Page 429 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
He chuckled. “I like them. They make sure you can’t sneak up on me.”
“I bet I could cut them off.”
“I’ll fire you.”
“You can’t do that,” I said testily.
“Not until my dad retires, at least.”
My eyes narrowed. “Fine. What’s this idea of yours?”
He rubbed his hands together and smiled devilishly. “I propose we make a break for it.”
I planted my fists on my hips. “That’s your big idea? You want me to run out on my job?”
“Our job. If we get caught, I’ll take all the heat, I promise. But listen.” He pushed off the door and leaned over so he could whisper in my ear. “There’s nobody around. All we have to do is go out the back emergency door. I’ll have the driver pull around and meet us in the back lot. We’ll be gone before anyone even notices we’re missing.”
I gnawed on the inside of my cheek.
The plan was tempting. My feet needed a break, and the very last thing I wanted to do right then was walk around Times Square in the freezing cold in my stupid costume making more small talk. A nice quiet ride in the back of a cozy, heated, quiet limo, however?
That sounded like bliss.
“Say yes,” Chadwick pressed.
I could smell his juniper cologne. It reminded me of cedar wood and the distinct scent of fresh foliage after an autumn rain.
I breathed him in and exhaled. “Let’s do it.”
His hazel eyes scanned the store before he put his hand in the middle of my back and gave me a gentle push forward. “Go, I’m right behind you.”
I didn’t know why, but I ran.
I ran like we’d broken into the store and there were cops on our heels. The jingle bells on my shoes betrayed every step I made, and Chadwick roared with laughter as he rushed along behind me, the heels of his shoes clapping against the polished linoleum. When we passed the registers, several cashiers looked up at us with confusion and amusement etched into their smiles. Behind me, I heard Chadwick on his phone telling the limo driver to hurry and meet us around back.
We escaped the openness of the store and slipped into the dark emergency exit hallway. I followed the images of the little running man left and then right before pushing out a metal door into a parking lot. Lampposts cast white orbs of light through which snowflakes had begun to fall.
Light powder dusted the asphalt, and I turned in a circle as I tipped my head back to the sky.
Chadwick clapped his bare hands together and breathed heat into his palms. “Damn, that’s brisk.”
There were only a handful of cars in the lot, all employees I assumed, and it was well lit and surrounded by apartment buildings. Almost every living-room window had a Christmas tree framed within it. Stars and angels winked down at us, and I found myself feeling warm despite the chill in the air.
Our limo showed up in less than two minutes and we piled into the back seat.
The driver rolled down the partition. “Where to, sir?”
Chadwick opened his suit jacket and made himself comfortable against the leather seat before turning expectantly to me. “We’ll drop Tinsely off first, Jeeves.”
I had learned that our driver was not named Jeeves but in fact was named Emmett. Chadwick however had taken to calling him Jeeves. He had a thing for nicknames.
I gave Emmett my address and enjoyed the warmth of the back seat as we started making our way to my side of the city. As we drove, Chadwick responded to emails on his phone, and I found peace in the comfortable silence.
When I used to work in sales, I always found that I was drained at the end of my day. I’d spend my first hour off work not speaking. I’d read a book or go home and bake. Whatever I did, it was quiet, peace-making work that helped me feel centered after a day on the sales floor. Customers, even the wonderful ones, had a way of making an employee feel pulled tight and in every direction.
A few blocks away from my home, Chadwick told Emmett to take an abrupt right. We pulled into a drive-thru burger joint, where Chadwick insisted I let him buy me something to eat. As soon as I smelled the fries, I couldn’t say no.
My stomach growled as we waited for our order.
