gotten married. We were never right for each other.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Her eyes glistened with tears. “I’m sorry, too.”

This wasn’t what he expected. She wasn’t what he expected. All these years, he’d had an image of her in his head, and she wasn’t that person at all.

“Are you happy now?” he asked.

“I am. I’m getting there. I love my job, and where I live. I’m seeing someone who treats me well, and we do want the same things. I’ve learned to be honest about what I want—and what I don’t want. I have learned from my mistakes.”

He inhaled, let out a long breath. “Yeah, I’m still learning, obviously.”

She laid her hand over his. “Do you really love my sister?”

“Yes.”

“No hesitation. I like that.” She stood. “I love her too. She’s perfect for you.”

He needed to ask, needed to know. “Does that hurt you, that I’m in love with Calliope?”

She paused, tilted her head. “Not at all. I think maybe we’re both moving on, don’t you think?”

“I think so.” They both stood and he helped her with her coat. “I’m sorry for the pain.”

She hugged him, and he realized he felt nothing. No anger, no bitterness, nothing at all.

She turned around and smiled at him. “I wish you happiness, Wyatt. And I’m so glad Calliope forced us into this. I hope we can work on being friends someday. Maybe even…in-laws?”

He smiled back at her and walked her out.

Now he needed to go find Calliope, because he had a few more apologies to make, this time to the woman who really had his heart.

Calliope paced on the back steps of the hotel, switching from angry to hurt back to angry again, then tossing in worry and angst for good measure.

Her stomach was a ball of knots. She could use her best friend and a tall margarita right now, but Tori was otherwise occupied somewhere with Brody. She made a mental note to call her tomorrow for a full recap of what that kiss had been all about.

She was going to give Wyatt another half hour—mainly because she was freezing her ass off out here—but also because he needed to cool off and so did she before they talked again.

“You didn’t leave.”

Her head shot up at the sound of his voice. He was standing at the top of the stairs.

“You’re not wearing a jacket,” she said.

“What?”

“It’s freezing out here. Where’s your coat?”

“Inside.”

“Then let’s go inside before you freeze to death.”

“Calliope. Aren’t you mad at me?”

“Furious. But I don’t want you to get sick and it’s cold out here. I’ll yell at you inside.”

He shook his head and helped her up the stairs and inside.

“Where would you like me to yell at you?”

He punched the elevator button and they rode up in silence to the penthouse floor. She noted the floor, but otherwise stayed silent, figuring she’d have plenty to say when they got to wherever they were going.

When he pulled out a key card and slid it into the penthouse suite’s door, she turned to him. “Really?”

“Yeah. Figured we’d live it up tonight.”

“Huh.” He pushed the door open and held it while she walked in. When he flipped the switch, she resisted the urge to gasp.

The room was opulent. She’d always wondered about the penthouse suite at this hotel. Now she didn’t have to wonder anymore. It was lavish, decorated in creams and blacks, with marble flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows and more square footage than her entire house.

“Would you like a drink?”

“No, thank you,” she said, pulling off her coat and laying it over a chair. As she rubbed her chilled hands together, she walked to the window, surveying her entire town in one sweep. Beautiful.

But she wasn’t here to enjoy the view, so she turned to face him.

“I know I meddled, that you asked me not to contact Cassie and have the two of you meet. But here’s the problem, Wyatt. I love you. And you’re never going to be whole until the past is firmly in the past where it belongs. And maybe I don’t do things the right way all the time, but I’ll always have your back. I’ll always want what’s best for you. So you know what? What’s best for you is me.”

“You’re right.”

She pause her train of thought. “What?”

“You’re right. About all of it. I did need to talk to Cassandra. We both needed to exorcise the past. We both did things that were wrong, but I was the worst. I had it in my head that she was the enemy, and all this time I carried this giant grudge. She wasn’t the enemy. She was just the wrong woman for me.”

“You talked to her.”

“Yes. It’s over for good now. We mended fences.”

Some of the tension dissolved and she dropped her shoulders. “Oh. Well, I’m glad. Better now?”

He came toward her. “A lot better. I feel light now, Calliope. Like a weight was lifted off me.”

She nodded. “Good.”

He picked up her hands, slid his thumbs over them. “The past is gone now. All I want to think about is the future. The only person in my future is you.”

Her heart squeezed.

“I love you, Calliope.”

“I love you too, Wyatt.”

