Page 15 of Yes to The Holidays
I pulled my robe back together and sat up, taking her face in my hands. “Can I see you tomorrow night?”
Her hand went to my wrist. “Sadly, the next couple of nights are slammed since it’s a short week. Wednesday night? We can celebrate my new-found singleness.”
I kissed her, just barely brushing my lips over hers. “That’s so long from now. But I suppose it’ll have to do.”
Her phone chimed, so she went to the dresser to grab it. “Shit. That’s my rideshare.”
I stood, not bothering to tighten the belt. Again, the eye candy could make her change her mind. I walked her to the door and helped her with her coat. She turned, placing her palms over my chest.
“You tease,” she said as she stood on her tiptoes to steal a kiss. “Keep your phone handy. Maybe I can squeeze in a short visit.”
I drew her closer, threading my hands into her dark waves and pulled her mouth to mine for one last hungry kiss. “I’ll watch it like a hawk. Text me when you make it home, okay?”
She gazed at me, the gold in her eyes prominent from the entrance light. “I will.”
After she left, I flung myself onto the bed and held my phone. It seemed so quiet. And empty. But, only about ten minutes passed when the phone alerted me of a text.
Janie: Home.
Me: That was fast. Thanks for letting me know. I had a really great time this weekend.
Janie: Me, too.
I started to type out more but decided against it. I didn’t want to scare her. But even in the short amount of time she had been gone, my mind was consumed with her. Looking over to the empty bed, my stomach fell.Why was I missing her?
I took another shower, hoping to clear my mind, but that did no good. After dressing, I checked my emails that had piled up all weekend. I spent two hours going through them, but the whole time I was distracted. Everywhere I looked in the room reminded me of her and the things we’d done all weekend. Even the small keychain from the aquarium had me reminiscing about the day before.
At midnight I finally went to bed. Janie's scent still clung to the sheets, distracting me. Finally, I grabbed her pillow, hugged it tight, and closed my eyes
***
After a restless night, I ordered room service and checked the weather. Once I had discovered it would be in the thirties for several days, I opened my texts.
Me: Good morning, beautiful. Have a great day!
Several minutes passed, then my phone chimed.
Janie: Good morning. Sleep well?
Me: Terribly.
Janie: I’m sorry. Busy today? Maybe you can take it easy. Or there’s a great coffee shop on the other side of the pub!
Me: Thanks. I have some meetings today, so I’ll stop there on the way. Can’t stop thinking about you.
Janie: Me, too. I’ll try to get done at a decent time. Have a great day, gotta run!
When I glanced in the mirror hanging over the dresser, I was smiling like an idiot.This was a fun crush, that's all.
Shaking it off, I grabbed the door when my room service arrived and tried to get on with the day.
After some breakfast and coffee, I headed to the coffee shop next to the pub and grabbed a better cup to go. The hotel was top tier, but the coffee still left a lot to be desired. The first sip from the paper cup from the small coffee shop tucked between the pub and a boutique was piping hot and delicious. And not outrageously named or priced. Some coffee shops were overrated and charged asinine prices for hot bean water.
One of my old associates used to make fun of me for refusing to buy coffee at those places, especially when I cited the price. “What’s eight bucks to guys like us?” he asked smugly.
“You don’t get rich and stay rich by being frivolous,” was my response. Sure, plenty of people in my tax bracket flaunted multiple fancy cars, big homes, and designer everything, but their accountants would tell you they’re mostly in debt up to their eyeballs. I preferred to have little debt and liquid assets. That was true wealth.
My parents were well off thanks to a few smart moves by their own parents and themselves in their youth, but they always instilled in us the meaning of hard work, humility, and money management. Many of the companies I took over lacked all of those things, and that’s how I got great deals. I hoped to learn this week that Edward and his company were not like them.
