One Winter's Night Read online

  And unfortunately, he knew there was only one person here certain to see things his way. So with no other options, he went off in search of Allie.

  3

  NICK FOUND ALLIE AT an out-of-the-way table holding a cozy conversation with Mike Holden.

  A bit too cozy for your liking.

  He clenched his teeth and batted off that stupid thought. See? This was the problem with soliciting opinions from a group of sentimental coworkers. They put silly thoughts in his head that had no basis in reality.

  The thoughts were already there and you know it.

  He ground his teeth. Okay, maybe they were. But that was ages ago before she’d made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him. Since then, he’d gotten over her. Way over her. He’d buried those early desires, had moved on with his life without ever giving the woman another steamy sexual thought.

  You mean other than the three times a day you happen to see her in the halls?

  The stupid voice was making him cranky, and rather than spend the night arguing with it, he stepped up to the table and blurted, “Allie, I need to talk to you.” He eyed Mike and added, “Alone.”

  Allie huffed. “And just when I thought you couldn’t get any more boorish.”

  Her comment stung, especially since he knew it was true, but he excused his abruptness on grounds that he wasn’t exactly himself right then. This place had gotten him worked up, and on occasions when he felt threatened, the gritty kid from Detroit usually did the talking.

  “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” Mike rose from the table in his nice-guy, accommodating way, but Allie grabbed his hand. “I do.” She eyed Nick with a glint of challenge in her eye. “Mike and I were having a private conversation and you’ve interrupted. Despite how it seems, everyone in this place doesn’t scramble just because you want something.”

  Though she kept a straight face, he could see the joy seep through those fudge-colored eyes. He needed her and she got to say no. It was probably something she’d waited months for.

  Regardless, he tried again, speaking slowly to maintain his calm. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but if I could have a word with Allie in private, I would very much appreciate it.” He gave his best salesman smile. “I promise it won’t take long.”

  “I’ll go get us a couple drinks,” Mike said, now clearly anxious to get out from between them.

  “Thanks, pal. I’ll be out of your hair in a minute.”

  As Mike walked off, Nick slid into his seat.

  “Make it quick, Castle,” Allie said, then she grinned. “Mike and I are planning our first date.”

  An illogical coil of jealousy snaked up his spine, causing him to get straight to the point. “I need you to tell me you’re not my soul mate.”

  That wiped the grin off her face.

  “What?”

  “It’s that stupid Santa,” Nick said as he wiped his palms on his slacks and scanned the room for the man one last time. “He started this whole thing.”

  Half muttering and half babbling, he shot out his story starting with Santa Claus and the Christmas wish and ending with his and Allie’s encounter outside the restrooms.

  “So you see why I was laughing,” he explained. “You, my soul mate? You hate my guts.”

  He chuckled, feeling surprisingly relieved to finally share the story with Allie, knowing she of all people would understand. And while she did grace him with the scoff he’d been seeking, something was missing from her expression.

  Ignoring her look, he plowed on. “I don’t know where that guy came from. I can’t seem to find anyone who saw him but me.”

  “You mean the stocky man with the white beard and that weird red silk suit?”

  Nick gaped. “You’ve seen him?”

  She nodded, her canned amusement now beginning to fade. “I ran in to him earlier.”

  “Hallelujah, I thought I was going mad.” He leveled his gaze with hers. “Then you know what a fruitcake he is. I mean, telling me I’ll find the girl of my dreams in the bathroom. What’s up with that?”

  She waved him off. “Oh, yeah. Totally out there, for sure.”

  “So you can imagine the irony when the guy psyches me into walking down the hall and I find you there.”

  “Imagine.”

  “The idea of you and me…” He trailed off with a roll of laughter.

  “Absurd,” she offered.

  “Yes. Thank you. That’s all I needed to hear.” He sighed and fell back against his chair, feeling normal and whole once again now that he’d finally gotten this out in the open and cleared the air.

