The Christmas Crush

Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Elena cleaned up the dishes, which seemed fair, since he’d made breakfast out of nothing. He might be impressed with her drawing, but she was downright amazed at his ability to assemble a satisfying meal from odds and ends.

She set the last dripping dish into the rack, dried her hands on a tea towel, then joined Lawrence on the sofa with a second mug of coffee. “I have the worst Sunday scaries, and it’s not even a Sunday. Usually, every Sunday night I have to paint until I pass out to cope with the Monday morning stress at Sparkle.”

Lawrence put an arm around her, and she settled against him. “And here I thought cookies made people happy.”

“They used to make me happy. Yours still do. I know you’re going to win the magazine contest.”

“I think we’re going to win.” He rubbed her thigh. “You had the latte idea.”

“It’s nice of you to give me partial credit. That’s something Derick would never do.”

“He sounds … horrible.”

“Oh, he is.” She checked the time on her phone. “And I have to be ready to see him in less than thirty minutes. Looking forward to surviving his regular difficult behavior plus the fallout from confronting him, and my own fury that he’s tearing me away from you.”

“First he treats you badly, and now he’s going to steal you away? I don’t like him much either. Are you gonna be okay out there? The snow stopped, but when I checked outside, it doesn’t look like the plows could keep up. Any chance you could work remotely?”

A tempting prospect. A whole day with Lawrence. Not that the Sparkle culture encouraged work from home—they’d hate for someone not to be fully miserable—but guidelines allowed for it. “Let me check my email. See if any of the team is skipping out today. I’m sure Derick is immune to cold and is already at work, dreaming up new abuses.”

Priya lived two blocks from HQ and would be going in, Elena guessed. It would be hard to argue she couldn’t make it if her coworkers did. A shock of surprise went through her when she saw an email from Derick with the subject line Snow Day .

“Ahhh! Listen to this.” She gripped Lawrence’s hand. “It says, Team, due to unsafe conditions, legal advises we work from home. Email hourly with updates. Be advised I will have intermittent access to my email, as I will be assisting my mother during her power outage. Can you believe it?”

“He should keep his team safe.”

“No, I mean the part about him having a human mother! I would’ve sworn he spontaneously generated. Grew like a fungus. In all the years I’ve worked there, I never thought he had a mom he cares about. This is the first tangible evidence of humanity I’ve seen from him.”

A minute later Priya texted in all caps: HE’S A MAMA’S BOY?!?!

Do you think he’ll lend her his blazer to keep warm?! Elena answered. Or does he own regular clothes?! Does he wear … FESTIVE SWEATERS?

Lawrence cleared his throat. “I should be heading out soon.”

Elena’s shoulders fell; she dropped her phone. A day spent working and kissing, kissing and working, disappeared as Lawrence stood. She’d gotten ahead of herself, assuming he wanted to stay here. They’d already been together for twelve hours. “Oh, sure. You have to open the bakery.”

“Nah. We’ll stay closed today. Folks will understand.” He took her chin in his hand. “What’s with the lip?”

“What about it?”

“It’s sticking out.”

She sucked in her bottom lip. For an instant she was back on that cold street the night they met. The prickly poise came back to protect her. “I wouldn’t want to keep you.”

He scrutinized her face, and she tried to make her features impassive. “Hey, if you don’t mind if I stay, I’d be happier here.”

“Really?” she asked, her turncoat voice hopeful.

“Spend the day with a beautiful woman or brave frozen streets to go sit home alone? Tough choice.”

“Won’t you have to get Sugar?”

“Sugar likes Trey better than me. I can’t stand to disappoint her and bring her home already.”

A swoop of anxiety. Fear like standing at a cliff’s edge. Being up front was harder to do in reality than when she journaled about it. She tolerated being transparent in a business setting, but expressing her personal desires made her nervous. “Then stay.”

