Stranded: A Winter Romance Duet Read online

  Stranded

  A Winter Romance Duet

  Samantha Chase

  Noelle Adams

  Contents

  Moonlight In Winter Park

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Epilogue

  One Night in the Ice Storm

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Excerpt from Roommating

  About Samantha Chase

  About Noelle Adams

  Moonlight In Winter Park

  Samantha Chase

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2014 by Samantha Chase. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.

  Chapter One

  “You can’t be serious! That’s totally not fair!”

  “I know, I know. But there’s nothing I can do about it. My hands are kind of tied.”

  Hope slouched down on her sofa and pouted. “There has to be something you can do. It’s Christmas, Ted. We always spend Christmas together and this year…well…it’s important.”

  “I don’t know how to get out of it. I know that this year is going to be…difficult. Believe me, I want to be there with you but this is something that I have to do.”

  Somehow she doubted that. Her brother was a workaholic with no spine. Whenever his boss said “jump,” there was Ted asking how high. “So now I’m going to be all by myself?” she asked incredulously. “I’m barely hanging on by a thread here.”

  “I’m sure you can find some friends to hang out with. Don’t be so dramatic,” he said.

  “Dramatic? Seriously? Ted, we just buried our parents two months ago. Christmas was always a big deal to us. How can you just blow that off, especially this year?”

  He sighed loudly into the phone. “Look, you know how important my job is to me. Merry and I want to get married next year so we’re both working extra shifts and doing everything we can to save some money. She’s working the ER both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so when Mr. James told me that he needed someone to work the holiday, I agreed.”

  Even though Ted couldn’t see her, Hope rolled her eyes. “He needed someone? For real? Don’t you mean he demanded that you work? That’s more his M.O.”

  “Okay, maybe he said that either I had to work or half of the department would have to. I didn’t want to do that to everyone, Hope. They all have families and I…”

  “You did not just say that!” she cried. “You have family! I’m your family! Or don’t I count anymore?”

  “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it that way,” he said, quickly backpedaling. “I just meant that…well…most of them have kids and I would hate to be the reason that someone missed out on spending Christmas with them. I didn’t want to be selfish.”

  Hope greatly doubted that it was the whole truth but there really wasn’t anything she could do about it. “I’m just really disappointed, Ted,” she said sadly. “You’re the only family I have and now I’m not even going to get to spend Christmas with you. It’s not fair.”

  “I really am sorry. I thought I was doing a good thing.”

  For who? She sighed. “Maybe you can come by after work? I know it will be late but I can work with having a late dinner. What do you say?”

  “I wish I could. I’m not even going to be here in town. Mr. James wanted to go and work from his lodge up in the mountains so that’s where I have to be.”

  “This guy has a lot of nerve,” she snapped. “Like it’s not enough that he’s making you work through Christmas, but he’s effectively cutting you off from your family and your fiancée. What kind of beast does that?”

  “Beast?” Ted chuckled.

  “I could have said Scrooge but it was too obvious,” she said with a light laugh of her own. “But I’m serious, Ted. Why do you still work for this man? What kind of benefit do you get out of working for him? Can’t you look for another job?”

  “Hope, Mr. James gave me my start when no one else wanted to hire me. I was fresh out of college and he gave me a chance.”

  “Ted, please. You’re a very intelligent man. You started out in an entry-level position and all he did was move you up to the job you actually wanted and were more than qualified for. You’ve been there for over five years already; it’s not like he did you a favor.”

  “Maybe not, but I’m still grateful to him. I’m on the verge of heading up a large account. If I can work with him one-on-one and show him that I’m capable, maybe I’ll finally get that big promotion! I’m not looking at this situation as punishment, Hope, I’m looking at it as a chance to finally get the man’s full attention!”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to say that if the man hadn’t really seen all of his potential in the last five years, then he probably wasn’t going to see it now, but she held her tongue. It was a losing battle. There was no way that she was going to convince her brother to stand up to his boss and spend Christmas with her. She was going to be alone and she was going to have to deal with it.

  That didn’t mean she couldn’t play a little bit dirty.

  “Well, I guess I can understand that,” she said with a sigh. “I better go. I just finished baking my second batch of cookies and they should be cool by now. I guess I’ll talk to you…”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” he interrupted. “What kind of cookies did you bake?”

  “Hmm, let’s see. The first batch was my white chocolate oatmeal raisin cookies. They came out beautifully,” she said with pride. “And I’m putting together the chocolate peppermint patty cookies now. I hope I have enough filling. I’ve tasted way too much of it!”

  “Damn. Those are my favorites, too.”

  She sighed dramatically. “I know. I’ll put some in the freezer and you can have them after Christmas.”

  “But that’s so far away! Why do I have to wait until after Christmas?”

  “I just figured that with your busy work schedule, you wouldn’t have time to come over and have any.”

