Mistletoe Maneuvers (14 page)

“Don't do this, Lessa,” he said, pulling in front of the building where the meeting was being held. “You can't walk away from something that you love.”

“Thought I loved. But I was wrong.” As she looked at him, she felt a stab of sadness. She was no longer talking about the company, but him.

“I'm not going to let you do this,” he said, parking the car. “I'm not going to let you walk away like this. What will it take?”

“Why do you care, Rick?”

“Because I…I care about you,” he said, taking her hands in his.

The words hung in the air. She wanted to believe him so badly. He slid next to her and pressed his lips against her, gently covering her mouth. She could feel herself letting go, her defenses melting away. She wanted to believe him. And she did. But it wasn't enough.

No matter what they did or how hard they tried, they
could never be partners at Lawrence Enterprises. Despite the fact that she had given it her all and had played the match of a lifetime, she had lost, and one thing she knew was how to accept defeat gracefully. There would be only one victor in this match. She pulled away from Rick and stepped out of the car. As she walked toward the inn, she felt as if her heart were breaking.

I will miss you, Rick Parker,
she said in her mind.
I will miss you.

T
hat night, Rick did something he had not done in a long time. He went home. At least thirty people were crammed into his parent's small house and the result was bedlam. A fire was burning in the fireplace, an oversize tree was stuffed in the corner of the living room, torn pieces of wrapping paper were scattered about and presents were piled all over the place. Most of the children had escaped downstairs, but every now and then the door to the basement would fly open and a child would burst into the room, excitedly talking about Santa Claus. But Rick did not partake in any festivities. He stood off by himself, his mind focused on Lessa. Only hours ago, he had watched Lessa give away the company she loved. Up until the final moment, he had been sure that she would come to her senses and change her mind.

“I'm glad you're home,” his sister, Susan, said, walking up to him. “I've forgotten how much fun you are.” He knew she was teasing but he was in no mood.

She sighed and motioned for their brother, Russell, to join them. “Rick is in trouble.”

“I'm not in trouble,” he said. “I just don't like watching someone throw their career away.”

“What did you expect?” Susan asked, “That she would go back to work as usual? You just swindled her out of her company. She doesn't want anything to do with you.”

“So let her hate me. But giving away the company just hurts herself.”

“For one,” his sister said, “she hurt more than herself. She hurt you.” She sighed deeply. “But I doubt that she realizes that. I'm sure she's convinced you care little for her.”

“I tried to talk her out of this.”

“I'm sure she felt as if she had little choice. She didn't exactly throw anything away. You took it. And by the time you changed your mind, it was too late. I understand completely why she did what she did. How can she go back to Lawrence Enterprises knowing that she will have to see you every day? It's just too hard.”

“What happened after the board meeting?” his brother asked.

“She rode back to the city with one of the assistants.” Rick had attempted to talk to her, but she had escaped immediately after her resignation. He had sat there, helpless to stop her as she'd walked out of his life.

“I can't believe you threw away a perfectly good opportunity to improve your serve. I bet she would've
given you some lessons,” Russell teased, swinging a pretend racket. “Oh well, you're back at the helm of your company, and that's what's important, right?”

“I'm going to resign,” Rick announced suddenly. His brother and sister grew quiet and exchanged worried glances. He knew it seemed sudden, but he had never felt so clearheaded in his life. The truth of the matter was that the company he'd fought so long and hard for no longer mattered to him. He had paid too high a price.

“Does Lessa know that?” Russell asked.

“I don't think it would make a damn bit of difference. She doesn't want to be with me.”

“She was upset,” his sister chimed in. “What did you expect?”

“I told her I cared about her. I don't just toss that out there.”

“You
care
about her? What's that supposed to mean? I'll tell you what it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that you love her.”

Rick was silent for a moment. “But I do.” He felt like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Dammit, he loved her. He
loved
her.

“We know that. But she doesn't.”

“Look, I know a thing or two about women,” Russell said as Susan rolled her eyes. “And one thing I know is words are not enough. Women need proof. You have to
show
her how you feel.”

“She lives with her aunt, right?” asked Susan. “Does she know how you feel?”

He shook his head. “I don't think she's too fond of me.”

