Stranded: A Winter Romance Duet Read online

  “It was my pleasure,” she said and hugged him back. Stepping away, she gathered up the rest of her things and walked with Ted out of the kitchen.

  “I’ll call down to Jerome and let him know that you’re leaving. He’ll keep an eye on you and make sure you get to your car okay.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that. It’s kind of a far walk from the door to the garage.” It really was and although Hope wasn’t normally the type of woman who feared walking around by herself, she also knew that you couldn’t be too careful. At the elevator, she kissed her brother on the cheek and said goodbye.

  Down in the lobby, Jerome was nowhere in sight. “Hmm…now what?” She had no idea if she would trigger any kind of alarm by unlocking the door by herself. Looking around, Hope thought she heard footsteps coming and turned in that direction. She smiled, expecting to see Jerome. Quickly, she reached into her bag and pulled out the extra tin of cookies to give him. Her smile faltered for a moment and then brightened when she saw Beckett heading her way. She gave a small wave. “Hi.”

  “Hey,” he said easily as he walked toward her. “How was dinner?”

  “It was good, thank you. I was looking for Jerome. I wasn’t sure how to get out of here without setting off any kind of alarm. Do you know where he is?”

  “Actually, I think I saw him up on the third floor. But no worries, I can let you out of here.”

  “Oh. Okay,” she said hesitantly.

  “What? What’s the matter?”

  “Well, I was kind of hoping he’d walk me to my car. I know it sounds silly but…”

  Beckett held up a hand and cut her off. “Say no more. Of course you shouldn’t be walking around in the dark by yourself.”

  “It’s well-lit out there,” she said, “but still…”

  Stepping around her, Beckett walked to the door, unlocked it and held it open for her. “After you.”

  “Thanks.” Together they walked toward the parking garage in silence. Once they reached her car, Hope stopped. “So…this is me.”

  Beckett smiled down at her. “I’m glad we made it here safely,” he teased.

  “Yeah, well…” She looked down and realized she was still holding the cookie tin. Her plan had been to give it to Jerome, but… “Well, thank you for walking with me. Here.” She held out the tin to him. “Cookies,” she said and then groaned at her own awkwardness. “I mean, I baked a ton of Christmas cookies. I brought a bunch of them for Ted and I made extras. So…here. For you.”

  Beckett looked at her and then the tin, but he didn’t take it from her.

  She blushed with embarrassment. “It’s not a big deal. I mean, I was going to leave them for the people in Ted’s department but I knew he’d eat them all before anyone had a chance to and then I thought I’d give them to Jerome.” She shook her head and chuckled because she realized she was rambling. “They’re not poisonous, I promise. I’m a really good baker. I swear. I just…well, you walked me to my car and I just wanted to say thanks.” She continued to hold the tin in her hands and silently prayed that he’d take it so she could die of embarrassment in the privacy of her car.

  Finally – finally! – Beckett reached out and took the tin. His voice gruff, he said, “Thank you.” He took a step back so Hope could open her car door and he waited until she was inside it and pulling away before moving.

  In her rearview mirror, Hope saw him standing there and smiled. She gave another small wave and smiled even wider when he waved back.

  As far as her Saturday nights usually went, she considered this one to be pretty darn successful and if she was really going to be optimistic, she considered her interaction with Beckett the closest thing she’d had to a date in a really long time.

  Chapter Two

  By the middle of the week Hope was feeling restless. True to her word, she had begun to make some phone calls to realtors to inquire about commercial real estate and storefronts in the area. All of the rents were way out of her league and it left her feeling more than a little discouraged. On top of that, she had baked dozens of cookies and realized she had no one to share them with.

  Every year, Hope and her mom baked together in preparation for Christmas. Her parents always hosted a big Christmas Eve dessert open house and so it was the norm to spend every spare minute baking in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Now as she looked around the first floor of her condo, Hope realized she probably should have cut back a bit. There was no way she could possibly eat all of these and even if she split the stash with Ted, she still couldn’t eat what was left.