  But his relief was short-lived. Though Allie had spoken all the words he’d expected, something about their exchange felt wrong. Fake. False even. Her cheeks had flushed to a bright pink, the rest of her face was pale, and her smile seemed plastic.

  “Glad I could help,” she said. Abruptly, she rose from the table. “When Mike comes back would you tell him I had to step out for a moment?”

  “Sure,” he replied, though he doubted she’d heard him. She was gone and out of there before he could say “Merry Christmas.” And just like that, all the reassurance he’d sought went up the chimney like old St. Nick.

  What had just happened here? Instead of feeling right, this only felt more wrong. More fake. Really false. And as he sat there trying to piece it together, a thought hit him square between the eyes.

  Oh, no. No, no, no. That couldn’t be it.

  He watched as Allie zigzagged through the crowd and fled through the back hall doors with the purpose of someone severely rattled. And he could only figure one reason why their conversation might have struck a bad chord.

  That or this night and all these people had succeeded in turning his head in circles.

  Either way, he wasn’t going to waste another hour trying to figure it out. He’d been doing that half the night and had gotten nowhere. He shoved away from the table and set off after her. It seemed it was time he and Allie had a heart-to-heart, and where it ended, he could only speculate. But no matter what, it was time to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

  ALLIE PUSHED THROUGH THE doors to the hallway and sucked in an oversize breath. What a fool she must have looked like back there, bolting up and running out of the room with her face red as a cranberry. Her only consolation was that she would have looked worse had she stayed and let her feelings translate across her face.

  It was irrational to be hurt by Nick’s comments. Given their history, he didn’t say anything she wouldn’t have if she’d been in his position. Heck, he was probably nicer. But it still smarted to hear him mock the idea of something romantic between them. Even though she wasn’t interested in the man—and she really wasn’t interested—it had been nice to hold on to the fantasy that somewhere in the dark recesses of his subconscious he might have held a tiny spark of attraction for her. Now, even the fantasy was gone.

  She let out a sigh and leaned against the lobby wall, using the muffled clamor of the party to soothe her nerves and collect her thoughts. So Nick had asked Santa for a soul mate. How ironic that she’d asked the man for almost the very same thing. When the jolly guy in red silk had handed her a candy cane and asked what she’d wanted for Christmas she hadn’t thought twice. “Mr. Right,” she’d said. Then the strange man had given her some anecdote about looking inside her heart.

  Apparently, Nick got sent to the ladies’ room—which would have had her rolling if it weren’t for the heavy weight in her chest.

  Down the hall the doors to the party swung open and, not in the mood for conversation, she turned her back and reached into her pockets in an attempt to look busy. Then she heard—make that felt—the low voice behind her.

  “I think we need to talk,” Nick said.

  There was gentleness in his tone that smoothed like lotion over her skin. It was the same voice he used in her dreams. The one she heard in the dark, between the sheets, as his lips and hands seduced her and made her body tingle.

  Through m
uch practice, she tamped down her feelings and turned to face him, clipping out a “What about?” as best she could.

  She tried not to look as his magnetic blue eyes searched her face and studied her expression, but when their gazes met she couldn’t help the feeling that all her secrets were flooding out in front of him.

  Still braced against the wall, she pressed her palm to the rough surface and locked her knees. He stood so close she could almost feel the heat of his body pooling over her. Or maybe it was her own betraying reaction to his heady scent and the knowledge that if she only nudged forward a hint her lips would be pressed against the raw stubble of his chin.

  “You’re upset,” he said quietly. “What did I say?”

  She swallowed some moisture into her throat and choked out, “I’m not upset.”

  She diverted her gaze for fear that her face might contradict that statement, but he already saw through it.

  “Yes, you are. And I’m responsible. I laughed off the idea of you and me as a couple, but you didn’t think it was funny.” Touching his warm finger to her jaw, he coaxed her gaze back to his. “Why not, Allie?”