He sat back down, and she crawled onto his lap. He held her hips, and she felt his warmth where their skin met. Despite his innate reserve, his expressive eyes held hers, unwilling to look away. She loved the sensation of his hand in her hair, then his lips against hers.

He pulled on the robe tie.

Her phone rang. Derick’s cell.

“Get on the chat channel.” In true Derick form, he hung up without further ado. She should give her resignation effective immediately.

“I have to start work,” she told Lawrence, peeling her body away. She booted up her laptop, and he asked for the Wi-Fi password so he could place stock orders and check customer emails.

Although Derick ruined the mood, she couldn’t deny the rush Lawrence gave her, even when they weren’t touching. She loved the contrast between his quiet reserve and his physical confidence. The simple pleasure of looking over at him while he scrolled his phone. His comforting presence. He reached out to stroke her leg, and her heart asked, Why can’t every morning be like this?

It was too soon to wish forever and always. It was best to live in the moment, relish him as long as she could.

He used a notebook on her coffee table to write out the recipe for the gingerbread latte cookies, writing as quickly as she drew. Another artist at work.

“Lawrence, can I tell you something?” she asked after they’d been working side by side for over an hour, falling into an easy rhythm. He’d even refilled her coffee at some point. If she was going to be honest with him about her work situation, this was the time to do it. The pit in her stomach said otherwise.

“Sure thing, sweetie.”

“Derick gave me an enormous goal. I have to post a phenomenal opening or he’s going to rake me over the coals. He promised me a bonus if I do well, which means he’s expecting a stellar performance. I’m not in a position to quit. As much as that place kills my soul, I still prefer it to admitting defeat to work for my dad.

“I’m in an awful spot, because I don’t want to do anything to hurt Sweet L’s, but my job is on the line. Do you think you could tell some of your New Hope friends that we’re not pure evil, that it’s all right to go to the grand opening? I’d be happy to give you any marketing advice you might need or want in exchange.” She caught her breath. Caffeine buzzed in her veins, made her extra edgy as she waited for his reaction.

He didn’t answer her as he got up from his seat to pace around the room. Probably looking for a way out. Her words hung in the air; she wanted to grab them and stuff them back in her mouth. To complicate matters, he still wasn’t wearing a shirt. Gaping at him made it that much harder to remain collected.

“You want me to endorse the competition?”

“Forget I asked. I wanted to be up front with you. About what my job expects. About what I have to do.” For better or worse, she didn’t regret telling him the truth. Now. Before things went further.

“And you don’t think Sparkle will tank Sweet L’s?”

“I think we can come up with a way for Sweet L’s to have a strong quarter as well. And your product is superior. That always helps.”

“Aha! I knew I’d break you down, convince you my cookies are better.”

“Plus there’s the contest. That would be a nice cash infusion for your place.” She piled on the positives, the way her dad had taught her to do in a negotiation. Was Lawrence actually willing to help? “It’s not without risk, I want you to know that.”

Dad would’ve said to never mention the negatives. She couldn’t live with herself if she followed that advice.

Lawrence looked up, as if the ceiling might have the answer written across it.

Her shoulders tensed.

“This can’t be an all-the-time thing, you understand that? I can tell people to give Sparkle a try, but I’m not going to be able to support them long-term.”

“I understand. I wouldn’t want you to.” She opened her r é sum é file, showed him the laptop screen. “I have a plan to change jobs, but I need to go into interviews with a strong performance history. This is temporary.”

He turned his back to her.

“Lawrence, I’m sorry. Please look at me.”

“I can’t.” He heaved a sigh. “Not in that flimsy robe. I have to be able to think clearly. If I look at you, I’m going to give you the keys to Sweet L’s.”

She held her breath.

“I’ll do it.”

She leapt up, bounded to him. Then she threw her arms around him, and he took her into his. Her heart thundered; he must be able to feel it. “This is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“You deserve all the kindness in the world, Elena. I’m happy to give you whatever I can.” He lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around him. He carried her toward the bedroom. Derick’s hourly update could wait. The entire world could.