  Hmm…

  Picking up her phone, she texted her brother and asked if she could bring some of the cookies by for his co-workers. He readily agreed but asked her to wait until after seven to come by the office. She shrugged it off and just figured that he was busy. Looking around, she made a mental list of what to bring and remembered to bring an extra tin for Jerome since she’d given his to Beckett on Saturday night.

  Beckett.

  Hope actually sighed at the thought of him. She really needed to get out more if just one brief and completely boring encounter with the man had her still thinking about him four days later. Maybe she’d bring an extra tin of cookies.

  Just in case.

  With a renewed sense of purpose, Hope sprang into action. Quick shower? Check. Festive green sweater? Check. The jeans that made her butt look super cute? Check. Running around her bedroom thirty minutes later, she looked in the mirror and frowned. Hair. It was always the hair. Wild and curly and more than a little out of control, she considered her options. There was always a hat, but that raised the possibility of having to take off the hat while at Ted’s office and everyone seeing what a mess she was.

  No hat.

  Stalking back into the bathroom, she eyed the shelf of styling products and groaned. None of them worked miracles, but with a little time, Hope knew she could at least tame the curls down to a manageable level. Good thing Ted asked her to come around later on because this could take a while.

  An hour later, she was mildly pleased with the results. Next up was organizing the goodies she was planning on bringing to the office and maybe making a little something for her brother for dinner since Hope was certain he hadn’t taken the time to eat. There had been no plan on her part to prepare a big dinner for herself, but after a few minutes of scrounging around the kitchen, she was able to throw together a quick chicken pot pie. While it was baking, she set about separating cookies into tins and getting her handy insulated travel bag ready to go.

  At seven-thirty on the dot, she texted Ted about her arrival. She was surprised to see her brother waiting for her at the door, his expression grim. “Hey,” she said cautiously. “Is this a bad time?”

  “No…no,” Ted said and looked around uncertainly. “Come on in. Let me just lock this up behind you.” Once he was done, he turned around and gave Hope a small smile.

  “Seriously, what’s going on? If it’s not okay for me to be here, I’ll just give you the food and go. I don’t want to get you in any trouble.”

  “It’s not that,” he said and took the bag from her hand. “It’s just that…well, Jerome was fired.”

  “What?” she cried. “Why?”

  Ted shrugged. “I’m not sure. Something about cutbacks and how the company could save money by hiring an outside security company.” He looked at his shoes and then walked slowly toward the elevators. “That way we don’t have to pay anything into insurance policies and whatnot.”

  “That’s horrible! And at Christmas?” She snorted with disgust and stomped past her brother when the elevator door opened. “And you wonder why I hate your boss,” she murmured.

  “Look, I don’t particularly agree with it either, but…it’s just business.”

  “What if it were your job that was just eliminated to cut costs right now? How would you feel?”

  “I guess…”

  “You’d be pissed,” she interrupted. “You told me that Jerome needed this job �
� that his wife had health issues. I’m sure your ogre of a boss knows that too.” She growled with frustration. “Oooh…I’d like five minutes alone with that man to just…just…kick him in the face!”

  “Easy, Hope,” Ted said nervously. “I told you, you have to relax. Especially if you’re going to come around here and visit. I can’t have you bad-mouthing my boss. Anyone could hear you!”

  “Like I care!”

  “Well I do!” he snapped. “You know, you don’t have to agree with what I do or where I work, but if you’re going to come around here, then you have to show a little respect or you’re going to have to leave.”

  Hope stared at him incredulously. “Are you for real right now? I’m here bringing you and your co-workers food and you’re threatening to toss me out?”

  Ted sighed loudly as the elevator arrived at their floor. “I’m not threatening you, Hope. Don’t be so dramatic. All I’m saying is that you need to just…tone it down while you’re here. Please. For me.”

