Cougar Christmas Read online

  “Drew,” she said, forgetting she was supposed to be saying her vows, forgetting Phillips and the other couples were watching, forgetting everything but the man in front of her. “Drew, I didn’t think this weekend could possibly work either,” she said in a low, choked voice. “I’d been hurt so badly before and I…I didn’t want to trust you, didn’t want to trust anyone ever again with my…with my heart.”

  “Baby…” Drew cupped her cheek in his big warm hand.

  “I didn’t want to trust,” Genevieve went on, lifting her chin to look at him. “But you made me trust. And more than that, you made me laugh and then…then you made me love.” She put her hand to the outside of his, nuzzling her cheek against his palm. “You’re so much more than I thought you were,” she told him. “You’re strong and brave and resourceful and funny. You’re equally good at pottery and painting…” She blushed when she thought of the way he’d used the chocolate body paints on her. “And bear fighting,” she added.

  Drew chuckled and Genevieve heard Mitzie mutter from the audience, “Bear fighting? What is she talking about, bear fighting?” But she paid no attention.

  “I guess what I’m trying to say is…I love you too,” she whispered, looking up at Drew. “So much. More than I ever thought I could. And I know we have a lot of things standing between us—”

  “None of it matters.” Drew pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and looking down earnestly into her face. “Nothing matters except that we found each other. After all these years I finally found you, Gen—the real you. And I’m never letting you go.”

  “Oh, Drew,” she whispered and then he was kissing her, lifting her up off the ground until her feet dangled and taking her mouth in a kiss so passionate it made all the blood rush to her head and her heart pound until Genevieve thought it might explode.

  Dimly, she heard Phillips saying, “I now pronounce you man and wife.” From the corner of her eye she saw the other happy couples filing out of the chapel but she was too happy to pay any attention. She and Drew stayed locked in each other’s arms, and she knew without asking that he was feeling the same way she was—that he wanted to make this work and they were together—really together at last.

  And then, when the last couple had left the chapel a deep, sonorous voice said, “Very nice, Genevieve…Drew. A very convincing performance, I must say. It’s a pity none of it is true.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Genevieve felt the blood in her veins turn to ice water at the sound of the deep, familiar voice. Looking up, she saw someone rising from the shadows of the balcony. A tall figure, dressed all in white, came to stand at the banister and look down on her and Drew.

  “Stuart?” she whispered, her lips numb.

  “Mr. Solomon?” Drew muttered, sounding perplexed.

  “In the flesh,” their boss thundered, glaring at them both. “I came all the way here on Christmas to be certain that you, Genevieve, were reconnecting with your spouse. Imagine my surprise when I find you here with your assistant instead.”

  “Stuart…” Genevieve shook her head. “I…I can explain.”

  “You’d better.” Leaving the balcony, he came down the spiral staircase to stand in front of the two of them, hands on his hips. “And you’d better do it fast before I fire both of you. What are you doing here with Drew instead of your husband, Charles?”

  For a moment, Genevieve just glared at him. Stuart had the blindingly white teeth and super stylized hair of a televangelist and he almost always wore light or white suits tailored to the nth degree. His appearance didn’t usually bother Genevieve but just at that moment, she wished she could grab him by his expensive silk tie and strangle him. Somehow, though, she managed to keep her voice calm and level.

  “Charles left me,” she said flatly. “Left me for his secretary about six months ago.”

  Stuart raised one white-blonde eyebrow at her.

  “So you thought you’d do the same and run off with your own assistant?”

  “Hardly.” Drew stepped forward, frowning. “This was all my idea, Mr. Solomon. I told Gen she should pass me off as her husband so she wouldn’t lose her job.”

  “No, Drew—you can’t take the blame,” Genevieve exclaimed, putting a hand on his arm. “It was my fault! I never should have tried this. I should have known it wouldn’t work.”

  “You should have come to me for counseling the moment you and Charles started having problems—as it specifies in your contract,” Stuart boomed.

  “No, she never should have had to sign that piece of shit contract in the first place,” Drew growled back. “Look, Solomon—you might be too busy to notice but I’ve been with Genevieve for years now and I’ve seen first hand how hard she works for you. She’s at the office seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year and you wonder why her marriage fell apart?” He glared at Stuart. “It’s because nobody can stay married to someone they never get to see. Gen sacrificed her relationship for you and the Spiritual Soul Mates company and now you want to penalize her for it? I don’t think so—that’s not fucking right!”

  “Drew!” Genevieve looked at him a little apprehensively. His broad chest was heaving and his eyes were narrowed as he glared down at Stuart Solomon, who was rather short, despite the lifts she knew he wore in his expensive Italian leather shoes. Drew put himself protectively between herself and their boss and for a moment she thought he might actually take a swing at the other man.

  “Drew has a point, you know.” Dr. Phillips, who had been standing, forgotten, behind them on the dais, walked forward. “You do work your staff extremely hard, Stuart,” he told Stuart, frowning.

  “Phillips?” Stuart blustered, frowning at the other man. “I ought to fire you, too! You’re also to blame here, letting these two fool you! What in Heaven’s name would make you believe that Drew and Genevieve were actually a couple?”

  “Because I sensed genuine emotion between them,” Phillips said mildly. “Even right at the beginning when they were still just pretending to care about each other, I sensed a real connection.” He shrugged. “I wanted to see what might happen…how it might grow.”

  “Wait a minute…” Genevieve narrowed her eyes and stared at the therapist. “Are you saying you knew Drew and I weren’t really together all along?”

  He nodded. “Do give me some credit, Ms. Wells—I research all of our clients here at Whispering Pines most thoroughly. I knew Drew wasn’t your husband…but I sensed that he might be your soul mate, if only you two could give each other a chance.” He shrugged his stooped shoulders. “So I decided to give you some time and see what happened.”

  “What happened was we fell in love.” Drew put an arm around her shoulders and Genevieve leaned into him gratefully, glad to feel his solid, comforting presence at her side.

  “Drew’s right,” she said, looking at her boss. “We might not have been a couple when we first came to Whispering Pines, but we are one now. You…” She cleared her throat. “You can fire me if you want but even knowing I would lose my job, I would do this all again. It’s been worth it to connect with Drew.” She looked up at him and gave him a trembling smile.

  Drew smiled back and squeezed her shoulders.

  “Gen’s right,” he said firmly. “And if you fire her, you have to fire me too. We’re a package deal—where she goes, I go.”

  “The very definition of love and sacrifice,” Phillips remarked, smiling a little. “I must say, I’m very pleased to see how far the two of you have come.”

  “Well, I’m not!” Stuart Solomon sighed and ran a hand through his immaculately coifed hair. “Genevieve, you must see what an awkward position you’re putting me in! You’re my senior marketer—my right hand man! I don’t want to lose you but the contract you signed specifies that you and your spouse will come to me for counseling if you feel your relationship is in trouble.”

  “And so they will,” Phillips said mildly. “Since Drew and Genevieve are married now.”

  “We’