Love for the Holidays (five book Christmas bundle) Page 12

  Figuring that she had some time, she opted to get dressed while Cam was getting ready. Knowing him he probably would be completely shower, shaved and dressed in fifteen minutes or less. Hopping up from the bed, she took her dress off of the hanger and laid it on the bed. Stripping off her robe and laying it on the bed, Lily stepped into her dress and zipped it up and grabbed her stilettos before checking her reflection in the mirror.

  The red cocktail dress was a risky choice but she wanted to be festive. It was strapless and clung to her in all of the right places and the pumps were just the right combination of sweet yet sexy. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a pearl choker with the diamond clasp that matched the earrings she had put on earlier. She was admiring herself in the mirror and thankful for the fact that her panties didn’t leave a line when Cam opened the bathroom door. The look on his face stopped her cold.

  “What the hell are you wearing?” he demanded.

  Lily looked down at herself and mentally cursed. She had been so worried about saying something to embarrass Cam that she never gave thought to the fact that she would need to dress more conservatively than her normal style. Whenever Lily got nervous, she tended to make jokes. “It’s a dress, Cam,” she said with a little laugh. “What does it look like?”

  He knew that nervous laughter and did his best to calm himself down before he spoke. “I know it’s a dress, Lily; I’m not blind. What I meant is…” Choose your words carefully. “Isn’t it a bit much for a business dinner?”

  “Oh, well,” she stammered and then quickly walked back over to her suitcase and pulled out an ivory cashmere sweater and quickly put it on. “I was going for festive with the red and figured the sweater would tone it down a bit. If you don’t like it I can skip tonight’s dinner and I’ll shop tomorrow for something a little more appropriate.” She was nervous and fidgeting and sorting through all of her clothes to see if there was anything in there that she could substitute the dress for. She never heard Cam’s approach.

  Gently placing his hands on her shoulders, he stopped her and simply said her name. When she didn’t make a move, Cam turned her around to face him. “Hey,” he said softly. “I’m sorry; I guess I’m used to being in stuffy, conservative mode and I never really gave a thought to how a woman would dress for one of these events. You look beautiful and I don’t want you to skip dinner tonight. I want you with me.”

  His words warmed her and she began to feel like her old self again. “Only if you’re sure because I would completely understand if…”

  Cam placed a finger over her lips to silence her. “I want you with me,” he repeated and smiled when she nodded. “Okay, then. Let me finish getting ready and we’ll head downstairs for drinks.

  “You wouldn’t happen to have a red tie with you, would you?” she asked hopefully.

  “Are we just meeting?”

  Rolling her eyes she shrugged and went to hang her belongings up; something she decided she should have done hours ago. “I’m sorry, what was I thinking?” Lily went back to the task at hand and five minutes later Cam walked out of the bathroom looking like something out of GQ. His black suit fit him perfectly. The snowy white dress shirt was pressed within an inch of its life and the black silk tie looked immaculate against it. His hair, which was always done to near-military precision was impeccable and his black wire glasses were the perfect accessory.

  “You look incredibly handsome, Sir,” she said and brushed at imaginary lint on his jacket just so that she could touch him. Turning them, she wanted to see how they looked side-by-side and then frowned.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked, thoroughly confused because he was smiling at how they looked.

  “It’s all wrong,” she said, walking over to the closet. “I have a black dress with me; I’ll change into that one and then we’ll look more coordinated.” And then mumbled, “If only you had a red tie.”

  Cam sighed loudly. “This is all over a tie?”

  “And maybe a hanky for your pocket.”

  “What do you suggest that I do? I don’t have anything red.”

  “I have a pair of red panties that I can stuff in your pocket,” she said with a sexy grin and nearly burst out laughing at the shocked look on Cam’s face. “Relax, relax, I was just kidding.”

  Cam looked at his watch and made a quick decision. “Don’t change, Lily,” he said as he walked out of the room and picked up the phone and called the front desk. Two minutes later he was back in the bedroom. “It’s taken care of.”

  “What? What’s taken care of? Who did you call?”

  Without answering her, Cam did his share of unpacking and placing his clothes in the closet beside Lily’s. “Cam? Come on, who did you call?” She was hot on his heels every step he took until he was done and went to sit on the sofa and wait. “You are the single-most frustrating man I have ever met,” she huffed, sitting down beside him.

  Five minutes later there was a knock at the door and Cam went to answer it. When he turned around there was a small bag in his hand and he smiled as he walked toward the bedroom. Lily quickly jumped up to see what he was doing. Just as she walked through the double doors, Cam pulled a red silk tie and pocket square from the bag.

  “Okay, I take it back. You are not frustrating; you’re adorable.”

  “Good,” he said as he placed the pocket square in place. “That’s what I was going for; adorable.” Lily walked up to him and before he knew what she was doing she had his tie undone and was pulling it from around his neck and wrapping it around her wrist. He arched his brows in surprise. “Nice trick.”

  She smiled a saucy smile. “There was this belly dancing class. You’d be amazed what I can do with a silk scarf.” And before Cam could even respond she had the new red tie in place and was tying it in a perfect Windsor knot. Standing back she admired her handiwork. “There. Now we’re perfect.” Turning them both toward the mirror, she smiled brightly at their reflection. “Right?”

