Back to December (Ward Sisters Book 1) (20 page)

“Where did those come from?” she asked. “And how did you get a tree? It wasn't here the other day.”

“Mom and the kids decorated the tree. She had it delivered and then got the kids to help her when they were off school day before yesterday. The decorations are all mine. I like having my own tree, even if I don't always get the chance to put it up myself. Rick brought most of the gifts here the night we met, on his way home. I put them under the tree while you were on the phone.”

“Are these all the presents that are going to your parents' house?”

“Not all of them. There are a couple under here for you that I know you'll rather open in private.”

“Oh, Rob, you didn't need to get me anything! I feel bad. I didn't get anything for you. I told you I didn't have time to shop again that day at MacArthur's.”

“It's okay. I wanted to get you something. I've got plenty of money, Em. If I want something, I just buy it. I'd much rather
give
presents on Christmas. I love trying to find the perfect gift for everyone. I don't have to worry about the cost, so the bigger challenge is finding something each person will love. Here,” he handed her a clothing box beautifully wrapped in silvery paper. “Tell me how I did.”

Emily carefully opened the paper, hesitant to see what might be inside. When she took off the lid, there was delicate tissue paper hiding a lacy set of strapless bra and panties. They were the perfect size and were her favorite color, a deep, cranberry red.

“Wow.”

“You like?” She nodded. “I'd ask if they're the right size, but I had Christopher help me with this one. They're to wear under your dress for the gala.”

“Is this the color of my dress?”

“It must be. That's what he told me to get. And he doesn't do sleazy, so he'd never have you wear red under anything where it would be noticeable.”

“This is my favorite color.”

“Well, then you're in for a treat when you see the dress. You look great in red. I can't wait to see you in those.” She gave him a cheeky smile. “
After
presents. Here's the next one.”

“Next one? You didn't get me more than one present?” He nodded and handed it to her. It was another box like the last one. When she opened it, she found a long, sleeveless, silk nightgown the same shade of cranberry as the underclothes. “This isn't my dress?” she asked, slightly horrified at the thought. She wasn't quite
that
daring.

He chuckled. “No. I thought you might like something comfortable to wear to bed. I know you won't always be able to sleep next to me naked. You were wearing a sweater that color the other day and it looked fantastic on you. When I saw that in the shop where I bought the lingerie, I knew it would be perfect. Do you like it?”

“It's gorgeous. And soft. I bet it's going to feel heavenly on my skin.”

Rob smiled. “Okay, one more, and then we're going upstairs and you're going to model for me.”

“Rob, you really shouldn't have.” He handed her the next box, which made her heart skip a beat. It was the unmistakable robin's-egg blue of a Tiffany box. “Rob...”

“It's not a ring. I promise.”

Emily took a deep breath and slowly pulled the ribbon on the box. It was small, like a ring box, so she wasn't sure she believed him. But when she opened it, inside lay two brilliant, carat-sized diamond earrings. “Oh, Rob. They're beautiful. You
really
shouldn't have.” She looked at him and bit her lip, trying to fight the tears.

He grabbed her hand. “Hey. I'll be renting jewelry for you to wear to the gala, anyway. I just thought you might like to have something you can keep afterward.”

The tears came anyway. She didn't want to protest too much and seem ungrateful. It was more than generous.

“Thank you. They're stunning.”

“I didn't mean to make you cry.”

“I'm okay. It's just more than I ever could have asked. And now I feel like an even bigger jerk. I don't have anything to give you. Not a single thing.”

“You're here. That's more than
I
could have asked. Waking up with you in my arms was the best Christmas present I've had in years.”

“You're just trying to make me feel better.”

“Nope. I'm being selfish. I'd rather have you in my bed than any material gifts. I told you, I can afford to buy whatever it is I want when I want it. There are, however, things that only you can do for me that I'd much prefer to have.”

“Oh, really? Things that no one else can do?” Emily said, disbelieving.

“Things that no one else
has
done.” It dawned on her what he meant. He grinned when he realized she got it. “Now, that,
that
I'd love to get for Christmas. In fact, I'd love it even more if it was mutual.”

Emily hadn't done the mutual oral thing more than once or twice with Josh – it had been awkward and not really enjoyable for her on the giving or receiving end, for whatever reason. But with Rob, she had enjoyed both giving and receiving, and she thought maybe he could change her perception of the whole thing.

“Then let's go upstairs and shower and I'll give you your Christmas present.”

He grabbed her other gifts. “You're still going to model for me first, right?”

“Are you going to try to take me to bed if I do? Because I was hoping we could have a repeat performance of the first time. Or something like that, anyway.”

“Oh. Well, then maybe we should save modeling until tonight.” He poked her ribs, tickling as she walked in front of him.

“Hey! Stop that. I'm ticklish.” They walked into the bedroom and put the gifts on the long dresser that was hers while she was here.

“You are?” he teased and tickled her.

She swatted his hands and tried to dodge him, laughing. Eventually, he scooped her into his arms and held her tightly, tickled her ribs until she begged him to stop.

He finally relented with a kiss.

“I like hearing you laugh. I hate to see you cry. It makes me sad.”

“I wasn't crying because I was sad earlier. I was crying because I don't feel worthy. I don't deserve you. You could have anyone you want. Why do you want me?” She walked over to the bed and flopped down.

He lay next to her, head on his arm again, though this time he was clothed. It was still sexy as hell. “I have never met anyone who makes me feel the way you do. Who made me feel a spark from the moment I met you. I don't want anyone else. I want you.”

She lounged with her head propped on her hand. “You really think I'm that special? Of all the girls you've dated?”