“Well, that was your first mistake. She loves Lessa
and wants the best for her. Plead your case to the aunt and wrangle an invitation to Christmas dinner.”

“Just show up?”

“With an invite.”

“Susan's right,” Russell said. “If you love her, you're going to have to fight for her. She's not one of your typical women who takes one look at you and swoons and falls into your arms. She's got spunk.”

His mother walked over and joined them. “I'm so glad you came for Christmas,” she said to Rick.

“I'm afraid he has to leave, Mom,” Susan said.

“Business?” she asked.

“No,” he said, “not this time.”

Susan smiled. As Rick left the room, she said, “Don't be disappointed, Mom. He'll be back next year—and he won't be alone.”

 

“I'm sorry, Gran,” Lessa said. “I've lost everything.”

“You didn't lose Lawrence Enterprises. Your father did. You did everything you could to get it back.”

“Well, I lost the stock.”

“You sold it for a fair price.” Despite Lessa's protests, Rick had given her the same deal they had promised Sabrina. “I didn't think the loss of some stock is responsible for keeping you up all night.” Her aunt took a sip of her tea. “Perhaps you should give him a chance. Let him prove himself. It is Christmas after all.”

Lessa looked at her aunt, surprised. She had expected Gran to jump up and down for joy when Lessa had told her she was finished with Rick Parker and Lawrence Enterprises. Instead Gran had looked at her as if she had made the biggest mistake of her life. But what did her
aunt expect her to do? Fall into Rick's arms after the way he had treated her? And how could she work with him after what had happened between them?

Her aunt sighed. “This is not the way Christmas is supposed to be spent.”

“Oh no, Gran. Please don't give me the spiel about family and kids. I can't take it.”

“Actually, I was talking about the lack of eggnog.”

“I told you, Chapman's was out.”

“Oh, Lessa, I just feel so bad for you. Stuck here with an old woman and no eggnog.”

“I guarantee you there's no place I'd rather be.” That was true, wasn't it? She wouldn't want to be wrapped in Rick's arms. No, sir. Lessa finished off her tea. “It's wonderful that there's snow,” she said, eager to change the subject. The rain had turned to snow shortly after dusk. “When's the last time it snowed in New York on Christmas?”

“A white Christmas,” her aunt said. “How romantic. Maybe you should invite Rick over.”

“Invite him over?” Had her aunt heard a word of what she had said? “Rick is probably off in some exotic locale drinking a piña colada and dancing with a beautiful woman. I'm sure he's forgotten all about me by now.”

“I'm not so certain. From what you've told me, I think he was as surprised as you by the whole turn of events.”

Lessa closed her eyes as the wave of pain washed over her. She wanted to believe that; she really did. She would like nothing better than to think that Rick was by himself, mourning her loss. But she knew better. And she could not allow herself to feel sad. It did no good. She had made her decision.

“It doesn't have to be like this, Lessa.”

“There's no choice, Gran. When people love each other, they treat each other decently. You don't have deceit and lies. Real love doesn't hurt like this.”

“You've been reading too many storybooks. Real life doesn't always work that way. I never told you about your uncle and me. We dated for two years, and I was madly in love. I thought we were going to get married. And then he went off to the war.”

“And then he came home and married you.”

“That's the story we've always told. I didn't mention what really happened because it bothered him too much.”

“What are you talking about? He loved you. He thought about you every day he was away.”

“When he came home, I found out that he was engaged to someone else.”

Lessa couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her uncle? The kindly bespectacled man who had worshipped her aunt?

“Apparently he never got any of my letters, but I didn't know that then. He assumed I didn't care about him, and naturally, when I found out about his engagement, I assumed the same thing about him. It broke my heart. Well, he went off and married that other woman. And you know what? It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Uncle Stan was married before? Did Dad know this?”

“Of course. But what difference did it make? The point of the story is that he eventually came back. And you know what? I had changed—for the better. I was so much stronger than I had been. I knew I could make it on my own. And he knew what he wanted all along.
Me. If he hadn't married that other woman, he might've always wondered if he made the right decision. Instead, I was appreciated. Very appreciated. Until the day he died, he would've done anything to make me happy.”

“So what are you saying? Do you think Rick will go off and marry someone else? Or do you think I will?”

