Twin Babies with the Billionaire for Christmas

19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Rachel

I tap my foot. He had told me to be ready on time, and I was. I adjust the soft, fuzzy sweater I had chosen from my suitcase and glance at my phone for the millionth time.

I instinctively run my fingers over my dainty star bracelet, it’s practically a comfort charm.

It’s not like him to be late. Now I am starting to worry rather than feel annoyed. The feel of my bracelet under my fingers soothes my nerves.

Just as I lift my phone to give him a call, the elevator pings, and moments later, Tristan walks into the apartment.

I give him a grim look, tapping my watch and lifting a brow at him.

He looks embarrassed and nods. “I know, I know…I…. fell asleep at work.”

“You what?” I ask with a giggle.

He looks like he might be blushing. “Guess I’ve been working too hard.”

“I thought something happened to you,” I tell him with a little pique.

“You were worried about me?” he asks, stepping closer to me. I can't help but take in a deep breath of his spicy cologne.

I bite the inside of my cheek, resisting the urge to stand up and kiss him. I’m supposed to be mad at him, and I am certainly worried about his intentions, but my body doesn’t seem to care.

“Something like that,” I admit, then stand up briskly. “You have a surprise planned for me?”

His smile curves his lips for a moment, then he offers me his hand. I reluctantly take it, wanting to ignore the zing of awareness that snakes up my arm at his touch, but being unable to.

Damn the man for being so handsome.

“I figure we both need to learn to like the holidays,” he says to me, leading me into the elevator.

I look at him sidelong. “What kind of smarmy Christmas nonsense do you have in mind?” I ask him.

He chuckles. “The most smarmy, wonderful, Christmasy time ever,” he assures me, and I groan a little. He nudges me with his elbow. “Come on, Rachel. Be a sport. Let’s give Christmas a whirl.”

“Fine,” I say, drawing the word out to be many syllables. “But only because I can interview you while we spend time together.”

He wings a brow at me but doesn’t comment. He does, however, slip his hand down my forearm, grab my wrist, and tuck my hand into the crook of his elbow.

I start to tug it free, but then the elevator dings as we land in the lobby and Tristan sails forward with me in tow.

I manage to wave at the front desk person before we step outside into the chilly drizzle that is as much a part of Seattle as Pike Place Market and the Space Needle.

“The parking garage is over…” I start to say, but then the words die on my lips as I take in the stretch limo that is parked outside the building. A man dressed like Santa climbs out of the car and comes to open the door for us, and I giggle as I slide inside.

It’s pleasantly warm inside the limo, and I take off my coat as I lean back against the soft seat. Tristan climbs in behind me and sits across from me. I ignore the small pang of sadness I feel that he didn’t choose to sit alongside me.

I know that it’s no good for us to be that close. We will only end up giving in to the attraction that neither of us seems to be able to fight.

“So,” I say as the limo starts to drive. “Where are you taking me? Are you kidnapping me?”

He laughs and shakes his head, opening the minibar and checking the contents. “This would be one hell of a way to kidnap someone. It’s hardly like we are traveling incognito in the limo.”

He rummages a little and pulls out a bottle of champagne. He holds it up questioningly, but I just shake my head, suddenly scared he will see right through me and know that I’m pregnant.

“Umm…no thanks,” I say a little too quickly, my cheeks hot.

Tristan gives me an odd look but moves past my strange, strident reaction. “That’s totally fine. There are other things in here like soda and some sparkling water. Oh, there’s also some hot chocolate ice cream!”

“Oh, give me one of those,” I say eagerly.

He pulls out a cup with plastic wrap over it and hands it to me. He also gives me a spoon. I lean back against the seat and close my eyes in bliss as I enjoy the first bite.

“This is to die for,” I say with my mouth full. The baby seems to like my choice of food as well because I feel immediately better as I start eating the dessert.

“I asked them to surprise me with some holiday snacks and treats when they stocked the car,” Tristan says happily, sounding like a kid. He pulls some candy canes out of a little compartment next to him and happily unwraps one to enjoy.

“So, honestly… where are we going?” I ask again as I enjoy the delicious treat in the cup.

He winks at me. “Let me surprise you,” he says.

I mock-frown at him for a moment, but then I fall silent, just being happy to exist in this moment in this fancy car, with this delicious food.

We drive for about forty-five minutes before the car comes to a stop. During that time, Tristan and I talk about his childhood, his friends, college, and anything else that I can think of that might be related to the book.

I hope I’m actually absorbing the information that I need to know in order to get the book done. I’m so distracted by the wetness in my panties each time he grins at me that I’m not sure.

“I think we are both going to love this,” Tristan says to me as he offers me a hand out of the car.

I button my coat and then slide over to the door. I take his hand and allow him to pull me outside.

