Mistletoe & Molly (8 page)
****
“Mike offered you a position with the new Buffalo office?” Aiden turned to her the moment the door closed behind Mel Bishop.
“Yes, this morning.” Molly picked up the coffee cup and went to the kitchen.
Aiden followed. “And you accepted?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Molly opened the shopping bag on the counter and took out the ingredients she’d bought to make him dinner. That wouldn’t be happening now.
“So you’re moving? Just like that? What about…”
“You? Aiden, I told you there’s nothing between us. It was one stupid kiss and a night when I mistakenly turned to you for comfort.” She opened the fridge and tossed the vegetables into the crisper.
“You don’t believe that any more than I do.” He leaned against the counter and studied her.
Her expression was blank. “Look, it’s the opportunity I’ve been waiting for, and there’s nothing keeping me here in Manhattan.” She took the pasta sauce from the bag.
“Well that’s about to change.” In three long strides he’d crossed the kitchen. His solid arms pulled her toward him. The pasta sauce fell to floor, shattering the glass bottle. In one swift move, he’d lifted her from the ground and cradled her in his arms. He carried her from the kitchen and headed toward her bedroom.
“Put me down! What are you doing?” Molly struggled to get down.
His grip tightened on her. “What I should have done last night.” He kicked the bedroom door open with his foot and advanced toward the unmade bed.
“Aiden, this isn’t a good idea.” Molly protested.
He dropped her onto the bed and reached for the buttons on her sweater. He pulled, and the buttons flew across the room.
“That sweater cost two hundred dollars.”
“I’ll buy you a new one.” He lowered his head to place a trail of kisses from her neck to her collarbone, to the hollow between her breasts, all the way to her belly button.
Molly moaned, and her hands tangled in his hair as he went lower. “Aiden, please. I don’t feel anything for you.”
He pulled her skirt up around her hips, and his fingers found their way inside her lacy thong.
“Oh my God.” Molly arched her back and spread her legs wider.
“Still want me to stop?” Aiden’s breath was against the inside of her thigh.
Molly struggled to breathe. Goose bumps covered the surface of her body. She trembled with desire and need. “We should.” As she said the words her hands grabbed his sweater, pulling it over his head.
“Molly, for once, quit making things so difficult.” He’d stopped, and his eyes burrowed into hers, daring her to deny what they both wanted.
She shivered in anticipation and longing. Her nipples tingled beneath the lace of her bra. She reached behind and undid the clasp, then tossed the bra to the floor.
He gasped at her beauty. “Molly you’re killing me. Tell me you want me to make love to you.” He begged, kissed each nipple, then rested his head against her naked chest.
“I want you to make love to me,” she whispered, guiding his lips to hers.
Her kiss was soft, teasing, and he chuckled.
“What?”
“Do you still think I’m predictable?” He slid his tongue along her lower lip.
“I don’t know. Are you still going to eat turkey sandwiches every day when I’m in Buffalo?” She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer.
He pulled away and sat up. “Like hell you’re still planning to take that position.”
“Excuse me?” Molly reached for the blanket and wrapped it around her thin frame. “Who do you think you are? You can’t tell me what to do. You’re not my…”
“Father. No, I know, and I’d hoped by now you’d figured it out. I’m nothing like him. Actually, you know what? I am a bit like him. I want what’s best for you.” He rolled off her and sat on the bed.
“And how do you know what that is?” She swung her legs over the bed and reached for her discarded bra and panties.
“Well, I know your life doesn’t have to be as hard as you try to make it. Molly, most people would kill for the opportunities you keep pushing away. Me included.” He pulled on his pants and tugged his sweater over his head, inside out.
“You have no idea what accepting help from my father means. It means he controls every move, every decision… Argh! Having the opportunities is wonderful, but it’s also stressful. It means you can’t fail, or the world is watching. If I take the position and I fail, do you know how disappointed my father would be?” She turned away from him, watching the rain dance on the street outside the window. She’d lived with the fear of failure her entire life. Aiden couldn’t understand the pressure that working for her father would involve.
She heard him move across the room and relaxed when she felt his strong arms encircle her waist.
He pulled her down onto his lap in the chair next to the window. “So that’s what this independent streak is all about.” He brushed her hair from her face. Her eyes shone with unshed tears.
She nodded.
“Molly, you would be fantastic in that position…or any other.” He hugged her close. “But, I understand, and as much as I hate Mike for offering you the position in Buffalo, you deserve to do what makes you happy.” He kissed her forehead and wiped a teardrop from her cheek.
She cuddled into his chest and closed her eyes.
If only she knew what that was
.
Chapter Ten
“So you didn’t actually have sex?” Cameron asked the next day at lunch.
“Seriously? That’s all you heard?” Molly shook her head at her friend.
“Well, it was the most interesting part.” Cameron laughed, fastening her apron behind her back.
“Cameron, be serious. I need your help. Do I take the job in Buffalo or not?” Molly pushed her salad away untouched and leaned her head in her hands.
Cameron delivered an order of cheesecake and a latte to a table near the door, then re-joined her friend. “I’d hate to see you go.”
“I’d miss you too. So, you think I should take the job my father’s offering?” Molly cringed at the thought.
Cameron laughed. “What kind of friend would I be if I suggested that, knowing how you feel. I think you’d do a wonderful job, but I know you hate the idea of working so closely with your father.”
“But if I take the job in Buffalo, it means leaving Aiden.” Molly slumped in her chair. When had her life become complicated? She’d been waiting for a position like this to come along. This should be an easy decision. But it wasn’t. Far from it. Just the thought of leaving Aiden was too much.
“I hadn’t realized things were so serious between you two.” Cameron wiped a nearby table.
