Gift Wrapped for Christmas: A Contemporary Romance (6 page)

“You? Submissive? That’s a
laugh.” Maddie smiled, but Lily was still vibrating with anger.

“Listen, my friend. You must have
your reasons for disliking Chase, but I don’t think he fits any of those stereotypes.”

Lily’s head came up, and there
were tears in her eyes. “I didn’t say I don’t like him. I wish it was that
easy. But don’t you see? How could he be interested in me from one look? That
kind of stuff only happens in books, and I don’t believe it there, either.”

Maddie’s thoughts went to the man
she’d seen in Chase’s office yesterday. It hadn’t mattered that he wore khakis
while Chase wore tailored suits, or that he worked in maintenance while Chase
was the CEO of an oil exploration company. The attraction had hit her like a
bolt of lightning, and he hadn’t even noticed her. She forced herself to
re-focus on Lily’s problem.

She’d never seen her roommate
this emotional. Lily had dated in Vancouver, picking and choosing among the
many men who vied for her attention. But as to any relationships since she’d
moved to Calgary two years ago, Maddie had no idea. In the six months she’d
been in Calgary she couldn’t recall Lily going out once. She’d cited business
pressures and lack of suitable men as the reason, but Maddie was beginning to
wonder if there was more to the story than what Lily had told her. Perhaps
something would come out if they talked about Chase some more.

“So let’s get this straight,”
Maddie began. “You like the look of Chase. There’s an attraction there that’s
not just one-sided. You know nothing about him or his motives, and yet you’ve
made some sort of arbitrary decision that you don’t want to get to know him.”
She made a big show of nodding her head. “Of course, that makes sense. I should
have realized.”

Lily said nothing, which was very
unusual. Tears ran down her face, and she dabbed at them impatiently, then slid
off the stool and walked to stand in front of the window. Snow swirled against
the building, glittering as the light caught it. Lily watched it without really
seeing it.

“I met him a few months after I
arrived here,” she said, her words low and urgent as though she had to get them
out before she changed her mind. “He was a wheat broker.”

Maddie didn’t know such a job
existed, but she didn’t want to interrupt.

“His name was Randall.” She gave
a short, mirthless laugh. “Not Randy. He hated the idea of being called that.”
She sucked in a quick breath of air. “Anyway, we met and started going out.
After a few months, it was getting serious...at least I thought so. He’d been
taking me with him to business dinners, cocktail parties, that sort of thing.”
She paused. “Did you know that Canada sells a lot of wheat to China? Yes? Well,
I learned all about that, nodding and smiling through interminable dinners.”

Her narrative seemed to lose
momentum as she watched the changing patterns of the swirling snow. Then she
shook herself and continued.

“One weekend we were invited to a
ranch down by High River. I bought all the right clothes.” A smile of
remembrance lightened her features. “I even bought a pair of cowboy boots.
Anyway, Randall had been out by the barbecue pit talking with the other men but
I ran back to the room for something, and when I returned, he was off to the
side, deep in conversation with another man. They were standing on the other
side of a trellis. I can still see it; it was covered with yellow climbing
roses...” Her voice faded again, and Maddie ached for her friend, knowing how
difficult it must be to tell the story. Lily crossed her arms in front of her
chest, hugging herself. “I was walking across the lawn when I heard Randall mention
my name. I thought he was singing my praises, the way he always seemed to do
when we went out with his business contacts. I can still hear his voice. ‘You
need to get someone like Lily. Someone who understands how they think. I’ve
been doing amazing since I hooked up with her.’

“This other guys says: ‘So she
works with you?’”

“‘Hell, no.’ says Randall. ‘I
just keep her sweet for when Asians come to town.’”

“Then the other guy says ‘I
thought you and Lily were, like a couple.’”

Lily turned to Maddie. “He laughed.
I’ll never forget the sound of it. Then he said something about how his parents
would react if he brought me home. He then proceeded to tell the other guy
about his ‘real’ girlfriend.”

Lily’s eyes were surprisingly
dry.

“My God, Lily. What did you do
then?”

