Page 77 of Hate On
It was a special time of year, and a big milestone for her and Roman’s family.
It was Christmas Eve. Tonight was their families’ first ever Christmas dinner under one roof. Yes. The gathering would be at the penthouse condo that she and Roman had bought together right after the wedding. She needed to wrap up this sale to Mr. Johansen and go home so she could keep working to make sure everything was perfect.
Sure, she’d hired the Montrose’s favorite celebrity chef to prepare the holiday meal, and the Castle’s go-to interior decorator to make the place look festive and pleasing to the eye. And yes, she’d recruited her cousin, Gem who’d flown in from out west for a visit and agreed to help with decorations and watch over all the last minute preparations today.
When she’d left home this morning, things were close to being finished. The decorators had gone with a silver and blue Christmas theme. The place was almost magical with the stunningly lit up Manhattan skyline of skyscrapers, a few decorated construction cranes, and famous landmarks in the background.
In some ways, it felt like her very own indoor winter wonderland of garland, christmasy lights, candles, festive bows, ribbons, holiday wreaths, and even a slew of bright white-flowered poinsettia plants everywhere. And topped off with a twelve foot white pine Christmas tree decorate with white lights and blue and silver ornaments, the large main level open concept area was perfect. She could barely leave the space during sunset last night. It was beyond breathtaking.
But again, a mild wave of guilt mixed with nervousness overcame her as she did her best to focus on wrapping things up with the customer who wouldn’t leave. She didn’t need this sale, but she’d never treat Mr. Johansen or any other customer badly. They needed each other. She couldn’t stand to think that poor Alissa would wake up to no Christmas present if she closed the shop now.
“I have an idea, Mr. Johansen!” she told him excitedly when a thought popped into her head.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he answered.
Walking over to the counters near the back of the store, Julianna unlocked the display case and lifted out two more pink diamond rings, one in a platinum setting, and one in yellow gold. “How about you take these two additional rings with you? Let me tell you what I’m thinking. They’re already packaged up individually, so how about for Christmas this year, you let Alissa choose which ring she wants from the three of these?”
“Oh. That’s a novel concept,” he mused, mulling it over. “But… what if she can’t choose? Or what if she wants them all? Or worse… what if she hates them all?”
Julianna pushed down her mild annoyance. This was going to work. It had to. Her phone had already buzzed three times in the last five minutes, probably because Roman was steps away from the store to meet up with her.
“I’ll give you a little secret,” she told the patron. “But you have to promise not to tell your wife.”
“Oh? Sure, I can keep a secret. What is it?”
She lifted the oval shaped pink diamond in the yellow gold setting out of its silk-lined black velvet box and moved it close to him. “Your lovely wife has come into the store a few times without you over this past couple of weeks. She had her eye on this one. She fell in love with it the second she saw it.”
“She did?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because she was hoping you’d know. And because you know how sweet and accepting your wife is. She’d love any gift you give her.”
“You’re right about that,” he chuckled. “She’s got more gratitude than any person I know. Has never made a fuss about anything in the twenty-three years we’ve been married.”
“And maybe that’s why she deserves all three rings this year,” Julianna suggested. “But no matter which one she chooses, you can bring back the others. I’ll process your payment for whichever you end up going with after the holidays.”
“Are you sure about holding off on my payment?”
“Definitely. Those rocks can’t break. Besides, I know where you live,” she teased.
The tinny ding of the chime on the customer entrance caught her attention just then, and she turned just in time to see Roman step through the doorway. Like every other time before, her breath caught in her throat. She didn’t think she’d ever get over how handsome her husband was, or how instantly her body responded to him without her meaning to react.
“Hi honey,” she called to him. “I’ll just be a few more minutes.” Turning to Mr. Johansen, she placed the last ring back in its box and grabbed a cream branded gift bag with black silk ribbon handles. “What’s the verdict?”
“You have yourself a deal,” he answered jovially. “Thanks for trusting me with that secret. I promise I won’t let it out of the bag.”
“Awesome!”
As the last customer strode out of the store, she grabbed her winter coat and purse, and headed for the door, stepping into her husband’s arms.
“There’s my gorgeous woman. Right where she belongs. How was your day?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.
Smiling, she tilted her head to gaze up at his handsome face and meet his awaiting lips for a warm, loving kiss. “Busy as hell, but very nice. How was you meeting with Moira?”
“Festive,” he answered, reaching over to the security system. “It’s Christmas Eve. The man didn’t want to talk business. He was all about the thirty-year old scotch we bought him. Speaking of gifts.” With a few taps of his finger, she heard the store alarm set. “Let’s get out of here. We have two families to impress.”
“Yes, I’m really excited about tonight,” she said softly.
“Not to worry. It’s going to be great.” They stepped out into the cool late afternoon air and looked at each other again. “Okay, it may not be that great.”