Snowdrop Kisses Part Eighteen
A Christmas love story featuring a plucky florist and a tall dark and handsome entrepreneur
Previously… in part 17 Kim tries to persuade Wendy to attend the ball and Wendy meets up with Isaiah
Chapter 35
Wendy said a quick goodbye to Vivienne and was squashed into an Isaiah Farewell Hug.
The pair left for Ottawa and she turned to James, unsure if she had the mental energy to manage her confusing feelings around him. “What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to check that you had everything you need?”
“Yes,” she said, deflated by his business-like tone. “It’s all going perfectly. Thanks for asking.” She thought of what Vivienne said earlier today. “Thanks for being so thoughtful about our set up.” She gestured around her. “Not a lot of clients care so much about our working conditions. They’re usually focussed on our output.”
“I learned a long time ago that if your employees aren’t happy, the work will suffer.”
“Right,” she said. She was a staff person to James, nothing more. She should be grateful he hadn’t fired her after she attempted to suck his nose. She turned to one of the bouquets that required tweaking, fussing with the stems.
She assumed James would leave now that he’d checked on her, but he lingered, leaning against the counter. He shifted awkwardly. He obviously had something else he wanted to say.
“How long have you and Isaiah been dating?” he finally blurted out. He didn’t meet her eye.
“What?” Hadn’t he just put her in her place, reminding her he thought of her as staff - now he wanted to ask about her love life. “We’re not dating.”
James frowned. “You were together at the bar the other night. You were all dressed up. You had on heels!” He said this last as if it was irrefutable proof.
“Trust me, Isaiah and I have not, and never will, date. Anyway, those stupid heels caused me endless problems.” Wendy made a face as she remembered being thrown out of the club by Bobbie and Melinda.
James uncrossed his arms. “You were pretty wobbly.”
There was a tenderness to his tone that Wendy had never heard before. She met his gaze and saw a flirtatious question hovering behind his eyes. Her stomach tightened. Unconsciously, she took a step closer to him but tried for her usual bluster. “You weren’t exactly Mr. Suave.”
They were close now, she could see the stubble on his chin, watch the rise and fall of his chest as his breath quickened. Their eyes met and in one movement, James closed the distance between them. “You were a complete klutz.” He leaned down and kissed her.
This time everything worked. Their lips touched. Wendy hadn’t known that a kiss could be so soft, so sweet, and yet so insistent. The kiss deepened, James’ grip tightening. With a little moan she threw her arms around his neck and pressed against him, wanting to get closer still. She caught him off balance. He stumbled back, and jostled the counter holding the vases for the centerpieces. With a loud crash, one of the crystal containers shattered on the floor.
Wendy lurched away, leaving James leaning against the counter, as if stunned. Her cheeks flushed as she remembered the way she had pushed against him, over-eager and gauche. He had kissed hundreds of women, and none had ever sucked on his nose, or shoved him into a table full of crystal.
It was important to recover some dignity. She smoothed down her tousled hair. She needed to act like this type of paint stripping, eye-popping, smouldering smooch happened to her every day. “I’ll get the broom and sweep this mess up.” She turned blindly and put further distance between them. “I—I think it’s best if whatever that was isn’t repeated. It was probably just…er… stress, on both our parts.”
He looked startled, and his lips thinned. “You’re quite right. Lately I’ve been under an enormous amount of —” he grimaced slightly, “stress. I’m sorry if I offended you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Wendy grabbed hold of a flowerpot to keep her hands from shaking, and started to babble. “As I said, stressful conditions and, you know, these things happen all the time.”
“Certainly...they do?”
“Um, no actually,” Wendy’s blush deepened as she realized what she said. “I don’t make it a habit of locking lips with my clients, although most of them are little old ladies, but still, no. Not at Love’s Bouquet. Maybe you people at LCC do this sort of thing…”
“Do you think I go around kissing employees?” James’ eyes darkened.
“No, no” stammered Wendy, “I just -- why did you kiss me then?”
“At this point, I have no idea.” James turned and stalked out.
Chapter 36
For the next four hours, Wendy worked efficiently. She finished installing the garland for the staircase wrapping it in light fairy lights to add to the magic. She placed the centerpieces on the tables and adjusted the enormous wreaths for the ballroom. She did all this while refusing to think about what had occurred between her and James. As her work wound down, however, it got harder to block out the memory of his scent or the force of their kiss. When she placed the last centrepiece in the ballroom she was desperate to flee back to Ottawa. Maybe she could outrun these thoughts.
As tempting as it was to make her escape immediately, she’d promised Kim she’d say goodbye. Catriona’s worker bees were supervising the installation of the DJ equipment as Wendy passed the ballroom and mounted the stairs.
The hallways of the second floor were a different world from the hive of activity below. Subdued lighting, thick carpeting and soothing cream walls gave an air of serenity and calm to the floor. Wendy knocked on a doorway tucked away at the back of the house. At Kim’s response, Wendy entered. The bedroom must have once been a child’s, with sailboat wallpaper and two single beds covered in bright afghans.
Kim was talking on a phone, but hung up as Wendy entered.
“It’s 6:30 pm. Shouldn’t you be prepping for the big party? You’ve only got half an hour to get all dolled up,” Wendy said.
“You’re coming too! I’ve found a way to get you to the ball!”
Wendy gestured to her dirty jeans. “Catriona would have kittens if I showed up looking like this.”
“I’ve got a dress for you!”
Wendy stared at her new friend warily.
