Page 43 of A Gift of Time
Chapter Twelve
“Are you sure I look okay?” Caden asked, adjusting his bowtie, as we walked toward my car.
He liked to be different. Instead of wearing a tie for formal attire, he went for a plum colored bowtie, button-up shirt, and plum dress pants. It was both casual and formal. He had a gray jacket on over the shirt.
“You look incredible,” I answered, unlocking the Jaguar.
Once we were both inside, I turned to him in the seat. His blue eyes were alive with both nerves and excitement, and he watched me as I leaned closer.
Our lips touched, and he smiled against my mouth.
It was those little moments when I loved him more and more, the unspoken ones that showed his character; the bashful, sexy man who meant more to me than anything in this world.
“It’s just the office Christmas party,” I said, pulling away and starting the car.
“Yeah, but your boss will be there.”
I backed out of the space and drove through the parking garage, heading toward the exit.
“Trying to impress my boss, eh?” My voice was teasing. “Hate to break it to you, Cay, but he’s not into dudes. Sorry.”
Caden giggled before playfully slapping my arm. “You ass.”
“Nah, I thinkyou’rethe ass in the equation.” That earned me another giggle, plus a snort, and I smirked. We flipped sometimes, so that wasn’t entirely true. “Honestly, though, don’t worry about it. You already have the job. This is just a dumb party where everyone will probably get drunk and not remember anyway.”
“Good point,” he said, leaning back on the headrest and looking out the window. “I hope there’s food.”
I grinned and focused on the road.
The past two days had flown by much too fast. After the news Nick had shared late Wednesday night, my stomach had been in knots, and sometimes when Caden did something that brought back our old memories, I’d had to force myself not to breakdown.
I feared the unknown; losing myself. Having my memories stripped seemed less like a wish come true and more like a damn curse.
Hope was not lost, though.
Caden had begun trusting me more, and we acted so much like the couple we used to be. No, we didn’t call it dating—we didn’t call it anything—but the feelings were there, clear in every touch and each kiss. When we weren’t having sex or making out, we were talking.
I’d laughed more in the past week than I had in the past two months, and I found myself more in love with him than I’d ever been.
When we sat on the couch, he cuddled against my side and rested his head on my chest instead of keeping a distance. When we ate dinner, he’d moved his foot against mine under the table.
Like magnets, we seemed to constantly be drawn together.
The sun had already set and Christmas lights could be seen coming from every part of town: houses, stores, and the park that had a huge Christmas display each year. Icicle lights hung from lampposts and trees twinkled from store windows. A lot of the snow had melted—only visible now in certain areas of untouched grass—but it was still cold.
More snow was in the forecast, but I didn’t have to watch the weather channel to know such a thing: I’d already lived this week and knew the snow would arrive in two days’ time on Christmas Eve.
The parking garage was packed when we arrived, as it always was.
Rick invited basically everyone worth knowing to those kinds of parties; law firms, business owners, old clients and prospective ones. It was a tactical business move: make them feel special, so they’d be more inclined to make future deals. And it was never a bad thing to have the best law firms on your side, either.
Caden checked his appearance in the mirror before puffing out a breath. “Okay, let’s do this.”
We got out of the car, and I grabbed his hand as we headed toward the elevator. He glanced at me, and I thought he was going to let go, but he squeezed my hand and continued walking.
Once in the elevator, I hit the button for the floor, and then pushed Caden against the wall, kissing him.
He let out a small gasp before returning the kiss, moaning and gripping my suit jacket, drawing me closer.
