Gift Wrapped for Christmas: A Contemporary Romance (7 page)

Her landing was surprisingly
comfortable, and when she opened her eyes, she was looking into the bluest eyes
she’d ever seen. Blue eyes that crinkled at the edges as they smiled down at
her.

She was being held by the
building maintenance man, and for one wild moment she thought she’d be quite
happy to stay right here in his arms, thank you very much. His face was inches
away, smiling down at her, lips twitching as he watched her squirm. His beard
was several days old again, and she ached to reach out and touch it. Maybe he wouldn’t
notice if she–

“Well,” he said, putting her down
slowly. His gaze didn’t move from her face. “What have we here?” His voice was
husky, the way she remembered, and she swallowed hard. He stepped back to
survey her handiwork. “Looks nice, but what is it?”

“I thought you’d know,” she
stammered. There was definitely something lacking in the building’s
communications. Maybe he hadn’t been reading his mail.

“Know what?” He seemed amused.

“Know that I was opening my
shop.”

He picked up the ladder and
smiled at her. “Nope. Nobody ever tells me anything.” He didn’t seem the
slightest bit upset.

Close up, he was even more
attractive than she remembered. Especially his hair. It grew every which way on
his head, as though it couldn’t make up its mind. Maddie was getting tired of
pretty boys who spent more time on their hair than most women. Too bad he was
so cheeky.

She would be happy to look at him
all day, and he seemed inclined to do the same, but she had things to do. And
now that he was here...

“Could you help me finish up
here?” She motioned to the ladder. “It’s not the sturdiest of ladders, but I’ll
hold it steady if you could finish hooking the lights in place.”

He examined the ladder more
closely. “Is this David’s?”

“Yes. Or to be more precise, it
belongs to the building. He loaned it to me.” She looked toward the front of
the lobby. “He’s not here right now.” Now she was babbling.

“I’ll make sure it gets replaced
with a sturdier one.” He kicked the legs open and climbed up a couple of steps.
Strong legs encased in faded blue jeans were right in front of her face, and
her throat went dry.

“Are you looking at my butt? I’m
not sure whether to be flattered or call Human Resources.”

Maddie pulled back, shocked, and
then realized he was laughing at her. He pointed to the garland and wiggled his
fingers. “Pass me that, and let’s get this done.”

Of course. He had other things to
do, and she wasn’t on the list. But she’d like to be.

* * *

“What about that sign?” The sign
was leaning up against the shop, and he tilted his head to read it. “Gift
Wrapping? That’s a good idea.”

“I thought so. I’ll also be
offering a gift buying service.”

“Another good idea.” He picked up
the sign. “Why don’t I hang this for you? Do you have a hammer and nails?”

“No, I wasn’t sure if I’d be
allowed to put any nails in the wood.”

“Don’t worry, they’ll never
know.” He gave her a grin that curled her toes. “Besides, I’ll use really small
nails. Back in a minute.” He disappeared down the stairs that led to the
basement. Maddie ran inside her little shop and dug inside her purse, searching
for her compact. Her softly braided hair had come loose, framing her face in
disobedient wisps. Her cheeks were flushed from working and the sparkle was
back in her eyes.

She hadn’t looked this animated
in a long time, and it suited her. Nothing like the excitement of a new venture
to make a girl come alive. Of course the sudden change had nothing to do
with...what was his name? She couldn’t remember.

He came back through the door,
whistling as though this were a great adventure.

“Once more into the breach, dear
friends.” He set the ladder in place.

“Henry the Fifth,” said Maddie
and handed him the sign. “Are you a fan of Shakespeare?”

“Not really,” he mumbled around
the nails in his mouth. He hammered them in place. “It just suited the moment.”
He made a deep bow. “And now, my lady, is there anything else I can do for you?”
For a moment, she thought she saw a flash of desire in those blue eyes, but then
it was gone, much to her disappointment.

“Well, I would like to know your
name so I can thank you properly.” She held out her hand. “I’m Maddie
LaRocque.”

