"You're right," he paused, glaring at her. "I was hoping there might be a whole lot more going on later, but I guess that's probably off."
Eva recoiled.
He didn't mean to sound bitter or angry. After all, it wasn't Eva's fault her best friend had been playing him. But with Andi nowhere in sight, likely gone off with her soon to be fiance, she was the closest target.
"That wasn't necessary," she said.
"Wasn't it?" He pulled the jacket off, throwing it to the floor.
"Stop it," Eva said. "Just stop the tough guy act, because you aren't fooling anybody. I can see how much you care about her. I don't care what you say, you have feelings for her."
"Screw you."
"I didn't deserve that," she said.
Colin sat down hard in the seat and hung his head. "No," he admitted. "You didn't. I'm sorry."
"Look," Eva said. She sat down in the chair across from. "Just give me five more minutes and then you're off the hook for the night. Go find Andi and talk about what you think you saw. Besides-"
"What I think I saw? I'm pretty sure I know what I saw."
Eva let out a deep sigh. "Just give me five more minutes," she said. "I'll go get the mic. Then you're done." She pushed up from the chair and left the room.
As soon as she was gone, Colin felt bad. She didn't deserve the way he'd treated her. She was here doing a favor for the Lodge, and for Andi.
Andi.
His stomach flipped. Damn her. Eva had touched a nerve with what she'd said. He did care about Andi. Probably more than he should after only a few days. But what had his mother always told him? You couldn't plan on when love would find you, you only had to be open to it. Colin remembered his mother giving him that advice. She would have loved Andi.
He sighed and rubbed his face hard with both hands. Eva was right about one thing for sure, he needed to talk to her. He quickly stripped out of the rest of the Santa suit and pulled on his jeans and the sweater he'd worn to cut down the tree. He'd hoped to have something nicer to wear, but it would have to do. He wasn't even sure if would matter anymore.
As promised, Eva was back promptly. He pushed thoughts of Andi out of his head and gave his best Santa performance into the mic. Even to his own ears, it sounded pretty good. Colin could imagine all the kids in the banquet hall getting excited and their parents shepherding them off to bed. He actually smiled when he clicked it off and handed it back to her.
"Thank you," Eva said. "You did great. And now you're done." She smiled warmly and turned for the door. Before she left, she turned back and said, "Colin?"
He looked up from the table.
"Go talk to her," she said. "Before you make a decision you'll regret, go find her."
Chapter Fourteen
Andi handed out goody bags to smiling, excited children and did her best to smile and say Merry Christmas to each of them. Just because her life was spinning out of control, didn't mean she couldn't be professional. She tried not to think of Blaine, who'd she hoped was behaving himself in the lounge where she'd sent him. Her thoughts kept returning to Colin.
She needed to explain things to him. He must have seen Blaine. And the kiss. But maybe he didn't care, she thought. After all it wasn't like they were dating, and despite the connection she'd had with him, Colin wasn't into relationships. Her chest ached at the idea that Colin likely didn't view their time together the way she had. It didn't matter, she told herself, not for the first time.
But it did matter. It mattered a lot.
She couldn't think about it yet. For the moment, she still had a party to run. One of the elves had fallen ill, so Andi jumped in to hand out the goody bags. It was a mindless job which left her brain free to replay what had taken place.
Who did Blaine think he was kissing her like that? She would have smacked him across the face if she hadn't been standing in a room full of children. And with Carmen, who'd just hired them, likely witnessing the whole thing, there was no way she could react the way she wanted to.
As soon as Andi could detach herself from his grasp, she'd dragged Blaine out of the banquet room and into the kitchen. She'd managed to keep herself under control until the doors closed behind them.
"What is wrong with you?" she'd said, releasing his arm. "Why are you even here?"
"I missed you."
"You have no right to kiss me like that." Andi struggled to keep her voice even, it didn't work.
"I'm sorry," he said. He didn't look sorry though. He looked smug and arrogant. Had he always looked that way and she just hadn't noticed?