She lifted her chin a little. “You
would have been proud of me. I didn’t smack him, much as I wanted to. I went
back to the room we were sharing, took his keys and drove his car back here to
Calgary. I left the keys in the car and sent him a text telling him that I’d
heard everything he said.”

Chase wasn’t Randall, but it was
too soon to get into that conversation. “Good for you,” said Maddie.

She was relieved to see a smile
on Lily’s face. “You know what’s funny? My parents would be even more shocked
than his if the positions were reversed and I took him home. They’ve lived most
of their adult lives in Vancouver, and yet they still expect me to marry a nice
Asian boy.”

“Reverse discrimination.” The
words slipped out before Maddie could stop them.

“I suppose you’re right.” Lily
gave a soft little sigh. “I don’t know why I’m getting all worked up. Chase
probably has a girlfriend anyway. A successful guy like that.”

It was as if Annie’s words hung
between them in a bubble.

“He does, doesn’t he?” She turned
slowly to face Maddie. “Just as well, I suppose. I’m guessing that Annie said
something. What was it?”

Maddie tried to recall the
conversation. “We were talking about what she wanted for Christmas. She’d told
Chase she wanted a sewing machine and she said her uncle’s girlfriend laughed
and said she was too young.” She watched Lily’s reaction. “I got the impression
she doesn’t like her very much, if that helps.”

“Not really, but whoever she is, she
doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Girls even younger than ten are
perfectly capable of running a sewing machine with a little instruction.”

“Will you show her if I explain
that to Chase? I know Annie would be thrilled.”

Lily didn’t have to think long.
“I’d like that. She’s an adorable kid.” She brightened. “See? You already know
what you’re going to buy for your first customer!”

* * *

“Uncle Chase, it’s your move!”
Annie frowned impatiently.

He focused at the board, trying
to give it his full attention. He’d been having trouble since just before lunch
when, with one look, he’d fallen hard for the most intriguing woman he’d ever
seen.  In his experience, most petite women played up the fact that they were a
few inches shorter than normal. But not Lily. From the first glance, he’d been
aware of her fierceness, her vitality. He didn’t know how he knew these things,
but he had no doubt that she could stand up for herself in any situation and he
liked that about her.

Of course it didn’t hurt that she
was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He made a move, but his mind
wasn’t on the game.

He’d dated a lot of attractive
women, but this one was different. He didn’t know her, and yet something told
him that she was ambivalent about her beauty. As a business woman, she’d know
that her looks would win her certain advantages, and yet she warred with
herself about using her most striking asset. How he’d love to get to know her
better.

His friends would laugh at him if
he told them how quickly he’d fallen for her. Just last week after a hard-fought
battle on the handball court, he’d sat in the steam room with his partner,
listening to Greg’s contention that you had to live with a woman for at least a
year before you really got to know her. That wouldn’t be necessary with Lily;
he’d known that at first sight. And yet in spite of the undeniable attraction
that flared between them, she’d run away.

“Uncle Chase, I think we should
stop this game. You’re not paying attention.”

Chase looked down at the board.
He had no idea what his next move should be, either here or with the woman who
occupied his every thought. “You’re right, Annie. I’m sorry, I’ve had a long
day.”

Annie sorted out the pieces,
separating them by colour. Chase had learned not to be impatient with her when
she insisted in keeping the pieces in separate plastic bags. It was part of
their routine, and he watched her with affection.

“So how was your day today?” he
asked. They usually discussed this over dinner, but he’d come home later than
normal, and she’d already eaten.

“It was wonderful.” She wrinkled
her nose. “Except for the part about having to leave school. But that meant I
met Maddie, so that was good.” She ran her finger along the self-sealing lunch
bags and put everything away in the checkers box. “I liked Lily, too. Know what
she said when I told her the kids tease me about my hair?”

Chase leaned forward eagerly.
“What?”

“She said they’re just jealous.
Did you know she holds her hair up with toothpicks?”

Chase checked to see if she was
teasing, but she appeared serious. “Do you mean chopsticks?”

Annie laughed. “Yes, chopsticks.
Silly me.” She sobered. “She used to get teased about her hair at school just
like me. They told her she should put it in a pigtail, and called her a Chink.”