The first thing I notice is smells that I associate with the country. I look around and a grin spreads out over my features as I take in the beautiful old barn that is decorated with Christmas lights, the tall candy canes at the entry gate, and the beauty of the rural area we have come to.

“This place is beautiful,” I breathe, turning around happily.

“I thought it would be fun to pick out our own tree,” Tristan tells me. “Come on. Let’s go look at what they have.”

“A Christmas tree?” I say uncertainly. “But your place is already decorated for Christmas.”

He waves a hand at that. “Nancy did her best, but I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a Christmas tree. I just woke up this morning and realized that we needed to get one.”

“But trees make a mess, and they need watered, and…” I start to say as I balk.

“Why don’t you leave all of that up to me?” Tristan says to me with that charming smile of his that could charm the birds out of the sky. “You deserve to have a nice Christmas. You just moved here, your apartment flooded, you’ve been feeling sick, and I’ve been monopolizing your time. The least I can do is make sure that you have a proper, family Christmas.”

Family. I think about the word. I barely know what it means. I really didn’t have parents growing up, and without my close friends and my aunt, I wouldn’t have had any idea what it felt like to give and receive love.

I look at the man standing across from me, holding out his hand to me. His eyes glow with excitement, and he has thought up this amazing afternoon and evening for us, just to cheer me up.

Would it be so bad to just give in and have some fun? Would it be so wrong to enjoy myself for just a little while, without worrying about what might happen if Tristan gets tired of me, or if we find that we don’t have enough in common with one another to stay together?

I allow myself to smile finally, stepping forward and taking his hand. “I have no idea how this is done,” I say to him ruefully.

“I have a little bit of a clue,” he assures me. “We still observed Christmas traditions in my family, even if things were…strained each year at the holidays. I at least know what we have to start with. The decorating the tree part, that’s on you.”

“Me?” I say loudly, tugging at his hand so that he will look at me. “I have no idea how to do that,” I tell him.

He shrugs. “We’ll figure it out together, how about that?”

I roll my eyes and follow him as we walk out into the rows of green, spiky trees that smell amazing. We debate about size for a while, make some very obvious, immature jokes about the size of other things, and then finally settle on a tree that we like.

“Should we flock it?” Tristan asks me, tilting his head to the side as he ponders.

I shake my head. “Nah,” I say. “I like things that aren’t in disguise. I’m bad at secrets and I don’t think a Christmas tree should have any secrets either.”

He looks at me for a moment and then bursts into laughter. “If I hadn’t known that you were a writer for a living, I would have wondered how on earth you thought up something like that.”

I smile a bit in reply, feeling strangely pleased with his enjoyment of my odd train of thought. “My mom always said I was so odd that I would never find a boyfriend,” I hear myself admitting. I clap a hand over my mouth after the words come out. “Why did I just say that?”

Tristan looks at me sympathetically. “Your mom sounds selfish and shallow,” he says to me. He reaches out and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “You are wonderful just as you are. I love your clever brain.”

I gulp and just stare into his eyes, trying to find the annoyance that had sustained me for the past few days. As far as I reached, trying to find it, it was gone.

I decide to just let this moment happen, to stop fighting it. I turn my head and press a kiss to his fingers. He reaches out and tugs me closer, and I tip my head back to allow him access to my lips.

The kiss is different than the others that we have shared. It’s not hurried, intense, combative. This kiss is sweet, soft, and gentle. I can feel my toes curling in my sturdy boots.

“Do you want to get takeout and decorate the tree when we get back?” Tristan asks me, his voice husky.

I nod. “That sounds heavenly.”

“Let me go find someone to get the tree onto the car,” Tristan says.

“The limo?” I say, shocked that the company would allow such a thing.

“They brought a tarp and tie-downs!” he calls over his shoulder to me as he goes hunting for someone to wrap up the tree.

“Wonder if he even has any ornaments,” I say to myself, wrapping my arms around myself to keep out the chill.

I’m not sure if it’s the pregnancy hormones or just the wetness of the Seattle area, but I have been cold all the time lately.

“Yes, this one,” Tristan says as he joins me, gesturing to the tree we had picked out.

He talks with the tree farm owner for a little bit and then guides me ahead of him toward the car. “We can enjoy the warmth of the car while they get the tree ready to go,” he tells me.

We slide back onto the soft bench seats of the limo, and Tristan takes off his gloves and shakes some moisture off of them.

“It’s chilly today,” he says.

“It’s chilly every day here,” I say dryly.

“Come here,” Tristan invites, opening his arms and gesturing to the space next to him.

I again shove away the practical part of my brain that wants me to avoid being close to Tristan, and slither across the seat to tuck myself under his bicep.

The warmth radiating off his body is very welcome, and I nestle into his side.

“Are you having fun?” Tristan asks me.

Sleep is weighing on me, but I manage to mumble back, “I’m having a blast. There was hot chocolate ice cream.”

Then I slip into sleep.