“I think that Rick learned a valuable lesson here. And I believe him when he said he cared about you.” She smiled. “I think I know a thing or two about men.”

“I can't think about Rick, Gran. I have to move on with my life. I'm going to look for a little property to buy. I'm going start over, build my own company from scratch. And I'm thinking about going back to tennis. Not as a player, but a teacher. I could combine my knowledge of resorts with my love for tennis. Maybe I could start a camp somewhere.”

There was a knock on the door.

“Why, who in the world could that be?” her aunt said, feigning surprise.

“Maybe it's Santa,” Lessa said, glancing at her aunt suspiciously. What was she up to?

Lessa got up and opened the door—to Rick Parker. He stood before her, covered in snow.

“Rick,” her aunt said, brushing past Lessa to get to him.

“Wh-What are you doing here?” Lessa asked, so surprised she could barely speak.

“Your aunt said she needed eggnog.”

“Oh, you found some.” Gran said. “You're a dear, Rick. Thank you.”

“This isn't funny.” Lessa gave her aunt the evil eye.

“Who's joking?” Rick asked. “I had to go to three different stores to find this.”

“Come in,” her aunt said warmly, taking his coat and the container of eggnog. “I think this'll need some brandy, don't you?” She stopped and turned back toward the doorway. “Would you look at that,” she said, motioning above Rick and Lessa where a small piece of greenery had been tied to the light fixture. “Mistletoe.” She looked at Lessa and winked.

When she was gone, Rick stared into Lessa's eyes. “I told you once, Lessa. I don't give up.”

“Look, Rick, I don't want to be a part of Lawrence Enterprises anymore.”

“I'm not asking you to.” He reached inside his jacket. “I just stopped by to give you something.” He pulled out a manila envelope. “Open it,” he said, handing it to her.

She ripped open the envelope. It was the deed to Mara del Ray. “I don't understand….”

“I'm giving it to you. A chance to build your own hotel.”

He came over on Christmas Eve to sell her a property? “How much do you want for it?”

“I don't want money,” he said, looking at her hungrily.

“What do you want?”

“A partnership.”

“What about Lawrence Enterprises?”

“I'm resigning. I want to build a corporation step by step, just like your parents did. I was thinking that a tennis camp might be a good place to start.” He put his hands on her waist. “You spoke once about expectations…well, I didn't expect this either. I can't seem to stay away from you. I don't
want
to stay away from you.”

They were words she had waited a lifetime to hear,
but it was the heartrending tenderness of his gaze that melted her remaining defenses.

“I know what it's like to be frightened of love, Lessa,” he said. “I know what it's like to close off your heart. I've spent years like that. But I also know that true love is damned hard to find. It took me a long time to find you, Lessa. And now that I have, I'm not about to lose you.”

As she looked into his eyes, she was filled with the same sense of desire that had haunted her from the first moment she'd seen him. She moved toward him slowly, and then, standing underneath the mistletoe, she tentatively pressed her lips to his.

He kissed her back, gently and tenderly, a lover's kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him toward her, knotting her fingers through his thick, wavy hair. “Thank you for my Christmas present,” she said.

“That wasn't your Christmas present.” He reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a small box. “
This
is your Christmas present.”

Her heart jumped into her throat as she took it and opened it. Inside, nestled on satin, was an emerald-cut diamond ring.

“I love you, Lessa, and I want to be with you. You make the world a better place.”

She was too excited to speak. She just stood there, staring at the ring, not believing her ears.

“Say you'll marry me, Lessa,” he whispered. “Give me a reason to like Christmas again.”

“Yes, Rick, I'll marry you.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with all her might. When she was finished, she said the three words she had wanted to say for a long, long time. “I love you.”

 

The wedding was held exactly three months later, on the grounds of their first joint venture, a Florida resort that specialized in tennis. It was intended to be a low-key affair, with only close friends and relatives. For Rick, Lessa discovered, that meant two hundred people, who filled Mara del Ray to capacity. And Lessa loved every moment of it. The entire Parker clan had accepted her and her aunt as welcome additions.

Lessa and Rick were married on a clear, sunny day in the hotel garden. Lessa wore a sleeveless white chiffon gown and walked down a stone path toward the most handsome man she had ever seen.