"Why are you here?"
He took a step towards her, so Andi instinctively took a step backwards and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"I missed you," he said again. Blaine reached out and stroked her face with the back of his hand. Shivers ran through her body and she had to fight the urge to wipe his touch off her skin. "You weren't at the party last night and I realized how much I missed you. I called your office and they told me you were here."
"Of course I wasn't at your party," she said."You couldn't have really expected me to be there. Not after everything."
"Andi, I screwed up."
"Yes, you did."
"Can I-"
"You need to go," she said. "I have work to do."
"I came all this way," he said. "It's Christmas Eve."
"And?"
"It's a blizzard out there. I can't drive back tonight."
Andi thoughts flew to Colin. They were supposed to have their second date. She needed to buy some time.
"Look," she said. "Go to the lounge and have a drink. We'll talk later."
Colin's voice over the intercom brought Andi back to the present. She couldn't help but smile while he delivered his exiting lines as Santa. He really had done an excellent job.
"Are there any more bags?" a lady with three children stood in front of her, forcing Andi to focus.
"I'm so sorry," she said. "Here you go." She handed each of the kids a goody bag. "Did you have fun?"
They nodded and assured her they did, and then they were gone. After Santa's announcement, the party had definitely started winding down, as parents were in a hurry to get their children off to bed. Andi was so busy saying good night to satiated party goers and handing out bags that she didn't notice when Colin joined the line. She handed him a bag without looking up.
"I'd rather talk to you," he said. "If you have a minute."
Her body thrilled at his voice. She looked up. His face was hard. He'd seen the kiss.
"Colin," she said in a voice she didn't recognize as her own.
"Can you get away?" He gestured to the bags and the now dwindling line.
Andi nodded. "Come on," she said.
They walked together, not touching, but close enough that she could smell the scent of pine that still clung to his sweater.
When they reached a quiet bench, far enough away from the party, Andi sat. All at once she was exhausted from the craziness of the whole evening.
"So," he said. "Am I correct in assuming our date is off?"
"I don't want it to be," she said.
"How do you think your boyfriend will like that?" He was so cold and different from the Colin she'd gotten to know, that Andi sat back, putting distance between them.
"He's not my boyfriend."
"Really? Because he looked like he knew you pretty well." He bit out the words.
That did it. Andi sat up straight and looked Colin in the eyes. She was done sitting by listening to him act like a wounded little boy. Especially since he didn't even want to be with her. At least not for longer than one night. And two could play at that. "What do you care?" She shot back.
"Pardon?"
"I asked you why you care," she said, satisfied by his shocked expression. "You said yourself that you're not a relationship kinda guy, so what business is it of yours if another man kisses me?"
"I just," he started to say, then paused. "Well, I guess it isn't."
"No, it's not." She sat back and crossed her arms. What had he been about to say?
They sat in strained silence for a minute before Colin spoke again. "Look, Andi," he said. She turned to look at him. His face had lost its hard lines and he looked sad, almost regretful. "I'm sorry if I was an ass. But I really don't want to have anything to do with dating another man's girlfriend."
Andi's head spun. What did he mean, dating? She took a breath and let her arms fall to her sides. Her hand brushed Colin's, the touch of his skin sending a rush of heat through her. "I'm not Blaine's girlfriend," she said.
Colin raised his eyebrows in question.
"I'm not."
"Excuse me if I have trouble with that. You looked pretty cozy out there."
She glared at him, but then said, "The truth is, we dated." She waited for a moment and when he didn't say anything, she continued, "He was that serious relationship I told you about last night. But we broke up months ago."
"And it's over?"
Andi's thoughts flashed from the man she used to think she loved, to the one sitting in front of her. There was still so much she wanted to know about Colin, but there was no doubt in her mind that, even after a short time, there was definitely love between them. At least on her end. And it was very different than any she'd felt before. Even if it was for just one night, she thought, she'd chance it. "It's definitely over." She slid closer to him so their knees were touching.