“Me neither.” Lying in bed under the weight of his arm, listening to his steady breathing, revealed what she’d been fighting. She was in love. The idea of leaving him made her heart ache. “I just wish I could have it all.”
“Maybe you can.” Cameron pulled out a chair and sat opposite her friend.
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. You were happy with the internship a week ago, right?”
“Yeah, but now this is a real PR job.”
“In the wrong city, away from the man you love.” Cameron pointed out. “The way I see it, Mike sees potential in you. If he’s willing to offer you a position in Buffalo this quickly, I’m sure you can secure a position in the Manhattan office eventually.” Cameron smiled.
“You’re right.” Molly nodded, a smile spreading across her face. She didn’t have to rush into a position. The internship paid her bills, and she could work her way into a position in Manhattan, the way she’d been prepared to do all along. And she could stay with Aiden.
She jumped up and hugged her friend. “Thank you.” She grabbed her coat from the chair.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to see Aiden.”
“You better have sex this time. I want to hear all about it!” Cameron called as Molly dashed from the café.
She hurried down the street toward the office, eager to tell Aiden the good news. She was staying in Manhattan and she loved him.
Inside his office moments later, she found Lynn buried behind a stack of boxes. She didn’t see her, just heard her sobbing.
“Lynn?” Molly stood on tiptoes to peer over the tallest box.
“Hmph,” Lynn grunted. She turned away and blew her nose into a tissue. Tears glistened on her cheeks.
“Lynn, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t know.” The woman glared at her. “And I thought you were good for him…the dog…the couch…” She threw items from her desk into an empty box.
“Lynn, slow down. I really don’t know what’s going on. Where’s Aiden?” Molly glanced into his office. He wasn’t there.
“In Buffalo, looking for new office space.” The woman collapsed into a fresh batch of tears.
“He’s what?” Molly didn’t believe it. “Why?”
“Because…he…wants…to…be…with…you,” Lynn sobbed.
Molly laughed. He was in Buffalo? The man was persistent.
“What’s so funny? I hate Buffalo.” Lynn sniffed and reached for a new tissue.
“Well don’t worry. You’re not going anywhere.”
“What?”
“Unpack these boxes.” Molly removed her coat and checked her watch. She had an hour before she had to be back at the office. “I’ll help.”
“I don’t understand.” Lynn sat on a stack of boxes, a puzzled expression clouding her eyes.
“The office isn’t moving. I’m not moving. Neither is Aiden.” Molly rubbed the older woman’s arm and smiled.
“We’re not moving?”
“No. I’m not taking the position. Now cheer up, and let’s get this office unpacked.” Molly tore into a box.
“Oh that’s fantastic news.” Lynn blew her nose again and wiped the tears from her face. “Does Aiden know?”
“Not yet. When is he due back?”
Lynn checked the itinerary on the desk. “Seven o’clock.”
“Perfect.”
****
Molly heard the key in the lock at 7:10. She fluffed her hair and grabbed a book, pretending to read. She heard Aiden drop his briefcase and hang his coat. Her heart raced with excitement.
“Hello?”
“In the living room,” she called out, her eyes on the page of her book.
He entered and took a seat next to her on the couch. “Molly, I’ve been thinking…”
She put the book aside.
“I understand you need to take this job in Buffalo, and I respect that, but the truth is I love you.” He stared at his folded hands on his lap.
Molly’s pulse raced. She fought the urge to fly into his arms and tell him she loved him too. Instead, she waited.
“Okay… the bottom line is, I can’t let you go. I’m moving the office to Buffalo.” He studied her expression.
“No, you’re not.” She swung her legs down from the couch and moved closer to him.
“Yes, I am.” He was more than ready to argue.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Lynn hates Buffalo.” She kissed his cheek.
“When were you talking to Lynn? Anyway it doesn’t matter.” He removed her arms from around his neck.
She sat on his lap and toyed with his tie, loosening it.
“Molly, stop, I’m serious. I’m moving to Buffalo.” He took her hands and held them away from his shirt.
“No, you’re not.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, his eyes, his nose.
“Yes, I am.” He stood in frustration, placing her firmly on the floor and detangling himself from her embrace. “I can’t fight with you when you’re doing that.” He paced the living room and raked a hand through his hair.
Molly put her hands on her hips and pouted. “Well you certainly won’t be able to fight with me if you’re in Buffalo and I’m in Manhattan.”
“Exactly…” He stopped pacing. “What?”
“You heard me.” She smiled. “I mean, I guess we could argue by phone or webcam…”
“You’re staying in Manhattan?”
“Yes, but I’m going to be awfully lonely now that you’re moving to Buffalo.”
“You mean it? You’re not taking the job?”
“No.” She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his neck once more.
His arms went around her. “You’ve decided to work for your dad?” He frowned.
“No. I’m going to stay as an intern until a spot opens up here.” She kissed his lips.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” He placed his hands on her face, forcing her to look at him.
“I want you. I love you, Aiden,” she whispered.
He let out a deep sigh of relief. “Even though I’m predictable?” He kissed her nose and rested his forehead against hers.
“I believe last night you were attempting to prove otherwise…” Molly hopped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist.
“Should we continue?” Aiden kissed the hollow at the base of her neck.
“Yes. I have no idea what you’re waiting for.” Molly laughed as he whisked her away to the bedroom.
Jennifer Snow lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with her fourteen-month-old son, Jacob. Previously published work includes
Mistletoe Fever
, released by The Wild Rose Press, Christmas 2011.
Contact her at
www.jennifersnowbooks.com
Thank you for purchasing this Wild Rose Press publication.
For other wonderful stories of romance,
please visit our on-line bookstore at
For questions or more information
contact us at
The Wild Rose Press
To visit with authors of The Wild Rose Press join our yahoo loop at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thewildrosepress/