  She rolled her eyes. This is what she got for trying to do something nice. “Fine. I won’t say anything more about the jackass you work for.” The doors opened at that moment and she immediately stepped out and began walking toward the kitchen. “I brought you some dinner,” she said over her shoulder. “I figured you hadn’t eaten. It’s nothing major – just some chicken pot pie.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Really.” Together they began to pull containers out of the bag. “This big tin is for you to take home.”

  He smiled. “What did you make this time?”

  “Okay, we’ve got butterscotch blondie bars, brownie thins, traditional chocolate chip cookies, and raspberry chocolate macaroons.”

  “How do you do it?” he asked reverently as he opened the tin and pulled out a cookie. With his mouth full, he continued, “How do you manage to get all of this baking done and work?”

  “Part of the joys of working from home. My oven is only ten feet away at all times. I can work on my web designs while things are baking. That and I don’t sleep very much.”

  “You’re amazing. You know that, right?”

  “Oh stop,” she said and pulled the rest of the tins out of the bag. “I had a tin here for Jerome but I guess it will just be extra for your office.”

  “This is really sweet of you, Hope. I mean it. You don’t even know my co-workers.”

  She shrugged. “Yeah, but…they have to put up with you so I figured I owed them something sweet,” she teased.

  “Ha, ha, very funny.” Ted put his cookie tin down and glanced at his watch. “Um…I hate to do this to you, but I have a conference call that I’m scheduled to be on in five minutes.”

  “Oh…oh, no big deal,” she said and quickly took the dinner she prepared out of the bag and put it in the refrigerator. “That’s the pot pie. You can heat it up whenever you’re ready.”

  “Have you eaten?” he asked, concern covering his features.

  “Yes,” she lied. No need for him to feel bad about throwing her out when she had planned on eating with him. After all, he had no idea she was even bringing the meal. “I just made extra for you.” She smiled. “Go. I don’t want you to be late. Will there be someone downstairs to let me out?”

  Ted nodded. “There should be. If there’s not, text me and I’ll text security. We have a new system now.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Walking toward him, she got on her tiptoes and kissed Ted’s cheek. “Eat some of the real food and not just the cookies.”

  “I make no promises,” he said with a lopsided grin and walked out of the kitchen. “Thanks again, Hope. Are we still on for Saturday?”

  She nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it.” Although, truth be told, she felt slightly deflated at the moment and the thought of coming back here was a little less appealing. Jerome was gone. Beckett wasn’t around and she had put all this effort into looking slightly attractive for nothing. “Well damn,” she mumbled and looked around the kitchen to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

  “Another drive-by dinner?” a deep male voice said from behind her.

  Stunned, Hope quickly turned around and smiled. “Beckett! Hey! How are you?” Down girl. Don’t sound so anxious.

  “Good,” he said, a smile on his face. “Where’s your brother?”

  “What? Oh, he had a conference call and I didn’t know. I made him dinner and brought him some more cookies. Different variety this time. And I made extras for his co-workers. I just hope he doesn’t eat them all before tomorrow.”

  With a chuckle, Beckett stepped into the kitchen. “Well if he does, I can’t say that I blame him.”

  “Really?”

  “Fishing for compliments?”

  “Maybe,” she blushed.

  Beckett leaned in close. “They were delicious. I’m embarrassed to say that I ate them all.”

  “Well…today could be your lucky day. If you’re interested.”

  One dark brow arched as he took a small step back.

  “I…I had brought another tin to try and give to Jerome,” she paused, “but Ted tells me he’s been let go. So, if you’d like, I have this extra batch of cookies.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to call them back. Hope remembered Beckett’s reaction the last time she offered him the cookies and the thought of him hesitating again was almost painful. “I mean…”

  “I’d love them. Thanks.” His smile was big and he reached out and took the tin for himself, not even waiting for Hope to hand them over.