  Warning bells began to ring. Nick was speaking softly, touching her, surrounding her space with his unique scent of musk and pine, and her body’s response went so deep it scared her. This was Nick, she reminded herself. A man capable of opening her up and then slashing her raw if she didn’t protect herself. So she fought to find those shields she always kept handy. Except this time she didn’t have the strength to hold them up. Too much sincerity framed his face, mixed with a vulnerability she’d never seen before. Frantically, she searched for a terse brush-off and came up empty-handed. So instead, she simply uttered, “I don’t want to talk about this.”

  She shrugged off his grasp but her skin still sizzled where he’d held her. How she ached to feel that touch everywhere.

  He let out a flustered sigh and leaned against the wall. “I think we need to, but if you aren’t ready, I’ll go ahead and do the talking.” He swallowed. “You know what I really wish more than anything?”

  She shook her head.

  “I wish I knew how to make you stop hating me.”

  A heavy pulse struck her chest. Leave it to Nick to get straight to the core of the matter. It was one of the things she both loved and hated about him, and one of the things she had the most trouble dealing with when she didn’t feel like facing the truth. But he’d gone and laid a card on the table in what looked like pure sincerity. She supposed she could offer him something in return.

  “About Halpin Technologies,” she said. “I admit that I overreacted. You didn’t deserve that much backlash.”

  There. She said it. And as the words rolled out, she braced herself for Nick’s reply. Surely, he would take the bone and run with it, throwing his head back in laughter and rushing back to the party to announce to everyone that Allie Madison finally admitted that she blew an unfortunate incident into a giant fiasco.

  And if he did, she probably deserved it.

  Halpin Technologies was an account she’d been assigned when she first started with the company, and being one of her firsts, she’d wanted to make a good impression. So she spent weeks studying the company and planning an updated insurance portfolio. She’d thought she had a good plan, had been proud of her efforts, and when Nick took an interest, she’d laid it out before him in the hope of gaining his praise.

  Instead, he’d torn her ideas to pieces. He’d pointed out flaws, had talked around her strategy as if he knew Halpin Technologies better than she did, which was ridiculous. She was the one who’d studied their corporate culture and risk management. So she’d brushed him off and expected that to be the end of it.

  Only, it wasn’t. When Nick found out that she intended to ignore his advice, he’d shared his concerns with Stryker, who quickly pulled the account from Allie and gave it to Nick. That was the event that started the year-long war between them, and Allie had scorned his very existence ever since.

  But time had made her see things more clearly. In her anger and humiliation, it had been easy to ignore the fact that a lot of what Nick had said had been spot-on in the first place. Add to that his reaction to Stryker’s move. Nick had fought against it. Right in front of her, he’d argued that she should keep the account, had even praised some of her suggestions, but Stryker had held firm. John had felt that as far as the account went Allie was in over her head given her lack of experience, and only offered to let her and Nick team up as long as Nick remained the lead.

  Nick had apologized. He’d backed off, had offered to give the account back, let her do it her way and only act as a front man to Stryker. He’d even offered to give her the full commission, but by then she was already ten steps past compromise. She’d taken his actions as total betrayal and had washed her hands of him and the account. She’d even spent a period of time searching for another job until she’d calmed down and started thinking rationally.

  But by then she and Nick had moved into a pattern. They’d started hating each other for the sake of hating each other, even long after she’d come to acknowledge the part she’d played in their demise. Hurt kept fueling more hurt, which prompted more cutting remarks and kept the cycle going.

  Until tonight, when the festive music and twinkling lights, Christmas wishes and sparkling air of romance had started wearing her down. Nick wanted her to stop hating him, and heaven help her she wanted that, too. But right now, that fate was in Nick’s hands. She’d just offered him an olive branch by admitting that she’d made more out of Halpin Technologies than she should have. Would he accept it with grace or hold it up as a trophy for finally winning their battle of wills?

