Christmas Miracle (8 page)

“That was when you fucked?” Melanie asked coolly.

Lauren blanched, but she nodded.

Melanie felt numb. There was no anger, just a sad numbness that seemed to seep into her soul.

Chester Barrington had seemed perfect. She’d met him during her freshman year in college. He’d been a medical student at the time, and from their first date, she’d been hooked. It seemed he and her sister had been together almost a year before she found out, and she’d only learned the truth then because Lauren had been very naïve and emotional from pregnancy.

When the secret was out, Chester had apologized and begged her to forgive him. Lauren had cried as well, furious with him for choosing Melanie, and angry at Melanie for being chosen. Melanie had kicked him out of their parents’ house, despite Lauren’s protests, and had then gotten into the argument with her sister that had propelled her to ignore Lauren for over six years. It had been nasty, with Lauren hurling every accusation possible at Melanie’s head, and Melanie restraining herself only because Lauren kept throwing the fact that she was the one carrying Chester’s child in her face, over and over again.

“Please say something, Melanie. Scream at me, but say something.”

“Why did you wait two years to come to me?” she finally asked, looking up at her sister.

After that fight, Melanie had retreated back to Brown, where she was finishing up her last semester before graduate school. Chester had already graduated, so she didn’t have to worry about bumping into him. It had taken days for her anger to simmer, and she’d waited for Lauren to call. By the second week, her anger had been boiling over once more. How could her sister be so heartless? By the sixth, she’d pushed most of it away. Years later, it was all buried beneath a mask of ice.

Lauren looked away, and then promptly burst into noisy tears. She held her hands up to her face and sobbed, and while Melanie felt the urge to comfort her, she didn’t.

“When I left school, I didn’t have anyone, and I was pregnant, with no job. I couldn’t meet the mortgage, and then Chester said he would take care of me and the baby, and I believed him.”

“So you went back to Chester?” Another fact that she hadn’t known before today. Chester had called her religiously for months, leaving messages on her voicemail about how sorry he was until she changed her number, yet he’d been with her sister. What an asshole.

She nodded, refusing to remove her hands from her face. “It took me a year to figure out that he was doing the same thing to me that he did to you. I left when I found out.”

Melanie nodded. “And Janie? Is he in her life?”

Lauren scoffed, which only turned into another bout of sobs. She shook her head. “He pays child support, but that’s only because I took him to court. Janie doesn’t even remember what he looks like.”

Chester Barrington was an asshole, and Melanie hoped to God she never saw him again, because she had a particularly wicked pair of heels that she’d like to jab repeatedly into his groin.

“Mel, I know I’ve hurt you bad, and I can’t tell you just how sorry I am. I was stupid, and you don’t have to forgive me, but I miss you, and Janie…Janie doesn’t even know you to miss you, but I tell her about you all the time. We’ve been so alone, Mel, and I don’t want to die or have you die, without telling you this. Mom and Dad passed away suddenly, and I don’t want that to happen to any of us before we fix, or at least try to fix this.” She sighed softly, wiping at her tears with her fingers. A shaky smile touched her lips, and she added, “I’ve also turned into a crybaby. I cry over everything now. Sorry.”

Melanie almost smiled. Lauren had always been tomboy tough. She’d seen her sister skin her knee and bite her lip to keep from crying in front of the neighborhood boys. It wasn’t until they were inside, and her mother was applying alcohol, that Lauren had proceeded to scream the house down.

“Well, I know you’re busy and that I’ve taken up your time,” Lauren began, trying to make light of a heavy situation. She was pushing out of the seat when Melanie spoke.

“Tell me about you, Lauren. What do you do?”

Eyes widening, Lauren looked at her sister. Melanie offered her the barest hint of a smile, and she sat back down. Her voice was strained as she began to inform Melanie about her life.

The minutes trickled by quickly as they shared their first conversation in years that had nothing to do with Chester Barrington.