  She mentally sighed with relief. “Like I said, they’re all different this time. I tend to subscribe to the twenty-five days of Christmas cookies philosophy.”

  “Twenty-five? That’s a lot of baking,” he chuckled.

  She nodded. “I got a late start this year so it will be more like the twelve days of Christmas cookies.”

  “Well, as long as you’re at least sticking to the Christmas theme,” he teased.

  Another nod. “I try. Although, I should probably just stop. It seems I’m only baking for Ted and his co-workers. And you,” she added with a smile.

  “I’m sure there are plenty of people who would love for you to share them.”

  “It’s more out of habit or tradition that I do it. My mom and I used to bake like this every year because we always had a huge party on Christmas Eve. This is the first year ever that it’s not happening.” Emotion started to clog her throat and she tried to calm herself before speaking again. “Anyway, old habits die hard.”

  He gave her a sympathetic smile. “This year will be hard but I’m sure as time goes on, you’ll find a way to pass on that tradition and make it your own. Find your own people to celebrate with.”

  “Maybe. I just wish that this year didn’t suck so much.”

  They were quiet for several moments. “So what was tonight’s dinner?” he asked.

  “Oh, nothing major. A chicken pot pie. I guess I should have checked with Ted before I went through the trouble. I thought we’d eat it together but, like I said, he had a call to get to.”

  “So you didn’t eat?”

  Hope shook her head. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll grab something on the way home and eat in front of the TV.”

  “Sounds exciting,” he said with a grin.

  “Oh, you have no idea. There’s no way I’m going to go home and cook after, technically, I already did.”

  “Why don’t you just take the pot pie home with you and eat it yourself?”

  She looked at him like he was crazy. “Because I already brought it here for Ted. And told him about it. And showed him where it is in the refrigerator,” she laughed. “That would be terribly rude of me to just take it back.”

  He shrugged. “Not really. You already cooked for him on Saturday and baked him a ton of cookies. Seems to me like you spoil him.”

  “Well, he’s all that I have,” she said simply.

  “I find that very hard to believe. Surely you have friends? A boyfriend?”
r />   Interesting, she thought. “Friends, yes. Boyfriend, no. I’m afraid I’m a bit of a workaholic myself and because I work from home, I don’t go out very much.”

  Beckett’s dark eyes studied her for a long moment. He was still holding the tin of cookies in his hands. “Listen, I…um, I have to run down to my office for a minute but maybe we can grab something to eat.”

  Hope’s eyes went wide. “Together?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, together.”

  “Oh…um…”

  “Unless you’d rather not,” he said quickly. “I mean, if you’d really prefer just doing the drive-thru thing and going home, I’d completely understand and…”

  “Beckett?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’d really like to have dinner with you.”

  His shoulders seemed to relax. He nodded. “Good. That’s good.” Glancing at his watch, he looked back up at Hope. “Can I meet you down in the lobby in ten minutes?”

  “Absolutely,” she said with a smile of her own. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

  ***

  “I have to admit, I never knew there were twenty-five different varieties of Christmas cookies,” Beckett said thirty minutes later as they sat across from each other at a small diner close to the office.

  “I think there’s more than that. These are just my personal favorites.”

  “You have excellent taste then.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled and Hope sat there in a bit of a giddy haze. Beckett was handsome, intelligent and a great conversationalist. How did she get this lucky? She hadn’t been on a date in almost a year and all it took was a visit to her brother’s office for her to meet a great guy? Ted was definitely getting a mountain of cookies this weekend.

  “So tell me about your business,” he said and smiled warmly at her.

  “Well, I’m a total computer geek,” she said with a chuckle. “I play video games and love figuring out how to program things. I know most people think of it as a guy thing, but I figured out a long time ago that I had a knack for it.” She stopped and took a sip of her sweet tea. “I didn’t think I’d be able to make a decent living at it, especially working only for myself, but I lucked out with some local businesses and had a couple of friends who knew people and it just took off.”