Page 32 of Miles & Mistletoe

“I’ll put these in our room. Make yourself comfortable.”

I watched as he easily maneuvered the stairs with my suitcase and bags as well as his own duffel.

I unbuttoned the long, white coat—which Ian had insisted on picking out for me for this trip just before we left Seattle—and hung it on the coat rack next to the door. On instinct, I followed my nose down the hall and came upon the large kitchen. There was a note just behind a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies on the black, stone countertop.

I picked up the note and smiled as I read. It was addressed to Ian, of course, and explained that the food had been left warming in the oven for his arrival. Noting the mention of hot chocolate and marshmallows in the cupboard, I placed the note down and began rooting around for the sweet treats. I quickly found the Swiss Miss hot chocolate packets and the small marshmallows, and pulled down two mugs. Next, moving to the refrigerator I pulled out the half gallon of milk and poured some into a sauce pot that I found in another one of the cupboards. Ian had told me to make myself comfortable and I did so, as I prepared two cups of hot chocolate and loaded them with the marshmallows.

Just as I was finishing up, I turned to see Ian entering the kitchen.

“Here you go.” I handed him one of the mugs of hot chocolate.

“Thank you.”

I watched as he took a tip. “That’s good.”

“Right? Swiss Miss was my favorite on cold winter nights.”

“I remember.”

Pausing from bringing the mug to my lips, I twisted my neck. “Did you tell your staff to have Swiss Miss for me?”

“You said you liked it.” He brought the mug to his lips, staring at me over the edge of it as he took another sip.

If I hadn’t been drinking the hot chocolate I could’ve easily assumed the shiver that moved through my body was a result of being cold. When Ian stared deeply into my eyes in that way he only did whenever we were alone, my body always reacted the same way.

“Thank you,” I murmured just before taking another sip.

“Thank you,” he returned.

“For what?”

“If it hadn’t of been for you, I’d be letting this place go to waste another holiday season as I continued to pack in gala after gala after another holiday party over the next four and a half days.”

“You deserved some time off.”

“You deserved some time off. I’m just selfish enough to have you spend it with me. Let me show you around before we eat. I had the staff prepare a pot roast, roasted potatoes, and sautéed green beans. All of your faves.”

“I saw it on the note that was left.” I jutted my head to the counter.

Ian nodded before taking my hand and leading us out of the kitchen. He showed me the remainder of the first floor—which included two guest bedrooms, a full and a half bathroom, the dining area, study, and a living room space, which was where the Christmas tree had been set up. The second floor held the master suite along with another guest bedroom, a media room, and an office. The third floor held two more bedrooms, another full bathroom and half bath, as well as what I deemed would be some sort of play room for children, except it wasn’t fully decorated.

“What about the basement?” I asked once Ian lead us back into the kitchen.

Ian peered at me.

“I could tell from the outside that there was a basement.”

He hesitated, and I instantly knew that whatever was in the basement was something special to him.

“You’ve brought me this far, you might as well let me see the rest.” I moved and wrapped my arms around his waist, lifting on my tiptoes to plant a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Whatever he kept in the basement I wanted to see it because I wanted to know everything about this man. For what reasons I didn’t know. Our time together was supposed to be short. Hell, it wasn’t even supposed to include all that it had.

“Friends don’t keep secrets from one another,” I encouraged.

“Fine,” he replied, pushing out a harsh breath. He turned, leaving me to follow him down the hall where he stopped at a door that we had passed on our initial tour. Unlike the first time, this time I noticed the doorknob had a padlock for a keycode on it.

Ian turned to me. “The staff isn’t allowed down here,” he explained before entering the keycode.

I heard the door unlatch and Ian turned the knob, pushing the door open. Unlike when we first entered the house, Ian didn’t step aside and allow me to enter first. He moved more cautiously down the steps, leaving me to follow. And, naturally, I did so, although I couldn’t see much. That was until Ian flicked on the light switch, illuminating the entire downstairs.

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