Chapter Seven

When Melanie parked her car and stepped into the lobby of her apartment, she was focused on one thing and one thing only: getting into bed. She’d had a long day, from the emotional talk with her sister, to putting up with a temp who she’d basically had to train from scratch, and then, of course, the remainder of her PR agents had all seemed to file out early on Christmas Eve. She wasn’t as annoyed as she usually was because she too was tired. In fact, she’d left earlier today too.

She’d just passed Vinny, the doorman, with a hello when he halted her. Reaching down so that he practically disappeared behind his station, he pulled out a long red box with a white bow atop it and handed it to her.

Unsure of what he wanted her to do with it, Melanie stood still, staring between Vinny and the red box.

“Mr. Mackintosh stopped by and left it for you, Ms. Samuels,” Vinny explained, a smile lighting his old face.

Cameron? She hadn’t seen him since yesterday.

“Thanks, Vinny,” she murmured, taking the box and heading into the elevator.

She was so curious about the contents of the box that as soon as she entered her apartment, she placed it on the table and opened it. Whatever was inside was wrapped in gift paper, and there was a small card with her name on it.

A tired smile touched her lips, and she opened it.

“I saw them and thought of you. Wear them for me tonight.

–Cameron”

Wear
them
? Tonight? The Christmas Eve Party! Right.

Placing the card to the side, she unraveled the gift paper and stared at the soft and silky red material lying folded there. Lifting it from the box, she held it up for inspection and chuckled to herself. It was a red dress, a beautiful red dress that would probably fan the floor unless she wore a pair of tall heels. There were straps, though unconventional and highly classy ones.

He’d bought her a dress? Melanie paused at that thought. The last time someone had bought her something had been ages ago. And then another thought occurred to her. Would it fit?

She found the tag, and the brand—Vera Wang—and was impressed that he’d gotten her size right. Well, the size she usually wore. She didn’t have a dress of this brand in her possession, so the size might very well be on a smaller scale.

At that moment, she looked back into the box and noticed there was a broad, rectangular velvet case lying there as well. Had that been there seconds ago?

Laying the dress down, she lifted the case and slowly opened it. After seeing the glittering jewels inside, she promptly closed it and put it down.

The dress had to be expensive, but she didn’t even want to think how much the jewels had cost. While she was sure that Cameron could afford it, she still felt strange accepting such gifts from him. What were they anyway? Friends?

She scoffed. She didn’t even know him that well. Acquaintances was more like it. Acquaintances who couldn’t seem to keep their hands and mouths off of each other.

At that moment, her cell phone vibrated. Reaching into her purse, she saw that it was Cameron and lifted it to her ear.

“Hi.”

“Did you get my gift?”

There was a lot of hustling and bustling in the background wherever he was.

“I did,” she began, trying to think of a way to tell him that she couldn’t accept it while simultaneously keeping him. “Cameron, they’re beautiful…”

“Good. I’m glad you like them, especially the dress. Hold on.” She heard him in the background talking to someone, and then she heard the sound of a door closing. There was silence. “I really liked that dress.”

She felt her body grow warm. “Cameron, you don’t have to buy me expensive gifts.”

“I
want
to buy you expensive gifts, Melanie, and I
want
you to wear them tonight,” he said casually.

When she sighed, he only continued, “I’m sending a car for you at eight o’clock. I’d pick you up myself, but I’m the host and I have to be here when the party starts. As my new publicist, you should be proud of my restraint. It shows great character. Be ready at eight, lass. I haven’t seen you since yesterday, and I’m already picturing you in that dress.” The noise came into the background once more, and she heard someone calling Cameron’s name. “I’ll see you tonight, Melanie. Wear the dress.”

He hung up, but Melanie remained as she was, phone to her ear. Had he said he was signing with her company? He had, hadn’t he? She’d done it. She’d landed Sebastian Cameron Mackintosh!

A smile touched her lips as she pushed herself to her feet. The smile faded just as quickly. Had he signed only because he was sleeping with her?