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I’m probably going to say I’m sorry a lot over the next fifty or sixty years, so get used to it.”

Her heart did a little song and dance, fluttering in her chest. “Okay.”

He dropped to his knee. “I want to marry you. I want to have kids with you. A lot of kids. I want you to move into my big house that you fell in love with, and raise those kids with me there. I like dogs. Do you like dogs?”

She swiped at the tears that rolled down her cheeks. “I love dogs.”

“Good. Will you marry me?”

“Yes. Of course. Yes.”

He stood and pulled her into his arms, kissed her in that way that never failed to make her feel a little bit faint.

“I love you, Wyatt. I want to marry you. I want to make babies with you—FYI, as soon as humanly possible. I want as many dogs as you can tolerate underfoot—kids too, for that matter. I’m yours.”

He smoothed his hand over her hair, her face, her lips. “You are the rarest gift. I’m a very lucky man to have found you, and it isn’t even Christmas yet.”

She gave him a wicked smile. “No, but you might be getting your gift early. Wait ’til you see what I’m wearing under this dress.”

He reached for the zipper in back of the dress and pulled it down. “Now that’s a challenge I accept.”

Her skin broke out in goose bumps, her body flaming to his touch. Her dress unzipped, he drew it off her shoulders and let it pool at her feet. She stepped out of it, and Wyatt’s eyes widened.

“Merry Christmas to me,” he said, his eyes roaming appreciatively over her body.

She’d splurged on a fire-engine-red, lace-and-satin thong with a matching demi-bra that barely contained her breasts. With her shoes still on, she knew she looked like a wicked temptress. She felt like one. And when she dropped to her knees to undo Wyatt’s belt buckle, he let out a litany of curses that only served to drive her arousal to danger levels.

He kicked off his shoes while she unzipped and removed his pants and boxer briefs, then took his shaft in her hand and stroked it before taking him in her mouth to show him how much she loved every part of him.

He tangled his fingers in her hair, removing the clip she’d put her hair up with earlier. He wound his hand around her hair and held her while she engulfed him, taking him in deep, until he let out a low groan and pulled her to a standing position and swept her into his arms.

“When I come, it’s going to be inside you.”

“Without a condom,” she said as he laid her on the bed.

“You would risk me knocking you up before we’re married?” he asked, his expression one of mock horror.

She laughed. “Well, I am still on the pill, but you did catch the ASAP part of my speech about kids, didn’t you?”

He drew her panties off, his eyes gleaming with heated desire. “Yeah, ASAP works for me, too. In more ways than one.”

He crawled between her legs, spread them and put his mouth on her. She bit down on her lip to keep from screaming as he used his tongue to take her right to the peak, and then over. When he moved up her body and entered her, he cupped her butt, lifted her against him and took her right to the edge again with slow and easy strokes.

“I love you,” he whispered as he brushed his lips across hers, using his mouth and his body to take her so close she thought she’d die from the sweet pleasure of it.

She rubbed her palm against the quickly growing stubble of his beard. “I love you too.” She wrapped her legs around him and brought him home, and when they both came together, she couldn’t think of a more perfect way to cement their love.

After, he held her against him and she listened to the sound of his heart beating against her ear.

“You really want kids right away?” he asked.

She lifted her head and turned over onto her belly to look at him. “I do. Do you want to wait?”

“No. I’ve waited my whole life for you. For this. I want to get married right away. How soon can you do that thing that women do?”

She arched a brow. “That thing that women do?”

“You know. The whole putting together a wedding thing.”

She laughed. “Oh. I don’t know. Six months?”

“So I have to wait six months to get you pregnant?”

“Hey, pregnant brides are the new black, you know.”

“Huh?”

“In other words, knock me up, stud. I’m ready.”

He rolled her over onto her back. “Have I ever mentioned I take direction really well?”

“Now who’s the rare gift?” she asked with a laugh.

But that laughter turned into something else as he kissed her, and they got down to the business of making their future.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…Love!

A man gives the gift of trust and receives a second chance at love in return. A woman helps to heal the wounded heart of a soldier. A couple finds that true love knows no distance. And a young widow learns that there can be two great loves in a lifetime. Love, romance and passion come together in this collection of four seasonal shorts. Anthology includes:

Mistletoe and Margaritas
by Shannon Stacey

A Rare Gift
by Jaci Burton

It’s Not Christmas Without You
by HelenKay Dimon

This Time Next Year
by Alison Kent

Stories also available for purchase separately.

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