Mac's Angels by Sandra Chastain

Author:Sandra Chastain [Chastain, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-81730-3
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2013-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

NINE

A sleepy Erica leaned against Conner as he inserted the key card into the door lock of their suite. Her eyes were closed. She looked as if she were still as caught up in the drive home from the party as he was.

Conner opened the door and sent up a silent prayer that the hotel had had enough time to move him and Erica back in and follow the rest of his instructions.

“Are we staying in our suite, Conner?”

“Yes.”

“Do we still have a guard?”

“No. I’ve released him for now.” Conner glanced into the parlor. “Don’t open your eyes,” he instructed.

“But I can’t see where I’m going.”

“That’s all right, I’ll direct you.”

Placing both hands on her shoulders, Conner walked Erica through the door, across the parlor, and into her room.

“Why don’t you get out of your party dress and into something more comfortable? I have a surprise for you.”

“All right.” Erica felt too warm and happy to disagree with anything.

Moments later she was wearing her favorite sleep shirt with the teddy bear on the front. She tugged on a pair of clean socks and slipped her arms into the hotel robe.

“May I come out now?”

“If you close your eyes again.” Conner was outside her door instantly, opening it, taking her hand and tugging her eagerly into the parlor. “Now,” he said, “open them.”

In the center of the parlor was a live green tree surrounded by boxes of Christmas decorations and strands of lights.

“A Christmas tree?”

“Your Christmas tree,” Conner said.

“Oh, Conner, it’s beautiful. How did you do it?” She plopped down on the floor beside the boxes and looked up at the tree, her eyes glistening with moisture.

“I find things, remember.” Or, rather, he thought, Sterling does. He’d give her another raise tomorrow. She’d turn it down just like she had the last three. She already had everything she wanted, she always said.

Erica was tearing the boxes open, admiring the decorations.

“Do you want to decorate it tonight?” he asked. “Or would you rather wait until tomorrow?”

Erica sprang to her feet and drew Conner over to the tree. “Tomorrow? Are you kidding? I want to decorate it right now. What do we do first?”

Conner had to smile. Suddenly it was ten years ago and they were rediscovering the delight of sharing something new. It had been a lot of years since he’d decorated a tree. In fact, the last one had been a pine branch on a ratty piece of real estate in a country that didn’t even celebrate Christmas. “The lights, I think.”

Moments later Erica had shed her robe and had a rope of twinkling lights spread across her legs. “They all work, Conner. I’ll hand the strand to you and you wind it around the tree.”

With a few alterations of location, a couple of tangled arms, and not so secret touches, they got the lights on the tree. Next came the ornaments. Conner looked at the ceramic Santas and the silver bells and decided the simple red and green balls he remembered from childhood had come a long way.

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