  Ted paused for a long moment. “That’s true,” he said. “But that just sucks. Why can’t you drop by the office? Maybe we can have a late dinner or something?”

  Hope looked at the clock and saw that it was only a little after five. Granted, it was a Saturday, but she wasn’t even going to question what he was doing at the office, especially after the conversation they’d been having. “I don’t know. Vending machine food really isn’t very appealing.”

  “Oh,” he said dejectedly. “I guess I was kind of hoping that you’d make something and bring it over. I can’t even remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal.”

  Oh, brother. “Does Merry fall for that whole ‘woe is me’ bit?”

  He chuckled. “Sometimes.”

  And apparently Hope did too. “Okay, I’ll tell you what. Even though I wasn’t planning on cooking tonight since I’m so busy baking, I’ll have pity on you.”

  “You will?” he asked excitedly. “Any chance you have the makings for some of your famous stuffed meatloaf?”

  She laughed. “I think I can swing that.”

  “And mashed potatoes?”

  “Who on earth would eat meatloaf without mashed potatoes? That
would be a crime!”

  “And corn?”

  “Of course.”

  “And some cookies for dessert?”

  “Now you’re just getting greedy,” she said but was excited at the thought of them at least having a little bit of time together. “Fine. And cookies for dessert. I’ll be at your office around seven-thirty. Will that be okay?”

  “Absolutely!”

  “Okay. Then I better go and get to the store so I can meet all your demands,” she teased.

  “Hope? You’re a lifesaver,” he said seriously. “I’m not kidding. You’re the best sister a guy could have.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said lightly even though his words brought tears to her eyes. “I’ll let you tell me how awesome I am over dinner. Now go and get some work done so that you can take longer than a fifteen-minute break with me.”

  “Done. And you don’t have to worry. I’m the only one in the office today so we’ll be able to hang out for longer than that.”

  “You promise?”

  “Absolutely,” he said. “I’ll see you at seven-thirty.”

  ***

  As Hope Cooper gently placed her loaded insulated bag filled with dinner in the car, she sighed. She hated this, the way their lives were going. At least Ted had Merry. If everything went according to Ted’s plan, he and Merry would be married by this time next year and planning a family of their own.

  And where would that leave her?

  Alone. Utterly and completely alone.

  Certainly not a happy thought.

  The drive to the office complex where Ted worked took only fifteen minutes. James Enterprises was like a small city within itself and Hope often wondered how most of the employees found their way around. Ted often assured her that it wasn’t all that complicated, but on the few occasions that she had been there, Hope had gotten lost.

  That was why she preferred her own job; she worked from home, was her own boss and there was absolutely zero chance of her getting lost.

  While Ted loved the pace and the challenge of working for such a large company, Hope couldn’t see its allure. James Enterprises owned hotels and resorts all over the world. Some were luxurious, five-star hotels, while others leaned toward the quaint bed and breakfast type. Ted was a numbers guy and he worked with a team of about two dozen others who helped to manage the financing for new resorts and projects on the existing ones. Personally, numbers made Hope’s head hurt – stupid math! – but she was sincerely impressed with her brother’s knack for them.

  One of the biggest problems she had with Ted’s job was the amount of hours he had to work. Long days, overtime, weekends, holidays…it seemed endless. And was he compensated for all of those extra hours? Not as much as he should be. If Ted received the amount of money that he rightfully should for all of that time, well, let’s just say that he and Merry would most likely be married by now and neither of them would have to cave in and work the holiday shifts that no one else wanted.

  Personally, Hope blamed the elusive Mr. James. She snorted at the thought of him. G.B. James. What the heck kind of name was that anyway? For all the years Ted worked for the man, he still had no idea what the G or the B stood for. She didn’t think that anyone still made their employees use such formality in the workplace anymore but apparently this guy did.

  Besides taking obvious advantage of her overworked brother, Hope’s dislike of the man also hit on a more personal level. A year ago she had submitted a proposal to him regarding opening a small shop in one of his local hotels. It wasn’t for anything big, but she had made a formal business proposal regarding opening a small café-slash-bakery. It had always been a dream of hers and when Ted had mentioned that the company was looking to open such a thing locally, Hope had immediately jumped on board. Unfortunately, Mr. Snooty G.B. James had rejected her proposal on the grounds that she was related to a member of the James Enterprises company and therefore it would show favoritism.

  Seriously?

  The rage had hit first, and then the disappointment. Ted apologized profusely for weeks after she had been rejected but it did little to make her feel any better. All it did was cement her belief that she just wasn’t meant to have her little shop. Sure she could have looked elsewhere – other hotels, other locations – but she knew that having the James Enterprises name behind her would have greatly helped her new business.