Kim spoke quickly. “I get a bit nervous at these big events. I like to have lots of control over how I look, so I brought two possible dresses to wear. That way I knew I’d have choice depending on my mood.”
“That’s great,” Wendy didn’t like where Kim was going and she wasn’t going to help her get there.
“Don’t you see? You can wear my extra dress!”
The other woman was twenty-five years older, half a foot shorter and quite a bit heavier than Wendy. There was no way it would work. Kim looked so happy with her news that she felt bad deflating her friend. “That’s very kind, but it’s not a good idea. I won’t know anyone at the party, for one thing.”
“Are you crazy? It’s the social event of the season. Besides, you’ll know me and James and Mr. Hepple’s going to be there too.”
“Harry? Why’s he coming?”
“Minna Smythe is bringing him as her date.”
“Really?” Wendy was temporarily distracted by this piece of news.
Kim must have sensed Wendy weakening, because she moved in for the kill. “Come on, Wendy. Imagine the look on Catriona’s face if you showed up at the party.”
Wendy looked at her friend and chuckled. “It would be kind of fun to torture that woman.”
“That’s the spirit!” cheered Kim. “Just one sec, and I’ll pull out the dress.” Kim rummaged in the large closet.
Wendy already regretted her agreement. She’d end up standing in the corner in some ill-fitting dress, probably drinking too much and feeling like a total loser.
Kim unzipped a garment bag and Wendy gasped. The gown was beautiful. The fabric was heavy, dark green silk, which caught the light and held it in deep shadowy pools. It looked sumptuous and beautifully made. The dress came to about mid-calf and had thin spaghetti straps.
“Now see, it’s kind of a wrap dress, so you just sort of pull it around at the waist to adjust it. Apparently it will fit any body type.”
Wendy tore her gaze from the dress. She had a hard time imagining Kim wearing this type of outfit.
As if reading her thoughts, Kim said, “I’ve had enough ups and downs with my weight to know that anything adjustable is probably a good investment.”
Wendy didn’t entirely buy the glib answer, but the lure of the dress was too great to resist. She was dying to try it on.
Seeing Wendy’s expression, Kim moved in with her clincher. “It’s irresponsible of you as a business woman to turn this opportunity down. You can spend the whole party talking up Love's Bouquet to everyone you meet. You owe it to your business to attend.”
With a shrug, Wendy shelved her qualms and let Kim be her fairy godmother. “OK. I’ll go.”
Kim moved quickly, not allowing Wendy to back out. “You and I will have to share this bedroom, because all of the others are filled tonight. James doesn’t want anyone drinking and driving. In fact, the caterers brought a ton of pastries and juice for a morning brunch.”
What had Wendy let herself into? Was she wise to be staying under James’ roof?
Kim continued. “You probably need a shower. The bathroom is at the end of the hall.” She handed Wendy a towel and pointed her in the right direction.
Fifteen minutes later, Wendy felt energized and excited. She returned to the room and while Kim showered, she dried her hair and changed into the dress. It clung to her body in all the right places, with a swooping neckline emphasizing a cleavage Wendy hadn’t been aware of possessing. The color brought out the green in her eyes beautifully.
Kim returned, dressed in a more matronly gown, whose eye-catching golden yellow looked great against Kim’s skin and more than made up for its more staid cut.
“Wow, this is some dress!” Wendy exclaimed.
“Just wait. I’m not done with you yet.”
Using Wendy’s meagre makeup supplies, Kim went to work on her face and then asked about her hair. “Don’t you think it would be nice if it were loose?”
“Oh no, it looks terrible down, it’s too curly.”
“You’ve just got to learn how to handle it.” With a few deft strokes of a comb, Kim managed to tame most of Wendy’s wayward curls. “There, you’re all done now.” Kim twirled her around to face the mirror.
“Oh,” was all Wendy could manage. The woman staring back at her was a different person. She was poised, calm and almost beautiful. Her dark hair fell in a soft cloud around her face, an alluring counterpoint to the delicacy of her features. Her eyes looked huge and green. Her figure was exposed in such a way that she looked voluptuous, yet her waist was narrowly pinched in. “It’s a miracle. I can’t believe I look like this!”
“I’ve got to say, I’ve outdone myself.”
Wendy tore her gaze from the mirror. “The dress looks great, but I’m going to need some shoes.”
“Not to worry. I’ve got an extra pair right here.” Kim reached into the closet and pulled out a pair of black, strappy heels.
“I’m not sure about this,’ said Wendy. “I haven’t had good luck with borrowed shoes.”
“Come on, you can’t wear your sneakers. Besides, what kind of Cinderella would you be without special footwear?”
She tried on the shoes. They elongated her leg while making her foot look delicate. Although they were a little big, they would work for the night.
“You look fantastic. By the way, I have an extra toothbrush and a t-shirt for tomorrow that you can borrow.”
Suspicions rose again in Wendy’s mind, but she suppressed them. Kim couldn’t have come up with such an elaborate plan, complete with an extra toothbrush, just to get Wendy to attend the party. They’d never met face-to-face before today.
Kim reached for her phone. “I’m going to step out and check in on my family. Why don’t I meet you down at the party?”
Wendy nodded as Kim shut the door. She turned and gazed out the window. The room overlooked several outbuildings and more gardens. She could see an orchard to her right. The view must be magnificent in May, when the apple trees were in full bloom.
There was a knock at the door, and James’ dark head appeared. “Kim, can you help me with my tie--.” His sentence trailed off as he caught sight of Wendy.
His gaze drank in her tight-fitting gown and flowing hair, before coming back to rest on her lips, which had parted at his hungry stare.
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