  His blue eyes widened. Clearly, he hadn’t expected that admission from her. She watched as he blinked and tried to process the sentiment behind her words, and as he did, something good began to smolder under the surface.

  “I’ve wished a million times that I could take that all back,” he said, his voice hoarse and regretful. “I never meant for things to turn out that way.”

  “You weren’t the only one with fault. I should have told you that a long time ago. I’m sorry.”

  The air thickened, making it hard to breathe. Or maybe it was the swirl of relief, appreciation and heat churning in his eyes. He inched closer, consuming her space and snatching the strength from her limbs. On the surface, it came off as an innocent shift from one foot to the other. But to Allie, he was bringing that sexy body within reach of hands that ached for his touch, of lips that tingled for a taste of his mouth on hers, and of a breast that tightened at the hint of his chest so near.

  “I’d give anything for a truce,” he whispered.

  “I’d like that.” And more.

  His steamy gaze lowered to her lips as though he’d read her thoughts, and in the freak chance that he could, in her head she yelled, Kiss me, please. Put those big hands on my breasts and squeeze. Touch me until it hurts and then consume me until I’m spent and weak and drained of all this lust.

  That was what she really needed. Not just shared apologies or a promise to get along. She needed the man in her bed, his body in hers, fulfilling every wet fantasy she’d ever had so that she could move beyond this vulnerable state and function like a human being again.

  “You really forgive me,” he said.

  “Yes, and I really don’t hate you.”

  He nudged closer so that now that sensual mouth was only inches from hers. “And when that Santa Claus suggested you were the girl of my dreams. What should I do with that?”

  Her breath was so shallow she was nearly dizzy. With naked intent he studied her, his eyelids heavy, his lips twitching, and his body held so still she could almost feel his heartbeat rapping like sound waves against her breast. And with barely the air to utter the words, she heard herself say, “I think maybe you should kiss me and see what happens.”

  It was all the invitation he needed.

  4

  THIS MORNING, IF SOMEON
E had told Nick he’d be kissing Allie Madison tonight in the back hallways of the Willis Tower, he would have suggested they see a therapist. The absurdity of it would have been too much to accept. Yet when his lips touched Allie’s he felt nothing unusual about it. Instead, it felt right as rain, as if twelve months of animosity had unraveled with one simple kiss. And when it did, the admiration, want and attraction that had started the whole thing came back with complete clarity.

  He remembered when she’d first started with the firm and how badly he’d wanted her back then. He’d known in those early weeks that Allie had everything he admired and all the qualities that would make her perfect for him.

  And on top of that, she was smoking hot.

  From the start, she’d charmed him with her smarts and unabashed will for cutting through the bull. Allie was driven and bright, gracious and kind. She was everything he was but refined, her upper middle-class background leaving her with a more polished finish than his gritty Detroit scrubs. And from the moment he saw her, he knew he had to have her.

  But it was those same qualities along with his foolish impatience that had done them in. Going to Stryker on that damned account had been the dumbest move he could have made. If he’d just taken his time to get to know Allie before rushing in to claim her, he would have known that clear as day. But he hadn’t, and when the chips fell, she’d used those very same qualities he adored to tear him into shreds.

  So, pained and wounded, he’d retreated, spending the next year trying to brush the woman from his heart with mixed success. Sure, he’d told himself countless times that he was over Allie Madison, but it was pretty obvious right now that it never really happened. This fire between them tonight had swept up too hot, too fast. And now that he had her, he wasn’t going to blow the chance again.

  Slipping a hand around her waist, he drew her close and relished the perfection in his arms. She tasted like sweet berries, smelled like summer, and her body smoothed so perfectly against his it was as though they were bred to join. So many times he’d ached for this connection, had dreamed and wondered to the point of distraction what it would be like to hold her in his arms. Reality wasn’t disappointing him. The soft press of her lips, the firm curve of her waist, the silken caress of her hair against his fingertips—it was exactly as he’d imagined, only better.