"Oh were you?" Colin said.
"Well, of course, I mentioned how wonderful they are and all that," Sarah said looking to her husband.
"Of course," he agreed.
"But seeing another couple so in love and carefree like these two, well, I can't help but think of what it was like for us once," Sarah said.
Kirk leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. "We're still madly in love."
Colin slid onto the bench next to Andi and put his arm around her shoulders. Pulling her close he said, "Well, I'm sure when the time is right, children will be a blessing to our love just like it has been for you two."
Andi would have shot him a glare if he'd been looking at her. Instead, she jabbed her elbow into his rib cage the best she could. Colin pulled her closer into an embrace in response.
"But for now we're still having fun learning just as much as we can about each other," Colin said. "Isn't that right, darling?"
"Couldn't have said it better myself, pumpkin," she said.
"So, how long have you two been married?" Kirk asked. He unstrapped the baby, who had started to fuss, and handed her to Sarah.
"We're newlyweds."
"Two years."
They answered at the same time.
Kirk and Sarah exchanged confused glances and Kirk asked, "You don't remember?"
Andi waited for Colin to explain. After all, it was his lie.
Saving him from answering, Carmen, from the front desk, spotted them from across the fire. She waved and started making her way through the crowd towards them. "Excuse us for a moment," he said. Colin took the hot chocolate from her hands, put it on the bench and pulled Andi to her feet.
Andi shrugged an apology and was still stifling her giggle as they walked towards Carmen.
"Mr. Hartford, Ms. Williams," Carmen said when they approached. "I just wanted to thank you again for being so understanding about the mix up in the rooms."
"Oh, it's been fine," Andi said.
"More than fine," Colin added. "In fact, we've been enjoying a lot of the Lodge's actives together. I'm determined to show Ms. Williams how much fun Christmas can be."
Carmen smiled cautiously and glanced down at their clasped hands. "Well, I'm so glad it's all working out," she said. "I do wish we had more activities planned, but our event co-ordinator quit and left me in quite the situation."
"That's awful," Andi said. "But it looks like you're managing okay. This is a fabulous set up." She waved her arm to encompass the Christmasy campfire.
"I've been fortunate with my staff," Carmen said. "They've really stepped up. But I'm just so upset that the Holly Berry Ball won't happen this year. It's just too much for me to take on, as well as running the desk, and it's such a shame because this year would have been our tenth anniversary."
"The Holly Berry Ball?" Andi asked.
"It's our annual Christmas Eve celebration. We've always prided ourselves on providing a family friendly dance to celebrate the holiday season. It's wonderful, but this year, I just don't think I can pull it off on my own. I know the children will be so disappointed."
For a moment, Andi was afraid the woman was going to cry. She was doing a good job keeping it together, but Andi couldn't help noticing the stray hairs escaping her barrettes, and the dark circles under her eyes. Isn't that what the holiday's did to people? Turned them into big tightly wound balls of anxiety.
Her stomach turned, but Andi knew she didn't have a choice. Even though it was a holiday event, and the thought of organizing something as cutesy sounding as a Holly Berry Ball, made her slightly queasy, she knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if the event was cancelled. Not when she knew she could help.
"Carmen," she said, before she stopped herself. "I think I can help."
"Really?" Carmen said. She looked like she might leap forward and kiss Andi.
"That's right," Colin added. "Andi runs a party planning business."
"And you think you could help?" Carmen asked. "I mean, it's really last minute and all. The ball is tomorrow."
Andi laughed and put her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "I'll tell you what," she said. "Let me see what you have so far and I'll make a few phone calls to my business partner. Last minute is her specialty. Don't worry, Carmen. I'll make it happen."
"Oh, Ms. Williams, thank you so much. You may have just saved my job."
"Please, just call me Andi."
"I'll have all the files sent to your villa right away," Carmen said and turned to leave, but turned around again and grabbed Andi's hand. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to dump this on you on your holiday. In fact, I was trying to find you both to tell you that because of our mix up, we'd like to offer you a complimentary dinner tonight at Oliver's. It's our premier restaurant here at the Lodge."