“I thought she had beautiful
hair.”

Annie gave him an odd look. “Me,
too. I can hardly wait to see her studio. Maybe the next time the teachers take
a professional day, I can ask Maddie to take me.”

“Or I could take you.” Chase
couldn’t believe the words had come out of his mouth.

“Would you?” Annie beamed.

“Sure, why not? Now you’d better
run up and get into your jammies. I’ll be up in a while to tuck you in.”

“Thanks, Uncle Chase. You’re the
best.”

Chase stared into the fire. He
wasn’t going to give up on Lily Hsu. He sat back in his favourite chair and
thought of how her hair had flashed blue in the sunlight. He wondered how it
would feel to run his fingers through it.
Chase Drummond, you’re a fool
,
he thought to himself.
You’ll be lucky if she lets you anywhere near her
.

“Good morning, Maddie.” David
came out from behind his desk and shook her hand. “I hear that Mr. Drummond has
rented you the space.”

“Yes.” She laid a hand on his
arm. “I’m a bit nervous, to tell you the truth.”

“Not to worry.” He patted her
hand and pointed toward the back of the lobby. The chairs and plants which had
been in front of the little shop had been moved aside. Anyone entering the
lobby would have a clear view of her shop. “What do you think?”

Maddie studied the effect. “I
think that’s just about perfect.”

David presented her with a key.
“This is for your shop. The door is off to the right. The lock is a bit sticky,
but it works. I tried it this morning.”

“Thank you.” They walked back
together, and the older man watched while she opened the door.

“I’ll get Daryl to give the lock a
shot of WD-40. That will loosen it up.” David showed her the light switches,
and how the front of the shop rolled up to create an opening.

Maddie looked around, surprised
at the amount of space. “This is larger than I  realized; it’s going to be
perfect,” she said, opening drawers and checking inside cupboards. She handed
him a business card. “And I’d like you to be the first person to have one of my
new cards.”

He looked it over and tucked it
in his shirt pocket. “I’m honoured. And if you have any extras, drop them by
the desk. I’ll be happy to hand them out when you’re not here.” He gave her a
sly wink. “A lot of people come into this building every day; they’ll probably
ask what’s going on.”

“Thank you, David.” She gave him
a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now I’m off to buy my gift wrapping supplies.”

* * *

It took several trips before
Maddie was satisfied that she had enough gift wrapping supplies to get started.
She was well aware that once business got going, she’d have little time to
spare.

On the last trip to the stores,
she picked up the custom sign she’d had made, several strands of Christmas
lights and an equivalent length of plastic garland. The company that created
the digital sign had been very helpful, suggesting that she add an illustration
of a Christmas gift on the sign which read
Gift Wrapped for Christmas
.
There was a perfect spot right over the opening, and while she’d been measuring
the space she’d noticed clips for holding the lights. It looked as though some
previous tenant had done the same thing.

“David,” she said, approaching
the desk with a string of lights in her hand. “Does the building have a small
step ladder I can use?” She indicated the lights. “I’d like to brighten up the
corner with these lights.”

The older man hustled across the
lobby and opened a door she hadn’t noticed before. “Right here,” he said,
handing her a small ladder. “I’d like to help you but I have a touch of
vertigo. The Doc says it’s my inner ear.”

She looked at him, concerned. “I
didn’t know that, but I’ll be fine.” She started removing the lights from the
boxes and winding them around the garlands. Her shop would be a bright spot on
those grey winter days that were right around the corner.

* * *

Maddie climbed down from the
ladder and stepped back to admire her work. She had the lights plugged in so
that she could arrange them to their best advantage; they looked bright and
cheerful. She moved the ladder along, climbed up again and was reaching for the
next hook when her cell phone rang.

Determined not to miss a potential
business call, she reached for the phone. The motion unbalanced her and she
knew she was going to fall. It was as if it was happening in slow motion and
she could do nothing to stop it. She had the presence of mind to drop the
garland and clutch at the ladder, but it was no use and she closed her eyes,
hoping her landing wouldn’t be too undignified.