  Cam had no words. His mind was still reeling on the whole tie thing and scarf comment and his tongue felt about the size of his fist in his mouth. When he notices that Lily was just staring at him, he simple nodded and stepped away as he cleared his throat. “Ready to go?”

  Lily trailed after him and grabbed her purse. Cam was waiting by the door for her and held it open as she walked through. She murmured her thanks and waited for him to close the door. Silently they walked toward the elevator and once they were inside she forced him to face her. “Okay, what’s the matter?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You got all quiet and sullen back there? Is this because of the tie? I mean, if it’s going to make you this uncomfortable that you won’t even talk to me, then let’s just go and change it back. It’s not worth all of this.” She stood and crossed her arms defiantly and waited for his response.

  “I’m fine, Lily, it’s just that you…well, you took me a little by surprise back there,” he said, his voice croaking slightly.

  “Me? What did I do?”

  “Wanting to put red panties in my pocket, whipping my tie off and wrapping it around your wrists while telling me you do stuff with silk scarves…that’s just a…whole other side of you that I…we…well, we never discuss. It’s just taking me a little longer than you to wrap my brain around this whole new phase of our friendship.”

  Lily had really wanted to stay mad at him but his honest admission and the embarrassment on his face was more than she could bear. With a laugh she stepped in and wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. When she felt him stiffen she immediately stepped back and smacked his arm. “Stop doing that!” she said loudly.

  “Now what did I do?” Seriously, the woman needed to come with a manual because he couldn’t keep up with her. If this was what most women were like in a relationship then moving overseas was definitely the better option because the ups and downs of mood swings was beginning to make him dizzy.

  “You are going to have to get used to me to
uching you and hugging you and acting flirty with you or nobody – not our friends or our family – is going to believe this phony-baloney nonsense we’re trying to feed them and this will end up being yet another exhausting holiday season! Now unclench a bit,” she demanded as the elevator indicated that they had arrived on the floor of the banquet hall, “and take my hand and let’s go mingle.”

  Cam did just as she instructed but he had a sense that he was in over his head here and though this was a room full of his peers he was most definitely out of his element.

  ***

  Four hours later back at the room Cam was man with a major conflict. All night Lily had been the perfect date. She was friendly to everyone and spent time speaking to all of his colleagues that he introduced her to. When they were seated for dinner, she actively participated in all of the conversations even if it was just to ask a question – which all of the men at the table were more than willing to answer for her. She seemed to be completely in her element.

  And then they’d danced.

  Cam wasn’t sure what happened. They’d danced with one another dozens of times over the course of their lives and yet tonight was…different. As they’d swayed to the music, the way Lily had felt in his arms was simply amazing. There were at least four different times when he’d wanted to pull her even closer than they already were and just keep her there.

  And then there were the times when they had gotten too close and all he wanted to do was take her back up to their room and say to hell with their friendship and finally – finally! – make Lily his own.

  And then there was the mistletoe.

  It still boggled Cam’s mind how a simple Eurasian parasitic shrub could simply turn his mind to mush. Well, not so much the plant but what happened under the plant.

  Lily had kissed him.

  Not a small kiss, mind you; oh, no. Apparently she wanted to act the part of girlfriend for all the room to see and when it was pointed out to them that they were indeed standing under a sprig of mistletoe, Lily had smiled saucily at him and silently dared him to kiss her! When Cam hadn’t acted fast enough, she had simply grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him to her. He had expected a quick, sisterly kiss. That was their thing; that’s what they did whenever the occasion called for a kiss. But the deep, wet, seductive kiss that she had given him? Cam had no idea where that had come from.

  And he really wanted to try it again when he was more on board with it and not so shocked by it that he spent most of the time it was happening trying to figure out why it was happening. Was it any wonder he didn’t have a steady girlfriend? If one kiss from Lily could stupefy him this much, Cam wasn’t sure he’d make it through the next couple of months.

  He was shaken from his thoughts when Lily asked if he wanted anything to drink. She was walking across the room as she took her sexy stilettos off and that was a shame, in his opinion. After tonight, he’d have to consider taking her out to more functions just so that she would have to wear the sexy footwear again. She was standing in the doorway between the bedroom and living room looking at him expectantly. “Cam?”

  “What? Oh, um…no. No thank you, I’m fine.” Pulling his tie loose and making his way across the room, he pulled the curtains closed and removed his jacket before kicking off his own shoes.

  “Want to watch a movie?” Lily called from the bedroom.

  What was she doing in there? He wondered. The door was wide open, surely she wasn’t getting undressed with him right here in the connecting room without closing the door! “Uh, no. I have another presentation in the morning and it’s getting late and I need to go over my notes and get some sleep. It’s been a long day.” He could hear hangers shifting and did his best to focus on thoughts of his presentation and not of the slinky red dress shimmying down her body and over whatever tiny bit of lingerie she was wearing underneath.