"Oh, that's very nice of you," Andi said. "But I may have too much work to do, and I don't want to assume that Colin will be free." She looked over at him.
"Nonsense," he said. "We'd love to take you up on your offer, Carmen. And I'll help Andi with anything she needs to get this ball organized. It'll be fun."
Andi smiled and looked at him. "You'll help?"
"Of course." Their eyes locked and something passed between them. Something that made Andi wish they were alone. She reached for his hand and squeezed it. An action that seemed so comfortable, and might even be normal if they'd known each other longer than only twenty-four hours. But normal or not, Andi liked the feel of her hand in his and the electricity that was passing between them.
"It's going to be great," Andi said. Her eyes didn't leave his and from somewhere in the distance, she thought she heard Carmen excuse herself, but still, she didn't look away. She dared him with her eyes to kiss her. He'd had his opportunity more than once today, but each time he pulled away. Maybe she'd read the situation wrong? Maybe he wasn't interested in her that way?
There was only one way to find out, Andi thought. She might as well be the one to make the first move. She never had been the wallflower type. And like Eva said, it could be good for her to have a fling. She raised herself to her toes and leaned in. "This is going to be a lot of work," she whispered and inched closer. "Maybe a very late night."
"I like late nights," Colin said. His voice was husky, his breathing hard. Andi closed her eyes and bridged the last few inches between them, meeting his lips with her own.
The kiss was soft and tentative at first while they explored each other. When Colin wrapped his arm around her and pulled her even closer, any doubts she'd had were erased. She let herself sink into him. It had been so long since she'd been kissed and her body responded readily with a heat building in her core. Colin parted her lips gently with his tongue. He tasted sweet, like hot chocolate.
It was over too soon, but she was well aware of their very public environment and it the kiss went on much longer, it might not be appropriate for all audiences. She pulled away and smiled when she saw the look in his eyes. There was no mistaking that he felt the same way.
"That was unexpected," Colin said.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well," he amended. "Not entirely unexpected. I'd been wanting to do that almost from the moment I saw you."
She laughed. "So not unexpected at all, then."
He shook his head and Andi couldn't be sure, but it almost looked as if he blushed a little.
"Come on," she said. "If I'm going to get this ball organized, I better get started." Eva was going to kill her with the extra work the Holly Berry Ball would be, but it would be fun. And if Colin was helping, well, all of a sudden, the idea of planning a dreaded holiday party held a certain appeal.
***
Colin left Andi combing through the dozens of folders and files Carmen had sent to the villa and went to check out the shops that lined the courtyard and made up part of the Village. He hadn't packed anything beyond jeans, t-shirts and sweaters, and from the look of the menu at Oliver's, going out for dinner was going to require a wardrobe modification.
There was a surprising number of stores to choose from, considering they were up in the mountains away from everything. But maybe that was the reason. A vacation destination with shopping built right in, a little something for everyone. The more time he spent at the Lodge, the more he enjoyed it. Or maybe it was just the company he'd enjoyed. Either way, it was turning out to be a great holiday.
It didn't take long for Colin to find a menswear store and he was soon outfitted with dress pants and a blue shirt the sales girl told him brought out the sparkle in his eyes. Of course, she'd been flirting with him and he surprised himself by not flirting back, like he normally would. Instead, he couldn't help but wonder what the sales girl would say if she knew it was Andi who'd put the sparkle in his eyes earlier. Or more specifically, the kiss they'd shared.
His cell phone rang as he headed outside, bags slung over his shoulder. He dug it out of his coat pocket and answered it without checking the ID. No doubt Andi wanted him to pick up something for the party, or needed him back at the villa. Maybe she just wanted him home.
"I'm on my way," he said into the phone.
"On your way where?" Rose's booming voice came through the line. "I thought you were holed up in the mountains, having a traditional holiday or some such thing. Why you couldn't get the same thing with my family is beyond me. There's nothing wrong with the way we do Christmas, ya know?"