“Emily, you make it sound like I've dated hundreds of girls. I told you, I haven't dated much.”

“You're gorgeous and sexy, you make movies and have what lots of people think is a glamorous life, plus you're sweet and kind and sensitive and smart. Not to mention ridiculously generous. And you're telling me you've dated what, maybe a couple dozen girls?”

“Try maybe a half dozen girls, including you.”

“You can't be serious.”

“Dead serious. I didn't always look like this, Em.”

“What, have you had plastic surgery?” she asked, slightly horrified at the thought. He was what, thirty-two? Way too young for surgery. Unless it was bariatric surgery. No. That she couldn't believe.

He laughed heartily, surely at the question as well as the odd faces she must have made. “No, nothing that drastic. But I was scrawny in high school and I was a huge geek.” She gave him a look that said
was?
“Okay, I still am a huge geek. Now I just don't look like one. But I did then.”

“You're telling me that the girls weren't all trying to jump into bed with you when they knew you were...well-endowed?”

Rob laughed harder. “They had to get close enough to know what was in my pants first. And I didn't have a lot of girls who were interested in knowing what was in my pants in high school, Em.”

“It only takes one. That sort of thing gets around.”

“Yeah, well, okay, there were none then. I was that much of a geek loser. I didn't get past first base before college. The summer after senior year, I grew 4 inches and put on 30 lbs. Rick was home from college and he got me into weight lifting and running. And, thus, the man you see today was born. But I was so used to being the dork, half the time I didn't even notice that girls liked me. And I was still a big geek.”

“I don't think I ever asked you what you studied in college. Or if you even graduated.”

“I have a B.S. in computer science. I've never used it professionally, but I'm the one who programmed the house.”

“You? You did all the programming for this house? All the fancy-schmancy stuff that makes lights come on and turn off or chooses which doors and paths to operate?”

“Yep. I did the trial here and then I did the rest of the family houses and my house in L.A. later, once I worked out the bugs.”

“Wow. So, let me get this straight, you've got a Wolverine collection, you attend ComiCon every year, you make superhero costumes – and I assume you have worn one or two in more recent years – and you program your smart house in your spare time. What other geeky habits are you hiding, sexy man?”

“I used to go to Magic tournaments, but I haven't had time for that in years.”

“Magic? As in you were a competitive magician?”

Rob laughed. “Um, no. It's, uh, a role-playing card game. They hold tournaments all over the place.”

“Like Dungeons and Dragons?”

“Not exactly. I used to play that, too, but not since junior year in college. Once I was old enough to drink in a bar, I found that liquid courage gave me a lot more play with the ladies. Before that, I just drank with my friends and did geeky stuff.”

“Like playing card games and D&D?” He nodded and laughed.

“Remember how you said it only takes one girl to notice and spread the word? Yeah, well, one drunken night, I hooked up with this girl I had
thought
was hot for almost two years. She wanted in my pants and I was drunk enough to let her. I had almost no experience, because I'd only had sex with this friend who made a pact with me to lose our virginity together if we didn't on our own by the end of high school. Anyway, I guess this girl was drunk enough not to care if I was any good at it. She didn't call me ever again, but after that, I had girls coming up to me all the time. It didn't take long to figure out what it was they actually wanted.”

“Let me guess, it wasn't help with their computer science classes.”

“No, it wasn't. And I wanted a girlfriend. I didn't want to be a manwhore. That's when I started only really talking to girls who I thought had significant potential
outside
the bedroom. I dated a few girls after that. A couple of them were serious, lasting for a semester or so. And then, senior year, I met Rachel while I was doing a play and it changed the course of my life.”

“Because you were engaged to her?”

“No, because I decided to be an actor instead of a computer programmer.”

“Was it because you wanted to follow Rachel?”

“Maybe that was part of it. But it was really because I loved it. And I knew if I failed, I could always go back to being a programmer. Rachel believed I could do it, so I did, too.”

“I thought you said you met and fell in love on that movie set?”

“We did. The guys who made that movie – it's called
Hall of Terror
, by the way – they went to college with us. I was doing a play with some of their friends, who recommended me for the lead in the movie.”

“Okay, so, you had a few girlfriends in college, then Rachel. What about after you ended the engagement? You didn't date then?”

“Not at first. I wasn't really ready.”

Then, he met this young actress on set. She had a small, really crucial part in
Indiana Road
and then they played opposite each other in an ensemble drama that got panned except for their two performances. Rob wasn't really interested in her, but she kept pursuing him. So he gave in and dated her for a little while. She was barely twenty-one. It was a bad match for a lot of reasons. But, after a few months, he fell for her.

By then, he had a couple of critically successful movies and a couple of blockbusters under his belt. He was on all these 'somebody to watch' type lists and it wasn't hard to get work because of
Indiana Road.
He
had a lot more freedom to choose what he really wanted to do and soon enough, he moved to A list status.

“She said she didn't care about any of that, she cared about
me
, she loved
me
. And then as soon as she premiered her first blockbuster, she tossed me like yesterday's lunch.”

“Oh, Rob. That's awful. Who was it? Or am I supposed to already know that?”

“Lola. Lola Benedict. And, no. I wouldn't have bothered to tell you the story if I thought you knew. It was all over the tabloids for months. I could hardly walk outside without being accosted. And that was when I decided to go back to what I did before Rachel. If someone didn't instantly make me think about something other than hopping in the sack, then I didn't bother even engage in more than polite conversation. Hence, why I hadn't had a date in over three years before this week. Lola was supposed to be casual, and I can't do casual. I let myself get duped by her because I let it go too far. I let her manipulate me into thinking it was real.”