The Night Before Christmas: Naughty Christmas Nights / The Nightshift Before Christmas / 'Twas the Week Before Christmas. Tawny Weber
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are you doing here?” she asked.
“I followed you.”
She shook her head. No, he hadn’t. She’d been here, stuffing her face and getting sick on ice cream, for almost three-quarters of an hour. Her body would have sent up horny signals if he was anywhere near her.
“I’d have been in sooner, but once I saw you were settling here for a bit, I had to make some phone calls.”
Perfectly at ease and acting as if he had no doubt she’d be thrilled to see him, Gage shrugged out of his jacket and slipped into the seat opposite her. She was distracted from feasting her eyes on his shoulders when, with a grimace, he shifted to lift one hip, then slid back toward the seat’s edge. Hailey smirked at the contrast of his sleek looks cozied up in an ice cream and burger booth. She hoped his hundred-dollar slacks had just got stuck in a chocolate smear.
Was that mean of her?
Sure.
But dammit, she’d really been looking forward to their date—and the sex she’d imagined they’d be having soon afterward.
Talk about disappointed.
It was like every Christmas she could remember.
She’d be promised something wonderful, be it that special gift from Santa or her parents not fighting for one blessed day. She’d spend the entire season winding herself up with excitement, hoping and imagining just how amazing it would be.
And, always, it’d been a huge disappointment.
Santa never brought her what she asked for.
Her family never kept their promises.
And her prettily imagined holiday never came true.
She knew it wasn’t really Gage’s fault. He hadn’t known they were in competition for the contract, either. But she couldn’t help but feel that the Grinch had, indeed, stolen her Christmas.
“Why’d you follow me?” For one tiny second she imagined maybe it was to beg her to go out with him still. To tell her how hot he was for her, that a silly thing like business shouldn’t stand between what they’d felt for each other.
“I thought we should talk. Maybe work this out between us.” His smile was pure charm, his look so potent that—despite her vow that he was now off-limits—she was tempted to start undressing right then and there.
“Really?” Her pulse joined the dance and Hailey shifted in her seat, her waistband a little snug from holding her breath—and all that ice cream.
“Really.” He leaned forward and lifted her hand into his. His thumb rubbed along the center of her palm, heating and stirring. “I figure there’s no reason we can’t both have what we want, right?”
Her mouth was too dry for words, so she settled on a nod. He was so damned sexy. His eyes were hypnotic, as if he was trying to pull her in. She didn’t think it’d take much for her to follow just about any suggestion he might offer up.
“I mean, who knows what kind of crazy things Rudolph might want in order to award the contract. Look at how he’s dragged this out already. First he was supposed to announce the lineup on Saturday. Then it was today. Now it may be tomorrow. I know you’re a busy lady, and I definitely have plenty on my schedule. So why don’t we make this easy for him. What do you say?”
“What?”
Her pulse slowed to a thud, matching the feeling of anticipation deflating in her belly.
“How about I make you an offer? Hook you up with some other potential clients, some big names. A half dozen hot leads you could nail down before the weekend. And, probably, before Rudolph would get around to figuring out what he wants.” Gage added a charming smile, as if he were plopping a fat, juicy cherry on top of his delicious proposition.
Delicious, that was, for him. She clenched her teeth against the rude words she wanted to spew, leaving a sick taste in her mouth.
When she didn’t answer, he craned his head forward to check out her ice cream, then lifted a spoon from the place setting on his side and scooped up a bite.
“Not a bad chocolate,” he commented. “I’d have pegged you as a more adventurous ice-cream connoisseur, though. Espresso, some exotic fruit or maybe bourbon flavored.”
“But then, you don’t know me very well, do you?”
Brows arched, he gave a slow nod and set the spoon down. He had a look of smug satisfaction on his face. As if he’d just been proved right about something.
“I know more about you than I did before,” he offered, his smile so full of charm it was dripping in her ice cream. “You’re an up-and-coming force to be reckoned with. Your designs are pure romance, created to make any woman and every woman feel sexy.”
“How sweet.” She reached forward with two fingers and slid her glass of leftover melted ice cream back toward her, out of his reach. “You memorized my promotional materials. Did you also notice that my designs are the perfect look for Cherry Bella?”
“Well, c’mon,” he said, his smile teasing and light, even though his eyes were narrowed now, a little more watchful and a little less charming. “Cherry Bella’s the kind of woman who can wear anything and make it look great. And she’s going to be the total focus of the spring line. The clothes will barely be noticed.”
“My designs always get noticed.”
“Sure they do. I’m not saying they’re not great. They are. But c’mon, we both know leather gets more looks than froth.”
He was so sure he was going to win, he’d just given her the pity look. The oh-so-sorry-you’re-a-distant-second look. She’d seen that look so often in her life, she’d have thought she was immune.
Except when it was on Gage’s face.
Her jaw tight, Hailey had to work to keep her expression polite, when all she wanted to do was stick out her tongue, dump her melted ice cream in his lap and storm out.
She’d be damned if the sexiest man she’d ever met was going to think she wasn’t good enough. Even if he was no longer in the running to find out just how good she really was.
“Are you trying to say my designs aren’t good enough to get this deal when they’re up against yours?”
“I didn’t say that.” His frown was a flash, gone in a blink. But she caught the surprise in it and realized he’d not only thought she wasn’t good enough, he’d also thought she was a wimp-girl. As fluffy and frothy and fragile as her designs.
A lifetime of never being quite enough had, if nothing else, taught her to fight like hell for what she wanted. So before he could respond, she leaned forward and offered her sexiest smile. Her eyes locked on his, she trailed her fingers over the back of his hand in a soft, teasing gesture, then arched her brow.
“But that’s what you meant.” Hiding both her hurt and her frustration, she gave a pitying shake of her head. “A shame, really. Because if you’d played your cards differently, you’d have been able to find out firsthand just how fabulous my lingerie is.”
* * *
VISIONS OF HAILEY’S curvy little body packaged in shimmering lace and delicate ribbons danced through Gage’s brain like tempting sugarplums.
Visions he’d been damned close to seeing in real life.
He’d been so sure when he walked in here that he could charm her into stepping aside. He’d made a few phone calls, called in a couple of favors and lined up a handful of potential clients for her. Nothing as big as Rudolph in terms of prestige. But some solid deals that could keep her in sexy shoes for a while.
She had a good product, but she was still up-and-coming. Not quite in the same league as Milano. He’d figured she’d be so grateful, they’d not only keep their dinner date, but