For a moment he didn't say anything and Andi was afraid she'd pushed too far. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, she reached forward, put her hands on either side of his face and crushed her lips to his.
Her kiss was hot and hungry. His stubble scratched against her palms. She inhaled deeply, taking in his scent of perspiration and pine. She pulled him closer, working his lips until he matched her passion with his own. Colin's hand slid behind her and his fingers dug possessively into her back. All at once, they couldn't get close enough. She pressed up against him as best she could from their sitting positions. Andi heard a moan. Was it her? Or did the sound come from Colin? She couldn't be sure, and she didn't care.
When she finally pulled away, Andi took a deep breath before opening her eyes. Had he understood? Not only was there nothing left between her and Blaine, there was so much between them. Maybe too much. Slowly, she opened her eyes. He was watching her, a small smile on his face.
"So," he said. "Are we still on for that date?"
***
After that kiss, Colin couldn't get Andi out of there fast enough. He knew the man, Blaine, she's said, must still be around somewhere, but he didn't care. Even without her telling him, he knew that man was responsible for breaking her heart. There'd be time to figure that out later. First, he needed to get her alone and see what was behind that kiss. She had kissed him with more passion and heat than he'd ever experienced before. You couldn't fake a kiss like that.
They hurried down the hall, back to the banquet room, where the party was dying down. Despite his hurry to get started on their date, Andi still had to touch base with Eva. Colin glanced over at her walking next to him. She was gorgeous in her red dress. Her skin was flushed a very appealing shade of pink, likely from their kiss. He wanted to reach over and take her hand, but he didn't trust himself to touch her again. Not until they were alone, anyway. He didn't plan on letting go the next time.
Colin waited on the edge of the room while Andi chatted with Eva. After a moment, Andi turned and waved Colin over.
"I'm going to give my key to Eva," she said when he got close enough. "She'll have to stay in the extra room, if that's okay with you?"
"Of course it's okay," Colin said. He smiled apologetically at Eva. Hopeful she'd forgiven him for acting like a jerk.
"That's a damn good thing," Eva said. "Because there aren't any rooms left and there's no way I'm sleeping in the lobby."
"It's turning out to be a really good thing that I have a whole villa," Colin said and then turned to Andi. "Are you almost ready to get going?"
She smiled a smile he knew was meant just for him. He had to fight the urge to kiss her right there in front of Eva. Andi turned to her friend and said, "You'll take care of...what we talked about?"
"I'll do my best." Eva nodded.
Colin glanced between the two women, then decided he didn't want to know the details of what they were talking about.
"I'm ready, if you are," Andi said. Together they turned to leave and then at the same time froze. Blaine stood in the doorway of the banquet room. Colin's skin bristled and he fought the urge to put his arm around Andi. To lay claim to her. But the truth was, he held no claim over her.
"Damn," Andi whispered. "I'm sorry, Colin," she said to him. "I think I'm going to have to deal with this."
Spotting them, Blaine walked over. He gave Colin a quick glance and said, "Hey, I know you from somewhere, don't I?"
"We met in the staff room earlier," Colin offered. He caught a glimpse of Andi giving him a strange look from the corner of his eye.
"Yeah," Blaine said. "That's it. You work here." Dismissing Colin, he turned to Andi and took her hands in his. Colin fought back a growl and clenched his fists together to keep from grabbing the man's hands away from Andi. "Can we talk now?" Blaine asked her.
Andi shot a quick glance to Colin before answering him. "Tonight's really not good, Blaine. It's been a long day and I have plans."
"What plans could you possibly have on Christmas Eve?" he said. Clearly, a man used to getting what he wanted.
"No," she said. "I'm not doing this right now."
"Tomorrow then?"
"Tomorrow's Christmas."
"I can't think of a more perfect time to talk about us," Blaine said, and Colin's memory flashed to the ring he knew the other man had. The ring intended for Andi.