  So she continued her work from home. Graphic design, web design, logos…it was fun and creative and it let her work in her yoga pants. Not a bad way to live. Still, it might have been nice to let her love of baking and cooking and, you know, being around other people come out and play. As of now she officially considered herself a hermit.

  In comfy yoga pants.

  Well, not now. Hope actually decided to put a little bit of an effort into her appearance tonight. Just because it was Ted didn’t mean he needed to see her looking all schleppy. While dinner was cooking she’d taken the time to shower and do her hair – even using styling products – and dressed in a pair of jeans and a festive red sweater. Christmas was two weeks away but she loved it so and tended to embrace all things festive during the month of December. Okay, maybe starting back in November.

  Early October, tops.

  Pulling into the massive parking garage, Hope was thankful that it was a Saturday. No parking attendant, no need to explain herself and wait for clearance. She parked the car and texted Ted that she was here. He wrote back that he would let the security guard in the building know and he’d let her in and show her to the small kitchen area his department used.

  At least they weren’t going to have to sit in the massive cafeteria that the building housed. She would have felt completely ridiculous with just the two of them sitting in a room that normally sat five hundred.

  This was the first time she was going to get to go beyond the first floor and as much as she hated to admit it, the thought was a little exciting. She’d get a better glimpse into her brother’s world and maybe see what all the fuss was about.

  At the front entrance, a uniformed man in his early sixties smiled and opened the door for her. “Good evening, Miss Cooper. Your brother said that you’d be stopping by.”

  A quick glance at his name tag gave Hope at least a name to go with. “Thank you and good evening to you, Jerome,” she said with a smile. She waited while he locked the front door and then followed him over to the bank of elevators.

  “Your brother asked me to bring you up to the eleventh floor. There’s a nice kitchen area up there so the two of you can enjoy your dinner.” He took a tentative sniff of the air and smiled. “I told him he should be thankful that he has a sister who’s willing not only to cook for him but to hand deliver it to him too.”

  Hope blushed. “You’re more than welcome to join us. I made enough for a small army. I was figuring Ted wouldn’t mind the leftovers but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing.”

  “Well that’s very kind of you,” Jerome said with a bashful grin, “but I have a lot of area to check on during my shift and I don’t get a break until much later.” He shook his head. “And it’s going to feel like a long night because whatever you have in that bag smells heavenly.”

  She waved a hand at him as if to say “oh, go on,” but instead she said, “Well, feel free to stop up there later while you’re on your break. If Ted’s still here, you help yourself to whatever’s left.”

  The elevator arrived on the eleventh floor and Jerome held the door while Hope stepped out. “Go down the hall all the way to the end and then make a left. The kitchen is the last door on your right.”

  “Thanks, Jerome. And have a good evening,” Hope said with a smile.

  “You too, Miss,” he said and stepped back onto the elevator.

  “What a nice man,” she said quietly and made her way down to the kitchen. Once there, she texted Ted again to let him know where she was and he promised to be there in a few minutes. While she was waiting, she took the food out of the bag and began to set it u
p on the table. She even brought plates, silverware and drinks with her just to play it safe.

  Testing the gravy, it felt a little cool to her so Hope walked over to the microwave, put it in, and waited for it to heat back up.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Hope spun around and saw a man standing in the doorway. Ted had said he was working all by himself so she had no idea who this person was. “I…I’m Hope Cooper. My brother Ted works here. I was just bringing him some dinner. He…he said it was okay.”

  The man looked at her oddly but didn’t move from the doorway. “Ted told you it was all right to just come up here and make yourself at home? How did you get in here?”

  His words were a little curt and not at all friendly but Hope didn’t feel the least bit intimidated. “Jerome let me in and escorted me up here. Ted said he’d be out in a minute.” The microwave dinged that her gravy was ready. She smiled warmly as she held out her hand. “I’m Hope. And you are…?”

  “Beckett,” he said simply and accepted her handshake.

  His eyes were a dark blue, almost black, and matched his hair. There was a dark shadow on his jaw that told Hope he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days, at least. He was tall and his hands were large and for a moment she felt very small next to him. True, she was pretty short, barely five-four, but Beckett had to be at least six feet tall. He wore faded blue jeans and a black sweater and looked a little dangerous to her.

  Carefully, she pulled her hand from his and took a step back. “Um…do you work with Ted?”

  Beckett shook his head. “No. I don’t believe that I do.”

  “Oh,” she said quietly and looked over her shoulder at the table she’d set. “You’re more than welcome to join us for dinner. I invited Jerome too but he’s not on break. If you’d like…”

  He shook his head again. “Do you always invite people you don’t know to dinner?” he asked, a trace of a smirk on his face.

  Hope decided in that instant that this man should definitely smile more. When he was all serious and stern-looking, he was intimidating, but when he smiled? He was really quite handsome. “Not usually, but then again, I don’t get out much.”