Page 5 of Unwrapped

“There should be plenty of young men there tonight. Forget about Darren junior, there will be plenty of people here. Hopefully, Glen will be here, and you can meet him. I like the idea of having a doctor for a son-in-law.”

I stop suddenly at her words, causing her to stop walking.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, annoyed. “I told you I’m not looking for a relationship right now, Mom. I want to focus on school. Maybe after I graduate, but I’m in no rush.”

“What relationship?” She raises both hands in mock surrender. “I didn’t say anything about a relationship, just that there might be someone here tonight who you might find interesting. This is a family party, after all. Just because your father abandoned us to stay at home and watch ESPN or whatever nonsense doesn’t mean other people won’t be here.”

“He did not abandon us. He hates these kinds of things.” Dad loves nothing more than to host parties or guests at home but dragging him to a company party with strangers would be incredibly painful for him. He’d be miserable, and in the end, my mother would end up being upset at him for days for not engaging her colleagues. He’s doing them both a favor by staying home.

I ignore her as we maneuver our way to the ballroom. Right outside is a coat check. Obviously too impatient to wait, she takes off her coat and hands it to me. “I see Joe. Come find me.” She waves at a group of people by the ballroom entrance, and they all hug. Soon, she’s disappeared from my sight, and I’m left holding both our coats. I hand them over to the young woman behind the counter and drop a couple of dollars in her tip jar.

Suddenly self-conscious of being left alone, I look around the room before steeling my spine and walking toward the ballroom. I’d much rather be at home with Dad watching TV, but that would be too upsetting to my mother, so here I am.

“Let’s get some drinks, Miranda,” I say to myself, but for whatever reason, I make no move to walk into the ballroom. I don’t know what it is, but I stand right outside and lean on the door, watching the people inside. They’re all people Mom has worked with most of my life, people I’ve met before, but something is keeping me from walking through the door.

A dull ache in the pit of my stomach overtakes me as I look at the scene, and for the first time in months, I feel a sense of loneliness. I don’t have much time to think about it as I hear the vibrations of footsteps against the plush carpet. For an unknown reason, I tear myself away from the winter wonderland in front of me and look toward the door.

My breath catches in my throat when I see a tall, broad figure in a long black wool coat crossing the room. He walks in with an air of cold disinterest. It’s as if he’d rather be anywhere else, but as if he owns the place all at once. He checks his watch, then when he looks up, our eyes meet. Blue eyes meet mine, and he holds my stare until he walks past me.

No breath leaves my body until he walks past. I turn to watch him as he hands his coat to the coat check. His body is as gorgeous as his face. His stomach is flat, chest wide and hips narrow. The suit on his body fits so well, I know it was made specifically for that body. He looks up again and catches me looking at him. I don’t turn away, and when he misses a step, I know he’s affected.

When he gets to the door, his body practically brushes up against mine, despite the wide entrance into the room. The smell of his cologne fills my nostrils, and I almost take a step closer to him, but he glides inside without giving me another look and walks straight to the bar.

He’s definitely one I’ve never seen before. I know most of the people my mom works with, and none of them look like that or carry themselves like this man does.

“Come on.” My mom is suddenly standing before me, looking at me with her brows creased, and I almost laugh. Typical Mona Moore. It’s like she has some sort of secret knowledge of my moods. Whenever she suspects I’m upset, she appears out of nowhere, ready to fix everything.

I’m breathless and my cheeks are flushed from what just happened, but thankfully my mom is too busy talking with someone to notice.

“How about a drink first? Let me go get one.” I point to a server in the corner of the room carrying a tray of wine. Mom waits for me as I walk to get the drinks.

When I return, she takes her drink, we hook our arms together, and enter the ballroom, which is lavishly decorated like Santa’s Village. There’s fake snow underneath a sled with Santa seated on top. The Christmas tree is so tall, it practically touches the vaulted ceiling. Perfectly wrapped packages overflow from beneath it. There’s even a wooden train going around the room. I roll my eyes at the mistletoe hanging in the far corner of the room, though.

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” my mom asks. “Joe’s here and he can’t wait to see you. Come on!” She grabs my hand and practically drags me to where Mr. Bain is standing with the help of a walker. He looks thinner than the last time I saw him, but he’s still handsome in his suit and red tie.

“You look wonderful, Joe, and I was just telling Miranda how great you look. I keep praying for the day you come back.” She pulls back and kisses him on his bony, pale cheek, leaving her bright red lipstick on his skin.

“Mona, we talk twice a week,” he says, patting her hand. “Nick’s been doing a great job.”

My mother straightens. Mr. Bain offers me his hand, which, just like the man, is extremely warm.

“Miranda, it’s been too long. Come here.” He takes me into a hug, and he smells just as I remember, like expensive cologne. “You get prettier each time I see you.” I pull away from him and feel a blush on my cheeks. “Oh, look. Nick finally pulled himself away from the bar.” He waves his hand in my direction.

When I turn, I collide into a strong chest, and when I look up, my eyes find a familiar pair of blue irises. Nick Bain, the bane of my mother’s existence, is the same man I saw just moments ago. The man who appeared out of nowhere and carries an air of indifference. The same man who causes feelings I didn’t know I was capable of with just a look.

In all my mother’s ramblings about the man, and there have been plenty in the past few weeks, she left out one very important detail. Nick Bain is the most gorgeous man on earth.

CHAPTER 4

NICK

I hate Christmas parties, and for that matter, I hate Christmas too. All those happy people planning family dinners and finding the perfect present. It’s all a lie. No one is genuine. We only see what people allow us to see. Everyone has a mask to hide their inner ugliness. I thought we were going to build a future together and be one of those sickeningly sweet families who wear matching ugly Christmas sweaters for the annual family portrait, but that too was a lie. Thankfully, the truth was revealed before I did anything stupid.

Unwilling to think about my history with Paige, I shake my head and continue my quest to find the bar. A stiff drink is in order if I’m going to endure any time here. I figure I can show up for an hour before getting the hell out. I pull on my tie, the damn thing like a noose around my neck. Why the fuck this can’t be more casual is beyond me, but this is the way it’s always been done, and I’m the new kid on the block. The hated new kid if all the icy stares are any indicator. They fail to realize I don’t care.

The minute I stepped inside a few minutes ago, my eyes landed on the lonely figure in the long red and black dress leaning against the door. I’ve never seen her before, but I knew she didn’t want to be here either. She’s not one who works for us, so I wonder if she’s someone’s date. If she is, he’s a fool for leaving her alone even for a second.

She looks downright gorgeous in that dress. As soon as I saw her, I envisioned sliding my hand up the long, red skirt and unwrapping the black wrap around top. A simple tug of the sash, and she’d be exposed.

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