beautiful scene. The giant Christmas tree, the skaters, the shoppers, all framed against a background of sparkling lights. She inhaled deeply, smelling air redolent with fresh pine and roasted chestnuts. “I love this time of year,” she said quietly.
He smiled. “Follow me.” He took her hand and led her into the building beside them.
What did he have in mind? He glanced at her and winked as the guard got approval for them to enter. Rick led her to the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. When the doors opened, he led her down a hall to the stairwell. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“Up,” Rick said, climbing the stairs. “A friend of mine owns this building. Every year he has a Christmas party on the roof.” He reached the top and opened the door.
She followed him out and stopped. Rockefeller Center, lit up in all its holiday glory, was directly in front of them. “It’s beautiful,” she said, impressed that he had taken the time to show it to her.
He moved closer, holding the umbrella over her head. Their eyes locked. After a moment’s pause, he broke the trance and looked away. “I should get going.”
“Me, too,” she said. “I promised my Gran that I would bring back a tree tonight.”
“By yourself?”
“I always do it by myself.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. If any woman is capable of carrying a tree home by herself, it’s you. Come on,” he said, taking her arm. “Let’s go get that tree. There’s a place I know on Lexington. It’s a short walk from there to your apartment.”
“But what about your car-” she said, surprised by his offer.
“I’ll come back for it.”
“You don’t have to help me.”
“I insist,” he said. “Who knows? Maybe it’ll help me capture some Christmas spirit.”
“Then you have to take back your coat,” she said, staunching his protests.
When they made their way back outside, Lessa stopped. The rain had turned to snow. “Look at this,” she exclaimed excitedly as she stretched out her hand to catch a snowflake. “A perfect time to get a tree.”
He put away his umbrella and, declining a cab, together they walked through the white-dusted world.
The Christmas-tree place could be seen and heard from a block away. “Here Comes Santa Claus” was playing over a speaker, and blinking, multicolored lights stretched from a lamppost to the greengrocer/tree store. A giant plastic Santa sat on the corner, smoking a pipe and watching over the festivities. Usually, picking out a tree was something Lessa did fairly quickly, as if knocking a chore off her list. But not tonight. Tonight she was more than happy to take her time. The salesman pointed to a fat evergreen and said to Rick, “Why don’t you get your sweetheart the best tree we have?”
Lessa began to correct the man, but stopped. What difference did it make if a stranger thought they were lovers?
Rick just grinned and said, “How about it, sweetheart?”
“If that’s what you want, dear,” she said, playing along.
Before she could stop him, Rick had bought the Christmas tree. “You didn’t have to do that,” she said.
“I have a secret motive. I wanted to get first dibs on the front. You take the stump,” Rick said, holding on to the prickly part. “And lead the way.”
Actually he had the tree more or less by the middle and was hefting the majority of the weight. “But you’ve got the worst part.”
“First dibs, remember? No argument.”
She smiled at his gallant act, accepted his kindness and started down the sidewalk.
“You usually do this by yourself?” he asked.
“I usually don’t pick the biggest tree on the lot.”
He laughed and raised it over his head to avoid hitting some fellow walkers. She knew the tree was heavy but Rick made it seem as light as a feather. Once again, she remembered the muscles she’d seen in his arms and torso. She had no doubt he was capable of carrying the whole tree and more. The shrill ring of a cell phone cut off her thoughts. “Hold on a second,” Rick said, putting down the tree. He swung open his phone. “Hello.” His voice visibly softened. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. No, don’t leave. Give my apology to your family. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She felt her heart drop. It was a woman, that much was obvious. And whomever she was, she was waiting for him with her family. Why had he told Lessa he wasn’t seeing anyone right now? Had he lied to her?
“This is it,” she said, nodding toward her brownstone.
She buzzed herself in and together they carried the tree up the flight of stairs to her apartment. The smell of pine filled the hall as her thoughts drifted back to the woman who had called, the one who was waiting for him. Lessa couldn’t believe she had actually admitted to Rick that she wished for someone to kiss under the mistletoe. Regardless of what he had said, she doubted he was ever lacking a date under the mistletoe, love or no love.
She unlocked her apartment and led him inside. “Right in the corner,” she said. The tree barely made it, skimming the ceiling. “Perfect,” she said. “Now it feels like Christmas.”
Rick’s black cashmere coat was covered with needles. Without thinking, she brushed them off and said, “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said. Then he leaned toward her and for a split second she thought he was going to kiss her. Instead he brushed a piece of wet hair away from her lips.
It was an act of intimacy, a lover’s touch. She forced herself to move, determined to mask her inner turmoil with a deceptive calmness. Too tongue-tied to say anything, she opened the door.
He smiled but there was something in his eyes that gave her pause. A sadness. With her heart in her throat, she said, “Have fun tonight.”
Rick barely made it to the awards dinner in time.
“Where have you been?” Betty asked as he hurried though the door. “I thought you were going to be here at eight.”
“I was…delayed.”
“Delayed?” she asked, taking his coat and straightening his tuxedo tie. “I barely saw my family tonight. I missed our weekly dinner out because I was worried I wouldn’t make it in time.”
She had already told him that when she’d called. “I’m sorry,” Rick said. “I ran into Lessa on the way out.”
“So now it’s ‘Lessa,’ is it?” Betty teased.
“She was on her way to get a Christmas tree,” Rick said, ignoring her comment. “She needed help.”
“Let me get this straight,” Betty said, taking a step back and raising an eyebrow. “You were late to the New York Business Dinner because you needed to help Alessandra Lawrence get her Christmas tree? I’m shocked. You hate Christmas and everything surrounding it.”
“This wasn’t about Christmas. It was about helping someone.”
“Surprise number two.” She grinned. “You know, there’s a rumor going around that you’re falling for a certain chairwoman. I’m beginning to think there might be some truth to that.”
Ever since he had returned from the Bahamas, he had been unable to stop thinking about Lessa. The woman he had gotten to know in the Bahamas was much more complex than the narrow-minded woman he knew from the office. He had seen her only occasionally since their return, but each time, his heart had soared. He had actually found himself looking forward to the office Christmas party simply because it would be an opportunity for him to spend time with her again.
When he didn’t reply, Betty continued. “Unless it’s something else. You said you were determined to destroy her. Did you mean emotionally as well?”
Did Betty really think that he would seduce Lessa just to get revenge? “Is that what you think of me?”
“I know all about the fake romance, remember? And no one was around to see you picking out a tree. So what’s it all about?”
“Am I up yet?” he said, glancing toward the stage as he checked his watch. He had been asked to announce an award.
“It’s guilt, isn’t it?” she said, ignoring his question. “She fell for you and now you feel guilty. And you should, too. Everyone knew she had a crush on you when she was young. You were her first love. I’m sure she’s confused