Colin suppressed a laugh and rolled his eyes. Rose had worked overtime to get him to come to her house for the holidays. And as much as he wanted to experience everything the holidays had to offer, he couldn't imagine being surrounded by her fifteen grandchildren. Even for him, it would be a little too much.
"Merry Christmas, Rose," he said. "Shouldn't you be enjoying your family?"
"I'm doing just that," she said. "But I just had to call my favorite boss to see how he was doing. I worry about you in the mountains all by yourself."
"I'm not by myself." Colin knew Rose didn't approve of his playboy ways. She would love it if he would find a nice girl and settle down. He couldn't help wondering what she would think of Andi.
"Is that so?" He could almost see her wagging her finger at him. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can say to change your mind about turkey dinner then, is there?"
"Actually, Rose," he said. "It's not what you think." He wouldn't normally fill his assistant in on personal details, but Colin found himself telling her everything about Andi and the unlikely situation they were in. As he talked, he walked along the cobblestones, kicking at the snow that drifted across his path. The air was crisp, even with the sun high in the sky. It was the perfect weather for the end of December and he'd missed it. Too many years surrounded by the sandy beaches and blue ocean had make him long for the ice and snow. He didn't think it possible, to miss the feeling of his toes going numb, or the ache in your back after shoveling the driveway, but he had.
When he was finished relaying the story, there was silence on the other end of the phone. "Rose? Are you still there?" The reception could be spotty in the mountains, maybe he'd lost the connection.
He heard a cough and then Rose's voice, much quieter than usual. "Colin, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were in love."
Colin tripped over his feet and dropped his bags in the snow. When he recovered, he said, "What are you talking about? Love? That's crazy."
"Is it?"
"Rose, you're being ridiculous. I just met this woman."
"Colin Hartford, I've been around the block a few times, and I know more about love than I'd care to admit," she said. "And I'll tell you what. You don't need weeks and months to fall in love, you just need the right two people and the perfect circumstance."
Colin brushed the snow off his bags, quickly checking to see if any had slipped inside. "Well, I don't know about that."
"Just keep an open heart," she said. "I have to run now, more gifts to wrap before the madness starts."
"Have a happy holiday, Rose," Colin said with a smile. "I'll see you next week."
"Merry Christmas, Colin."
After he hung up, Colin couldn't focus his thoughts. In love? With Andi? He'd never heard anything so ridiculous. He didn't do relationships, let alone ones that involved actual love. Rose had been a fabulous assistant to him and his father before him. She had known him since he was a child. He had to admit, she was probably the one person who knew him the best. After his father died and Colin decided to take over the alarm systems company, Rose had walked him through everything. She'd been indispensable. And so loyal. Even when his dad practically ran the business into the ground, she'd stayed with him, despite only barely making a wage herself. Colin had more than made up for that, though.
It wasn't until after he'd turned things around and built up the business again, that Colin had the idea of expanding into the Caribbean. The decision to offer companies down south top of the line security had been a good one. Both Colin and Rose did well for themselves now. But he'd been gone a long time and it was no secret that Rose had wanted Colin to come home. So he had. But would he stay? Colin stopped walking, bent down and scooped up the snow in his bare hand. The icy coolness ran through his fingers as it melted. Yes, he was ready to take the snow over the sandy beaches.
A figure in a shop window caught his eye, distracting him from his conversation with Rose. The store looked to be classier than the typical souvenir shop he'd seen earlier. There were ceramics, ornaments and other really beautiful handicrafts that even he could appreciate. But it was an item in the back of the window that'd made him stop.
Stuck on a shelf, towards the back of the display, was the perfect non-Christmasy, Christmas gift for Andi. They hadn't said anything about exchanging presents. After all, celebrating the holidays with strangers could be awkward. But it didn't seem right to have such a lovely tree in the villa with nothing under it. Besides, she wasn't a stranger any more. She was Andi.