Page 7 of What Happens This Christmas
Candy:My schedule…
Oh, the horror.
Nick:You’ll live.
When she didn’t respond, I took her silence as response enough.
Chapter 4
CRANDYLAND
CANDY
I stared at his text, placing my tongue in my cheek as I sat on the smooth hardwood bottom step of our staircase in my new emerald skirt suit with matching belt and heels. I wasn’t going out, and the temperature in the house was just right thanks to our wood-burning fireplace.
It wasn’t often that I was at a loss for words, but as it turned out, I didn’t have a single thing to say to my husband. The screen of my phone fell asleep, and it was just as well. I mean, how long could I look at the same two words?You’ll live.
Thanks, Nick, for not understanding me or what I want at all.
Then again, what did I expect? Nick had made his wishes crystal clear, and what was I to do? It was probably popular opinion that I should have had red, puffy eyes from all the tears I had shed for the vows I had made to spend the rest of my life with my husband in front of our dearest friends and family.
I had loved Nick for as long as I could remember, and I’d shared a bed with him for…oh, well, it felt like an eternity, and really, what was time in marriage? And I’d probably continue to love him forever, or at least, until my heart stopped beating.
“You can’t make a promise like that,” I pointed out, my hands on his arms, pushing him to wrap them more snuggly around me. I closed my eyes and relished the warmth coursing through my body, sending wild flutters in my stomach. Thatwas what his touch did to me, and I had a pretty good feeling that it always would.
He brought his lips to my ear, and I shivered at the tortured thought that they could be on me right now. A shaky breath escaped me, and he trailed his hands higher, just under my breasts. God, Nick knew what he was doing.
“I can, and I will,” he insisted, and right there, he had done it again, quietly this time, but still. He promised me that nothing would ever separate us. “And I’ll do it again, Candy cane.”
I closed my eyes and hoped it would always be like this, even him using the silly nickname that was a play on my name. “You know, I love it when you call me that.” None of that stopped the nagging in the back of my mind telling me that there were things out of our control, and one day, we could be separated. Who knew where we’d be ten, twenty, even thirty years from now?
“I know.” He plucked at my bottom lip.
Just as spontaneously and hard as the memory had torn through me, like an earthquake did California, it left. As a reminder was a painfully slow rhythm of my heart. I inhaled before exhaling, my fingers grazing my bottom lip just like Nick used to do.
“Things are moving along nicely, Mrs. Crane. One of my assistants is in the midst of schlepping in the life-sized sculpture for the staircase,” Bob Bottom said, prompting me to get up and run a hand down the front of my skirt to avoid any wrinkles. The last thing I needed was to look unpresentable in front of a renowned floral designer and someone I considered a friend at this point.
I had been partnering with Bob on Crandyland for a while now. Crandyland had actually been birthed from our collaboration. Apparently, when you put two great mindstogether, wonderful and magical things happened. The play on my surname was one of those things. It was inspired, really, because no one else could compete with such a title, and upon hearing the word, it immediately evoked feelings of nostalgia to a beloved childhood game and a winter wonderland. I couldn’t have asked for anything quite as charming.
I smiled, placing my hands in front of me as I kept a grip on my phone. I didn’t think Nick would be texting again, but still. “Beautiful,” I replied warmly. “You’ll have to give me a tour of what you’ve done so far.”
He wet his lips. “Why, it would be my pleasure.”
“Excuse me. Coming through,” a man I assumed was Bob’s assistant announced at a louder volume than I cared for in my home as he came barreling by. Decorum certainly wasn’t something he possessed. That was quite all right, though, since he was carrying one of the most exquisite pieces I had seen to date. And here I’d thought it was magnificent in the picture Bob had shown me, but the real deal was even better. “Where would you like this?” he questioned, his eyes darting from Bob to me before landing on the staircase.
Bob pointed off to the side, where he knew I’d want it. What other choice was there? It was the perfect spot for the life-sized metal and glass nutcracker. It wasn’t any old nutcracker either. No, absolutely not. This nutcracker was made at the hands of a skilled artisan in Rome. Leonardo Fernando. Now that was a man who knew how to use the talent he was given.
I cleared my throat, crossing my arms. “What rooms haven’t been done yet?”
“The great room actually. It’s the main space in the house, and we’re going to want it to look its best, don’t you think?” He tilted his head and started toward the room. I followed as he explained the situation to me. “Basically, what we’re looking at is a modern, clean look that will match the rest of the house.”
“That’s why I asked for the monochromatic trees that are poised like sculptures in the hallways. We need to keep the aesthetic. All-white. Sleek.” I nodded and licked my lips as we entered the great room that had nothing more than white stockings hanging from the chimney that gave off a faux-covered snow look. “These are not the stockings I asked for, but they’ll do.” Nick certainly wouldn’t like them, but then again, I wasn’t sure what there was to not like about them. They were beautiful and chic. He’d get over it.
He scratched his chin, staring at the stockings. “I understand, but I do believe these look better. They’re minimalist, exactly like the acorns and pine cones you wanted in the kitchen. It gives it a cozy feel without becoming tacky.”
“This is exactly why you’re the only man for this job.” I turned to face him, arching a brow. “Tell me, did we get the plaid Dutch ovens?”
“Yes,” he answered quick as ever, grinning. “They’ll go perfectly with the gingerbread tea towels that you picked out.”