“Delighted to meet you, Maddie
LaRocque.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips. Heat shot through
Maddie’s veins. “My name is–"

“Uncle Brent!” Caught in the
moment, they hadn’t noticed Annie enter the lobby. “You’re back.” She dropped
her backpack and leaped into his arms. He twirled her around several times
while she peppered his face with kisses. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Munchkin.” He
set her down. “And now I’d like you to meet –

“Maddie.” Annie grinned. “I
already know Maddie. We had lunch a couple of days ago.”

It took a moment for Maddie to wrap
her brain around what had just happened. “You’re not the maintenance man? But I
saw you up in the Drummond offices the other day after someone called for
maintenance.”

“Sorry to disappoint you. I’m
Brent Drummond. I do work here, though.” He jerked his thumb skyward. “At DE.
I’m a geologist.”

“Lucky you.” Maddie smiled. “No
suit.”

“Don’t I know it.” He picked up
Annie’s backpack and gave an exaggerated groan. “What have you got in here? It
weighs a ton.” He hefted it easily. “Maybe two tons.”

Annie looked at Maddie and rolled
her eyes. It was obvious that she adored her Uncle Brent just as much as she
adored Chase. “It’s my skates. The rink is open, and Uncle Chase said I could
skate for a while.” She checked her watch. “I’d better hurry. Brittany’s mom
says she can only stay until four thirty, then I have to come back here.”

“What if I came over around four
thirty? I could stay with you until five.” Maddie had no idea where those words
had come from, but she couldn’t take them back now. “That will give you a bit longer
to skate.”

“That would be great.” She
checked her watch again. “Uncle Brent, would you tell Uncle Chase that I
checked in and I’ve gone to the rink? I forgot my cell phone this morning.”

“Sure.” Brent looked out toward
the street. Daylight was fading, and the streetlights were coming on. “You be
careful, okay? It’s getting dark.”

She nodded and ran off, then came
back a few steps. “Your store looks very nice, Maddie. I like the lights.” Then
she was off again and disappeared through the heavy revolving doors.

Maddie watched her go and then
returned her gaze to Brent. “I can’t believe how polite that child is.”

Brent nodded. “Sometimes Chase
and I worry that she’s too perfect. It’s almost as though she’s afraid if she
does something wrong we won’t want her. She has her days, but by and large,
she’s an amazing kid.”

“Well I admire both of you. It
can’t be easy raising a girl that age...” She let her words trail off, not
wanting to delve into any uncomfortable subject matter.

He seemed to read her mind. “Yes,
well, there’s Cynthia.” He frowned. “Although I’m not sure how well she and
Annie are getting along.”

Maddie forced herself to stay
silent. No way was she going to get involved in a discussion about Chase’s
girlfriend.

There was an uncomfortable moment
of silence. Maddie was taken back to the time many years ago when she’d had a
crush on Jimmy Freeman. He would stand beside her in the schoolyard,
tongue-tied, digging the toe of his running shoe into the dirt. Brent was acting
like that now, and it was more than a little appealing.

“Well, I’d better get upstairs.”
Brent’s words startled her out of her reverie. “I enjoyed helping you, Maddie
LaRocque.” He picked up the ladder.

“Here, let me take that. I can
manage.” She reached for the ladder, and their fingers brushed together,
igniting a spark of awareness that crackled in the air between them.

He glanced quickly toward their
hands, and his eyes darkened. “I’ve got it.”

“Okay, thanks.” She tried not to
watch him as he walked away, but she wasn’t that disciplined. She judged him to
be well over six feet, and every inch of him was appealingly masculine. His
soft leather bomber jacket revealed a very nice butt.

Maddie LaRocque, you’re
shameless
, she told herself and scurried inside her shop so she wouldn’t be
standing there staring when he came back. It was becoming easier to understand
why Lily had been bowled over the first time she saw Chase. These Drummond men
had something, and they had it in spades!

“’Bye, Maddie.” He popped his
head around the corner and gave her a jaunty wave. “Nice to meet you.”

“Me too.” She gave him what she
hoped was a normal smile. “And thanks for the help.”

“Any time.” The elevator opened,
and he jogged across the lobby to catch it. Was she going to be distracted
every time the elevator opened?

Oh, yeah.