Melanie hated that she’d become this questioning ninny. It shouldn’t matter. She hadn’t slept with him to get him to choose her firm, and he’d signed with her agency because she was the best. Plus, they were both consenting adults who wanted each other. Now that he was her client, she’d have to put a stop to it, and not mix business with pleasure.

She looked back to the dress, and the case of diamond accessories, and dismissed all questions. Melanie Samuels had not celebrated Christmas in six years, and she’d been invited to spend it with her lover, for however little time he would wear that title. Grabbing the dress, she headed to her bedroom to try it on.

Tired or not, she was going to the Christmas Eve party. She was going to enjoy herself, and she was going to enjoy Cameron. Maybe she’d give it until the New Year. Yes, she’d end it then, so they could begin the next year in a strictly professional manner.

Even as common sense told her it wouldn’t be that easy, Melanie was pushing the thought away.

The dress fit perfectly. Stripping it from her body, she headed for the shower. She had the dress and the jewelry; all she needed to pick out were her shoes, her bag, and her coat. And, of course, her undergarments. A secretive smile touched her lips as she thought of that.

***

Adeline had been right.

While he no longer had to worry about her, Cameron could tell that his other family members were out to embarrass him. His mother couldn’t stop smiling his way, and his father was passing him knowing looks. Not to mention his two younger brothers, Aiden and Brendan, had miraculously shown up for the Christmas Eve party although they hadn’t done so in years. They were now prowling about, talking to beautiful women while keeping their eyes trained on the door. Still, it wasn’t until Richard Bancroft stepped into the ballroom, and was immediately greeted by a grinning Addy, that Cameron admitted some scheme was happening right under his roof.

Richard was one of their cousins, who, unlike them, had been raised with a silver spoon and a gold bib. He was even part of the exclusive “haut ton” of London society. Still, he acted “normal” enough when compared to Cameron’s family, and although he didn’t see him a lot, they got along well.

Excusing himself from two of his shareholders, he made his way over to Addy and Richard.

Passing his sister a glare—he knew she was the tattletale in this business—he offered his hand to Richard.

“Haven’t seen you in years, Richard.”

After a firm shake, Richard released his hand and acknowledged the guests. “You haven’t thrown an interesting Christmas Eve party in years, Cameron.”

Lifting a brow, Cameron asked, “What will be so interesting about this one?”

Chuckling, Richard replied, “I don’t know yet. I was told to either be here or miss whatever’s supposed to happen. To top that off, I was looking for a way to pass time before my flight home tonight.”

Another glare was thrown at Addy, who only smiled and batted her eyelashes. So while his mischievous brat of a sister had promised to be nice to Melanie, she’d told everyone else that they should show up and badger her. It wasn’t even Christmas yet... There had to be at least three more hours to go.

“Adeline—”

“Cameron, I believe your party just became more interesting without any family fireworks,” Richard said in his low, British-accented voice. Cameron was too busy glaring at his sister to follow the direction of his cousin’s gaze until Richard said, “She’s a beauty, and in all that red…”

Cameron turned to look in the direction of Richard’s gaze and felt as if everything stopped.

Damn!
He’d always known that she was beautiful. Hell, he’d seen that body naked, but that dress… How was he supposed to make idle chitchat until the end of the party when that dress hugged her like that? From where he stood, he could see that her hair had been combed away from her face and pinned back to display her long, graceful neck, now sparkling with diamonds lying just above her collarbone. Matching earrings hung from her earlobes.

Richard was speaking again, and he only heard “introduce me,” before Cameron passed his cousin a hostile glare. In a voice that belied the murderous expression of his face, he replied, “Her name is Melanie Samuels. She’s mine. If you go over there, I will proceed to break as many of your bones as possible without killing you.” He only added the “without killing you” because Richard was the fourth-largest shareholder in his company. Like Cameron, Richard was a man accustomed to charming beautiful ladies. And to top matters off, he was easily what some considered “beautiful” for a man. In conclusion, there was no way Cameron was introducing him to Melanie.