  Over the years he’d seen Lily in what he thought was every variation of dressed all the way down to a bikini. But now? He was dying to know what she was going to wear to sleep in. He ran a weary hand over his face and sighed. For something that was supposed to be such a good idea, it was slowly making him go mad and it was only the first day! They easily had another six weeks of this to make it completely work to their advantage, dammit!

  Doing his best to keep his back to the open bedroom doorway, Cameron searched through his briefcase for his notes on his presentation for the following morning and once he had it, he yanked the red silk tie off and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves, making himself a little more comfortable. Had it gotten hotter in the room? He was just about to turn and check the thermostat when Lily suddenly appeared beside him.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to just kick back and relax for the rest of the night? I’m sure you know this stuff by heart; why don’t you take tonight to just unwind?”

  Unwind? She wanted him to unwind? She was wearing a pair of red flannel boxers with snowmen on them and a white cami with an outline of one right in the middle of her chest. Was she trying to kill him? “What is with all of the red today?” he asked suddenly, unable to remember if he had ever seen her wear the color this often.

  Lily looked down at herself and wondered at Cam’s odd question. “Um, we’re going into the holiday season; I always go a little overboard with the festive wardrobe at this time of year. I know it’s silly but I can’t help it. Even though my mother does her best to ruin the holidays for me with her barrage of potential husbands, I can’t help but get into the spirit with my clothes. Surely you’ve noticed this little fact about me over the years?”

  Had he? Cam couldn’t remember. Maybe there was a funny sweater or two or the occasional sweatshirt with some sort of holiday design on it but she was fully covered in those. Never in all of their years as friends had she pranced around half naked like this – and the holiday decorations adorning the skimpy getup did nothing to dampen his growing arousal. He had to get her to go to the bedroom and close the door before he lost his mind.

  “Maybe,” he said distractedly, “I don’t really pay attention to that sort of thing.” He looked around the room desperately searching for anything to focus on rather than her. “Um, listen, I have a lot of work to do so why don’t you go inside and watch a movie and get some sleep. I know that you don’t have anything really planned for tomorrow but I’ve really got to get to this stuff and get a good night’s sleep. I have to be downstairs by nine for breakfast.”

  “Oh,” Lily said with a pout. “I thought we’d have breakfast together before you headed off to the conference.”

  Great, now he had guilt. “I suppose I could,” he said although it would really be an inconvenience. “All the more reason for me to get through these notes tonight, Lil.” Taking a risk and touching the bare skin of her shoulders, he gently turned her in the direction of the bedroom and gave her a little nudge. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “I get the feeling you’re trying to get rid of me,” she said over her shoulder. “I get it, I get it. You’ve got work to do and I’m bothering you.”

  Cam hung his head and counted to ten. “Lily…”

  “Relax, Cam, I’m just kidding with you. I know you have work to do. I promised not to get in your way and I’m sorry that I’m still standing here talking to you. Don’t stay up all night reading that stuff. Make sure that you get some sleep too.” When he simply nodded, Lily wished him a goodnight and walked into the bedroom and closed the door with a little wave and a smile.

  ***

  Two hours later, Lily was still awake and still questioning her own appeal to the opposite sex. All night while they were at dinner, Cam was the perfect date; they’d laughed and talked and danced and when he’d held her close, she felt confident that what she saw in his eyes was definite interest. Any time another man had paid her too much attention, Cam had pulled her close as if staking his claim.

  And then there was the kiss.

  Lily wasn’t sure what had come over her bu
t the fact that Cam had simply stood there contemplating what to do had just sort of hit a nerve. So, being that impulsiveness was one of her strongest suits, she did what any woman would do when there was an attractive man under the mistletoe with her. She’d kissed him. She had put everything she had in to that kiss and although it took him a little bit longer than she had hoped to get on board, it was over way too soon.

  Sigh.

  Wasn’t that just her luck? She had finally taken a chance and kissed the man who had captured her heart years ago and they had to have an audience around them. The room was dark except for the TV. Fortune had been on her side when Lily had found a channel that was doing a marathon of some her favorite holiday special classics. Glancing over at the clock she saw that it was nearing one a.m. The light was still on out in the living room and she had a feeling that Cam was probably asleep on the sofa with a pile of paperwork in his lap.

  Quietly climbing from the bed, Lily paused as the announcer said that Frosty the Snowman was up next. That was an all-time favorite of hers. Torn between going out and waking Cam so that he could sleep properly on the sofa bed or curling back up in her own king sized bed so that she could watch the best talking snowman ever, the image of Cam trying to do his presentation with his back aching from sleeping sitting up came to mind. Lily would never be able to forgive herself if she was the cause of him having a problem in the morning with his meeting.

  Opening the door she found that he wasn’t asleep but pretty darn close. Without a word, she walked over to him and took the papers out of his hands even as he protested. She placed them by his briefcase and then came back over to him and held out her hands. “What?” he asked but still she stood with her hands outstretched toward him. He placed his hands in hers and stood when she made to pull him to his feet. “Lily, what are you still doing up?”

  “Frosty is about to start,” she said by way of explanation. “Go and get your pajamas on and I’ll open the sofa bed for you. It’s late.”