* * *

“Brent, you’re back.” Chase
looked up as Brent came into the office. As usual, his brother looked as though
he’d been out on the prairie, letting the wind blow through his hair. Sometimes
Chase wished their positions were reversed, but he was the older brother and
had been groomed to become the company head ever since he could remember.

“I saw Annie downstairs. She
asked me to tell you she’s at the rink with some kids from school.” Brent paced
around the office, looking at the items on display as though he’d never seen
them before.

Chase glanced toward the windows.
“Are they supervised?”

“Until four thirty.”

“One of us will have to go and
get her, I suppose.” Chase looked at his brother hopefully. “Could you do it?
I’m right in the middle of something here.”

“Maddie volunteered to go over at
four thirty.” Brent sat down abruptly. “Where did she come from?”

“Maddie volunteered? That was
nice of her.”

“Annie seems to like her.” Brent
watched his brother. “Where did she come from?”

Chase leaned back in his seat.
“She was working for that accounting firm on the sixth floor and was laid off a
few days ago. She’s leased the space downstairs for two months.”

“She’s attractive.” Brent picked
up a glass paperweight from his brother’s desk and toyed with it. “Are you
interested in her?”

“No, but...” his eyes narrowed.
“Why do you ask?” Chase threw back his head and laughed. “This is rich! What
about–“

Brent held up a hand. “I know, I
know. But there’s something about her.” He frowned and looked into the
distance. “She seems real. I liked her.”

Chase leaned forward. “You’re
right about that. You know David downstairs in the lobby?”

Brent nodded.

“He told me that Maddie
introduced herself and asked him his name within two days of coming to work in
this building. She says hello to him every day. How many people do you think do
that?”

“Probably none.” Brent and Chase
were both fond of the old pensioner.

“Well, enough chit-chat.” Brent
rose, and there was a gleam in his eyes. “I’ll be in my office for the next
hour then I think I might mosey on over to the rink.”

Chase shook his head. “You be
careful. “

“Always.”

Chase watched his brother leave
the office. He hadn’t seen him so enthusiastic in ages.

Fine snow started to drift down
as Maddie made her way to the rink. She could hear childrens’ voices well
before she saw them, and smiled. She chose a spot on the top row of the tiered
cement steps that overlooked the ice and waved to Annie as she skated by.

There was something comforting
about watching children at play. In that moment, she was reminded of Connor’s
exuberant antics, although the truth was she seldom thought about him anymore.
As for Allan, she thought about him even less.

A flash on the far side of the
rink caught her eye. Annie’s group was taking pictures of each other, amid much
giggling. How did children do that anyway, worm their way into your heart when
you weren’t looking? She sighed and tucked her hands into her pockets.

“That was a big sigh.”

Brent stood above her, his hair
dusted with snow. He motioned her to get up, and she complied wordlessly. She hoped
she wasn’t imagining his presence.

He carefully folded an old
blanket and placed it on the step. “Sit on this,” he said. “That cold cement
isn’t good for you.”

It felt much better, especially
when he sat down beside her.

“Hello again,” he said, bending
his legs and draping his arms over his knees. He scanned the ice. “Where is our
girl?”

“Last I saw her she was over
there, taking pictures.” Maddie pointed to the far side of the rink. “There she
is; they’re still at it.”

“Good.” He watched for a moment,
then turned back to her. “Thank you for doing this. I know you must be busy,
setting up your business and all.”

“I’d done about all I could for
today.” She lifted her face to the falling snow. “Besides, I’ve been inside far
too much recently.”

The way he was looking at her
made her heart go all skittery in her chest. “I guess that’s not a problem for
you. Don’t geologists spend a lot of time outdoors?”

“Yes, but not as much as you
might think. Even so, I wouldn’t trade it.”

They sat silently for a while,
watching the skaters. Annie spotted them and waved, but kept on going.

“A penny for your thoughts.” He’d
leaned closer, and she could see individual snowflakes on his eyelashes.

She looked into his eyes. They
appeared darker than before, but that was a trick of the light. Dark or light,
they were compelling.

“Shall I make up something
outrageous, or do you want the truth?”

“The truth,” he said simply.
“Always the truth.”